Hearing Fan Qinghui's words, Cai Yan suddenly interrupted, "I only ask you, can you hand over all your property, all your cultivation manuals, all your land, and at the same time strictly abide by the rules and regulations of Buddhism?"
“Master, these valuables were donated by the pilgrims. Even the imperial court cannot forcibly take them back! This is robbery! This is immoral!” Fan Qinghui said subconsciously.
Upon hearing this, Cai Yan burst into laughter, unable to hold it in any longer. Her laughter triggered a chain reaction, and even the heads of the surrounding aristocratic families couldn't help but laugh as well.
How ridiculous! Cihang Jingzhai is now accusing others of being domineering? Why didn't you say this when you were choosing an emperor on behalf of Heaven? Why didn't you say this when you were manipulating so many heroes of the righteous path? Why didn't you say this when you rushed over to kill Cai Yan just now?
Oh, now that you've lost, you're a fish on the chopping block, and you're starting to beg for mercy and try to reason with people. Do you think you're the main character?
Moreover, among all the people present, who doesn't know where those treasures came from? They secretly manipulate lay disciples to establish various gangs, suppress tenants, rob land, and now, an entire layer of land in the world is under the control of the Buddhist sect.
It may not seem like much, just one floor, but if you compare the number of monks and the average, you'll know just how wealthy this group of monks really is!
Upon hearing this, Cai Yan said indifferently, "That's right, I am robbing you, so what can you do about it? My fists are bigger than yours, so what if I robbed you?"
"I earnestly hope that you, Master, will prioritize the well-being of all people and their interests, and not listen to the words of petty people. Otherwise, the consequences will be dire!" Fan Qinghui kindly advised. However, she spoke with considerable confidence.
The entire population of the world, when added together, numbers in the hundreds of millions. Among them, Buddhist monks, those who are ordained disciples, number only a few thousand. Each of them possesses at least innate cultivation.
However, besides these, there are tens of thousands of warrior monks and hundreds of thousands of ordinary monks. There are at least millions of devout believers, and their influence behind the scenes amounts to tens of millions.
As long as Cai Yan doesn't go mad or become mentally disabled, Buddhism still has room to maneuver. These millions of believers are Buddhism's bargaining chip! At least, that's what Fan Qinghui believes.
If Lin Yang were here, he would definitely say that this idea is both right and wrong. It depends on the specific situation. Sometimes, if you encounter a weakling, like the Chosen One from the Ming and Qing dynasties, you might actually be able to secure considerable benefits for Buddhism!
Unfortunately, the future of this world belongs to Zhang Lu, the direct descendant of the Taoist sect.
The Cai Yan before me is also a true successor of Confucianism, an upper-class figure of the Han Dynasty. How could she be threatened by natives from a small world? How many people who threaten the Han Dynasty can still live well?
Hearing Fan Qinghui's threat, Cai Yan gave her a cold look. Just now she thought this woman was quite clever, at least thick-skinned. But now, she only thought she was as stupid as a pig and beyond redemption.
"Oh, so what does Master Fanzhai intend to do? And what are his demands?" Cai Yan asked coldly.
Upon hearing this, Fan Qinghui not only failed to grasp Cai Yan's implied meaning, but also said smugly, "Hehe, it's very simple. Just give my Buddhist sect some additional land for each temple. It doesn't need to be much, even just nominally will do. Then I'm confident I can persuade those abbots."
Seeing this, Cai Yan shook her head speechlessly. She had heard before that people caught in a calamity often do some incredible things.
In Fei Peng's words, it's like a smart person turning into a brain-dead person, and a brain-dead person has no choice but to die! Cai Yan wouldn't have believed this before. But looking at Fan Qinghui now, she had to believe it.
How wise and insightful Fan Qinghui was in ordinary times. As a woman, she traveled among the heroes of the world and used them as pawns to make moves on the chessboard of the world.
But at this moment, she was like a shrew, all her cleverness had disappeared!
“Fan Qinghui, the head of Cihang Jingzhai, you are very clever, but unfortunately, it’s just petty cleverness! In this world, Taoism has replaced Buddhism, which is the inevitable trend of Heaven and cannot be reversed. Those who follow it will prosper, and those who oppose it will perish! The fact that you can see this shows that you are not blind.”
