Chapter 1543

The Xilin Temple's architecture was tall and majestic, basically built with Panjin Stone, and the weight was terrifying. The ground under the temple was already soft, and with so many heavy objects on top, the ground would naturally accelerate its subsidence. In fact, the Lower Lin District was the area with the most severe waterlogging; it wasn't just the Xilin Temple, but in recent years, it was where civilians' homes suffered the most disasters. The low-lying areas of some streets had already become small lakes, while other places had been swallowed by lake water.

"Transporting them away is one thing, but why did you take it upon yourself to use them to build the Shi Huan Tablets?" As soon as Chief Attendant Xiao said this, Chief Envoy Liang turned his head and glared at him.

Had this guy gone crazy? What did he mean by "transporting them away is one thing"? As the chief attendant of the Xilin Temple, with one word, he had directly characterized the matter, meaning it didn't matter if the stone materials were moved away without authorization.

Glared at like this, Chief Attendant Xiao also came to his senses, secretly thinking it was bad; he had been so angry he was dizzy. Just as he wanted to speak up to remedy it, He He Lingchuan spoke first: "May I ask Chief Attendant Xiao, which law did I violate by using idle building materials to build the Shi Huan Tablets?"

Once these words were spoken, You Rongzhi on the side wanted to applaud him.

Well asked! "This..." Even Chief Attendant Xiao, who was burning with rage, was stunned, but immediately followed up, "What you misappropriated is not ordinary building materials! Those are the stone pillars of my temple! They gathered thousands of faiths!"

He He Lingchuan's expression was exceptionally sincere: "I have checked the Yao Nation's regulations, and there is only one relevant rule: building materials and objects dismantled from temples and the royal palace cannot be used to build private residences!"

He immediately turned to the Yao King: "King, what we are building is not a private residence, but the most magnificent wonder architecture! Is there any rule in the current law that says building materials dismantled from public buildings cannot be used to build public wonder architecture?"

He emphasized the word "public."

Could the Xilin Temple belong to Chief Attendant Xiao? It belonged to the Goddess, and in the human world, it indeed belonged to public architecture, because believers frequently came and went, and thousands of people gathered in public at every turn.

If this were a private gathering, that would be something else! In Tianshui City, besides the Yao King, who had such power? With just one sentence, He He Lingchuan pulled the temple and the Shi Huan Tablets to the same level, as if neither was more noble than the other.

Why couldn't the stones used to build a temple be used to build Shi Huan Tablets? The temple represented the Goddess, and the Shi Huan Tablets represented the nation's fortune and royal power.

Of course, everyone present knew very well that Miaozhantian's status was inevitably higher than the Yao Nation's royal power.

But knowing it was one thing, and being able to say it was another.

Could Chief Attendant Xiao stand here, point at the Yao King's nose, and roar "You are not worthy"? Facing the Goddess's earthly spokesperson, He He Lingchuan was fearless.

Just kidding, before he dared to do such an abrupt thing, he had almost torn apart the Yao Nation's laws, especially those related to temples.

If there had been even the slightest violation of the law, his set of tricks would have had no possibility of continuing.

There was such a borderline law in the Yao Code, and that was because there had been situations in the past where temples in the Yao Nation were in disrepair, and the bricks and tiles were picked up by civilians to build houses and pens. The gods were dissatisfied, so this law was added: temple bricks and stones could not be used to build private residences.

Usually, building materials and objects dismantled from temples and the royal palace were either destroyed or used again to build temples and the royal palace. Officials were all well-behaved and wouldn't use them to build government offices, so no extra regulations were needed.

He didn't expect that today he would be taken advantage of by He Xiao.

If the law didn't forbid it, could you blame him?

You Rongzhi coughed lightly: "Island Master He is not a citizen of this country and is not clear about these requirements of the temple."

He said "requirements," not explicit written regulations.

Requirements, after all, were implicit.

How could an outsider know the local conventional rules? You didn't write them on paper.

All he could check was the law, and he only knew that what he did didn't violate the law.

Moreover, this was the rush period for the New City construction, and both the Yao King and Chief Envoy Liang knew how short of materials the construction site was. As the actual helmsman of this super-large project, He Xiao naturally tried every means to solve problems when encountering difficulties; it just so happened there were idle building materials, it just so happened they were suitable for the Shi Huan Tablets, it just so happened...

Everything was "just so happened," so why not use them? If the person in charge of this project didn't know how to adapt to circumstances, the eastward expansion of the capital wouldn't have reached this point today.

As soon as You Rongzhi spoke, Chief Attendant Xiao switched his target to him: "He doesn't know, but Lord You, why are you also confused and let him commit such a big mistake? Is this not a failure of supervision?"

He had been very angry lately and wanted to lash out at everyone he saw. The one surnamed You was in charge of the New City project and was also one of the key responsible persons.

You Rongzhi: "This..."

For such a large project, it was no exaggeration to describe it as having a thousand threads; how could he possibly inquire about everything? Besides, the aftermath of the Xilin Temple was authorized by Chief Envoy Liang and the Yao King for this project, in black and white, clear and distinct; did he have any need to question it?

Moreover, the dismantling and transport of the Xilin Temple didn't involve money, nor did it go through his approval process.

You Rongzhi had no way to explain these things at all.

Without waiting for him to speak, He He Lingchuan also sneered: "A big mistake? Without rules, there is no square or circle. I acted according to the law and regulations; what mistake is there? I didn't make a mistake, so how can you talk about Lord You's failure of supervision?"

Did he have a way to make up a very smooth reason for misappropriating the Xilin Temple's building materials? Yes.

But he just wouldn't do it that way, he just wouldn't!

It was rare for the chief attendant of the Goddess Temple to be present, and the opportunity for a face-to-face confrontation today was once in a lifetime; he wouldn't be satisfied until he made the other party smoke from their seven orifices.

He He Lingchuan spoke at a rapid speed, giving others no gap to interject: "Chief Attendant Xiao says the stones of the Xilin Temple cannot be used for the Shi Huan Tablets built in the New City? On the day the Xilin Temple collapsed, the accumulated dust of years in the temple blew into the homes of surrounding residents; that was the incense and faith of over a hundred years, do you have to go door-to-door to ask for it back?"

"The New City construction has a tight schedule and heavy tasks; of course, I have to focus on overall planning and resource coordination, otherwise how can such a large operation run? Build the Shi Huan Tablets when it's time to build them, and naturally, the temple will be repaired when it's time to repair it!"

"The temple promised to be built for you will be delivered on time, not a day late! It is Chief Attendant Xiao who is making a mountain out of a molehill and making unreasonable trouble, daring to point fingers in front of the monarch; what is your intention?"

After this barrage of cannon fire, the imperial study suddenly went quiet.

Chief Attendant Xiao simply couldn't believe his ears.

Who did he say was making unreasonable trouble? Who! There was actually someone who dared to speak such wild words in front of Chief Envoy Liang, in front of the Yao King, and dared, dared to do so in front of him? Chief Attendant Xiao's face turned red, and he pointed at He He Lingchuan, saying sternly: "You are rude, you dare to talk back..."

Do you not want your life? The Yao King coughed hard and had to speak up to stop it: "He Xiao, do not be rude to Chief Attendant Xiao!"

Never had any official dared to speak so wildly in front of him and the Chief Envoy, and no one dared to point their guns at the temple attendants.