Chapter 133: Lady of the Priestly Sacrifice
Heidao walked around the rockery and asked, "How can we get down?"
Liu Yanzi held the bone whistle tightly in her hand and frowned, "There must be a secret door nearby, otherwise Qingniang wouldn't have left the whistle here. Let's look around!"
Everyone started looking everywhere. The longer they delayed, the more dangerous Qingniang would be.
Chu Jing was the last one to arrive. He panted and asked, "What, what happened? Is Qingniang in danger?"
Tian Haozi bent down and looked for clues while saying, "Lady Bai said Qingniang was taken underground by them. I don't know where the mechanism is. Everyone is looking for it now."
Chu Jing leaned against the rockery to rest for a while and said, "I'll come and help too." Just as he was about to get up, his foot suddenly slipped and he fell backwards, with his arm hitting the mechanism at the entrance.
A secret passage appeared beside the rockery.
Chu Jing was startled and quickly stood up and called everyone over: "This! This, this, this!"
Liu Yanzi flew over using her Qinggong skills and was the first to step into the secret door, followed by the others who rushed in together.
The moon worship ceremony in the cave has come to an end, and people are lying on the ground praying.
Qingniang was hanging in the air, blood dripping down her ankles. She fell into a coma due to excessive blood loss.
Passing through the narrow tunnel, Liu Yanzi was the first to spot Qingniang hanging in the air. With bloodshot eyes, he shouted, "Qingniang!"
The people lying on the ground were startled by the sound. They didn't know a stranger would come, so they fled in all directions like frightened birds.
Liu Yanzi didn't care about anything else. She stepped on the statue of the Moon God and ran up. She cut the rope that was hanging Qingniang and jumped down holding her in her arms.
"Qingniang, wake up!" Liu Yanzi felt his breath and found that he was still alive...
"Boss, help her stop the bleeding!" Jinshan, who was following behind, took a knife and cut off the hem of his clothes and handed it to Liu Yanzi.
Liu Yanzi quickly took the cloth and wrapped it around Qingniang's ankles.
Chu Jing also ran over and took out a life-saving old ginseng pill from his arms and stuffed it into her mouth. "Little ancestor, how dare you be so brave to come here alone."
*
On the other side, Hei Dao Bai Xiu and other people from Xuan Yi Tower were counting the people in the cave. Someone tried to escape in the chaos, but after Hei Dao chopped off his head, the others instantly became obedient and knelt on the ground in an orderly manner.
I counted them and there were a total of 131 people.
Bai Xiu's five senses are superior to those of ordinary people. As soon as he came in, he smelled an unpleasant odor in the cave.
She followed the smell and found a burnt-out brazier. She pulled out the hairpin from her head, peeled off some ashes from the brazier and put them in her handkerchief, intending to take it back to show the emperor.
Just as I was about to turn around and leave, I suddenly heard the rustling of clothes behind me.
"Be careful!" Heidao roared and rushed over.
There was actually a person hiding in the dark corner. When he saw Bai Xiu and a woman walking towards him, he wanted to launch a sneak attack.
However, he didn't expect that Bai Xiu was the most skilled in martial arts here. He turned around and used his hairpin to block the opponent's blade.
"What are you yelling about? It's not like I didn't hear you."
Heidao stopped and stood aside, holding the knife, watching the fight.
The slender blade and the golden hairpin collided with each other, splashing dazzling sparks. The man was obviously not from the Central Plains, and he used the long sword in a very strange way.
Bai Xiu was no pushover, and he forced the man into a corner in just over ten moves. Because the narrow space limited the use of the long sword, the man knew he was doomed, so he just slashed his neck with the sword!
Blood gushed out, Bai Xiu was shocked and rushed over to try to stop him, but the man's blow was so powerful that he almost chopped off his head.
Liu Yanzi ran over and asked, "Why did you kill him?"
Bai Xiu blinked innocently: "He chopped it himself. It seems that this man knows a lot of secrets. Hei Dao will go to the palace to report to His Majesty first."
Heidao said, "Why should I go?" but he still ran towards the palace obediently.
Jinshan also took Qingniang back to the city for treatment, and the rest of the people stayed here to guard the people in the cave.
The people in the cave probably knew what they had done and kowtowed and begged for mercy.
"Let me go... I will give you all my property." The speaker was a middle-aged man. Although his face was covered, judging from the clothes he was wearing, it was clear that they were not something that ordinary people could afford.
Tian Haozi, who was guarding nearby, chuckled and asked, "How much property do you have?"
The man quickly said: "I can give you a hundred taels of gold!"
"He's so rich, could he be the owner of a bank in the city? Or the owner of a silver shop?"
The man was startled, afraid that the other party would guess his identity, so he quickly shut his mouth and dared not say anything more. He just hoped that someone would come to save him, otherwise if people knew that he was involved in such a thing, he would lose face...
