Chapter 44 Chapter 3 Jiashan Temple Repeated Questions

After trekking all the way, I finally came to Jiashan Temple. Jiashan Temple is hidden in the emerald green mountains. This is the birthplace of Biyan Zen. This thousand-year-old temple was built in the Xiantong period of Emperor Yizong of Tang Dynasty. The building complex, the reddish-brown exterior walls contrast with the surrounding greenery. When we entered the temple, Monk Liaokong arranged for us to take a nap, and went straight in to report. "Xiucai, this eunuch is quite suitable to be a monk. The eunuch has no lifeblood, so he is naturally pure-hearted and ascetic. This coincides with the abstinence advocated by Buddhism. I think it's better for the court to issue a proclamation that all monks also Castrated, so that you can practice more wholeheartedly." Tian Gudao always has a lot of weird thoughts.

I immediately reprimanded him softly, blaming him for making a fuss in the Buddhist Pure Land. At this moment, monk Liaokong came out accompanied by a kind-faced old monk. Monk Liaokong introduced that this was Master Hongzheng, the abbot of the temple.After greeting each other a few times, Master Hongzheng welcomed us into the abbot's room. Master Hongzheng gave us a brief introduction to the situation of the deceased. The dead body we are going to chase this time is a monk who has just passed away in Jiashan Temple, Laifengren from Hubei, whose real name is Qiusha, and his dharma name has not been changed. He died at the age of seventy-one.During his lifetime, he was the incense lamp in the temple, dedicated to refueling and turning on the Buddhist lamps in the temple.

The deceased had no more monks. He entered the palace at the age of ten. He started as a eunuch when he was a child.Since then, he has been a monk in the vicinity of Xishan in Shuntian Prefecture, and has practiced in Jiashan Temple ten years ago. We asked further why Monk Wugeng was expelled from the palace, but Master Hongzheng remained silent and did not intend to answer.It was not easy for us to ask further questions, so we left the abbot's room.Monk Liaokong placed us in a guest room in the temple.We asked Monk Kong what kind of precepts Monk Wugeng had violated in the palace, but Monk Kong did not answer.We are very puzzled.

According to the rules of exorcising corpses, the dead family should truthfully inform the exorcist about the situation of the deceased, so that it will be easier for the exorcist to cast spells.The more information about the deceased, the smoother the process of exorcising the corpse, because the exorcist can prepare for certain situations that may occur in the corpse in advance. Seeing that they are so shy about talking about the reason why Monk Wu Geng left the palace, we can't get to the bottom of it, so we have to take it one step at a time. The body of Monk Wu Geng was parked in a side room in the side hall of the temple, already in the coffin, and several monks meditated and chanted beside him.The coffin was not new, but an old color.I was very puzzled at the moment. Monk Liao Kong seemed to know what I was thinking, and explained that monks passed away from time to time in the temple. Alright coffin.Therefore, this coffin is only a temporary place for the deceased. It is said that this old coffin has been around for a long time, and nearly a hundred monks have been lying in it.

Tian Gudao and I were dumbfounded.Tian Gudao whispered in my ear: "Brother, this coffin won't cause any trouble." I said probably not, this is the place of Dharma Gate Buddha, so there shouldn't be any serious problems. The corpse of Monk Wu Geng was neatly tidied up. It had been several days since he passed away, but his face was still as fresh as life. At first glance, he seemed to be in a deep sleep.Most of the monks in the temple know some alchemy. It should be that the monks in the temple have already recited the Snow Mountain Mantra, sealed the corpse, and done a dojo.Coupled with the shrouding of the Buddha's light in the temple and the agility of the earth, the corpse is lifelike.

After the observation, Tian Gudao and I started to pack up while chatting with the monk who was guarding the spirit in the house. Most of those monks were old and had mixed accents, some from Lizhou, some from Chenzhou and Yuanzhou, some with northern accents, and some with mixed southern accents and northern accents that were difficult to identify.At first, a few monks kept a little wary of us. After chatting for a long time, we became acquainted, and the chatterbox gradually opened up. Intentionally or unintentionally, I brought up the topic of why the deceased monk Wugeng was expelled from the court. Several monks seemed to be more sensitive to this and avoided it intentionally.One of the older monks poked his head out of the door, then retracted, sighed softly, and began to tell us.

The eunuch Qiu Sha, that is, the deceased monk Wu Geng, was expelled from the palace because he was caught having a meal with a court lady. What is food pairing?Eunuchs have no wives, and court ladies have no husbands, so the two form temporary companions to comfort the loneliness in the palace. The eunuch Qiu Sha, that is, the deceased monk Wu Geng, had an affair with the court lady, which was naturally a big mistake, and should be punished according to the court law.Qiu Sha spent all his life savings, managing the case manager, chief eunuch, deputy manager, and manager of the respect room layer by layer. Finally, a few days before the execution, he pretended to be infected with the plague and died of a sudden illness. The deacon eunuch dragged his body out of the palace and buried it. , is considered to have picked up a life.

