After all the princes and princesses were left in the palace, Scar realized something was wrong after a few servants in the mansion drank too much and became drunk. They accidentally pushed over a candlestick and were burned to death in the house.
These servants are all old people in the mansion. They have helped the master of the mansion travel all over the country over the years and have some reputation in front of the master. They are always cautious in what they do, and it is impossible for them to get together and drink and burn themselves.
"The guards have surrounded the Prince's Palace and the Princess's Palace. No servants inside can leave. I heard that someone wanted to get closer to watch the fun today and was almost caught by the guards."
"Your Majesty really values His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi and has done so much for him."
"Are you new here?"
"Oh, yes, what's wrong?"
"If you're new here and don't know anything, don't speak nonsense."
Scar passed by the outer courtyard and listened to the conversation of the servants. He felt as if someone was watching him.
Only the dead can keep secrets. The master wants to kill these servants who know too many secrets!
Realizing that something was wrong, he pretended to have an argument with a servant in the mansion, returned to his room, packed his money, and escaped in the dark with the steward who had gone to Lingzhou with him that year.
The two men fled the city, not daring to run too far and arouse suspicion before the storm had passed.
"There is a small temple on the mountain outside the city. There are only a few old monks in it. On weekdays, almost no one likes to go there." The blue-clothed steward took out the dagger hidden in the sole of his shoe: "Let's go there first to avoid the master's pursuit."
"Are you sure no one will go?" Scar was a little worried.
"That kind of small, dilapidated temple, occasionally a few ignorant women and children go there to burn incense, even if those monks are lucky, dignitaries will never go to such a place."
"Okay." Scar thought for a moment and agreed.
They fled all the way to a small temple, where they deceived the monks into trusting them and successfully moved into the temple, where they were then tied up.
Qing Yi wanted to kill the old monks, but was stopped by Dao Ba: "It's troublesome to deal with the bodies, lock them up in the vegetable cellar first."
The two men struggled to carry the monk into the vegetable cellar. Qingyi complained, "What do these stinky monks eat every day? It's so heavy."
"You two evildoers actually committed evil in front of the statue. The Bodhisattva will punish you."
"Bodhisattva?" Scar sneered and took out a dagger to knock the scar on one of the monks' head. "Many years ago, a dead girl said that Grandpa Sanqing would punish me. I have lived well all these years."
"All gods and bodhisattvas are afraid of evil people." Seeing that these monks were trembling with fear, he put away the dagger with satisfaction: "Stay still, in the wilderness, if you make any noise, even if the two of us brothers kill you, we won't..."
Before he could finish his words, he heard shouting from outside.
"What's going on? Didn't you say that not many people come to this dilapidated temple?" Scar turned his head to look at Qingyi, his eyes falling on his bald head.
"I'll go out and take a look." Qingyi thought for a moment, found his monk's robes and cassock, put them on, and strode out.
Seeing the young masters and young ladies guarding the door with servants, Qingyi had a bad feeling in her heart. What's wrong with these young masters and young ladies that they come to the dilapidated temple in the early morning? Fortunately, these young masters and young ladies are naive, and there will be no problem as long as they are coaxed by him.
Qing Yi was just thinking about how to trick these people away when he was exposed as a fake monk by the youngest-looking young lady.
What’s wrong with these young ladies in the capital? Why do they even know what monks usually wear?
"What do you mean by that, donor?" The man in green lifted up his outer cassock, revealing the patched monk's robe underneath. "Donors have come to pay homage to the Buddha, and I don't want to look embarrassed, so I use my ancestral robe to cover my body. I never thought that this would cause misunderstandings among donors."
"The mountain is high and the road is steep. The donors can persist in climbing up, which means they have a connection with Buddha." Qingyi chanted the Buddha's name and turned to look at the Buddha statue behind him: "In this case, it is better not to draw sharp swords in front of the Buddha."
"Master, as a monk, you actually care about the patches on your robes." Jiuzhu was unmoved: "It shows that you are not sincere to the Buddha."
Qingyi really wanted this girl to shut up. Just worship Buddha, why bother about what the monks wear?
The atmosphere gradually became tense. Qing Yi looked at these strong guards and suddenly his face changed drastically. He shouted to the back of the statue: "Buddha statue! Buddha statue!"
What happened to the Buddha statue?
People in the world always have some awe of ghosts and gods. Just when the guards' attention was distracted, Qing Yi took a running start and jumped over the guards' heads, made his hands into claws, and rushed towards the girl who talked the most nonsense.
