Chapter 42
At this time, the abbot of Sanbai Mountain was counting his money happily. Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in front of him silently. He was so scared that his hands shook and the copper coins fell to the ground.
There were clearly two disciples guarding the door, so how did this person sneak in? Could it be that those two brats were lazy and napping again?
"Who are you?" The abbot pretended to be calm, grabbed the whisk on the table and held it in front of his chest, but his voice was a little weak.
The man was dressed in black, with stern eyes and a murderous aura. He was definitely not a good person.
Then, the man in black took out a gold ingot from his pocket and put it on the table with a "pa".
"Please repeat everything you said to that woman just now without missing a word. Please do me a favor."
The temple master was stunned. He didn't expect that this "cold-faced evil spirit" would be so easy to talk to.
With this understanding, the old Taoist felt a little more confident. His eyes rolled around, and he straightened his back and said righteously, "Those who come to the temple to burn incense are all distinguished guests. How can I, a poor Taoist, disclose other people's private affairs at will?"
Suifeng frowned slightly, knowing that he had taken out the gold too quickly, which gave the old Taoist a false impression.
Seeing him reaching into his arms again, the old Taoist felt a lump in his throat. He thought to himself that if he added another ingot of gold, he could make an exception...
However, with a flash of cold light, a dagger was already at his neck.
"Can you tell me now?"
The old Taoist shuddered and nodded quickly: "Yes, yes! Everything can be discussed!"
Only then did he realize that rather than worrying about whether his apprentice was blind, he should be more worried about whether they were already dead...
After he finished telling everything tremblingly, he watched the man in black take away the gold ingot and walk away.
The old Taoist could not help but collapse on the ground, feeling fear and regret, tears streaming down his face.
"Master...are you okay?"
Two Taoists rushed into the house in panic.
Just now they were taking a nap against the doorpost, but for some reason they suddenly became unable to move - it turned out that someone had hit them with stones.
It was not until the man helped them to untie the acupoints before leaving that they returned to normal.
As for why he didn't chase after the man in black, but instead came to see Master first... ahem, of course he was worried about Master's safety!
The old Taoist priest was so angry that he had no place to vent, so he immediately grabbed each of his apprentice's ears with one hand.
"Ouch! Master, please show mercy!"
“It hurts, it hurts…”
…
As soon as Suifeng returned to the palace, he quickly explained the whole story of Wei's visit to the Taoist temple: "I heard that evil magic is specifically used to suppress the dead! It can seal the soul of the deceased in a puppet stained with the blood of the deceased, so that the person will never be reborn..."
Song Qianzhao's face darkened.
Regardless of whether this sorcery was effective, the sheer viciousness of this act was chilling. Having decided to intervene, I had the intention of making Li Lin'an pay with his life. The more I got to know Li Lin'an, the more resolute this intention became.
"I have an idea about Li Lin'an."
"Your Highness, please speak."
Song Qianzhao looked up at him.
"The Li family is incredibly powerful. If we want to convict Li Lin'an, evidence alone won't be enough. We need someone who can break the Li family's ability to easily cover up their crimes."
Song Qianzhao's eyes flashed: "Your Highness means... to take advantage of the situation?"
Your Highness is absolutely right - the difficulty of this case does not lie in how sufficient the evidence is, but in the power of the Li family.
"Indeed, after the morning court yesterday, the Emperor summoned Li Shufeng alone and had a long, private conversation in Chongming Palace. Do you know what this was about, my dear Minister Song?"
Song Qianzhao pondered for a moment, "I think it's about the case of Li Shufeng's son. This matter has caused a great uproar in the city, and the people are talking about it a lot. If we leave it alone, it may harm the court. The emperor is wise and will certainly not sit idly by."
At this point, she suddenly understood: "Your Highness wants to use the Emperor to put pressure on the Li family?"
Xuan Shu nodded slightly, a look of approval in his eyes. Little Love Song was indeed a man of insight.
"The most effective way to get Father to truly take this matter seriously is to allow public opinion to ferment and get out of the Li family's control. And the Zhao Wuyou incident is the best opportunity."
Song Qianzhao nodded thoughtfully.
Seeing that she was in deep thought, Xuan Shu stopped talking and just sipped his tea.
Zhang Xian added new tea at the right time. His Highness had been talking a lot, so his mouth must be dry.
"Your Highness, I have a better idea."
Song Qianzhao hesitated slightly before speaking.
Although the revelation of Zhao Wuyou's affair shocked the whole city, the evidence was still insufficient.
