Chapter 698 Buddha Head Unite, Buddha Completed!!! [Requesting Monthly Tickets!]
"What happened to Magistrate Ming?"
"fine."
Rain fell on the bluestone steps.
After pausing for a moment, Ouyang Rong, under Wang Caozhi's questioning gaze, opened a paper umbrella he carried with him and continued walking forward.
Since arriving at Xunyang Grottoes, the rain has been intermittent, so Ouyang Rong always carries an oil-paper umbrella.
He had only guessed about the rain and white mist before, but after learning about the mysteries of the Xuanwu Guard and the White Tiger Guard from Lady Rong this afternoon, Ouyang Rong now understood completely.
"Do you remember what that man looked like?"
Ouyang Rong led Wang Caozhi forward.
He walked forward with his umbrella open, gazing into the distance, and spoke softly.
After Wang Caozhi pointed out the thin-faced man, Ouyang Rong didn't stare at him for too long.
“I remember it clearly, brother-in-law. I’m not bragging, but I have the best memory for people’s faces. I can remember them after just one photograph.”
Ouyang Rong nodded: "Okay."
Wang Caozhi glanced at his calmly walking back and asked in a low voice:
"Brother-in-law, is there something fishy about this person?"
Ouyang Rong did not answer.
...
The Xunyang Grottoes actually contain more than one large Buddha statue; there are many other Buddha statues planned, all of which are still in the planning stage.
The Donglin Buddha is the most important and the first one.
The entire Xunyang Grottoes were built around it.
Therefore, the main grotto where the Donglin Buddha is located is the largest semi-open cave on the north bank. Other secondary grottoes are arranged around the main grotto, spreading out to the left and right sides, and are arranged along the riverbank on the north bank of Shuangfengjian.
The main grotto is a semi-open cave recessed into the cliff face, which is usually impervious to wind and rain.
Even without Rong Zhen's instructions about waterproofing a few days ago, Ouyang Rong had already taken appropriate measures for waterproofing and moisture prevention during the planning and construction process.
Now that it is completed, even if the water level at Shuangfengjian rises suddenly and floods Xingzifang, it will be difficult to submerge the Donglin Buddha.
It was afternoon.
North bank of Shuangfengjian, at the main grotto construction site
The atmosphere was solemn.
The crowd that arrived gradually stood quietly in their respective positions.
Perhaps everyone realized something, because no one made a sound in the arena, which is usually prone to echoes.
The sky outside was foggy, and the rain was getting heavier, making the noise even more pronounced.
A white mist shrouded the main grotto, and the scene remained exactly as Ouyang Rong had observed a few days prior:
Inside the main grotto, the white mist was thin, almost nonexistent.
The main grotto is separated from the open-air world by a membrane, keeping the white mist out.
Ouyang Rong, who was standing at the front of the crowd, turned his gaze away from the white mist outside.
I looked around.
Today, the main grotto construction site is missing the densely packed figures of laborers.
The completed headless Buddha statue sits quietly on the central stone wall, as if waiting for something.
The female officials of the Imperial Observatory, along with the soldiers of the White Tiger Guard and the Black Tortoise Guard, almost filled the main grotto.
However, they all had their backs to the Buddha statue and were facing the river.
Female officials from the Imperial Observatory, including Granny Song and Miaozhen, were typically dressed in plain white gowns.
Yi Qianqiu, Li Congshan, and Duan Quanwu also followed the color of their respective imperial guards' uniforms.
The White Tiger Guards wear white robes and white armor, while the Black Tortoise Guards wear black robes and black armor.
Throughout the entire venue, only white and black were visible, and the people stood in neat rows.
Ouyang Rong was also wearing a moon-white casual outfit, blending in with the rest of the outfit.
He finally understood why Lady Rong had told him to keep a low profile and not wear the scarlet official robes.
A sure-fire way to attract attention, and also a target for getting beaten up.
