Chapter 527 Two Flames (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
At the entrance of the mansion in Huaiye Lane.
Under the expectant gazes of everyone, Ouyang Rong remained silent for a moment before speaking to Li Xian:
"Those in positions of power should fulfill their duties. With the Prince present, it is a blessing for the people of Xunyang. Tomorrow, I will visit Lady Rongzhen and ask her to come and see for herself. She is an envoy sent to Xunyang by His Majesty. If His Majesty were to come in person, she would certainly not stand idly by and allow His Majesty's reputation to be tarnished."
"Your Highness, Crown Prince, Chief Secretary Yuan, please take care and don't see us off."
Li Xian's eyes showed a hint of disappointment, while Li Dalang and Yuan Huaimin hesitated to speak.
From the moment she stepped out, Li Guo'er's clear eyes were fixed on the calm face of the young man who, not long ago, she and her father had repeatedly advised him to calmly accept the situation, as if trying to discern some clue from it.
Upon hearing this, she fell silent.
Just as everyone was feeling disappointed and turned away to leave.
Ouyang Rong suddenly turned around and called out to Yan Liulang.
He calmly asked a question that had absolutely nothing to do with the matter of the old woman from the Wang family:
"Have Liu Lang and Military Advisor Chen finished the renovation work at the West Gate?"
Yan Liulang was stunned for a moment, then immediately shook his head:
"No, there's still a little something left. Brother Chen will stay there to oversee the renovations..."
He answered patiently.
Yan Liulang remembered that the renovation of the West Gate was an administrative order issued by Yuan Huaimin, the Prefect of Jiangzhou, to him and Chen You the day after the Prefect and Miss Xie had just returned from the front line in Hongzhou.
Later, he vaguely heard that this matter was actually proposed privately to the new Chief Secretary Yuan Huaimin by the Prefect, who was in retirement as the Sima of Jiangzhou, and was adopted by him.
Yan Liulang hadn't expected that the Prefect would ask him directly tonight, bypassing a higher-ups. However, since Chief Secretary Yuan had a good relationship with the Prefect, it probably didn't matter.
In fact, the renovation of several city gates in Xunyang, including the West Gate, is not a new topic. When the Prefect first took office, it was already on the agenda in the Jiangzhou Hall, which can be considered a rehash of an old argument.
However, all of Jiangzhou Hall's manpower and resources were later invested in the Xunyang Grottoes at Shuangfengjian... Now that the construction of the Xunyang Grottoes has been suspended and replaced by the Xingzifang Buddha, which is more time-saving and labor-saving, Jiangzhou Hall has spare capacity to slightly repair these old city gates.
This may explain why, even after leaving his post as Chief Secretary, the Prefect still kept this important matter of people's livelihood in mind and did not forget to urge the new Chief Secretary to pay attention to it.
"Alright." After listening, Ouyang Rong nodded slightly and turned to explain to Li Xian, Li Dalang, and the others, whose faces showed some curiosity:
"The old city gates have been a long-standing problem. Many people have complained about this before. Previous officials of Jiangzhou found it troublesome and did not spend time and effort to close the gates and repair them, mainly because it would affect the flow of people in and out."
“A few days ago, when I returned from the front line, I noticed that some of the bricks and tiles overhead were indeed old and might fall and injure passersby. It just so happened that Yuan Sima had also noticed this resolution, so we discussed it and agreed that it would be better to repair them.”
"As for the specific strategy, I will have Chief Clerk Yuan consult with Military Advisor Chen You. He has been in charge of the city's defense for many years and is very familiar with all the city gates. He should be able to come up with a suitable plan... This can be considered the last practical thing I can do for Xunyang City, my last bit of remaining energy. As for the other important matters, I will have to trouble Your Highness and Chief Clerk Yuan to take care of them in the future."
After saying this with a smile, Ouyang Rong waved goodbye.
Everyone could see that things were actually alright, but Tanlang's attitude was noticeably distant and polite when it came to the demolition of the Wang residence, which was related to the Xingzifang statue. He avoided talking about the lively commotion on Qingyang Hengjie Street.
Perhaps he was blaming himself for all the advice and obstruction people had given him when he stood up... Li Xian looked ashamed and hesitated to speak, while Yuan Huaimin and his group looked helpless.
Despite their many words, they had no choice but to leave one by one.
Xie Lingjiang stayed a little longer, talked with Zhen Shuyuan for a while, and finally left reluctantly.
Ouyang Rong watched them leave, then turned and walked towards the kitchen.
In the kitchen, he accompanied the women to wash dishes, even though he didn't need to do these things at all.
But since Ouyang Rong was idle anyway, he might as well listen to the gossip and chatter of the kitchen girls while washing dishes.
During the journey, Zhen Shuyuan asked with a curious expression:
"By the way, my dear, what's the price of pork today? I haven't heard you mention it lately."
Ouyang Rong smiled but remained silent.
The women did not ask any further questions.
Soon the moon rose high in the sky and then quietly hid behind the clouds.
The moon shines brightly in the deep courtyard, where people are just settling down.
