Princess Yongjia's words were like a thunderclap in the Ganyang Palace, shocking everyone out of their wits.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuande stood up from the dragon throne and ran towards the Buddha statue without bothering to interrogate Lin Wanyin and Su Qingyu.
The Buddha statue was about two feet tall, with only the base visible, covered with a clean cloth. To prevent the cloth from falling, it was tied with a rope, and a jade pendant was attached to the rope.
Emperor Xuande looked at the base and found it somewhat similar to the one used by the late empress. However, the bases of Buddha statues are generally similar, so it is not surprising that they are somewhat similar.
Princess Yongjia had already come closer. "Royal brother, could the disrespectful object the informant mentioned be the Buddha's body of your sister-in-law?"
As she spoke, she looked at the Buddha statue, "Looking at the size and height, they are about the same."
Then he turned to Lin Wanyin and asked, "Why is this Buddha statue covered with a clean cloth?"
Lin Wanyin's voice sounded a little flustered, perhaps because she was nervous.
"This is the Buddha statue I requested at Kaiyuan Temple. I had planned to offer it as a sacrifice when I got back. But the temple master told me to cover it before offering it. He also said that if I remove the cloth, it will lose its power."
Princess Yongjia was surprised. She had given the Buddha statue to Chaoyun, and it was not covered with a clean cloth. Could it be that Chaoyun had temporarily covered it with something to avoid any trouble?
A trace of doubt arose in her heart, until she saw the jade pendant on the Buddha statue, and the doubt disappeared.
While Emperor Xuande was still pondering Lin Wanyin's words, Princess Yongjia had already approached the jade pendant.
"Isn't this the jade pendant from Yunzhou? How did it get here?"
As if he had thought of something, he looked at Li Yunzhou sternly and said, "Did you know what was in the car at the city gate yesterday?"
"You child, what have I taught you? How could you do such a treasonous thing?"
Su Qingyu listened to Princess Yongjia's scolding and cursed, lowering her head and smiling faintly. Fortunately, she had seen Li Yunzhou wearing this jade pendant before, and when she saw it with the Buddha statue this morning, she guessed it was almost right.
She didn't take the jade pendant away because she wanted to confirm her suspicions. Now it seemed that Princess Yongjia wanted to use the jade pendant to force a connection between this matter and Li Yunzhou.
Given the importance the Emperor holds the late Empress in, he would undoubtedly be furious if he discovered the Buddha statue had been secretly hidden and was covered in stains. Even if Li Yunzhou survived, he would likely be implicated.
Hearing Princess Yongjia mention the jade pendant, Lin Wanyin took two steps forward and explained.
"Princess, you misunderstood. I found this jade pendant by the car. The rope that was tying the Buddha statue happened to break, so I used this to fix it."
"It must have been dropped accidentally by the Fourth Young Master when he was sending me back."
Although Lin Wanyin's statement is reasonable, it is also suspicious.
Is it really such a coincidence?
Some people looked at Shen Zhixiu from time to time, wanting to see if Elder Shen would stand up for his mother-in-law. Or, would this matter eventually implicate the Shen family?
But from the moment Su Qingyu came in, Shen Zhixiu only glanced at her expression and continued to stand there like an old monk in meditation.
If you look closely, you can see that his expression, which was cold before, has now completely relaxed. From time to time, he glances at Su Qingyu, his eyes full of love and admiration.
For the first time, Third Master Shen felt that having his wife around was quite worry-free.
Emperor Xuande pondered for a moment, then asked Lin Wanyin in a deep voice, "Can this clean cloth be taken off?"
He wasn't entirely sure that the statue was indeed the late queen's, so he didn't use a commanding tone, but instead inquired. After all, it was Lin Wanyin's possession, and it involved Buddhist worship, so he didn't want to force her.
Lin Wanyin knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I have fasted for many days and sincerely worshipped this Buddha statue. If I remove the clean cloth now, I am afraid that the Buddha will blame me."
"Moreover, what I'm asking for is of great importance. But I guarantee that this Buddha statue is indeed what I requested, and it is not the Buddha statue of the late queen."
The court officials began to whisper. In their view, Lin Wanyin's refusal was a sign of guilt. The emperor asked you to give you face. But if you refused, you would be stepping on the emperor's face.
Princess Yongjia naturally confirmed her thoughts and said with certainty, "Brother, I was deeply impressed by the Buddha statue back then. I can confirm that this Buddha statue is the Buddha statue of your sister-in-law."
"Please, my royal brother, order the removal of the clean cloth and give an explanation to the royal sister-in-law."
Princess Yongjia's words seemed to give Emperor Xuande a reason.
He took two steps forward, his hand trembling slightly as he reached for the statue. He had been searching for the late queen's body for years, and if the one before him was truly her, he would definitely build a temple in the palace to enshrine her.
In fact, the question he just asked Lin Wanyin was just to cover up his panic.
Everyone in the hall was looking at the Buddha statue. Princess Yongjia had a triumphant smile on her face, and she glanced at Su Qingyu mockingly.
This Buddha statue has been in the Prince Shan's Mansion for three years. She originally took it back because she resented the late queen, so she used her Buddha body to perform some rituals to prevent her from being reborn into the afterlife.
Recently, the emperor and the Song family have become increasingly anxious to find the Buddha's body, so she doesn't want to leave this hot potato at home. After thinking about it, she couldn't think of a good place.
When Chaoyun mentioned this to her yesterday, she immediately thought it was a good idea. Firstly, it would teach Li Yunzhou a lesson, and secondly, it would implicate Su Qingyu, thereby affecting Shen Zhixiu.
Ever since Li Chaoyun married into the Shen family, Princess Yongjia has regarded Shen Zhixiu and Su Qingyu as thorns in her side. As long as these two people stand in her way, her daughter will never be able to make a name for herself in the Shen family.
Emperor Xuande had already lifted the clean cloth covering the Buddha statue, and after pulling it off, he revealed the statue of Guanyin Buddha inside.
The Buddha statue is very beautifully made, and you can tell that a lot of effort was put into it. However, no matter how you look at it, it has nothing to do with the Buddha statue of the late queen.
Princess Yongjia was horrified. How could it not be the Buddha body of the late queen? What went wrong? Had it been discovered?
She turned her head to look at Su Qingyu, and seeing that she looked calm with the corners of her lips slightly raised, she knew that she had fallen into her trap.
Emperor Xuande felt somewhat lost. Was Zi Ning still unwilling to forgive him? That was why she refused to let him find the Buddha's body.
Some of the courtiers watching from the sidelines were faintly disappointed. There are always those who lack their own abilities but spend their days hoping for others to suffer misfortune.
Lin Wanyin glanced at Princess Yongjia with cold eyes, then slowly knelt down in front of Emperor Xuande.
"This Buddha statue of mine prays for the prosperity of the nation, but Princess Shanjun insists it's the body of the late queen."
"Now that the cleansing cloth has been torn off, the request is no longer granted. What is the princess's intention?"
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