Chapter 63 The Mastermind
After consulting the guards who were familiar with weapons, the prince confirmed Ling Tianshui's statement.
Lieutenant Deng continued, "The palace guards were all personally selected and promoted by Prince Changhua. Of those selected, only a handful are left-handed. The palace has urgently checked, and the daggers of the others are all there. Only Pang Er's was lost last month, and it has been reported to the palace for archiving."
As he spoke, he opened the palace archives and asked the Queen and the Crown Prince to examine them. He then motioned for a man in guard uniform beside him to come forward and said, "This is Pang Er."
After meeting the Queen Mother, the Empress and the Crown Prince, the man confirmed that the dagger was his.
"Your Highness is a military man, so weapons are strictly controlled in the palace. I lost my dagger and couldn't find it anywhere, so I had no choice but to go to the military office and sign a confession. According to palace regulations, I received ten lashes and was fined half a month's salary as a warning to others."
Seeing the clear and concise description in the file, the prince nodded and said, "It seems that although this dagger belonged to the royal palace, it has been lost long ago."
"But I do find this a little strange." Seeing that no one else had any doubts, Princess Gaoguo, though dispirited, still questioned, "How come all the people testifying on behalf of the county lady are from the palace, and the evidence they produced is from the palace archives? After all the time you've been gone, can't you just write a few words with your hands?"
Pang Er was a soldier with a straightforward temper and no knowledge of court etiquette. He didn't recognize her, so he immediately took off his clothes and turned around to show everyone his back. "Look, everyone! These are the ten lashes I received! My wife went to Doctor Qu at the corner of the alley to get me some medicine, but she was fined, and I still owe her for it!"
Sure enough, there were ten whip wounds on his back. Although the blood scabs had fallen off, the marks were still there and were very noticeable.
The ladies all turned their eyes away, and the military officer in charge of the office scolded and quickly ordered Pang Er to put on his clothes.
The little monk who had been chanting Buddha's name silently beside him turned pale. He looked at his master in panic, then at Princess Gaoguo, his legs trembling.
Cui Fufeng asked, "Master Pujing, the Princess of Lingling County testified that the dagger had long been lost in the palace. How can you prove that the dagger had nothing to do with you?"
The young monk gritted his teeth and stammered, "Amitabha, perhaps... perhaps this dagger fell into the palace and was picked up by... the Princess of Lingling County?"
Qian Deng wasn't afraid of his absurd accusation and immediately asked, "Master, may I ask, regarding the dagger I lost last month, how could I have foreseen that my cousin would give birth prematurely today, that the child would be snatched away, that I would come alone to snatch the child, and that I would coincidentally encounter you carrying the child alone, thus hiding the dagger in advance for use today?"
"You...you planned all this! You had planned to disrupt the ceremony long ago, but...you used the child to sneak in and commit the crime!"
"Okay, speaking of the child, that's where you've exposed your true colors," Qian Deng said without hesitation. "This child was born prematurely after my cousin suddenly heard the tragic news. No one knew she would be born this early, let alone connected to your Dharma Assembly today. Yet, only an hour or two after her birth, she's been delivered to your Jianfu Temple and presented at the Dharma Assembly. If it weren't for someone within your temple orchestrating this, who could have arranged for a child to appear at such a grand Dharma Assembly in such a short time, leading me, in my haste, to misbehave and intrude, interrupting the prayers and committing a grave sin?"
The young monk's lips moved purple and blue, but he could not answer a single word.
The Queen looked coldly at the host with a grim expression beside her: "Master, where did the child who is going to be ordained as Mu En in this Dharma Assembly come from, and who recommended him?"
The host, with a solemn expression, looked at the quiet master beside him and asked, "Brother Guanding, I remember you mentioned before the Dharma Assembly that a family of officials happened to have a child born today and wanted to receive the Buddha's grace?"
The old monk subconsciously took a half step back and stammered.
Everyone looked at the equally bewildered master and disciple, wondering what they might not understand. The Crown Prince was furious and was just about to signal Cui Fufeng to take the two men away for a thorough interrogation by the Dali Temple's Sizhi when a report came from the Dharma Assembly Hall across the wall that the Temple Secretary had arrived with the veteran craftsmen.
A novice monk in the temple was pushed to his knees on the ground, and the temple secretary presented him with two long and thick nail heads and a curved pry hook.
The old craftsman said, "We carefully examined the site of the collapse and discovered that a nail had been pulled out from a crucial support pillar on the platform. This nail was deeply embedded in the wood, making it impossible for humans to remove it. Therefore, we searched for anyone who was nearby and found this pry hook on the novice monk."
Sicheng added, "The tip of this pry hook matches the fresh bite marks on the nail head. He was undoubtedly the one who did it."
The novice monk was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly, tears streaming down his face. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Please spare my life! I... I was only following the orders of Master Guan Ding..."
