No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 757: Gentlemen are different
Inside the copper incense burner, there were two incense sticks that someone had memorized in advance. One of them had burned out, leaving only a small red rod stuck in the ashes.

The remaining pillar has burned three-fifths.

From a distance, this Mars appears to be slowly moving downward.

But no one paid attention. Everyone's eyes were now focused silently on the man in the green Confucian robe on the podium.

In the back, there is a towering Buddha leaning against the cliff of North Peak, with one hand raised, a golden head, and kind eyes. He is looking at the long mountain range of Kuang Lu Mountain in front of him, and the "small" city on the flat ground between the two mountains.

The location of the Donglin Buddha is very particular. It is not on the cliff of the South Peak, but on the cliff of the North Peak, facing south.

It means facing south.

It is said that the face of the golden Buddha head is modeled after the dragon face of a saint, as if he is sitting here, representing the saintly emperor of the capital, with a pair of "compassionate eyes" surveying the entire southern land.

It has the implication of keeping an eye on all directions, being observant and looking down on the world.

At this moment, perhaps because of the angle, this benevolent-looking Buddha looking into the distance cannot see what is happening under his feet.

Today's celebration ceremony has actually been cancelled. Most of the guests did not come, leaving only the stage and the surrounding red festive decorations.

As for the sounds and movements on the podium, not only Rong Zhen, Yi Qianqiu, Nanny Song, Duan Quanwu, but also some trusted female officials and White Tiger Guard generals who were waiting for orders near the podium could hear them clearly.

Those who were farther away, such as most of the female officials and soldiers guarding the main cave, could not hear it and could only take a peek at the scenes on the platform from afar. Moreover, everyone was doing their duty, so it was not convenient for them to peek unless they were facing this side while on guard or patrolling.

The entire main cave is strictly blocked and no outsiders are allowed to approach, including Wang Caozhi and his group, who had difficulty getting in.

Even Ouyang Rong, the governor of the state, was allowed in without inspection under the leadership of Rong Zhen and Yi Qianqiu.

But at this moment, Princess Anhui's groom, a man named Wei Wu, walked in unimpeded, climbed onto the platform openly, and slit the witness' throat in front of Ouyang Rong and everyone else.

No one stopped the whole process.

There is no Rong Zhen who represents the female official of the Supervisory Yuan.

Nanny Song, who represented the Luoyang Astronomical Bureau, did not have one.

Neither were Yi Qianqiu and Duan Quanwu, who represented the White Tiger and Black Tortoise guards.

Not to mention the disciplined female officials and generals on standby around them.

Ouyang Rong didn't stop him either.

After Qian Chen fell to the ground with his mouth stuffed with white cloth, his eyes wide open and his hands covering his throat.

In addition to tilting his head and asking to confirm Wei Wu's identity, Ouyang Rong reached into his arms with a slender hand, fumbled around, and took out a clean handkerchief.

This was what Wei Lai prepared for him every day when he went out. The girl smiled sweetly and told the young man to use it to wipe the dirty things outside, but he rarely encountered it these days, and he was a clean person, so he used it less and let it sit idle in his arms.

At this moment, Ouyang Rong ignored Wei Wu's polite inquiries from behind.

He twirled the white handkerchief in his hand, lowered his eyes and carefully wiped the few drops of bright red blood from the hem of his scholar's robe. After it was almost clean, he put away the white handkerchief, put his hands over his sleeves again, and looked around at the people around him with a calm look.

There was dead silence.

The young man in the scholar's robe has a thin figure, and seems a little lonely and brave.

Everyone was looking at him.

He alone looks at everyone.

Duan Quanwu was the first to move. He walked to Qian Chen's body, picked up the sword, and silently put it back into the scabbard. He stood behind Wei Wu, holding the sword in his hand, without saying a word, as if waiting for an order.

Nanny Song's old face was wrinkled and expressionless, with a pair of white eyes whose specific look could not be seen clearly. It seemed that she was staring straight at Ouyang Rong, observing his every move.

Yi Qianqiu's face was covered with a ferocious tiger mask, with only his exposed tiger eyes slightly closed. He stood in the sun like a marble statue, oblivious to any disturbances from the outside world, as if he were a dead object.

Only Old Yang was a little special. He looked surprised and looked around. Just now, Qian Chen was suddenly approached and his throat was cut by Wei Wu. He was also very surprised. This old cruel official was originally arranged to wait for instructions outside the main cave today. He was summoned by Rong Zhen because Ouyang Rong needed to handle the case and interrogate him.

Looking around, Old Yang didn't know whether he realized that he was out of place on the field, or he realized that the young scholar who called him over was in a bad situation, or maybe both.

The old man silently took two steps back, away from Qian Chen's tragically dead body, and a little further away from the two sides that were vaguely separated on the field, but he still looked deeply at the calm and upright back of Scholar Ouyang.

Ouyang Rong's clear eyes swept over them one by one, and finally fell on the face of the girl in purple palace dress standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

Rong Zhen held the confession in both hands, her head slightly lowered, and read the blood-stained confession without blinking, as if she was reading it very seriously and absorbedly, with her mind completely absorbed in it, as if she was unaware of any changes in the outside world.

