Chapter 530 Rong Zhen's Special Spot (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
"I have met him and we exchanged a few words."
"What? To whom?"
"Madam Wang's youngest son, Wang Yu."
Not far from the Control Yuan, a corner of a breakfast stall.
After ordering breakfast, Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen, who had just sat down, fell silent as the conversation ended.
Until the breakfast stall owner jogged over with two bowls of spicy soup and five sesame seed cakes... he got two, she got three. That's right, Rong Zhen looked petite, but her appetite was bigger than his.
Ouyang Rong thanked him, turned around, glanced at Rong Zhen who seemed lost in thought, and asked softly:
"Then what."
"On the evening of the day Madam Wang's house caught fire, I went to her room and tried to persuade her..."
"At that time, Wang Yu was right next to Madam Wang. I chatted with him for a few words. My impression of him was that he was a young man who buried himself in his books, honest and timid, and very filial."
“That’s right, filial piety. I was thinking about that at the time, because Madam Wang’s other two sons didn’t come, only this youngest son was there to take care of her.”
Rongzhen stared down at the sesame seed cake, not touching it to eat, letting the hot cake cool down as she continued speaking:
"Yesterday, this was an honest and unassuming young man. He jumped off the Buddha statue in the sunlight without hesitation. Although he had been drinking, he was clearly a weak-willed person..."
“Ouyang Lianghan, I don’t quite understand.”
"I have to understand."
Ouyang Rong picked up the spicy soup and calmly took a sip.
Rongzhen said, word by word:
“Ouyang Lianghan, I do not believe that Wang Yu and Madam Wang were instigated by the rebels of the Kuangfu Army. I do not believe the things that Wang Lengran reported and accused.”
"I don't believe it either."
Rongzhen took a deep breath:
"I still don't understand why someone as wise as a saint would protect Lin Cheng... Even if he was protected, why ignore this matter and not mention the Wang family at all?"
"Ouyang Lianghan, the old lady of the Wang family talked a lot about the Gaozong Dynasty. She had no disrespect for the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Sage. On the contrary, she was very supportive of the Sage."
"Yet this family of law-abiding citizens of the Great Zhou, the very foundation of the Great Zhou state, has been forced into this state, with their family destroyed and their lives lost."
Ouyang Rong gestured to the plate of sesame seed cakes. Rong Zhen realized what he meant, silently picked up a cake, her pretty face blank, and took a small bite.
Ouyang Rong then said softly:
"Even a speck of dust in the era becomes a mountain when it falls on their heads. Yet, few people care."
"We might count as two, and the only thing we can do is try to avoid these things as much as possible."
"Try to avoid it..." Rong Zhen murmured, then looked up and asked:
"So you never even considered Xingzifang back then, and instead chose to carve out Shuangfengjian and build Xunyang Grottoes? Were you also afraid of this kind of thing, and didn't want to become a mountain weighing down on them, sacrificing them in the name of statues?"
Ouyang Rong lowered his head and drank his spicy soup, remaining silent.
Rong Zhen's face was as cold as ice:
"This opportunistic and treacherous courtier, Lin Cheng, is making me angrier the more I think about him..."
"Lady Rong".
Ouyang Rong suddenly put down his bowl and called out softly.
"What's wrong?" Rongzhen asked, puzzled.
Ouyang Rong looked into her eyes and asked:
"Do you still think that His Majesty was misled by Lin Cheng and his subordinates to build the statue in Xingzifang, and that he was kept in the dark about the Wang family's affairs and knew nothing about them?"
Rongzhen remained silent for a long while before asking:
"What does Chief Secretary Ouyang mean?"
"Hasn't Lady Rong always said that everyone has selfish desires? Isn't His Majesty human too?"
"What's the meaning?"
"The meaning is simple: even saints have selfish desires."
Rongzhen subconsciously retorted:
"The Sage is the Emperor of the Great Zhou, our sovereign. She thinks of the Great Zhou's fate and its future. Isn't her personal desire the public good of the Great Zhou?"
"It depends on the order. Is it the selfishness of millions of people that has converged into the will of one person, or is it the will of one person that directly replaces the will of millions of people? Should it be done from top to bottom, or from bottom to top...?"