In the dark master bedroom of Yinbingzhai, Ouyang Rong, who was sleeping fully clothed, got up, turned around and covered Ye Weilai, whose face was still deep in sleep, with the quilt, and then walked to a desk.
He bent down to light the oil lamp, sat down at the desk, and sat there for a while.
The desk looked like it hadn't been tidied up for days, and Ouyang Rong also told Ye Weilai not to touch it.
After a moment of silence, he pulled out a drawing from under a pile of poetry and prose books carelessly placed on his desk.
He took out one of the sheets, examined it under the lamp for a while, and then put it back under the pile of books.
The young man turned off the lights and returned to his bedroom.
The moonlight outside the window fell on the drawing, and you could vaguely see a headless Buddha sitting with its back to the cliff.
If you have a keen eye, you will notice that the dimensions of this headless Buddha are marked on the drawings.
It was the detailed blueprint of the headless Buddha statue that had been abandoned at the Xunyang Grottoes... The entire design was based on the dimensions of the Buddha provided by Rongzhen and the Imperial Observatory.
At this moment, whether it's the Xunyang Grottoes in reality or the incredibly detailed blueprints everywhere, this applies to everything.
The neck of the Buddha statue is empty.
It seems to be waiting for the Buddha's head to return to its place in the distance.
...
The following day, in the main hall of Jiangzhou.
Ouyang Rong was unusually punctual.
This made Yuan Huaimin and his colleagues somewhat uncomfortable.
However, when everyone saw Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen walking together, they felt relieved.
The two have been traveling together frequently lately.
After listening to Ouyang Rong's explanation, Rong Zhen asked directly:
"Qingyang Hengjie? Ouyang Lianghan, are you trying to interfere?"
Ouyang Rong gently shook his head, "Lady Historian is more suitable to go."
"You know that right now. Things are at a critical juncture. If you act impulsively, you'll be finished. His Majesty is watching your every move. As the Prefect of Jiangzhou, you must not interfere in the affairs of the Chief Clerk and the Governor."
"I know about this matter. I'll go see you later. You're doing quite well right now, peaceful and free from desires, avoiding trouble and having so many worries..."
Looking at her serious and pretty face, Ouyang Rong smiled.
A moment later, I watched Rongzhen's retreating figure disappear in a hurry.
...
night.
In Qingyang Hengjie, where most people have already moved out, a horse-drawn carriage is parked in the alley.
Apart from a few stubborn outdoor vendors, Qingyang Hengjie was almost empty, and the atmosphere should have been quiet.
However, the Chengtian Temple next door was under construction overnight, which naturally caused a lot of noise.
"Prefect Wang, what did Lord Lin and the others say?"
Inside the carriage, as soon as Pei Shisan Niang returned, Shen Bingqiang couldn't wait to ask.
Pei Shisan Niang sighed:
"Prefect Wang and Lord Lin told us to handle it ourselves. They want to see this place emptied by tomorrow. It's the deadline."
"Deal with it as you see fit? How do you mean, 'deal with it as you see fit'?"
Shen Bingqiang frowned, displeased, and asked in return.
This evening, Wang Lengran, Lin Cheng, along with the Wang family of Xunyang, Lady Rongzhen, and others, came to Qingyang Heng Street again to visit and persuade the Wang family.
Lady Rongzhen had started coming regularly the day before yesterday. She wasn't very nice to Lin Cheng, Wang Lengran, and the others, but the two officials were very patient with her. Even Pei Shisan Niang and Shen Bingqiang were humbled in front of this cold, palace-dressed girl with an unfathomable background.
However, when it came to Madam Wang's attempt to hold out as a holdout, everyone, including Ms. Rongzhen, tried in vain and returned empty-handed.
The only good news was that Madam Wang didn't mistake anyone again. However, she sat alone the whole time, ignoring everyone else and muttering something that no one could understand.
Anyway, Shen Bingqiang had no patience to listen to her rambling.
"I don't care. Her two sons have already signed the deed, and the house has been sold to me. Now the house belongs to us, not hers. I'm kind-hearted, so I'm giving her one day to move out. Otherwise, she's illegally residing in my property. No matter how old she is, she won't stand a chance even if we take the case to the highest court!"
Shen Bingqiang waved his hand impatiently, then, as if remembering something, a ruthless glint appeared on his fat face, and he chuckled coldly in a low voice:
"How about we go all the way and have someone finish this old bastard off tonight? What do you say, Chairman Pei? I know a few people with murder charges on their hands. I'll have them come over, and they'll get a settlement fee after it's done..."
"No, absolutely not!"
Pei Shisan Niang looked up and quickly tried to dissuade her.
Seeing the anxious look in the noblewoman's eyes, the short, fat merchant with a face full of fat curled his lip and snorted:
"No way? Heh, I told you, if she dares to stay in my house and refuse to leave, I'll do it. This is called chasing away a thief, chasing away an old thief. Let's see who's afraid of who. Taking advantage of her age, she's giving me face, isn't she? If she messes with me again, I'll have someone throw her into the river in a sack tomorrow. It's not like I haven't done it before..."
