The Moon Over Tang Dynasty Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Eminent Monk's Style and Pre-Marriage Purchasing

Standing behind Liuli was a monk in his fifties. He was of medium height, with a slightly round face, long eyebrows and thin eyes, regular and ordinary facial features, simple and clean clothes, but slightly thick and dark skin. He looked very ordinary. It didn't seem to match the strange sound at all.

Liuli hurriedly returned the salute. Just as she didn't know what to call him, Guiji had already strode over. His originally slightly arrogant expression had completely subsided, and he bowed solemnly, "Master."

Master? Tang Monk? Liuli looked at this ordinary-looking monk and subconsciously said, "Master Xuanzang..." and then she didn't know what to say anymore.

Xuanzang was already famous all over the world at this time, but he was used to seeing such an expression. He smiled and said, "I wonder what Tan Yue has to say about this painting?" Although his face was ordinary, his voice was rich and soft to the extreme. Such a simple The words that came out of his mouth seemed to have a special rhythm, making people involuntarily want to just listen to what he said.

Liuli was stunned for a moment before she realized that he was asking her what her opinion was on this mural, and hurriedly said, "This painting has a precise structure and fluent brushstrokes. I guess it is Master Yan's handwriting?"

Xuanzang nodded and said, "Tan has better eyesight." He felt enlightened. Just now he was a little tired from translating the scriptures. When he came out and took a few steps, he saw a woman staring at the mural in a daze. The expression on her face was so focused that it was almost pious. He had seen people facing Buddha statues, pagodas, and even... She had such an expression while reading the Buddhist scriptures, but she had never seen anyone show such reverence for a sutra mural depicting secular figures. However, it turned out that what she was obsessed with was not the story on the image, but the portrait itself. He couldn't help but shake his head and smile. He glanced at Liuli again, noticed her eyes, and his brows couldn't help but move slightly.

Pei Xingjian also came over at this time and bowed respectfully to Xuanzang. Xuanzang, who had seen him twice in Guiji's room, nodded and smiled, "Pei Tanyue has a lot of free time today." Suddenly he said, " Is this female Tan Yue an honorable lady?"

Pei Xingjian was startled, but nodded with a smile. Xuanzang looked back at Liuli and smiled faintly, "My lady is very discerning, and I am afraid she will have some fate with Buddhism in the future."

As soon as these words came out, Pei Xingjian and Liuli were stunned, but Xuanzang just said goodbye to them with a slight bow of his head, then turned around and walked out of the courtyard unhurriedly. Qiuji looked carefully at Liuli up and down, and then sighed for a while, "My master's words are true."

Pei Xingjian's face had darkened. Of course he knew that Master Xuanzang was true to his words. His cousin who was originally named Yuchi Hongdao was the best proof - Hongdao's mother, Pei, was Pei Xingjian's distant aunt. Although they are a few years apart, they have very similar personalities. Hong Dao had a very good relationship before he entered Hongwen Hall. When Hong Dao was seventeen years old, he met Master Xuanzang on the road for the first time and was predicted that he would enter Buddhism and spread Buddhism. At that time, he even told Pei Xingjian about this as a joke. He never thought that within a month, he would first The emperor actually ordered him to become a monk! In the first few years, he was so angry that he became a monk without taking the precepts. When he went out, he would bring a cart full of Buddhist scriptures, a cart full of wine and meat, and a cart full of beautiful women. Everyone knew that there was such a three-cart master in Daci'en Temple. Later, he became more and more into Taoism. , received the full ordination last year, and became a truly great monk named Guiji!

Seeing Liu Li's confused expression, Pei Xingjian felt his heart tightening and almost wanted to pull her away. Qiu Ji also saw that Pei Xingjian's expression was wrong and smiled, "Don't worry about keeping the promise. I told you that it will be in the future. Who knows if it will be decades later? As for fate, who knows what kind of fate it will be?”

Liuli had come to her senses and couldn't help shaking her head secretly. It was strange that she had a predestined relationship with Buddhism. Xuanzang was not Li Chunfeng. How could his words count? He turned to Pei Xingjian and smiled, "Are there any good murals in this Great Ci'en Temple?"

