OBS Chapter 1661 An Emperor's Love Can Never Be Pure
Chapter 1661 An Emperor's Love Can Never Be Pure
The investigation will only further prove the Imperial Noble Consort's innocence and solidify the Fourth Prince's position.
However, the investigation process... must be carried out with utmost caution, and absolutely no information can be leaked!
Li Changde quietly withdrew and began making arrangements.
Only Nangong Xuanyu remained in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
He slowly raised his hand to support his forehead, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
Thoughts...
Ah Xu...
He believed in the mother and son, which is one thing.
Investigating this matter is another matter entirely.
This is the nature of an emperor's love; it can never be pure.
It's real and frustrating.
But Nangong Xuanyu knew that he was not the late emperor and would never let Niannian and Axu follow in the footsteps of Consort Yun and Xingchen.
……
As a royal temple that has stood for hundreds of years, Fatu Temple has always been regarded as a sacred place that should not be desecrated in the hearts of the people!
Yellow walls and green tiles are nestled among green pines, and the morning bells and evening drums resonate with a timeless tranquility.
There are also high-ranking monks who are said to be able to communicate with the will of Heaven and offer guidance.
All of this gives this ancient temple a sacred aura.
When people in the capital encounter difficulties, they often go to temples to draw lots and donate money for incense. They hope that the rising smoke from the incense can truly convey their suffering to the heavens and bring them divine protection.
Therefore, when the incident occurred at Fatu Temple, the public was initially taken aback, followed by a surge of incomprehension.
Fatu Temple has been bestowed with imperial titles by several emperors, and all the monks there are highly accomplished and compassionate. How could they possibly be involved in the rebellious king's affairs?
And what about a celestial being like Master Xingchen? How could he possibly be tainted by mundane legal matters?
The reaction was particularly strong among believers who had awakened from their delusion.
This young high monk was handsome and spoke with ethereal grace, and had a large following among noblewomen, literati, and scholars in the capital.
Many had received his guidance and felt enlightened. Hearing that the Buddhist disciple they admired was being detained and investigated by the palace, how could they possibly accept this?
Within a few days, people began to spontaneously gather in several main streets and alleys near the imperial city.
Although they dared not shout or defy the authority of Heaven, the sorrow and indignation on their faces was a silent petition.
Some bolder scholars even co-authored poems and essays, subtly pleading for the Fatu Temple. Their words were filled with phrases like "The Buddhist temple is a place of purity, and we fear that injustice may be inflicted upon us" and "Your Majesty is wise and will surely investigate every detail."
These commotions naturally did not escape Nangong Xuanyu's notice.
But he ignored it.
Before these petitioners could gain momentum, one shocking scandal after another at Fatu Temple was exposed!
Huichen has been in charge of the Disciplinary Hall for many years. On the surface, he is impartial and incorruptible, but in reality, he is a greedy person who is blinded by money and has no bottom line.
Each and every incident was stained with blood and carried with it injustice.
Moreover, these things were not done by Huichen alone.
As the investigation deepened, numerous clues began to point to Master Minghua, the highly respected abbot of Fatu Temple.
At first, no one believed it.
Abbot Minghua is over seventy years old and has presided over Fatu Temple for nearly thirty years. He spends his days preaching and exhorting people to do good, truly a leader in Buddhism!
To say he was involved in these sordid affairs is simply absurd!
But evidence doesn't lie.
The largest "offerings" in Huichen's private account were marked as being handed over to disciples who were close to the abbot.
Li Changde's men managed to pry open the mouths of those disciples and learned that although the abbot did not show his face, he was the one who ultimately benefited from and approved all the "big deals" in the temple.
Most of the gold and silver went into the abbot's private treasury and was used to cultivate relationships with powerful figures and consolidate his superior position.
Further investigation revealed several shocking old cases!
A monk discovered the abbot's affair with a powerful woman and subsequently "died of illness."
A supervisor who insisted on investigating the temple's financial losses was falsely accused of theft, had his legs broken, and was expelled from the temple.
Even twenty years ago, a young abbot with considerable spiritual cultivation who wanted to reorganize the temple affairs died by self-immolation in his meditation room on the eve of taking over as abbot.
There were many doubts at the time, but Minghua lightly glossed them over by saying that the old abbot had seen through the illusions of the world and sacrificed himself to feed the Buddha...
Layer upon layer of darkness was torn away, revealing the already rotten and foul interior!
What Buddhist sanctuary and holy place of practice? It is nothing but a den of demons that wears the cloak of compassion but actually exploits and plunders people!
These news spread quickly throughout the capital.
Everyone was shocked!
Those scholars who had spoken out or written poems in support of Fatu Temple were all burning with shame and indignation. They wished they could swallow back all their past words.
The public was in an uproar!
In the streets and alleys, in teahouses and taverns, there were exclamations of disbelief everywhere!
What followed was a torrent of angry curses: "Heavens! Huichen and the abbot... how could they do such a thing?!"
“Last year, my mother donated five taels of silver for lamp oil, praying to Buddha to bless my father’s illness… That money, that money was fed to these jackals!”
"Bah! What kind of high monk is he! He's nothing but a wicked demon who eats people without spitting out the bones! A beast in a cassock!"
"My distant cousin, wasn't he the one who got his leg broken in that dispute with the Zhao family over the irrigation canal? He had no way to get justice and eventually died in despair... So, it turns out the Zhao family gave money to that bald monk!"
"..."
Public sentiment reversed instantly.
Those who had previously petitioned for Fatu Temple have long since dispersed.
The reputation that Fatu Temple had built up over hundreds of years has completely collapsed!
Fortunately, His Majesty gave the aggrieved party justice.
The ringleaders, Minghua and Huichen, are guilty of heinous crimes. They disregarded the law, blasphemed Buddhism, deceived the emperor, and harmed the people. They are sentenced to immediate execution!
The remaining monks involved in the case will be severely punished according to the law; those who should be exiled will be exiled, and those who should be imprisoned will be imprisoned.
Fatu Temple has been sealed off, and all its land and assets have been confiscated and carefully examined. If there are any aggrieved parties, the assets will be returned as appropriate.
On the day of the execution, the area around the execution ground was packed with people.
Huichen was being held in a prison cart, wearing dirty prison clothes, his head covered in cold sweat, and his lower body reeking of a foul odor. He was so frightened that he lost control of his bladder.
He spent half his life being greedy and enjoying himself, never dreaming that those "businesses" he thought would never see the light of day would be exposed to the public...
Abbot Minghua appeared much calmer, sitting with his eyes closed in another prison cart.
His deathly pale face betrayed his inner fear.
Decades of hard-earned reputation, status, and wealth vanished in an instant, leaving behind a legacy of infamy and death...
"I'm coming!"
"Those two bald thieves!"
"Pah! You dog! You still have the nerve to chant Buddhist scriptures?!"
"My father's leg! Give me back my father's leg!"
"You beast who cheated me out of my incense money! Go to the eighteenth level of hell!"
"..."
The crowd was in a commotion.
Anger, shouts, and curses rang out incessantly.
Rotten vegetable leaves, rotten eggs, and pebbles rained down on the prison van, landing on the former high monk.
The soldiers maintaining order did not obstruct the crowd too much, only ensuring that the crowd would not break through the fence.
Hui Chen screamed in agony as he was smashed, completely breaking down: "Spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! I'll give back all the money... Don't kill me... Don't kill me!"