Chapter 459: Two hundred fifty-three, Female Lord Yu Nianyuan, Xunyang Chrysanthemum Chanting Gathering

Two hundred fifty-three, Female Lord Yu Nianyuan, Xunyang Chrysanthemum Chanting Gathering

The sound of the zither seemed to be coming from the Xingzi Lake construction site, sometimes far and sometimes near, sometimes slow and sometimes sudden.

When slow, it was like the heart-calming and sleep-aiding sound of new rain in an empty mountain; when sudden, it was like the sound of rain hitting banana leaves, pearls falling on a jade plate.

The zither sound was like a sudden rain, falling into every corner of Xingzi Ward.

Most people were "drenched" by the rain, while those with "Qi" on them, such as Rong Zhen, Lin Cheng, the white-clad female teacher, the book-carrying scholar, the thin monk, and others, were like holding up an umbrella, unharmed, but were outlined by the rain-like zither sound into the "shape and color" of their respective spiritual energy cultivation.

Mysterious and profound.

The gentle female teacher stood up, in a white dress, walking out of the boudoir barefoot, with crisp tinkling sounds along the way.

The gentle female voice that Ouyang Rong had heard through the wall outside the Sanhui Academy on Mount Dagu reached the street where the Buddha-Head carriage procession was located.

"Whose zither sound? Better stop playing. If you play again, you will expose your position. Be careful that the Eldest Senior Sister will twist your head off later."

"Ridiculous!"

On the second floor of the tavern, Song Mama dropped the corpses of assassins all over the tea table, walked to the window, sneered, and spoke into the air:

"This array of Taiyin sword Qi, Yue Maiden lineage? Are you people from Yunmeng Sword Marsh looking for death? Daring to come and make trouble, and repeatedly not changing, this time the evidence is solid, right? Sure enough, you are colluding with the rebel Li Zhengyan and working for the thieves."

The gentle female voice did not answer, talking to herself, warmly reminding:

"The Donglin Great Buddha is not allowed to be erected. Anyone who assists in this matter will be killed by everyone in the Tiannan Jianghu."

"Presumptuous, you Yunmeng female cultivators really think of yourselves as the speakers of the Tiannan Jianghu. Jiang Nan Circuit and Lingnan Circuit are the territory of the Great Zhou and the King's land of His Majesty. Do you Yue Maidens still want to occupy the mountain as kings and remain outside the law?"

The gentle female voice apologized: "Sorry, little girls come out rarely and don't know about the Sui or the Great Zhou. Only know that now, several Jianghu bow their heads, and there is no man in the Central Plains."

Song Mama nodded:

"The tone is quite big. What is your name? What chair do you rank in the Female Lord Hall? You are definitely not Xue Zhongzhu. Then are you the Second Female Lord, or the Fourth Female Lord? Or the Yue Chuzi of this generation?

"Wait, Purple Qi cultivation, the newly promoted Yue Chuzi cannot have Purple Qi so quickly. I heard the Fourth Female Lord is the mountain-descending walker of this generation, and the last time she appeared was on the coast of the North Sea. So you are the Second Female Lord... Yu Nianyuan!"

The gentle female voice smiled and said:

"Who it is is not important. The chair is higher than yours. Old dog, you are so old, and you are still released to bite people, exerting residual heat, wasting waste, that fake emperor surnamed Wei is really stingy."

"Heh, looking for death!"

Song Mama scolded, but the next instant, she suddenly changed her face, her tone calm:

"Dragging time to wait for whom? Xue Zhongzhu?"

Without waiting for the white-clad female teacher in the deep boudoir to answer, the white-eyed old woman's figure had already disappeared from the window.

The next instant, above Qingyang Hengjie, two groups of Purple Qi collided together.

From mid-air came the white-eyed old woman's sharp voice, which even covered the light zither sound:

"The Buddha head arrived suddenly, they have no thorough preparation, there are few people today, leave this girl and the subsequent reinforcements to the old body, you guys move quickly! Clean it up."

On Qingyang Hengjie, Rong Zhen and Lin Cheng had long stopped arguing and temporarily cooperated. Their figures both moved, and a group of female officials followed them, rushing straight toward the three mid-grade Qi-refining practitioners—the scholar, the old man, and the thin monk—who were revealing vermilion Qi in the crowd.

A group of Xianbei guards protected Wei Shaoqi, Wang Lengran, and others.

"Go, you help too."

Yuan Huaimin, who followed as a transparent figure, saw that Wei Shaoqi and Wang Lengran's expressions were not flustered at all. Even Wei Shaoqi gave a cold order, and immediately, among this batch of Xianbei guards, a burly figure who also had a pale red Qi column in the zither sound rushed out, assisting Rong Zhen, Lin Cheng, and other Sitianjian Qi-refining practitioners in besieging the rebels who wanted to destroy the Buddha head.

Can it be cleaned up? The number of people on both sides didn't seem to be much different... Just as Yuan Huaimin was puzzled, he found that the hundreds of black-armored guards escorting the Buddha head all drew their dry knives and were consistent in their actions against the outside.

