Chapter 66: Entering the Game
When these words were spoken, everyone in the room was shocked. The Crown Prince opened his eyes wide in astonishment, the Queen Mother covered her mouth and screamed, and even the anxious Princess Gao and Xiao Fuyu were greatly surprised.
The Queen was also stunned. "The Changhua Palace caught fire twice, and two of the candidates died in the fire. Wasn't that already a huge uproar and known to the entire capital?"
"Because there was a young man who deceived the world and squeezed out a ray of hope in the cracks of the sea of fire, and found a way to escape."
"Is this really true?" The queen, who had originally thought the case was simple, couldn't help but ask, "But there were two major fires in your mansion, and many people put out the fires. The ruins are still there, and the bodies are all there. Who could have escaped, and how did they escape?"
Empress Dowager Yang was also filled with astonishment. "Tell me the whole story so I can hear it too. Could it be that one of your two deceased husbands, as everyone in the capital is saying, has actually been brought back to life?"
Everyone's eyes fell on Qian Deng, but she hesitated for a moment before saying, "I already roughly know the truth of this matter, but the evidence is insufficient and unverified. If this case is to be completely resolved, I must ask Cui Shaoqing to work with me to apprehend the culprits responsible for these two tragedies."
The prince said to Qian Deng, "After all, you are the murderer of two murders. I will go with you."
Qian Deng said, "That's not a problem. I'm confident that the murderer will reveal himself and surrender soon. Your Highness, please lend me a few of the East Palace guards to help pass on the message."
Although what she said was strange, her confident look made everyone believe it.
The high platform for the Dharma Assembly in front had been cleared, and the sound of monks chanting auspicious mantras could be heard.
The Queen stood up and said, "Master Abbot, I will first deal with these monks in the temple who have disrupted the ceremony and plotted to murder the Princess of Lingling, in order to appease the wrath of the gods and Buddhas. Since all these tactics are just tricks on their part, we should be able to continue with our prayers today."
The abbot and the senior monks in the temple chanted the Buddha's name loudly and nodded in agreement.
"Princess Lingling, please thoroughly investigate these two cases as soon as possible. I want to know the full story as soon as possible."
The Empress, the Crown Prince, and other royal relatives and ladies burned incense. The Jianfu Temple was filled with curling incense and low Buddhist chants. People around the temple bowed their heads in worship, hoping to bask in the Buddha's light together.
Who knew that not long after, there was a sudden sound of chaos in the temple, and the preaching and chanting of scriptures were interrupted. But outside, no one knew what had happened, and everyone was talking about it.
Just as they were wondering and guessing, a few guards suddenly walked out of the temple quickly. They quickly scanned the crowd and immediately went over to check when they saw someone holding a baby. Then they glanced at each other, shook their heads and left.
The people outside the temple didn't understand what was going on. After the guards went to search the surrounding area, they all wanted to know what was going on.
In a matter of moments, an old man, well-informed, hurried out of the temple, shouting in a low voice, "This is terrible, this is terrible! I heard that the chanting platform in the temple collapsed, so they had to put the child who was praying in the meditation room first. Then, somehow, the child disappeared without a trace, leaving only...only a wet, sticky, bloody handprint by the bed!"
"Nonsense!" The people around him expressed their disbelief. "How could the platform collapse during such a grand prayer ceremony with the Queen and the Crown Prince all coming together to offer incense? Besides, with such tight security, how could any criminals get in and steal the children who were praying?"
"Well, believe it or not! My nephew has been ordained as a monk in the temple. He told me himself that he can't find the child anywhere in the temple and is very worried!"
Just as a single stone stirred up a thousand waves, the crowd outside was in an uproar, and the rumor spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. The left and right guards of the Eastern Palace even rode around, shouting at the guards outside the temple to guard their posts and perform their duties faithfully, not letting any suspicious people go, which seemed to confirm the credibility of the rumor.
In the backyard of Jianfu Temple, Qiandeng bypassed the reed-covered river channel and hid beside the ditch, guarding the defensive gap in front of her that she was led into together with Cui Fufeng.
The guards retreated to the inner courtyard, and the riverside was quiet with only the two of them.
Qiandeng was worried, not knowing whether that person would show up as she expected, and she felt complicated and confused.
"Don't worry, County Lady. Now that the Queen is willing to support you, your revelation of Princess Gao's affairs is a sure thing." Cui Fufeng's low voice sounded in her ear, warm and calm. "From today on, everyone in the capital will know that the Lingling County Lady is not to be trifled with. Anyone who wants to oppose the Changhua Palace in the future must consider their own actions carefully."
