Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 290 What do you want?
It just so happened that Li Zisheng came to the Qianqing Palace today to deliver a play script to Zhu Jianshen.

Tomorrow's celebrations are dispensable to him. After all, pleasing the Queen Mother Zhou is just a face-saving project to satisfy the emperor and show his filial piety. The Queen Mother Zhou cannot bring him any substantial benefits. He is the kind of person who won't give up until he sees the rabbit. Why should he take the initiative to flatter her?
But when Li Zisheng came out of the Qianqing Palace and just walked to the Fengtian Gate, he saw Chen Gui waiting in front of the palace gate.

Chen Gui's eyes were red and he looked a little depressed.

"Master Li Xian."

When Chen Gui saw him, he took the initiative to greet him.

Li Zisheng looked around and asked curiously, "Eunuch Chen, why are you here? Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"It's the Queen Mother, the old ancestor. I want you to come over and talk to me. I want to discuss something about tomorrow's celebration with you."

Chen Gui made the invitation truthfully.

Li Zisheng frowned slightly when he heard this.

He didn't want to meet Queen Mother Zhou.

Because from his experience in dealing with people, he knew that the old lady was a tough character. Normally, the old lady didn't like to get involved in state affairs when she was worshipping Buddha, but if the old lady wanted to take charge, it would be easy for her to make a big mess.

"I'm quite busy here..."

Li Zisheng tried to refuse.

Chen Gui said earnestly: "Master Li, you have to go today. The ancestor is in a very unhappy mood because of something. Perhaps only you can help to relieve him. If you don't go and affect tomorrow's celebration, wouldn't it be..."

At this time, Chen Gui also knew that if Li Zisheng insisted on leaving, he would not be able to stop him.

So he could only exaggerate a little to make Li Zisheng feel that it was irrational to offend the Empress Dowager.

"it is good."

Li Zisheng said helplessly, "Then I will go see the Queen Mother right away... But Eunuch Chen, may I ask what the matter is? This will allow me to be mentally prepared."

"It's hard to say, it's hard to say... The Queen Mother didn't tell me either, you will know when you go there. With your ability, it won't be easy to enlighten the old ancestor. Please."

……

……

Li Zisheng arrived at Qingning Palace in a bad mood. Before the eunuch in front of the palace gate could go in to pass the message, someone came out and invited Li Zisheng and Chen Gui inside.

"Zi Sheng is here? Come here and sit down."

The voice of Empress Dowager Zhou came from behind the screen in the outer hall.

Li Zisheng said anxiously, what the hell are you calling me for?
Even the emperor has never called me like that. This old lady is so arrogant.

"Master Li, please take a seat."

Chen Gui helped move the chair back to make it easier for Li Zisheng to sit down.

Li Zisheng was not polite. After bowing and briefly greeting each other, he sat down leisurely.

He didn't know what Queen Mother Zhou was up to.

Then Queen Mother Zhou walked out from behind the screen. When Li Zisheng saw what she was wearing, he was shocked... It was a monk's robe, the kind of female monk's robe, commonly known as nun's clothes, with a hat on her head, Buddhist beads hanging around her neck, and in her hands.

This look...

It was so bizarre that even Chen Gui who was standing next to him was shocked.

I just went out for a short while, how come the ancestors are dressed up?
"Grandma Empress, what are you doing..."

Li Zisheng quickly stood up and prepared to go forward to support Empress Dowager Zhou, unable to conceal the surprise on his face.

What was happening before my eyes was indeed too unbelievable.

Queen Mother Zhou waved her hands quickly: "Zisheng, you are a Taoist, you don't need to come over to help me... I practice Buddhism, Buddhism and Taoism are incompatible, we should avoid contact..."

Li Zisheng stopped and said with a smile: "Not necessarily. In my opinion, Buddhism and Taoism are different paths leading to the same destination, so there is no need to follow too many rules."

"Well, in terms of guiding people to be good, Buddhism and Taoism are similar. I admire Buddhism, while my son respects Taoism more. He and I don't interfere with each other, which is good. I am indeed obsessed with appearances. Buddhism and Taoism are two different things. Why do we have to distinguish them so clearly?"

As Empress Dowager Zhou spoke, she was supported by Chen Gui who came quickly towards her and slowly sat down on the phoenix chair.

Li Zisheng smiled and complimented: "The ancestors are really open-minded. Ordinary people can't say this... Only someone with your broad vision can say such thought-provoking words. I admire you!"

"Ugh!"

Queen Mother Zhou suddenly sighed and looked worried.

Li Zisheng immediately thought of what Chen Gui had said before, saying that the empress dowager was in a bad mood and might affect the ceremony of conferring the title to be held the next day.