Moreover, how to make this matter public is also a difficult problem.
She suddenly remembered that the Qianyuan Hall was struck by lightning in the original novel. If she could cleverly connect the two things, perhaps there would be unexpected results.
"What idea?" Xuan Shu asked.
He couldn't think of a better solution for a while.
I saw Song Xiaoaiqing opposite me smiling mysteriously, folding his hands on the table, and leaning forward slightly.
He kept the distance just right and didn't get too close, but even with this subtle movement, a faint fragrance still drifted quietly into the boy's nose.
The fragrance is like the first blooming winter plum blossoms after the snow, and like the fresh air of the bamboo forest before the morning dew has dried.
The faint fragrance made Xuan Shu hold his breath for a moment.
What kind of fragrance is on Song Qing's body?
Song Qianzhao lowered his voice and said, "I've been having the same dream lately. In the dream, on a rainy night, thunder struck the Qianyuan Palace."
“…”
Xuan Shu was distracted just now, but when he heard the last sentence, he paused.
What did he hear?
Qianyuan Hall was struck by lightning?
Although you think about something during the day, you dream about it at night...
Song Qing is indeed Song Qing, even his dreams are so shocking.
Seeing the complex expression of "it's you" in the boy's eyes, Song Qianzhao paused and said more seriously, "Your Highness, you may not know that since I was a child, whenever I have the same dream repeatedly, it usually comes true."
Xuan Shu was silent for a moment.
After a long while, he said, "Who else knows about this?"
Song Qianzhao didn't know whether he was asking "will the dream come true" or "will the Qianyuan Palace be struck down."
But the answer is the same.
So he said, "I have only told Your Highness."
The boy breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't mention this to anyone else."
This is taboo and it will not do him any good if it gets spread.
It will even be regarded as a hysterical attack.
Understanding his concerns, Song Qianzhao was silent for a moment.
But having said this, he still asked, "Does Your Highness believe what I say?"
It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it, she can just make up another reason.
Xuan Shu looked at her.
"letter."
Song Qing was no ordinary man, so even something as bizarre as this one would sound plausible to him. If someone else had said the same thing and seriously asked him if he believed it, he would have felt like they were treating him like a fool.
Now it was Song Qianzhao's turn to be stunned.
She was still regretting that her excuse was too perfunctory—
"The world is so vast that nothing is impossible. Besides, Song Qing is an upright person and he would definitely not lie to me."
Song Qianzhao paused when he heard this.
Won't you tell him lies?
Maybe it was so in the past, but now... it is said.
This feeling of betraying others' trust made her feel an indescribable sense of guilt.
"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness."
"If we want to link the lightning strike at Qianyuan Palace to Li Shufeng, we must convince Father. We can make a big deal about the witchcraft puppet that Wei brought to Sanbai Mountain Temple today."
Seeing that he actually believed her words and was considering it seriously, Song Qianzhao continued, "A puppet alone isn't enough. When I was in Ruzhou, I once heard a Taoist priest say that this kind of sorcery often requires special burial methods to calm the deceased's resentment."
Although the truth of this matter was unknown and few people would believe it, as long as Li Linan believed it, he could find some clues from the research on this evil magic.
"We need to find someone knowledgeable to ask." Xuan Shu immediately ordered: "Suifeng, find a Taoist priest proficient in this method and bring him here quietly."
"Yes, Your Highness."
…
About an hour later, Suifeng actually found a middle-aged Taoist priest who was said to be quite knowledgeable about this weird thing.
After listening to Suifeng's description, the Taoist stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "According to you, this is probably the 'Soul Locking Technique'..."
The Taoist explained the key points of performing this evil magic one by one.
"According to the Yin Fu Jing, this technique is mutually destructive. While the practitioner imprisons the soul of the deceased, their own life span is also shortened. I've been wandering the martial arts world for decades, and this is the first time I've heard of anyone actually taking such a risk."
After hearing this, Suifeng had a plan in mind.
The person who cast the spell was most likely coerced by Li Lin'an.
Of course, bribing with a large sum of money is also possible.
But considering Li Linan's meticulous nature, the caster is probably no longer alive.
But even the smartest madman has weaknesses.
Zhao Wuyou was obviously his biggest worry—
"Master Xuqing, I wonder if this method has any particular requirements for the placement of the corpse?" Suifeng asked.
"Of course there is. Not only the body, but also the puppet cannot be moved at will. Both must be placed in a cool, dark place to protect the soul. And the body and the puppet cannot be too far apart..."
Suifeng's expression changed slightly when he heard this.
