Chapter 1642 - Coming Prepared!
Chapter 1642: Coming Prepared!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“This bastard! This prince never invited him, so he invited himself? I’d like to see what he’s going to try!” the First Prince sternly said, and his advisors scowled.
As the saying went, visitors had bad intentions and those with good intentions did not visit. Wang Chong appearing at this time was definitely not good news.
“Come! Follow this prince!”
With a sweep of his sleeve, the First Prince coldly walked out of the courtyard.
……
The Great Buddhist Temple consisted of several dozen temples and side rooms, all built in an ancient and elegant style imbued with its own particular character. And in front of the gilded main hall was a massive Buddha ten-some meters tall, one hand facing the heavens and the other pointed to the earth, its face solemn and dignified. It was the center of the discussion.
“What grandeur! As expected of the First Prince! No other temple can compare to the majesty of this one!”
“What’s important is the First Prince’s compassionate heart. Isn’t this exactly the same as the Buddhist view?”
“In the future, this Buddhist temple might become the biggest Buddhist temple in the capital, perhaps in all of the Great Tang! You won’t be able to say that you’ve visited the capital unless you’ve visited the Great Buddhist Temple!”
The packed crowds outside the temple were extremely excited. But at this moment, a loud cry resounded across the peak.
“The King of Foreign Lands has arrived!”
This cry was like a peal of thunder sweeping across the sky, and the vast crowd was instantly struck dumb.
Then, with eyes of shock, joy, confusion, or respect, they all looked down the mountain.
Even the clan representatives who were in line to strike the Blessing Bell looked over in surprise.
In the Great Tang, there was almost no one who did not know the name of the King of Foreign Lands. This was the most illustrious and most focused-on individual in the entire Central Plains.
But things were not as simple for the gathered great clans.
“Weren’t the King of Foreign Lands and the First Prince at odds with each other? Why… why would the King of Foreign Lands appear at a time like this?”
The clan patriarchs felt their hearts thump against their chests, a sudden unease taking hold.
After the Public Order Squad incident, the First Prince’s relationship with Wang Chong had ceased to be a secret. To the sharper great clans, although the pair had not entered into open hostilities that day, that scowling face on the palace walls had been branded into their minds. That alone had been enough to understand their relationship.
Moreover, the First Prince had also played a significant role in pushing Wang Chong out of the court and stripping him of his post as Advisor-in-Waiting.
If the great clans of the capital didn’t even have this level of political sense, they would have declined long ago.
All of them now sensed something unusual about the appearance of the King of Foreign Lands at this juncture.
A few moments later, the crowd spotted a dazzling golden carriage with a retinue in front and behind that was making its way up the mountain. A banner extended from the front shaft, depicting a violet flame and a golden dragon claw.
This was the exclusive insignia of the King of Foreign Lands.
Bang!
The appearance of the carriage at the base of the mountain instantly had the crowd in an uproar, and the mood grew even more excited.
“King of Foreign Lands!”
“King of Foreign Lands!”
“King of Foreign Lands!”
Ardent cheers came in wave after wave, shaking the heavens. Unlike the other attendees of this ceremony, these were the most ordinary and simplest of common folk. They had no care for political affairs and did not sense the change in the mood.
To the common people of the capital, the King of Foreign Lands was the Great Tang’s invincible and undefeated War God, the hero who protected the Great Tang. It was just that simple.
Countless people adored and revered him.
A few moments later, the crowd halfway up the mountain parted, allowing the escort of Golden Guards in their opulent armor to come through. Right behind these Golden Guards was Wang Chong in his golden crown and dragon robe, his eyes bright and his expression proud as he confidently walked up.
The crowd’s eyes brightened upon seeing this form of Wang Chong, his handsome and energetic appearance exuding an entirely different aura when he was attired in his royal robes. It was a handsome and graceful youth, but one who also carried with him nobility and majesty.
Wang Chong’s amazing record and his miraculous feats, as well as his formidable display in the court, had made all the people subconsciously accept his status. It made them momentarily forget that Wang Chong was only eighteen years old.