"The difference is earth-shattering. In your opinion, which situation is it now, Ms. Rong?"
Rongzhen fell silent, speechless.
She took a deep breath, then her expression turned serious, and she instructed:
“Ouyang Lianghan, you must not spread these words. It’s one thing to say them to me, but I will pretend I didn’t hear them today…”
"Regardless, the Sage is the ruler of the Great Zhou Dynasty and considers the overall situation... Moreover, this time, the Sage also showed his intention to protect you and the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, which shows that the Sage is not incompetent and still knows who the upright ministers are."
Ouyang Rong neither agreed nor disagreed.
Rongzhen stared at him for a while, her voice unconsciously softening:
"Ouyang Lianghan, you need to learn to protect yourself, do you understand?"
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong turned his head to look, only to see Rong Zhen avert his gaze and say:
"We cannot... we cannot allow a villain like Lin Cheng to seize a high position."
"Thank you for your trust, Lady Rong. I am just a little flattered and don't understand why you trust me so much and value me so highly."
Rong Zhen suddenly said, "Ouyang Lianghan, do you know that you actually have a kind of energy within you?"
"Wh...what kind of air?"
Ouyang Rong paused slightly, then asked calmly.
Rong Zhen didn't notice, and her face remained serious as she said:
"A special aura, like a righteous spirit, like the indignation of a gentleman, and like the aura of a dragon lurking in the abyss..."
"But I can't see it normally, only on special occasions... For example, back at Xunyang Ferry, when you publicly refused to obey the imperial edict, I could vaguely see it in you..."
“This spirit cannot be faked, so I trust you when it comes to advocating for the people.”
Ouyang Rong was speechless, then immediately thought of his characteristic of concealing wind and gathering energy.
In the past, when Rong Zhen appeared wearing a bronze mask and posing as the owner of the Butterfly Love Flower, she probably didn't notice this aura. So far, it seems only the literary aura has been leaked.
The aura Rongzhen saw in him was probably the same one that her junior sister saw in him back in Longcheng County.
"Ouyang Lianghan, why aren't you saying anything?"
"fine."
Ouyang Rong came to his senses, awakened by the clear sound of a wooden fish drum beside him.
He couldn't help but glance at Rong Zhen, who looked concerned.
Why are you increasing his merits again?
This Lady Rong has performed so many good deeds; in principle, Ouyang Rong should be happy. But for some reason, he felt a little uneasy…
He quickly changed the subject and said seriously:
"Ms. Rong, you should also protect yourself, as you may sympathize with her. In any case, since His Majesty has still spared you for this Xingzifang statue project and given you the opportunity for the Yin-Yang School's advancement ceremony, you should make the most of it."
"What Yin-Yang Master advancement ceremony?"
Rongzhen was puzzled.
Ouyang Rong frowned further: "Isn't supervising the construction of the Buddha statue in Jiangzhou a ritual to complete for you Yin-Yang School Qi cultivators?"
"Who said that?"
"Forest……"
Ouyang Rong's words caught in his throat, and he swallowed them back.
He lowered his eyes and said, "I heard that there are four important spots for the Four Directions Buddha statue, and Lady Rong has taken one of them."
Rong Zhen first nodded, then shook her head:
"Being able to supervise the Donglin Buddha is indeed a special privilege, but it can only be done after the Buddha is completed."
"Besides, as you have seen, you were the ones who did all the work on the Donglin Buddha statue. I just occasionally strolled around and inspected it, without participating in it."
"Now that Lin Cheng is making statues in Xingzifang, I am not concerned about the specific matters."
"How can a promotion ceremony be achieved by leveraging the 'qi' of someone who isn't deeply involved? That's utter nonsense."
"I came to Xunyang City not for this so-called promotion ceremony. The superior rank is not so easy to achieve."
Ouyang Rong immediately understood something, but his brows remained furrowed:
"If it's not a promotion quota for Qi cultivators from your Yin Yang School, then what is it?"
"It was my opportunity to preside over the Donglin Buddha after its completion. Among the four great Buddhas, the Donglin Buddha sits in the southernmost position..."
Rongzhen's account is vague.
"What Tiannan?"
“Lingnan and Jiangnan Circuits”.
"How exactly will you oversee things?"
