At noon, Lingyan Temple closes for the day.
At this time, the worshippers who came to the temple to offer incense were already leaving one after another, only groups of men were going in the opposite direction.
As the hostages were taken away one by one, Su Qinghe remained silent and took advantage of the chaos to jump onto a beam inside the hall.
The main hall was tall and the beam structure was very complex. Su Qinghe found a secluded spot and squatted down.
Luo Pinzheng and the others had not yet arrived. There was only a group of monks waiting in the hall. Looking down from above, all one could see were a sea of white bald heads.
The monks here are somewhat different from those in Su Qinghe's world; regardless of age, they do not have polka dots on their heads.
The wait was so boring that Su Qinghe looked around the entire hall and could only focus her attention on the group of monks below.
Seeing them, Su Qinghe couldn't help but think of that particularly awkward day.
"Respecting Heaven is no small matter. This time, all the people who have come are important figures. The monks in the temple should all come to greet them, and that young monk should be here as well."
Su Qinghe muttered to herself, her eyes carefully searching below.
Because of the high position, it's not easy to see people's faces clearly when looking down.
They were mostly dressed in the same clothes and had no distinguishing hairstyles, so Su Qinghe searched for a long time before finally confirming it.
The person was standing at the very back, with their head down, one hand covering their face and the other covering their mouth, their cheeks twitching slightly.
Su Qinghe finally found something interesting—watching Wuwang steal food.
He would take a few bites, then look up and glance around, making sure no one was watching before lowering his head again.
Its cheeks bulged incessantly, and its shifty, thieving appearance made it look just like a hamster stealing food.
Su Qinghe rested her chin on one hand, watching with great interest.
The boring time was spent watching the little monk steal food, until Luo Pinzheng and his group arrived, at which point Su Qinghe shifted her gaze elsewhere.
"This old monk greets Your Excellency the County Magistrate and all benefactors."
As Luo Pinzheng and his group entered the hall, the old man Su Qinghe had met before was the first to greet them.
Luo Pinzheng was very polite.
"Abbot, there's no need for such formalities. My decision to pay homage to Heaven at your temple was made on a whim, and I apologize for any inconvenience caused. Thank you for your thoughtful arrangements."
"Not at all, it is an honor for our temple."
The two exchanged pleasantries, while Su Qinghe turned her attention to the group of people behind Luo Pinzheng.
It was the same group of people who went up the mountain with her. Unexpectedly, Luo Pinzheng actually brought them out.
Su Qinghe spotted Qin Anmin in the crowd at a glance; she seemed perfectly normal.
Luo Pin was exchanging pleasantries with the abbot when he led his men to the guest rooms shortly afterward.
From their conversation, Su Qinghe learned that the ceremony to honor Heaven would not begin today, but would have to wait two more days, to wait for an important person.
Su Qinghe guessed that it must be a confidant of the person behind Luo Pinzheng.
As the group walked away, Su Qinghe silently followed not far away. When they arrived at the guest room, the husband and wife met, and unsurprisingly, there was another wave of panic.
The monk who had led the way left, and with no outsiders around, Luo Pinzheng and his dozen or so soldiers sealed off the courtyard gates.
They treat outsiders with great courtesy, but treat their own people like prisoners.
Inside the room, Luo Pinzheng's face was gloomy. She slammed the teacup on the table to the ground and roared in a low voice.
"Where are Qin Anmin's husband and children? What have you done?!"
The two soldiers who came to report below were trembling with fear.
"Your Excellency, I personally delivered the letter you instructed to deliver to the Commandant's office. I also saw her husband open and read it before he left. I really don't know! Perhaps, perhaps it's still on its way?"
Luo Pin was in a panic, pacing back and forth in the room anxiously.
"Quickly send a few men down the mountain to search. If they can't find her, they should search her house. No matter what, bring her back to me!"
After kicking the two out, she followed them out of the room.
"Keep a close watch on them, and don't let a single one out."
After giving the order, Luo Pinzheng left the courtyard alone.
She wandered aimlessly around the temple, her eyes anxiously scanning the surroundings.
The poison in her body hasn't been cured yet, and Su Qinghe promised to give her the antidote today, but she hasn't been seen since.
She had planned to kidnap her husband and children to threaten them, but the people she sent to the Su residence to arrest them yesterday have also disappeared without a trace, and now even Qin Anmin's husband and children are gone.
This robbed her of her last bit of confidence, and she had a bad feeling about it.
Luo Pin was anxiously searching for Su Qinghe in the temple, but the person she was looking for had already sneaked into the guest room.
"Sister Qin."
Su Qinghe slipped into the room where Qin Anmin was.
Upon seeing Su Qinghe, Qin Anmin was somewhat excited. She first gave her a tight hug before beginning to ask questions.
"how's it going?"
Su Qinghe gave her a reassuring look.
"Everything is going well. I told my brother-in-law about you, and they are both doing well too, so don't worry, Sister Qin."
Upon hearing this, Qin Anmin finally breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good! That's good!"
She nodded repeatedly, but Su Qinghe had come to her with other matters to discuss.
"Luo Pinzheng's poison won't take effect for a few more days, and I don't plan to give her the antidote. She's currently looking for me all over the temple. If she can't find me, she'll definitely come looking for Sister Qin."
"Furthermore, since my brother-in-law and the others haven't been caught, if she makes trouble for you, Sister Qin can take the opportunity to tell her the location of the troop mobilization tokens in the mansion."
"..."
Su Qinghe whispered something in Qin Anmin's ear, and Qin Anmin's eyes lit up when he heard it.
"Sister-in-law, what a brilliant idea!"
Her face was brimming with undisguised excitement; if she weren't afraid of making too much noise and disturbing those outside, she would have loved to burst into laughter.
Seeing her like this, Su Qinghe also felt relieved and patted Qin Anmin on the shoulder.
"Alright, there are too many people around here, and Luo Pinzheng will probably be back soon, so I have to go."
"Okay." Qin Anmin nodded without hesitation.
...
As night fell, the temple was quiet, and the monks returned to their rooms early.
Since Luo Pinzheng had booked all the empty rooms in the temple, Su Qinghe was unable to find a comfortable place to stay.
The main hall is locked at night, so she can't stay there. After thinking for a long time, she finally decided to spend the night in the kitchen.
Without thinking, Su Qinghe moved quickly and soon entered the kitchen.
The kitchen wasn't big, but everything inside was kept very clean, so clean that Su Qinghe couldn't find a single steamed bun.
The ingredients were available, but it was impossible to start a fire at this time. Helpless, Su Qinghe could only take out the dry rations from lunch again.
After finishing another quick meal, Su Qinghe casually found a clean spot to lie down and close her eyes to rest.
"Shh..."
In the middle of the night, I heard a very faint metallic rattling sound.
Su Qinghe opened her eyes abruptly, got up and pressed herself against the door. At that moment, there was a faint flickering firelight outside.
The soldiers have arrived.
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