Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 27 Qianxia Kunshang Tai
When Chief Justice Pei Yanjun heard Mu Shaoyou say that it was the Buddha who sent down the eight heavenly dragons to punish him with thunder, he really couldn't hold it in any longer.

In his heart, he secretly despised these noble children of the "nation". They were all uneducated and unskillful. Not only could they not understand the Confucian classics, they could not even study the Buddhist scriptures. The Eight Heavenly Dragons is a Sanskrit term, which are the guardian gods of Buddhism, and are not dragon-shaped at all!
Pei Yanjun looked at Cui Guang for help. Although his official position was higher than Mu Shaoyou, he was unwilling to have a head-on conflict with Mu Shaoyou. Although these noble families were uneducated, the status of the Han people in the Northern Wei court was delicate. The influence of Pei Yanjun, the chief justice, might not be greater than that of Mu Shaoyou.

Cui Guang's face calmed down. He summoned several groups of soldiers guarding the wooden pagoda of Yongning Temple and asked them in detail about the situation at that time.

Hearing everyone say that they saw lightning strike the wooden tower continuously and a fire suddenly broke out inside the tower, even Pei Yanjun became a little skeptical. Could it be that the Buddha really was punishing him?

After listening to everyone's testimony, Cui Guang said to Pei Yanjun and Mu Shaoyou:
"The Yongning Temple Pagoda was struck by lightning and burned down. Everyone in Luoyang saw it. The palace will definitely send someone to inquire about it."

"According to the testimonies of the soldiers, there were indeed thunderbolts that struck the tower continuously, and a huge fire suddenly broke out inside the tower. This was witnessed by everyone, so it is absolutely impossible for this to be faked."

Pei Yanjun also nodded. The testimonies of the four groups of people guarding the wooden pagoda, the guards of the Supreme Court, the soldiers of the Imperial Guards, the envoys of the Egret Cao and the craftsmen of the Chief Works were all the same, and the details matched. No one was capable of making so many people lie at the same time, and the whole Luoyang should have seen the lightning strike on Yongning Temple.

Cui Guang continued, "Since this is true, we will report it to the court truthfully, and the rest will be left to the Queen Mother and the gentlemen to judge."

Pei Yanjun thought about it and decided to agree with Cui Guang's proposal.

The Jin Ping Assassination Case was troublesome enough, and coupled with the case of the Yongning Temple Wooden Pagoda, Pei Yanjun understood that the hidden story behind this case must involve the political struggle at the highest level of the court, which was not something that he, a court judge who had just returned to the capital, could get involved in.

If you rashly step into the game, at best you will be banished from Luoyang like last time, or at worst you may lose your life.

The three important officials in charge of the investigation reached a consensus. Cui Guang asked people to spread out the silk book and write it down personally, recording in detail how the wooden pagoda of Yongning Temple was burned down by lightning last night. Cui Guang first untied the seal at his waist and covered it.

Pei Yanjun and Mu Shaoyou also took out their seals and stamped their documents. Just as they finished, someone from the palace came.

Grand Chamberlain Liu Teng hurried to the monks' quarters, and Cui Guang immediately handed over the memorial agreed upon by the three of them.

After sending Liu Teng away, Cui Guang said, "Please ask Junior Supervisor Mu to count the losses and wait for the Queen Mother's order."

"only!"

The entire Yongning Temple was busy that day. Even Su Ze received an order from above, requiring them to stay in the monks' quarters to protect Princess Chenliu and not leave the residence without permission.

The gate of Yongning Temple was completely sealed. Chief Justice Pei Yanjun personally led people to count the people in the temple and arrested several suspicious elements.

It was also thanks to Princess Chenliu's face that Su Ze and others were not questioned, but the Yulin Army also sent people to count the number of people.

It was not until night fell that Yongning Temple finally became peaceful. Just as Su Ze was about to rest, Luzhu's voice was heard at the door.

"Captain Su, the princess wants to see you."

Su Ze looked at the big exclamation mark on the system and knew that it was time for him to "hand in the task".

Su Ze washed up simply and followed Lu Zhu into the monastery.

