I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 163 Li Mushao of Lancaibao in Fenggou Township, Wanping County (-character chapter)

Ciyun Temple in Xiangshan.

Lin Shisan and others rode their horses to the gate of Ciyu Temple.

Buddhism is a quiet place, which makes people feel relaxed and happy as soon as they get off the horse, and even makes them feel indifferent to fame and fortune.

The four saw a wooden sign standing in front of the gate.

The wooden sign was written in elegant handwriting: "This temple strictly prohibits bringing incense and candles from others. Bringing incense and candles from others does not show the sincerity of offering to the Three Jewels; it does not bring you blessings; it does not bring you merit; it does not bring you the blessing of the Buddha."

However, only the incense and candles bought at high prices from Ciyu Temple will be recognized by the Buddha.

Most temples near the capital have this rule. Legend has it that this rule was set by the evil monk Ji Xiao during the Chenghua period.

A young monk sat behind a table covered with incense and candles.

The young monk looked proud and said to Lin Shisan and the others, "Are you here to worship Buddha? If you want to enter the temple to worship Buddha, you must buy incense and candles first."

"The weight of a stick of incense for great sincerity is one liang. The weight of a stick of incense for medium sincerity is six qian. The weight of a stick of incense for small sincerity is three qian."

"Everyone must buy at least three incense sticks before entering the temple. Buy nine sticks of great sincerity incense sticks and get three small sincerity incense sticks for free."

This is not a Buddhist monk at all, he is clearly a street vendor in Dazhalan.

Lin Shisan was now considered a wealthy man. He took out a silver note of 100 taels and put it on the monk's desk: "We are here to donate money for incense. This 100 taels is just the money for buying incense to enter the temple."

The monk took the banknote and looked at the number, his eyes lit up: "Oh! You are a very compassionate person! The Buddha will surely bless you to get promoted, get rich, and have 18 sons!"

"I will prepare a hundred sticks of sincere incense for you donors."

Lin Shisan said, "No need for that. Please lead us into the temple and meet the abbot."

The young monk stood up, smiling: "As long as you are sincere in worshipping Buddha, even if you do not burn incense in the temple, Buddha will bless you. Please follow me in."

The four followed the young monk into the main hall.

Lin Shisan took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve and said, "I have long admired the abbot of your temple, Master Jiecai. I came here today to donate money and only ask to see Master Jiecai."

My eyes lit up when I saw the banknotes!

There is a rule in Ciyun Temple: whoever brings in good men and women to donate money for incense can take 5% of the money.

The monk asked tentatively, "How much money do you want to donate?"

Lin Shisan replied: "Five hundred taels."

My eyes lit up. I can take 25 taels of silver out of the 500 taels as my personal property. If it wasn't for the desire to make money, who would shave their heads, become a monk, and eat vegetarian food every day?
The monk said, "Please wait for a moment, all donors. Abbot Jiecai is discussing Buddhism with his uncles Jiese, Jiekong, and Jieguang. I will go and report it right away."

After the monk left, Sun Yue said, "The Buddhist temple is really a good business with no capital and huge profits! The incense sticks on the market cost only a few copper coins, but they dare to sell them for one or two taels. Wow, hundreds of times the profit!"

Lin Shisan echoed, "Seven lucrative positions in six ministries. The Ministry of Personnel has the Wenxuanlang and the Kaogonglang; the Ministry of War has the Wuxuanlang and the Kaogonglang; the Ministry of Works has the Yingshanlang and the Dushuilang. Another one is the Monk Recorder of the Ministry of Rites."

"The five richest people in the world are royal family, officials, gentry, merchants, and one is a monk."

Uncle Zhang stroked his beard and said, "It is said that the money houses of Puzhou people are as rich as a country. Compared with the temples, they are nothing."

Not long after, Jiecai, the abbot of Ciyu Temple, walked quickly into the hall.

Jiecai bowed and said, "Amitabha, good, good. May I ask your name and what you do for a living?"

Lin Shisan bowed and said, "I am the deputy captain of the Northern Pacification Division of the Jinyiwei, and the official of Yongshou Palace, Lin Shisan."

Jiecai was surprised and said, "You are the emperor's favorite, the younger brother of the young cabinet minister, the nephew of the old minister, the savior of Yang Xiaguan, the master of Luo Dulang, Lin Shisan Lin Chuanfeng?"

Even though Lin Shisan is only a fifth-rank official, he is now very famous in the capital.

Jie Cai always treated people with respect. Seeing the extremely popular Lin Shisan, he naturally showed great respect.

Lin Shisan handed the stack of banknotes to Jiecai: "This is nine hundred taels of silver. Five hundred taels are donations to your temple. Four hundred taels are for you, the abbot, to make a monk's robe. Don't think it's too little."

After hearing this, Jie Cai smiled like two chrysanthemums on his fat face: "Lin Chuanfeng, if you sincerely worship Buddha, Buddha will surely bless you to be promoted to a higher position and have everything go well."

Jiecai was particularly attentive to Lin Shisan. There was competition among temples. If Ciyun Temple could get a support from a noble man like him, it would be more stable in the capital.

