Chapter 42: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

Huguo Temple was a major temple that protected the country of Kucha, not far from the royal palace and the shrine. Within moments, the two monks who had accompanied them, along with the monk Ku, delivered a brocade package.

The monk in the warehouse showed everyone the intact seal on the tightly bound cloth bag, proving that the golden cage had not been opened since it was wrapped and stored. After the old monk nodded, he cut the seal, untied the package, and revealed the brilliant golden cage inside.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the golden cage, but the glazed blue lotus inside had long disappeared, leaving only emptiness.

"Princess of Datang County, the golden cage has been delivered. I wonder where the evidence you mentioned is?"

Qiandeng did not hesitate, picked up the golden cage and walked to the brightest light, turned it sideways and slammed the bottom of the cage hard.

The sun shone obliquely from above, clearly reflecting the brilliant golden light of the golden cage and the tiny specks of light scattered by the flapping of the cage.

Those spots of light fell on the blackened floor tiles, and were illuminated by the sunlight with a clear brilliance. They were actually broken pieces of glass.

The forced calmness on Xue Xiyang's face finally disappeared, and his eyes lost their lively look.

Qiandeng pointed at the tiny fragments of colored glass that shone brilliantly in the sunlight and said, "It seems my suspicion is correct. The Azure Lotus was shattered in the cage before being stolen. This also clears my suspicion - if, as I suspected before, I really colluded with others during the prayer to transfer the three sacred artifacts through the upper window, then they would have been careful to maintain the integrity of the sacred artifacts. After all, removing a handful of colored glass fragments from above is much more difficult than removing an entire Azure Lotus."

As everyone nodded, she asked, "Then, Mr. Xue, if you were closest to the Glazed Blue Lotus in the hall at that time and didn't use the tricks I mentioned, and the Glazed Lotus didn't shatter, then how could there be broken pieces of Glazed Lotus remaining in this tightly sealed golden cage?"

This sudden questioning left Xue Xiyang stunned. Just as he was trying to find an excuse, Qian Deng continued, "There are many people in the Spirit Hall, and you naturally can't sweep away all the debris stuck in the cracks of the golden cage like I did. You can only collect the fragments that are visible to the naked eye. That night, you, the secret agents in the palace, have one night to glue the Azure Lotus fragments together with fish glue to prevent anyone from seeing how you stole the Glazed Azure Lotus. When the time agreed upon between me and the Northern King arrives, you can blame me for the assassination of the Northern King in the pavilion."

Xue Xiyang's voice was no longer gentle and moving, but rather cold and stiff. "Does the county lady think that glass made of fish glue could kill someone?"

"Because it was the blue glazed lotus that was broken, not the stalk of the azure glazed lotus that pierced his heart." Qian Deng stared at him and spoke clearly. "The blue lotus petals are thin and brittle, easily shattered, but the stalk is solid and much stronger. Moreover, the stalk is sharp and slender. Once separated from the lotus, it can be easily removed from the golden cage and used as a sharp weapon to pierce the heart!"

The captain of the guards slapped his thigh, suddenly realizing, "That's what I told you! When I saw the Northern King's condition, I quickly led people forward to investigate. But as soon as I moved the body, even with a small movement, the lotus shattered. It seems the connection wasn't secure in the first place!"

"The placement of the Northern King's remains against the pavilion's pillars overlooking the water was meticulously planned. This way, when the glass lotus falls, it will undoubtedly fall into the water. The fish glue used on the fragments will melt when exposed to water, leaving no trace when fished out. Furthermore, even if someone later reassembles the lotus, the fragments will be difficult to find after the glass has fallen into the water, so it's natural that some will be missing. This way, any manipulation they've done to it will be completely lost, leaving no trace."

As she spoke, she raised her hand and patted the golden cage. "It's a pity that you were careless and overconfident in your own skills, thus leaving behind this tiny piece of evidence that was not cleaned up."

Xue Xiyang's face paled, but he refused to surrender. He argued, "The County Lady is making unfounded claims again. The shrine was a hodgepodge of people. I approached it, and so did others. But the person who approached it the closest, and for the longest time, was you, the County Lady. Therefore, anyone could have smashed it to pieces and taken it away, handing it over to the assassin of the Northern King, rather than pinning the blame on me for this unproven story of a flute shattering glass."

"So, you still refuse to admit it?"

