Chapter 80: Madam Gao is dead

Two days later.

Luo Qingling sat in the carriage, listening to Madam Gao chattering with the guards outside. He didn't know what she was saying, but he saw the guards actually stepped aside on their own initiative, and the carriage slowly moved forward.

"Once we enter the palace, you must call me Sister," Madam Gao instructed before she even settled down. "I've just told the guards, as you said, that we worship the king and have come across the sea to pay our respects on Buddha's birthday. Don't let anything slip once we get inside."

"It will definitely not be exposed, sister." Luo Qingling nodded.

Yesterday, while holding the double-bodied Buddha statue, Luo Qingling suddenly had an idea and thought of a trick. Instead of using the slow method of setting up a stall to ask questions, it would be better to find an opportunity to sneak into the palace to meet the king - after all, it was Liuqiu Kingdom that benefited from the wrong news of the war that year.

As the king of Liuqiu State, he must know who was the one who exchanged the soul-seeking ghost for pre-war information.

The carriage stopped in front of the main hall. Luo Qingling followed Madam Gao, head held high and chest puffed out, as she entered the Buddhist temple. The strong Buddhist incense in the temple was particularly pungent, unlike the mild incense found in the other major Buddhist temples in the capital.

A maid came forward to pay her respects, and Luo Qingling and the other two responded with standard Beijing etiquette, then followed the maid's lead, took the incense, and knelt down in worship.

"Are you two sisters from the same clan?"

The person behind me spoke with an accent that had a bit of Liuqiu flavor. He must be a Liuqiu person who could speak the Central Plains dialect.

Luo Qingling stood up, bowed to the man, and smiled, nodding slightly without saying anything. Today, she was playing the role of a young lady who had come to Liuqiu State with her elder sister to pay homage to the Buddha. Naturally, she couldn't be so familiar with a man from another country.

"How are you, my lord?" Madam Gao said, performing a woman's formality, confirming her marriage. "I am Tonghua, the Tong family member who wrote to you not long ago. This is my sister, Tongqing."

"So it's you, lady. I've heard a lot about you." The man imitated the Central Plains way of greeting and had a pleasant conversation with Mrs. Gao.

"Ladies, please follow me. The king has been waiting in the palace for a long time."

After passing the corridor, an archway appeared in front of us. Behind the door, the branches of the flowering trees stretched out, just enough to block out the people in the hall.

Luo Qingling followed the man with his hands behind his back and his head down. The three of them walked into the palace one after another and stood in the palace waiting for the king to speak.

"You are here to worship Buddha."

Someone spoke in the hall, speaking fluent Central Plains dialect, which startled Luo Qingling and the others. Before Luo Qingling could react, a man walked down, holding a golden plate with something clearly visible on it.

It is a porcelain bottle containing a life-seeking ghost.

Luo Qingling and Madam Gao glanced at each other secretly, and both saw a hint of solemnity in each other's eyes.

What was the intention of the King of Liuqiu? Did he already know the purpose of their visit to Liuqiu?

"This is a reward from the king. Zhongyuan has been asking us for the life-seeking ghost in the past few years. Isn't the purpose of your coming here today for this?" The man from Zhongyuan spoke very clearly, with a tone of disdain.

"Who is from the Central Plains..."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your reward. I am deeply grateful to you."

Luo Qingling reached out and tugged at Madam Gao's sleeve to stop her from questioning.

The current issue is not about who should ask Liuqiu Kingdom for the life-demanding ghost. The most important thing is that they must first gain the trust of the king... at least not let them become suspicious.

The two men lowered their heads to take the porcelain bottle, and then followed the man who led the way out of the palace.

He could only hear laughter behind him, as if he looked down on Zhongyuan. Luo Qingling clenched his fists and controlled his urge to hit someone.

This Liuqiu State is really going too far! How dare such a small country look down on the great power of the Central Plains? Do they think that the Central Plains Dynasty is a small country that can be bullied by others?

The carriage stopped in front of them. The driver exchanged glances with the two men and nodded slightly.

As night falls, the lights flicker.

The palace is surrounded by guards armed with knives. No one can break into the palace unless -

Unless someone does not leave the palace during the day.

The bottom of the red wall was covered with weeds, which just covered the moving shadows. The guards patrolling around walked past quickly and did not notice anything wrong.

Seeing the guards walking away, Luo Qingling stuck his head out from behind the wall and looked around, then waved to Madam Gao who was hiding nearby. The two of them crouched down and walked towards the royal palace where the three officials were.

Before arriving in Liuqiu, Luo Qingling had learned from Qin Yanheng that the Sansi officialdom was responsible for Liuqiu's war efforts. As luck would have it, the Sansi officialdom's residence was within the royal palace, guarded day and night by imperial guards, with strict entry and exit regulations to prevent leaks of military intelligence.

A plaque with the Three Officials' title was hung overhead, and the main entrance was locked. Luo Qingling wandered around furtively for a while, and finally found an unlocked window, and the two of them climbed in.

Fortunately, after the door was locked, there was no one on duty in the palace, so Luo Qingling and Madam Gao were looking for records about the war that year in front of the bookcases that were as tall as a person.

Because they didn't know the soundproofing in this place, the two didn't dare to make any sound and could only communicate through eye contact.

The steps outside the door creaked, and Luo Qingling's heart pounded. She stared intently at the closed door, the Golden Dragon Sword in her hand gleaming faintly. If someone forced their way in, she should be able to hold out for a while with the Golden Dragon Sword's power.

The footsteps gradually faded away. It must be the guards on patrol. After finding nothing unusual, the guards left and the surroundings returned to silence.

Luo Qingling breathed a sigh of relief and continued searching.