When that thick aura of the battlefield was washed away, what was left was a graceful young master.
“Paying respects to the King of Foreign Lands!”
The representatives from the great clans tensed as they came forward and bowed.
This youth was the most powerful and most illustrious youth in perhaps the entire world.
When it came to status, he surpassed everyone else present.
Even those great clans who wanted to form a good relationship with the First Prince did not dare to delay in coming forward to bow.
Just when everyone was going up to greet Wang Chong, a cold voice came from the summit, and there was a clanging of footsteps. The First Prince arrived with his guards, his expression as cold as his voice.
“The King of Foreign Lands is truly a refined character. To think you would have time to attend this prince’s ceremony… But this prince seems to have forgotten; just when did this prince give the King of Foreign Lands an invitation card?”
Given all that had happened before, the First Prince did not believe that Wang Chong had truly come to congratulate him. With his question, he was essentially saying, ‘Wang Chong, you are not welcome.’
The surrounding crowd sensed this and instantly paled, their eyes going back and forth between Wang Chong and the First Prince.
This is bad!
Their eyes twitched. Although it was said that all guests would be happily received, the First Prince’s face said otherwise. No one wanted to get swept into the struggle between Wang Chong and the First Prince at a time like this, becoming sacrificial offerings to these two massive behemoths.
On the other side, Wang Chong had a relaxed and unperturbed expression.
Finally here!
Wang Chong looked around at the Great Buddhist Temple and the dense crowd, his gaze resting for a few moments on the ten-meter-tall Buddha.
In his last life, Wang Chong had not had the chance to see this Great Buddhist Temple. At the time, the Wang Clan had already fallen, and later on, this temple would also be turned into a sea of fire.
But even so, this place had left an incredibly deep impression on Wang Chong. During the opening ceremony, a vast crowd had gathered, and more than forty million taels of gold was donated. This was almost four years of military expenditure for the Great Tang, and the First Prince had collected it with a single temple.
Moreover, even though he said that this money was for the orphans and widows of the Great Tang, the First Prince had only devoted a small portion to the temple and to building a few charity houses. Ninety percent was retained exclusively by the First Prince to be used as capital for his rebellion.
One could say that this Buddhist temple was the opening of the Rebellion of the Three Princes and was of utmost importance to the First Prince. At the minimum, without the immense sum of money he gained from it, he would not have been able to so smoothly proceed with his plans.
Wang Chong would never miss out on this occasion.
When he saw this dense crowd, this important scene from his past once more playing itself out, Wang Chong couldn’t help but feel a little dazed. Many things had changed after his rebirth, and the Great Buddhist Temple was opening much earlier than before.
Wang Chong didn’t know what else had changed, but that ten-meter-tall, many-armed Buddha was something that he remembered.
It was exactly the same as the one he had heard about at the time.
…Except for the eye in the center of its forehead.
A moment later, Wang Chong returned to his senses.
“Heh, it is rare for the First Prince to show such compassion. Given that you have constructed such a grand temple and created such a stir, how could this king not come? Even though Your Highness did not send an invitation card, this king had to come and see no matter what.”
Wang Chong looked at the First Prince, his casual comment easily handling the First Prince’s question.
He once more scanned the crowd, which was looking over with excited eyes. All of them were staring at Wang Chong and the First Prince. Many knew of the conflict between Wang Chong and the First Prince, but none of them knew that Wang Chong was appearing here for their sake.
If he didn’t appear here, many great clans would be crushed into dust once the ceremony was over. Any clan that did not take part in this grand affair would be suppressed and bullied, and more than one hundred clans would end up broken and shattered.
While those clans that participated would escape for the moment, the punishments they eventually received would be even greater.
It would be a complete and utter disaster!
Those clans that had colluded with the First Prince truly were to blame, but in the end, it was all for the sake of survival. In the end, their calamity was a calamity for the Great Tang.
Since I’m here, I have to stop this calamity no matter what!
This was Wang Chong’s private thought, and no one else knew what he was thinking.