Zhao Shi'an's brows gradually furrowed.
"Are you sure you've searched every single Living Buddha temple?"
Xiao Liu nodded, but his expression remained unpleasant, and he seemed hesitant to speak.
"Speak your mind."
Xiao Liu hesitated for a moment, then told Zhao Shi'an what he had seen at the Living Buddha Temple.
"The main hall does not enshrine any deity, but a woman. This woman is not unfamiliar to us; many of us recognize her. It is the Grand Princess."
By the end, Xiao Liu's voice had even lowered a few decibels.
"The Grand Princess?"
"yes."
Zhao Shi'an was only stunned for a moment before he understood.
It seems that the Prince of Nan still cherishes the memory of the Grand Princess all these years, and went so far as to build a temple specifically to enshrine her.
Building a temple while the person is still alive, I wonder if the King of the South has really gone mad.
"It's not just a simple temple. We brought the old monk from that temple with us, and he told us some things on the way here."
"According to the old monk, he used to be a wandering monk, but he was taken to that temple by the Southern King and never came out again. In fact, he has witnessed the Southern King's atrocities over the years, and he is in unbearable pain. He hopes that we can rescue the monks in the temple."
After Xiao Liu finished speaking, he looked at Zhao Shi'an's expression and asked, "Master, why don't you interrogate the old monk yourself?"
Where is he?
"He was locked in a side room."
"past."
When they arrived at the side room, the thin old monk was meditating.
He wore a simple Buddhist robe, and because of his age, his eyebrows drooped when he closed his eyes.
Hearing the noise, he opened his eyes and his gaze fell on Zhao Shi'an.
"Amitabha."
He stood up and performed a Buddhist ritual.
"Master, there's no need for such formalities. Please have a seat."
The two sat down beside each other.
The person imprisoned next door was Yin Macheng. At this moment, his weak cursing could be heard from next door. Zhao Shi'an gave Xiao Liu a look, and Xiao Liu went out for a while. Then the noise from next door stopped.
"I would like to ask the master about the Living Buddha Temple."
The moment the Living Buddha Temple was mentioned, the master's eyes and brows filled with sorrow.
"What a sin!"
His gaze then fell on Zhao Shi'an, and he asked, "May I ask how you are addressed, benefactor?"
"Zhao Shi'an, I'm here with my wife to Jiaozhou to study rice."
To everyone's surprise, the master's droopy eyes widened slightly upon hearing this.
"Is your wife the Princess of the Ministry of Agriculture?"
Zhao Shi'an never expected that an old abbot of a secluded temple would know Fang Qing's name.
"Exactly."
The master's expression softened noticeably.
“I have long heard of the name of the Magistrate of the County of Agriculture. He is a man of great righteousness, and we admire him.”
He seemed to have no more reservations, and then told Zhao Shi'an everything about the Living Buddha Temple.
This Living Buddha Temple took nearly thirty years to build and was closed to the public for fifteen years.
Fifteen years ago, the abbot was brought to the temple by the Southern King. He thought he would just study Buddhism as before, but the Southern King made him the abbot.
Little did he know that being an abbot would be so difficult.
The main hall of the Living Buddha Temple is called the Goddess Hall. It does not enshrine any deity or Buddha, but the Southern King made him go to the Buddha statue every day to chant sutras and pray for blessings, and to light incense day and night.
That was the case at first, but in recent years, the Southern King has been listening to the words of some sorcerer who said that young boys and girls are the purest and can bring blessings to the goddess.
Children would be brought here on the first and fifteenth of each month, bathed, dressed in uniform clothes, tied up in front of the idol, and starved to death.
The master initially considered saving the children, but the Southern King threatened the entire temple, leaving the master to watch as sins piled up day by day.
The master spent even longer chanting sutras in the Goddess Temple. The Southern King assumed he was afraid, but the master was actually chanting the Rebirth Mantra for the children and praying for their well-being.
“The Southern King is no longer the same Southern King. I implore you to expose his crimes to the public and give those children justice.”
As he spoke, the master stood up again and performed a very solemn Buddhist ceremony for Zhao Shi'an.
"Master, you flatter me. These are things we should do."
At this moment, Zhao Shi'an exuded a gentle and refined demeanor, which would inspire complete trust in anyone who saw him.
"But I still have some questions I'd like to ask the master."
"Please speak, benefactor."
"I wonder if this man has visited the temple recently?"
As soon as Zhao Shi'an finished speaking, Xiao Liu opened the portrait.
This is a portrait of Gao Wancheng.
The master looked at the portrait for a moment, then shook his head.
"No, that temple is only accessible to the Southern King. Even the Crown Prince and the Southern King's confidants need to see his token to enter and exit. The Goddess Palace is completely off-limits to everyone."
Zhao Shi'an frowned slightly.
If Gao Wancheng wasn't in the temple, where else could the Southern King have hidden him?
"I apologize for disturbing you, Master. For your safety, please stay here for now. I will arrange for someone to take you back once the matters at the temple are settled."
"Amitabha Buddha, benefactor, you are merciful."
As Zhao Shi'an walked out of the master's room, the gentle and approachable expression on his face vanished instantly.
"What has Gao Ren been doing lately?"
"I don't know. All the people who were originally by his side have been withdrawn. Does Master intend to arrange for someone to continue keeping an eye on him?"
Zhao Shi'an glanced at the clear sky. Deep in the tea mountains, even a breath of air felt fresh.
"I'm afraid we can't find his whereabouts now."
He walked towards the backyard, saying to Xiao Liu, "Go interrogate Yin Macheng and ask him about Gao Wancheng's filth."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
