Chapter 352 Luxury, Shen Chu's Guesses

Ling Ce was unconvinced and argued vehemently.

“I saw him twice today, and apart from saying I was heavy, he definitely didn’t find anything wrong with me, otherwise how could he not have reacted at all?”

Shen Chu rolled her eyes.

"You really think you're a good actor? I never refer to myself as 'this official' in front of Sun Yan."

When you referred to yourself as "this official," Pei Yuan's expression immediately changed.

"Really?" Ling Ce tilted his head and pursed his lips, having absolutely no recollection of this matter.

"It's just a form of address, why is this guy being so sensitive? If he has any suspicions, then he really doesn't know you at all."

Shen Chu didn't speak.

When Pei Yuan confessed that she was the one he loved, she impulsively wanted to immediately reveal her own identity.

Therefore, she wasn't too bothered by Pei Yuan's suspicion of Ling Ce.

Once this case is closed, she will definitely tell Pei Yuan everything.

Shen Chu secretly made up her mind.

"Master Xiao Shen."

Suddenly, the lights ahead blazed, and a group of people carrying torches surged toward the wooden house.

Yu Feng arrived with more than a dozen imperial guards, with Hongxiu following closely behind.

Beside him followed the panting Prefect Jiang and a group of yamen runners from the Yangzhou Prefectural Government.

"Lord Shen, are you alright? I heard there were assassins on the mountain, so I immediately led men to seal off Daqingshan."

The area down the mountain is now under martial law. As long as the assassin is still on the mountain, we will definitely be able to catch him.

Prefect Jiang rushed to Ling Ce's side, his face full of concern as he inquired.

Ling Ce waved his hand.

"I'm fine. Lord Jiang, you've come at the right time. I caught Abbot Jueming of Qingshan Temple having an affair with Granny Fang of Mingde Class."

Many skeletons were also found in the wooden house, and Jueming and Granny Fang have admitted that they buried the remains.

"Summon the coroner immediately to examine them. I intend to take these two men to the prefectural government office for interrogation tonight."

As soon as he finished speaking, the people present were in an uproar.

Especially the yamen runners of the prefectural government, most of them were locals from Yangzhou.

They stared at Jueming and Granny Fang, who were lying unconscious on the ground, their faces full of astonishment.

"My God, how could this be, Master Jueming is such a highly respected monk?"

"The Mingde Class run by Granny Fang is a famous training class for women's virtue in Yangzhou. I never expected that she would be such a dissolute person in private."

Prefect Jiang stroked his beard, his expression also grave.

"It's true that you can know a person's face but not their heart; you can draw a tiger's skin but not its bones. I never expected that Master Jueming and Granny Fang would do such a beastly thing."

"Rest assured, sir. I will immediately seal off this place and Qingshan Temple, take all the remains back, and order the coroner to examine them overnight."

"Thank you for your trouble, Lord Jiang. We need to thoroughly inspect Qingshan Temple, especially the place where Jueming is staying."

"Your humble servant obeys."

Prefect Jiang's gaze swept over Shen Chu, who was wearing a veiled hat.

"May I ask who this gentleman is?"

Ling Ce said "Oh," and then said, "This is Madam Shen. Today, I was attacked on the mountain, but I was rescued by Madam Shen."

She was also the first to discover Jueming's affair with Granny Fang, and is a key witness. This official must take her back to the yamen for questioning.

After Ling Ce finished speaking, he deliberately gave instructions to Hong Xiu.

"You stay with Madam Shen and take good care of her."

Hongxiu smiled and replied, "Yes."

Ling Ce then instructed Yu Feng to stay and work with Prefect Jiang to collect the remains and raid Qingshan Temple.

After giving their instructions, the three of them left first.

When we turned around Daqingshan Mountain and returned to Qingshan Temple.

Qingshan Temple is brightly lit.

All the monks were herded into the courtyard, and the yamen runners began searching each courtyard.

I didn't look closely when I came during the day, but now, under the bright lights, I find that the courtyards of Qingshan Temple are built in a particularly magnificent manner.

Even the various guardian beasts carved on the eaves were gilded, shimmering brightly in the lamplight.

Shen Chu glanced at it a few more times and sighed softly.

"The temple is built so luxuriously, it's clear they have plenty of money. I wonder how many lives they've taken behind the scenes."

Hongxiu puffed out her cheeks and said angrily, "The young master was keeping an eye on Manager Li, who came to this Sutra Repository this afternoon."

He ordered dozens of bottles of "Golden Spear Never Falls" from the head monk who manages the Sutra Repository. Hmph, I'm afraid there aren't many clean monks in this entire Qingshan Temple.

Not only is the golden spear inexhaustible, but after the blessing drum was beaten today, the people went out and scrambled to buy the blessing lanterns hanging outside.

Each lantern cost over a hundred taels of silver; if the government hadn't suddenly imposed martial law, probably not a single one of those lanterns would have been left.

Shen Chu recalled her earlier guess and felt a chill run down her spine.

She whispered to Ling Ce, "Take all the remaining lanterns outside with you. Let Senior Brother check the wicks inside tonight."

Ling Ce was puzzled. "What's there to investigate about lamp wicks? Aren't they all candles?"

Shen Chu shook his head and recounted how he had extinguished the burning lanterns earlier.

"If it's an ordinary candle, you can put it out by pouring water on it after the lantern has caught fire."

However, these lanterns at Qingshan Temple cannot be extinguished by water, which indicates that the wicks inside are definitely not ordinary candles.

Moreover, when the lampshade burned, it emitted a faint smell of burnt barbecue.

Ling Ce recalled the scene in the wooden house when Jueming hit Granny Fang with a lantern, and the fire on Granny Fang's body was difficult to extinguish.

"Burnt barbecue? How is that possible? Could you be mistaken?"

Shen Chu shook his head and suddenly stopped.

They had already reached the outside of Qingshan Temple.

A few scattered lanterns remained, emitting a pale white light in the darkness, swaying alone in the night breeze.

Shen Chu stared at the few lanterns and shook her head.

“I can’t be mistaken. You heard it in the cabin just now. Jueming said in person that the materials provided by Granny Fang are good, which is why good lanterns can be made.”

There are so many skeletons under the wooden house, why do you think they killed so many people?

Ling Ce's eyes flickered, and he couldn't help but gasp.

"You mean they killed people to make lanterns?"

"I'm afraid it's not just lanterns."

"what else?"

Shen Chu turned his head and looked into the temple.

The twelve prayer drums still stand in the square in front of the main hall. The various patterns on the white drum surfaces look strangely eerie under the moonlight.

Ling Ce's pupils constricted slightly, and he jumped up in fright.

"You mean these big drums are also... are also...?"

Shen Chu nodded quietly, "I hope I'm wrong."

------

The mountains below are brightly lit, while the bright moon hangs high atop the mountain.

Pei Yuan stood with his hands behind his back in the pavilion, listening to the increasingly shrill wails beside him.

After a moment, the wailing gradually subsided.

Sun Yan walked over and said, "Your Highness, we have found out that they come from a Jianghu organization called Fengyun Pavilion."

"Fengyun Pavilion?"

"I've inquired and found that Fengyun Pavilion is an organization that has risen in the Jianghu region in recent years. They take on both escort services and murder cases."

According to the assassin who just spoke, their mission this time was to kill His Highness at any cost.

Unfortunately, we only caught a small-time boss; we don't know who the actual employer was.

Pei Yuan instructed, "Investigate matters of the martial world within the martial world. Order Qingfeng Tower to investigate information from within the martial world."

"yes."

Pei Yuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Sun Yan, did you notice the woman wearing a veil next to Shen Chu just now?"