The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 171 A Massive Amount of Incense Money

The monk and the Taoist priest exchanged a glance and said with a smile.

"We heard that Her Majesty the Empress is unwell, so we have come here to pray for her well-being!"

"Her Majesty the Empress is very kind and has accumulated immeasurable merit. After a hundred years, she will surely ascend to the Heavenly Realm and be ranked among the immortals. However, she may experience some hardships in the mortal world!"

"Therefore, I have come specifically to help Her Majesty the Empress resolve her troubles!"

Zhang the Taoist priest said with a smile.

"We have an ancient formula called the True Essence Pill, which has the effect of strengthening the body's foundation, nourishing vital energy, and warding off disasters and difficulties. Today, we have come to present it to Your Highness to pray for the Empress's well-being!"

The court officials were overjoyed to hear these words. The Empress held an extremely important position in their hearts, and they could not afford to let anything happen to her.

If this monk and the Taoist priest possessed this ability, it would truly be a blessing for the Ming Dynasty.

Soon, the two men were holding a booklet, which was presented to Zhu Xiong Ying by a eunuch standing nearby.

Zhu Xiong Ying gasped upon seeing the contents, staring at the monk and the Taoist priest as if they were idiots.

It seems I underestimated the greed of these monks and Taoists; they actually dared to think that way.

In addition to creating a golden statue of Buddha in the name of Empress Ma, the Buddhist community also had to send eminent monks to copy 999 volumes of scriptures, and convene Buddhists from all over the world to hold a Water and Land Dharma Assembly in Yingtian Prefecture.

The money spent here was like flowing water.

The elixir recipes that Zhang Daoshi saw required a large number of rare medicinal herbs, many of which were extremely rare and hard to come by.

If we could really gather all these medicinal herbs, it would require a lot of money.

If these two things can really be accomplished, the national treasury will likely be drained by a considerable amount.

The court officials fell silent upon hearing these words.

Such a price is indeed considerable, but it's not unworthy if it's for Empress Ma, since they don't have to pay for it themselves.

Yang Siyi was immediately unhappy when he heard that it would cost so much money.

Their Ministry of Revenue's financial situation has only just begun to improve.

If I really have to spend that much money, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty's finances will be strained again.

"Your Highness, the Ministry of Revenue is facing a tight budget and it is truly difficult to come up with so much money. If so much money is spent, it may affect next year's disaster relief efforts, and one portion of the money is even for the rations and pay of the soldiers in the north!"

Monk Faming sighed.

“Worshiping Buddha requires sincerity. Buddha would not care about such worldly things. He only wants to see Your Highness’s intentions. Although my Faming Temple does not have much money, we can raise funds from the people of Yingtian. With the Empress’s benevolence, I believe the people of Yingtian will be generous in their donations!”

The officials in the court were immediately intrigued by these words.

That's a good idea, since they don't have to spend any money and can even profit from it.

"Your Highness, this is excellent. Her Majesty the Empress loves the people like her own children and trusts the people of the world. They actually hope that Her Majesty the Empress is in good health. It's just a small donation of silver, and I believe the people of Yingtian will be happy to do it!"

Zhu Xiong Ying sneered, thinking that both Buddhism and Taoism were making money off him.

Using the guise of praying for the Empress's blessings to solicit donations from the people, who ultimately receives this money? It's obvious. These people are really clever to use the Empress's name to make money.

"Does that mean, according to the two masters, if I were the Empress, and Your Majesty held this ceremony and refined this elixir, Your Majesty would surely be free from illness and disaster and live to be a hundred years old?"

Upon hearing this, both Taoist Zhang and Monk Faming felt somewhat embarrassed. They exchanged a glance and then spoke.

"What we did was merely to help Her Majesty the Empress overcome her current calamity; it has no bearing on future events. But considering the myriad gods and Buddhas in the heavens, Your Highness's filial piety has led you to protect Her Majesty the Empress!"

The two did not speak too definitively, leaving room for maneuver, but they elevated Zhu Xiong Ying to an extremely high position.

If Zhu Xiong Ying did not issue this order, he would be unfilial.

Zhu Xiong Ying's face was icy cold as she suddenly spoke.

"I've heard that the wealthiest families in the world are not the aristocratic clans, but rather the Buddhist and Taoist lineages!"

"I've heard that Buddhist and Taoist families own hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land, millions of taels of gold and silver, and even a considerable number of tenant farmers. In the vicinity of Yingtian alone, there are tens of thousands of disciples of both Buddhism and Taoism. I wonder if what I've said is true?"

Zhang the Taoist priest and the monk Faming were taken aback by these words.

The two men had no idea why Zhu Xiong Ying was asking these questions. These were their most closely guarded secrets; how could they possibly tell anyone else? They felt a growing sense of unease.

The officials in the imperial court began to look at the monk and the Taoist priest with a strange expression.

I never imagined that these monks and Taoist priests were so rich.

I only knew they had a lot of money before, but I never imagined it was this much.

Fu Youde cried out in surprise.

"No way, these monks and Taoists are actually this rich? Back when we were fighting the Yuan people, even the Northern Yuan Prince's mansion didn't have this much wealth, did it?"

Minister of Revenue Yang Siyi stared intently at the monk and the Taoist priest, his eyes gleaming with admiration.

The two of them suddenly sensed something was wrong.

"The monk Faming lowered his head and said in a low voice."

"Your Highness is wronging us. Although our temple has been passed down for thousands of years and does have some wealth, it is definitely not this much. Most of it was offered to Buddha by noble people. We are only accepting it temporarily and will offer it to Buddha in the future!"

Zhu Xiong Ying sneered upon hearing this.

"So it was originally offered to Buddha. I just don't know how Buddha will accept this sum of money, or is it meant for your use?" These words were truly akin to killing someone's spirit.

How could Buddha possibly use this sum of money? Nor have I ever heard of anyone taking such wealth with them after death.

So in the end, this sum of money still ended up in the hands of these monks and Taoists.

In Yingtian Prefecture, there were many ladies from wealthy families who would spend lavishly on incense and prayers to Buddha, throwing away thousands or even hundreds of taels of silver for incense and oil. All of this money ultimately ended up in the temples.

Thinking of this, the ministers in the court were all somewhat uneasy.

Zhang Daoshi and Fa Minghe looked rather grim; they were starting to regret coming here.

I don't know how Zhu Xiong Ying found out about their background.

Who knew this matter would involve so much?

"Your Highness, we should be considering praying for the Empress's well-being, not these trivial matters. If Your Highness is interested in these things, how about we discuss them later?"

Zhu Xiong Ying ignored the two men and continued speaking.

"I've heard before that if you lay down your butcher's knife, you can become a Buddha on the spot. Does that mean that if all evil people are converted to Buddhism or Taoism and become laymen, then they are no longer considered evil, and their past deeds are wiped clean?"

"These evildoers can still become respected high monks and sages!"

(End of this chapter)