Chapter 478 A corpse hangs in front of the abbot's door!

Upon hearing Zongzheng Zhiyuan's words, Changning's cries grew even louder.

"No, I want to go down the mountain—Waaah, I want to eat, Mother, I'm so hungry, Mother—"

Zongzheng knew that the kite was also hungry.

How many hours have passed since the last meal?

She doesn't say anything even though her belly is empty, but it keeps beating, and she can hear Changning crying in her ears.

Zongzheng Zhiyuan was extremely annoyed.

Thinking of the grievances she suffered at Xie Huaiyuan's place today, she angrily raised her hand and slapped Changning across the face.

"All you do is cry, cry, cry. What good are you besides crying?"

"Why are you coming to me, your mother, instead of going to your father?"

"Am I the only one who gets to eat?"

Changning covered her face and froze.

From childhood to adulthood, she was rarely hit, let alone scolded.

And now, her mother, who had always doted on her, actually slapped herself in front of a room full of servants.

Changning not only felt her face burning, but also felt her dignity as a princess being brutally torn away.

"What are you doing?"

The prince consort Zhang Tingjiu saw this scene as soon as he entered, and hurried over.

"What has angered the princess that she would dare to attack our Changning?"

"Changning, come here, Dad has some food here."

"Dad just hunted some quail and had it roasted for my Changning."

"You should try it."

As Zhang Tingjiu spoke, he actually took a quail that was roasted until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside from the servant behind him.

"Stop crying, it breaks your father's heart."

Changning then threw herself into Zhang Tingjiu's arms and burst into tears.

"Father—Waaah..."

"Changning doesn't want to live anymore."

Zhang Tingjiu patted her: "My silly Changning, it was just your mother who touched you, what's there to be angry about? Let's just ignore her and come with your father."

As Zhang Tingjiu spoke, he pulled Changning aside.

It took a few coaxing words to calm Changning down.

Changning was so hungry that she started gnawing on the juicy roasted quail.

Although there's not much meat, everything tastes delicious at this time of year.

The second princess stared at her hands for a long time before lowering her head in regret and dejection.

When she smelled the aroma, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva repeatedly.

"You—Zhang Tingjiu, what kind of behavior is this? This is a sacred Buddhist site, how dare you kill living beings!"

Zhang Tingjiu stood far away, his face completely unconcerned: "It's just breaking the precept against killing. If there's divine punishment, let it come to me."

"Food is the most important thing for people. I would rather starve to death than let my own daughter go hungry."

"Besides, I don't believe I'm the only one who broke the rules at Ningyuan Temple."

"If the princess truly intends to blame me, I, the prince consort, have nothing to say."

Zongzheng Zhiyuan's heart skipped a beat.

Speaking of breaking the rules, I broke them more than ten years ago.

Moreover, Changning is not the prince consort's biological daughter at all.

But so what?

If it's his own child, how could he not acknowledge it?

Moreover, they have a biological son, so it's not like I, as a princess, have wronged him, the prince consort.

Zongzheng Zhiyuan showed no shame whatsoever, but simply changed the subject: "Our own rations and food have mysteriously disappeared."

"Even the kitchen of Ningyuan Temple is out of rice, and all the vegetables in the fields have been harvested."

"Your Highness, do you have any way to get everyone to eat something?"

Zhang Tingjiu: Yes.

"Let's go hunting in the back mountains."

Zongzheng Zhiyuan felt that he was toying with her: "You—!"

"You clearly know that I abstain from meat for half a month before and after coming to Ningyuan Temple every year. It's one thing for you to break the vow for Changning, but do you expect me to break the vow too?"

"You have ulterior motives!"

Zhang Tingjiu: "Princess, you've misunderstood. No one is forcing you if you don't want to eat. But those who do want to eat, come with me, Your Highness!"

After saying that, he waved his long arm and left with Changning.

Soon, only Zongzheng Zhiyuan and a few close servants remained in the courtyard. The other servants were so hungry that they were seeing stars and couldn't stand it. As soon as they heard there was food, who wouldn't run away?

The princess's entire household went hunting in the back mountains.

Zongzheng Zhiyuan was so angry she almost went crazy.

"Get out of my sight!"

"Get as far away as possible and don't ever come back!"

However, she soon regretted it.

Because Ningyuan Temple was empty and deserted, the sound of howling wind could be heard everywhere.

Unable to bear the hunger and cold, she quickly went inside and crawled into bed.

Suddenly a scream came from outside, and when Zongzheng Zhiyuan called for help again, no one answered her.

"Spring grass?"

"Cicadas?"

"You, all of you, don't scare me..."

"Come on, someone come here!"

However, all that responded to her was endless darkness.

A faint scream could be heard from afar.

Zongzheng Zhiyuan screamed in fright and quickly covered her head with the blanket.

But she heard footsteps approaching.

Moreover, the footsteps grew closer and closer, sounding as if they were pushing open the door and entering the room.

She was trembling so much that she didn't dare to peek out and could only hold the corner of the blanket tightly.

Soon, she felt someone tap her on the head a few times.

"Sister?"

Someone shouted.

Zongzheng Zhiyuan rolled her eyes, and she quickly fell silent under the covers.

Sparrow yanked the blanket off and covered her nose in disgust.

"Girl, you're just like that Li Qingzhu, you wet your pants."

Li Qingluo also blew the breath from her nose.

"Unexpectedly, before we've even made a move, the princess's household has already fallen apart due to infighting."

Looking down at the Second Princess, who had fainted from fright on the bed, Li Qingluo smiled coldly: "With such courage, you still dare to do so many evil things."

"Arrest her."

As dawn broke, the two princes and their entourage returned laden with their spoils.

They returned in a grand procession from the back of the mountain, carrying pheasants and rabbits, and several baskets of edible wild vegetables and fruits.

They didn't go back to their rooms.

Right there in the temple's kitchen, they started killing chickens and rabbits and began cooking.

Soon, the fragrance filled the entire temple.

Xie Huaiyuan couldn't help but open his eyes as well.

It tastes like meat.

He got up angrily, put on his robes and kasaya, and was about to rush out of the meditation room when he suddenly caught sight of the Guanyin statue on the small table.

No... that is a portrait of the Third Princess Zongzheng Qingyue of the Great Chu Dynasty.

He hesitated for a moment, then quickly took down the portrait, rolled it up, and put it in the cabinet.

Then he turned around and opened the door again.

However, as soon as the door creaked open, a figure hanging from a rope appeared in front of the meditation room!

Xie Huaiyuan cried out in alarm and collapsed to the ground in horror.

As the cold wind blew, the figure swayed gently.

Xie Huaiyuan: "Come, someone come—"

"Someone come here!"

But who's left in this temple?

The monks have all been arrested.

The second prince consort and his entourage cheered and excitedly slaughtered animals to cook in the kitchen.

Xie Huaiyuan's shouts, being the only one among them, couldn't reach the kitchen at all.

He was so frightened that he was instantly drenched in sweat, and only then did he realize that the person hanging at the door was none other than Zongzheng Zhiyuan!