Pei Xingjian looked at her nonchalant smile and his face softened slightly, "I haven't paid much attention to this. I only know that there is a small peony garden in the west courtyard. The flowers are very good, but it is in a place where ordinary pilgrims will not go. You want Don't want to take a look?”

Liuli's eyes lit up, “Let's go right now!”

On this day, when the sun was about to set, Liuli, under the guidance of Guiji, had seen five or six beautiful sights in Daci'en Temple that were difficult for tourists to visit, and sat on the car home with satisfaction. There were some places she went to today that even Pei Xingjian had never been to before. Those peonies were nothing more than the famous ones of later generations. However, there were some Linquan designs in this temple that were quite elegant, making her want to imitate them at home. Do one or two things to come out.

Pei Xingjian was quieter than usual. Liuli vaguely guessed some reasons, but couldn't say anything in front of her. When the two of them arrived at the gate of Su Mansion in Changxingfang, Pei Xingjian patted his horse and walked to the window of the carriage, whispering, "Liu Li, it's too hot today. I want to drink the century-old soup you made."

Liuli couldn't help but laugh, "How about I ask the kitchen to prepare a hundred-year-old soup to go with the Ruyi Roll today?"

Pei Xingjian had a smile on his face, "Okay!"

Looking at his back as he rode away, thinking about the meaning of his words, Liuli couldn't help but shake her head and smile, but she couldn't help but feel a little sweet in her heart.

Back in the upper room of the Su family, Mrs. Yu and Luo Shi were looking through the pieces of gauze they had just found from the storehouse in the west room, and discussing what kind of window covering they should use. Mrs. Yu nodded as soon as she saw her, "You really went out well today!"

Liuli thought for a while and smiled, "But there are uninvited guests coming to the door?" Mrs. Yu couldn't help but laugh, "You are more and more like keeping your promise."

Luo Shi also raised his head with a smile, "No, it's the eldest daughter-in-law of Mrs. Zheng who was here last time. She said that she was thinking that you will have good things coming soon, and she got a house. She was afraid that there were not enough servants, so she wanted to give you a few gifts. This servant is very good at packing up the carriages and horses, and serving tea and water."

Liuli couldn't help but smile and shook her head, "What did grandma say?" Packing up the carriage and horses meant that she could know their whereabouts outside, and serving tea and water, so that she could hear news about the inner house. This clan sister-in-law is really good at it. Thoughtful!

Mrs. Yu snorted angrily, "What can I say? Of course, I, as the adoptive mother, will take care of these things for you, so that they don't have to spend any money!"

Liuli couldn't help but laugh. Her adoptive mother could even turn against Mrs. Zheng on the spot, let alone a junior. Mrs. Zheng was probably thinking that since she was going to marry into the Pei family, she would not dare to be too rude to her cousin-in-law, so she sent her daughter-in-law here. Unexpectedly, she ran into Mrs. Yu's gun.

I don't know whether it was Mrs. Yu's intimidating power, or Mrs. Zheng had a new plan, but the next few days were uneventful. Liuli sent Ani back to Wu Mansion to ask for news twice. Ani came back and said, Old Madam These days, I still spend most of my time in the palace. Every time I come back, I am in a hurry. I just want Liuli to get married in peace of mind. He also brought back two pairs of Baoxianghua gold and jade hairpins, saying that Wu Zhaoyi also heard about the day of Liuli's wedding and asked the old lady to bring them as a reward to her. Liuli hurriedly accepted it with a grateful face, and asked that Zhaoyi was fine, but that she was in poor spirits, and sighed for a long time.

In a blink of an eye, it was the afternoon of the 25th, and sure enough, a shopkeeper from Xishi Jiankou Branch showed up with number 80 or 90 people. Mrs. Yu asked the slaves to come in in groups of three or five. They all stood up to salute and said hello, then walked a few steps and reported their age, place of origin, and expertise... Liuli met the looks of those who were either flattering, appraising, or blank, Mrs. Yu and Luo Shi couldn't help but feel a little strange in their hearts, but they looked sharply at these servants up and down, occasionally asked a few questions, waited aside for those they liked, and sent away those they didn't.