"If you had surrendered six months ago and proactively corrected some of your shortcomings, you would certainly have had a bright future. You couldn't escape becoming a fourth-tier immortal!"
"Even if you surrender in time, Zhang Lu will have nothing to say. Even if he hates you, there will definitely be a place for your Buddhist sect to survive in this world!"
"It's a pity that you missed the best opportunity. In fact, for the next six months, you showed no intention of surrendering. Instead, you colluded with powerful figures from all sides, intending to slay immortals and gods!"
"Now that you've failed, instead of thinking about how to surrender, you're turning around and threatening me? Perhaps this is what Fei Peng meant by 'no zuo no die'!" Cai Yan said coldly, looking at him like he was about to die.
Women, whether in classical feudal times or later modern society, are not particularly shrewd. Moreover, they tend to hold grudges.
"Confucius said, 'I examine myself thrice daily: Have I been disloyal in serving others? Have I been untrustworthy in dealing with friends? Have I neglected to practice what I have been taught?' Fan Qinghui, just how many things have you done to wrong others? Now, tell me all about them!" Cai Yan said with a smile.
The words had barely left her lips when streams of literary energy surged towards Fan Qinghui. The next instant, Fan Qinghui, who had been perfectly fine, suddenly burst into tears!
"I regret it so much. I used to like Brother Song, but I am the Holy Maiden of Cihang Jingzhai. I cannot have feelings. Otherwise, how could I maintain my transcendent status, be popular with everyone, and have the whole world admire my Jingzhai?"
"Back then, in order to win, I secretly colluded with Bian Bufu to plot against Shan Meixian. I knew that Empress Yin was actually very sentimental, and as long as I destroyed her daughter, I could definitely break her composure!"
"At that time, with a bit of pressure and some scheming, I might just be able to defeat her in front of others and establish my reputation. Just in case, I also had Ning Daoqi fight Yin Hou beforehand to weaken her power. After all, Ning Daoqi has something on me that Jingzhai can use against him!"
"then……"
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Chapter 109: Liaokong, dead! The Four Great Holy Monks, dead! Li Shimin, dead!
"Back then, I resented my senior sister Bi Xiuxin. Why was she the Holy Maiden while I was just a substitute, even though we were fellow disciples? Why is it that after I became the Holy Maiden, everyone still remembers her fondly!"
"Overlord Blade Yue Shan likes her, Heavenly Blade Song Que likes her the most, Evil King Shi Zhixuan likes her, Great Confucian Scholar Wang Tong likes her, Ouyang Xiyi likes her too, I'm not reconciled! They're all holy maidens, why does everyone in the world only pay attention to her!"
"So, on behalf of my sect, I wrote a letter demanding that Bi Xiuxin reveal the flaw in the Undying Seal Technique. As I expected, Bi Xiuxin did indeed die later!"
"then,……"
Hearing Fan Qinghui's words, everyone around felt their worldview shattered; it was truly unbelievable. The person who was once so high and mighty had shed her disguise and revealed herself to be like this.
Then, regardless of what everyone was really thinking, at least on the surface, they all acted like they were good people and that this guy was really bad.
Sensing the surprise, resentment, and disbelief of the crowd, Cai Yan smiled and released her righteous indignation.
"Imperial decree: Restore!"
In an instant, Fan Qinghui's eyes brightened again. Unfortunately, she quickly sank into deep despair. Recalling her earlier words, she knew that no amount of whitewashing would change anything.
Many things can only be done in secret, not spoken of openly. Although the patriarchs below her had done no less evil than she had, at least they appeared respectable on the surface. Now, they were all standing on a moral high ground, blaming her—it felt utterly absurd.
"Tsk tsk, this is Cihang Jingzhai?!"
"Hehe, that's disgusting!"
"After doing so many awful things, how dare you speak on behalf of Heaven to choose an emperor?"
Listening to the discussions of the crowd, Fan Qinghui's eyes returned to calm after her despair, and she sat there quietly.