No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 791: The IOU that has been owed for three hundred years [Ask for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month!]

The capital of gods, Luoyang.

There was a festive atmosphere inside and outside the imperial city.

A tall copper pillar, like a sword, stands straight in the center of Ziwei City Square. On the pillar, which looks brand new, the words "Da Zhou Songde Tianshu" are faintly engraved.

It looks like a bronze scepter piercing the sky, and its shape is in line with the motto "use bronze as a mirror to correct your clothes and appearance".

This huge building, which is over 100 meters tall, reflects an eerie purple-gold light in the morning sunlight. The four sides of the base are decorated with relief carvings of Xiezhi, whose eyes are inlaid with Persian blood agate, and emit a cinnabar-like red light at midnight.

The surface of the octagonal bronze pillar is engraved with 3,000 inscriptions in a mixture of Sanskrit from the Western Regions and seal script from the Central Plains, recording the changes in destiny from "Phoenix Singing in Mount Qishan" to "Female Ruler Reigning".

The cloud-patterned copper plate on the top has a diameter of ninety-nine feet, which corresponds to the "number of the positive pole". In the plate stands a gilded phoenix with its wings spread. The East China Sea Night Pearl held in its beak is as big as a baby's head.

Today, not many people dared to look up at this tower of praise. From the morning, civil and military officials, as well as envoys from all nations, who had begun to enter the imperial city in an orderly manner to attend the ceremony, mostly lowered their heads slightly, paid attention to their steps, and went to their designated positions.

This was the day when the Great Zhou Songde Center and the four Buddha statues were completely completed. It was also a grand viewing ceremony designated by the saint of the time.

The top dignitaries of the sacred capital Luoyang gathered today.

There were princes and princesses, nobles and relatives of the emperor, ministers, female officials who were favored by the emperor, and white-robed fortune-tellers who could walk freely in the palace.

However, some high-ranking officials and prime ministers were absent due to sick leave.

"Master Di didn't come?"

On the shaft of a prince's carriage heading towards the Wanxiang Temple, Prince of Liang Wei Sixing, wearing a brand new dragon robe, suddenly turned his head and asked the palace servant beside him.

"Reporting to King Liang, the state elder entered the palace late at night a few days ago and caught a cold. His old foot injury relapsed and it was inconvenient for him to move. He has asked for leave from the saint."

"Old leg injury?"

Wei Sixing repeated the sentence with a strange expression on his face, a smile on the corner of his mouth.

He asked again: "What does the saint say?"

"The Saint approved it on the spot, gave medicine as a reward, and sent an envoy with the imperial physician to visit the old man, telling him to have a good rest and rewarding him for his hard work for the country..."

Seeing that there was no chance, Wei Sixing shook his head slightly.

"Where are the other gentlemen in the Political Affairs Hall?"

"Except for an old man who was allowed to return home by the saint to beg for his bones, everyone else is here."

"Ah."

Wei Sixing waved his hand, lowered the curtain, and ordered the convoy to move on.

With the current grace and favor enjoyed by the two kings of the Wei family, they can drive carriages in the palace instead of walking, unlike other civil and military officials who have to walk on foot.

In addition to them, Princess Changle, the saint's youngest daughter who was deeply favored, also had such an honor.

In contrast, Xiang Wang Li Lun was late for a banquet at the palace a few days ago. The sage seemed to dislike his son's obesity and ordered him to walk into the palace, which was considered to be a temporary deprivation of his right to drive the chariot into the palace.
This not only foreshadows certain attitudes of the saints, but also highlights the growing power of the King of Liang and the King of Wei in the court of the Zhou Dynasty.

Today's Great Zhou Songde Tianshu Observation Ceremony further highlighted this matter.

This was a kind of political reward from the sage to the King of Wei and the King of Liang.

The most important part of the observation ceremony that will be held later is the Summer Sacrifice Ceremony.

Apart from the saint who was the undisputed main priest, the only two accompanying priests were the King of Liang and the King of Wei.

At that time, the two kings of the Wei family will follow closely behind the elderly saint wearing grand sacrificial robes, and under the watchful eyes of the public, they will climb onto the high platform, worship heaven and earth, slaughter sacrifices... and perform the summer sacrifice ceremony under the Tianshu of Songde of the Great Zhou.