It took more than an hour to select more than 40 people. When a servant reported that Pei Ming's house had arrived, Mrs. Yu immediately breathed a sigh of relief and asked the shopkeeper to take the people outside for Pei Xingjian to take another look. She turned around and smiled at Liuli. He said, "Keeping an appointment is the most accurate way of looking at people, so we don't have to waste any more effort."

As expected, less than three-quarters of an hour later, the shopkeeper came back dejectedly, followed by only about twenty people. Mrs. Yu and Luo Shi both laughed. After asking these people about their net worth and names, they went through the original list, but there were still a few people missing for tea in the outer courtyard and needlework in the inner courtyard, and there were still two missing maids to serve in the upper room. Mrs. Yu sighed, "The people who serve in the upper chamber are the most important. Why don't you decide which of these maids you like, and I will give them to you."

Liuli smiled hurriedly and said, "My mother has given my daughter two cooks and four servants, but they have been a big help. I will slowly pick the maids for the house tomorrow. If there is really no suitable one, Liuli will not hesitate to ask for two." Not too late." He made up his mind to find someone tomorrow no matter what. Now that Su Dingfang has left, he has also taken many healthy servants with him. There are indeed too many people in the kitchen in the inner courtyard of the Su family, but the manpower elsewhere is just enough. How can she cause Mrs. Yu and the others any more trouble?

The shopkeeper also smiled and said, "Madam, don't worry, I will definitely bring more people over tomorrow, and I must satisfy madam." After speaking, he paused for a moment, but couldn't help but said, "Your husband is so powerful, I will have him come tomorrow." Pick it again?”

Mrs. Yu and Luo Shi said in unison, "Of course!"

The shopkeeper immediately grimaced - the gentleman was smiling at him, how could he pick out the most useful ones among these people in just a few clicks? Even if he did it himself, he might not be able to choose better. However, this business was originally ordered by the owner to be handled well, so he had no place to complain no matter how picky the buyer was. Thinking of this, I had no choice but to bow and retreat with a group of people.

Seeing the shopkeeper and all the people leaving in a blink of an eye, Liuli couldn't help but wonder, and couldn't help asking Mrs. Yu, "Mom, since the price has been agreed upon, why did the shopkeeper bring everyone back again?"

Mrs. Yu was startled before she laughed, "This slave trade is no different from others, and we must not buy or sell privately. The shopkeeper will find five guarantors first when he goes back today. After the market opens tomorrow, he will work with the guarantors to find the person we like. We all brought them to the city magistrate, handed over the private deeds, and waited for the officials to verify their identities and set up market tickets before they came to deliver the goods to us. If the slaves were bought and sold without the market tickets, both of us would be punished by the officials. "With the market coupons, if we find that these slaves are not good within three days, we can still withdraw them; if there is any case of forcing a good person to become a lowly person, we can even file a lawsuit with the government and have them and the guarantor convicted."

Liuli couldn't help but sigh in her heart, and nodded quickly to write it down. On the afternoon of the second day, the shopkeeper brought the slaves, market tickets and about thirty other slaves, and at least eight or nine more were selected. Boxes of silk and silk were also loaded onto the carriage. At this time, the worth of an ordinary slave ranged from a few dozen to a hundred pieces of silk. Thirty slaves were worth more than a thousand pieces of silk, which was estimated to be enough to pull several carts. Liuli was glad that Pei Xingjian had saved some money. , and couldn't help but wonder, if her uncles and cousins ​​were doing long-distance business on the Silk Road, would they have to prepare more than a dozen carriages to haul money and silk?

The purchase of these more than 30 slaves was considered to be the biggest purchase before marriage. In April, Pei Xingjian officially moved into his new home, and Liuli's wedding clothes and dowry were gradually prepared. On April 10 On the morning of the 6th, the morning drums on Tianmen Street had just sounded, and a carriage came out of the gate of Su Mansion and went straight to Kudi's house in Chonghuafang.

Many thanks to my dear classmates Le Youyang and verycooldog. hey-hey. It's really unlucky to be favored by Tang Monk. There are arguments in the front and spying in the back...

 (End of this chapter)

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