Chapter 538 A gentleman cannot be deceived, a musician possesses a beautiful melody (Bonus chapter 1/5, please vote!)

The current situation is somewhat different from Rong Zhen's criticism of Lin Cheng and Wei Shaoqi.

Along the main road from the West Gate to the former Chengtian Temple, now the Xingzi Lake construction site, many ordinary people and peddlers gathered to watch the transport of the Buddha head.

Yes, there are many.

The Xingzi Lake construction site is located in the center of Xingzifang, which is the largest and most diverse neighborhood in Xunyang City, covering a considerable area.

It takes half an hour to transport the Buddha's head from the west gate.

The main road leading to it had been cleared in advance, with all the obstructing stalls and shops moved away, making way for a wide avenue where eight horses could ride side by side.

At this moment, a dozen or so horse-drawn carriages were pieced together, slowly carrying the heavy and enormous Buddha head towards the Xingzi Lake construction site.

Besides Lin Cheng, Rong Zhen, Wei Shaoqi, Wang Lengran, Yuan Huaimin and other officials at the forefront, there were also hundreds of black-armored soldiers guarding the Buddha's convoy.

Looking around, the streets were packed with onlookers.

However, as Rongzhen had said, most of the shops and houses along the streets where the Buddha statue was being transported were closed, and occasionally a few pairs of eyes could be seen peeking out from the cracks in the doors.

The journey was both lively and quiet.

They were both overjoyed and cautious.

It's difficult to describe this contradictory atmosphere.

"Why is Lady Rong so distracted?"

At the very front of the group, Lin Cheng suddenly turned around and asked.

Rongzhen, with a stern face, stepped forward, her sleeves tucked behind her back, and did not reply to what was

Lin Cheng had gotten used to the lady's cold face; it would be terrible if she ever stopped being cold.

As the Buddha head drew closer to its destination, the unease caused by the earlier commotion at the West Gate gradually faded.

Lin Cheng turned around and glanced at the enormous Buddha head on the carriage. Waterproof and fireproof tarpaulin covered the Buddha head, which originally only vaguely outlined the shape of the Buddha's head.

However, a significant amount of dust that fell along with the bricks from the West Gate remained on the tarpaulin, further outlining the facial features of the Buddha's head—the amount of dust highlighted the deep features.

The Buddha head beneath the tarpaulin seems to be smiling.

Lin Cheng withdrew his gaze, then suddenly turned back and asked:

Where is Ouyang Sima?

"I have already said that."

"Is Your Excellency certain that he is currently at Xunyang Tower?"

"Lin Cheng, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"I didn't mean to say anything, but I was afraid that the flood might wash away the Dragon King Temple. That's why I just suggested that Lady Historian go and invite Ouyang Sima to witness the completion of the Buddha statue together. This is for his own good."

"Lin Cheng, do you really think that everyone is like you, feeling that standing on that construction site at Xingzi Lake, which drains the people's blood and sweat, and witnessing the completion of this Buddha statue is an incredibly glorious thing?"

Rongzhen asked in a serious tone:

"Do you know why the Prince of Xunyang and his heir, like Ouyang Lianghan, didn't come? Even though they knew this was an opportunity for His Majesty to show goodwill, they still made excuses to be absent just now?"

"I don't know."

Lin Cheng frowned slightly:

"But isn't it true that witnessing the birth of a Buddha statue that can stand for a hundred years and live as long as the nation is an honor? What's more, you can participate in it and become a leader."

"Confucianism emphasizes the three immortalities: establishing merit, establishing virtue, and establishing words. This is establishing merit."

He changed the subject:

"Actually, I've always felt that if Ouyang Sima could assist me, we could speed up the statue-making process at Xingzi Lake even more."

"And then, will he share the blame with you?"

"No, if Ouyang Sima were here, the recent rumors would definitely have been avoided. With Ouyang Sima's abilities, perhaps some minor accidents on the construction site could also have been avoided these days. To be honest, I am still a bit inexperienced in handling these matters."

Rongzhen said stiffly:

"Oh, so it's all his fault. The injuries and bad reviews at the Xingzihu construction site are all his fault. He didn't help, which is a real sin."

Lin Cheng said with a helpless expression:

"That's not what I meant. I just feel a little regretful."

"Only regret? What about everything else? How do you account for the price paid?"

"The price was unavoidable, but I have a clear conscience."

"A clear conscience? How much of this is driven by personal gain and how much by public interest? You wouldn't be lying to yourself, would you?"

"Naturally, the greatest concern is public-spiritedness, because His Majesty's will is the will of the Great Zhou, and His Majesty's heart is the public-spiritedness of the Great Zhou."

"My loyalty to Your Majesty is simply following the will of the people. What's wrong with that?"

Rong Zhen said coldly, "If it weren't for your wicked words, would His Majesty have so easily changed the location for the statue?"

"Does Your Excellency mean that you are also dissatisfied with His Majesty...?"

Rong Zhen suddenly interrupted:

"Lin Cheng, are you still pretending? Do you dare say that you presided over the Xingzifang statue-making ceremony this time not to complete your promotion ceremony? Not to try to break through to the fifth rank?"