Lin Shisan said, "I heard that your temple has a Shanyuan Pond, which has many koi fish in it. It's quite magical. Can you take us there to see it?"

Jiecai said: "Please follow me, gentlemen."

The monks of the Ming Dynasty liked to call themselves "poor monks." In fact, they were not poor at all.

As long as the Ministry of Rites issues a certificate of ordination and you become a formal monk, not only will you never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of your life, but you will also have a lot of money rolling in.

Everyone followed Jiecai to the Shanyuan Pond.

The water in Shanyuan Pond was not deep, only three feet deep, and the water was clear enough to see the bottom. There were a lot of copper coins and silver coins piled up at the bottom of the pond, and there was also a group of koi lying on the bottom of the pond.

Jie Cai said: "The Shanyuan Pond is also known as the Wishing Pond. If you have any wishes, you can throw coins or silver into the pond. Your wishes will surely come true."

Lin Shisan grabbed the purse of copper coins he had prepared in advance and threw it into the Shanyuan Pond.

According to Uncle Zhang, when a copper coin is dropped into the water, the koi fish at the bottom of the pond will float up, shake their heads and tails at the person who threw the coin, trying to please the person.

However, no matter how long they waited, there was no movement from the group of koi at the bottom of the pond.

Lin Shisan said bluntly: "Master Jiecai, my housekeeper came to Shanyuan Pond 20 years ago. He threw a copper coin into the pond, and the koi fish did not seem to be indifferent."

"Let's be frank. Was there someone in the temple who was responsible for taming koi at that time?"

Jiecai nodded: "Nothing can escape Lin Chuanfeng's discerning eyes. Twenty years ago, there was a monk named Zhique in the temple who was responsible for taking care of the koi in the Shanyuan Pond."

"This man's family has been selling goldfish and koi for generations. He knows a secret method of taming fish."

"The koi fish in Shanyuan Pond were tamed by Zhique and became quite human. Unfortunately, he returned to secular life six years ago. I heard that he even got married."

Lin Shisan's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Do you know where he lives now? What's his common name?"

Jie Cai replied: "This person's ancestral home in this world is Wanping County. I need to check his original certificate of ordination for his secular name and specific residence. Please wait for a moment."

Jiecai turned and left.

Lin Shisan saw a glimmer of hope. As long as he could find Zhique and let him use his secret method of taming fish to make the water phoenix docile, he could shut up the censors in the court.

Sun Yue complained: "That Zhique is a good monk, why is he still a layman? If he were in the temple, we would save a lot of trouble."

Lin Shisan said: "I guess he has made enough money, so he returned to secular life, got married, had children and lived a normal life."

Two minutes later, Jie returned. He saluted and said, "Four masters, I have already found out. Zhique's secular name is Li Mushao. His ancestral home is Lancaibao, Fenggou Township, Wanping County."

"As for whether he lives in his ancestral home now, I don't know."

Lin Shisan nodded: "Thank you, Master Jiecai. Goodbye."

Jiecai said quickly: "I have prepared a delicious vegetarian meal for the four masters, and I have also invited a few sisters from the Mantou Temple next door to have dinner with you."

Lin Shisan said, "We appreciate the master's kindness. I have the emperor's order and cannot delay. Let's eat the vegetarian meal next time. I will definitely eat it next time."

The four of them left Ciyu Temple and rode their horses all the way to Wanping County.

In the afternoon, the four of them arrived at the Wanping County Government Office. They did not know the way to Lancaibao in Fenggou Township, so they had to ask the county government to send someone to lead the way.

The magistrate of Wanping County was a small-time figure in the Yan Party. How could the magistrate dare to neglect the request of Lin Chuanfeng, the brother of the young cabinet minister, for help? He immediately sent ten yamen runners to lead them to Lancaibao.

Lancaibao is a large village with more than 700 households. There are two groups of people sitting at the entrance of the village. One group of old men sits around bragging and basking in the sun.

A group of old ladies sat around picking vegetables and gossiping.

Lin Shisan asked an old man, "Excuse me, old man, is there a man named Li Mushao in your place? He used to be a monk."

The old man replied, "You are talking about Landlord Li. How could he not know? At least thirty of us in Lancaibao are his tenants."

Lin Shisan was surprised: "Landlord?"

The old man replied, "Yes. He has the most land in our village. He has more than 200 acres of good land at home."

Lin Shisan took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and handed it to the old man: "Can you lead the way for us?"

The old man had never seen a few pieces of silver in his life. He stretched out his hand as swiftly as a mantis and took the silver: "Okay, I'll take you there."

At the east end of Lancaibao there is a respectable courtyard with a tiled roof, which is out of place among the surrounding thatched houses, like a crane among chickens.

Lin Shisan knocked on the door. A child opened the door.

Lin Shisan asked: "Brother, who is Li Mushao to you? Is he at home?"

The child replied: "That's my dad. He's at home."

Lin Shisan led everyone into the courtyard. A man in his forties stared at them blankly while holding a basin of white flour.

For the convenience of handling affairs, Lin Shisan, Zhang Bo, Sun Yue and Li Gao all wore plain clothes, while the ten yamen runners wore official clothes.

