Chapter 399 The Remains Were Stolen
Zhao Yi lifted the curtain of the carriage window and looked at the general on horseback: "Where are the remnants of the previous dynasty appearing?"
"At the foot of the cliff behind the National Temple," the general replied, "I have already arranged for the troops to be assembled. As soon as you arrive, they will immediately pursue you."
Zhao Yi's brows sank and he turned his head to look at Shen Qingtan.
Shen Qingtan said considerately: "Second Master, you go and hunt down the remnants of the previous dynasty first, and I will go to pay tribute to the Princess Protector of the Nation."
"You go back home first." Zhao Yi said softly, "Mother is not in the mausoleum, so it doesn't matter whether you go or not."
He took the initiative to mention that he wanted to pay homage to his biological mother. The Emperor of Northern Qi ordered them to come to Lingfei's mausoleum to pay homage. This had to be a formality.
Now that complications have arisen, there is no need to go to the cemetery.
What's more, it is a turbulent time now, and he is worried about leaving Shen Qingtan alone in Lingfei's mausoleum.
Shen Qingtan nodded: "It just so happens that we have set up a memorial tablet in the mansion. When you return home, we will go and worship together."
Zhao Yi responded and turned to the general and said, "Let's go back."
The general led the way.
The driver turned the carriage around and rushed back the way he had come. When he passed the foot of Guosi Mountain, he saw a group of soldiers and immediately pulled the reins and hurriedly stopped the carriage.
Zhao Yi said goodbye to Shen Qingtan, got off the carriage, and led a team of soldiers to the cliff behind the National Temple.
The person who was secretly following saw Zhao Yi heading towards the National Temple and felt that his master's guess had come true.
How could Zhao Yi go to the National Temple to capture the remnants of the previous dynasty?
It was clearly an excuse to capture the remnants of the previous dynasty in order to legitimately go to the National Temple and steal the remains of Princess Yizhen.
However, the last time the King of Qi tried to steal the remains, he failed. The Emperor of Northern Qi would definitely set up a tight net, and this time Zhao Yi was destined to fail in taking it away.
They quietly followed Zhao Yi to the cliff behind the mountain, and realized belatedly that something was wrong.
What is Zhao Yi doing at the foot of the cliff behind the mountain?
Why not go to the National Temple to search for the remnants of the previous dynasty?
The next moment, they saw soldiers searching in the woods, as if they were really looking for remnants of the previous dynasty.
Otherwise, how could they steal the remains?
Or...did they guess wrong?
Did Zhao Yi really find traces of the remnants of the previous dynasty?
As soon as the thought passed through their minds, they saw flares exploding in the sky.
The direction from which the flare was launched was exactly the Guosi Zen Temple.
They looked solemn. They first looked at Zhao Yi who was talking with the general, then looked in the direction of the national temple on the top of the mountain. Suddenly, an idea came to their mind - to make a feint to the east and attack in the west.
Everyone knows that Zhao Yi wants to fulfill Princess Yizhen's last wish and bring her remains back to Da Zhou.
Today is Princess Yizhen's birthday. Many forces will be secretly watching him, wondering whether he will take action today.
It is precisely because all the forces from all sides have focused their attention on Zhao Yi, how could Zhao Yi dare to go to the National Temple in person to steal the remains?
That's too eye-catching.
Zhao Yi understood this very well, so he led his men to search for the remnants of the previous dynasty at the foot of the cliff on the back mountain. He also arranged for some men to ambush in the Zen temple, waiting for the right time to rob the remains.
Thinking of this, they immediately rushed to the National Temple Zen Temple, and saw a dozen men in black fighting fiercely with the monks guarding the yard and the royal secret guards.
Suddenly, the secret guard grasped the long sword and attacked quickly and fiercely, stabbing the black-clothed man's throat with the sword tip.
As they watched the man in black about to be stabbed, they immediately recalled Prince Yu's instructions: if Zhao Yi's men took the opportunity to steal the remains, they would step forward to help.
Thinking of this, they had already drawn their swords, quickly deflected the secret guards' swords, and joined the melee.
The man in black realized that he was no match for his opponent and took the opportunity to withdraw.
When Prince Yu's men saw this, they spat and cursed, then ran away.
The royal guards wanted to give chase, but fearing they were being tricked into leaving the mountain, they didn't. The monk guarding the temple straightened his robes, pushed open the tightly closed door, and looked toward the altar. His expression suddenly changed.
I saw that the box under the altar was gone.
The monk hurriedly said to the royal guard, "Donor, the nobleman's remains are missing."
The leader of the Royal Guards pushed past the monk and strode into the meditation room. Sure enough, the place where the box had been placed was empty. The leader's face was grave. "When was the last time you saw the box?"
The monk replied, "When offerings were made this morning, the nobleman's remains were still there."
The leader's face was tense. If they lost Princess Yizhen's remains and failed to find them, they would all lose their heads.
He thought carefully about what went wrong, and suddenly, he seemed to have figured out the key. He took a few steps to the altar, knelt on one knee, and knocked on the ground with his hand, making a hollow "dong dong" sound.
The leader pulled out the dagger tied to the inside of his calf, pried open the floor tiles, and saw a dark mud hole.
A layer of ice covered his face, and he squeezed out a word from between his teeth: "We've fallen into a trap."
The men in black robbed openly, while another group of people crawled in from the tunnel and stole the remains.
What a good trick to make a feint to the east and attack in the west.
"Go inform the abbot and have him arrange for the monks to search." The leader instructed the monks, then strode out of the meditation room and instructed one of the secret guards, "Go into the palace and report to His Majesty. The rest of you, follow me to search."
After explaining everything, the leader went into the secret passage and crawled out along the narrow passage, only to find that it was the back mountain.
He looked around, but the back hills were thick with trees and thorns, and there was no one in sight. His gaze fixed on the ground, where he saw only the tips of weeds that had been trampled, and he followed this clue to continue his search.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps and was about to turn around when a cold sword was placed on his neck.
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