Rongzhen picked up her bowl and drank her soup, remaining silent. Then, suddenly, she said:
“Ouyang Lianghan, you have been asking me before whether Lin Cheng is trying to take my place, and the answer is still... no.”
"But speaking of promotion, I think that Lin Cheng went to great lengths to seize control of your statue making this time, hoping to use the Xingzi Workshop's statue making to gain an opportunity to be promoted to a higher grade."
"In particular, his teacher is that senior in the prison, who may have seen some opportunity."
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong suddenly calmed down and sighed softly, "It's alright, it's all the same."
"Everything is the same?"
Ouyang Rong did not answer, but raised the soup bowl and drank it all in one gulp, his ears filled with the "singing of cicadas in summer".
"Is the Lady Historian also indignant?" he suddenly said.
Rongzhen fell silent.
...
In Xingzifang, next to a bustling Buddhist statue construction site, in a temporary conference hall.
Wang Lengran was sipping tea while slowly adjusting the cuffs of his crimson official robe.
Outside the door, a slightly chubby young man rushed into the hall without stopping.
"Lord Wang, who instructed you to submit the memorial that revealed Wang Yu's relationship with the former scholar Ziyue Zi'ang? Are those letters genuine or fake? This kind of veiled attack is rather naive and obvious."
Lin Cheng, who was extremely busy at the construction site, took a break to come over and immediately began to question Wang Lengran.
It turns out that he was completely unaware of the memorial Wang Lengran sent immediately after Lin Cheng submitted his confession—which accused Ouyang Lianghan of having connections with Wang Junzhi and Yue Zi'ang of the Jiangzhou Prefectural School.
There were only two people in the conference hall; the Third Young Master Wei was nowhere to be seen.
Wang Lengran asked with a puzzled look, "You've uncovered clues and suspicious points, why haven't you reported it to the imperial court?"
"Why was I unaware of this beforehand? Why was no one informed?" Lin Cheng asked suspiciously.
"As the Prefect of Jiangzhou, I am responsible to my superiors. Of course, I must report to the court immediately. This is my duty."
"As for beforehand... I was indeed too busy to remember, but I'm sure Lord Lin wouldn't disagree, so it's not too late to find out now."
"This is different..."
"What's different?"
Wang Lengran squinted at Lin Cheng, who had blurted out the name without thinking, and asked in return.
Lin Cheng stopped speaking and silently swallowed his words.
After a moment, he lowered his voice and asked:
"This matter concerning the Wang family mother and son... is it related to the Third Young Master?"
Wang replied expressionlessly:
"How would I know? Young Master Lin can ask him directly."
"Alright, where is the Third Young Master now?"
“Princess Anhui was distributing porridge outside this afternoon, and the Third Young Master was worried about her, so he stayed by her side to keep an eye on her.”
"Worried? What are you worried about? Someone would dare to harm the princess?" Lin Cheng was immediately puzzled.
Wang Lengran recalled the Third Young Master who had left the porridge stall with a look of suspicion on his face after he had told him some things not long ago. His lips twitched slightly, and he glanced at the top of Lin Cheng's head.
Isn't the Third Young Master worried about you? He's on high-intensity patrols around the clock to prevent thieves.
That kid from the Xunyang Prince's Mansion always finds an opportunity to loiter around Princess Anhui, just like a strong young farmer carrying a hoe, digging around in every corner of the wall, with the energy of a calf, the kind who can dig all day without getting tired.
However, speaking of which, Lin Cheng was so focused on the statues in Xingzifang that he had little contact with Princess Anhui. Wang Lengran thought he was really ignorant. If it were his son, he would have given him a few words of advice, such as: "It's enough about the Buddha statue. In the future, it would be more worthwhile to focus your energy on Princess Anhui than on the Buddha statue."
I glanced at the slightly chubby young man who seemed to be primarily focused on the Buddha statue project.
Wang Lengran's expression remained unchanged:
"It's nothing, just a small matter. Young Master Lin can handle it easily. Please focus on your business, Young Master Lin."
"Very well, I will go see the Third Young Master to discuss important matters."
Wang Lengran immediately changed his tune:
"The Third Young Master knows you might be distracted by his visit, so he specifically sent me to tell you not to go. He's busy right now. Besides, the Third Young Master hasn't been in a good mood lately."