"Guan Ding!" The abbot looked back at the old monk in disbelief. He shuddered, and before he could respond, the young monk Pu Jing had already knelt down and begged for mercy: "Master, you told me that you had arranged everything, and that everything would be fine... You said that as long as I protect the Dharma with my body and shed a little blood, I would be rewarded by the court. You also said that if something went wrong at such a grand Dharma assembly, the abbot would definitely step down, and then you would be the abbot, and your disciples would have a bright future in the temple..."
Upon hearing this, the others were fine, but the most devout empress dowager and concubines were immediately furious. The palace maids hurriedly helped them to massage their chests and calm their breath to avoid any trouble.
Seeing that the accomplices had nowhere to hide and were quickly caught and confessed, the old monk could only close his eyes and sigh: "Amitabha, I was obsessed with appearances for a moment..."
The abbot clasped his hands together and forced himself to calm his mind. "Guan Ding, a monk's five aggregates are empty. How dare you disrupt the blessing ceremony and frame the Lingling County Princess in order to seize the position of abbot?"
"I feel guilty, but Senior Brother, Junior Brother, I'm also concerned about the future of Jianfu Temple! I've long heard that the County Princess' fate is imperfect, and the palace's officials have been frequently killed and injured. Recently, the Changhua Palace has been plagued by ghosts and strange monsters. So, I consulted the Buddha and calculated that her fate will harm noble people. I'm afraid it will be detrimental to the Crown Prince. For the sake of the country, I'm determined to eliminate this woman..."
The concubine who had just breathed a sigh of relief took a deep breath, clenched the Buddhist beads in her hand, and chanted "Amitabha".
"You're spreading rumors and misleading the public. You're talking nonsense!" Seeing the hesitant gazes everyone cast at Qian Deng, Cui Fufeng wouldn't tolerate his slander. He sternly shouted at the old monk, "Let me ask you, with the Empress and the Crown Prince in person, how can you, a mere monk in a temple, eliminate others so easily? Without someone behind you to orchestrate your actions, who could have disrupted security and deliberately lured the Princess of Lingling into a trap? Tell me, who ordered you to harm them?"
Upon hearing his question, the Crown Prince came to his senses and asked Wei Fengyang, "Has anyone been deployed since today's deployment?"
Wei Fengyang hesitated for a moment, but since he couldn't hide the matter of defense deployment, he could only answer truthfully: "It is...Zhanshi Li Gaosheng."
The moment this name came out, the Queen and the Crown Prince immediately thought of the person in the Crown Prince's Mansion who had connections with Princess Gaoguo and whom they wanted to thoroughly investigate in Xuanhui Palace the day before.
The Queen put down the teacup in her hand with a stern expression, while the Crown Prince's face turned livid and he said, "Send him in!"
As the Secretary of the Crown Prince's Palace, Li Gaosheng is naturally accompanying the emperor to burn incense today and is currently in the temple.
As soon as he was brought into the backyard, he saw the monks kneeling on the ground, trembling like sieves, and the expression on Princess Gao's face. He immediately knew that the matter was exposed. He knelt down and apologized, saying, "Your Highness, please forgive me! Master Guanding is known for his supernatural powers, so when I came to the temple to discuss praying for blessings, I asked him to read your fortune. Who knew that the hexagram showed that Princess Lingling has a dangerous fate and is haunted by ghosts. If Your Highness associates with her, you will definitely suffer disaster! Therefore, I have no choice but to ask Master Guanding for help to frame Princess Lingling, so that she will be convicted and stay away from the Crown Prince, so as to eliminate the disaster - Your Highness the Queen! Your Highness the Crown Prince! I am loyal to you and are the foundation of our Great Tang Dynasty. Even if the court holds you accountable, I am willing to sacrifice my life for the Crown Prince's safety!"
He spoke earnestly and tearfully, and the young Li Zi subconsciously hid behind the empress dowager, staring at Qiandeng with wide, surprised eyes, as if looking for the ghost that was haunting her.
The prince's face turned pale as he stared at Li Gaosheng, his hands clenched tightly, not even noticing his nails digging deep into his flesh.
Only Qian Deng remained undaunted. He stared at them and said, "Your words about Xiangge's danger have stuck with me for years, and I'm not afraid. But the accusation of being haunted by a ghost is just an excuse you use to frame me. I absolutely deny it!"
Li Gaosheng said, "The Changhua Palace has been on fire several times and haunted repeatedly. From bloody handprints to daytime ghosts, to your cousin's madness and walking on fire, the story has spread everywhere! Even if you want to deny it, can you justify the two lives lost and the flames everywhere in your palace?"
Qian Deng didn't argue with him, but simply turned to the Queen and said, "Your Highness, please understand. The two strange mysteries in my palace are closely related to the unauthorized deployment of guards today. I hope Your Highness will allow me to explain so that the mastermind behind this will have no place to hide!"
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