Chapter 218: I Spent Two Nights Alone with Lord Zhao
The Liang residence was not large, consisting of six rooms and three courtyards. It was indeed incomparable to the residences of wealthy families. Zhou Mujiao was not very clear about the decoration of the main house, but the guest courtyard was simple and quiet.
“This is the room where Lord Zhao is staying.” Liang Qiao was in the wrong and spoke very softly. “Those people come over every day to work on him, but they don’t allow me to get close. I have never had the chance to see Lord Zhao alone, so I don’t know what they are talking about.”
After saying that, he turned back to look at Miss Liang, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Fenfang, you should go back to Lanyuan."
Miss Liang's name is Liang Fenfang, which sounds quite grand. Liang Fenfang walked out as instructed, but turned back when she was almost at the door and called out "Brother." Liang Qiao's expression changed, and he didn't care about anything else, so he just grabbed her and pulled her away.
Even a fool could see something was wrong with the siblings' behavior. However, Zhou Mujiao wasn't in a hurry, so the others didn't move either. Even when the siblings were arguing outside, no one wanted to go out and take a look or give them a glance.
Soon, Liang Fenfang persuaded her brother and came in again. She bit her lip, as if she had made up her mind, and walked towards Zhou Mujiao, whispering, "Madam Zhao, I... I spent two nights alone with Lord Zhao."
"so?"
“Lord Zhao sat in this very spot and told me his story with you, Madam, for two nights.” Liang Fenfang finished speaking with a bitter smile. “Lord Zhao is an upright gentleman. My daughter would never dare to have any romantic feelings for him. Madam can choose to believe in Lord Zhao.”
“An unmarried woman who spends two nights alone in a room with a grown man, even if they didn’t say or do anything, will have her reputation ruined if word gets out.” Zhou Mujiao stared at Liang Fenfang. “What does Miss Liang want to trade for her reputation?”
Liang Fenfang blushed slightly, but said firmly, "I want to change my brother's future."
"Xiao Ran, you'll take him with you from now on."
Xiao Ran refers to Hu Peiran, while Liang Gongzi, a good-for-nothing who may or may not be able to be of any use, would naturally not be able to stand by Zhao Yunjing's side from the beginning.
Hu Peiran readily agreed, while Liang Qiao, standing beside him, was so ashamed he wanted to disappear.
In fact, he had already realized the truth when he heard the news of his father's death, but unfortunately it was too late. He had no official rank and was just an uneducated good-for-nothing. Over the years, his father had cleaned up countless messes for him, ruining all the good reputation his father had built up. He was also stupid and easily fooled, which led to all the trouble he had today.
However, despite feeling ashamed, Liang Qiao did not raise any objections, indicating that the brother and sister had reached a satisfactory agreement.
Zhou Mujiao sat in the spot Liang Fenfang had mentioned, closed her eyes, and after a while opened them, pointing ahead and asking, "Whose house is that over there?"
"Yes, that's where the servants live. No, that's the Lin family over there. Young Master Lin is an ordinary scholar, but his ancestors produced a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), so they have some social standing. Next to the Lin family is the Lu family! The Lu family is a wealthy local family!" Young Master Liang said, slapping his forehead. "I remember now, when those people go out at night, eight out of ten times they go in this direction! Lord Zhao is either at Young Master Lin's house or at the Lu family's house!"
"And further out? Whose house is that?"
"Further out, there are just ordinary families, nothing special, merchants, butchers, etc., and every family has children."
"What about further out?" Zhou Mujiao rephrased, "Is there anything special about this direction?"
Liang Qiao couldn't explain it, but Liang Fenfang knew it better. Liang Fenfang said, "If you keep going in this direction, there is a small road that leads to the outside of the city. About thirty miles outside the city, there is a large temple called Nanshan Temple. It is very popular and the abbot is the famous Master Huirong."
As she spoke, she seemed to remember something and added, "Across the mountain from Nanshan Temple, there is a temple that hardly anyone goes to, called Lingshan Temple. I heard my father say that the abbot there is also named Huirong. The two masters are about the same age, but no one has ever seen the one at Lingshan Temple, and no one knows what he looks like."
Are the two Hui Rongs just a coincidence, or did one replace the other? If it was a replacement, why has the one who was replaced remained silent for so many years? Does the other have something on her? Or is it a master-servant relationship?
After listening to Liang Fenfang's words, everyone felt that the matter was becoming more and more confusing. It was as if they had fallen into a trap, and no one knew how many traps were hidden within it.
Zhou Mujiao remained calm and instructed Xie Jiang: "Young Master Xie, take that Young Master Lin and the wealthy man Lu with you. You two go straight to Nanshan Temple."
"Madam, aren't you going?"
"Of course I'll go."
However, instead of going to Nanshan Temple, they went to Lingshan Temple.
Nanshan Temple is frequented by many pilgrims, and the path leading up the mountain has been paved with stone steps. The temple has dedicated staff to maintain the steps, ensuring that each step is smooth and clean. Even the trees on both sides are specially pruned, and different flowers bloom in each season, making it a delightful sight.
In contrast, Lingshan Temple appeared quite desolate. Zhou Mujiao, Young Master Chen, and the others climbed through the tall weeds to the mountainside before finally seeing a path leading up the mountain.
The floodwaters down the mountain have receded for several days, and the roads are dry. However, the mountain roads are still wet and slippery. I don't know if it rained last night or if someone deliberately made water this morning, as if they knew someone would come up and wanted to make it more difficult for them.
However, Zhou Mujiao was well-prepared. When climbing mountains, she naturally wore her improved non-slip hiking shoes. Wearing these shoes, even if someone deliberately splashed water or oil, it wouldn't stop her from climbing the mountain.
In less than half an hour, Zhou Mujiao saw the gate of Lingshan Temple.
It was truly dilapidated. Half of the gate had collapsed, and the remaining half hung precariously there, as if it could fall down at any moment. At a glance, the entrance was covered with cobwebs, and the open space in front of the gate was overgrown with grass that reached up to a person's calves.
This dilapidated temple looks like no one lives here; even the grass at the entrance shows no signs of being trampled.
Liang Qiao said that those people moved Zhao Yunjing away half an hour before Zhou Mujiao arrived at the Liang residence. If their destination was Lingshan Temple, it would be impossible for them not to leave any traces. Traces left by human trampling would take at least seven days to recover, let alone when so many people passed by at the same time.
Young Master Chen frowned: "Ah Jiao, there's no other way around here."
Hu Peiran frowned as well. Could it be that Zhou Mujiao's calculations were wrong, and Zhao Yunjing was not at Lingshan Temple at all, but at Nanshan Temple? After all, the greatest hermits hide in temples, and the more people there are, the easier it is to take advantage of the chaos and hide people.
He Jiu tugged at Hu Peiran's sleeve and whispered, "Sister-in-law and Brother Zhao are on the same wavelength. The reason why Sister-in-law chose to come here, besides being on the same wavelength as Brother Zhao, must be because there are other clues that she hasn't said, clues that only the two of them can understand."
Hu Peiran thought about it and agreed.
But there was no road ahead, and the temple was so dilapidated that it was completely uninhabitable. Where were those people hiding?
Zhou Mujiao looked around thoughtfully, then smiled and said, "I know where the way is."
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