Hearing the thunderous opposition, Wang Jiande's face turned ashen with rage. He suddenly stood up, overturned the imperial desk in front of him, and the writing implements on the table crashed to the ground.
Clearly, she was extremely angry.
"We deserve to die a thousand deaths, Your Majesty! Please forgive us!"
The ministers were all shocked to see this and quickly bowed and apologized.
"Court adjourned!"
Wang Jiande waved his sleeve and turned to leave.
"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"
The ministers cheered again.
Seeing Wang Jiande leave in a huff, all the ministers were overjoyed. They were happy to have outmaneuvered the emperor and forced him to retract the imperial edict.
Only a few high-ranking officials of the first rank had solemn expressions. They sensed an unusual aura and exchanged glances before agreeing on a plan.
Afterwards, the officials left the hall in twos and threes, each going about their own business. However, several important officials did not leave. Fang Xuanling pulled over a eunuch and asked, "Where is His Majesty?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, His Majesty is in the Imperial Study!"
The eunuch dared not be negligent and quickly replied.
Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and the others exchanged glances, thanked the young eunuch, and walked together toward the imperial study.
Inside the Imperial Study, Wang Jiande was leisurely practicing calligraphy when a palace attendant came to report that the prime ministers were requesting an audience. Without stopping his calligraphy practice, he said, "Please come in quickly."
Upon receiving a response from the eunuch, the left and right prime ministers, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, pushed open the door to the imperial study and led the ministers of various departments in single file.
But then Wang Jiande said with a smile, "Haha, my dear ministers, you've arrived a little earlier than I expected!"
Where is the anger from before?
As the Right Minister of Works, second only to the Emperor, Fang Xuanling was the first to react and stepped forward, saying, "Your subjects pay their respects to Your Majesty!"
The others followed suit and bowed.
Wang Jiande waved his sleeve and said, "No need for formalities, please take a seat!"
A palace attendant brought out a grand chair and invited each of the ministers to sit down.
"I already know your purpose in coming, but I am puzzled as to why I have decreed that you should obey and respect the Buddha, contrary to my usual practice?"
Before the ministers could ask any questions, Wang Jiande spoke frankly.
Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and the others looked at each other and could only nod.
"This is the will of our great-grandfather. I am merely following the rules. Moreover, you must not divulge this matter, lest it leak out and ruin our great-grandfather's important plans!"
Seeing everyone stunned, Wang Jiande couldn't help but smile knowingly. It wasn't just you; I was completely bewildered back then too.
Wang Jiande said this without fear of being overheard by those with supernatural powers, because the imperial city was filled with the aura of dragons, and anyone who tried to spy on it would suffer a backlash from the dragon's energy.
Otherwise, why would Guanyin need to use her dream-entering technique to bewitch the emperor at midnight when the yin energy is at its heaviest and the dragon energy is at its weakest?
With a single act of conversion, Wang Jiande will surely become a devout Buddhist.
That is why, in this palace, there is no need to worry about cultivators using their supernatural powers to spy on you and plot against you.
Otherwise, the human world would have been in chaos long ago.
It was precisely for this reason that Xiao Ning and Wang Mang meticulously devised such a grand scheme to lure Guanyin into their trap.
...
Meanwhile, as Wang Jiande explained the matter to his ministers, the other ministers left the imperial city in twos and threes, returning to their respective departments to begin their day's work.
"His Majesty is acting very strangely today. He actually wanted to summon all the eminent monks in the land and water to hold a grand assembly. It's really reckless. Fortunately, the officials stopped him and forced him to rescind his order!"
"That's right, that's right. His Majesty is acting recklessly. We must not stand idly by. What is Buddhism?"
"Well done, Grand Astrologer! You silenced His Majesty with just one sentence. You truly deserve to be called the Grand Astrologer, who is in charge of the calendar and records of the entire realm!"
"Indeed, our Taoist school is the one that seizes the essence of heaven and earth, gathers the brilliance of the sun and moon, eliminates the evil influences of the world, and promotes the orthodox teachings of the Supreme Being! Those barbarian religions outside the Tao are nothing but remnants of Nirvana, mere ghosts that have not yet escaped the mortal realm!"
The officials discussed the events that had occurred in the court in small groups, and expressed their opinions.
What was said without malice may have been taken to heart by the listener.
These words were quickly overheard.
Soon, news spread throughout Chang'an City that the Emperor of Daxin wanted to summon eminent monks to hold a grand Buddhist and Taoist ceremony, but was strongly opposed by the court officials.
………………
After suppressing Sun Wukong, the Buddha bid farewell to the Jade Emperor and returned to the Great Thunder Temple in the Western Paradise.
But then one sees three thousand Buddhas, five hundred Arhats, eight Vajras, and countless Bodhisattvas, each holding banners, canopies, and rare jewels and flowers, lined up beneath the twin Sala trees in the sacred mountain paradise to welcome the Buddha's return.
The Tathagata stopped the auspicious clouds and said to the Buddhas: "With profound Prajna, I have observed the three realms; the fundamental nature is ultimately quiescent; like the form of empty space, there is nothing; the subjugation of the unruly monkey is something unknown, called the beginning of birth and death, such is the nature of Dharma."
Having said that, he released the light of the relic, and forty-two white rainbows filled the sky, connecting north and south. When the people of Mount Ling saw this, they all bowed and paid homage.
Then, the Tathagata gathered the clouds and mist of celebration, ascended the nine-tiered lotus platform, and sat peacefully.
The three thousand Buddhas, five hundred Arhats, eight Vajras, and four Bodhisattvas approached with palms joined in their respects. After they finished, they asked, "World Honored One, who is it that caused such a disturbance in the Heavenly Palace and disrupted the Peach Banquet?"