SFS #1991 - The deceived county lord
#1991 - The deceived county lord
The governor and the people kowtowed for a long time, but the sky remained unchanged, and they let out a desperate sigh.
"Alas, if Heaven wants to punish, let it punish me alone. Why make things difficult for the people of the entire prefecture?"
The accompanying people also showed desperate expressions, as if they had resigned themselves to their fate.
"Is there no way out?"
"Heaven is blind."
"Our Fengxian Prefecture is probably finished."
Hearing these desperate words stirred Tang Sanzang's heart.
"Fellow villagers, please disperse for now. Tomorrow, we will continue to dig wells for water."
Seeing that the ritual for rain had no effect, the governor stood up and told the people to disperse.
At this moment, Tang Sanzang came before the governor and chanted a Buddhist greeting.
"Amitabha."
"Venerable monk, who are you?"
The governor looked at Tang Sanzang and asked with suspicion.
"This humble monk is from the Great Tang Dynasty of the Eastern Land, on his way to the Western Heaven to worship Buddha and seek scriptures."
Tang Sanzang introduced himself to the governor.
"Venerable monk, so you are from the Celestial Dynasty. No wonder you have such a dignified appearance. Forgive my lack of respect."
When the governor heard that Tang Sanzang was from the Celestial Dynasty, he naturally became very warm and polite.
"Now that my Fengxian Prefecture is suffering a great calamity, venerable monk, if you don't mind, please come with me to the governor's mansion to talk."
Then, the governor invited Tang Sanzang. Tang Sanzang naturally wouldn't refuse the governor's warm invitation.
Following the governor and the others, they arrived at the governor's mansion. After taking a seat in the main hall, the two began to talk.
"Venerable monk, you come from the Celestial Dynasty, so you must possess great wisdom and ability. Can you help my Fengxian Prefecture overcome this calamity?"
The governor said to Tang Sanzang. In fact, the governor had no other choice; as long as there was hope, he would try to seize it.
"I roughly understand the matter of Fengxian Prefecture, but everything has a cause and effect. Please, Governor, tell me the details of this cause and effect."
Tang Sanzang said to the governor. Tang Sanzang had no magic power; all he could do was first understand the whole story.
"This…"
When the governor heard Tang Sanzang ask this, he couldn't help but reveal an awkward expression.
"Governor, is it perhaps difficult to say?"
Seeing this situation, Tang Sanzang knew that something seemed amiss.
"Alas, things have come to this point, already a dead end. What is there that cannot be said? Speaking of this matter, it is because I, in a moment of anger, caused a disaster, inviting divine punishment from Heaven, and implicating the people of the entire prefecture to suffer with me."
The governor seemed ashamed and regretful, his face filled with unconcealable sadness, and his eyes turning red.
"Governor, don't be sad, please speak slowly."
Tang Sanzang comforted the governor.
"The matter must be traced back to three years ago, on the day of the Offering to Heaven. I was about to make offerings, but my unvirtuous wife quarreled with me about disciplining our son.
In a fit of anger, I overturned the offering table, smashed the sacrificial offerings for the Jade Emperor, and let the dog eat them. This angered the Jade Emperor, who was touring here.
The Jade Emperor was furious and decreed punishment, no longer granting rain to our Fengxian Prefecture. It is said that the Jade Emperor is setting three tasks in the Hall of Fragrant Vestments in Heaven.
To ordinary people, the Jade Emperor was a divine master who could only be looked up to and kowtowed to. How could a mere mortal contend with Heaven?
"Governor, don't weep. I have some questions. How does the governor even know about the affairs of Heaven?"
Tang Sanzang felt very puzzled by this.
Even if this matter was true, truly a punishment from Heaven decreed by the Jade Emperor, how could a mere governor of a mortal prefecture know about the affairs of Heaven and the Jade Emperor's actions?
"Originally, I did not know about this matter, but one night, a golden-bodied Arhat descended to earth and told me about it."
The governor told Tang Sanzang the truth. What he knew was what the golden-bodied Arhat had told him.
"I see."
Having heard this, Tang Sanzang basically understood.
This must be the work of the Western Heaven. That golden-bodied Arhat was naturally sent by the Western Heaven.
"Venerable Tang, I see that the affairs of Heaven and the divine punishment of the Jade Emperor are difficult for you to remedy. There is no need to trouble yourself."
The governor shook his head, because he did not believe that Tang Sanzang had the power to defy Heaven.
"Governor, don't be anxious. In my opinion, this matter is probably not what you think it is."
Tang Sanzang said to the governor thoughtfully.
"What do you mean, Venerable Tang?"
The governor immediately asked Tang Sanzang.
"Does the governor think that the Jade Emperor, who was able to become the master of the Heavenly Court and govern all the gods, is the kind of person who is ignorant of right and wrong, muddle-headed, and fatuous?"
Tang Sanzang did not rush to explain, but instead asked the governor.
"This…"
The governor couldn't help but shake his head.
What is the Jade Emperor? He became an immortal after experiencing countless tribulations, the head of all the gods in control of the Three Realms. How could such a figure be muddle-headed, fatuous, and ignorant of right and wrong?
"You said that the Hall of Fragrant Vestments has three tasks: a dog licking a mountain of noodles, a pig eating a mountain of rice, and a candle scorching a chain. Let's not talk about whether it's true or not.
Just standing from the perspective of a mortal, don't you think it's extremely absurd and laughable?"
Tang Sanzang continued to ask the governor.
Indeed, these three tasks in the Hall of Fragrant Vestments, even standing from the perspective of a mortal, are extremely absurd and laughable.
Even mortals find it absurd and laughable, so don't even mention the Jade Emperor, the head of all the gods. As long as the Jade Emperor doesn't have a problem with his brain, he couldn't possibly do such a thing.
"Venerable Tang's words are indeed reasonable, but how can that golden-bodied Arhat be explained?"
The governor was previously deceived by the appearance of the golden-bodied Arhat and the kind attitude he showed, and he did not carefully consider these things.
Now, hearing Tang Sanzang's analysis, it is clear that these three tasks in the Hall of Fragrant Vestments are simply unbelievable.
However, what need did that golden-bodied Arhat have to deceive him, a small governor of a mortal prefecture? Moreover, Fengxian Prefecture has indeed not seen a drop of rain for three years.
"Since the governor also feels that the golden-bodied Arhat is strange, then it's simple. I think this matter probably has nothing to do with the Heavenly Court, but is the work of the Western Heaven."
Tang Sanzang said to the governor with great certainty.
"The Buddha of the Western Heaven is also compassionate and benevolent, and my Fengxian Prefecture has not offended the Western Heaven. Why would they harm us like this?"
The governor couldn't understand, feeling that the Western Heaven had no reason to bring disaster to Fengxian Prefecture.
"It seems that the governor is still somewhat unclear, so let this humble monk tell you some of my experiences."
Tang Sanzang knew that if he wanted to convince the governor, he had to speak with facts, telling the governor about the actions of the Western Heaven in his tribulations.
The governor might not know about things that were far away, but he had heard about the matter of the Kingdom of滅法, which was relatively close.
"The Western Heaven actually acts like this, truly more fierce than demons!"
The governor couldn't help but be furious.