Chapter 131 Done!
It was dark all around, and Chang Ren initially judged by touch, thinking it was something gold or silver.
He handed the item over: "I hope you two can be lenient..."
The two men also thought that the item was used to bribe them. Without thinking, one of them raised his eyebrows and scolded: "How dare you make trouble here!"
As soldiers guarding the city, how could they make an exception for such a small bribe? If they accepted it, what would they think of the safety of the city?
What does he think of the superior patrolling on the city wall! ——Accepting bribes in front of his superior, do you still want the job? And during this gap, Chang Ren had already seen clearly what he had in his hand.
It turned out to be a fish-shaped copper talisman, and the name written on it...
After a moment of shock, Chang Ren's face became solemn, and he stopped bowing. He said to the two men again, "Please be flexible, both of you."
The two soldiers looked at each other - how could this guy still be so stubborn!
The man standing in front reached out and snatched the thing from Chang Ren's hand. He wanted to see what the other party was so tough about...
The soldier who had taken the object and was about to throw it into the moat in front of his superiors suddenly froze.
His fingers trembled slightly, and he felt fortunate besides being surprised - if his hand had been a little faster, he would have been the one thrown into the moat today!
The companion beside him also saw the bronze talisman clearly. He moved his mouth but did not dare to say anything, for fear of accidentally saying the wrong thing.
The soldier had already returned the copper talisman with both hands and whispered, "It is my fault that I was blind... I hope you will forgive me!"
Chang Ren put away the bronze talisman without comment and picked up the oar.
He didn't know whether he should forgive her, after all, he was not an adult.
The soldier whispered again: "The water ahead is deep and dark, do you need a lamp to guide the way?"
Chang Ren: “No need.”
Extra things are likely to leave clues, so it’s better not to follow this path.
"Yes." The soldier said respectfully, "Sir, take care..."
Chang Ren rowed away.
As soon as this adult left, another adult came over.
"Why did you let people leave the city without permission? You know it's curfew now!" The captain of the city gate walked down from the city wall and shouted to his subordinates.
Don't think he didn't see it. These two brave guys just reached out to accept the benefits handed over by the boatman! They dared to act like this in front of him, and who knows what kind of character they are behind his back! "Captain, you don't know, the boatman is not an ordinary person..." The soldier hurriedly lowered his voice to explain: "What he holds is half of the copper token of General Cui of Xuan Ce Mansion..."
The captain's expression suddenly changed: "...Commander-in-Chief Cui's bronze talisman? Can you see it clearly?"
"I saw it clearly!"
The captain looked in the direction where the boat left. This was in the capital, and no one would dare to forge the bronze talisman of the general in Xuan Ce's mansion.
But the other party acted so low-key, pretending to be an ordinary boatman...
And this afternoon, the Grand Commander Cui had just left the city, and he was also wearing ordinary clothes to hide his identity...
Judging from the situation, could it be that they are investigating some secret official business that should not be publicized?
"Don't say too much. Just pretend that you haven't seen any ship leaving the city tonight!" The captain instructed his two subordinates in a stern tone.
The Xuan Ce Mansion is independent of the three provinces and six ministries. Only the saints can inquire about the actions of the Xuan Ce Mansion. It is never their turn to interfere.
The two soldiers also knew the seriousness of the matter and quickly agreed.
On the small broken boat that had sailed away, Chang Ren couldn't help but ask, "Where did this bronze talisman come from?"
Ah Zhi: "The girl gave it to me."
"Where did you get the girl?"
"It was given by Grand Commander Cui."
"..." Chang Ren: "Why did Commander Cui give his copper talisman to the girl?"
Ah Zhi briefly recalled what Grand Commander Cui said when he presented the bronze talisman to him at the back of Dayun Temple, and concluded: "It is convenient for girls to beat people."
Chang Ren: “…”
Suppressing his inner confusion, he could only ask: "Where should I go now?"
"Go to the manor by the lake outside the city."
Chang Ren nodded and looked ahead: "When we get close, you take your people off the boat first. I will maneuver the boat to where the fishing boats gather, and then go to the manor to look for you. I will also cover up your tracks along the way."
Since you are doing it, you have to do it cleanly. If you don’t catch the fish, you have to do it beautifully.
Azhi nodded in agreement.
"Who is this person?" Chang Ren looked back at the woman in the cabin while rowing the boat, unable to hide his curiosity: "How do you know you can find someone by just waiting there?"
Ah Zhi shook his head: "I don't know anything, these are all the instructions from the girl."