The old monk said that the eunuchs are very strictly controlled in the palace, and eunuchs are often beaten in the Forbidden City. As long as the eunuchs make a slight irregularity or occasionally make mistakes, they will be beaten and punished frequently in the respect room. The punishment is cruel. Terrifying.Some even implicate others, and sometimes eunuchs become victims of inner palace struggles.Thirty or so eunuchs in Zhenji Palace were sentenced to death by "qi death". The so-called "qi death" means that the victim's mouth, nose and ears are sealed with seven layers of white cotton paper, and then He was beaten to death with a stick.

There are many servants who were wronged to death in the palace, and the palace courtyard is deep and dark, so the palace is often haunted by ghosts. In the harem, there is a side room that is sealed off. Every midnight, there are often strange screams. The sound is like a human roar, a wolf howl, a moan, or a lament.Familiar eunuchs and palace maids always go here together, afraid of being haunted by ghosts.Later, a new eunuch, bragging about his courage, made a bet with other eunuchs, broke in one night, and ran away screaming in a short time.After escaping, he couldn't speak, strangled his own neck, and died that night.Since then, no one dared to patronize that place again, and weeds were overgrown.

What's even more frightening is that there is a deserted well in the harem. When you look down during the day, there are some stones, weeds and other things at the bottom of the well, but when you look down at night, as long as there is a moon in the sky, at this time What you see at the bottom of the well is not stones and weeds, but water, and what is reflected on the water is not your face, but the pale face of a woman with disheveled hair.It is said that this woman was a concubine of the former dynasty. Because she fell out of favor with the emperor for a long time, she finally fell in love with a court lady next to her. She asked the court lady to wear a man's clothes and belts, and she lived with her in the bedroom. They fell in love with each other like a couple. Afterwards, this matter spread to the emperor's ears. Then he beheaded the court lady and pushed the concubine into the well to die...

