Chapter 1639: The Great Buddhist Temple Incident! (1/2)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

Wang Chong had the lark land on his palm and quickly took the letter it carried.

The familiar and elegant words written upon the letter elicited a warm smile from Wang Chong. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't gotten in touch with Bai Siling in a very long time.

It's rare for this girl to think of me. What sort of problem could she have encountered?

With this thought in mind, Wang Chong glanced through the letter, and a moment later, his brow creased and his face grimaced.

Bai Siling had started with a few pleasantries, and then she had gotten to the main topic. Apparently, First Prince Li Ying had recently begun constructing a large Buddhist temple outside the capital. This engineering project had mobilized more than one thousand craftsmen, and Phoebe Zhennan wood and other various precious kinds of wood were being shipped in from across the empire. The project was also proceeding very quickly, and it was predicted that it would only need six more days to be completed.

When the time came, the First Prince planned to personally write the name of the Buddhist temple for its signboard and preside over the opening ceremony, and he had invited the Bai Clan to come.

The Bai Clan was still undecided, but if they did decide to go, they would send Bai Siling as their representative. Given how sensitive the current political climate was, Bai Siling had asked for Wang Chong's views on the matter.

Bai Siling sought Wang Chong's advice on whether the Bai Clan would attend or not.

When constructing either a Buddhist temple or Daoist temple, it was custom to invite a few great clans and wealthy local officials to attend the ceremony. While it was called attending the ceremony, in reality, it was a request to donate incense, oil, and money. Constructing a temple was an enormous expense, and the majority of the ceremony attendees were extremely wealthy. When the time came to donate incense, oil, and money, they would donate significant amounts, enough to cover a portion of the expense.

Although Bai Siling had written this letter, it was actually the Bai Clan asking for Wang Chong's opinion. After all, Wang Chong had an unfriendly relationship with the First Prince, and many people knew just how enraged the First Prince had become after the Public Order Squad incident.

But this was not what Wang Chong was concerned about.

It's coming so quickly?

As he slowly looked up from the letter, Wang Chong's brows began to furrow.

The Great Buddhist Temple!

How could Wang Chong possibly forget about that incident? When the First Prince invited almost every great clan in the capital to attend the ceremony, no one had thought much of it. They had all believed that this would be like the Buddhist temple ceremonies of the past, except that it was the First Prince constructing this temple, so they would probably have to donate more incense, oil, and money.

But this matter was far more complicated than they would imagine.

How could someone of the First Prince's status build a Buddhist temple for no reason? He was even personally writing its signboard and holding the ceremony. It had to be known that the First Prince wasn't a Buddhist!

For the First Prince, the ceremony was merely an excuse. The construction of the Buddhist temple was to build up good will in the public and also find out just how many great clans in the capital actually supported him.

When the ceremony concluded, all those great clans who had received the First Prince's invitation but had not attended the ceremony were put on the First Prince's blacklist.

In the aftermath, the First Prince would make them the focus of his vengeance and suppression.

Through various excuses, the First Prince borrowed the power of the Imperial Court, and many great clans that had gone on for centuries were shattered and broken.

In the Great Tang, these great clans weren't merely wealthy families. They were powerful factions in their own right, and in their centuries of operations, they had become one with the Great Tang.

For the sake of a factional dispute, the First Prince destroyed these clans who would not submit, and in doing so, he destroyed the strength of the Great Tang.

This foreshadowed the coming disaster.

If one thought back, if there was one incident that proclaimed that the Great Tang had entered internal strife, it was the Great Buddhist Temple incident.

Not even Wang Chong had imagined that this incident would come so quickly, and his expression instantly turned grave.

The Great Buddhist Temple incident seemed simple, but it would cause many people to lose their heads.

No matter what, he had to stop it.

As if in response to Wang Chong's thoughts, the Stone of Destiny loudly proclaimed, ”Special Event: Rebellion of the Three Princes begins! User has three months to stop this event. Starting from now, the loss of each great clan in the capital will result in a deduction of 10,000 Destiny Energy points. If user is able to alter this disaster, then once the Rebellion of the Three Princes is over, user will be rewarded with 20,000 points of Destiny Energy for each great clan saved. The above amounts are not restricted!”

Wang Chong's vision was covered in crimson light, and then a massive 卍 symbol appeared that began to shrink into a small mark that branded itself onto the Stone of Destiny.

As Wang Chong sensed this change in his mind, he fell into a contemplative mood.

”Reporting!”

A few moments later, a Golden Guard rushed inside.

”Your Highness, the Zhang, Li, Huang, and Lu Clans have all sent messages saying they have something to report. Your Highness, please review them!”

The guard respectfully offered the letters in his hand.