"There is no sign of self, no sign of no one, no sign of living beings, no sign of life-span..."

The candles in the Chen Family Buddhist Hall were brightly lit, and the smoke from the candles was lingering in the beams.

In the Buddhist hall, the gilded Sakyamuni is in the prayer mudra with his left hand and the wish mudra with his right hand. His eyebrows are compassionate and his appearance is solemn. Chen Ji and Mr. Liang are sitting cross-legged and whispering. Their mouths are dry, their bodies and minds are exhausted, and their faces are ferocious.

Outside the Buddhist hall, a bunch of servants, maids, and grandmothers gathered together, almost falling asleep standing up. Xiaoman saw that Chen Ji had gone out to say hello but had not returned, so he also waited outside the door, leaning against the wall with his head a little.

A little nap.

Outside the Chen Mansion, a watchman passed by beating a gong and said in a high-pitched voice: "The sky is dry and things are dry, be careful of the candles!"

Zi Shi.

Liang's first-class maid, Winter Solstice, heard the sound of the clock, and her mouth twitched slightly. This greeting started at 9:00 in the morning before dawn, and lasted for ten hours until midnight.

A day only lasts for twelve hours. Who is a good person who would like to ask me to stay for a whole day? With such sincerity, even the Buddha should be invited.

In the Buddhist hall, Ms. Liang quietly glanced at the two people beside her with her peripheral vision. She knew in her heart that these two people were young and strong, and she would definitely not be able to survive it. If Chen Ji was tortured to death here today, she would probably make a big fuss.

joke.

But it happened that she was the one who started this matter. After reciting one volume of Buddhist scriptures, it was not enough, and she insisted on letting Chen Ji recite another volume. In the end, he shot himself in the foot.

Mrs. Liang thought for a moment, then slowly put down the Buddhist sutra and said in a hoarse voice: "You two recite it first. I suddenly want to read the Vajra Prajna Sutra. It is not available here. I will look for it elsewhere."

Chen Wenzong nodded slightly: "Mom, please go."

Mrs. Liang stood up and winked at Dongzhi outside the door: "Dongzhi, come over and help me look for it."

Dongzhi sighed and went with Mr. Liang to the side room, the room where Buddhist books were kept.

As soon as she entered the house, Dong Zhi turned around and closed the door. Mrs. Liang suddenly let out a sigh of relief and almost fell down on her chair.

Dongzhi knelt beside her, pinched her legs, and whispered: "Madam, how did this old trace change its temper? When I came back last year, I was still obedient to your words, but now I am so cruel."

Mrs. Liang frowned: "You can tell? I also feel that something is wrong with him, as if he is a different person."

Dongzhi comforted him: "Madam, just rest here. When they came, they said they hadn't found the book yet. Can this old trace survive until dawn?"

Ms. Liang didn't have the energy to say anything more. She slowly closed her eyes and said, "I'll take a nap for a while. You can help me keep an eye on it."

In the Buddhist hall, Chen Ji glanced at the empty futon aside and suddenly asked: "Brother, I suddenly have a few questions after reading this, but I can't find the answer in the Buddhist scriptures. Can you please help me answer them?"

Chen Wenzong put down the scripture in his hand and said gently: "Tell me and listen."

Chen Ji asked: "Is this world eternal?"

Chen Wenzong was startled.

Chen Ji asked again: "Does this world have limits?"

Chen Wenzong frowned and remained silent. Even though he had read all the Buddhist scriptures when he was young, he had never seen the Buddha answer these two questions.

However, Chen Ji knew from the beginning that Chen Wenzong would definitely not be able to answer it, because these were two of the "Fourteen Unrecorded Questions" in Buddhism.

The so-called "Fourteen Unremembered" refers to the fourteen questions that later generations often say the Buddha did not want to answer. The word "Unremembered" is literally translated from Sanskrit, which originally means "unable to explain clearly or describe".

meaning.

Chen Ji asked curiously: "Brother, don't you know the answers to these two questions?"

Chen Wenzong said calmly: "My brother has little talent and little knowledge. If I think about it carefully, it seems that the Buddha has never answered these two questions. I will look through the Buddhist scriptures again in these days to see if there is an answer in the Buddhist scriptures."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Brother, there's no need to go to such trouble."

Chen Wenzong was puzzled: "Third brother, do you have a way to solve the problem?"

Chen Ji said: "Why don't we ask Madam?"

Chen Wenzong was startled.

Chen Ji stood up: "Madam, if you study Buddhism, you will be able to answer these two questions."

After saying that, he walked to the side room and knocked on the door: "Madam, if I have any questions, please answer them for me."

In the side room, Mrs. Liang suddenly opened her eyes, and felt that Chen Ji's voice at this time was like an evil ghost in the evil world, lingering. She had obviously hid here, but the other party could still find a reason to chase her.

She looked a little dazed, as if she couldn't stand it any longer.

