As the sky began to brighten and the first ray of golden light broke through the clouds in the east, attendants and servants were already shuttling back and forth in the Confucius Temple, holding sacrificial objects in their hands, preparing for today's Confucius worship ceremony.
When the auspicious time arrived, all the doors opened one after another. To the sound of the morning bell, Qiao Jijiu, dressed in sacrificial robes, walked in front, leading the Imperial College students in long gowns to slowly enter.
Soon, Master Chu, who was serving as the accompanying official, and other officials also arrived.
Also coming with them was Mingluo, who had served as the lead in the Confucius sacrifice ceremonies over the years.
For the noble families who valued literature and morality, offering sacrifices to Confucius was a major event, so all the major families would have their children attend.
In addition, there are also famous scholars and scholars from all over the world.
Led by Qiao Jijiu, Chu Taifu and Ming Nüshi, everyone first performed a ceremony of worship in front of the Xingtan. There were more than a thousand people who came and lined up in order, making it a grand occasion.
After burning incense and offering sacrifices in front of the Xingtan, Qiao Jijiu and others entered the Dacheng Hall.
Above the shrine in the hall, there is a statue of Confucius in the center, and on its left and right are statues of four sages including Yan Hui and Zeng Shen.
The music of welcoming the gods began. Ming Luo held the gift silk in his hand and the sound of the ceremony was heard in the hall: "Welcome the great sage Confucius to his seat. Pay respect to the gods. All officials kneel down—"
Most of the people in the hall were officials and children of aristocratic families, while the students and ordinary scholars had already lined up outside the hall and all performed the ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows.
Song Xian was at the head of the students, but he was a little distracted because he had not seen Qiao Yubai since the beginning of the ceremony.
Where did they go? Did they have no intention of attending the memorial service because of the disappearance of the Chang family girl?
The ceremony was carried out in an orderly manner. As the sons of various noble families came forward one by one to burn incense and pay homage to each saint, Ming Luo stepped aside to wait, and her personal maid came over.
"Madam, something happened in the mansion..." The maid lowered her voice and said, "The prince is missing!"
What? Ming Luo did not show any unusual behavior. He took his maid away from everyone's sight and went behind the pillars of the palace to talk.
"…It is said that the prince left the mansion through the back door with only a concubine and a servant, and the guards guarding the back door were knocked unconscious by someone unknown!"
The maid said, "The palace has sent people to look for him, and they finally found the prince's carriage in front of a courtyard where the lady came as a dowry, but the servants in the courtyard said they didn't see the prince!"
"The Saint was furious when he learned of this, and has ordered people to search for the Crown Prince both inside and outside the city..."
Ming Luo’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
The guard was drugged... Who helped Ming Jin escape from the mansion at night? It definitely couldn't be his friends. Those playboys didn't have the guts to do it, and it was impossible for them to do it so cleanly!
Could it be... Chang Suining?
Thinking of this possibility, Ming Luo's heart beat faster and he had a bad feeling.
Chang Suining's whereabouts have not been found anywhere in the past two days, which has made her feel a little uneasy.
Now this situation is not right...
If Chang had succeeded, why hadn't he shown up yet? With the Chang family's entire clan present, Chang would definitely not dare to flee... So, could it be that something unexpected had happened? And if all of this was manipulated by Chang Suining, then what was the purpose of the other party taking Ming Jin out of the mansion? To hold him hostage and force the Ming family and the Saint to release Chang Sui'an? Or was there some other intention? Soon a servant came over, and Ming Luo had to put away his expression and return to the front of the crowd to continue the ceremony.
And the possibilities that she could think of were naturally also thought of by the Holy Book Emperor.
Following the Emperor's instructions, the imperial guards and various government offices quickly dispatched troops to search for Ming Jin's whereabouts inside and outside the city, with a focus on searching places related to the Chang family.
"Recently, a large number of refugees and bandits have been harassing the capital. Sometimes they hide in people's houses and wait for opportunities to steal and injure people. We have been ordered to search for the whereabouts of the bandits!"
A group of officials also came to the Chang family's farm outside the city.
Shen Sanmao was horrified when he heard this, and hurriedly bowed and made a "please" gesture: "Too much for such a thing... Gentlemen, please come in quickly, and please search more thoroughly!"
He personally led the way, and after the officers searched the house, they went to the back mountain, for fear that there were really thieves hiding. Even if they only stole a grain of rice from him, it would be a pain he could not bear.
As teams of imperial guardsmen walked quickly in and out of the city, some common people who did not know the truth saw them and inevitably became panic-stricken.
Since the refugees entered the capital and the war broke out in Yangzhou, the capital has become less peaceful day by day...
"What's going on here?"
A group of people who avoided the officials gathered together and talked in low voices.