After all, the whole country was paying attention to the event that day, and all the civil and military officials stranded in the capital had to participate in the celebration. If the parties involved caused trouble, would he, as the host, still be able to keep his title as the Minister of Rites?
"Ancestor, what are you..."

Li Zisheng asked with concern, "What is troubling you? If I can help you, just tell me."

Queen Mother Zhou said, "Zisheng, I want to ask you, can you interpret dreams?"

What! ?

Li Zisheng was bewildered.

I thought, could it be that the old lady had a nightmare that troubled her so much that she came to me for comfort?

Then he understood something.

After all, the old lady in front of her is not the empress of the late emperor. At this critical juncture when she is about to be awarded the title, she thinks about it day and night, dreams about the late emperor, Queen Qian, etc. It is hard to guarantee that she will not have some psychological trauma and start to think that she is not qualified for the title.

If the old lady develops resistance, something bad could easily happen.

Li Zisheng said, "I know a little bit... Old Ancestor, if you have any dreams, just tell me and I will try to analyze them for you."

Li Zisheng thought to himself, it's a good thing that they found me. If they found those people with ill intentions, they would take the opportunity to stir up trouble and make the Queen Mother doubt the future celebrations, and finally cancel them. Then the one who would suffer would be me, the initiator, organizer and host.

Empress Dowager Zhou seemed to be in no hurry to tell the dream, and asked again: "Zisheng, I have another question for you, does the emperor usually ask you to interpret his dreams?"

"cough."

Li Zisheng covered his mouth, coughed lightly, and then replied with a reluctant smile, "No. Your Majesty has never believed in dreams. The so-called dreaming is that you dream about something at night, and it really... cannot be taken too seriously. And what happens in dreams is often contrary to reality."

This is a reminder to Queen Mother Zhou that you should just dream it. Even if it is a nightmare, just treat it as the opposite.

"is it?"

Queen Mother Zhou looked quite unhappy. "So you Taoists don't believe in dreams? This is different from us Buddhists. Buddhism emphasizes sincerity. Otherwise, why would there be dreams? I also believe that the Buddha is spiritual. If the Buddha has something to do, he would have sent me a dream. Why do you persuade me not to believe it?"

A dream from Buddha?

Li Zisheng almost wanted to yell, "You old woman, are you afraid of death or have a psychological trauma?"
You believe in Buddhism and worship Buddha all day long, aren't you afraid of death?
Now I believe in cause and effect and reincarnation!
Now you won’t shamelessly tell me that it was the Buddha who sent you a dream, right?

Li Zisheng said with a smile: "It's not that I don't believe it, but I don't have the wisdom of you, the Queen Mother. You are a living Bodhisattva who has attained enlightenment. If the Buddha had a dream for you, I would believe it a thousand times, but I dare not listen to it casually, for fear of shortening my life!"

"It's very mysterious." Queen Mother Zhou shook her head and said, "In fact... even I can't believe it. Do you think this dream is true? I dreamed of a main hall with a Buddha statue on it. Suddenly, the Buddha statue fell down. That scene... shocked me inexplicably. Even now, when I think about it, I still break out in cold sweats..."

After listening to this, Li Zisheng began to wonder whether this was true or false.

It sounds like it was made up, but why did the Queen Mother ask me to come and make up such a dream?
"Grandfather, from what I hear, this dream is somewhat ominous."

Li Zisheng tried to make an analysis.

"Listen to me first. I haven't finished what I'm saying yet." Queen Mother Zhou continued, "The Buddha statue was originally shining with golden light, as if it was a golden Buddha..."

"The golden Buddha fell down?"

Li Zisheng repeated the words of Queen Mother Zhou as if he were listening to a divine book.

I was even more confused.

Queen Mother Zhou seemed to be trying to recall something and continued, "But after the golden Buddha fell down, it broke into pieces, and the mud was splattered all over the ground. There was no gold left on the whole body. It turned out that the Buddha statue was not made of gold, but just a clay sculpture."

"This……"

When Li Zisheng heard this, he felt dizzy and felt like the old lady was making fun of him!
Although he roughly guessed that the old lady was playing a trick on him, Li Zisheng didn't understand what she meant.

"After I woke up, I was still feeling uneasy... The Buddha Bathing Festival was coming soon, and I was so confused. I was wondering if I had not done my best to pay my respects to the Buddha, which was why the Buddha blamed me. Who knows what this dream is all about?

"I have been thinking about it and have not slept well all night. So I quickly changed into this outfit today. Do I want to be more pious when I worship Buddha?"

When Queen Mother Zhou finished speaking.

Not only did Li Zisheng stare with his eyes wide open, at a loss, but even Chen Gui next to him was stunned.

Good guy...

My dear, you are a real actor. How did you come up with all these words? If I didn't know the inside story, I would have believed you.