Dongzhi looked at her worriedly: "Madam, should I send him away?"

Mr. Liang shook his head: "No need."

After that, she adjusted her makeup, smoothed the wrinkles on her body, walked out of the door with a Vajra Prajna Sutra, and said with a warm smile: "What's the problem?"

…

…

Outside the Buddhist hall, footsteps could be heard.

Chen Liqin frowned and looked at the servants and maids outside the temple: "What are you doing here?"

At the winter solstice, I performed the Wanfu ceremony and immediately complained: "Reply to the master, the third young master is too disrespectful..."

Xiao Man, who was dozing next to him, suddenly woke up and started talking: "Sir, the eldest son and the third son are reciting Buddhist scriptures with his wife."

Dongzhi turned around and glared at her cryptically, and Xiaoman stared back not to be outdone.

Chen Liqin didn't notice this. He looked at the three back figures under the lights of the Buddhist hall and listened to the whispers in the Buddhist hall. He felt that this was the warmth that he had not seen in the house for a long time.

When Mrs. Liang heard Chen Liqin's voice, she breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to greet him: "The master is back."

Chen Liqin stepped into the Buddhist hall and said with a smile: "I'm going to inspect the river embankment today, and you guys are very happy."

Mrs. Liang was silent for a moment and said hoarsely: "It's not that elegant..."

Chen Wenzong explained: "Father, today I came with my third brother to say hello, and then we recited the Buddha's name with my mother. The third brother seemed to be enlightened and became interested in the meaning of the scriptures, so we stayed with him and answered his questions.

.The third brother is so smart that even my mother and I can’t answer the questions he raises.”

"Oh?" Chen Liqin didn't ask what the question was, because he knew in his heart that if he could stump Chen Wenzong, he might be able to stump him too.

He smiled and said: "Chen Ji, it's rare that you are interested in the meaning of the classics, but you need to read more about the meaning of the Confucian classics. Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are interlinked, and I, a Confucian scholar, also have a lot of knowledge. By the way, you will start spring next year.

Let’s go to Donglin Academy.”

Chen Ji bowed his hands and said, "Mr. Chen, I don't want to be away from home for so long or so far."

Chen Liqin thought for a moment: "Then go to the Imperial College. I am familiar with the Jijiu Yangzhan. It is not difficult to ask him to arrange a supervisory status for you. It's just that there are only about fifty Imperial Doctors in the Imperial College, but you have to provide nine

More than a thousand supervisors answer questions and answer questions, but after all, it is not as good as Donglin Academy..."

Chen Ji understood that the Imperial Academy in Beijing was the big pot, while Donglin Academy in Luzhou was the small stove. It was clear which one was better and which one was worse.

However, he was already the Chief of Ceremonies, Hai Dongqing, and a personal guard of the inner court who came directly from the fifth rank of the imperial court. Even ordinary county magistrates had to salute when they saw him, so there was really no need to take part in the imperial examination.

At this time, Mrs. Liang said hoarsely: "I am about to leave my post and go to inspect the river embankment. I must be tired. I will arrange for my servants to boil water for you and make a bowl of Tremella and lotus seed soup. Chen Ji, Wen Zong

, you two should go back first."

Chen Ji saluted: "Yes."

When he was about to leave, Mrs. Liang suddenly called him: "Chen Ji."

Chen Ji turned around and said, "Do you have any other advice, madam?"

Liang sent Dong Zhi to get three volumes of the Prajna Sutra and handed them to him: "I know you want to strike while the iron is hot, so take these three volumes back and read them. Now that you are working hard, you must not relax. I will test you tomorrow."

knowledge."

Chen Ji said calmly: "Thank you, madam."

"Go back and rest."

…

…

On the bluestone road, the moonlight spread all over the ground. As the branches swayed, the black shadows were like waves beating against the blue bricks.

Chen Ji walked in front, Xiao Man followed behind, yawning and holding three volumes of books.

After returning to Mingquan Garden, Xiaoman asked curiously: "Sir, where are these three volumes of books?"

Chen Ji was exhausted physically and mentally and said: "Throw away the first volume and the second volume."

The latest chapter of this novel is first released, please go and read it!

"Ah?" Xiao Man was surprised: "Where is the third volume?"

Chen Ji lay on his back on the bed with a bang: "Throw the third volume away from you."

Xiaoman: "..."

She came closer and tried to help Chen Ji take off his soap boots.

Chen Ji was so shocked by her actions that he sat up again: "What are you doing?"

Xiaoman said matter-of-factly: "Take off your boots for the young master. I will heat up hot water for the young master and wash his feet later. It will warm him up so that he can sleep."

Chen Ji retracted his legs and said seriously: "I told you that you don't need to serve me when you are by my side. You only need to take care of yourself."

Xiaoman's eyes widened: "Young master, you dislike me? Haven't I always done this before?"
To be continued...