After Qin Zheng overheard the conversation between the young eunuch and Zan Xing on the roof, he went to investigate and finally confirmed the reason why the young eunuch came to Yicui Tower.
The young eunuch, Fushun, and Zanxing were childhood friends from the same hometown, and their fates were remarkably similar. Both were born into impoverished families. Fushun, forced into imperial service through a relationship, while Zanxing was sold by her parents to Yicui Tower as a prostitute. Later, the two encounter each other again, and Fushun's recent frequent visits to Yicui Tower to visit Zanxing are not only meant to rekindle their past friendship, but also to redeem Zanxing.
Qin Zheng had learned from the brothel owner that Zan Xing was a prostitute at Yicui Tower, a cash cow, and therefore highly valued, needless to say, for her redemption price. Fu Shun was the favored disciple of Li Cun, the chief eunuch, and served the emperor closely, earning him considerable commission. He had already saved up more than half of his earnings.
When Fu Shun left Yicui Tower that day, Qin Zheng followed him to a secluded place at the entrance of the imperial city and subdued Fu Shun.
Fushun was so frightened that he wanted to scream, but Qin Zheng covered his mouth, preventing him from making any sound. A knife was pressed against Fushun's neck again, and Qin Zheng whispered a threat: "Shut up, answer whatever I ask."
Fushun was a man who could read other people's expressions, so he didn't dare to struggle anymore.
Qin Zheng stopped covering his mouth, but kept the dagger across his neck and asked in a low voice, "You were the one who went to Baoyun Tower and Hongxing Teahouse to spread the rumors, right?"
Fushun didn't dare to lie, so he had to tell the truth and admit: "It was me."
"Who told you to spread the contents of those letters?"
Even if Ren Fushun had a huge courage, he would not dare to give up the emperor. He could not see the appearance of the person behind him at the moment, but he was sure that the other party was either from Prince Ling's Mansion, or from Qin Zheng, or most likely Qin Zheng himself.
"Will you tell me or not?" Qin Zheng urged.
Fushun thought again and again. If he revealed it was the emperor, not only would he die, but his family would also be affected. He might as well keep silent. He said tremblingly, "I'll tell you, it's..." He paused for a moment, then suddenly shouted, "Help! Someone's killing me!"
Qin Zheng knocked him unconscious with a knife and left immediately.
Not long after he left, several guards who were patrolling near the imperial city came and saw Fushun fainted on the ground. They hurried over to help him up.
Qin Zheng thought it was bad luck, and not only did he not ask, he also alerted the enemy. However, Fu Shun refused to speak no matter what, which showed that the person behind this was extremely powerful. He was not afraid of his own life, but was afraid of the harm to his family. So who was this person behind this? Qin Zheng had a few guesses. The emperor? Concubine Cen? This person must have a grudge against Fu Yueli, so it couldn't be the emperor. The emperor had previously wanted to arrange a marriage for Fu Yueli and implicate Xie Qichang, so how could he have ordered Fu Shun to spread rumors? Therefore, it must be Concubine Cen, deliberately trying to disgust Fu Yueli for Fu Baiheng.
Although he confirmed that Concubine Cen was the mastermind behind the incident, he could not do anything to her. Moreover, the rumors had gradually died down. Although people were talking about Shi Mingyue and his past relationship, they also knew that they had no relationship now.
Qin Zheng didn't want to care about it anymore. He returned all the letters she had written to him and wrote, "If I get it, I'm lucky. If I lose it, I'm doomed." So he shouldn't think about it anymore. When he returned home, the bedroom floor was covered with packed things. He had recently submitted a transfer application to Shi Yuanshan. He wanted to return to Xinzhou, where he belonged.
The Yongjin Temple had recently been rebuilt, and the underground palace where He Jun had once resided, along with dozens of priceless treasures, had been unearthed. The emperor had a selection of these treasures sent to Yongjin Temple for a three-day exhibition, allowing the public to witness the Buddhist treasures and experience the profound depths of the Dharma. To ensure the treasures would not be stolen, he ordered Fu Yueli to guard the temple.
Therefore, Fu Yueli was not in the palace for these three days. Although Shi Mingyue had seen those Buddhist treasures, Lu Lingjing had not seen them. So she pulled Shi Mingyue to go with her, saying that it was a good opportunity to meet Fu Yueli.
Thinking that these Buddhist treasures were all related to He Jun, and thankfully Lu Lingjing didn't know Jun He was He Jun, Shi Mingyue finally breathed a sigh of relief and agreed to her request. The two of them rode in a carriage to Yongjin Temple.
There were a lot of people on the way there, and when they got to the temple, in addition to viewing the Buddhist treasures, they also had a light vegetarian meal with Fu Yueli and Lu Lingyan in the afternoon. As a result, they were delayed for a long time, and by the time they returned, it was already late and there were no cars or pedestrians on the road.
In the carriage, Lu Lingjing enthusiastically admired the Buddhist scriptures that He Jun had copied himself: "He Jun's handwriting is so beautiful, it's not inferior to those calligraphy masters."
Because He Jun was Jun He, Shi Mingyue felt very complicated when she heard Lu Lingjing praising He Jun's handwriting, so she didn't say anything and just listened to her.
"That twelve-ring staff is so beautiful, and those golden and jade Buddha statues, have you noticed that they all look very similar, as if they all have the same human face?" Lu Lingjing suddenly said.
When Shi Mingyue was admiring the Buddhist treasures, she focused on the eight-layer treasure box and did not pay much attention to the golden and jade Buddha statue. Suddenly, the face of the Buddha statue was mentioned. She really couldn't imagine what the face of the Buddha statue looked like. She always thought it had kind eyes.
Lu Lingjing fell silent. She felt that the faces of those Buddha statues were very similar to Jun He. It must be because she missed Jun He too much, so...
"Ah!" Both of them suddenly fell out uncontrollably because the carriage stopped abruptly without any warning.
Shi Mingyue's left knee hit the wooden floor of the carriage hard. The carriage stopped. She ignored the pain and lifted the curtain to look out. She saw four men in black riding on horses in the night, blocking the road.
The driver turned back apologetically, his expression horrified. A guard sitting outside the carriage boldly asked the men in black, "Who are you? What do you want to do?"
The man in black ignored him and rushed towards the carriage on horseback.
The guard rushed forward with his weapons in hand. Four men in black surrounded him on horseback, circling him at the same time. The guard's martial arts skills were not weak, otherwise he would not have been assigned to protect Shi Mingyue full-time. However, he was killed on the spot after a few blows from the four men in black.
Seeing this, Shi Mingyue snatched the whip from the frightened driver's hand and swung it hard at the horse. The horse felt pain and rushed out faster.
The four men in black immediately caught up.
Shi Mingyue didn't know where these men in black came from. She only knew that they must not be caught. She waved the whip, and the horse almost rushed forward, causing the carriage to shake violently. If she hadn't held on to the rope fixed on the carriage tightly, she would probably have been thrown out.
The driver finally came to his senses and helped Shi Mingyue drive. But suddenly a sound came from the roof of the carriage. The driver turned around and looked, and was trembling with fear.
A man in black somehow managed to get on the roof of the coach. He was squatting on the roof, looking at the coachman with cold eyes.
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