In this case, Zhao Wuyou's body is most likely still in the Li family.
"If we know where the puppet is, we might be able to deduce the exact location of the body?"
You can't turn the entire Li family upside down.
He had heard that there were experts among the people who were good at finding graves and finding blood.
The Taoist shook his head and explained, "Every caster has different ways of setting up their formations, and the places where they bury bodies vary greatly. The position of the puppet alone won't reveal the exact location."
"But if we could go to the scene and see it with our own eyes, it would be a different story! We'd be able to recognize the formation they've set up at a glance. Once we understand the formation, figuring out where the body is hidden would be much easier!"
Suifeng fell into deep thought.
It was impossible for him to bring the Taoist priest into the Li family to conduct a thorough investigation.
Firstly, it is too risky, and secondly, it is inevitable that you will not be able to see everything while hiding.
Besides, the Taoist priest looks weak, and any carelessness will alarm the Li family, and this matter will take a lot of time.
"Master Xuqing, if I draw a detailed picture of the house's layout and furnishings, can you tell me what's going on?"
The Taoist pondered it carefully for a moment and nodded, "Okay! But you have to draw this blueprint very carefully, and every detail must be taken seriously."
Sui Feng responded readily, "Don't worry, Taoist! My master has many connections. Getting a map of the Li family's mansion is no problem!"
Families like the Li family have always kept the house plans secret to prevent thieves or others from destroying the feng shui.
But his master is the crown prince, and the Royal Guards are the emperor's eyes and ears. They monitor the ministers for their master and have the layout of the ministers' mansions. This is normal.
Soon, the two returned to the Zhanshi Mansion.
Suifeng reported the Taoist's words to the prince truthfully.
Xuan Shu then summoned a man wearing a Feiyu suit.
"I'd like to ask Captain Wang to fetch the map of Li Shufeng's mansion."
"Yes, Your Highness, please wait a moment."
The man took the order and left.
About half an incense stick later, he returned with a scroll in his hand.
"Your Highness, please review this."
Xuan Shu took the scroll and slowly unfolded it on the desk.
Suifeng and the Taoist priest also came forward immediately, their heads almost touching each other, and they carefully examined the map of the house.
"This should be Li Lin'an's residence."
Suifeng's finger pointed somewhere on the drawing.
Song Qianzhao nodded in agreement, then suddenly realized something and asked, "There seems to be traces of modification here?"
Captain Wang stepped forward to take a look, then smacked his lips in surprise. "Master Song has a keen eye! There have indeed been changes here."
In order to save trouble, they did not redraw the house map, but just modified the original map. However, they spent a lot of effort to cover it up, and originally thought it was seamless.
I didn’t expect that Lord Song could see it at a glance!
Captain Wang stroked his chin, thinking for a moment, and said, "About three or four years ago. Back then, Young Master Li had just gotten engaged, so he incorporated the adjoining courtyard into the main residence and renovated it. Now, many of the courtyards there have been converted into gardens."
Song Qianzhao's heart moved.
"Three or four years ago?"
Zhao Wuyou disappeared four years ago, and Wei married into the Li family three years ago.
In this way, the expansion of Li Linan's residence happened between these two events...
The day before yesterday, my grandfather said that he sent people to secretly probe and found out that Li Shufeng knew very little about what his son had done, so the rescue of Zhao Tinglan was so smooth that day.
It seems that Li Lin'an has kept it a secret from everyone, even his own father.
If Zhao Wuyou's body was really hidden in Li's mansion, in order to ask the Taoist priest to set up the formation without alerting Li Shufeng, he had to find a reasonable reason.
The expansion of the house is an opportunity!
Li Lin'an took this opportunity to secretly place Zhao Wuyou's body there.
Based on this inference, the corpse is most likely hidden in Li Lin'an's courtyard!
After everyone finished looking at the drawings, they all looked at Taoist Qingxu who was in deep thought, waiting for his judgment.
The Taoist looked at the map of the house and pondered secretly.
The purpose of drawing a map of the house is only to mark the location of each place. It is rare that this map can show every house, ice cellar and well in detail.
However, it is obviously far from enough to infer the layout of the formation based on this.
The Taoist stroked his beard and pondered, "This map needs to be drawn in even greater detail. It would be best if every blade of grass, every brick, every tile in the courtyard were clearly marked. Is there anyone in your mansion who is both skilled in evasion and a skilled painter?"
Xuan Shu turned his gaze to Captain Wang.
Captain Wang immediately bowed and said, "I will arrange it right away."
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