Chang Ren remained silent and didn't ask any more questions.
During this time, Yuxie woke up in a daze: "Who are you..."
"Sorry." Azhi raised his hand and knocked the man unconscious again.
Chang Ren: “…”
Be polite, but don't delay.
…
At the same moment, in a mansion in the capital, a man sneaked in silently, walked along an empty path to a study, and climbed in through the wide-open back window.
The man bowed to the person sitting in the study, his expression complicated: "...The maid from the Princess's Mansion went out today, but she fell into the Xiqu River and disappeared."
The man asked in confusion: "Why don't you do it?"
"It was too late." The man explained, "When I was about to take action, a group of beggars surrounded us and begged for alms. In the chaos, the maid fell into the water."
"Beggar..." the person sitting there asked, "Is he really a beggar?"
"Yes." The man said, "I have confirmed that those beggars are not pretending."
"Is it such a coincidence?" The man in the chair thought thoughtfully, "If they follow the river into the moat, I'm afraid it will be difficult to find the body..."
The man asked anxiously, "Should I send a message back..."
"Don't worry." The man in the chair sighed and interrupted the man: "Try to check it again and see if you can find anything suspicious... so that you can have an explanation when you write the letter."
After a moment, he pondered and said to himself, "If someone really planned this, who would it be... Who would be so interested in a crazy old man around Princess Chongyue?"
The night wind blew into the room, and the flame in the gauze lantern painted with an ink-and-wash painting of bamboo and orchid flickered slightly. No one answered the question.
…
The summer night breeze also blows across the copper bells hanging outside the Tiannv Tower, and the Zen-like sound echoes in the night.
Inside the tower, a tall young man stood by the white marble pool, looking up at the statue of a goddess in the center of the pool with his head slightly raised.
Cui Jing arrived here before dusk and has been here until now.
Wu Jue had just come in. His eyes fell on the tribute table and he couldn't help but ask, "What are these chestnuts..."
All tributes sent to this tower were either exquisite or rare, such as lychees. This was the first time that chestnuts, which were everywhere, appeared.
"I happened to hear Senior Adian talk about it." Cui Jing said.
Wu Jue smiled knowingly: "That's right..."
Your Highness likes to eat chestnuts.
The relationship between this celestial statue and His Highness, and the relationship between this His Highness and that His Highness, was known to General Cui.
When he set up this formation, General Cui was the one with opportunity as shown by the hexagram. As a person with opportunity, he naturally wanted to know everything.
The jade used to make the statue was found by the young man in the Western Regions when he was still a teenager.
"It's hot and stuffy in the tower. Commander Cui, please go out with me and talk."
Cui Jing nodded.
The two of them left the tower, and the night wind made the green bamboo outside the tower rustle.
"I have been curious about something for a long time." Perhaps the plate of chestnuts made Wu Jue feel that the young man beside him was more approachable, so he tried to ask, "Has Commander Cui ever met Your Highness before?"
He always felt that the opportunity did not come for no reason.
But since the other party didn't mention it, he didn't ask too much.
"Yes." The young man nodded.
Wu Jue looked at him. Is that true? "I was still young at that time." Cui Jing looked at the night ahead. The memories deeply engraved in his heart instantly brought him from the hot summer night to the snowy winter day.
He seemed to see his younger self as a bystander, standing in the snow, looking up at the man sitting on the horse.
He said slowly, "When I was seven years old, I was in danger and was rescued by His Highness."
Wu Jue was startled: "Seven years old and away?"
It is said that as the eldest grandson of the Cui family, he should have no shortage of protection even when he is away from home. How could he be in danger and need your help?
As if sensing his confusion, Cui Jing said, "That year, Cui ran away from home, with only one of my mother's old servants by my side."
Wu Jue was surprised.
My goodness, he ran away from home at the age of seven.
So this guy who secretly joined the army at the age of twelve was not the first time he ran away from home? Tsk, he is a repeat offender.
Wu Jue looked at the young man's overly superior bone structure with emotion... This rebellious nature was really born since childhood.
The young man seemed to have no intention of saying more about the encounter more than ten years ago, and then asked casually: "Today, Cui seems to have seen the Meng family boss from Dengtai Tower come here--"
When he dismounted and entered the temple, he happened to meet Mr. Meng leaving the temple.
Wu Jue smiled and nodded: "Yes, that Mr. Meng is also a Buddhist... Today he came to burn incense, so I accompanied him to talk about Buddhism."
"Is there any connection between Mr. Meng and Dayun Temple?" Cui Jing asked.
