Zhuo Yu Feng Yang Chapter 42

Chapter 42: The secret of Baiyun Temple, the traces of porcelain finally appear

The Baiyun Temple in the western suburbs is hidden among the green mountains and green cypresses. There is a bit of Taoist spirit hidden in the afterglow of morning bells and evening drums.

When Jiang Zhuo and Lu Jingyang arrived, the morning classes at the Taoist temple had just ended, and the Taoist priests were filing out, their footsteps soft and their clothes fluttering.Lu Chen and two bodyguards stood guard in the woods outside the Taoist temple, scanning the surroundings with vigilance.Although the remnants of the Black Stone Society have been eliminated, there are still fish that have slipped through the net, so we have to guard against them.

“The account book says that the porcelain is hidden under the statue of Laojun in the back hall of the Sanqing Hall in the temple.” Jiang Zhuo held the yellowed account book and traced the line of ink with his fingertips. “Li Mingshan had an old relationship with the Taoist priest in the temple, so he hid the porcelain in the temple on the pretext of praying for blessings.”

Lu Jingyang nodded, and the two of them put on plain clothes, pretended to be pilgrims, and walked slowly into the Taoist temple.

In the Sanqing Hall, incense smoke lingers, and pilgrims kneel down to pray devoutly. The statue of Laojun sits on the shrine, with kind eyebrows and kind eyes, overlooking all living beings.Jiang Zhuo’s eyes fell on the base of the Laojun statue. It was a Xumizuo half a man tall, carved with complex cloud patterns, and looked no different from the furnishings of ordinary Taoist temples.

But his system popped up a prompt at this time: [A large number of official kiln porcelain smells were detected, which have the same origin as Yongzheng enamel colors].

Jiang Zhuo’s heart sank slightly, it was indeed here.

The two waited patiently until the pilgrims had dispersed, then walked to the statue of Laojun and pretended to kneel down.Jiang Zhuo’s fingertips quietly brushed the side of the Xumizuo and touched a slightly raised stone with a tiny “Li” carved on it.That’s exactly what Li Mingshan did.

“Found it.” Jiang Zhuo whispered, gently turning the stone according to the records in the account book.

Just hearing a soft “bang” sound, the Xumizuo slowly moved to one side, revealing a dark hole.A strong fragrance of porcelain glaze mixed with a moist breath hit his face. Lu Jingyang quickly took out a strong flashlight and shone it in. He saw dozens of wooden boxes neatly stacked at the bottom of the cave. There were yellowed seals on the boxes with the four seal characters “Yongzheng Official Kiln” written on them.

“It’s really here!” Lu Jingyang’s voice was full of excitement, and he almost shouted.

Jiang Zhuo quickly pressed his shoulders to signal him to be silent.The two of them carefully got into the hole and opened the top wooden box. What was wrapped in cotton wool was an enamel vase with flower and bird patterns. The glaze was smooth and the painting was exquisite. It was in better condition than those found in Qingyan Mountain.

“These are treasures that have never been seen before.” Jiang Zhuo’s voice was trembling. The national treasures from a hundred years ago finally saw the light of day again at this moment.

Just as the two were counting the number of wooden boxes, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from the entrance of the cave, accompanied by an old voice: “Two donors, since they are here, why hide?”

Jiang Zhuo and Lu Jingyang looked at each other, turned around and walked out of the cave.I saw an old Taoist with white beard and hair standing in the hall, holding a fly whisk and looking at them calmly.

“Who is the Taoist priest?” Jiang Zhuo asked, cupping his hands.

“Pindao is the abbot of Baiyun Temple.” The old Taoist smiled slightly, “This secret cave was passed down by Pindao’s master. He asked future generations of disciples to protect the porcelain in the cave and wait for the destined person to come and pick it up.”

It turns out that when Li Mingshan was hiding porcelain, the Taoist priest knew about it.Although he was dissatisfied with Li Mingshan’s corrupt behavior, he could not bear the dust of these national treasures, so he set up rules and asked his disciples to guard them for generations, waiting for someone who could return the porcelain to the country.

“Now, the wait has finally come.” The old Taoist sighed, his eyes falling on the account book in Jiang Zhuo’s hand, “These porcelains should belong to the people of the world.”

Jiang Zhuo felt warm in his heart and solemnly said: “Don’t worry, Taoist Master, we will definitely donate all these porcelains to the National Museum.”

The old Taoist nodded, turned around and took out a brocade box from the cabinet at the back of the palace and handed it to Jiang Zhuo: “This is a letter left by the master, saying that it should be given to the person who can open the secret cave.”

Jiang Zhuo took the brocade box and opened it. Inside was a piece of yellowed letter paper with the story of Li Mingshan’s collection of porcelain written on it.It turned out that after Li Mingshan privatized the official kiln, he was always uneasy, fearing that the porcelain would fall into the hands of the invaders, so he hid some of the porcelain in Qingyan Mountain and entrusted some to the Taoist priest of Baiyunguan, and then he was sentenced to death by the court.

At the end of the letter, there is a line: My crime deserves to be punished, but porcelain is a national treasure, and I hope that future generations will protect it.

Jiang Zhuo looked at the words and said nothing for a long time.

Li Mingshan’s life was filled with corruption and unpardonable crimes, but his actions before his death could be regarded as leaving a way for these national treasures to survive.

As the sun set, Jiang Zhuo and Lu Jingyang walked out of Baiyun Temple with their account books and letters.Lu Chen had already contacted the experts from the museum, and the convoy was waiting at the foot of the mountain.

Dozens of boxes of official kiln porcelain were carefully loaded into the car, glowing with a warm luster in the afterglow of the setting sun.

The motorcade slowly drove away from Baiyun Temple. Jiang Zhuo looked back and saw that the Taoist temple among the green mountains and green cypresses gradually faded into the dusk.

He knew that this journey of protecting cultural relics that spanned a century had finally come to an end.

Tang Ying’s injustice was cleared up, Li Mingshan’s secret was revealed to the public, and the sleeping porcelain from the official kiln finally found its best destination.

The lights of Xianyunzhai are still on in the night of Antique Street, waiting for the next old object with a hidden story to knock on the door.