Top Scholar

Chapter 568 Are you even letting people eat?

With the abbot's symbolic resistance brutally suppressed, Dainōnin-ji Temple completely fell...

The Imperial Guards stormed into the temple, kicking down doors and arresting people indiscriminately. They searched every room, and screams, pleas for mercy, and shouts echoed throughout the entire temple!

Many monks also took advantage of the chaos to gather their valuables and attempt to escape by scaling the wall. However, they were caught red-handed as soon as they climbed over the wall—secret agents of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been lying in ambush there, specifically to catch these escapees and extort their gold coins.

"Trying to run?!" The spy sneered, grabbing a monk by the hind leg and yanking him off the wall. Amidst screams, the monks tumbled and fell, their valuables scattered across the ground, along with glittering jewels...

The monks knelt and begged for mercy, but the secret agents grabbed them by the back of their hands, shoved them, and dragged them into the temple to join the other monks.

As for the gold and silver treasures on the ground, we were too busy catching people to notice them.

Soon, all the monks in the temple were captured and imprisoned in the Arhat Hall.

The Imperial Guards then split up to guard the temple gates, meditation hall, and storerooms, completely taking control of the entire temple...

~~
The same drama unfolded one after another at major temples in and around the capital, including Zhihua Temple and Fahai Temple…

Before nightfall, the forces of the three factories and one guard completely controlled fifty-six large temples. The usual sounds of evening prayers were now shrouded in an atmosphere of solemnity and killing intent…

Other small and medium-sized temples were also placed under curfew by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and their gates were sealed off, prohibiting any monks from leaving until the rectification was completed.

After the situation was completely under control, officials from the Imperial Household Department led accountants and clerks hired from the common people to the major temples to immediately oversee the confiscation of property and to register it!

To ensure that the raiders were clean, the agents from the Eastern Depot and the Western Depot were mixed up and reorganized, and agents from the Insider Depot supervised the entire process.

Everyone involved in the search had to be searched before leaving. While this didn't completely prevent smuggling, it at least protected the vast majority of the valuables... Otherwise, with such strict security, the bulk of the wealth would certainly not have fallen into the emperor's hands.

Torches illuminated the sky at Da Neng Ren Temple, and the loot seized was piled up like a mountain.

Boxes of gold, silver, jewelry, agate, and jade were carried out one by one, and rows of pure gold Buddha statues and jade Buddha statues of all sizes were neatly arranged, their jewels dazzling the eye.

According to the instructions of the officials of the Imperial Household Department, all Buddha statues made of gold, silver, or bronze, except for the Buddha statue itself, were to be confiscated, even those that were currently being worshipped.

Inside the Garan Hall, a pure gold Buddha statue, about ten feet tall, sparked much discussion among the foreigners.

"The more I look at this Buddha statue, the more it resembles Eunuch Liu," a spy from the Eastern Depot muttered in a low voice.

An experienced elder lowered his voice and said, "Because this is a statue of the Buddha of the temple originally made for Eunuch Liu, which will be worshipped day and night in the temple. When Eunuch Liu passes away, he will become a god with this statue."

"Huh?" Everyone looked at each other, unsure of what to do. They had no choice but to ask the official from the Imperial Household Department to make the decision.

Zhu Zihe was in charge of searching Da Neng Ren Temple. After inspecting it, he immediately exclaimed, "This is utter nonsense! What kind of logic is it to sculpt a Buddha statue for a living person? Isn't this blatantly cursing Eunuch Liu? Quickly push it down and smash it to avoid bringing trouble upon Eunuch Liu!"

"Do it! Are you deaf?!" Xiao Qiang shouted, and several Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward and together pushed the pure gold Buddha statue to the ground.

Everyone hid outside the hall, fearing that they would be smashed into mincemeat by the huge Buddha statue.

However, the expected loud thud did not occur. Instead, everyone heard a crisp sound, like a jar hitting the ground.

Everyone rushed closer to take a look, and good heavens, it hadn't broken even after being dented... It turned out that the golden Buddha statue was just a thin shell.

"A pure gold Buddha statue, one zhang tall, thin-shelled and hollow, weighing fifteen jin," the pawnshop clerk behind Zhu Zihe announced loudly.

"This is such a sloppy job..." The guards couldn't help but feel indignant. The small seated Buddha statue they had found in the abbot's room earlier weighed more than fifteen pounds.

"They said that once the Buddha statue is cast, it cannot be touched, otherwise Eunuch Liu's soul will not be able to enter," the knowledgeable old foreigner sighed.

Isn't this just taking advantage of Eunuch Liu's lack of education?

~~
Meanwhile, Liu Gonggong, unaware that he had been tricked, finished his busy day and returned to his residence.

He was in a bad mood because all the other members of the task force were working overtime, while he was the only one who left on time. This feeling of being completely treated as a decoration was really terrible.

But after getting out of the sedan chair, he tried his best to suppress his negative emotions and adjust his mood to face his family... Home is not a dumping ground for emotions, but a warm harbor that needs to be created by every member.

At dinner time, the hall was brightly lit with candles, and the whole family sat around the table, enjoying fine wine and delicious food. This family bliss calmed Liu Gonggong's mood considerably.

Liu Jingxiang observed his expression and saw that a smile had finally appeared on his face before he spoke up: "Brother, I have something to tell you."

"Go ahead," Liu Jin nodded.

He said with a sullen expression, "Brother, during the day, Master Shine asked me to come over and ask you to look after things for me. I just agreed and hadn't even had a chance to tell you yet, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard sealed off Da Neng Ren Temple... How embarrassing is that? People outside will probably say that your word doesn't count?"