The distance between the two kings and the saint is closer than that between his own son Xiangwang and his own daughter Changle!
In most dynasties in history, unless there were special circumstances, the position of accompanying sacrificer was almost exclusively reserved for the royal heir or successor to the regime.

Wei Sixing felt excited just imagining the glorious treatment he was about to receive.

Appearing like this in front of all the civil and military officials in the court, the saint's attitude is really full of endless reverie.

This move not only indicates that the Wei family has emerged from the low point caused by the Yingzhou Rebellion, the rebellion of Zhu Lingxu and his son, and the neglect of supervision.

It may even be a new high in their power.

Wei Sixing couldn't help but look back at the huge statue in the square not far behind him.

This time, the full efforts to promote the construction of the Great Zhou Songde Tianshu and the four Buddha statues almost exhausted most of the resources that the Wei family could mobilize, not only gold, silver, money, and mythical Qi-training materials, but also political resources such as connections. All the direct descendants of the Wei family were sacrificed... It was a last-ditch effort.

Even before this, for the sake of the overall situation, he and his brother Wei Jisi had to secretly tolerate the "disgusting freeloading" of the Xunyang Palace family and kept it secret... Only Wei Sixing himself knew the gamble and hardships involved.

But now, it’s all worth it!
Wei Sixing licked his dry lips and looked away.

The carriage he was sitting in was moving between two high and narrow red walls. The palace servants he met on both sides stood against the wall, with their hands folded and their heads lowered, looking at their toes.

Wei Sixing called an accompanying counselor and asked him about the various news in the capital today. He found that there was nothing unexpected and became a little bored.

After one stick of incense, the carriage arrived at the Vientiane Temple.

Wei Sixing got off the car and walked, under the respect of the palace servants who bowed their heads one by one, he entered this magnificent palace, which was the most expensive palace in the world.

Wanxiang Palace is the exclusive palace of saints, where they often stay overnight. If Luoyang Ziwei City is the power center of the Great Zhou Dynasty, then Wanxiang Palace is the power center in Ziwei City. Everything revolves around the supreme imperial power of the Son of Heaven.

Right now, the morning sun had just fallen, and the morning dew still remained on the leaves of the imperial garden. The gate of the Vientiane Temple was closed, and the female officials were on duty solemnly. A female official in colorful clothes was leading a team waiting on the corridor.

When Wei Sixing arrived at the corridor, King Wei Jisi was standing at the gate waiting, having arrived earlier than him.

"When did you get here, brother? You look good today..."

Wei Jisi still had that solemn and serious look on his face, wearing a magnificent dragon robe used for sacrificial ceremonies with intricate decorations.

Wei Sixing spoke first and exchanged a few polite words.

He glanced at Wei Jisi and found that his brother had indeed taken off the white cloth he usually wore on his head today.

The two brothers waited outside the palace until the beginning of the hour of Si, which was about a quarter after nine in the morning.

The door of the Vientiane Temple was finally opened from the inside, and an elderly empress with meticulously combed white hair walked out, accompanied by thousands of palace maids, dressed in gorgeous attire.

She walked at the front, and the pearls, jades, and gold-thread phoenix patterns on her sacrificial garments were so clear that no one could see them.

Wei Jisi and Wei Sixing followed closely beside the sage of the Great Zhou Dynasty, their expressions focused and solemn.

This highly anticipated team walked all the way to the square in front of Ziwei Palace, clearing all areas along the way.

Halfway through the journey, the old lady in dragon robe was too lazy to turn around and asked her two nephews a few questions, to which the latter two answered respectfully.

When the team arrived at the square in front of Ziwei Palace, all the civil and military officials in the court and the dignitaries of Luoyang had already arrived.

The time for sacrifice had not yet arrived, and the team of the old woman in dragon robe was not in a hurry. When they passed some dignitaries along the way, they would stop from time to time to ask a few words.

These nobles outside the palace were either flattered or knelt down to express their gratitude when faced with questions from this woman in dragon robe.

The palace square was silent except for the whistling wind and the saint's kind and loud voice.

Wei Jisi and Wei Sixing followed closely behind the old woman in dragon robe, one on the left and one on the right.

They lowered their heads slightly, not daring to look beyond the hem of the old woman's skirt in front of them.