Just as Shen Bingqiang was making his harsh remarks, some noise suddenly came from not far away.
Shen Bingqiang and Pei Shisan Niang looked over curiously and saw a flame shooting up from the direction of a familiar house not far away!
"This is……"
As the two looked on in confusion, someone on the street was fetching water, running and shouting:
"Oh no! Oh no! Fire! Old Madam Wang's bedroom is on fire! She's still inside!"
Shen Bingqiang was stunned for a moment.
Pei Shisan Niang looked at him with suspicion and surprise.
Shen Bingqiang wiped his face vigorously, stammering slightly:
"No...it wasn't me, damn it, this is too ruthless! Aren't they afraid of causing a huge disaster? Or are they trying to cover it up? Damn, they're so corrupt, these officials are even more filthy than us salt smugglers!"
Be careful what you say!
Pei Shisan Niang gave a stern look, gazing at the firelight, and said:
"But you're right, something big is about to happen..."
...
Something really serious has happened.
Last night, a fire broke out in the Wang family residence, specifically in the bedroom of Old Madam Wang's Buddhist shrine. According to the preliminary investigation conducted by the Prefectural Governor's Office early this morning…
It was this elderly woman with white hair who, whether by accident or intentionally, knocked over the oil lamp, causing the fire in the Buddhist shrine bedroom.
The old lady, of course, was not spared either, becoming a curled-up, charred corpse in the cold morning sunlight, lying near the plaque in the Buddhist hall that enshrined the old master of the Wang family...
The charred, curled-up corpse, wrapped in a white cloth, was carried out of the gate by the Wang family's sons, who were crying and wailing, under the watchful eyes of those who either looked on with indifference or pity.
The officialdom of Xunyang City remained silent in the face of this swiftly obtained investigation result.
However, undercurrents were swirling within, and countless doubts and speculations were circulating.
For the entire day, the atmosphere in Xunyang City remained as usual, but anyone with discerning eyes could tell that the atmosphere was extremely eerie.
Also on that day, starting in the morning, the thirteen holdout households that had been refusing to move on Qingyang Hengjie began to gradually relent.
They took the initiative to approach Pei Shisan Niang, Shen Bingqiang, and others to discuss the sale of the house, and they were all extremely honest.
Pei Shisan Niang and Shen Bingqiang exchanged a complicated glance.
In the morning, Li Xian, Li Dalang, and the female official Rong Zhen also rushed to the scene at Qingyang Hengjie in Xingzifang to check the specific situation.
Lin Cheng and Wang Lengran conducted the reception in a businesslike manner, showing no expression throughout.
Li Xian remained expressionless. Li Dalang glanced sideways and noticed that his usually gentle and weak father had his cheeks slightly puffed out and his teeth were clenched so tightly that they were making a grinding sound. Yet, under the shadow of the Buddha statue in the distance, he lowered his head slightly, as if "daring not to speak loudly for fear of disturbing the heavenly beings."
Rong Zhen, with an equally cold and gloomy face, walked into the ruins of the bonfire inside the Wang residence.
However, soon after, that same afternoon, during an inspection tour led by Li Xian and a group of officials, another incident occurred.
A drunken, frail-looking young man appeared at the statue construction site beside Xingzi Lake. Perhaps because the Buddha statue was being built at a breakneck pace, and the area was bustling with activity and noise, no one paid any attention to him or stopped him.
Wang Yu, the third son of the Wang family who had previously been timid and taciturn, and a scholar from the state academy, dressed in plain white mourning clothes, climbed up the ladder, swaying left and right, to the right shoulder of the unfinished Buddha statue. He poured oil all over himself, threw down a tinderbox, and jumped off the height in front of everyone.
By the time the first person on the field saw it, it had already become a ball of fire in mid-air.
Amidst the screams of agony from the flames, a moment later, a loud bang was heard, and the ground beneath our feet trembled twice.
The sound was like the dull thud of a sack hitting the ground heavily at the dock.
It's like the sound of a lump of dough being roughly slapped onto a cutting board by a rude cook.
The sound echoed not far behind Li Xian, Yuan Huaimin, and the others who were conducting the inspection.
Blood and fire splattered.
The wailing stopped abruptly.
Yet it seemed as if it had never left, lingering in everyone's ears like a distant echo.
Officials such as Li Xian, Li Dalang, and Yuan Huaimin all turned around in surprise.
The atmosphere in the room fell into a brief, deathly silence.
A cold, elegantly dressed girl, who was investigating at the Wang residence not far away, also quickly appeared at this novel accident scene.
Rongzhen, along with Li Xian and other officials, stared intently at the large mass of bloody flesh and corpses on the ground.
A moment later, Rong Zhen, Li Xian, Yuan Huaimin, Pei Shisan Niang... everyone in the room slowly turned their heads.
All eyes were drawn to the person who was leading the procession at the front, the one who was hosting the Xingzifang statue.
Amidst gazes of surprise, doubt, anger, and fear from all directions.
Lin Cheng shook his head expressionlessly:
"To reiterate, this is not me."
(End of this chapter)
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