Now I really have to marry the princess.

Chapter 16, the Master, consists of four rubbings.

It turns out that the "An Guanzhong Stele" was specially erected by Zhong Yao to commemorate his achievements in order to stabilize the hearts of the people when he was ordered to guard Guanzhong.

After the Wei and Jin dynasties, the Five Barbarian Invasions swept across China, and the north was ravaged by war. This inscription was then hidden away.

After several changes of ownership, it finally ended up in the hands of a wealthy family surnamed Wang in Sanyuan County.

During the reconstruction of Longhua Temple, the "An Guanzhong Stele" was donated and a pavilion was built in the temple for people to admire.

The stele pavilion is located in the northwest corner of the temple, surrounded by ancient cypress trees.

The tall stone tablet standing in the center of the pavilion is an authentic work by Zhong Yao, with simple and elegant brushstrokes and dignified structure.

Yang Zhengdao stood in front of the stele. Although he did not understand the beauty of calligraphy lines, he pretended to be deep in thought.

"My cousin also loves calligraphy!?" Li Ke, who was standing to the side, was clearly fooled.

"Of course!" Yang Zhengdao replied confidently, but he had other plans in mind.

Li Er was also a great calligrapher, and his flying white script was unparalleled.

Moreover, Li Er was also very enthusiastic about collecting rubbings of ancient inscriptions, and there are even anecdotes about "Xiao Yi tricking Lanting".

Legend has it that in order to obtain the original copy of the "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion" treasured by the monk Biancai, Emperor Li Er specially sent Xiao Yi to disguise himself as a down-on-his-luck scholar, befriend Biancai, and eventually trick Biancai into taking out the original copy, and then take the opportunity to steal it away.

If he wanted to marry Princess Chang Le, he had to cater to her preferences.

At the same time, under Li Er's influence, all his princes and princesses inherited his true skills and were exceptionally talented in calligraphy.

Li Lizhi's calligraphy is exceptionally skillful.

Because the original owner had lived on the grasslands since childhood, his handwriting was quite poor, which put a lot of pressure on Yang Zhengdao.

After all, in this era, having good handwriting is a matter of personal pride.

Therefore, it's worthwhile to put in some serious effort to master this character.

Of course, the best approach is to directly obtain a calligraphy skill from the system.

Now that we've come across an authentic work by a predecessor, we must get our hands on it.

Yang Zhengdao bowed to the monk who was in charge of receiving guests.

"Venerable Master, my cousin and I are thrilled with our newfound treasure. We wonder if your esteemed temple could be so kind as to grant us a copy of the rubbing? We would be able to study it carefully upon returning home, otherwise we would be restless and unable to eat or sleep."

Li Ke was naturally also tempted, but out of pride, he couldn't bring himself to ask his cousin for it so abruptly.

"This... but this inscription is truly precious..." The monk in charge of the guest looked troubled.

The inscription is precious! I need a rubbing!

Although making rubbings of the inscriptions will cause some damage to the stone tablet itself, there is no reason for Longhua Temple to sit on a gold mine without mining it.

Yang Zhengdao concluded that Longhua Temple not only had rubbings, but also rubbings made of fine paper and with exquisite mounting.

This monk was merely trying to inflate the value of the rubbings.

After thinking it through, Yang Zhengdao gave him a "I understand" look.

"Master, please speak freely. My cousin and I are extremely sincere."

"In that case, you two benefactors, please come with me to report to the abbot."

The monk in charge of receiving guests led Yang Zhengdao and Li Ke to the meditation room of Abbot Mingyuan.

The door to the meditation room opened, and a faint scent of sandalwood wafted out.

Master Mingyuan, with his white eyebrows and beard, kind eyes and gentle demeanor, sat peacefully on the futon, as if he had known they would come.

Yang Zhengdao thought to himself that he was in trouble; it seemed that he wasn't the only one who knew that Li Er was a great lover of calligraphy.

Since that's the case, Yang Zhengdao wasn't in a hurry and would just wait for the other party to make their terms.

After listening to the report from the guest monk, Master Mingyuan chanted a Buddhist prayer and slowly began to speak:

"The Dharma is neither taken nor given away in vain. Your Highness, Prince of Shu, Layman Yang, it is not that this humble monk is stingy, but rather that this stele is of great importance..."

Sure enough.