Dayun Temple is a royal temple. Only royal family members, officials and their families are allowed to enter. Mr. Meng should not be allowed to enter the temple.
"There is a connection, and it's quite deep..." Wu Jue said, "It's deep because when the Dayun Temple and the Tiannu Pagoda were built, this Mr. Meng paid half of the money."
Cui Jing remained silent.
Such a huge sum of money must have a very deep origin.
Wu Jue smiled and said, "Mr. Meng is a very pious businessman. He always offers a considerable amount of money every time he comes."
Therefore, in the eyes of outsiders, Meng Lie was very sensible and knew how to curry favor with the empress's party in order to gain their protection - after all, Dengtai Tower's business was so big that it was inevitable that some people would be jealous.
This is the origin of the relationship between Meng Dongjia and Dayun Temple in the eyes of the world.
As for the true origin, only he and Lao Chang knew it.
It was not appropriate to talk about the truth with the young people around him, so Wu Jue changed the subject and asked with a smile: "Speaking of Dengtai Tower, I wonder if Commander Cui has heard about the poetry gathering of my daughter on the Dragon Boat Festival?"
It's a pity that he has to guard the Dayun Temple and it's hard for him to escape. The cassock has become a shackle. Otherwise, he would have to drink two jars of wine anyway.
"Cui was present that day."
"Oh?" Wu Jue looked at the young man beside him with some surprise, and then asked with a smile: "According to Grand Commander Cui, how is the painting?"
Cui Jing: “Very good.”
Wu Jue smiled and said, "It's great to hear something like this from General Cui. It seems that my little girl is really amazing now."
"Now?" Cui Jing caught these two words.
"Yes, this girl really lives up to the saying that girls change a lot when they grow up..." Wu Jue said with emotion: "Now her face has become more and more beautiful."
Cui Jing subconsciously asked, "Will the face also change?"
"Of course." Wu Jue smiled and said, "The same person will look different when in adversity and prosperity. As the saying goes, appearance is determined by the heart, which means that a person's appearance will change with the situation and mood."
Cui Jing then asked, "Master, do you mean that Madam Chang's appearance has changed?"
Wu Jue nodded: "The face also reflects the fortune. The face changes and the fortune changes... Everything in the world is interconnected. In the blink of an eye, a different choice may lead to changes of varying sizes."
Cui Jing pondered.
Many images flashed before his eyes.
The girl drew her sword but failed, stood firm under the attack of the giant elephant, fought for justice for others on the football field, and painted a tiger with ink in a brightly lit building.
There was also the moment when she sat on the stone steps outside the building, quietly watching the expressions of the two little beggars as they ate buns... and she told him frankly that she wanted to let the world know who Chang Suining was.
All these things are vivid in my mind at this moment.
Different choices will lead to changes, big and small, which will gradually change the face...
So, does she have many different choices compared to before? For example, few people knew who Chang Suining was before, but now Chang Suining wants to become famous -
Why are there suddenly different choices?
There had been such a turning point in his life - it was because he met a person and learned about that person's deeds. This process gave him some kind of inspiration and guidance, which resonated with him. That resonance took root in his heart and grew into a towering pine tree. From then on, he no longer moved forward aimlessly.
Since then, for more than ten years, this ambition has not changed, and there will be no day to change or waver in the future.
He wondered what her turning point was? Did she meet someone important, or experience something important? He was a little curious, but he didn't intend to pry too much.
Since she had said they were friends, it would not be too late for him to listen when she wanted to talk about it one day.
"Is Commander Cui going back to the city today?" Wu Jue's voice interrupted Cui Jing's thoughts.
"The curfew has been restored tonight." Cui Jing said, "I would like to stay in the temple for one night."
Wu Jue nodded with a smile on his face, but he was complaining in his heart.
Every time this young man stayed overnight in the temple, he would talk to him about Buddhism, sometimes even all night long! So what if there was a curfew? As a general in the Xuan Ce Mansion, he should also make use of some privileges appropriately! Before leaving the pagoda, Cui Jing glanced at the weeds growing by the bamboo forest.
…
That night, A Che took Xiao Duan and Xiao Wu to hang out among the beggars in the city until late at night. They returned from the back door of Chang's mansion at dawn the next morning.
A Che went back to change into clean clothes, then hurried to the martial arts field to meet Chang Suining.
"Is it done?" Chang Suining asked him alone.
Ah Che nodded: "Reply girl, it's done!"
Good night everyone~ (End of this chapter)
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