"Bad mood?"
Wang sighed coldly:
"The Qin family's matter is now completely over. Miss Qin has officially rejected the Third Young Master... Young Master Lin, it's best not to go and provoke him. Recently, the Third Young Master has been wishing he could skin Ouyang Lianghan alive."
The old governor revealed this in a low voice.
Lin Chengqi asked, "Skinned Ouyang Lianghan? Did he steal someone else's girlfriend?"
Wang remained silent.
Lin Cheng pursed his lips and returned to the original question:
"In the future, if there are any similar matters involving the Wang family, please, Third Young Master and Lord Wang, be sure to discuss them with me."
Unexpectedly, Wang Lengran suddenly spoke:
"Since Young Master Lin has something to discuss, could you also consult with the Third Young Master and me?"
"What is it that I don't want to discuss with you?"
Wang Lengran spoke calmly, raising a point:
"If I'm not mistaken, this time, Lin Gongzi's promotion of the Xingzifang statue and his assistance in suppressing Ouyang Lianghan and Xunyang Prince's Mansion are not just about presenting gifts to the Wei family, are they?"
"There are some things that Young Master Lin should not keep from you. The Third Young Master has been waiting for a long time, but he has not taken the initiative to say them. It is too hurtful to our relationship."
"Now that you've joined, let's stop hiding our true intentions from each other. We're all family, so what's wrong with speaking our minds? Would the Wei family harm you?"
Lin Cheng fell silent for a moment, then replied, "What does Lord Wang mean? What are you talking about?"
Wang Lengran took a sip of tea and said:
"Leaving aside this personal motive, let's just talk about today. Young Master Lin is so dissatisfied with my memorial and reacted so strongly. Is it because you don't want to have too much of a falling out with the Xunyang Prince's Mansion and Ouyang Lianghan and become mortal enemies?"
"The Third Young Master said that he actually understands and sympathizes with Young Master Lin's thoughts. From beginning to end, Young Master Lin has always put catering to His Majesty first, and the Wei family is second, even though he is about to marry a woman from the Wei family."
"Therefore, Young Master Lin wanted to stop his actions against Ouyang Lianghan, thinking that His Majesty might reinstate the Xunyang Prince's Mansion in the future. He wanted to leave himself an out, fearing that he might offend Ouyang Lianghan too much. At the same time, he was also wary of Ouyang Lianghan's status as Xie's son-in-law and a key strategist in the Xunyang Prince's camp."
"That's why Young Master Lin is so dissatisfied with the memorial I suddenly submitted regarding the Wang Yu case..."
"I'm afraid that the Xunyang Prince's Mansion and Ouyang Lianghan will hold a grudge against you as well, and that they'll block your future escape route. That's why you're a little uneasy, feeling like we've tricked you. Young Master Lin, are you right or wrong?"
A series of probing questions made Lin Cheng slowly turn his head to observe Wang Lengran's face.
The latter met his gaze coldly, without flinching.
The air was somewhat quiet.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Cheng was the first to look away, saying, "No, and I wouldn't dare."
Wang Lengran breathed a slight sigh of relief and smiled as she spoke:
"Young Master Lin, don't forget how great an honor it is to be favored by both His Highness Prince Wei and His Highness Prince Liang, and to become the son-in-law of the Wei family. It's no less than that of Ouyang Lianghan."
"Besides, think about it carefully. If you please His Majesty, you'll get promoted and make a fortune. But if you don't build a good Buddha statue, His Majesty might throw you out as a scapegoat to appease public anger, since you have no foundation."
"On the contrary, if you follow the Wei family wholeheartedly and do a good job, you will still be promoted and make a fortune. Even if you do a bad job in making statues, at least you can live."
Wang Lengran spoke with genuine emotion and sincerity, saying:
"Isn't it clear how to choose? Young Master Lin, you should cherish this opportunity and not be indecisive. The two princes dislike stupid people, but they dislike overly clever people even more."
"These are my heartfelt words, for Young Master Lin to take to heart."
After a long while, Lin Cheng lowered his eyelids, his expression unreadable.
“Of course I understand.”
(End of this chapter)
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