Chapter 22: Vajra
Just as Qiandeng was looking at the big bronze bell and feeling a chill in his heart, a scream suddenly came from behind.
Immediately, a palace maid ran out of the palace, shouting in panic: "Help! Princess, something's happened to the princess!"
Everyone was horrified when they heard this and immediately turned around and ran towards the hall at the back.
In front of the king's bed, a frail body lay in a pool of blood. It was Bai Zhaosu.
Blood flowed from her lower abdomen, her body twisted in pain, and a glass vajra flashing with red blood light was inserted into her ribs.
Amidst the blood-red, the gilded Sanskrit forbidden mantra written by Kumarajiva still shone brightly. Nine strands of crimson colored glaze extended from the nine-dragon lotus pedestal, revealing a sharp blade symbolizing the severance of ignorance.
At this moment, a sharp blade had already pierced into Bai Zhaosu's body, and its color became the same as the blood, which was even more shocking.
At the other end of the vajra, the jewel held by the sharp blade was still spinning in the heart of the lotus, reflecting the bloody light, strange and exquisite.
Everyone was frozen in place, unable to utter a word.
Qiandeng ran to Bai Zhaosu first, wanting to lend a hand to help her up, but was worried that the bleeding would become more severe. After hesitating for a moment, Li Yingshang had already strode to her side and bent down to check her injuries.
Bai Zhaosu was lying in a pool of blood, unconscious.
He tore open the clothes at the wound, quickly checked the injury, and then shouted: "Imperial Physician!"
The imperial physician who was standing nearby suddenly woke up as if from a dream and hurried forward.
"Prepare the catgut and needle, disinfected with strong liquor, to suture the wound." He raised his hand and pressed it against Bai Zhaosu's right ribs, explaining to Qiandeng and everyone present, "Fortunately, although this vajra has a sharp blade, the protruding end is sharp and only two inches long, and the top is inlaid with a precious pearl. I think that although the princess's peritoneum has been ruptured, her internal organs are probably not damaged. If the blood in the abdominal cavity can be cleared and the wound properly sutured, she may not be beyond help."
Although no one knew his identity, he was dignified and his words convinced everyone.
The imperial physician quickly signaled the guards to carefully carry Bai Zhaosu to the back to clean and suture her wounds.
At this time, the palace maids cried out in surprise again, and when their attention returned to the King of Kucha, they discovered that his wound, which had been properly bandaged, had opened again, and the bandage was now covered in blood.
Although Bai Zhaosu was born with a mother-killing condition and was born with congenital deficiencies, and the King of Kucha had always despised her, now that his death knell had been sounded and his son had perished in the fire, only this one bloodline had survived the blaze. Seeing even this last bit of hope being taken away, how could he not be filled with anger?
The Grand Commandant was also heartbroken. He knelt before the bed and wept bitterly. He then anxiously asked the guards and palace maids, "Did you see who brutally murdered the princess?"
The guard hurriedly reported, "At that time, the bells outside rang, and we saw thieves causing trouble in the palace bell tower. Most of us went out to investigate, and those who remained in the palace were mostly focused on the outside. Really... really, no one paid attention to the princess's situation. Then, amid the commotion, we heard the king's low voice calling out. When we returned to the bed, we realized something was wrong."
The two palace maids who had supported Bai Zhaosu were trembling with fear and quickly knelt to report, "At that time, we...we were also disturbed by the noise outside and followed the crowd to the window to see what was happening. When we turned back, we saw that the princess had been injured in the abdomen and was bleeding profusely..."
Obviously, because Bai Zhaosu had been bullied and neglected, the palace maids around her did not care about her. They left her who had just woken up from a coma and just went to watch the fun.
"It was... it was someone in the palace..." Amid the clamor, the King of Kucha spoke with difficulty. His voice was dry and he spoke word by word, "At that time, I saw... a figure flash past the couch... and Zhaosu... then fell down..."
But he was lying on the couch seriously injured. Although he could open his eyes and vaguely saw human figures out of the corner of his eye, he could not turn his head quickly and had no idea what the situation was. He could only try his best to make a sound to call out.
Amid the noise and chaos, by the time people at the temple door and windows heard his faint voice, the murderer had already disappeared.
"It's undoubtedly that Tang County Princess! The murder weapon used to murder the princess is one of the three sacred artifacts she stole. Who else but her could kill with a vajra?!" General Yuchi angrily said, "She first killed the Northern King with the Azure Lotus, then the Prince with the Dharma Wheel, and now she's not even going to let the princess go. It's clear she's determined to annihilate the Kucha royal family!"
"Quite the contrary. The princess being victimized at this time just proves that the murderer is not Lingling County Princess!"
Qiandeng spoke without hesitation, interrupting his wild guesses.
"Before the princess's accident, she was about to explain in detail how she was rescued by the Lingling County Lady. This testimony would have been extremely helpful in clearing the Lingling County Lady of suspicion. So, why did the Lingling County Lady interrupt such a favorable situation and instead kill the person who could prove her innocence?"
Cui Fufeng immediately echoed, "So, the person who interrupted the princess's story with the ringing bell and attacked her must be the real murderer. To pin the crime on Lingling County Princess, the murderer naturally wouldn't allow the princess to tell the truth!"
Everyone in the hall nodded silently. General Yuchi was speechless. After a long moment, he glared at them and asked, "If it wasn't the Princess of the Datang County, then who could be the real culprit? Who could have obtained the three sacred artifacts that protect the country, and who would have such a deep hatred for our Kucha royal family?"
