Chapter 14: Falun
Cui Fufeng hurriedly washed off the dust by the karez and returned to the Anxi Protectorate when the prince ordered Wei Fengyang to come find him.
"I heard something happened in Kucha, and it implicated the county princess. I went out to investigate last night." Cui Fufeng naturally knew what the prince wanted to see him about, so he spoke directly. "Kucha has suffered a catastrophe. I heard that the Kucha national teacher was killed, the national princess was seriously injured, and many members of the royal family were also in trouble."
"Yes, all the royal family members were inside at the time, but the flames inside the mausoleum are smoldering, and it's still too hot to enter to clean up. We don't know how many people died." The prince asked anxiously, "But according to information Wei Fengyang has gathered, Lingling was rescued from the palace last night by a group of mysterious people taking advantage of the chaos. Before his death, the Imperial Preceptor of Kucha personally testified, and the King of Kucha also confirmed, that the people who killed and set fire to the mausoleum last night were the ones who rescued Lingling! Kucha is now searching the entire city to bring her to justice."
Cui Fufeng frowned and said, "Such an absurd thing, can Your Highness believe it?"
"Of course I don't believe it. But these two cases are so brutal that they have already established Lingling's guilt. The person behind this scheme is so terrifying, and Lingling is in danger and her whereabouts are unknown... Cui Shaoqing, do you think she can escape safely and clear herself of suspicion?"
He asked, but his eyes were fixed on Cui Fufeng, as if he was trying to find the answer he wanted from him.
Cui Fufeng remained completely silent, saying, "Your Highness, don't worry. The county lady is incredibly intelligent. Now that she's escaped, she'll surely be able to take good care of herself and find an opportunity to clear her name as soon as possible."
Hearing him say this, the prince felt a little relieved, knowing that Qiandeng should be safe now. However, as the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, it was not convenient for him to ask about this matter openly, and it was best for him to stay out of it.
Therefore, he could only say, "You are the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple of our dynasty, and criminal cases are your responsibility. With such a major incident happening in Kucha, we should also lend a hand. Let me discuss this with Kucha and let you participate in the investigation of the case. I hope that Junior Minister Cui can thoroughly investigate all mysteries, just as he did when he worked with the Princess of Lingling at the Changhua Palace."
Needless to say, Cui Fufeng naturally understood his hint, which was to ask him to find clues and convey the details to Qiandeng.
He agreed tacitly, took the documents, and immediately rushed to the shrine to check the scene.
The once magnificent temple has now been burned down to only the black and solid outer walls and the high dome. Although it still stands at the intersection behind the palace, the inside and outside have long been a black ruin, looking like a huge tomb.
Black smoke, mixed with the stench of fire, filled the brick-kiln-like hall. Guards and monks braved the residual heat, gradually carrying out corpses, placing them one by one at the foot of the steps and covering them with white cloth.
Many people on the street stopped to watch, sighing and wiping away tears.
Cui Fufeng presented the document and entered the mausoleum to check the situation on the scene.
The hall was filled with ashes, the heat had not yet dissipated, and wisps of smoke were still rising from a few places.
Everyone was searching through the charred corpses in the ashes. All the bodies were twisted and twitching, a horrible sight. There were at least twenty or thirty of them.
Cui Fufeng walked over to the monks who were handling the bodies and asked in a low voice, "Masters, have you determined the exact number and identities of the victims?"
The monks clasped their hands in tears and said, "After years of war, our Kucha royal family is already sparsely populated. Nearly everyone gathered for last night's ceremony, but only a few escaped the flames. Although we haven't been able to definitively identify the bodies yet, I'm afraid the prince, his concubines, and his nephews have all perished in this disaster..."
Looking at the charred bodies that were beyond recognition, Cui Fufeng bowed his head in silence to express his mourning.
He followed the monks to the center. Although the spirit tablets placed on the high platform were all made of jade, they had turned gray and cracked, and even broke and shattered due to the burning fire.
According to the usual seating arrangement, the imperial teacher sat cross-legged on the steps, in front of the incense table, and preached, while the royal family members listened at the bottom of the steps. The closer they were to the steps, the more noble their status was.
