Chapter 343 Rescue

"Who?" Lou Yue called out nervously, not even realizing that her voice was high-pitched.

She ran quickly to the door, pushed it open, and peered through the crack in the door.

But it was pitch black, and she didn't dare open the door.

She asked again, "Who is it?"

"Sister Louyue, it's me." From outside the door came Lin Qiao's fearful voice, tinged with sobs.

Lou Yue turned to look at Yao Qingling: "It's Lin Qiao."

"Open the door quickly."

The door opened, and Lin Qiao threw herself into Yao Qingling's arms, "Sister, my brother hasn't come home..."

She couldn't help but cry.

Qingling felt as if her heart was being torn apart, but at this moment, she needed to understand the situation.

She pulled Lin Qiao back to her room.

"Did your brother go to Yongning Temple?"

Lin Qiao wiped away her tears, sobbing, "I...I don't know...my brother doesn't tell me what he's doing, but I know he's doing something important."

Actually, Lin Qiao should have gotten used to it long ago.

When they were in the southern border, Lin Shiyuan did even more dangerous things, and sometimes the siblings might not see each other for half a year. But at that time, Lin Qiao was still young and lived in a small town with Nie Yun, playing with the neighbor's children every day, and didn't think so much.

What first frightened her was when Lin Shiyuan was suddenly arrested last year and taken to the capital in a prison van.

She realized that she might not have a brother anymore.

The second time is now.

The loud noise that afternoon startled Lin Qiao; her first thought was that a war had broken out. She had often heard this sound back in the southern border region.

It was completely unrelated to the collapse of Yongning Temple.

She learned about it from the onlookers in the street. At that time, she wanted to go to Yongning Temple to join in the fun, but the steward of the mansion stopped her, saying that she was a grown woman and should not run around like that.

When Lin Shiyuan became a vice minister and had his own residence, he secretly arranged for some people to live in the residence. This steward was his former subordinate.

Lin Qiao was clever; she noticed something was off about the old steward's expression and vaguely sensed something was amiss.

She questioned the steward all afternoon, then secretly slipped out to check on the situation at Yongning Temple.

There were soldiers guarding the area, but only a few people were pretending to dig stones.

When Lin Qiao tried to rush in, the housekeeper pulled her back.

He covered her mouth to prevent her from speaking. Only after returning to the mansion did the steward tell her that her brother might be inside.

“…Miss, the master went in secretly, so you can’t go in to find him without permission.”

Those people are all about scheming and plotting. If they don't say anything, the officials will pretend they don't know that Vice Minister Lin is among them; if they report him missing, then the officials will ask why Vice Minister Lin was in there, and they will pin a huge accusation on Lin Shiyuan.

So they could only wait, wait for Lin Shiyuan to return.

Even if he comes back injured, it's better than no news at all.

However, Lin Qiao waited until midnight and couldn't stay up any longer.

She felt that her brother was underground, and if she arrived too late, he might die inside because he couldn't be rescued in time.

Lin Qiao cried, "They don't want to save anyone! They want my brother to die inside! Sister Qingling, please think of a way to rescue him!"

Looking at Lin Qiao's tears felt like a knife stabbing into her heart.

She was flustered and disoriented, and she also wanted to cry.

At this moment, everyone was watching her attitude and waiting for her orders.

She is the pillar of strength; we cannot panic or rush.

Qingling took several deep breaths to stop her hands from trembling.

“Lin Qiao, what we need to confirm now is whether Lin Shiyuan is really inside, and... and what excuse I should use to go into that pile of ruins and find him.”

"But, but by the time it's confirmed, my brother might... he might..." Lin Qiao was so anxious that she couldn't speak coherently, and tears fell again.

So much time has passed and we still can't confirm it. When will we finally get confirmation?

Yao Qingling's throat tightened, and she clenched her fist tightly.

She couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm going to find the Imperial Censor's wife. Lou Yue, go prepare the horses."

She turned to look at Nie Yun: "You stay here and guard the Marquis's residence. If anything happens, come to the Censorate to find me. Lin Qiao, you come with me to the Censorate."

Lin Qiao's martial arts skills were not bad, and she had a housekeeper protecting her when she arrived, so Nie Yun felt at ease letting Yao Qingling leave this time.

Upon arriving at the Censor's residence, the Censor's wife came out immediately.

At this time, she was neither asleep nor able to sleep.

"Sister, I knew you were coming to find me." The Imperial Censor's wife looked very angry.

"These bastards stole the money we raised and then wouldn't let us supervise it. They clearly embezzled the maintenance funds and the imperial court's allocation. Ha, now that something's happened, they still won't let anyone check it out, and they've sent so many soldiers to guard the place. They're clearly trying to cover up their crimes!"

The censor's wife was cursing fiercely, but Yao Qingling had no interest in listening to her. She interrupted her, saying, "Madam, no matter how much we curse here, it's useless. We need the court to send people to investigate, open the passage, and let the buried craftsmen come out and tell the truth."

The censor's wife glanced at Censor Cao beside her and said, "You don't need to worry about that. Old Cao will impeach the Ministry of Works when he goes to court. Those bastards!"

Qingling gripped the back of her left hand tightly with her right hand, drawing blood.

She herself didn't feel the pain, but the censor's wife did.

She grabbed her hand: "Girl, why are you in such a hurry?"

I've never seen her this anxious and nervous on the night of the Yongning Temple fire.

"Do you... have someone buried down there?"

Qingling bit her lip, unsure whether she should mention Lin Shiyuan's name. After a moment's hesitation, she said, "Madam, there is indeed a very important person buried there, and I want to save that person."

"Furthermore, I am worried... I am worried that if the rebuilt Yongning Temple collapses, this matter will once again bring up the major case of the old Yongning Temple."

The censor's wife was puzzled: "Implication? How can this be implicated? The major case at Yongning Temple is already over—" Her gaze suddenly became blank, unable to understand.

Imperial Censor Cao said seriously, "Does Madam Yao mean that the people in the Ministry of Works will bring up past events in order to evade responsibility?"

Qing Ling nodded seriously: "That's exactly what I mean. So, we must get ahead of them and make things bigger first."

The censor's wife's eyes lit up, and her expression suddenly became excited.

She realized that the bandits who committed the major crime of burning down Yongning Temple had not yet been caught! The Ministry of Works would use this incident to divert attention!

The censor's wife trembled, her expression turning serious: "How do we make this a big deal?"

Qingling frowned, thought for a moment, and asked, "When we raised money for reconstruction, we made a list of donors. So let's contact the people on that list, gather them all together, and demand an explanation from them!"

The Censor's wife nodded, her eyes bright: "That's a good idea. Those noble ladies all have high gates behind them. With so many people putting pressure on them, we can ask the soldiers present to let people in for rescue, and we can also go in and find out what's going on."

Qingling said, "Then let's go contact the person now, and you can bring out that roster."

"Now?" The censor's wife was taken aback. "So urgent?"