However, this is already one of the most honorable positions in the entire venue.

Wei Jisi and Wei Sixing both enjoyed it very much.

When passing by the people from the Qinghe Cui family, Wei Sixing turned his head quickly and glanced past the seemingly foolish and slow-witted old patriarch of the Qinghe Cui family, and glanced at the figure of a young woman in the clansmen's team behind him.

It was just a quick glance, but Wei Sixing's eyes brightened. He turned his head slightly to look at his brother Wang, and found that his brother Wang seemed to be looking at him secretly like him, and even glanced at him twice more.

The team of old ladies in dragon robes passed by the front of the crowd.

There was one detail that caught the attention of many people in the audience:

The clansmen of the Five Surnames and Seven Ancestral Families, headed by the Cui family of Qinghe, were in the forefront, but the most prominent ones were the royal relatives, represented by the Prince of Xiang.

But just now, the old woman only stopped in front of the former, but not in front of the latter.

When they arrived at the high platform, there was a place to rest. Wei Jisi, Wei Sixing and others waited for a while, waiting for the time for sacrifice to come.

"What do you think, my brother? What about the Cui girl?"

Wei Sixing found an opportunity to get close to Wei Jisi, and asked in a low voice with a smile.

Wei Jisi nodded slightly. Wei Sixing was about to laugh again, but the next moment, he noticed something unusual happening in front of him.

The Tianshu of Songde in the Great Zhou Dynasty suddenly emitted a golden light, which flowed and pointed faintly to the south.

The whole audience was silent, and everyone looked at him sideways.

Among the royal family, noble families and the crowd, there are all kinds of mixed thoughts.

Wei Jisi and Wei Sixing frowned and looked at each other.

The old lady in dragon robe also glanced back slightly.

In less than three breaths, Wei Jisi strode forward and explained something in a low voice in front of the saint.

Everyone saw that after listening to the saint, he nodded slightly, turned his head, and continued everything as usual, ignoring the golden light.

Wei Jisi's forehead was already covered with sweat. Because he was close to him, he heard his brother Wang say that there was a fight at Xunyang Grottoes today, and it was normal for Tianshu to react. It was in line with the plan.

Wei Sixing digested it and breathed a sigh of relief temporarily.

Wei Jisi returned with a calm expression.

Wei Sixing greeted him and was about to speak when he saw his brother Wang, who was facing away from the audience, suddenly become gloomy and purse his lips tightly.

Wei Sixing wiped the sweat off his face and became a little anxious again. He whispered to Wei Jisi: "Is it that serious? Didn't my brother just say that it was within expectations?"

"It is indeed expected, but Tianshu's reaction means that the Donglin Buddha has already used all its strength to operate."

"Are those Tiannan Jianghu rebels so powerful? They forced Wei Rong, Nanny Song and the others into this state?"

Wei Jisi suddenly shook his head, his eyes gradually calmed down: "Don't panic, I have already asked Wei Wu to bring the real fake Ding sword over, and I can give it to Wei Rong at a critical moment. It was originally dedicated to the saint... It is different from the fake Ding like the white jade Buddhist beads. With the fake Ding sword, Wei Rong can not only mobilize the Donglin Buddha, but also the power of Tianshu and the four Buddha statues. One Buddha can't deal with the rebels, so how can four Buddhas plus Tianshu not deal with them?"

Wei Sixing was stunned for a moment, then reacted. After a while, a smile appeared on his face, but he quickly hid it again.

"Brother Wang is still far-sighted and thoughtful."

Wei Sixing spoke with admiration, and Wei Jisi nodded indifferently.

Half a quarter of an hour later, the ceremony officially began.

Wei Jisi and Wei Sixing turned around and followed the old woman in dragon robe to climb up Tianshu.

Today, only the main priest and the accompanying priest are qualified to go up.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the three people's figures were stretched long by the sunlight.

The old lady in dragon robe walked up the stairs slowly with a steady figure.

Wei Jisi squinted slightly as if he was spurting from the sun, but deep in his eyes there was a glow as hot as the sun, and he walked up step by step.

Wei Sixing bowed his head deeply.

I just feel that today's sunshine is particularly dazzling.

So do they.

……

Outside the Xunyang Grottoes, on the official road not far away.

