Chen Yubai sneered, his expression calm. "What the Imperial Master said is complete nonsense. I have never done anything to offend the royal family, and I certainly don't believe the nonsense that someone else's soul lives in Xiao Jiu'er. If you want to try, then try!"
His calm attitude gave Emperor Yong more trust in him.
After all, the fact of soul swapping was too unbelievable, and Emperor Yong had deep doubts about what Huiming said.
It was only because Huiming promised him that he could see the evidence with his own eyes that he agreed to let Huiming give it a try.
Thinking of this, Emperor Yong said to Huiming in a deep voice:
"Grand Master, I allow you to try again. If nothing comes of this, I do not wish to hear you doubt the Ninth Prince's identity again."
Huiming performed a Buddhist ceremony to Emperor Yong, then held the jade pendant in his hand and looked at Jiang Xiancao coldly.
Jiang Xiancao stood calmly, without a trace of panic on his face.
Huiming sneered, "No tears until you see the coffin."
Then he chanted the spell again.
Emperor Yong didn't even dare to blink, staring at Jiang Xiancao.
Even though Huiming was sweating profusely from chanting the mantra, there was still no sign of anything unusual happening to Jiang Xiancao.
Huiming's face looked ugly, and his originally handsome face became distorted. He exerted force with his hands and simply crushed the blood jade. But even so, Jiang Xiancao was not affected at all and still stood steadily opposite him.
She even winked at him, not hiding the sarcasm in her eyes.
That expression clearly said, you stinky baldy, even if you knew who I was, what could you do to me?
Huiming was so angry at her silent mockery that his eyes turned red. This technique of forcing the soul to manifest was too advanced, and he could no longer bear it.
But if he stopped now, his promise to verify Jiang Xiancao's true identity would be completely failed!
At this moment, he was in a difficult situation and could only continue to chant the spell. However, he had consumed too much of his spiritual power, and blood slowly flowed out of his seven orifices.
Emperor Yong could no longer bear it and said angrily:
“That’s enough!”
Huiming collapsed to the ground, unable to hold on, and the Buddhist beads in his hand fell to the ground.
Emperor Yong stood up and looked down at Huiming:
"Grand Master, your spell failed. Does this prove that your previous speculations were wrong? The Ninth Prince is himself, and there is no other soul in his body?"
Huiming knew that this was an excuse given to him by Emperor Yong. If he did not follow it, Emperor Yong would probably punish him for deceiving the emperor.
After a long silence, he finally spoke with difficulty:
"I was blind and made a mistake. I have offended your Highnesses. I accept the punishment willingly."
But he really didn't understand why something that should have been foolproof turned out like this. What went wrong?!
He looked up at Jiang Xiancao, his eyes filled with blood and tears and full of unwillingness.
At this moment, where was he still the monk he had been before?
The disheveled look and hatred in his eyes made him look like a ghost that failed to find a scapegoat.
Jiang Xiancao was not afraid of his hatred. She smiled and said to Emperor Yong:
"Father, the Imperial Preceptor may have heard about the Empress Dowager's mistake of identifying me, and was instigated and deceived by someone with ulterior motives, mistakenly believing that something was really wrong with me. I believe he was not deliberately trying to frame me."
It would have been better if she hadn't said this, because after she did, it only added fuel to the fire.
The anger on Emperor Yong's face had not subsided. Looking at Huiming's blood-stained face, he said in a deep voice:
"My mother is a devout Buddhist, and Lingyin Temple has been a place of worship for the royal family for hundreds of years. As a token of my filial piety, I have bestowed upon you the title of Abbot and Imperial Master. Offering sacrifices and praying for blessings are your responsibilities, and you will not be required to take care of anything else!"
He asked the eunuchs to help Huiming up, and finally issued the imperial order:
"Immediately send the Imperial Master back to Lingyin Temple and protect him so that he can devote himself to worshipping Buddha. The Imperial Master must not come out of seclusion for the next few years."
This means that Huiming will be placed under house arrest, and Huiming's position as the national teacher will be in name only.
When Huiming was sent out by the imperial guards, he hated Jiang Xiancao in his heart and turned his head to look at her.
Jiang Xiancao responded with a smile, which made Huiming very angry again.
After Huiming left, Chen Yubai said to Emperor Yong:
"The Imperial Master would suddenly come to the palace and attack my brother and Little Jiu'er. He must have been instructed by someone else."
Emperor Yong knew what was going on.
Huiming was the imperial teacher and good at socializing, and he had contacts with many powerful people in the capital.
But most of them are just casual acquaintances. If you really want to say who I am close to, there are only a few.
Among them are the queen’s family and the Jiang family of the Marquis Wen Ning’s mansion.
"If I remember correctly, the Jiang family has a young master who is Huiming's apprentice?" Emperor Yong asked thoughtfully.
"It seems that this is the case." Shen Yubai looked at Jiang Xiancao quite naturally, "Before Xiao Jiuer broke with the Jiang family, she often went to the Wen Ning Marquis Mansion."
Jiang Xiancao knew that Chen Yubai was handing her a knife.
Of course she would not miss this opportunity, she took the knife and stabbed Jiang Jia:
"Your Majesty, the eldest son of the Jiang family, the legitimate son of Jiang Jinzhen, is known as the born Buddha. Because of his natural wisdom, he was noticed by the Imperial Master Huiming and was accepted as his disciple."
After these incidents, Emperor Yong had a very bad impression of the Jiang family. He sneered and said:
"Practicing with hair? He lives in the rich and luxurious residence of Marquis Wen Ning all day long, with a bunch of slaves and servants waiting on him. Can this be called practicing?
Huiming has so many dedicated ascetic monks to practice, but chose to accept this young man from an aristocratic family, even calling him a natural born Buddha. What exactly are they trying to achieve? Do they really think I don't know?"
The more Emperor Yong spoke, the angrier he became.
He thought about how much funding and privileges the royal family had given Lingyin Temple over the years. Huiming had said to him that he would light everlasting lamps and pray for the Empress Dowager and the royal family day and night, that he would burn incense and pray for the prosperity of the country, and that he would revitalize Buddhism throughout the world, guide people to be kind and reduce their karma.
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