Qiyun Mountain in Taizhou is very famous, and Qiyun Temple on Qiyun Mountain is also very famous. In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the reputation of Qiyun Temple was second only to Huguo Temple outside the capital.
The place where Gu Xin and the others were was Qiyun Temple on Qiyun Mountain.
Qiyun Temple is very large, built on a mountaintop, and has a large number of monks and pilgrims.
Although yesterday wasn't the first or fifteenth of the lunar month, there were still dozens of pilgrims staying here.
Besides Gu Xin and her group of six, there were seven other families. Four of these families were wealthy families in Taizhou City, and one of them was the mother, wife, and daughter of Lin, the Prefect of Taizhou. They had more than a dozen servants with them.
One of the families were businessmen, whom Gu Xin had met before. Their surname was Qin, and their business was quite large. They had previously visited the Donglin Prince's residence to pay their respects to the Donglin Prince and had a good relationship with Master Bai. Gu Xin had seen them when they arrived while Gu Xin was offering incense to the Donglin Prince. This Master Qin was a filial son; he had come to Qiyun Temple specifically with his mother. There were eight people in total: the mother and son, plus six servants.
Another family belonged to the headmaster of Taizhou Academy. The headmaster's surname was Feng, and his family was quite large, unlike the Gu family which hadn't separated into separate households. The headmaster's wife and her sisters-in-law brought the Feng family's daughters to Qiyun Temple to worship Buddha and eat vegetarian food, staying for a day. This family had the most people, with three wives, three maids, and three old women, along with seven unmarried girls aged twelve to fifteen, each with seven maids. In addition, they traveled in five carriages with five drivers, making the family nearly thirty people.
The other family in the prefecture had fewer people, just a grandmother and her young daughter. They were the elderly mother and youngest daughter of the owner of the largest rice shop in Taizhou. The grandmother and granddaughter brought only three servants: an old woman, two maids, and two coachmen. The old lady of the family was a Buddhist and would come to Qiyun Temple to stay for a few days every month.
The other three families who did not live in the prefecture were a young couple. The wife had been found to be pregnant this month, and the couple had come to Qiyun Temple specifically to fulfill a vow. They were from a slightly more distant county, so they needed to stay overnight at Qiyun Temple.
The other two families consisted of two sisters from the same county. Their mother was seriously ill, and the two sisters agreed to come to Qiyun Temple together to pray to the Bodhisattva for their mother's speedy recovery. Both of them were already married, so they each brought their daughters with them.
Apart from this group of people, there was no one else at Qiyun Temple last night; they were all monks from Qiyun Temple.
Gu Xin and Zheng Qiu turned around and went back to the temple. As they walked, Gu Xin said, "Bai Yi and Bai Er, you keep an eye on the outside of Qiyun Temple. From now on, no one is allowed to enter or leave. Wang Pang, go catch the carriage and hurry down the mountain to find your uncle to send someone over."
Wang Pangzi, whose whole body was still aching, said, "Third Miss, we didn't come by carriage!"
Gu Xin said, "Why don't you just go to the stables over there and find a horse? Never mind, you just stay here and keep watch. When you see someone, shout 'White Robe!' Bai Er, go to the stables and find a horse. Quickly go down the mountain to the yamen and ask Lord Liu to send someone over."
Bai Er immediately carried out the order upon receiving it.
Wang Pang breathed a sigh of relief. It was much better to guard the temple gate now; he didn't have to move. If anyone tried to come out, he would shout for Bai Yi, and Bai Yi would quickly come over and grab them.
Wow, he encountered a case on his second day in office. What incredible luck!
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