"ah!"
Scar, who was stuffing rags into the mouths of all the monks, frowned when he heard the scream. Could that idiot have killed someone outside?
He glanced at all the monks with a warning look: "Behave yourself!"
After saying that, he turned over and walked out of the cellar.
If he had known there would be so much trouble, he would not have run away with this idiot.
"Sister Ming, is he... still alive?" The Zhou brothers and sisters huddled together trembling, looking at the fake monk lying on the ground, unknown whether he was dead or alive, and swallowed their saliva.
"It's okay. Injuring him will only cause him to fall into a coma, not die." Jiuzhu swung the stick in his hand. The protective sticks provided to the guards in the mansion were quite useful.
"But... I seemed to hear... heard... the sound of broken bones." Zhou Shucheng carefully kicked the fake monk lying on the ground with his toes, and found that the other party did not react at all, so he hurriedly asked the servant to bring a rope to tie him up.
"Master, we didn't bring any rope with us." The servant said in embarrassment, "How about we go to the temple to look for it?"
"Don't go in yet, be careful there are accomplices inside." Jiuzhu handed the self-defense stick to Zhou Shucheng: "Brother Zhou, you go over."
"Why should I go?" Zhou Shucheng took the stick tremblingly. He was afraid that if he didn't take it, Jiuzhu would hit him with the stick as well.
"Hold the stick and stand further away to protect Sister Zhou." Jiuzhu rolled up his sleeves, looked around, brought a stone and walked to the fake monk.
“Sister Ming, Sister Ming!” Zhou Xiao looked at the big stone in Jiuzhu’s hand and quickly advised: “Tie him up and smash him to death… smash him to death… it’s too ugly.”
"Sister, what are you thinking about? We are a decent family, how could we commit lynching and killing people?" Jiuzhu looked at her with puzzled eyes and pressed the stone on the fake monk's hands: "There are several acupoints on the hands of people, which will make the limbs lose strength and unable to move if pressed for too long." Jiuzhu patted the dirt on her hands: "We don't have a rope, so we can only use this method."
"So that's how it is." Zhou Xiao looked at his brother who was holding the stick with shaking legs, then looked at Jiuzhu who had her sleeves rolled up. He took small steps, came to Jiuzhu, and gently grabbed the corner of her clothes.
"Sister Zhou?" Jiuzhu saw Zhou Xiao grabbing the corner of her clothes, took out a handkerchief to wipe her hands, put her arm around her shoulders, and comforted her: "Don't be afraid, we have a lot of people here. This temple is small, the conditions are difficult, and there are no extra houses. According to my guess, even if there are bad guys hiding in it, there will be no more than five."
Scar was discovered by the guards as soon as he came out of the backyard. He realized something was wrong and turned around and ran.
"Stop!" The guards hurriedly chased after him.
There was only one road leading down the mountain from the temple. Scar had nowhere to escape. He was cornered by the guards. He clenched the dagger in his hand with hatred: "I have done so many things for the Zheng family, just to live in anonymity. Why is he so ruthless and must kill me?"
Although the guards didn't understand what the fake monk said, they kept silent in front of the young masters and young ladies.
"You work hard for your master, just like I did back then." Scar pointed his dagger at the guards: "If you kill me today, the Zheng family will kill you in the future to protect their own safety."
Zheng family?
Zhou Shucheng realized that something was wrong, and his heart tightened. Could they be involved in some secret incident?
No, you must not let the other party say it out loud. In a place like the capital, you must never know secrets that you shouldn't know.
"Shut up!" Zhou Shucheng shouted, "What Zheng family, Zhou family? You villain, tell the truth. Do you have any accomplices? I have sent someone to report to the police!"
"Aren't you from the Zheng family?" Scar looked in the direction of the voice and recognized the person who was speaking.
Young Master Zhou?
He is a son of a minister, why doesn't he stay at home and study hard instead of going to the mountains to worship Buddha?
Scar never imagined that his plan of escape would be ruined by a young man from a wealthy family who had nothing to do.
"Tie him up first." Zhou Shucheng saw the scarred criminal staring at him, so he ran a few steps toward Jiuzhu with the stick in his hand, and shouted with full energy, "We can't let the criminal get away."
"Master, we don't have..."
"If there is no rope, there is still a belt!" Zhou Shucheng took a few steps to stand behind Jiuzhu. The girl from the Ming family could knock out the gangster who rushed towards her with a stick, so she could definitely protect him, a weak scholar.