Tian Gudao and I heard what happened in the palace for the first time, and it was very fresh, while the other monks looked flat and turned a deaf ear. "If the eunuch and court lady can't hold back her fart and startled the holy car, will she also be accused?" Tian Gudao's questions were always weird and unprepared. "That depends on whether the emperor is in a good mood. If he is in a good mood, it doesn't matter. If he is not in a good mood, he will have to spend a few minutes on his back, and if he is in a bad mood, he will be beaten with a cane on his butt. Because of this, the maid's diet is very particular. It should be said that they still eat very well. There are all kinds of porridge, snacks, and vegetarian dishes for breakfast, eight dishes for lunch, and a casserole; dinner is a variety of pasta, snacks, and an extra meal at night. But the ladies never dare to eat enough , because if you hiccup in front of the emperor, you may be killed, and the maids dare not eat fish, shrimp, garlic, and leeks, for fear of sticking to the smell. They dare not eat sweet potatoes and other flatulence foods, because they will burp if they eat too much Fart." The old monk replied indifferently. "Qiu Sha's life is saved, so what will happen to the court lady who is the opposite?" I couldn't help but interjected. "That woman's life is really miserable! Her name is Fang Xiaoyou. She entered the palace not long ago, and she didn't have any savings to bribe the executioner. First, she was tortured to death with a heavy rod, and then tortured to death by the executioner. Sin!" "The death of Qiu Sha and Fang Xiaoyou is related to Concubine Shu. The imperial palace has a strict hierarchy, the highest is of course the empress, followed by imperial concubine, noble concubine, concubine, concubine, nobleman, constant presence, promise, and finally the one who serves people. Palace ladies. Everyone wants to be favored by the emperor, and try to find ways to constantly change their status. Only in this way can they get better treatment and status in the harem. For example, the distribution of palace ladies is very different. Queens can be divided into ten People, the imperial concubine and the noble concubine can be divided into eight court ladies, concubines can be divided into six court ladies, nobles can be divided into four court ladies, often are divided into three court ladies, and promised to be assigned to two court ladies. In terms of residence, concubines and above are separated from east to west. Each of the twelfth palaces has its own special room, and nobles and below live in one." "In order to gain a higher position and status, concubine Shu needs to constantly be favored by the emperor. For this reason, she began to curry favor with the deacon eunuch Qiu Sha. Why should a concubine curry favor with the eunuch? Because whether the empress concubine can be favored by the emperor is very important. To a large extent, it depends on the eunuch in charge, because where the emperor stays overnight, the eunuch in the respect room is usually in charge. Whenever the emperor finishes dinner, the eunuch in charge will present a silver plate to the emperor with concubines on it. The number plate is for the emperor to choose the concubine who will sleep that night. Qiu Sha has been in charge of this matter. Giving money, if I give more money myself, I'm afraid it won't be of much use. So I introduced Fang Xiaoyou, the maid by my side, to Qiu Sha." "Why did Concubine Shu introduce Fang Xiaoyou, her maidservant, to eunuch Qiu Sha? Of course, it was to meet the eunuch. There are several reasons why the palace maids are happy to have dinner with the eunuch. One reason is that the palace maids are actually potential concubines. Once you are favored by the emperor, you may be promoted, so let the maids and eunuchs have close contacts, which reduces your own threat accordingly; even if you are favored by the emperor, but you do not get a promotion title, it is also beneficial. If the age is up At the age of twenty-five, you can return to your own family and get married separately. This is of course much better than dying in the palace all your life. Another reason is that there are thousands of palace ladies in the harem, but there are very few who can be favored by the emperor. , all have lust for sex, especially the young court ladies, so they seek comfort from the eunuchs around them to quench their thirst." "Concubine Shu chose Fang Xiaoyou because she liked the friendship between Fang Xiaoyou and Qiu Sha. Fang Xiaoyou is from Yongshun Prefecture, Hunan Province. He is a bannerman and belongs to Xianghuang Banner. His father lives in Longshan County, Yongshun Prefecture As a military officer. Qiu Sha’s home is in Laifeng, but it used to be under the jurisdiction of Hunan Province, and later it was included in the territory of Laifeng, Hubei Province due to the need for jurisdiction. It is only a few miles away from Fang Xiaoyou’s home. Sha often regarded himself as a native of Hunan. Let’s talk about Fang Xiaoyou. According to court regulations, all girls aged 14 to 16 in the families of Eight Banners officials must participate in the selection of beautiful girls held every three years by the Ministry of Household Affairs. If these beautiful women are lucky, they can become queens, imperial concubines, noble concubines, etc., but most of them become maids of concubines in the harem. Fang Xiaoyou was selected into the palace when she was fifteen years old, but her luck was not good, and she has been serving as her servant Maid, she was a virgin until she had a private meeting with Qiu Sha." "Are there a lot of eunuchs and palace maids in this court?" Tian Gudao asked shamelessly. "There are many, especially in the former dynasty, eunuchs were relatively free and could marry wives, but in the Qing Dynasty, it didn't take long before they were not allowed to have sex. At this time, eunuchs and court ladies can only secretly date, comfort each other and quench their thirst. .Once found out, they will be severely punished and even lose their lives.” "Did that harmful concubine Shu become the imperial concubine later?" Tian Gudao stepped forward. "Concubine Shu didn't end well either. After the affair between Qiu Sha and Fang Xiaoyou was exposed, she couldn't escape the responsibility of discipline. After that, the emperor seldom favored her. But Concubine Shu is young and beautiful. Widely open, maybe the interest in intercourse is getting stronger, like storing flood water, not letting out the unhappiness. Later, because of the decline of favor and strong desire, he hooked up with a young eunuch desperately, and asked the young eunuch to quench her thirst. Later, she was offended Several concubines from the past found out and reported it to the queen. The queen didn’t like her meddling, so she immediately ordered a search of her bedroom, and sure enough, she found a variety of sex tools used in intercourse, so she was given to death by drinking poisoned wine.” "Sins start from the heart and repent with the heart. If the heart dies, the sin will also die. If the heart dies and the sins are both emptied, then it is called true repentance. Amitabha!" After the narration, the old monk recited a Buddhist saying. "Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form. Amitabha!" Tian Gudao, who was half a bucket of water, followed suit, looking very funny. "All things are impermanent, and those who live must have an end; if there is no life, there will be no death, and this cessation is the most joyful." I also said, the old monk looked at me, as if he saw that I had a connection with Buddha, and I quickly avoided his eyes. We were very surprised, why the old monk in front of us knew everything about the palace, and the old monk didn't hide it, and told the whole story.It turned out that he was also an eunuch in the palace before, entered the palace two years earlier than Qiu Sha, and was also from Yuanzhou, Hunan.Because of the neighboring province with Qiu Sha, in the court, he and Qiu Sha got very close and had a very good relationship, and they were regarded as siblings. Tian Gudao said again and again: "No wonder, no wonder," and then asked the old monk like a cannonball, unwilling to let go of this opportunity to inquire about the secret history of the harem.All he asked was "Does the emperor do that every night?" "Has the Lord Long Live ever gone out to visit the kilns?" The old monk ignored them. I originally wanted to inquire about the situation of the imperial examination and palace examination, but when I saw this situation, I stopped, so as not to make trouble for myself.However, I remembered this old monk in my heart, and thought that if I had the opportunity in the future, I would definitely ask him about the imperial examination and officialdom, and it might be of great help to my imperial examination and future official career.