Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4764: Buddhist Disturbance
The curfew system has existed since ancient times and was implemented in times of war, disaster, or important political and economic areas. The strict implementation of the curfew system since the Sui and Tang dynasties ensured the stability of the capital, but it also severely suppressed commercial development.

Today, the curfew has long been abolished in Chang'an, and as a result, business has exploded in Chang'an at night, and the long-suppressed emotions of the people of Chang'an have been relieved in the night of this city.

The situation manifested outside was that the entire city was almost brightly lit before midnight, and even after midnight, many shops, restaurants, and brothels were open all night, with heavy traffic...

The entire Jinchangfang was packed with people. Citizens who came to watch the fun, peddlers who took the opportunity to sell their wares, indignant tourists, and overwhelmed yamen runners... formed circles from the gate of Jinchangfang to the main gate of Da Ci'en Temple. With the temple filled with the smell of incense and the sound of melodious bells, the place was a mess.

It was not until teams of soldiers in helmets and armor trotted in unison and their heavy footsteps seemed to weigh heavily on everyone's hearts that the chaotic scene calmed down a little and the crowds outside moved away.

Cen Changqian took the lead and shouted, "How can we allow a crowd to cause trouble in this important place? The thieves who attacked Jingzhao Prefecture last night are now in prison awaiting trial. Do you still want to follow suit and attack Da Ci'en Temple again? All irrelevant people must evacuate Jinchangfang in an orderly manner. After one stick of incense, the entire Jinchangfang will be sealed off and martial law will be imposed. All outsiders, regardless of their identities, will be arrested and imprisoned!"

The soldiers behind him spread out in groups of "squads" and went forward to disperse the crowd.

Many people were reluctant to leave at first. They stuck their necks out and pushed and shoved with the soldiers, cursing because of their status. But when they were reminded that this was the troop currently under the command of Fang Jun, they were frightened and became silent, shrinking their necks and running as fast as they could.

Would a "stick" who dares to hit even princes and ministers care about your identity?
Wannian County Magistrate Lai Ji walked over quickly, wiped the sweat off his face, and saluted without caring that his official uniform was soaked with sweat. "Thank you, Mr. Cen, for maintaining order. If you had come a little later, there would have been a big mess!"

Cen Changqian did not dare to be arrogant, and dismounted to return the greeting: "The commander-in-chief immediately led his troops to come here after receiving the emergency message. If you have anything to say, please report to him."

"Okay, okay, I'll go see the Marshal right away."

He hurried to meet Fang Jun behind him and bowed from a distance: "Your humble servant is the magistrate of Wannian County, Laiji, and I am honored to meet the Duke of Yue."

Fang Jun didn't even look at him, but rode past him and said to Cen Changqian, "I'm going to the temple to talk to my old friend. You take over the command here, find out the whole story, and deal with it severely and quickly according to the law. You must not be partial or bend the law. No matter who is involved, you must treat them equally and will not tolerate anyone. Anyone who dares to obstruct will be severely punished!"

"Here!"

Watching Fang Jun riding his horse straight to the temple gate, dismounting and being led into the temple by the monks, Lai Ji sighed in distress. From now on, he was afraid that he would have a bad impression of this man as "incapable of doing things". Unless he died suddenly of illness, it was almost certain that he would be in power at the center for at least thirty years or even fifty years, which meant that his future was bleak.

Cen Changqian smiled apologetically and said, "Please ask the county magistrate to hand over the Wannian County Yamen to me. The Zuo Jinwu Guard will take over the affairs here. You may return home and rest."

Lai Ji shook his head and sighed, "If you have done something wrong, you must make amends. Even if you cannot restore your impression, you should still try your best. If you give up now, how can you be qualified to be the magistrate of this area? The chief clerk only issues orders, and I will obey them."

He avoided Ma Zhou because he did not want to be involved in the political struggles, but if he were to refuse because he was being coldly treated now, he would be incapable of doing his job. The two are completely different.

Cen Changqian comforted him, "The Marshal is always impartial when handling official business. Don't take it to heart. Go to his house later to admit your mistake and have a drink. It will probably be fine. The Marshal is very tolerant."

"Now that things have come to this, what else can we do? Please give us your instructions, Mr. Cen. I will do my best to cooperate and assist you."

"What is the cause of this commotion?"

"It all started when a young woman and her family came to Da Ci'en Temple to pay respects and have fun. However, there were many tourists and monks in the temple, and she was molested in the crowd. Her family looked for her in shock, but they couldn't figure out who had done it because the crowds were so crowded. So her family grabbed everyone nearby and tried to identify them one by one. There happened to be a few monks passing by, and since the reputation of the monks was at stake, they naturally disagreed. The woman then insisted that the monks were guilty, and the confrontation between the two sides led to a riot."

It is normal for monks to disagree with the identification. Once the identification begins, whether it is done or not, it will give people the impression that they are "suspicious". Moreover, it happens in their own temple, so naturally they will not agree.

It seems that the woman is making a scene by holding on to the matter without any basis...

"Where is the woman and her family?"

"It's in the house next to the gate. I have sent someone to guard it strictly."

"Where is the suspected monk?"

"He was forcibly taken back to the temple by the monks on duty at Da Ci'en Temple, which was one of the reasons for the conflict. Everyone present at the time thought that Da Ci'en Temple was biased towards the monks of the temple."

Cen Changqian frowned, somewhat puzzled. "Although I have never dealt with the county magistrate, I have heard of your reputation. Under your administration, Wannian County has no injustices and no cases are delayed. How come you can't even handle such a small case?"