The sky, which had still been somewhat clear in the early morning, now darkened again, with gusts of cold wind making people tighten their necks.
Ming Jin had no idea that the search for his whereabouts had almost turned the entire capital upside down.
At this moment, he was lying on the couch. He had just opened his eyes with great effort and subconsciously raised his hand to press his aching head.
"Prince...you finally woke up." Qinshuang, who had been standing by, spoke up.
Ming Jin sat up with her help, looked around the room, frowned and asked, "Why am I sleeping here?"
"Have you forgotten, my lord? You fell asleep in the carriage on the way here. When we arrived at the courtyard, I was unable to wake you up, so I brought you here with them to rest."
Yeah?
Ming Jin tried to recall how he fell asleep, but the more he thought about it, the more his head hurt.
He drank a lot of wine last night and took aphrodisiac pills. He was inevitably tired after not resting for a long time, so it was normal for him to fall asleep under the influence of the alcohol.
Qinshuang's words gave him the impression that he was already in the other courtyard, so he asked casually, "Where's Minggui?"
Minggui is his personal servant.
Qinshuang looked out the window and answered without hesitation, "He's guarding outside. Do you want me to call him in to serve?"
"No need." As his thoughts came back to him, Ming Jin clearly thought of the purpose of his coming here, so he stood up and walked outside.
After leaving the inner room, he found that this seemed to be an attic. The villa that his mother brought as a dowry was very large. He had only been there once and did not have much impression of the furnishings and arrangements everywhere, so he did not think there was anything wrong.
In addition, he soon saw the people around Chang.
"Madam Liao." Ming Jin laughed, "Qinshuang didn't lie. You are really here."
"Young Master..." Madam Liao bowed slightly, followed by an attendant.
"Did you really catch that bitch from the Chang family?" Ming Jin asked impatiently, "Where is she? Is she dead or alive?"
Nanny Liao looked hesitant.
"Why, mother won't let you say it?" Ming Jin sneered impatiently: "Is it impossible for me to deal with a lowly adopted daughter of a general?"
Suddenly, a cold and sharp object pressed against her lower back, full of warning and threat. Madam Liao did not dare to hesitate any longer: "...The person is upstairs."
Ming Jin laughed, a hint of excitement appeared in his eyes, and he immediately went upstairs.
Listening to the sound of people walking up the stairs step by step, Madam Liao felt disheartened and looked at Qinshuang with cold and resentful eyes.
This bitch actually betrayed the prince and conspired with outsiders to trick him here!
Qinshuang clenched her palms which were covered with sweat due to nervousness. Her face trembled but she did not avoid the gaze of Madam Liao. She just wanted to survive!
Without giving Madam Liao a chance to speak, the attendant quickly tied Ming Jin's hands and feet when he saw her go upstairs, and took her to an old, abandoned, small library, locked the door, and kept her outside.
Seeing that Madam Liao was locked up and brought back, Chang, who was also tied up, asked hurriedly: "…What on earth does Chang Suining want to do? Where is this place!"
"Madam... I don't know what tricks she used to let that bitch Qinshuang trick the prince here!"
"What?!" Chang's eyes widened suddenly: "What on earth does she want to do!"
Looking at her wife's miserable appearance, Madam Liao shook her head in despair.
She didn't know where this place was. She and her wife were brought here after being knocked unconscious. They hadn't eaten for two days and only drank some water.
The double torture of body and mind deepened Chang's fear and anxiety. She struggled and fell to the ground, trying to leave here and stop all the unknown things, but it was destined to be in vain.
During the futile struggle, Chang fell to the ground with red eyes due to excessive force. At this moment, the last words that the girl said to her in Guansheng Temple suddenly rang in her mind -
"Before you die, take a look at the principles of an ant like me."
…
Mingjin has gone up to the second floor.
There were two followers guarding the second floor, but when they saw him coming, they hesitated for a moment and then bowed and made way.
This made Ming Jin more convinced of what he saw, not to mention that he originally had no time to think about other possibilities.
He raised the corner of his mouth: "You guys just stay here, I will go in by myself."
The two followers should say "yes".
Ming Jin raised his hand, lifted one of the hanging bamboo curtains in front of him, and walked in.
All the doors and windows here are tightly closed. Not a breath of wind can get in, and no one can see the outside at all. It is indeed the scene of a prisoner.
Ming Jin soon saw the imprisoned man.
She was tied to a chair with her hands and feet bound. The robe she wore was covered in mud and blood, and her hair was disheveled.
When she heard the footsteps, she turned around and saw that only his eyes were still shockingly bright and cold.
Ming Jin smiled in surprise and said, "Great, he is alive after all!"