The servant pulled off his belt with grievance, held up his trousers with both hands and hid in the corner, too embarrassed to see anyone.
Surrounded and beaten by so many guards, Scar was outnumbered and was eventually humiliatingly tied up by the guards with two belts.
"You don't look like a good person." Seeing that the man was tied up, Zhou Shucheng dared to walk out from behind Jiuzhu: "Where did the original monks in this temple go?"
Scarface ignored him and stared at Ming Jiuju with bloodshot eyes. Why was she here?
When he saw Ming Jiuzhu's face, he remembered the humiliation he suffered in the Jingzhao Prefecture government office.
Jiuzhu also recognized Scarface. She stood there without moving, reached out to touch the golden phoenix hairpin on her temple, and finally slowly withdrew her hand.
"What are you looking at?" Zhou Shucheng mustered up the courage to stand in front of Jiuzhu and her sister. The dog raised by the Zheng family was really disgusting. Even at this time, he still didn't forget to look at the pretty girl.
"Sir, Miss, we found several monks tied up in the vegetable cellar." Several guards searched the temple and rescued the monks who were trapped in the vegetable cellar.
Zhou Xiao looked at the monks who were trembling with fear and began to doubt whether the amulets they drew were useful.
"Sister Zhou, actually... monks don't draw talismans." Seeing Zhou Xiao's shattered dream, Jiuzhu said tactfully: "But in this kind of situation, the thought is the most important. Uncle and aunt will definitely be happy to receive the amulet you sent."
"You don't have to comfort me, I understand." Zhou Xiao patted the back of Jiuzhu's hand: "I shouldn't have believed the rumors and asked you and your brother to accompany me so far, and we met two fake monks."
"Sister, you are wrong." Jiuzhu shook her head: "If you hadn't insisted on asking for the talisman, how could we have caught the bad guys and rescued these innocent monks?"
"Sister, this has saved several lives." Jiuzhu sighed, "You have done a great deed."
"Really?" Zhou Xiao felt better when she thought about how she had indirectly saved someone. "However, if you hadn't discovered that there was something wrong with this fake monk, we wouldn't have been able to save them."
"My two benefactors, if you want to ask for amulets for peace, I can draw them for you." A skinny monk trembled and said, "I also practiced Taoism in my early years."
Jiuzhu turned to look at him: "Then why did you become a monk?"
"I received the abbot's kindness in my early years, and I have no relatives to worry about at home, so I became a monk." The skinny monk explained: "I can draw as many amulets as the donors need, and I won't charge you any money."
Zhou Xiao: “…”
Suddenly I felt that I didn’t want to ask for a talisman anymore.
"Sister, since we are here, let the master draw a few amulets for you." Jiuzhu looked at the Buddha statue in the hall and put her hands together: "For everything, sincerity is the best blessing."
Zhou Xiao was persuaded and went with Zhou Shucheng to see the monk who converted to Buddhism draw amulets.
Jiuzhu walked up to Scar, whose hands and feet were bound, and looked at him carefully.
Nearly nine years had passed, and this man looked much older. Tied to the ground and unable to move, he looked like a poor, miserable creature.
The fear, uneasiness, and panic in my memory seemed to have disappeared by half at this moment.
It turned out that the villain that frightened her so much looked so weak.
Scar turned his head and pressed his scarred chin to the ground. He didn't understand why Ming Jiuzhu looked at him like that, but he hated it.
He waited for a while, but Ming Jiuzhu still didn't leave, so he couldn't help asking, "Miss Ming, what do you want to say?"
Jiuzhu shook her head seriously: "I don't have much to say, but I think the way you are tied up looks like a worm."
She was humiliating him!
Scar struggled for a few times, but apart from having his face scratched by the stones on the ground, he couldn't even touch Ming Jiuju's toes.
Are you angry already?
Jiuzhu shook his head and sighed. It was bad enough that he was a cruel and ruthless person, but she didn't expect him to be so stingy. When it's tied up, it looks like a disgusting caterpillar.
She took a few steps back and heard a lot of footsteps coming down the road leading down the mountain.
The Dragon Guards scouted and pursued all the way, and found that the servants of the Zheng family had fled to a ruined temple in the mountains. They anticipated all kinds of possibilities, but they did not expect to find a group of guards and servants outside the temple gate, as well as a noble daughter dressed in brocade clothes.
"The Dragon Guards are following the Emperor's orders to pursue the fugitives. Please make way for them immediately." The Dragon Guards' leader took out his golden waist badge and bowed to Jiuzhu, saying, "Excuse me, have you seen two suspicious middle-aged men?"