"Originally, I was somewhat uncertain about this, but seeing Senior Song here today, I understand your despicable intentions."

"Lin Cheng, if you truly cared about the people and the nation, and genuinely wanted to reduce casualties at the Xingzi Lake construction site, you wouldn't have deliberately ostracized Ouyang Lianghan."

"If he joins in, he will inevitably take your place and influence, and then this Yin-Yang School's promotion ceremony will be incomplete. At least in terms of effect, it will definitely not be as good as if you had led it alone."

"If you can't even accept such a small loss from the bottom of your heart, what difference does it make if Ouyang Lianghan's involvement can reduce casualties and the cost to the people of Xunyang?"

"But you were too embarrassed to say such sordid thoughts. So you verbally invited Ouyang Lianghan to join, and even spoke well of him in front of the sage."

"But everything you've done is an overt and covert attempt to get rid of him. It would be best if he knew better and left on his own initiative, turning against you. That way, you'd still be a pure white lotus flower, sharing the Emperor's burdens and considering the foundation of the Great Zhou Dynasty. In front of all the officials, you'd appear to have never suppressed this respected and popular colleague. It would seem as if Ouyang Lianghan was the one who was being tactless, ignorant, and disobeying His Majesty's orders."

Her face was as cold as ice, her eyes filled with disgust:

"Lin Cheng, you have indeed succeeded in this respect. You really understand Ouyang Lianghan, you know his bottom line, you know what he absolutely cannot accept, and you know how to make him leave on his own."

"It is said that a gentleman has a way of deceiving others, but Lin Cheng, you have gone too far in deceiving others!"

"You clearly don't want him to come, yet at this very moment, you still pretend to want me to invite him. Lin Cheng, do you know how disgusting it is for me to hear these hypocritical words from you?"

"You're not even as good as Wei Shaoqi; at least he was a true villain."

Rong Zhen, who was usually taciturn, suddenly launched into a tirade, drawing the attention of Wei Shaoqi, Wang Lengran, Yuan Huaimin, and others around him.

However, Wei Shaoqi had been listening with great interest at first, but as he listened, he heard the label of "a real villain" in the lady's mind, and his expression immediately darkened.

When his lungs were exposed in public, Lin Cheng's usually calm expression changed instantly.

His face was extremely pale; he was really embarrassed.

Under the strange looks from his companions and subordinates, he quickly narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he spoke:

"What nonsense are you talking about? The innocent will clear themselves. I wanted to invite Ouyang Sima over for his own good, to prevent him from making any more mistakes. You have misunderstood me, Your Excellency."

Rong Zhen remained expressionless, speaking each word clearly:

“Ouyang Lianghan is currently at the Chrysanthemum Poetry Gathering at Xunyang Tower. He is a gentleman, not a petty person like you. I believe him.”

"Alright, Cheng'er, Rong'er, what are you arguing about? What time is it? Why are you still arguing about these trivial things?"

At this moment, the convoy transporting the Buddha head arrived at the original location of Qingyang Hengjie, only a hundred steps away from the Xingzifang Buddha statue construction site. On the second floor of a teahouse by the roadside, an old woman with white eyes opened the window.

She sat behind the tea table, which was surrounded by the corpses of tea drinkers.

His voice was soft yet resonant, carrying throughout the entire street.

"Get ready, it's time to close the net. No one will escape from this Xingzifang today. Anyone who reveals their spiritual energy will be killed without mercy."

The entire room fell silent.

Not only the black-armored soldiers transporting the Buddha head, but also the ordinary people and merchants of Xunyang who were originally watching, were unusually silent, as if they had a tacit understanding.

Clang—!

As soon as Granny Song finished speaking, in the otherwise frozen atmosphere of deathly silence, a barely perceptible melody suddenly rang out, as if in response to her.

The ethereal sound of the zither was like the soft patter of raindrops falling from the eaves outside the door, a sound that could last until dawn.

Perhaps because the venue was too quiet, the piano music, which was naturally amplified in everyone's ears, sounded even more eerie.

But an even stranger scene followed.

In the quiet crowd of people, blue or red "coils of air" began to emerge from one person after another.

There were thirteen or fourteen people in the crowd from one end of the street to the other.

There was a pale-faced scholar carrying a bamboo book box; an old charcoal seller with a face full of wrinkles; and a thin monk carrying a wooden alms bowl, begging for alms with his head bowed and eyes downcast.

The crimson aura emanating from these three individuals soared into the sky, as thick as pillars of light.

In addition, amidst this ethereal, rain-like zither music that permeated the entire Xingzifang,

Not far from the Buddha Head convoy and the Xingzi Lake construction site, a straight, sword-like purple aura suddenly emerged from a well-behaved wealthy family's residence.

The purple aura emanated from a vermilion building deep within this residence, where a gentle lady was bowing her head and patiently teaching a snotty-nosed little girl to copy a book. Beneath her skirt, her ankles, crossed, were tied with red rope bells.

After the music began, the gentle lady put down her brush, patted the bewildered little girl's head with her hair in a topknot, stood up, sighed softly, and muttered a little complaint:

"So what if you lost a sword strike and got a sword cut off? Why did you go looking for someone out of spite? Look, you're going to be late again..."

(End of this chapter)