The carriage driven by Yan Liulang and others stopped.
Ouyang Rong frowned and opened the curtain, looking at the scene in front of him with mist and sword energy.

It’s the vision at Xunyang Grottoes!

fight.

It's a big battle.

"Mingfu..."

"Stay where you are and don't come any closer."

Ouyang Rong quickly instructed Yan Liulang and lowered the curtain without waiting for his answer.

Ouyang Rong ignored the little Mo Jing.

He took out an authentic copy of Peach Blossom Spring from the sword case. There was no time to burn it, so he simply crumpled it into a ball of paper and started eating it with a cup of cold tea he brought from Fang Family Villa.

This scene is like a child eating bitter medicine, wolfing it down.

The little ink spirit who was swinging her legs out of boredom next to her stopped swinging her legs at this moment. She opened her mouth slightly and looked at the young man in Confucian clothes who was eating paper and ink for unknown reasons.

Ouyang Rong, who had already swallowed the rune, ignored the little guy's strange look, closed his eyes tightly, and chanted a spell.

Cast the divine command!

The atmosphere was quiet for a while.

Ouyang Rong frowned.

No movement!

He waited for a long time, but there was no sign of the spirit's descent being successful.

But the strange thing is that three thousand merits were deducted.

Something weird!
Ouyang Rong waited for a long time, but still no movement.

Shit, another fake one?
Even the authentic copy of Peach Blossom Spring kept by the Northern Wei royal family is a fake?

So you are all fakes, right, specifically trying to deceive future generations?
Ouyang Rong opened his eyes and frowned.

But since it was fake, why were his three thousand merits deducted?

Where did the three thousand merits go?
Could it be that the Buddha kept it for himself?
After two consecutive mistakes, Ouyang Rong took a deep breath, forced himself to be patient, and thought calmly. At this moment, Miaosi's voice came from the side:

"Xiao Rongzi, do you have any quirks?"

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and ignored him.

Miao Si tilted her head and tapped her lips with her fingers:

"Hey, stealing paper and ink, can you possibly eat the literary energy like this fairy lady?"

She asked seriously: "Xiao Rongzi, what does it taste like for you humans to eat raw paper and ink..."

Halfway through her speech, she couldn't hold back her expression anymore, so she turned over, laid on the table, and laughed so hard that she clapped her hands on the table:
"Hahaha, little Rongzi, you're so stupid, no doubt about it!"

Ouyang Rong glared at her:
"Stop making trouble and go back!"

He immediately reached out and was about to stuff the little Mo Jing into his sleeve, but the latter's slow words made the young man in the scholar's robe pause:

"Where did you get this fake? How come it's imitating Xiao Taozi's handwriting? It wasn't written by him at all, but the handwriting is vividly imitated, but it doesn't have Xiao Taozi's literary style. You can fool others but not me... Xiao Rongzi, you didn't spend a lot of money to buy it, did you? Hahaha, the most unfair thing, no doubt about it! It makes me laugh to death."

The little Mojing rushed to the scene and laughed at him harshly, and Ouyang Rong suddenly became quiet.

Miao Si was suspicious and protected her chest with both hands: "You...why are you looking at me like that?"

Ouyang Rong stared at him and asked, "Are you familiar with Tao Yuanming and his literary style?"

"Nonsense, I can recognize him even if he turns into ashes."

"Where can I find his original work the fastest?"

At this moment, Ouyang Rong saw the little ink spirit showing some strange expressions, and he awkwardly took out a stack of papers from his arms, with new and old ink words on them.

Ouyang Rong recognized that the top one was his. He vaguely remembered that it was an IOU he wrote to Miao Si sometime, as if he had borrowed Ling Mo for an urgent matter.

Miaosi randomly picked out an IOU from a thick stack of them and waved it around as if it were worthless.

"The authentic work you mentioned... is this the one?"

Ouyang Rong lowered his head in surprise:
"This is……"

The little Mojing looked at the original on the old IOU, threw it on the ground, stomped on it twice, and finally felt relieved:
"That old guy's IOU, owed in the first year of Yixi, has been on credit for nearly three hundred years. Oh my, I am so angry. I get angry just thinking about it. I have money to buy wine but no money to buy ink. With such a follower, I am starving to death!"

Ouyang Rong:……???
(End of this chapter)