"I have met you." Jiuzhu nodded.
"Where is it?" The leader of the Dragon Guard had his hand on the hilt of the knife.
"There." Jiuzhu pointed at Scar, who was tied by a belt, and then pointed at the fake monk whose hands were pressed by stones: "And there."
The Dragon Guards looked at the two people lying on the ground in collective silence.
The chief of the Dragon Guards looked at Jiuzhu and bowed again: "May I know who you are, my noble lady?"
"I am the daughter of Ming Shilang, the Minister of Rites." Jiuzhu returned the greeting. "These two pretended to be monks, but we found out, so we asked the guards to subdue them. I didn't expect that they were the fugitives sought by the emperor, so I will hand them over to the general for disposal."
"So it's County Lady Ming. I'm sorry for the insolence." The general's face changed slightly, and he bowed deeply: "I wonder if the county lady was frightened?"
"Thank you for your concern, General. With the guards by our side, we were not frightened." Jiuzhu saw the two dragon guards carrying the stone away and shackled the fake monk's hands and feet, and stepped back two steps: "General, please."
The chief consul glanced at the Zhou brothers and sisters in the temple and said: "These two people are involved in a major case in the court. Please ask the county lady and the other two nobles to keep today's secret and don't let others know."
"Please rest assured, General. I will convey this message."
"Thank you, Princess." The commander bowed and hurried away with the Dragon Guards and the prisoners.
Jiuzhu stood at the end of the path and watched the Dragon Guards leave. The wind blew up the shawl behind her, and the shawl fluttered in the wind, swaying and soft.
"Your Majesty." Liu Zhongbao helped Emperor Longfeng take off his imperial crown after the court session and whispered, "The escaped servant of the Zheng family has been caught by the Dragon Guards."
"So fast?" Emperor Longfeng calculated the time. It had been less than three hours since he gave the order.
"The chief said that when they arrived, the man had already been captured." Liu Zhongbao carefully took off the dragon-patterned pendant and said, "This was all thanks to the help of County Master Ming."
Emperor Longfeng looked at him with a half-smile: "Go to the Dragon Guards and check what these two people have done in the past."
"I obey your orders." Liu Zhongbao put the dragon-patterned pendant into the box and said, "Your Majesty, the families of the princesses have sent gifts to the palace in the past few days."
The only person missing was His Royal Highness Prince Chen from the Yue family, so there were no gifts from foreign relatives to accept.
"I think you are here to ask for favors from Du Qing." Emperor Longfeng laughed, "Arrange someone to summon Ming Jingzhou to the palace and tell him to teach Prince Chen."
"I will obey your Majesty's order." Liu Zhongbao smiled and bowed, saying, "I will take my leave."
He left the main hall of Taiyang Palace, took the whisk handed to him by the eunuch, and flicked it in his hand: "Go to the Ministry of Rites to bring Minister Ming into the palace. Remember to be polite and don't offend him."
"Please rest assured, Grandpa Liu, I will do my job perfectly." The young eunuch got the errand and left with a smile on his face.
Liu Zhongbao led his men directly to the dungeon of the Dragon Guard and met two servants of the Zheng family who were imprisoned separately.
"Liu, Liu..." Scar was so frightened when he saw who was coming that he couldn't even speak straight.
Why would the chief eunuch of the emperor come here? !
"Oh, you look like you've met me before." Eunuch Liu smiled and said, "What a coincidence. I love to talk to people I know. Let's chat slowly today."
He raised his head and said, "Before we speak, I will use a comb to loosen up the skin of the two distinguished guests. If the skin is tight, the mouth will be tight, and it will be difficult to speak. Please bear with me."
Scar and Qingyi were dragged out, and soon their screams were heard.
Liu Zhongbao shook the whisk in his hand and said to the chief of the Dragon Guards: "It seems that the young general who combed the skin today is very strong and has excellent skills."
The leader laughed, "Since Eunuch Liu is here in person, the brothers will naturally show off their skills."
The two smiled at each other, as if they were surrounded by green mountains and clear waters, rather than in a dungeon full of screams.
Prince Chen sat on a rocking chair in the courtyard, lazily watching the eunuchs and palace maids carrying large and small bags to Prince Huai's courtyard, and waved to the eunuchs who were accompanying him: "Is Prince Huai's mansion moving?"
"Your Highness, these are some things sent by Princess Huai's family." The eunuch said, "I think they are some gifts from her family to their daughter."