The body lying on the steps was mostly charred bones, but judging by its white teeth and hard bones, it was obvious that it was still young.
After looking through the ornaments scattered under his body, the monks and guards all shed tears and prayed silently. This was the Kucha Prince Bai Zhaojue.
When his body was lifted up, everyone saw a golden glow flowing in the ashes behind his head.
"This... this is the sacred Dharma Wheel!"
Amid the crowd's exclamations, they brushed away the ashes, and the golden light was completely revealed. It was none other than the Golden Glazed Wheel, one of the three sacred treasures that had disappeared that day.
That night, the three sacred vessels disappeared, and later the Glazed Blue Lotus was used as a murder weapon to kill the Northern King. Therefore, Kucha conducted a thorough investigation inside and outside the temple.
But Cui Fufeng was also at the scene at the time and saw with his own eyes that the three sacred artifacts had indeed disappeared without a trace.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, it appeared next to the body of Prince Kucha.
Shocked, everyone was stunned for a long time. The monks wrapped the prince's body in white cloth with heavy hearts. As they turned the body over, someone pointed at the back of the prince's head and cried out, "This..."
When everyone gathered around to check, they found that the back of the prince's skull was shattered, and he had obviously died from being hit by something heavy.
The mark of the wound was almost identical to the outline of the Falun that appeared next to him.
Obviously, although the prince's body was burned by fire, the real cause of death was that he was hit on the back of the head by this heavy golden glazed Dharma wheel.
Cui Fufeng was looking at the cracked dent on his skull, pondering deeply when he heard the monks whispering, "Wasn't it the Princess of the Tang Dynasty who stole the sacred national treasure that day?"
"So, she killed the Northern King with the Glazed Blue Lotus, and now she's killing the prince with the Dharma Wheel?"
"She was the one who stole the Three Sacred Artifacts, and when the Three Sacred Artifacts killed people one after another, she was also the most suspicious person who appeared at the scene..."
"How could such a perfect match exist in this world? No wonder she fled out of fear of punishment..."
Cui Fufeng listened to their words, holding the Smoke and Cloud Hidden Kirin sachet given by Qiandeng at his waist with his hands down, his expression showing a rare solemnity and coldness.
"I heard that when the fire broke out last night, apart from the king who was first escorted out of the mausoleum by the guards, only your princess was rescued from the flames by the Lingling County Lady and escaped with her life?"
After hearing his words, those who had previously firmly believed that the truth of the case was clear began to hesitate. However, one person still insisted, "The princess was close to the palace entrance, so it's not surprising that she escaped in time. As for whether the Princess of Datang County rescued anyone, the situation was chaotic at the time, and we haven't heard of it."
"After the princess escaped, she didn't mention this matter?"
"She's been weak since childhood. After escaping death this time, she hasn't woken up from her coma yet. The doctor said she choked on too much smoke and is now breathing very weakly. I'm afraid... she's in critical condition."
Cui Fufeng frowned slightly. He had originally thought that the princess should be the most favorable witness for Qiandeng, but now it seems that she is unable to testify for the time being.
"Besides the king and princess, did anyone escape from the spirit hall last night? If so, perhaps I could ask them about the details of what happened."
The monks said, "One of the guards who escorted the king to safety has survived. Although he is covered in burns, he is still conscious and could be questioned."
The surviving guard, whose family had served as the royal palace guards for three generations, had always been loyal. This time, it was he who protected the king from escaping from the mausoleum and risked his life to put out the fire, thus saving the king.
Because of severe burns, his whole body was covered with ointment and bandages. His hair and beard were all singed and his condition was horrible.
Fortunately, he was still conscious. When he heard the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple of the Tang Dynasty coming to ask about the details of last night, he slowly and with difficulty recounted the situation in the hall in detail.
It turned out that last night, during the middle of the sacrifice ceremony, the master was sitting cross-legged on the steps and preaching the scriptures. Everyone was listening devoutly when suddenly a noise was heard from outside.
The captain of the guards went to investigate and discovered that the fire had broken out in a corner of the palace. Realizing the fire was small, the king continued the ceremony, ordering the captain of the guards to take most of the remaining staff to put out the fire. He, the remaining guard in the sanctuary, faithfully stood behind, silently listening to the sutras with the others.