Before sunset, the two of them hid in an abandoned palace in the royal palace. Madam Gao took the opportunity to teach her a few simple words of Liuqiu dialect and some texts. Now, facing the books at hand, although she could not understand them very well, she could tell the approximate time.

As long as the time and place of the war match, they can be sure that this file records the war between Liuqiu Kingdom and the Central Plains Dynasty.

As for whether the matter of the life-seeking ghost would be recorded on it... Luo Qingling and the others had no idea, so they could only try their luck. If they could find it, that would be great, but if they couldn't, they would have to delay for some more time.

Only by finding evidence that Liuqiu State used the soul-seeking ghost to exchange for war information can they prove the innocence of General Luo and Scout Gao, find out the cause of death for the late prince, and all the truth will come to light.

The origin of the soul-seeking ghost is extremely important.

"Qingqing," Madam Gao squatted in the corner and called to Luo Qingling, "Come and see, I think I found something."

Luo Qingling hurried over, took the paper from Madam Gao's hand, and examined it carefully. The yellowing of the paper showed its age. Although she didn't recognize the Liuqiu language, she could understand the time marked in the lower right corner of the paper.

It was indeed the war that year when my father led his troops to the front line.

Luo Qingling glanced at Madam Gao and handed the paper to her. After all, only Madam Gao could understand what was written on it.

"Liuqiu has raised an army to attack the Central Plains. The Central Plains generals should not be underestimated. The king has ordered that the troops must not be defeated..." Madam Gao read with difficulty and translated slowly, "The three officials have decided..."

"What was decided?" Luo Qingling leaned over to take a look.

Mrs. Gao took a deep breath and frowned as if she was thinking. She stared at the blurry handwriting on the paper for a while, then suddenly looked up at Luo Qingling.

"It says that it was General Luo who took the initiative to trade the war situation with Liuqiu State for the life-demanding ghost. There's even General Luo's handwriting underneath."

Mrs. Gao handed the paper to Luo Qingling, who looked at it seriously after identifying it.

"My father was a minister in the imperial court, loyal to the emperor. He would never commit treason!" Luo Qingling said firmly, "It must have been the uncle of the emperor impersonating my father and forging the handwriting in his style!"

Afraid that Luo Qingling's voice would get out, Mrs. Gao nodded to indicate that she understood. She patted Luo Qingling on the shoulder and comforted him.

"I understand, but the most important thing now is, is there anything that can prove that the one who exchanged the ghosts with Liuqiu State was not General Luo but the uncle of the king?"

Yes, since the uncle of the king reached an agreement with the State of Liuqiu in the name of General Luo, there must not be any trace left. Otherwise, this will be a big hidden danger in the future. The uncle of the king will not make such a mistake.

Therefore, the evidence they could find in Liuqiu State could only prove that in the war that year, someone from the Central Plains Dynasty exchanged war information with Liuqiu State in exchange for the soul-seeking ghost.

"etc."

Mrs. Gao suddenly pulled the paper over and pointed at a line of inconspicuous small words on it. Her eyes lit up.

"It says here that there was an internal conflict within the Central Plains Dynasty, and they wanted to murder the Crown Prince, so they summoned the Soul-Calling Ghost."

That's it!

Luo Qingling held his breath and forced himself to suppress the excitement in his heart.

This sentence is enough to prove that the death of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is related to the ghost that took his life in the war.

"Now all we need is evidence that the prince imitated the handwriting." Mrs. Gao sighed.

"It's okay, I have my own way!" Luo Qingling was confident.

Now that the evidence has been found, there is no point in staying in Liuqiu State. The two decided to board the boat and return to Jiangnan Road immediately, the sooner the better!

Just as Luo Qingling was immersed in the joy of returning to the Central Plains, his eyes suddenly lit up. The door of the Sansi official residence was suddenly kicked open, and a group of guards instantly surrounded the two of them.

Mrs. Gao reacted very quickly and quickly stuffed the paper into Luo Qingling's hand. The latter immediately hid the paper in the scabbard of the Golden Dragon Sword, and then used the magic that Qin Yanheng taught him before setting off to quietly hide the Golden Dragon Sword.

"Two thieves from the Central Plains," the man who had brought the two to the audience with the king during the day stepped forward with a gloomy look on his face. "The king ordered me to keep an eye on you for a whole day, and finally I caught you."

Hearing this, Luo Qingling's heart sank.

It turned out that their whereabouts had already been exposed to Wang Jun! Fortunately, the evidence had been found. Now, as long as they returned to Beijing alive, even if they were seriously injured, what would it matter?

Luo Qingling raised his head and looked at the man with a smile, then stretched out his hands to signal the guards to tie him up.

"She's a sensible young lady," the man said, glancing her up and down before nodding with satisfaction. "She's unmarried and sweet. Don't lock her up in the dungeon tonight. Send her to my house so I can have some fun with her first."

So disgusting!

Luo Qingling spat in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face, still maintaining a sweet and ignorant look.

"This young lady from the Central Plains is truly beautiful. I've never seen such a beautiful girl in Liuqiu Country." The man brushed his hand across Luo Qingling's cheek, his eyes greedily looking at her. "It's no exaggeration to say that she's the most beautiful woman in the world... But unfortunately, your face is destined to be ruined."

The knife flashed, and Luo Qingling suddenly closed his eyes.

There was no pain, but hot liquid dripped down his face. The smell of blood instantly filled his nose, choking Luo Qingling and making him cough repeatedly.

"Ha ha ha ha--"

The man laughed heartily, the tip of the blood-stained knife pressed against Luo Qingling's pale face. He leaned in closer and said, "I can't bear to destroy your coveted face."

Luo Qingling suddenly had a bad premonition. She suddenly opened her eyes and saw Madam Gao's head rolling not far away, her eyes, which could not be closed, were open and looking at the man.

Just like when Gao Yu died, he couldn't close his eyes.