The girl's delicate body did not move at all.

At this moment, Ouyang Rong had nothing to say to anyone else.

There is only one exception.

He looked at Rong Zhen and asked softly:

"When did it start?"

Rong Zhen lowered his head and read the confession, as if he didn't hear it.

Ouyang Rong then slowly asked:
"It started on the day when Yi Qianqiu led his troops to arrive and falsely reported that he had confiscated the Yunmeng Order from the pirates in Hukou County.
"It was you who urged me and the prince to write a petition for help.
"Or did you receive a promise from the King of Wei or the King of Liang when you first came to Jiangzhou from the capital?
"Well, no wonder when you first came to Xunyang, you, with your so-called neutral identity as the emperor's envoy, insisted on re-investigating the rebellion case of Zhu Lingxu and his son, and then you also kept investigating the sudden death of Zhao Rushi, the county lieutenant of Jishui, and you started to pursue the owner of the Butterfly Love Flower..."

Rong Zhen's petite body trembled slightly.
Ouyang Rong nodded and said sincerely:

"Madam Historian, I really thought you were neutral and selfless, and had no selfish motives for the country. I also didn't think you were trying to overturn the verdicts of the two kings of the Wei family. I never thought there was anything wrong with your perseverance and pursuit of the truth, even if overturning the verdicts would benefit the Wei family.

"Really? Even though you detained me in Jiangzhou Hall for three days and three nights for interrogating me because of the beheading of Zhu Lingxu at the city gate, I still think you are great. That's right, that's how you should investigate. You should be so ruthless and impartial when handling public affairs, and you should enforce the law impartially, regardless of your official position. This is no exception just because I have the Xunyang Palace as a guarantor."

Ouyang Rong recalled the contradictory voice that was smiling but extremely calm, echoing on the high platform. Everyone saw the purple palace-dressed girl on the side, holding the blood-stained confession with her fingers, squeezing them until they turned blue, and a large patch of red blood was scared away from her nails.

Duan Quanwu saw this, his face darkened, and he continued with the same words:

"Governor Ouyang, it's just that a mentally disturbed villain who lied and gave false testimony died. Why are you so emotional? And you are being instigated to slander Lady Rong Zhen who relied on you? This attitude is a bit too immature."

He shook his head, with an expression that was difficult to understand, and said solemnly:
"You can tell how absurd what this little guy named Qian said is. The two princes of this dynasty are of the same clan as the saint. It's not an exaggeration to say that they are from the royal family of this dynasty. They are related to the country. How could they possibly collude with the rebels in the southern rivers and lakes? And how could they have any connection with these lowly pirates? It's ridiculous."

Nanny Song nodded and said in a somewhat stiff tone:

"Princess Anhui is kindhearted, virtuous and gentle. I am deeply touched by her. It is impossible for the princess to collude with the rebels in the Tiannan Jianghu, let alone send her subordinates to pretend to be pirates. If anyone dares to talk nonsense, I will not let him off. Scholar, don't be deceived by the words of these evil people."

"That's right. Anyone who destroys the reputation of the King of Wei, the King of Liang, and the Princess should be executed immediately."

Duan Quanwu replied with a fake smile and an exclamatory tone:
"Governor Ouyang, I'm going to say something fair that you may not like to hear. You should really thank the military officer for decisively killing the slanderer. This saved you a lot of trouble. Otherwise, if this false case and false confession were reported to the capital, the matter would not be as simple as just losing the villain's head."

Wei Wu stood there with his hands behind his back, his eyes lowered, without saying a word, nor nodding or speaking excitedly.

Ouyang Rong smiled when he heard this.

At this moment, a trusted female official returned. Perhaps she noticed that the atmosphere on the stage was a little strange, especially Ms. Rong Zhen, who seemed to be in a strange state. The trusted female official stopped on the stage and hesitated to move forward.

At this time, Yi Qianqiu, who was as still as a mountain, suddenly turned around and waved gently to the audience. A trusted female official came on stage, reported to Yi Qianqiu in his ear, and then stepped back.

Yi Qianqiu couldn't see his expression clearly, and said to everyone who was looking at him in a muffled voice:
"Following the order just given by Governor Ouyang, at the ferry on the south bank, Li Congshan and Lady Miaozhen have already brought 300 soldiers back to the city to provide support. They are going to block the Xunyang Ferry and protect the Xunyang Palace."

After a pause, she turned to Ouyang Rong and said softly:
"Governor Ouyang, the military officer was specially left behind by Princess Anhui before she left to help protect the Donglin Buddha. Some experts and assassins also stayed behind with her. This move can be regarded as a sign of the care and concern of Princess Anhui and the two princes above.

"The King of Wei and the King of Liang are the advocates of the Great Zhou Songde Tianshu and the Four Directions Buddha Statue. Without them, there would be no Donglin Buddha today. They were too busy protecting the Buddha, so how could they possibly collude with the Tiannan rebels? The two princes should hate those rebels the most. The governor's words were indeed a bit excessive. Let's not say any more. We are colleagues, and the governor has also made contributions to the Buddha, so let's pretend we didn't hear those words before... Come on, drag the body of this thief down and sink it into the river to feed the fish."