At the same time, among the crowd watching the fun who had been following the motorcade, many peddlers and pawns drew out hidden snow blades one after another, with the same cold expressions as those black-armored generals on their faces, rushing forward to assist in killing the enemy.

And on every street in Xingzi Ward, a large number of hidden black-armored generals also emerged, either setting up bows and crossbows on the roofs, or leading out iron cavalry to put on armor and mount horses... rushing toward those strange figures who revealed "Qi."

Looking at their uniform and murderous actions, Yuan Huaimin estimated that they were likely elite troops transferred from the southwestern front line.

That sentence "Clean it up" from the white-eyed old woman was not empty talk!

Yuan Huaimin gasped. No wonder Wei Shaoqi, Wang Lengran, and others were not flustered. Today was a trap, using the Buddha head to lure out the thieves.

With that zither sound, and with many people and great power, today all outsiders with spiritual cultivation in Xingzi Ward were revealed under the zither sound, besieged and sanctioned, and cleaned up!

However, can you guys inform me in advance? This ring after ring, is there no end to it? Was he the only one kept in the dark the whole time?

Yuan Huaimin, who was shrinking in the Buddha head motorcade, smiled bitterly.

He only felt that this Jiangzhou Changshi was too difficult to be, not at all a promotion, simply like sitting in jail.

Far away at the Xunyang Building in Xingzi Ward.

The Chrysanthemum Poetry Gathering was being held.

Li Guoer's face was still very big, and many Xunyang celebrities came, as well as many Jiangzhou literati. At the moment, the literati in Xunyang City were all proud of being able to receive an invitation to the little Princess's Chrysanthemum Poetry Gathering.

The liveliness of the Xunyang Building poetry gathering was no less than the crowd welcoming the Buddha head on the Xingzi Lake side.

After Wang Lixian, Li Dalang, Xie Lingjiang, and others returned, they told Ouyang Rong about the West City Gate matter just now.

But the latter didn't listen much, as if he was not interested. Wang Lixian and others saw this and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Not long after, the poetry gathering reached the poetry chanting session, and a pot of chrysanthemums that had not withered was placed in the center of the building.

Besides the literati who liked to drink alone and chat, the talented scholars all gathered under the viewing platform in the center of the first floor, waving ink to compose poems.

Today, with the Xunyang Prince present, the atmosphere was even more enthusiastic, and many scholars wanted to perform in front of this Prince.

One after another, chrysanthemum-chanting poems were born.

They were sent to Li Guoer and Wang Lixian for appreciation, and several celebrities and masters also gathered around to watch and appreciate.

Not long after, Yan Liulang's figure appeared in the Xunyang Building, but besides Ouyang Rong and Xie Lingjiang, not many people noticed.

Yan Liulang walked to Ouyang Rong, sat down, and patted the dust off his body.

The two looked at each other without words.

Ouyang Rong poured a glass of wine for this good friend and subordinate.

Yan Liulang looked up and drank it in one breath.

He stared at the pale, blood-losing, bandaged palm of the Mingfu, and remained silent.

The two sat alone, drinking for a while. Ouyang Rong seemed to have a hint of drunkenness; he opened the window beside him, and the river breeze blew into the room. He narrowed his eyes to examine the scenery outside.

At this time, Xie Lingjiang walked over and sat down to keep him company.

Li Guoer, who was being enthusiastically surrounded by the crowd in the distance, also glanced over.

"Eldest brother, what's wrong?" Xie Lingjiang asked with concern.

"It's going to rain."

"Mm, the weather today is indeed going to rain."

Ouyang Rong, who had been looking at the sky outside the window for a long time, suddenly said:

"It's so noisy over there."

"Which side is noisy?"

Ouyang Rong pointed in the direction of Xingzi Ward.

"What did the eldest brother hear again?"

Xie Lingjiang couldn't help but grasp the back of his injured right hand.

"I hear... many people fighting to the death over that great Buddha."

"What do you mean?" Xie Lingjiang asked curiously.

"Junior sister, I once told you about the swallows before the halls of the Wang and Xie clans in the old days, saying that we all must follow the laws of the general trend. By logic, I shouldn't have disobeyed the imperial edict to the death; I should have endured it and acted within the rules, just like assisting the Xunyang Wang Fu."

He turned his head and said calmly: "But at that time, I just had a breath of air stuck in my chest, unable to sleep all night, unable to feel comfortable without spitting it out. Even after disobeying the edict to the death, it still accumulated in my chest, unable to be released. It is more tormenting than auditory hallucinations. Junior sister, tell me, what should I do?"

Xie Lingjiang was speechless.

Ouyang Rong was silent for a moment, then suddenly picked up his wine cup and stood up.

His gait was slightly unsteady; while tilting his head to drink, he walked toward the crowd chanting about chrysanthemums ahead.

In Xingzi Ward, a slaughter and purge was nearing its end.

Those two figures in mid-air had already disappeared, and the white-eyed old woman and the lady in white were nowhere to be found.

Rong Zhen stood within a deep, vermilion building, the place where that Yunmeng Second Lady had once stood. She looked around at her surroundings.