"To be honest, the Lingling County Princess was conferred by the Tang Dynasty. Since she is involved in this case, the Tang Dynasty naturally cannot stand idly by. With your country's permission, several of us have entered the spirit hall to investigate the scene, and we have discovered some suspicious traces."
As he spoke, Qiandeng gestured to Cui Fufeng, who nodded slightly, took the spirit tablet of Lun Qinling brought out from the spirit hall, and displayed it in front of everyone.
"As everyone knows, the ancestral hall houses the tablets of valiant rulers and meritorious officials throughout history. The jade used for these tablets mostly comes from the Hetian region, which is warm and moist, and cannot withstand high temperatures. Therefore, almost all of them were destroyed in the fire. However, among the hundreds of jade tablets, only this one, for the great Western Fan general Lun Qinling, remained intact."
Everyone's eyes were focused on the clear name of Lun Qinling written above, and some looked surprised, while others fell into deep thought.
"Under such circumstances, it's inevitable that the jade will crack or even break. The reason this spirit tablet has been preserved is almost a coincidence."
She turned around the tablet and pointed out the blackened marks on the back for everyone to examine. "You can see, when the fire started, this tablet fell off the platform and landed face down on the steps. Coincidentally, it was in a place where the oil hadn't been poured. Therefore, the fire only burned the back, and the writing on the front was not affected at all."
General Yuchi snorted, "The hall was in chaos, and a tablet just happened to fall, bottom up, face down. What's so strange about that?"
Qian Deng analyzed clearly, "There are three things that don't make sense. First, this spirit tablet was meant for accompanying burials. It was originally placed at the edge of the altar, a full half zhang away from the central steps. If it had fallen on its own, it would have fallen directly onto the stone slabs below the altar, shattering into pieces. It would have absolutely no chance of appearing intact on the steps diagonally opposite, as it is now."
"Secondly, to facilitate placement, the base of the tablet is much wider than the top. If it had fallen, there would have been a triangular gap between the base and the tablet, and flames could have entered through the gap, inevitably blackening the writing on the front. But it sat perfectly still, with its base hanging outward over the edge of the steps. The tablet fit perfectly onto the steps, so it wasn't affected by the fire at all."
After hearing her analysis, the Grand Commandant nodded silently: "It seems that the preservation of this spirit tablet in the fire must have been done intentionally by someone, otherwise, it would not have been preserved by such a coincidence."
"Yes, which brings me to my third point, which I find illogical. The people of Kucha respect fire but are not afraid of it. The dead are often cremated. Although the spirit tablets will be damaged by fire, they can be re-carved and made the same. But I know that the people of another country are extremely afraid of being harmed by water and fire after death, especially fire. Legend has it that demons and evil spirits are always thrown into the fire and burned, leaving no trace..."
Before she could finish, everyone in the hall subconsciously uttered the name of the person who had fought with them for many years and had even once invaded Qiuci from the hands of the Tang Dynasty -
"Xifan!"
Qian Deng affirmed, "Indeed, only the Westerners would mind so much if their ancestors were burned, even if it was just their spirit tablets after death."
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the intact "Lun Qinling" and the whole hall was silent.
Only the hoarse voice of the King of Kucha could be heard: "Was it the Westerners... who did it?"
"Nine out of ten. Otherwise, why would the assassins in the spirit hall be so concerned about the spirit of a foreigner?"
General Yuchi asked, "How did the Westerners get hold of the three sacred treasures of Kucha? In my opinion, even if the assassins were Westerners, it's very likely that the Lingling County Lady was colluding with them, each party taking advantage of their own needs and colluding with the enemy!"
"If that's the case, why didn't the Princess of Lingling, who traveled thousands of miles to escort her ancestors' clothing and spirit tablets back to her country, ask the Westerners to protect her ancestors' belongings as well? After all, spirit tablets can be re-engraved, but clothing and spirit tablets can be burned to ashes, making them impossible to restore."
General Yuchi hesitated for a long time before speaking, "In short, although the Westerners are suspects, the Princess of Lingling County stole the three sacred artifacts of the state, and on the night of the incident, she was dressed in the same attire as the assassin. Until these doubts are cleared, she cannot be innocent!"
Ji Linyou was so angry that he rolled up his sleeves and was about to charge forward, but Qian Deng raised his hand to stop him, saying, "What General Yuchi said is not without reason. After all, the three murders are all related to the three sacred artifacts that protect the country. As long as the mystery of the disappearance of the sacred artifacts from Lingling County Princess is not solved, then her suspicion will be difficult to clear."
Cui Fufeng addressed everyone loudly, "But your country should also be vigilant. I suspect this case is a scheme to kill with a borrowed knife. The enemy has exterminated the Kucha royal family and pinned the blame on the Lingling County Princess, who holds a special position in the Tang Dynasty. If this leads to hostility between the Tang Dynasty and Kucha, the thieves will have an opportunity to succeed in their long-standing plot. I urge your country to conduct a careful and thorough investigation and prevent a catastrophe."
With just a few words, the nature of the case suddenly rose to a higher level.
Everyone in Kucha was trembling with fear when they heard this. The face of the Grand Commandant changed color, and General Yuchi did not dare to speak again.
Only the King of Kucha reluctantly raised his hand and said with all his might, "A thorough investigation... of all those in Kucha who have connections with the Western Regions... I also hope that the Tang court will assist us in continuing... to track down the murderer and avenge the Kucha royal family!"
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