Lin Shisan asked, "Brother, are you Master Zhique from Ciyu Temple?"

After hearing this, the man dropped the bowl of flour and ran away like a frightened rabbit. It was obvious that he was guilty.

But the courtyard was so small. Where could he run to? He was caught by the bailiffs soon.

Lin Shisan asked: "Are you Li Mushao, the intellectually deficient Li?"

The man replied: "I am. No."

Lin Shisan frowned: "Is it true?"

The man gritted his teeth and said, "I am stupid. A man should take responsibility for his actions. I stole the two bags of silver from the Ciyun Temple. Please don't make things difficult for my wife and children."

Zhang Bo laughed and said, "Oh, it even brought up an old case."

Li Mushao said, "At the beginning, the abbot of the temple agreed to let me take care of the koi in the Shanyuan Pond, and 10% of the money salvaged from the pond every month would belong to me."

"Later, as the amount of money in Shanyuanchi increased, he changed his mind. He was the first to lie and violate the Buddhist precepts."

"The two bags of silver I stole from the treasury before returning to secular life are what I deserve."

Lin Shisan roughly understood what he heard. He smiled and said, "Master Zhique, oh no, Brother Li. You misunderstood."

"I am Lin Shisan, a member of the Imperial Guard. We, the Imperial Guard, don't need to intervene in these trivial matters."

"I came to you because I heard that you know the secret method of taming fish. I have a fish that I need your help to tame."

"Left and right, why don't you let go of Brother Li?"

The bailiffs obeyed the order and released Li Mushao.

Li Mushao asked, "Are you here to ask me to train fish?"

Lin Shisan nodded: "My master recently got a barbarian fish. It is violent and murderous. It bit all the goldfish in the tank to death."

"Do you have any way to tame it and make it docile and peaceful?"

Li Mushao said, "Hey, so that's what happened. I thought it was Ciyun Temple that found out about what happened back then and reported it to the authorities, and you guys are here to arrest me!"

"I'm still wondering, there were 70,000 to 80,000 taels of silver piled up in the treasury. How could they have noticed that two bags of 150 taels of silver were missing?"

Lin Shisan was surprised: Ciyun Temple was only a medium-sized temple in the capital, but there were 70,000 or 80,000 silver coins in the treasury? Sure enough, all the temples were very rich.

Lin Shisan asked: "Brother Li, do you have a way to tame that barbarian fish?"

Li Mushao thought for a moment and replied, "If it is a fish from the Ming Dynasty, whether it is carp, crucian carp, grass carp, silver carp, bighead carp, or perch, I have a way to tame it."

"I have never tamed this fish. I wonder if the fish taming method passed down from my ancestors is effective."

Lin Shisan knew that a big reward would bring courage. He said, "As long as you can tame the barbarian fish, I will give you eight hundred taels of silver."

Li Mushao's eyes widened like copper bells: "Mr. Duo?"

Lin Shisan said: "Eight hundred taels."

Eight hundred taels of silver were enough for Li Mushao to transform from a small landlord in Lancaibao to a big landlord in Fenggou Township.

Li Mushao said, "I'll try my best. I hope you keep your word."

Lin Shisan patted his chest and said, "I am the Royal Guard, the imperial court messenger. I speak with all my heart."

"However, you have less than seven days to tame the fish. And you cannot tame it to death."

"If he dies, your whole family's lives won't be enough to pay for it."

Li Mushao was full of confidence: "The first secret of taming fish is that you cannot hurt the fish. Don't worry, sir."

Lin Shisan said: "Okay, follow me into the city."

At dusk that day, Lin Shisan entered the West Garden and found Lu Fang: "Uncle, I have found someone who can train fish. Please give me a badge to enter the palace."

Lu Fang was the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department and had the authority to issue palace entry badges to servants outside the palace.

Soon he opened the card and handed it to Lin Shisan: "Are you sure that man has the ability to tame fish?"

Lin Shisan spoke frankly: "Uncle, now that things have come to this, we can only try our best. I can't be sure, I can only say there is hope."

Lu Fang nodded: "Go ahead and do it."

Outside the West Garden, Li Mushao looked up at the tall palace wall and said, "Wow, it's much higher than the wall of our Wanping County Office. Could this be the Shuntian Prefecture Office?"

Sun Yue smiled and said, "This is the imperial palace."

Li Mushao was stunned: "The Imperial Palace? You want me to tame the emperor's fish?"

Zhang Bo smiled and said, "That's right! You are so lucky. How can ordinary people have the opportunity to enter the imperial palace? You are lucky this time."

"If you tame the emperor's fish, maybe the emperor will reward you with a job in the palace. Then you will be an official!"

Li Mushao smiled happily after hearing this: "I can earn money and hold an official position. I am really very lucky."

Sun Yue pointed at Lin Shisan who was walking in the distance and said, "What a coincidence, there is smoke coming out of your ancestral grave. Our Lin Chuanfeng's ancestral grave was struck by lightning."

Lin Shisan hung the badge on Li Mushao's waist and said, "Let's go to the palace. It's time for you to show your skills."

(End of this chapter)