Yesterday it was Princess Qi and Princess An's parents' home, and today it is Princess Huai and Princess Jing's parents' home. There was noise all day long, and there was no quiet time.
Turning over on the recliner, Prince Chen snorted with disdain. As a prince, why does he need the princess's family to send things?
"Your Majesty, Minister Ming of the Ministry of Rites is here. Do you want to see him?"
Ming Jingzhou is here?
Prince Chen sat up and said, "See you!"
He glanced at the reclining chair under him and called a few eunuchs: "Move the reclining chair away and replace it with a tea table and tea chairs. Oh, and bring a few serious books to my desk."
Ming Jingzhou stepped into the gate of Zhangliu Palace and walked into the courtyard where Prince Chen lived. What he saw was the scene of the handsome prince reading quietly.
"Your humble servant greets His Majesty."
"Lord Ming, there is no need to be so polite." Prince Chen threw down the book and reached out to help Ming Jingzhou up: "Lord Ming, please sit down."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Ming Jingzhou did not refuse and sat down at the table. He glanced at the book that Prince Chen had placed on the table, and took the tea brought by the eunuch: "I am very pleased to see that Your Highness is working so hard."
"Even though I live in the palace, I don't want to waste my time." Prince Chen said without blushing, "I wonder why you came here today?"
"I am visiting Your Highness today. First, I am here to obey the Holy Order and teach Your Highness about the affairs of the Ministry of Rites. Second, I am here to hand this item over to Your Highness." Ming Jingzhou placed the painting tube on the table.
"What is this?" Prince Chen looked at the painting tube on the table in confusion.
"My daughter gave your Highness the painting of Red Plum Blossoms in the Snow." Ming Jingzhou took a sip of tea and said, "Your Highness, open it and see if you like it."
Ming Xiaozhu finally finished painting the snow scene?
When Prince Chen opened the scroll and saw a painting that had almost nothing to do with its title, he could not help but chuckle, his eyes and brows as tender as spring.
"Thank you, Master Ming." He carefully put the painting away: "Jiuzhu's painstaking work, I will definitely keep it well."
Although the painting is a little ugly, if you look closely, it is... kind of cute.
At least, the person who paints is lovely.
"As long as Your Highness likes it." Ming Jingzhou nodded with a smile: "If my daughter knew that Your Highness liked her paintings, she would definitely be very happy."
After saying this, he took out a few books from his sleeves and said, "I am a foreigner and cannot enter the palace often. Your Highness, please take these books and read and copy them. I will bring you new books next time I enter the palace."
Prince Chen: “…”
"Your Highness?" Ming Jingzhou looked at Prince Chen with a smile.
"Please rest assured, sir. I will definitely read it carefully and copy it carefully." Prince Chen tried to smile: "Thank you for your hard work, sir."
"It's not hard." Ming Jingzhou said in a gentle and kind tone: "As long as Your Highness is happy."
Prince Chen smiled happily at Ming Jingzhou.
One day later, all the princes in Zhangliu Palace knew that Prince Chen had received the scroll from his future princess.
When the four brothers were sitting around in the King of Qi's room eating hot pot, King Huai mentioned this matter: "Ming County Princess is worthy of being the daughter of the Ming family. Her painting skills are outstanding."
"Of course." Prince Chen smiled. "It's a pity that the Ming family only paints for their family members and partners, otherwise I can also ask Minister Ming to paint a picture for all of you brothers."
"What a pity." Prince An looked at Prince Chen with regret: "I wonder if I can have a chance to see the paintings of Princess Ming?"
The prince paused for a moment while picking up the meat with his chopsticks: "We'll talk about this later when we have the chance."
It will be an excuse from now on, and everyone in the royal family will understand.
Prince An sighed and became even more curious about the Ming family's paintings.
The King of Qi lay on the bed, not even looking at the four people who were eating hot pot and chatting.
Three days, three whole days!
They hadn't gotten tired of hot pot yet, but the house he lived in was already filled with the smell of hot pot.
Before the hot pot was finished, Liu Zhongbao walked into the room with the powerful eunuch.
"Your Highnesses." Liu Zhongbao saluted and said, "Your Majesty has summoned you. Your Highnesses, please go to Taiyang Palace as soon as possible."
Prince Chen put down his chopsticks. He smelled a very faint smell of earth and... blood on Liu Zhongbao.
"Your Highness Prince Qi is injured, so let the servants carry you away." Liu Zhongbao bowed to the Prince Qi, "Please forgive me, Your Highness."
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