Although Li Zisheng was completely confused, he tried to explain it to himself: "Your ancestors are devoted to Buddhism and even take dreams so seriously. I think the Buddha will definitely feel your piety... Lay Buddhists like you who are so dedicated will surely bring Buddha to thousands of families in the future..."

"Hehehe."

Queen Mother Zhou seemed to be very happy with the coaxing, and said with a smile, "The Buddha is born in every family. That is the job of officials who benefit the people. I am just an idle person, how can I deserve this? But Zisheng, how should I interpret this dream of mine?"

"Uh……"

Li Zisheng then remembered that Queen Mother Zhou had asked him to come over to interpret her dream.

As for whether one can be reborn as a Buddha or not, it seems that Queen Dowager Zhou herself doesn't care.

Empress Dowager Zhou looked relaxed and contented, but also seemed to have a meaningful attitude. She said, "I can't figure it out. I can't sleep, eat or drink. I have no appetite today. The ceremony will be tomorrow. I can't help but wonder, should I ask the emperor to postpone the ceremony first?"

"Old Ancestor, the title is given to you based on the opinion of His Majesty and the ministers. The auspicious date has been chosen long ago, and it cannot be changed casually."

Li Zisheng hurried to persuade him.

Queen Mother Zhou narrowed her eyes and looked at Li Zisheng.

That look seemed to be threatening. You don't interpret my dream for me, and you still want me to attend the ceremony with peace of mind?
You are so beautiful!
Li Zisheng asked tentatively: "How about you let me think about it carefully after I go back?"

Chen Gui hurriedly said, "Master Li, in the dream of the Queen Mother, the golden Buddha turned into a clay Buddha and was smashed to pieces. Is it because the Buddha blamed the world for not being pious enough that such a dream hint appeared? Do you still want to go back and consider this matter? There is no need for that!"

"Cough cough."

Li Zisheng coughed twice, but couldn't help but glared at Chen Gui.

If Queen Mother Zhou hadn’t been there, he would definitely have cursed and yelled, “If you can do it, then go ahead!”

Not to mention you, Chen Gui, even if it is your backer Chen Xi, I don’t take him seriously now. After all, I am no longer the Wu A’mon of the past.

Queen Mother Zhou said, "Things like dream interpretation should indeed be carefully considered. Tomorrow I plan to find the emperor and ask him to help me answer my questions... Do you think the emperor will be like me in this matter and think of asking you, Li Qingjia, first when he has something to ask?"

Change of name!

Li Zisheng instantly felt that the old lady's attitude became distant, and it seemed that she was very dissatisfied with him.

"This...I don't know either."

Li Zisheng replied cautiously.

Queen Mother Zhou smiled and said, "Li Qingjia, you have so many talented people around you, don't you usually ask for their opinions? By the way, I heard that Zhang Laizhan, the Crown Princess's father, impeached you recently, and he was demoted to the Imperial Academy. I can't figure it out. Are you two... breaking up?"

Li Zisheng was shocked and quickly argued: "Your Majesty, I don't have a deep friendship with Zhang Laizhan."

"What are you afraid of? There are no outsiders here, and Chen Gui won't go out and say anything."

Queen Mother Zhou looked like she had something on Li Zisheng. She smiled and said, "Why don't you ask the Crown Princess's father about this matter and ask him to help you interpret the dream? It would also help me solve my problem... What do you think?"

"This……"

Li Zisheng was very panicked.

It all stems from his collusion with Zhang Luan, which he really doesn't want the Emperor to know about. However, the Empress Dowager knows everything about him and Zhang Luan because he had helped Zhang Yu enter the palace before.

This will give him a strong sense of frustration that his thoughts have been seen through.

What's even worse is that he was afraid that Queen Mother Zhou would know that Zhang Luan was good at fortune-telling, so she asked him to ask Zhang Luan about dream interpretation.

"Li Qingjia, do you have anything else to do?"

Queen Mother Zhou suddenly asked.

Li Zisheng was already in a state of confusion, and was stunned when he heard this.

Didn't you call me here?
You should be asking if you are okay, but why are you... asking me instead?

Understood.

This is an eviction order.

Li Zisheng said, "I have nothing else to do. I still have to make preparations for tomorrow's celebration. When I return, I will ask someone about the interpretation of dreams and will give the Queen Mother a reply as soon as possible."

"No need to give me an answer."

Empress Dowager Zhou said, "Just give the emperor an answer. He will ask you tomorrow anyway."

"..."

Li Zisheng was speechless.

Then I understood.

How could Empress Dowager Zhou be looking for him to ask questions?
But Empress Dowager Zhou took the opportunity to talk to the emperor about his dream before she did so. When the emperor looked confused and didn't know what to do, the old lady would remind him to ask him... If he was also confused, it would be a lot of fun...

(End of this chapter)