Yi Qianqiu turned around and gave orders to his men in a muffled voice, and immediately the White Tiger Guards came on stage to clear the area.

Duan Quanwu interrupted:

"Commander Yi is right. Everyone should pretend that you didn't hear it. Governor Ouyang should be more careful in what he says and does, and don't make any more mistakes."

Nanny Song's cold and wrinkled face softened a little, and she nodded slightly and said:

"Well, I am forgetful and don't remember. Little scholar, you must work hard from now on. When the rebels from the Tiannan Jianghu come, we will work together to wipe them out. Today, we will send a victory report to the Saint of Luoyang."

The smile on Ouyang Rong's face grew even brighter, and he raised an index finger.

First, let me refer to Duan Quanwu:
"A family dog ​​always wags its tail at its master."

Then he pointed to Nanny Song:
"You are just an old dog, wasting the people's money and energy, cultivating your purple energy in vain, but not serving the people and the country. You flatter the monarch all day long, and are full of selfish desires and love outside. The matter of Lin Cheng is one, and the matter of the princess is another. We don't know whether Princess Anhui is kind or not. If she is really like this, knowing that you have become a thief because of her and helped the tyrant, you must be ashamed and humiliated."

Finally, he pointed at Yi Qianqiu:

"You, Yi Qianqiu, Yuan Qianqiu, no, let's just call you Yi Qianqiu. You really should change your last name. I'm too lazy to go into details. Just choose one of the two options above and apply it to yourself.

"I now understand why Brother Huaimin avoids you. Regardless of whether you are trying to win the credit for the painter's gift, Brother Huaimin will not thank you. You are insulting him and all the men of the Northern Wei Tuoba Yuan clan, no matter how righteous your perverse logic is."

Duan Quanwu's face changed drastically, turning pale and blue: "You! You..."

Nanny Song's face turned pale, her eyes changed several times, full of murderous intent: "How dare you, boy!"

Yi Qianqiu's tiger eyes widened beneath the white tiger mask as he glared at Ouyang Rong, wishing he could eat him.

Wei Wu tilted his head and stared at Ouyang Rong coldly.

Ouyang Rong ignored him, slowly turned his head, looked at the palace-dressed girl beside him who had buried her head, and instantly calmed down and asked:
"As for you, Madam Historian, may I ask, how are you different from Lin Cheng back then?"

The blood-stained confession held in Rong Zhen's hands turned to ashes in an instant. Her thin body like a lolita was covered with red light, flowing like water. She was originally dressed in purple, which was dyed by the red light. So, from a distance, it looked like breathing. The girl in palace dress was bright red and bright purple, a mixture of red and purple, extremely dazzling, and surprisingly noble.

She was already very famous, but she no longer had the confession in her hand. She still kept her head down, as if staring at her empty hands, lost in thought, and speechless.

"Boy, say it again! What happened to my beloved disciple? He sacrificed his life for the Great Zhou and died heroically. He is a heroic martyr. This is recognized by the saints and the kings of Wei and Liang. How can you slander him..."

Nanny Song's eyes turned purple, and she took a step forward. Her imposing presence was like a dark cloud pressing down on a city. Ouyang Rong's robe fluttered in the wind, making a rustling sound, but he did not take a single step back, staring straight at him without fear.

"Deputy Supervisor Song, calm down! Calm down!"

Yi Qianqiu stepped forward, stretched out his hand to stop the old woman with a rolled eyed look, and prevented her from taking any further action.

At this moment, the anger in Yi Qianqiu's eyes had disappeared. This female White Tiger general, who always gave outsiders the impression of being irritable and domineering, was the one who calmed down the fastest among the crowd.

She looked at Rong Zhen, then at Ouyang Rong, and said to him word by word:
"Governor Ouyang, please calm down. This general understands your feelings. A scholar will die for his friend. You have been loyal to the Xunyang Palace. I understand that you are worried about the Xunyang Palace in the current critical situation.

"But caring too much can lead to confusion. You have wrongly blamed Ms. Rong Zhen. It doesn't matter if you have wrongly blamed us, but don't wrongly blame important people. Don't wait until you have hurt them before you regret it...

"Governor Ouyang, think about it carefully. This morning you wanted to transfer Li Congshan, Miao Zhen and others to Shuangfeng Peak for protection, and Rong Zhen cooperated with the arrangement. Now you are transferring them back for rescue, and Rong Zhen also arranged it without saying a word, including transferring Old Yang to help you interrogate and investigate the case...

"Has Ms. Rong Zhen ever done anything to offend you?

"No, there isn't."

Yi Qianqiu shook his head. Although he was a rough warrior, his words were logical and he was surprisingly meticulous. He analyzed for Ouyang Rong:

"Now Li Congshan, Miaozhen and the others have already rushed back. If there are pirates who really intend to attack, they can also protect the palace. Think about it, the most important thing now is to protect the Buddha. You should be at ease first and don't go out..."

Ouyang Rong looked at her sincere expression and suddenly smiled.

(End of this chapter)