The interior of the vermilion building was in chaos. Several petite figures were huddled under a table; they were the playmates and maids of that little girl with the double buns. Just before that Yunmeng Second Lady retreated, she had only taken away this little girl with the double buns.

"Wait."

She suddenly reached out, stopping the Xianbei guards who were going to drag the hair of the few young girls under the table.

Rong Zhen squatted down and gestured toward the huddled figures of these little girls.

But the little girls were filled with terror, shrinking even deeper, staying far away from her hand.

Rong Zhen lowered her head to look at her slender palms stained with blood.

She was silent for a while.

She stood up and summoned several female officials who were currently ransacking the house.

"Take this family away first. Do not harm them. This palace will interrogate them personally another day."

After giving the instructions, Rong Zhen turned around, walked out of the residence, and arrived on the street.

Throughout the entire street, dozens of corpses of people and warhorses were left behind.

When the last figure emitting "Qi" fell.

More than half of the soldiers remained standing on the street, and they began to clean up the battlefield without a word.

Lin Cheng, Wei Shaoqi, and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

The zither music continued.

But looking around, whether it was the Qingyang Hengjie or the Xingzi Lake construction site, there was no more "Qi" emerging within the entire Xingzi Ward.

Qin Yanqing, the Chief Clerk of the Central Army Camp, walked forward with several stern-faced captains. His expression was cold as he said:

"It's all resolved."

Wang Lengran and Lin Cheng exchanged a glance and smiled.

Rong Zhen lowered her head, using a handkerchief to wipe her slender fingers, which were covered in blood.

Lin Cheng's tone was gentle: "Many thanks, Chief Clerk Qin. When it comes to dealing with these people, you all still have the experience. When you return, please thank Grand Marshal Qin on behalf of our teacher and ourselves."

Qin Yanqing nodded calmly without saying anything more; he had only come here under orders.

Wang Lengran shook off the hand of Yuan Huaimin, who had shrunk behind him and grabbed his arm. He looked at the timid Yuan Huaimin with some dissatisfaction, then covered his nose and stepped forward to examine the corpses on the ground, kicking them from time to time.

"Chief Clerk Qin, is the owner of the Butterfly Loves Flowers present?"

"Many thieves were beheaded, it's hard to distinguish. Do you know what this person looks like?"

Wei Shaoqi shook his head:

"I don't know. By logic, there was a high probability he would come today, and he should be among these rebels preventing the Buddha statue. As long as he dared to come and had spiritual energy cultivation, he should have revealed his flaws in the old gentleman's zither music."

Wang Lengran looked around: "Could it be that he is dead?"

Lin Cheng also nodded, looked around, and frowned slightly:

"But why didn't he deploy the Tripod Swords?"

Wang Lengran touched his chin:

"With so many fire-watching towers, we were staring at the sky just now. How could he deploy the swords? Perhaps he was already dealt with by the Lady Official, Young Master Lin, and the soldiers in a swarm."

Wei Shaoqi covered the burning heat in his eyes and said: "Clean up first, and search..."

Qin Yanqing led people to continue cleaning up and searching for clues. Wei Shaoqi ordered the surrounding Xianbei guards to follow and search together, and he himself stayed behind, his expression somewhat excited.

"Let's go. Let General Qin and the others clean up this place. We must quickly go to install the Buddha head; a long delay means more trouble."

"Alright."

The Buddha-Head carriage procession continued to advance.

However, the old musician's zither music continued, as if he intended to play until the end.

With this zither music, everyone felt safe.

But just in case, the guards on the fire-watching towers remained on alert; as long as they saw any signs of a Xin Dingjian rising into the air to deploy, they would report it.

"Let's go. We still need to thank Old Gentleman Yu and ask him about it."

But before leaving, Lin Cheng turned back and said:

"Lady Official, I have just thought about it. Some of the words spoken earlier were indeed inappropriate. Furthermore, I should not have doubted Magistrate Ouyang. Please do not take offense."

Rong Zhen ignored him and turned to examine the surrounding corpses. She did not follow the carriage procession, as if she were looking for the corpse of a certain owner of the Butterfly Loves Flowers.

Lin Cheng, Wang Lengran, and the others had no choice but to follow the carriage procession and continue to the Xingzi Lake construction site.

At this moment, a fine, rustling rain began to fall from the sky, as if it were beginning to wash away the filthy blood on the street.

The blood on Rong Zhen's palms was also being washed away.

Absent-mindedly searching the corpses, she stopped her movements, looked up at the gray-blue sky, and raindrops hit her long, unblinking eyelashes.

The terrified faces of those little girls under the table flashed before her eyes again.

"It truly is the selfishness of one person."

Her voice was hidden by the sound of the rain, and no one knew who she was talking about.

A short while later, she took the oil-paper umbrella respectfully handed over by a female official in her entourage, opened it, turned around, and walked in a direction opposite to the Buddha-Head carriage procession, moving far away from this Xingzi Lake construction site.

It seemed as if she did not want to stay for even another moment.

The woman holding the umbrella lowered her head, touched the orange-red sachet at her waist, and the figure of a man who had once said those words to her flashed before her eyes.

What is he doing now?

Rong Zhen suddenly wanted very much to know.

(End of chapter)