Yan Huisheng had accurately anticipated their arrival. He knew that Su Rong would have included the Buddha Temple in her plans when she brought so many people with her.
Therefore, when Rui’an King arrived with his men at the Buddha Temple half an hour late, he was stopped. Little Quanzi peeked out from behind a horse, hastily saying, "Your Highness, we are on the same side. We are here by the order of the Crown Prince to investigate a case at the Buddha Temple."
Fu Zhou, who had been appointed by Feng Ling, noticed the large contingent before him. Recognizing members from the Rui’an King Residence and the Duke Residence, as well as Little Quanzi from the Crown Prince’s entourage, he nodded and asked, "Your Highness, you want to investigate the Buddha Temple?"
Rui’an King had expected this, and nodded. "Had I known earlier that Lady Su Qi and the Second Young Master Ye planned to investigate the Buddha Temple, I wouldn’t have bothered. It seems my arrival here is redundant."
Fu Zhou shook his head, "Your Highness, your appearance isn’t redundant, as our masters and the Second Young Master Ye are not at the Temple." Opening a path, he continued, "Since Your Highness is here on orders from the Crown Prince to investigate a case, please do."
At this point, Rui’an King was somewhat surprised, "Lady Su Qi and Second Young Master Ye aren’t at the Buddha Temple? Then where are they..." He wanted to ask where they had gone, but fearing it might infringe on their privacy, he stopped mid-sentence, and changed his question, "Well, if you say so, I will proceed."
Fu Zhou nodded in consent.
Then, Rui’an King and his entourage knocked at the temple gate.
The resident head monk within the Buddha Temple came to welcome Rui’an King with a pale face, cautiously asking, "Your Highness, what brings you to our monastery in the middle of the night?"
Rui’an King, hands behind his back, looked at the monk’s face and said: "Venerable monk, they say that monks don’t lie. You don’t seem to adhere to this principle. The last time I came, you fooled me. If you dare to do it again when I’m here, asking about your affairs, I might destroy this ancient temple that’s stood for a thousand years. Do you believe me?"
The monk, shocked and fearful, exclaimed, "This humble monk dares not deceive Your Highness..."
Rui’an King scoffed, "I don’t believe a word you say anymore."
He waved his hand at his entourage, "Go, arrest all monks, I don’t care whose toes I step on today, I will question each one. Not one should be missing, including those watching over the Book Pavilion."
"Yes!"
The people from Rui’an King Residence and Duke Residence acted swiftly, and shortly, they brought all the monks of the Buddha Temple before Rui’an King.
Rui’an King frowned, "Why are there so few? Less than half the number the last time I came?"
The head monk quickly responded, "Recently, our monastery has been living a humble life. Many of our junior monks have descended the mountain for alms."
Rui’an King didn’t buy this explanation. Could alms send half the monastery’s people out? He looked coldly at the head monk, "Venerable monk, do you really take me for a pushover?"
The head monk, seeing the murderous intent in Rui’an King’s eyes, barely managed to stop himself from kneeling down. He was so frightened he couldn’t speak.
"Interrogate them one by one, starting with those who have disappeared," Rui’an King commanded menacingly.
By the time Rui’an King and the people from the Duke Residence had arrived at the Buddha Temple, Fu Zhou decided to leave a few people at the Temple. He led the rest of the team away from the Buddha Temple and headed for Yingzui Cliff. It was only after he arrived that he noticed the Temple was missing a significant number of monks. As he anticipated, they had probably gone to Yingzui Cliff to do something clandestine.
Fu Zhou’s conjecture was correct; underneath Yingzui Cliff, monks were moving large crates from the cliff one after another and loading them onto carriages to be transported away.
Su Rong chuckled inwardly, figuring it was better to arrive at the right time than early. Now she and her team wouldn’t have to risk infiltrating this intricate secret passage. Once the monks had finished loading, she would just have to follow the carriages to find out where they were headed, thus easily discovering the person behind this conspiracy.
She looked at Ye Guixue.
Ye Guixue was on the same page, silently nodding back at her.
There were two to three hundred monks, all strong and young, moving and loading the crates swiftly and skillfully. Yet even so, with crate after crate of items to be loaded, it took them the entire night, exhausting Su Rong. She fell asleep twice during this time, and by the break of dawn, it seemed like they still hadn’t finished loading.
Several leading monks checked the time, decided it was time to leave, and with a wave of one monk, the fifty-or-so carriages all made their move. Each carriage seemed overloaded, the four hooves of the pair of horses pulling each carriage strained with effort, leaving deep ruts in the ground.
Ye Guixue woke Su Rong, whispering in her ear, "Let’s go, we need to follow."
Still rubbing her eyes, Su Rong asked, "Have they finished loading everything?"
"Some is still left, they haven’t finished everything," Ye Guixue said in a low voice. "We’ll leave a few people behind to keep watch here; we’ll go ahead and follow. There’s no rush here."
Seeing the importance of following the monks, Su Rong nodded in agreement.
So, Su Rong and Ye Guixue, leading a large group of covert guards including Fen Ling, stealthily followed the fifty carriages.
Four monks escorted each carriage, taking a wild path around the base of Yingzui Cliff and eventually ending up at the mountain gate behind the Buddha Temple. Apparently, the crates inside these carriages were meant to be transported into the Temple.
Snorting, Su Rong said, "Looks like we’ve kept watch for no reason on these foolish monks."
Ye Guixue also seemed somewhat speechless, standing silent for a moment before suggesting, "There must be someone coordinating with them. Supposedly, these carriages entering the Buddha Temple will be transported elsewhere by someone else stationing at the Temple. As long as we keep an eye on the Temple without arousing suspicion, we should definitely find that person."
After finishing, he sighed, "However, last night Rui’an King was permitted by the Crown Prince to conduct a surprise inspection at the Buddha Temple, so he must be there investigating now. This will likely alert them." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Su Rong also recalled that when she was dozing off, Fuji had come to Yingzui Cliff with his men to meet them last night. He mentioned that Rui’an King had also found something amiss at the Buddha Temple, and intended to conduct a thorough investigation of the Temple immediately. The Duke’s son, Ziye, was stationing at the city gate, holding a token from Princess Sheng An to prevent anyone from causing trouble after they left the city. Thus, Rui’an King had to go to the Eastern Palace to seek permission from the Crown Prince for fear of missing the best moment for the investigation. The Crown Prince naturally agreed.
But who would ever think that these monks would move stuff from beneath Yingzui Cliff last night and send it all the way back to the Buddha Temple again?
Didn’t they just run into Rui’an King who happened to be there to investigate?
Rui’an King wouldn’t just turn a blind eye; if these fifty carriages—and whatever they contained—arrived in front of him, he would naturally scrutinize them.
Frowning, Su Rong immediately ordered, "Feng Ling, you and Yun Ze take some men and stop these Monks right away. Don’t let them enter the Buddha Temple. If the items in the crates are of great value, we can’t let Rui’an King take the credit. All credit must belong to the Eastern Palace."
After finishing, she turned to Ye Guixue, "Guixue, you come with me. Let’s go back to the base of Yingzui Cliff. I feel that something is off. We need to investigate again."
Fen Ling and Yun Ze both nodded in agreement. Without another word, they immediately left with their teams.
Ye Guixue was of the same mind, nodding in agreement before saying, "Alright, let’s go."
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