Chapter 387 Exposed
The abbot said, "The remains of the imperial concubine are placed in the temple. I, the disciple, wanted to offer incense to her, so I took the initiative to set up a spirit tablet for her."
The Northern Qi Emperor picked up the spirit tablet, which had no inscription on it.
Seeing this, the abbot explained, "According to the rules, it is the relatives of the empress who set up the spirit tablet. I have broken the rules and dare not presumptuously write an inscription on the spirit tablet. Therefore, I set up a blank tablet."
The Northern Qi Emperor stroked the spirit tablet with his fingers, his thoughts drifting away.
When Concubine Shu ordered the palace servants to capture Yizhen, she saw the roaring beast in the Colosseum and seemed to understand something. Her face turned pale, her eyes were filled with fear, and she struggled desperately to escape.
This was the first time he saw Yizhen resist fiercely and saw a strong desire to survive in her.
He deliberately said, "Your father is seriously ill, your brother is plotting to seize the throne, and the Great Zhou is plagued by internal and external troubles. If Northern Qi were to attack the Great Zhou at this time, would your brother still be able to become emperor?"
Yizhen stopped struggling and looked at him in disbelief, her eyes filled with sadness and despair. She stammered, wanting to say something, but then she seemed to realize her lowly status, that she was just a plaything for their amusement and that no one would care about her feelings. In the end, she didn't say a word.
He suppressed his rage and forced her to beg for mercy: "I give you two choices. Either you leave the Colosseum now, and Northern Qi will send millions of soldiers to attack the Great Zhou. Or you will sacrifice yourself to save the people of the Great Zhou from the suffering of war, and allow your brother to take back what is his."
The palace maid who was holding her let go and stood aside.
He continued, "If you become a princess of a fallen nation, how can you and your children survive?"
Yizhen froze in place and turned to look towards Anrui Palace, where the child she missed was.
He clenched his fists, his heartbeat quickening, waiting for her to beg for mercy.
As long as she could think of him and love him like Concubine Shu did, he would definitely treat them and their son well.
She turned her head and looked over, the suffering had wiped out the light in her eyes, leaving only silence.
He couldn't help but sit up straight.
At this time, his younger brother, Prince Xian, said, "Brother, you are stationing troops in Licheng. Are you planning to attack the Great Zhou?"
He was stunned for a moment, then heard Yizhen say, "I hope your Majesty's words will be honored."
Instead, she walked towards the Colosseum.
The moment Yizhen turned around, Concubine Shu ordered the palace servants to grab her and throw her into an iron cage. Then, Concubine Shu said, "Your Majesty, Yizhen is too ungrateful. If she had only pleaded with you, you would have spared her. She's taking advantage of your love and respect, threatening you with her life to soften your heart and retract your words. But you are the monarch, and your words are not to be trifled with. If you go back on your word, where will your face be? How will you maintain your prestige in the future? Even if she has any feelings for you, she will not let you down..."
As he listened to Concubine Shu's words, a nameless anger surged in his heart. He watched Yizhen being torn apart by the beast without calling for a stop.
Until she died tragically, the queen rushed over and buried her remains.
He felt resentment towards Yizhen, resentful that she would rather abandon her child and die than bow down to him and beg for mercy. He casually ordered the eunuchs to place Yizhen's remains in the National Temple and deal with them later.
This release lasted for more than 20 years.
He ignored it.
Not to mention setting up a memorial tablet for her.
If someone had not trespassed into the Zen temple today, he probably would not have set foot here.
The Emperor of Northern Qi became depressed as he recalled the past. He put down the spirit tablet in his hand and looked at the wooden box under the altar, which contained Yizhen's remains.
He placed his hand on the altar and found it spotless. The warm and mellow scent of sandalwood lingered around him, surrounding him tightly.
In a trance, he remembered that when she just followed him, the room was lit with sandalwood, which was warm and bright, making him feel very comfortable.
But her heart towards him was cold, so she was never warm in front of him. Because he helped her brother return home, she regarded him as a benefactor and accepted everything he did, never resisting.