The interior of the monastery is extremely elegant. It should be the monastery specially reserved for Princess Chenliu. The royal family of the Northern Wei Dynasty lived a luxurious life, and the maids accompanying them formed a huge team.

Su Ze followed Lu Zhu through the corridor and saw a pure white cat surrounded by a group of maids who were carefully serving it. When they reached the deepest part of the monk's house, Lu Zhu said to Su Ze:

"Captain Su, the princess is in the house, please come in."

This is a waterside pavilion built on a pond. There are bamboo poles and lanterns hanging on the pond. It is still raining during the day. Although the rain has stopped, the spring mist is reluctant to dissipate over the pond. The front is not clear in the mist, just like a fairyland in the Dragon Palace. Isn't it just a princess? I hugged her yesterday!
Su Ze stepped onto the waterside pavilion and finally saw Princess Chenliu lying on the Hu bed.

At this time, the princess had already taken off her veil, and her graceful body was lying lazily. Su Ze quickly turned his eyes away, but heard Princess Chen Liu say:

"Captain Su, can you help me solve my doubts now?"

This witch!
Su Ze thought to himself that she was indeed a Xianbei princess, and her style was open.

However, considering the disgraceful reputation of Tang Dynasty princesses, it is not surprising that the Northern Wei Dynasty had even worse barbaric customs.

Su Ze saw a futon. Since the other party was not afraid of being seen, Su Ze walked up and sat down on the futon, looking at Princess Chenliu's delicate body unscrupulously.

This time, it was Princess Chenliu who could no longer hold back. She felt hot under Su Ze's gaze and pulled the quilt on the couch to cover her body.

It turns out that this princess is just pretending to be coquettish!

Su Ze simply started to play dumb: "If the princess has any doubts, you can ask the ministers in the court. Su is just a small sergeant. What can I do to help the princess solve her doubts?"

Princess Chenliu said, "Just now, Lord Cui, Lord Pei of the Imperial Court, and Junior Supervisor Mu of the Imperial Household submitted a memorial to the Supreme Lord, saying that the wooden pagoda of Yongning Temple was burned down by lightning."

"Lüzhu asked other maids in the monastery, and one maid who got up at night to wash clothes also said that she saw a thunder dragon coiled around the wooden pagoda."

"We encountered a bad guy on the wooden tower. Wasn't he the one who set the fire?"

Su Ze crossed his legs and said:
"The taller the building, the more likely it is to attract lightning. Isn't this the law of nature? Old trees on mountaintops are often struck by lightning. The Yongning Temple Wooden Pagoda is the tallest building in Luoyang. Isn't it normal for it to be struck by lightning?"

Princess Chenliu said: "The Yongning Temple wooden pagoda has also been struck by lightning, but it was always safe and sound before. Why did it cause a fire this time?"

Su Ze said: "Because of the iron chain."

"iron chain?"

"Metal and stone can conduct electricity. In the past, the four iron ropes of the wooden tower were connected from the top of the tower to the ground, which could pour lightning into the ground and protect the wooden tower. This time, the golden bottle overturned, and the iron ropes were all pulled into the tower, which also led the lightning into the tower. And the villain was instructed to pour oil into the tower, which accelerated the burning of the wooden tower."

Princess Chenliu thought for a moment and said, "The sky is Qian, the earth is Kun, and the gold and stone are mixed to form Qian and Kun, guiding the Qian Qi to descend. Qian is below and Kun is above, which is 'Tai'. So it can protect the wooden tower?"

Su Ze didn't expect that this Xianbei princess had such a deep knowledge of Chinese studies and could even relate physics to the Book of Changes. She was worthy of being the daughter of Emperor Xiaowen.

However, he was too lazy to talk about physics with Princess Chenliu, so he nodded and said, "Princess, you are smart, so this understanding is acceptable."

Princess Chenliu narrowed her eyes and smiled like a little fox. She said, "How can an ordinary Yulin soldier have such knowledge? The Imperial Academy's chief priest Cui Gong is the most admirer of the Book of Changes. How about I recommend Captain Su to Cui Gong?"

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(End of this chapter)