Just like on the battlefield, you, as the commander-in-chief, dress smartly and constantly remind the enemy to rush over and behead you.
Only Rongzhen.
She wore a magnificent purple palace dress.
Standing alone at the very front of the procession, before the headless Buddha.
She appears to be looking up at the headless Buddha.
Her already petite figure seemed to lose all sense of scale in front of the towering Buddha statue, which was over a hundred feet tall. She was no different from a mayfly in the vast ocean. Only the purple color, symbolizing nobility and mystery, firmly attracted the attention of everyone present.
Including Ouyang Rong.
For no apparent reason, he thought of the faded purple undergarment worn by Lady Rong.
I don't know if I've transmigrated today.
Ouyang Rong shook his head, trying to shake off this somewhat absurd thought.
While it's fine to let your thoughts wander, how can you think about such inappropriate things in a serious setting?
Ouyang Rong secretly said.
If Lady Rong knew, the icy expression on her face would probably freeze the entire audience to death.
Someone quietly increased the speed at which they were spinning the Buddhist prayer beads in their hand.
After looking around, Ouyang Rong made several unexpected discoveries.
Besides the main defense members who had eaten lunch together earlier, quite a few unexpected people had arrived at the main grotto:
Old Yang, whom I haven't seen for many days.
He was still the same as always, having moved a bench and sat by a tent at the back of the crowd, engrossed in reading a thick book. He didn't attract much attention, as if he had just changed his spot to slack off and read... He had heard Rong Zhen say that Old Yang had gone to the Xinzhou Prison a few days ago, and he wondered why he was here today as well.
There was also a familiar female figure.
Princess An Hui.
However, like him, he was dressed in a low-key manner today, wearing a solemn black dress similar to mourning clothes, which was not eye-catching in the crowd.
Ouyang Rong shifted his gaze slightly and it landed on a man accompanying Wei Anhui.
The man was unfamiliar, with a rugged northern appearance, a square face, and dressed in all black. He wore a short jacket similar to a riding coat, which was convenient for riding horses. He also wore a headscarf for sun protection while working. His attire resembled that of Ali, a coachman, but he wore a white cloth strip on his head, which did not match his black coachman's outfit.
They should be Wei Anhui's groom or guard.
Ouyang Rong looked away.
He looked around but couldn't find the thin-faced man.
As for Miaozhen in the group, she maintained her indifferent and dignified demeanor, showing no signs of anything amiss.
At this moment, Ouyang Rong noticed a commotion coming from the back of the group and turned around to look with the others around him.
The old musician, carrying a violin, slowly walked over; he was a little late.
However, at this moment, no one spoke up to reprimand him; they all watched him quietly.
Rongzhen left the foot of the Buddha statue and personally went forward to greet it.
An old man and a young man met, and Rong Zhen whispered something to the female officials beside her. Several female officials immediately stepped forward and took the old musician away.
The old musician vanished, his whereabouts unknown.
At that moment, Ouyang Rong noticed out of the corner of his eye that Rong Zhen was holding something in her hand.
Upon closer inspection, it was a string of white jade prayer beads, smooth and lustrous.
He had never seen Rongzhen wear it before.
She didn't look like a devout Buddhist, and it was unclear whether the gift was bestowed by the Empress of Luoyang, just like the sandalwood prayer beads in his hand that supposedly granted him "one-time immunity from death." However, Rongzhen's beads looked more luxurious than his.
At this moment, the commotion on the field brought Ouyang Rong back to his senses.
Rongzhen returned to the foot of the Buddha statue, where a high platform stood. She turned around and looked down at the entire scene.
She glanced around the room and said calmly:
"Let's begin."
Ouyang Rong heard a sound similar to "crackling".
Turning his head, he saw those familiar pulleys and winches being dragged out by a group of White Tiger Guards.
It was the lifting tool Lin Cheng used to prepare for the merging of the Buddha's body at the Xingzi Lake construction site last time.