"How could I admit this? The county lady is accusing me of stealing the sacred artifacts based on the music I composed, the flute I played, and some ridiculous rumors about shattered glass. It's truly unfair to me!" Xue Xiyang said, the gloomy look on his face fading, revealing a hint of grievance. "Putting aside other things, the three sacred artifacts of the nation disappeared from the Spirit Hall. If that's the case, how could I have stolen the other two? After all, the Dharma Wheel and the Vajra are not fragile objects. I can't use the method the county lady speculated about them, right?"

"The Vajra is the smallest of the holy vessels, so smuggling it out is easy. But stealing the massive Dharma Wheel is truly puzzling. It wasn't until the princess's testimony just now that I finally understood what methods they used."

Bai Zhaosu, who was looking at her with admiration as she unraveled the truth, was surprised and confused when she heard Qiandeng suddenly mention her. It was obvious that she herself didn't know which of the things she had just said could be connected to this.

"The princess just mentioned that after the assassins retreated, she heard Prince Bai Zhaojue's short cry amidst the blaze. Clearly, that was when he was killed."

Bai Zhaosu nodded vigorously: "Yes, this is what I heard with my own ears...Brother Wang's last voice, I...will never forget it even until I die!"

"This reminded me that when Second Uncle Wang was murdered, the murderer deliberately caused the Glazed Blue Lotus to shatter in the water. This was because the tiny fragments would be hidden in the water and impossible to salvage, thus affecting the judgment. So I thought that the method of hiding the Falun could actually be similar."

As she spoke, she looked at Cui Fufeng beside her, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally.

Cui Fufeng just smiled and waited for her to say the rest of the words.

She said nothing more, just walked towards the altar and pointed up the stairs.

"The Falun was so large that no matter how the musicians coordinated, the guzheng, pipa, and qin instruments present couldn't smuggle it out. Yet, when the assassins were committing murder and setting fire to the shrine, it suddenly reappeared. The wound on Prince Bai Zhaojue's head was caused by it. Did the princess notice that one of the assassins was carrying a heavy load—and carrying such a conspicuous Falun on his back to kill people?"

Bai Zhaosu thought hard and shook his head vigorously: "No... The Falun is very large and conspicuous. The fire hadn't started when they came in. If it had appeared, I would definitely have seen it."

"Since it couldn't be taken out, and no one brought it in, then there's only one explanation: the Golden Glazed Wheel has actually been inside the temple the entire time, and it hasn't been taken away. It's just that you, Mr. Xue, hid it, and only reappeared during the murders and arson, creating the illusion that the three sacred artifacts were missing."

The old monk was puzzled and said, "But after we discovered that the three sacred vessels were missing, we searched the shrine thoroughly, searching every corner, but we didn't find any trace of them..."

"It can't be turned upside down, because there's something you wouldn't touch." Qiandeng took two steps up the stairs, pointing to the stone sea-jar lamps that had been rearranged on either side. "The eternal sea lamps in front of the Buddha, their flames were burning the entire time you were searching, but did you extinguish them and then check what was inside?"

The monks looked at each other and shook their heads, "How can we extinguish the sea lanterns that are always burning for worship?"

The Grand Commandant suddenly realized something and blurted out, "So, could it be that the Golden Glazed Wheel of Dharma was sunk into the Sea Tank Lamp?"

"That's right. No one would extinguish a burning eternal lamp and pour out the oil to examine it. Even if someone looked through the oil, just as a shard of blue glass would be hidden in clear water, the golden oil and the clear golden glass naturally blend together. Furthermore, the light reflecting off the oil's surface completely merges the two into a transparent golden color. In such a hurry, no one would be able to detect it."

Ling Tianshui let out an "Oh" and said, "No wonder, when the Kucha royal family was being massacred, the assassins deliberately overturned the sea jar lamp to start a fire—the fish glue that holds the glass lotus together dissolves in water, and the oil stains on the Dharma wheel can only be removed by burning—water and fire are not only their means of killing, but also their way of destroying traces."

Qian Deng nodded. "Prince Bai Zhaojue's death under the Dharma Wheel was both a coincidence and a misfortune. The platform was filled with lamp oil at the time, and as he ran down the steps amidst the spreading smoke and flames, he slipped and fell, hitting the back of his head on the Dharma Wheel that the assassins had poured out of the vat, fracturing his skull. However, even if he hadn't hit it, the possibility of him escaping from the burning hall would have been slim. The other party had indeed arranged every means to make the entire royal family perish in the sea of ​​fire. Even -"

As she spoke, she raised her hand and pointed at the charred niche. "You clearly had planned to completely burn the shrine, but while Crown Prince Bai Zhaotong was hiding, you made sure to give him a final blow to prevent any escape. But it's precisely because of this that I discovered the murderer's characteristics from the princess's description! Even though the shrine was in chaos, even though Bai Zhaotong was in their blind spot, the killers were still able to accurately kill him. It's because one of them had exceptional hearing and was able to detect the escaped fish amid the commotion of the fire!"