However, for some reason, the sound of the lecture seemed to gradually become erratic. At first, the guard thought he was sleepy, but when he forced himself to be alert, he saw that everyone in the hall looked drowsy. Even the imperial teacher who was giving the lecture had his brows lowered and his mind was distracted.
Several of the older or weaker people in the hall had already fallen asleep. The guard had a hunch that something was wrong, but fatigue had left him feeling dizzy and his mind a blur.
At this moment, there was a sound of hurried footsteps coming from the door.
Immediately, screams were heard outside the hall. As the sound of guards falling to the ground rang out, a group of people strode in from outside the hall door, interrupting the mage's slow and dull preaching.
The Imperial Master was startled, but then his mind regained some clarity and he raised his voice: "Who is making such a noise and interrupting my lecture?"
The monks chanted Buddhist scriptures and were about to drive them out, but they saw those people suddenly lift up the wide green belts around their waists, pull out the swords hidden underneath, and start to chop at the people sitting at the door.
Blood splattered and screams were heard everywhere. The guards suddenly realized it and wanted to draw their swords and rush forward to resist.
However, the hall was filled with fragrance, and their bodies felt heavy, their eyes were dizzy, and they could hardly hold the swords in their hands.
Seeing that the group had already slaughtered people in the temple and were approaching the inner circle, the guard raised his weak hand and cut off his left little finger with a knife.
The pain briefly sobered him up, and his body seemed to regain control. He tied the blood-soaked cloth around his face to prevent himself from falling into unconsciousness again, then ran towards the king and lifted him up.
Then he swung his sword and chopped at the guards around him. He didn't care about anything else at this time. He tried to cut into unimportant places to force them to wake up. He signaled them to quickly cover their faces and get rid of the incense.
The assassins were getting closer and closer. They surrounded the king and tried to fight their way out. But they were extremely brave and had the aura of people who had been tempered on the battlefield. The royal family, young and old, had no power to resist. All they could hear in the hall were screams.
Helpless, everyone retreated step by step, escorting the king up the stairs, intending to seize the initiative from a high position.
Unexpectedly, the other party was so numerous and powerful that they eventually forced their way up the stairs, rushed straight to the incense table, and overturned the two huge sea-jar lamps that were always burning.
With a loud bang, the scented oil in the sea tank lamp suddenly surged and splashed towards the people who retreated to the stage.
With a laugh, the assassins quickly retreated and when they ran to the door of the hall, they flashed the fire in their hands and set the Persian carpet in the hall on fire.
The carpet caught fire immediately, and the flames rose up, instantly burning all the portraits of historical great rulers hanging on the walls of the mausoleum.
Then, the flames spread rapidly, burning from the door to the back of the temple and up the steps.
At this time, on the high steps, the king, the prince, the imperial teacher and the guards were all stepping on the oil, and their bodies were also covered with scented oil. Once the fire started, it was naturally unavoidable, and it seemed that everyone was about to be burned to death on the high platform.
With no other options, everyone could only risk their lives to protect their master and rushed into the sea of fire in an attempt to escape.
But they all had scented oil on their bodies, so naturally no one was spared from the licking of flames.
In the roaring firelight, he seemed to have heard Prince Bai Zhaojue's brief cry, but in the huge fireworks, who could see the situation clearly, find him, or take care of him?
Therefore, he could only protect the king, ignoring the blazing flames on his body, rushing through the raging sea of fire, trampling over the twisted and wailing people on the ground, abandoning the other guards who died in the sea of fire, and escorting the king out of the mausoleum.
They rolled down the stairs and tumbled outside the hall to put out the fire, but they were all burned beyond recognition.
Then, they saw the Princess of the Datang County and the masked strong men at the palace gate. They were all wearing the same green belts as the assassins, and there were also weapons hidden under the belts.
"We saw that she seemed to be holding... a child, but under the circumstances... who, who could tell if she was rescuing someone or... holding them hostage?" The guard finished his difficult recounting of the incident and continued, "Forget the King and the Imperial Preceptor... If we hadn't been... on fire at the time, we would have rushed over to her... and fought them to the death!"
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