Gasp! She's a Time Traveler Using Modern Tech to Improve Ancient Life-Chapter 629 - 627: Offering Incense

On the day agreed upon with Aunt Xiao to visit Jingshan Square’s Daxingshan Temple for incense burning, Lin Wanwan got up early and sat leisurely at her dressing table, having Hong Yan comb her hair.

Halfway through, Sun Chuyao sought an audience from outside.

"Come in."

Sun Chuyao bowed before entering the room, took a few steps forward to pay respects to Lin Wanwan, and then said, "Madam, I’ve found out that today, Madam Wu from the Duke Song Mansion is also going for incense burning.

Lin Wanwan raised an eyebrow and said, "Hmm, this cheap aunt is really persistent, insisting on using me as a ladder to get close to people from Duke Song’s mansion. Have you figured out what their relationship is?"

"In response to Madam, it’s clear now. Uncle Pang is the Ministry of Rites official, and Xiao Mingfu’s father is the Ministry of Rites middle official."

Lin Wanwan chuckled, "So, he’s a superior, no wonder they’re trying every possible way to socialize."

If you have enough money, it’s not hard to get such information. Because the nobles of Great Tang have to make reservations wherever they go, and these ladies going out for incense are no exception, they notify the temple in advance.

With a reservation, anyone with intention can find out.

Today for incense burning, Xiao Yixun, as usual, was not keen on going out, while little Qingyu was very eager to tag along. However, since Lin Wanwan wasn’t purely going for fun today and had tricky people to deal with, it was obviously inconvenient to bring her, so she left her at home for classes.

With a group of maids and male servants, Lin Wanwan rode a horse, taking a carriage along.

The carriage was intended for use after entering Chang’an City, for show; the horse was for the journey outside the city, for comfort.

Having money means having more travel options.

By the time they lined up to enter Chang’an City, it was already late in the Si hour. Lin Wanwan switched to the carriage and headed straight to Daxingshan Temple at Jingshan Square.

Aunt Xiao and her sister-in-law, Mrs. Xu, along with her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Sun, as well as Mrs. Pang and others were already waiting for Lin Wanwan at the temple square.

Lin Wanwan’s carriage arrived late, which prompted Aunt Xiao to give her a good talking to.

The gist of it was that living outside the city was ultimately inconvenient, and she should’ve come to the city to find them last night.

Lin Wanwan smiled and said, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to stay at their place, but because she had too many servants and the house was too small, she couldn’t bear to trouble her relatives, which made the Pang family quite vexed inside.

What did that mean, was she despising the smallness and shabbiness of our place?

One must know, this is inside Chang’an City, can the manors in the countryside compare?

It’s like comparing modern Beijing’s rural self-built houses to the old shoddy ones within the second ring, incomparable. It’s not about size; location determines everything.

However, the reason Aunt Xiao cared so much is actually because she subconsciously felt that where she lived was indeed shabby, easily touched by Lin Wanwan’s words.

But to fulfill her son’s Money Catching Official KPI, they had to squeeze together with Uncle Pang’s family to save costs, making them particularly sensitive to others’ opinions on their residence.

After exchanging a few sarcastic remarks, Mrs. Xu mediated, and everyone calmed down before entering the grand and majestic Daxingshan Temple.

Today, Mrs. Xu came targeting Wu, the new wife of Xiao Kaizhi (Xiao Chong’s stepmother), intending to use Lin Wanwan’s status as Xiao Chong’s fiancée as a bridge, so naturally, it wasn’t suitable to have senseless conflicts with her.

Daxingshan Temple was built during the Sui Dynasty and is the largest temple in Chang’an City, occupying an entire square, its main hall comparable to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

The temple has more than two hundred halls, meditation rooms, and monks’ quarters, all bustling with people.

Walking into the temple, the sky was filled with swirling smoke, all from believers burning incense and praying, a testament to the flourishing Buddhism of the Tang Dynasty.

Although the Emperor claimed to be a descendant of Li Er, Laozi, thus honoring Taoism. But since Taoism starts with complex and profound scriptures, it doesn’t resonate with the masses, seemingly targeting only the upper class, naturally making it less prosperous than temples catering to the common people.

When Lin Wanwan’s entourage, accompanied by a host of servants, entered the temple, they, of course, would not squeeze in with the general public for incense; a reception monk had long welcomed them with a smile to guide them.

Buddha saves those with affinity, what does it mean to be "people with affinity"?

Of course, it refers to those who can generously donate incense money.

Going to the Western Heaven to seek the True Scripture from the Buddha cannot be done with sincerity alone; three tou and three sheng of gold are required.

Nowadays, it’s even more so; to listen to the Great Compassion Mantra on a music app, you need a VIP subscription.

Lin Wanwan’s entourage comprised entirely of aristocrats adorned in silk and satin, obviously affluent people, making the reception monk naturally delighted.

Lin Wanwan is the type to worship whatever god is present at the temple she visits; she doesn’t have a particular belief, embracing all gods and Buddhas. Anyway, she prays whenever she passes by if she has time.

Believe it or not, it’s up to the heart.

Believe the good, dismiss the bad as superstition.

Today, in Daxingshan Temple’s Scripture Hall, there was a Tianzhu Monk giving a sermon. Since Buddhism originated in India, Tang Dynasty’s temples had many Tianzhu monks, all there to translate scriptures and preach.

Of course, translating scriptures, these Tianzhu monks were not the same as Tang Xuanzang, who was still arduously fetching scriptures.

Tang Xuanzang is like a live map of the Western Regions. From Great Tang to India, instead of heading south directly, he looped around the entire Western Regions before heading south.

His value lies beyond mere Buddhist scriptures, making his status far superior to ordinary monks.

Lin Wanwan only knows two famous Tang Dynasty monks, Tang Xuanzang and Monk Bianji, who was rumored with Princess Gaoyang; the rest she knows not.

Neither of these illustrious monks could be found in Daxingshan Temple, so Lin Wanwan would not see them.

These two monks who left an eternal legacy, one was arduously heading west while documenting the customs and landscapes of the Western Regions, the other had yet to reincarnate into human life.

Lacking purpose, Lin Wanwan prayed casually, bought a lot of incense, worshiped every god and Buddha she encountered.

Anyway, what harm is there in praying, she didn’t mind going through the motions, but donating incense money was absolutely out of the question.

Unexpectedly, the usually quite frugal women of the Pang family were all very devout, contributing a significant amount of incense money, making the reception monk smile like Maitreya Buddha.

Once the incense was burned, the reception monk arranged for the group to enter the meditation room at the back, which was exclusively for the rest of noblewomen.

Lin Wanwan knew, the main act was about to begin.

She lightly coughed and said, "Aunt, I’ll skip the meditation room. It’s rare for me to visit Daxingshan Temple, and I’m not tired at all. I still want to look around; you go ahead."

Aunt Xiao and Mrs. Xu hurriedly tried to pull her back, but were blocked by Ji Yue, Cai Yun, and others who had long been instructed.

After saying those words, Lin Wanwan quickly slipped away with Hong Yan, Fu Ling, and other maids, merging into the throng of believers.

After all, she accompanied them to incense burning. As for the rest, hehe, don’t expect to use her.

Actually, Lin Wanwan was a bit puzzled.

Logically speaking, as the main wife of the Xiao Family’s second branch, she could go to Jidu Temple, a royal nunnery, for incense. Why would she come to such a mixed crowd temple?

Could it be that the gods and Buddha here are more effective?