Lai Ji smiled bitterly and said, "It's not that I can't judge clearly, but that I have no way to judge. The woman hid in the house and didn't see outsiders, which was said to be damaging to her reputation. The monk was taken back to the temple and couldn't see her no matter how I tried to persuade him. The parties involved couldn't see each other, so how could I judge?"

Cen Changqian understood: "Did someone take advantage of the opportunity to stir up trouble?"

This small case is insignificant. Since the parties involved are unwilling to come forward, it means that mediation is entirely possible. However, the riots have not stopped for a long time and have even intensified. There must be someone secretly fanning the flames and stirring up public opinion, causing more and more people to gather here for a long time.

"That's how it should be."

"Are there any doubters?"

"Yes, it is said that it is a caravan, and they have taken refuge in the Wei family residence on the northeast side of the cross street."

Cen Changqian frowned: "Which Wei family?"

Lai Ji said: "The Jingzhao Wei family, a man from Shouguang County, Wei Wan."

Cen Changqian thought about it and knew who it was.

His grandfather was Wei Xiaokuan, the Grand Marshal and Supreme State of the Northern Zhou Dynasty; his father was Wei Jin, Duke of Wuyang County of the Sui Dynasty, and Wei Wan, the current governor of Chengzhou; his niece was Concubine Wei, who gave birth to Li Shen, the Prince of Ji, and Princess Linchuan for Emperor Taizong...

A direct descendant of the Jingzhao Wei family.

Cen Changqian took a look at Lai Ji and understood. Although he was young, he had a well-educated family and was very familiar with the past of people in the court. Lai Ji's father, Lai Huer, was able to accompany Emperor Yang of Sui to pacify Jiangnan and destroy the Southern Chen, thus making great contributions, because Wei Yuancheng, the eldest son of Wei Xiaokuan and the father of Concubine Wei, recommended him to Yang Su.

No wonder they would rather sit back and watch the riots continue and go to beg Fang Jun instead of rushing into the Wei family to bring the people out for interrogation. Although the Lai family has been in decline for many years, they have never forgotten the kindness of knowing and meeting in the past...

Cen Changqian said: "So you should go back to your house and rest. Since you still care about our old friendship, then step aside and leave this matter to me."

Unexpectedly, Lai Ji shook his head and said, "Before, I was reluctant to enter the Wei family to arrest people because of our friendship. Now, I can't avoid it because of our friendship."

The young man in front of him comes from a well-educated family and has inherited Cen Wenben's political legacy, so he is naturally full of ambitions. He is also a disciple of Fang Jun in the academy, so he has a deep background and solid roots. He is just at the age of a newborn calf, full of ambition and ambition. He is always thinking about doing something big that will be famous in Chang'an in order to accumulate reputation. Now that he has the opportunity to challenge the Jingzhao Wei family, how can he give up?

Since we are thinking of our past friendship, we cannot let Cen Changqian go to the Wei family to take people away. Once there is a conflict in the Wei family's words, this kid might dare to send troops into the mansion and trample on the Jingzhao Wei family as a stepping stone for his advancement...

Cen Changqian did not comment, but nodded and said, "Since the county magistrate is determined to do so, I will naturally help him. Bring the person out in half an hour. I will go to the temple and bring out the monks as well. Then you can interrogate them and put an end to this matter."

Lai Ji was stunned. He turned around and looked at the heavy and majestic gate of Da Ci'en Temple. "This is Da Ci'en Temple. Do you dare to go in and bring people in?"

"Do you think the Marshal is really going to drink tea? He just sits in Master Xuanzang's hall and doesn't say a word. Do you think anyone in Da Ci'en Temple dares to stop me?"

Lai Ji was speechless: "It's just a small case, why is it so serious?"

That is the Da Ci'en Temple, and that is Xuanzang!

Cen Changqian shook his head, his face serious: "Do you really think this is a small case? Maybe, I hope someone is not taking the opportunity to stir up riots in Da Ci'en Temple. If you hadn't acted decisively to cut off the source of the riots, do you believe that the entire Jinchangfang would be in chaos now, and there might even be one or two cases of trampling to death?"

Lai Ji was startled, and the sweat that had just come out suddenly came out.

Cen Changqian smiled gently: "Don't worry, under the command of the Marshal, he will block any trouble for us, so just go and do your work."

Lai Ji: “…”

When did I follow Fang Jun?

Just when he wanted to clarify his position, he was completely "loyal" to the emperor and stood on the side of His Majesty, not wanting to recognize any bigwigs in the court as his backers, but Cen Changqian had already walked towards the gate of Da Ci'en Temple...

Lai Ji felt depressed for a moment, sighed helplessly, turned around and led the yamen runners straight to the Wei family.

……

In the main hall of the Sutra Translation Institute, Fang Junzheng and Xuanzang sat opposite each other. This most famous monk in the Tang Dynasty looked depressed. His Buddhist heart, which had been forged by years of hard work, was shaken. He sighed and said, "Buddhists practice freely and live in harmony with the world. They comprehend the true meaning of Buddhism in a quiet place. The world is quiet, the body is quiet, and the heart is quiet. But in the end, there are so many troubles and annoyances. What can we do?"

The great monks who are familiar with the Buddhist scriptures rarely speak "Buddhist words" and do not pretend to be profound when speaking. When getting along with old acquaintances like Fang Jun, they are just like ordinary old monks. They will complain when they are dissatisfied and do not care about the demeanor of a great monk at all.