"So that's how it is," Cui Fufeng said thoughtfully. "They say the music is flawed. Someone as versed in music theory as Zhou Lang Gu is naturally particularly sensitive to all kinds of sounds. I never imagined that such an elegant ability would be used by Master Xue to brutally massacre a child!"

"There are many people in the world who have sharp ears and eyes. Just because I have sharp hearing, you are pointing at me as the murderer. Mr. Cui is being too arbitrary." Xue Xiyang remained calm, even sneering. "This statement is probably even more unconvincing than the county lady's accusation that I was playing the flute nearby because the glass shattered."

"Whether it's true or not, I will provide decisive evidence." Qian Deng didn't argue with him about the details. He just turned around and looked at Bai Zhaosu, his eyes full of indignation. "Besides Prince Bai Zhaotong, even the princess, although I helped her escape from the spirit hall at the risk of her life, still couldn't escape being hunted down. Even though we don't know how much information she has, you have already decided to kill her, so you used the death bell to attract everyone's attention. It's also possible that this death bell and the last holy artifact, the vajra, were originally prepared for the assassination of the king. However, at that time, the princess not only survived, but also wanted to testify to clear my innocence. Because you were worried that she would leak important information, you temporarily used it on her!"

Upon hearing about the funeral bell that day, Yuchi Yiyao was furious and confused. "Speaking of this, I still can't figure it out! When the bells didn't stop ringing, I led my men to surround the bell tower. It was like an iron barrel. But even in this situation, the other party disappeared out of thin air. It's simply unbelievable! Now that the county lady said this, could it be that he was also responsible?"

"Indeed, and the method he used is quite similar to the method I just revealed to steal the Glazed Blue Lotus."

Qian Deng said this, then turned to look at Cui Fufeng and asked, "Shaoqing Cui, do you remember when you explained to me in front of the Thousand Buddha Cave the principles of musical instruments' resonance and harmony?"

Cui Fufeng stood in the shadows, but his gaze on her was bright and gentle. "Yes, I remember that day I told the county lady what Zhuangzi said in 'Xu Wugui': 'Lu suddenly tuned his qin, leaving one in the hall and one in the room. The gong and jiao notes moved, and the rhythms were the same. It shows that if the tones match, the music will naturally sound the same.'"

"'Xu Wugui' talks about two qins that can resonate with each other, and Cui Shaoqing also mentioned that there was a chime in a Luoyang temple that rang day after day without anyone playing it. It wasn't until a musician chipped it a few times that the chime stopped ringing. People inquired about the reason and learned that the chime and the temple's bronze bell had a matching melody, so when the bell was struck, they would resonate with each other, causing the sound to echo."

Upon hearing her explanation, Yuchi Yiyao slapped his thigh and shouted, "Could it be that someone also used this method to cause the bell to ring that day? No wonder we couldn't find him when we chased him. It turns out he wasn't even in the bell tower!"

Qian Deng glanced at Xue Xiyang and saw that he was pursing his lips tightly together and remained silent, so he said, "Mr. Xue, you better tell me everything. I've already checked the temple where you borrowed the fish basin that day, and I know that what you borrowed wasn't a wooden basin, but a bronze chime from the temple! Moreover, it happened right next to the palace, and you were holding the chime that could cause the bell to ring, and the palace bell suddenly rang without anyone noticing—is there such a coincidence in the world?"

"County Lady, have you ever considered that what seems logically possible is actually impossible in reality?" Xue Xiyang said, forcing himself to remain calm. "This is similar to what you said before, about playing the flute causing the glass to shatter. It might be possible by chance, but it's nothing more than your unfounded conjecture. Let me ask you, can you find someone who can play the flute to shatter the glass, or strike the chimes to ring the bell?"

"The flute-playing thing is probably difficult to verify, after all, there are few people in this world with the skills of Master Xue. As for whether the chime and bell are feasible, we can go to the palace bell tower and try it out. We will know for sure." Qian Deng had proposed this idea, so he naturally had a plan in mind. "I have borrowed the bronze chime from the temple, and asked the Grand Commandant to help find two musicians so that we can try to recreate the scene of that day."