Yang Zhengdao and Li Ke exchanged a glance, then bowed and said, "Please enlighten us, Master."

"Those who request rubbings must, according to ancient custom, meet one of the three conditions."

"Firstly, imperial edicts. With a clear decree from the Son of Heaven, in order to enrich the library's collection, our temple shall naturally obey the order to make rubbings for offering."

This is essentially meaningless.

"Secondly, academic impartiality. Official documents were issued by the Hongwen Academy and the Imperial Academy, stating that the work was for the public purpose of collating classics and promoting calligraphy, and that it could not be privately assigned."

This is also nonsense.

"Thirdly, the great benefactors of Buddhism. With beard and hair, they make great vows and require offerings of a thousand strings of cash to adorn the Buddha's golden body and precious image."

This is the real purpose.

However, Longhua Temple really dared to ask for a thousand strings of cash.

This is definitely a pig butchering scam.

However, Yang Zhengdao felt that the price would likely vary depending on the individual.

If every rubbing could really sell for a thousand coins, then Longhua Temple would probably be covered in gold leaf by now.

They were certain that if they and Li Ke pooled their resources, they could still raise a thousand strings of cash.

Being a sucker is something no college student would do.

After hearing the three points, Li Ke's face showed obvious disappointment.

At that moment, Yang Zhengdao suddenly had a flash of inspiration and had an idea in mind.

He clasped his hands together, his eyes were clear, and his words were sincere as he began his performance.

"Master, you are wise. It is not that I am unwilling to part with a thousand pieces of gold, but that I believe that money offered before the Buddha is ultimately just an inanimate object."

Upon hearing this, Mingyuan was displeased, but he still managed to maintain his composure.

He stroked his beard, feigning surprise: "Oh? I'd like to hear your insightful opinion, sir!"

"This junior is willing to make a great vow to transcribe 30,000 volumes of the Heart Sutra for the temple within a year, in order to obtain a rubbing of the inscription on the stele of Grand Tutor Zhong."

"Thirty thousand volumes?!" Mingyuan's hand, which was stroking his beard, suddenly jerked, breaking off several strands, causing his mouth to twitch in pain.

In this era, hiring someone to copy texts is very expensive.

Mingyuan strongly suspected that the young man in front of him was talking nonsense.

Li Ke also looked at his cousin in shock. Although the Heart Sutra is short, it would probably cost fifty coins to hire someone to copy one scroll.

Thirty thousand volumes would require 1,500 strings of cash, which means we'd be losing 500 strings of cash.

Yang Zhengdao bowed to Mingyuan again.

"Thirty thousand volumes of scriptures have circulated among believers from all directions, accumulating merit no less than a thousand strings of cash in offerings. Zhengdao sincerely hopes that the Master will grant his request."

Mingyuan chanted the Buddhist mantra again, slowly turning the prayer beads in his hand.

If there were truly 30,000 copies of the Heart Sutra, its value would probably be no less than 2,000 strings of cash.

After all, Zhong Yao's rubbings of inscriptions can only be sold to the high-end market.

The copied Heart Sutra can be sold in lower-tier markets, allowing for high volume sales with low profit margins.

After a moment of silence, Mingyuan looked up and his gaze fell on Yang Zhengdao's face.

"A single scroll of scripture can dispel a single moment of delusion; thirty thousand scrolls of the Heart Sutra represent thirty thousand karmic connections. Since you have this wish, our temple will certainly grant it."

Fearing that Mingyuan might renege on his promise, Yang Zhengdao immediately wrote down the agreement and affixed his personal seal.

But when Mingyuan took the written document, he couldn't help but gasp.

"120,000 volumes?!"

Yang Zhengdao's lips curled up: "Indeed, I hope the master will keep his promise and bestow four copies of the rubbings."

Mingyuan was stunned! If he didn't agree, he would be breaking his promise.

But if you say there aren't that many rubbings, this young man will definitely ask to make rubbings on the spot.

Mingyuan stared at the words "120,000 volumes" on the document again, his face showing suspicion.

Is this young man planning to cheat me out of the rubbing and then deny it?

Yang Zhengdao naturally saw Mingyuan's concerns. He smiled and cupped his hands to Li Ke, saying, "I hope my cousin will act as a witness in his capacity as a prince."

Li Ke finally snapped out of his shock.

Seeing Yang Zhengdao's confident expression, he still took out the private seal of the King of Shu and stamped it on the document.