He walked over, looked at the person in front of him with satisfaction, bent over and stretched out his hand to pinch Chang Suining's chin, looking her up and down: "Aren't you always the most powerful and capable? How come you are in such an embarrassing situation now?"
As he spoke, he moved closer to that face: "I heard that you were the one who secretly rigged the horse race in Furong Garden, right?"
Chang Suining looked at the face so close to him and smiled slightly: "So what?"
Ming Jin moved the hand that was pinching her chin downwards, and suddenly pinched her neck, saying word by word in hatred: "Chang Suining, you really know how to seek death..."
Chang Suining also looked at the person in front of him with satisfaction.
Sure enough, as long as he was told the truth about his injury, he would definitely come over.
Using herself as bait is indeed a good and feasible idea.
She asked provocatively, "Are you going to kill me for revenge?"
Ming Jin laughed grimly: "Why, do you think I don't dare?"
Chang Suining further dispelled his vigilance: "If you dare to kill me, why do you imprison me here?"
"That's my mother!" Ming Jin's grip on her neck grew stronger. "She imprisoned you here because she was afraid that you would ruin her plans... But I'm different! Now that you're in my hands, it's easy for me to kill you!"
"You should have found out by now, I was the one who killed Chang Sunxuan!" He said proudly and happily, "I could kill the eldest daughter of the Chang Sun family, let alone a lowly military general's adopted daughter like you!"
As if he had finally found the right person to confide in, he boasted, "To be honest, I was a little scared at first of killing her... But later, someone took care of everything for me, and your brother took the blame for me!"
"Do you know why?" He smiled and said, "Because my last name is Ming!"
He looked at the girl in front of him with pity: "Even if I skin you alive today and have you humiliated a hundred times... who will uphold justice for you?"
The girl whose neck he was holding turned red, but she laughed again: "You are a termite that is worse than a sewer rat... Are you worthy enough to let my brother take the blame for you?"
The cold contempt and disdain in the girl's eyes angered Ming Jin. He exerted force suddenly and pushed the person and the chair to the ground with a loud bang.
The guard standing outside frowned when he heard the sound, but thinking of what the girl had said, he could only hold back for the time being.
The girl's head hit the ground heavily. She just frowned slightly and had no other expression. She just looked at Ming Jin coldly.
Ming Jin stared at her and suddenly asked curiously, "You are actually different from Chang Sunxuan. Are you really not afraid of death?"
"That's right, I can't let you die so easily. Chang Sunxuan died too quickly. No matter how I think about it, I feel it's not satisfying enough..." He released his hand that was pinching Chang Suining's neck and his eyes fell on her right arm.
The robe there was cut, and although the bleeding had stopped, it was obvious that he had been injured by a sword.
Ming Jin's eyes lit up slightly, and he said with some regret: "I came here in a hurry and didn't bring anything useful..."
He looked around but couldn't find anything satisfactory, so he simply pulled out the jade hairpin that Chang Suining used to tie her hair.
"How about using this?" He held the jade hairpin and inserted it forcefully into the wound on the girl's arm. He cut it slowly and laughed heartily at the wound that quickly became bloody.
Chang Suining frowned, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Even though his hands were stained with warm blood, Ming Jin laughed louder and louder.
Chang Suining watched his increasingly insane demeanor, then looked towards the incense burner in the corner where medicinal incense was burning - the time was almost up.
The girl exerted force on her waist and suddenly swung sideways, crashing into Ming Jin with the chair, knocking him to the ground.
She struggled with the ropes that bound her hands and quickly freed herself from the chair. She supported herself on the ground with her palms and stood up with her hair loose.
“…You bitch!”
Ming Jin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sat up.
…
On the other side, outside the Dacheng Hall, the ceremony was coming to an end, but suddenly the cry of a crane was heard above everyone's heads.
Everyone looked up and saw a white crane coming, and they were all surprised.
The crane is a symbol of good fortune, and the arrival of a crane on the day of Confucius' sacrifice is obviously a good omen!
As people were amazed and talking, they saw the beautiful white crane spread its wings and fly towards the front of the hall.
In front of the hall, Ming Luo was reciting the sacrificial text when she suddenly heard a noisy sound. She looked up and before she could react, she saw a white crane flying towards her and then took the sacrificial text from her hand! The white crane hovered for a while with the silk in its mouth and let out a long crane cry.
"This crane is quite spiritual!"
"Look, it's flying away!"
Everyone was amazed. Someone took the lead and shouted, "Go and take a look." Then many people picked up their long gowns and quickly followed the white crane.
Seeing this, Ming Luo's heart suddenly sank.
Others don't know, but she knows that cranes can be domesticated and can perform some seemingly spiritual behaviors under the guidance of crane breeders... Many so-called auspicious omens come from this! The appearance of this crane is definitely not accidental! Hey, here it comes~
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