Unexpectedly, this time, it will finally come in handy.
It does not require human labor; it only requires the transport of dozens of cattle, sheep, and other livestock.
Behind this group of White Tiger Guards escorting the props was a team of female officials from the Imperial Observatory.
The female officials escorted the head of the Donglin Buddha into the main grotto. The tarpaulin cloth on the Buddha head had been untied and loosely draped over it, blocking the thousands of eyes around them.
The Buddha's head was transported to the foot of the Buddha statue.
The pulleys, winches, and animal power are all ready.
The atmosphere fell silent.
When the tarpaulin slipped off the Buddha head, Ouyang Rong's eyes were slightly stung by the golden light emanating from it.
Rongzhen said it was made of some kind of brass coated with gold paint.
The Buddha's head has a kind and benevolent expression.
According to what Li Xian said during a meal, the appearance of the Donglin Buddha's head was modeled after that of the current emperor.
Ouyang Rong tilted his head slightly, looked around, and found that it was indeed so; it vaguely resembled that saint.
The golden Buddha head slowly rose.
However, before that, Ouyang Rong saw a group of female officials take the initiative to step forward and conduct a thorough inspection of the Buddha head, seemingly leaving no stone unturned and investigating to the very end.
This inevitably leads one to speculate whether the incident where the owner of the Butterfly Love Flower hid a sword in the Buddha's head and suddenly killed someone has alerted them.
Now that the female officials of the Imperial Observatory have finished a thorough inspection of the golden Buddha head inside and out, the Buddha head has been hoisted up and is being put back in its place.
Ouyang Rong saw that there were many White Tiger Guard soldiers and female officials lying in ambush on the surrounding stone caves and cliffs.
Many of them were looking up at the sky, seemingly searching for something, or perhaps guarding against something.
It's obvious that it had a stress reaction to a certain cauldron and sword.
Ouyang Rong suppressed his smile and discreetly observed the crowd.
The golden Buddha head was hoisted up step by step, gradually increasing its height to be on the safe side.
It took a full half hour from the moment it took off until it reached the severed neck of the headless Buddha.
But everyone at the main grotto construction site stared intently at it, and no one made a sound, as if afraid of interrupting it.
Midway through, female officials would occasionally rush in from outside the main grotto to report some information to Rongzhen, though it was unclear which location outside was being defended.
She responded calmly and issued instructions.
The rest of the time, this cold, palace-dressed girl kept her hands behind her back, head tilted back, and eyes closed.
Quietly waiting for something.
The severed neck of the headless Buddha was specially treated to facilitate the reunification of the body and head today, with a mechanism that allows them to fit together perfectly.
This was made by Ouyang Rong, who was very familiar with it, and Wang Caozhi, who was next to him, was also familiar with it.
So when the golden Buddha head touched the broken neck of the Buddha body, several craftsmen climbed up and knocked on it for a while, put down their tools, and made a few gestures to Rongzhen below.
Ouyang Rong was almost the first person on the field to realize that the Donglin Buddha had completely merged.
Rongzhen seemed oblivious to the reminder gestures from the craftsmen above.
She put her hands behind her back, tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and remained silent.
Maintain this posture.
Therefore, the craftsmen, pulleys, winches, and dozens of cattle and sheep that were clinging to the neck of the Buddha remained in place, and no one was the first to leave.
This led many non-professional female officials and soldiers on the field to believe that the reunion of the head and body of the Donglin Buddha was not yet over, and they all stared intently at the front.
Wang Caozhi, standing behind Ouyang Rong, looked around and then tugged at Ouyang Rong's sleeve with a hint of confusion.
He lowered his voice and said:
"Brother-in-law, isn't it all set? Did we make a mistake? The Buddha head is back on, so why isn't it saying anything..."
Ouyang Rong didn't turn his head, but gave a soft "shh".
Wang Caozhi glanced down at the Buddhist prayer beads that Ouyang Rong was slowly turning in his hand, hidden in his sleeve.
