"It's already the fifth watch, and you're sleeping in front of the main hall of the East Peak Temple! Get up, you!"
After the people from the Northern Bureau of Military Guards took control of the place, the Flag Bearer Guard took over the security at the entrance. Luo Sigong, as the newly appointed Commander of the Imperial Bodyguard, was now the top running dog of the Ming Dynasty and was eager to show off his authority.
Although he had gone to the Northern Bureau of Military Guards before to prepare to receive the divine position left by the previous commander, he did not expect Emperor Wanli to have something to do so early in the morning, so he did not have time to guide him.
As soon as he entered, he put on a fierce demeanor, his eyes glaring, and he slapped the table. The dozing Taoist in red was startled awake and immediately stood up, freezing in place.
"You, you are..."
The red-robed Taoist sleeping in front of the main hall of the temple was the temple keeper. He was dressed in a red Taoist robe, wearing a cloth cap, a golden brocade inner garment, and a string of wooden slips.
Taoist officials with positions in the capital were dressed like this. If they were from the Taoist Registry outside the capital, they would wear green with gold, which looked very environmentally friendly...
Ji Xiang's attire had not changed because his items had not yet been prepared and sent over. Therefore, he was still wearing a sky-blue crane cloak. In fact, the Emperor Wanli's reward should have been red with black, because virtuous high-ranking Taoist priests would be bestowed with "black cloaks."
The Taoist in the big red robe stood up and saw the uniformly displayed flying fish suits and a group of heavenly soldiers and divine generals. He was immediately terrified and didn't know what to say.
"Are you the temple keeper here?"
Luo Sigong told him to stand at attention and asked, stating who was in front of him and reporting his name!
The red-robed Taoist quickly said:
"Reporting to Your Excellency, this humble Taoist is dispatched from the Longhu Mountain Zhengyi Temple, currently affiliated with the Shenguan Office under the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, serving as the second Zhi Guan and the temple keeper of the East Peak Temple, Tian Fengyu."
The Court of Imperial Sacrifices had an ancient origin, existing since the Qin Dynasty, when it was called Feng Chang. After the Han Dynasty, it was changed to Tai Chang. During the Tang Dynasty, it was one of the Nine Ministries. In the present Ming Dynasty, it was one of the Five Ministries, the highest administrative organ responsible for rites and music.
It was responsible for things like sacrificing to ancestors, appeasing all gods, managing temples, playing music, singing and dancing, beating gongs and drums, and formulating rituals... The Imperial Medical Office was also an institution under the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
The Shenguan Office was also an institution under the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.
The Shenguan Office was established in the eleventh year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty and belonged to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Its original office was in Ying Tian Fu. In the eighteenth year of Yongle, it was moved to Shun Tian Fu, with its office located near the Temple of Heaven. It was responsible for the music and dance during the sacrifices to heaven and earth, deities, ancestors, and the state, and was managed by officials such as the Ti Dian and Zhi Guan.
The staff members were all Taoist officials. Of course, the highest rank among Taoist officials was the "Shenguan Office Ti Dian," which was a positive sixth rank.
After all, the true formulators of rituals were Confucian scholars, so the sacrificial institutions of the Taoist sect were merely for show in the Ming court. The positive sixth rank of the Shenguan Office Ti Dian was actually considered too high by ministers.
Therefore, Shen Yiguan, the second assistant of the Grand Secretariat, would tell Ji Xiang to come and study, because studying could lead to higher official positions. Moreover, Ji Xiang's official status was that of a real official, belonging to the legitimate Confucian official system. This was a major system, while institutions like the Shenguan Office were considered idle personnel outside the major system.
Without abandoning his Taoist identity, even if the emperor bestowed an official position upon him, he would at most be promoted to a subordinate fourth rank.
This was probably the difference between a permanent employee and a contract worker.
As for the "second Zhi Guan" mentioned by the temple keeper, it was the second Zhi Guan in the Shenguan Office, a ninth-rank official, truly a trivial official.