Hearing this, Liu Jin's worries were stirred up. A mouthful of steamed bun got stuck in his throat, causing him to choke, his face turning red and his eyes rolling back. The concubine serving him nearby quickly picked up a teapot and forced him to drink several mouthfuls of tea until he could get over it.

Liu Jingxiang, however, assumed he was choking and pressed on, "Brother, who's in charge of this raid on the temple? Can we put in a good word?"

Liu Jin squinted his triangular eyes and glared at his foolish elder brother for a while, feeling secretly resentful... How could Eunuch Liu say that although he was the supervisor of the reorganization of the monastic community, he was actually just a figurehead and a scapegoat?
This was incredibly humiliating for him in front of his family. He had spent his entire life scheming and struggling, finally achieving a high position and bringing his whole family to the capital to enjoy a life of luxury. Wasn't it all for this family's fawning and admiration, to compensate for the humiliation of being given away like a puppy in his youth?

"Brother, say something!" Liu Jingxiang urged from the side.

Liu Jin sighed and said irritably, "I am the supervisor in charge of reorganizing the monastic community."

Liu Jingxiang was immediately overjoyed: "Oh! That's great! Brother, quickly give the order to unseal them, don't let the master suffer!"

"Unsealing my ass!" Liu Jin slammed his fist on the table and said righteously, "His Majesty is determined to reform the monastic community. As the Admiral, how can I lead the way in opening back doors?"

Upon hearing this, the Liu family was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

His nephew, Liu Erhan, laughed until tears streamed down his face, and he chuckled, saying, "Uncle, you're such a joker! You can make anyone laugh with just a few words!"

"I'll kick your grandma's leg!" Liu Jin finally lost his temper, grabbed a steamed bun, and slammed it hard on Liu Erhan's head, cursing, "You blind bastard, do you think I'm joking?!"

The family's laughter stopped abruptly, and they hurriedly asked why the sun was rising in the west.
"This time, we must set an example..." Liu Jin sighed, "The imperial treasury is empty, we have no money!"

Liu Erhan looked bewildered, scratching his head and saying, "What does the court's lack of money have to do with us?"

"Get out of here and stand in the corner!" Liu Jin roared in anger, scolding the only heir of the Liu family with a look of utter disappointment. "Didn't Zhang Cai tell you all this beforehand? The country is in a time of crisis, so you all need to behave yourselves and mind your own business!"

"Stop spouting this nonsense about courtesans who don't understand the sorrow of a fallen nation!" She then glared at Liu Erhan and said, "Without a country, where would our little family be?!"

Liu Erhan huddled in the corner, his neck hunched over after being scolded, and Liu Jingxiang dared not utter another word. This haven was not going to be warm tonight.

~~
The top scholar's residence on West Chang'an Street.

At the large dining table, only my uncle and his wife were eating.

The three brothers won't be able to go home for a while, and even Su Youcai has been dragged away by Su Lu to help out.

As for the three daughters-in-law, the eldest son's wife has been unable to eat meat lately; the second son's wife is breastfeeding; and the third son's wife is with her two sisters-in-law, so none of them came to the front to eat.

This made the eldest aunt very uncomfortable, and she couldn't help but ask Su Youjin, who was drinking a little wine, "Husband, what's going on? Nobody's home."

"There's work to be done, can't you see the chaos outside?" Su Youjin took a sip of Zhuangyuanlang wine, squinted his eyes and said, "After mastering both literary and martial arts, we'll sell ourselves to the emperor. These days, the children are all close ministers to the emperor, and they don't have much freedom when they're on duty."

"Aren't you a higher-ranking official than them, and you guard the Emperor every day? How come you're able to eat peacefully at home now?" Auntie asked again, puzzled.

"Don't you understand that high-ranking officials don't need to do everything themselves?" Su Youjin coughed awkwardly and said sternly, "Stop asking about court secrets! You woman, you've forgotten the rules again."

His aunt was speechless for a moment, then sighed and said, "Alas, how did the world turn into chaos so quickly? Just a few years ago, everyone said it was a time of peace and prosperity, but now there is war and chaos everywhere, even the capital is not peaceful, it makes people feel uneasy."

"Don't worry, the children aren't going to war. Chaos won't reach the capital." Su Youjin picked up a piece of pig's ear with his chopsticks.

"I'm worried about the elderly in the family!" Auntie shook her head, her face full of worry. "The other day, that young Master Zhu came to our house for dinner and told me that things aren't peaceful in our Sichuan area. Some so-called 'King of Shuntian' and 'King of Land Grabbing' have appeared, causing quite a stir. Will our parents be affected?"

"No." Su Youjin tried to remain calm, but his eyes betrayed his deep worry.

"There shouldn't be any problems. The rebels are in northern Sichuan, far away from our southern Sichuan. Even if they really cause trouble in Luzhou, we can just send the old man to Linzhou to hide."

"What if the Yang family of Bozhou takes the opportunity to attack Yunluo's family again?" Auntie asked again.

"Uh..." Su Youjin was truly stumped by her question, glaring at her and saying, "You old woman, don't you ever think of anything good?!"

The eldest aunt spread her hands and said, "With the elderly at home, I have to prepare for the worst!"

Su Youjin finally lost his appetite, put down his chopsticks, and sighed deeply:

"Should we bring the old man to the capital? But there are bandits everywhere these days, and the journey would be too dangerous!"

After much discussion, the couple decided that it would be safer for the elderly to stay in their hometown...

Alas, under the shadow of chaos, where can one truly find peace?

(End of this chapter)