But what he wants is not only her, but also her sincerity.
The Northern Qi Emperor collected his thoughts and asked, "Is there someone cleaning this place every day?"
The abbot said, "Disciples offer sacrifices to the goddess every day and remove the dust from the meditation room."
The Emperor of Northern Qi said nothing more, stayed for a moment, and prepared to return to the palace.
The abbot asked, "Your Majesty, would you like to write an inscription?"
The Northern Qi Emperor was silent for a while before speaking: "No need."
The abbot escorted the Northern Qi Emperor down the mountain.
The Northern Qi Emperor sat in the carriage, leaned on the soft pillow, and raised his hand to massage his swollen and painful Taiyangxue.
Eunuch Liu knelt beside him and pressed the Emperor of Northern Qi's head: "Your Majesty, why don't you move the remains of the Imperial Concubine?"
The Northern Qi Emperor said coldly, "I have my own plans."
Since the location where Yizhen stored the bones was exposed, he had nothing to hide. He just set up a tight net in the Zen temple and waited for anyone who wanted to target Yizhen to fall into the trap.
Eunuch Liu fell silent and dared not ask any more questions.
The abbot watched the Northern Qi emperor's carriage depart and then returned to his meditation room. He opened the door and saw a distinguished guest already inside, sitting by the window sipping tea.
The abbot closed the door and said, "Heqing, you shouldn't have come today."
The Imperial Master did not respond to this, but instead asked, "Has it been exposed?"
"No," the abbot said, "you can never return to your Zen temple."
The Imperial Master lowered his eyes and looked at the wisp of sandalwood smoke on the table, and it took a long time before he responded.
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After the Emperor of Northern Qi and the Prince of Qi left the table, the palace banquet was over. Zhao Yi left the palace and returned home, where he was invited to the study by Jiang Mu, who was waiting at the corner gate.
Shen Qingtan had been waiting in the study for a long time. When he saw Zhao Yi coming back, he took the teapot and poured him a cup of hot tea.
Zhao Yi sat down next to Shen Qingtan and looked at Jiang Mu: "How is the National Temple?"
"The King of Qi's men have been captured." Jiang Mu expressed his inner doubts: "The monk who was knocked unconscious shouldn't have woken up so early. It seems like there is a hand behind the scenes pushing the person who broke into the meditation room to be exposed."
Zhao Yi frowned. When he heard that his mother's remains were in the Zen temple of the National Temple and were only guarded by monks, he felt something was wrong.
He deliberately provoked the King of Qi to steal the remains and explore the way.
Sure enough, taking his mother's remains encountered greater resistance than he had imagined.
In addition to the monks guarding the Zen temple, there is a pair of eyes secretly watching the Zen temple.
"It's not just the Northern Qi Emperor's men who are watching the Zen temple. There's another force as well," Zhao Yi analyzed. "If they were the Northern Qi Emperor's men, why would they bother waking up the unconscious monk and then arresting the trespasser?"
Shen Qingtan's face was solemn: "Now that we have alerted the enemy, they will be more vigilant. It will be even more difficult for us to get the remains."
Zhao Yi remained silent.
Because he had a guess in his mind.
It would be more accurate to say that the forces behind him were preventing him from returning to the Great Zhou rather than preventing him from taking the remains.
The purpose of his coming to Northern Qi was to bring his mother back to Great Zhou.
Once he gets the bones, he will definitely not stay in Northern Qi anymore.
Zhao Yi couldn't help but think of the plague in Licheng. They had suspected that it was the work of the imperial teacher, who deliberately lured him to Northern Qi.
After all, the Great Zhou asked the Northern Qi to cede land, and the Northern Qi gave it readily.
Soon after, a plague broke out in the city that the Great Zhou wanted, and the Great Zhou was caught in a dilemma. If it took over the city, it would not have the manpower and financial resources to deal with the plague. If it did not take over the city, it would lose its prestige and the support of the people.
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