He kept his eyes down, silent.
The same applies to the entire venue.
Rongzhen didn't move, and neither did they.
Time passed second by second.
The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, then it started to get lighter.
By the time the rain stopped, the sun had set and the moon had risen, and it was late at night.
Of course, there were some disorderly and questioning voices along the way, but the well-trained female officials and imperial guards, seeing that their superiors did not move, also kept quiet... Such quality, in this era, could probably only be achieved on a large scale by these professional soldiers and palace women of Luoyang.
By midnight, many people's stomachs were rumbling, including Wang Caozhi, whose eyes were bloodshot.
Dawn was approaching.
At one point, Rongzhen finally opened her eyes.
She glanced back at the calm river outside the grotto.
She exchanged another glance with Ouyang Rong, who understood her look.
He didn't come.
The women of Yunmeng Yue did not come.
The rebels from Tiannan Jianghu did not come.
The attack... didn't come!
Rongzhen suddenly spoke:
"Let's eat first."
The entire room fell silent for a moment, and then, as everyone gradually came to their senses, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
A collective sigh of relief rose from the field.
Even the craftsmen who were too afraid to come down from the scaffold and were drowsy woke up and hurriedly climbed down to eat.
In an instant, the atmosphere inside the main grotto relaxed.
The soldiers of the White Tiger Guard and the Black Tortoise Guard set up camp and began cooking.
Having grown accustomed to military life, this level of all-nighter intensity is nothing compared to the kind of forced marches that involve sleeping in the open and covering thousands of miles.
Wang Cao's legs went numb from standing, so he immediately made a run for it.
"Brother-in-law, you rest, I'll go get you some food! I need to cook for you, you absolutely have to cook for me..."
Ouyang Rong withdrew his gaze from his back and looked at the purple-clad figure, whose back was still straight, on the high platform at the foot of the giant Buddha.
He walked up the steps to the high platform and stood side by side with Rongzhen.
The two remained silent, understanding each other perfectly.
Suddenly, the world became bright.
It was the first ray of dawn, coming from the horizon at the end of the great river in the distance... The red sun raised its head, and this ray of light pierced through the night, and at the same time pierced through the thick white fog that had been shrouding the Xunyang Grottoes.
Ouyang Rong accompanied Rong Zhen as they looked up together. A beam of golden sunlight shone on the kind and benevolent face of the Donglin Buddha, and the reflective gold paint made it dazzlingly bright.
Ouyang Rong's eyes were slightly dazed.
It's completed.
The long-awaited Donglin Buddha has finally been completed and brought to Xunyang!
This is the new ballast stone for the Southwest Front; it is his and Xunyang Prince's Mansion's greatest reliance in returning to the capital; and it is also the achievement of countless people in the court, such as Rongzhen, Yi Qianqiu, and Granny Song.
So far, there has been no sudden attack that would have caused Lin Cheng's Xingzi Lake Buddha statue to fail...etc.
Thinking about it carefully, if it weren't for him, the new guardian of Xunyang, and if it weren't for the furious killing by [Craftsman], Lin Cheng would have already succeeded, and the Xingzi Lake Buddha would have been completed long ago, because the rebels of Tiannan Jianghu had no way to stop them.
Thinking about it this way, I felt much more at ease.
Although something feels off, it also makes sense.
Ouyang Rong vigorously rubbed his stubble-covered face.
Rongzhen looked up at the golden Buddha, her small hands tightly clutching the string of white jade prayer beads that all shimmered with a golden luster.
Ouyang Rong heard a soft murmur coming from her dry, dehydrated pink lips:
"It's done...it really is done...didn't they come...just a little trick, and you're scared...now that I have a powerful figure, what can you fight with? You'll have even less chance of turning the tide...hmm...were our formation too intimidating, or have we been overestimating you all along..."
Ouyang Rong turned around and glanced at it.
The sun rose as usual.
(End of this chapter)
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