Chapter 643: A Buddha Statue for Each Person
The believers in the yard were immediately in an uproar after the novice monk made this accusation.
They had just woken up from the illusion and were already a little confused. When they heard the words of the novice monk, they immediately turned their attention to the two of them.
"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the Buddhist temple and injure Master Huijue! This is simply lawless!" A middle-aged man pointed at the two men angrily.
"That's right! Master Huijue is an enlightened monk. How dare you attack him? It's simply blasphemy against Buddha!" Another noble lady echoed, her eyes full of indignation and her tone a little sarcastic.
"It's obvious that these two are not good people. They are sneaking around. Maybe they are evil demons from somewhere, who come here specifically to destroy our practice!" Someone shouted loudly, his voice full of hostility.
"Master Huijue was preaching to us and taking us to experience the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, but you two little rascals came to make trouble. This is a heinous crime!" An old man pointed at the two of them, his voice trembling, and he was obviously very angry.
"Do you know how compassionate Master Huijue is? He eliminates disasters and difficulties for us and prays for blessings and good fortune. How dare you attack him? You are totally heartless!" A young woman said indignantly, with tears in her eyes.
"Call the police immediately! Arrest these two ignorant guys and let them experience the pain of jail!" Someone suggested loudly with resentment.
"Yes! Report it to the police! We can't let them get away with it!"
Everyone echoed, voices rose one after another, the scene was chaotic and the crowd was excited.
Xiao Changheng frowned slightly and was about to speak when he suddenly heard a stern rebuke:
"Shut up! You fools, how dare you be so rude to the Regent and the Princess!"
Everyone was stunned and looked in the direction of the voice. They saw that the person speaking was an old woman who was dressed elegantly and had the demeanor of a superior. They all shut up immediately.
This is because the old woman has a very high reputation among the believers and her status is even more noble.
It’s the wife of Duke Ming!
Madam Ming walked over quickly, her face full of anger as she glanced at everyone, then she bowed respectfully to the two of them:
"I have met the Prince Regent and the Princess Consort."
As soon as these words were spoken, the courtyard fell silent. Everyone looked at each other, their faces filled with shock, fear, and confusion.
The Duke's wife personally recognized the Prince Regent and the Princess, so how could that be false?
But... why did the prince and princess suddenly appear and injure Master Huijue?
"I am blind and have offended His Majesty and His Majesty. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me!"
Finally, someone reacted first and knelt down tremblingly to apologize.
The others woke up as if from a dream, knelt down and apologized repeatedly.
Just as everyone was kneeling down to apologize, a few novice monks, seeing that the situation was not good, quietly moved their feet, trying to slip away in the chaos.
However, how could their actions escape Yun Qingqing's eyes.
"Stop!" Yun Qingqing shouted coldly, his eyes sweeping towards the novice monks like lightning.
When everyone heard this, they all looked up and followed her gaze, only to see the novice monks tiptoeing towards the courtyard gate.
Upon seeing this, Madam Ming immediately gave a stern order:
"Someone come! Stop them!"
Her guards quickly stepped forward and surrounded the novice monks. The believers also reacted and stood up, rushing forward, grabbing the novice monks and pressing them to the ground.
"Why are you running? Are you feeling guilty?"
"That's right! Isn't Master Huijue your master? Why don't you care about him and instead want to run away?"
"What are your intentions in slandering the Prince Regent and the Princess?"
The novice monks were surrounded by the crowd, their faces pale and hesitant. The square-faced novice monk suddenly rolled his eyes and shouted loudly:
"Who said we were guilty? It's obvious that after you saw the Prince Regent and the Princess Consort, you knew you couldn't afford to offend them, so you completely ignored Master's murder! If we don't run, are we going to be implicated?"
After he said this, the other novice monks also reacted and began to cry out for justice:
"So what's wrong with the Prince Regent and the Princess? Can they bully the people at will just because of their noble status?"
"Our Master was guiding everyone to experience the Pure Land of Buddha. What went wrong? Why did they assault Master without knowing right from wrong?"
"We thought you were all devoted to Buddhism, sincere in your hearts, and that you would seek justice for our Master. But we didn't know you were all just sycophants!"
"That's right! What else can we do now? How dare we, the common people, fight against the officials? If we can't afford to offend them, shouldn't we just hide?"
After they said this, the scene was quiet for a moment.
A few novice monks thought that the crowd was wavering and were about to say a few more words to urge them to release them, when suddenly someone sneered and said loudly:
"Not only is the Princess Regent recognized as the Heavenly Phoenix by Master Jingyuan of the Fahua Temple, she's also the head of the Tianming Pavilion! I heard she's incredibly skilled in divination and has helped countless people solve various spiritual problems. So, should we trust her or you monks who came from who knows where?"
“Wha…what…”
The novice monks were shocked, and the square-faced novice monk even gasped:
"The Princess Regent is the head of the Tianming Pavilion... How could this happen?"
They were not local monks from the capital, and Yun Qingqing's identity had not been public for long because outsiders had never heard of it.
"Princess, you suddenly appeared here today. Is it... is there something wrong with these monks?" A middle-aged man asked cautiously, with a bit of uneasiness in his tone.
"Yes, Princess, could it be... could it be that there is something wrong with Master Huijue?" Madam Ming had long seen Yun Qingqing's attitude towards these monks and asked immediately.
Someone took the lead and everyone started asking questions. The reputation of Tianming Pavilion was too loud. Many of these people had relatives and friends who had asked for talismans from Tianming Pavilion, and they all said that they had miraculous effects. Compared with foreign monks, they naturally believed in the Regent Princess on their side.
Yun Qingqing nodded, glanced at everyone, and spoke slowly:
"The Western Paradise you just saw is nothing more than an illusion created by this monk. He uses Buddhist chants and illusions to draw your consciousness into it, aiming to control your thoughts and make you obey his commands. If you immerse yourself in it for too long, you will gradually lose your sense of self and become his puppets."
When everyone heard this, their faces suddenly changed and they were horrified.
“This… How is this possible!?”
"No wonder I felt so groggy just now, as if I had a dream..."
"So, every time I hear the Buddha's teachings, I forget everything, as if I have no more worries... But now that I think about it, that state is really a bit strange, like I've lost my mind..."
After thinking about this, everyone was left with only fear and thanked Yun Qingqing one after another.
Yun Qingqing continued:
"Whatever this monk asked you to do before, you must stop immediately, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous."
Everyone nodded upon hearing this.
Someone suddenly remembered something and said hurriedly:
"Princess, this monk gave each of us a Buddha statue and told us to worship it every day, saying it can ward off disasters and bring blessings..."
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