Qiandeng turned around and nodded slightly at him.
The north wind was bitterly cold, and the reed roots were frozen with snow. Qiandeng wrapped herself tightly in the cloak he had given her to protect herself from the chill. Then, remembering something, she whispered, "What was that piece of paper?"
"This... I don't know either. Ling Tianshui asked me to pass it on to you." Cui Fufeng said softly, "He... is not convenient to show up in public. He just said that this thing will definitely make the Queen stand on your side."
Ling Tianshui?
Qian Deng was stunned for a moment. How could a mere Imperial Guard officer, newly arrived from the northwest, have such an important possession that he could actually influence Her Majesty the Queen's position?
And... the queen seemed to be just as he expected. After seeing what was written on the paper, her attitude immediately changed and she completely stood on her side.
What is written and drawn on that thin piece of paper...
While he was thinking, Cui Fufeng, staring at the ruins ahead, lowered his voice and said, "Here they come."
Outside the ruins that had collapsed to only half a person's height, a thin black figure wrapped in a cloak lowered his body and squatted behind the broken wall to look around.
After waiting for a long time and seeing no movement around, the black shadow climbed over the ruins, eagerly passed through the reeds, and ran forward.
At this moment, the reeds on the opposite bank swayed, and another figure could be vaguely seen sneaking out.
The other person was also wearing a black cloth mask, revealing only a pair of eyes, but the corners of his eyes were covered with blisters and bloody scabs, so one could imagine that he had suffered severe burns on his face.
His hands were also covered with blisters. He was carrying a basket, which was not small and was covered with a rag.
The thin figure was stunned and subconsciously hid behind a clump of dense yellow reeds.
The masked man with burns walked to the riverside, looked around furtively, and seeing that there was no one around, he lifted the cloth of the basket and grabbed the things inside.
It turned out to be a swaddling cloth, embroidered with a pattern of grapes with thousands of vines and hundreds of grapes.
The thin black figure trembled violently, forgetting to hide himself for a moment, and suddenly half of his body stood up from the reeds.
Fortunately, the masked man was also holding the swaddling clothes and walking towards the river bank.
He stood by the river clutching the swaddling clothes, his mouth hoarsely screaming: "Little thing, you were just born today, and it's all your uncle's fault that I was harmed, and I have no place to go in the future. Since your grandparents don't want you, I will wash your daughter for them today!"
"Bathmacker", as soon as these two words reached his ears, the thin black shadow suddenly shook all over, as if he had lost his mind, and rushed out of the reeds like a madman, rolling and crawling towards the masked man.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried, it was too late.
The swaddling clothes had fallen into the water. The thin ice on the surface broke, and the icy water splashed and quickly engulfed the swaddling clothes.
The newborn baby didn't even have time to struggle or cry before he was wrapped in swaddling clothes and sank silently into the water.
The black shadow let out a terrible scream and plunged into the frozen river, groping frantically in the water with broken ice. When it touched the swaddling clothes that had sunk to the bottom, it picked it up, held it tightly in its arms, turned around and rushed to the river bank.
The masked man was obviously frightened by her crazy behavior. After a moment of hesitation, he strode up to her and raised his hand to pull the wet swaddling clothes in her hand.
The thin black shadow screamed and tried to protect the swaddling clothes in her arms, but she was already out of strength and had just climbed out of the icy water, so her hands and feet were stiff. How could she snatch the swaddling clothes from the other party? Seeing the other party snatching the swaddling clothes, she turned and ran, and jumped out of the broken wall in a few steps.
The black shadow ignored the ice water on his body, dragged his legs, and staggered out to chase.
But there were reeds on the river bank, and she had just crawled out of the ice. Her whole body was frozen stiff, and her stiff feet tripped, and she fell heavily to the ground.
Below her were scattered stones from the river bank, and she felt severe pain all over her body, but she seemed unaware of it. She stumbled to her feet, but stumbled and fell again.
Someone beside her supported her and helped her up.
The black shadow looked up and saw her face. He was stunned and shuddered involuntarily.
The person who supported her was slender and thin, with a slight defect on her left eyebrow on her charming face. She was Bai Qiandeng, the Princess of Lingling County.
And standing next to her was Cui Fufeng.
Qiandeng leaned over and raised his hand to help her lift the wet cloak from her head, revealing the panicked face underneath. It was indeed Lady Dingxiang.
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