Luo Sigong asked the temple keeper: "Was there anything unusual in the East Peak Temple last night?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, there was no abnormality in the East Peak Temple last night. This humble Taoist has been sitting here all along."
"I see you sleeping so soundly, you wouldn't know if anything happened, would you?"
The temple keeper gave an embarrassed yet polite smile.
The Imperial Bodyguard searched the East Peak Temple, meticulously searching every hall and every statue.
Luo Sigong could not have imagined the methods of the Northern Bureau of Military Guards. This time, the one who came was the Marquis Jia Ling, one of the Three Generals of the Heavenly Gate, who was in charge of water-based extermination. He could detect subtle and minute strange changes. If the temple keeper had any unusual movements, he would be killed on the spot.
The general's eyes emitted white mist, like the size of a chicken egg, which suddenly stopped and turned into two bright mirrors.
Before he went to the main hall, in Ji Xiang's inner vision, the divine tablet had already appeared with a description:
[Treasure Mirror Dharma Eye: Also known as the Great Ming Treasure Mirror, with white mist the size of a chicken egg in both eyes, which turns into two bright mirrors in front of the face, allowing one to clearly see the twenty-four gods of the body. It can also see dispersed and transformed objects, clearly discern the original spirits of all matters of life and death, control the transformations of all demons, command thousands of spirits and ghosts, and prevent disasters.]
The Treasure Mirror Dharma Eye was used to examine and discern evil spirits and anomalies. When the heavenly general entered the main hall, he saw the statues of the seventy-six司神主 of the underworld placed on both sides. These statues were either pale and cold, or green-faced and fanged, or red-faced with angry Dharma appearances. In summary, none of the sculptures had a pleasant expression.
Of course, in the East Peak Temple, the seventy-six statues were the main gods of the underworld. If they were captured by the underworld, they would suffer. It was impossible for the many underworld gods to greet you with a smile and ask for a good review.
Even if they greeted you with a smile and asked for a good review, would you dare not to give one? Then it seems that the "service" has not been in place.
Of course, besides the seventy-six司神主, there were many other statues, such as the Medicine King, Guan Di, the Third Son of the East Peak, the God of Joy, Wen Chang Emperor, the Kitchen God, Zhenwu Great Emperor, etc. These were supplementary statues, meaning they received incense and offerings. In fact, their relationship with the underworld was not so close.
As for the seventy-two red pavilions and seventy-six underworld departments, some departments did not have administrative red pavilions but had separate divine residences.
He entered the main hall and carefully observed the situation in the East Peak Temple. Suddenly, he saw two statues. The incense offerings in these two statues were disordered, and their Dharma appearances and faces were closed-eyed and benevolent, which was out of place with the surrounding gods.
In his Dharma eye, the faces of these two statues, and the entire bodies, seemed to be separated.
The heavenly general found the temple keeper and asked:
"Temple Keeper Tian Fengyu, I am observing with my Dharma eye. Why have the statues of the Su Bao Si God Lord and the Zhang Jiao Qian Ya Si God Lord been moved, causing the underworld's incense energy to be unable to be offered in the correct position?"
His voice was very cold, as if devoid of emotion, as if the next sentence, as long as you said something wrong, he would raise his hand and slap you into a pulp.
The seventy-six departments of the underworld, the Su Bao Si, Taoism believes that "the报 of good and evil follows like a shadow." The benefits or disasters encountered in daily life are all due to their good or evil deeds. The God Lord of this department is Yue Fei.
However, this Yue Fei was naturally separated in the underworld, as Yue Fei had many divine positions, and the God Lord of the Su Bao Si was just one of them.
"These two God Lord statues were not repaired five years ago. Where did these two statues come from?"
The temple keeper said: "The old statues suddenly had cracked faces a few days ago, for some unknown reason. I led some Taoist disciples to inspect them and thought it was caused by mice gnawing on the statues in the temple."
"So we replaced their faces. The disordered incense offerings may be because the statues themselves have not yet adjusted to the new faces."