Unfortunately, his wish was not fulfilled. Not long after, Song Yuzhu sent people from the Dali Temple and the Military Affairs Department to take over the case. All the people were escorted back to the Dali Temple to await interrogation.
*
You don't know until you try it. You will be shocked to find that among the more than one hundred people there are the owners of restaurants in the city, the managers of pawnshops, the presidents of chambers of commerce, and even the wives of several officials.
Among them was the wife of the chief academic officer of the Imperial College. She was over 30 years old and had two sons and one daughter. She had always been gentle and virtuous in the mansion and had never had an argument with anyone. Who would have thought that she would do such a shocking thing.
The chief priest couldn't believe that his wife would join the Moon Worship Sect. Yesterday, his wife said she wanted to go back to her parents' home for a short stay, and he asked the servants to prepare gifts for visiting his father-in-law and mother-in-law.
Who would have thought that he would receive news early the next morning that his wife was detained in the Dali Temple and was asked to go there for investigation.
On the way, the chief priest was still wondering if he had made a mistake. How could such a virtuous woman like the lady do such a thing?
But when he arrived at the Dali Temple, his heart sank instantly.
The Dali Temple Minister was a Jinshi in the same year as him, and the two had always had a good relationship in the court. It was impossible for him to arrest his wife for no reason.
"Shaomin, what on earth is going on?"
Lu Shaomin said solemnly, "This is a serious matter. I can't tell you too much. I can only tell you to quickly persuade your sister-in-law to tell her everything you know, so as not to affect the children's future."
The chief priest nodded repeatedly and followed the two guards into the prison.
Too many people were arrested last night and the prison cells were not big enough, so many people were locked up together.
Because of Lu Shaomin, the wife of the chief priest was locked up in a cell alone.
"Xiu...Xiu Rong?"
Lan Xiurong, who was curled up inside, was startled when she heard her husband's voice and quickly lowered her head to hide herself.
"Xiu Rong, come here quickly!"
"Master, please go back. I have committed a great crime, so please divorce me."
The chief priest said with red eyes: "What on earth is going on?"
"Don't ask. I don't have the face to see you again."
"You...Even if you don't look at me, don't you think about your two sons and young daughter?!"
When talking about her three children, Lan Xiurong finally couldn't control herself and burst into tears, covering her mouth.
She was crying inside and the chief priest was crying outside. After a long time, he raised his head and walked over.
Her eyes were red and swollen, her clothes were disheveled, and there was grass debris on her hair.
When had Jijiu seen his wife in such a miserable state? He could not help but feel a pain in his heart: "Xiu Rong, tell me everything. I will plead with Shaomin, even if I am demoted."
Lan Xiurong grabbed the railing and sobbed again. After finally stopping her tears, she began to say, "I didn't expect it to turn out like this. It happened three months ago. I had a headache and couldn't sleep for more than ten days."
The chief priest remembered that his wife had mentioned some time ago that she often had headaches, so he even called the imperial physician to help treat her.
"What does the headache have to do with this?"
"Of course it is related. During those days, I was exhausted both physically and mentally because of my headaches. I took many medicines but none of them worked. Later, the maid suddenly told me that there was a Taoist priest in Changxi Palace outside the city who specialized in treating headaches."
"I was desperate and went to Changxi Palace with the idea of giving it a try. The man gave me a packet of medicine. I didn't need to take it with water. Whenever I had a headache, I put it in the incense burner and lit it. The smell of the smoke would relieve the pain."
The medicine was very effective. After that, every time she had a headache, she had to light it to relieve the pain. Soon the whole packet of medicine was used up.
When Lan Xiurong went to ask for the medicine again, the Taoist told her: "This medicine can only be given to her if she joins the Qingxu Sect. Otherwise, I will not sell it to her even if she pays a fortune."
Lan Xiurong initially disagreed and took a carriage back home. However, that night she not only had a terrible headache, but also felt like bugs were crawling on her body. She was so uncomfortable that she almost died.
The chief priest still didn't understand what he heard: "There's something wrong with that medicine!"
Lan Xiurong nodded: "It was too late when I realized it. I felt uncomfortable all over if I didn't use this medicine for a day."
The next day, she couldn't wait to go to Changxi Palace outside the city, kowtowed and begged to join the Qingxu Sect, and also received medicine to treat headaches from the Taoist priest.
The days after joining the sect were no different from the past. At first, Lan Xiurong still had some hope and thought that Qingxu Sect was just an ordinary Taoism.
Until the first full-moon night, she clearly remembered that day was April 15th, she received a message from the church asking them to come to Changxi Palace that night to participate in the moon worship ceremony.
Lan Xiurong found an excuse to quietly leave the city, and that night she arrived outside Changxi Palace, followed those people into the underground palace, and participated in the first moon worship.
When the leader lit the magic medicine, everyone fell into a fantasy. She knew what was happening, but could not stop it.
After the ceremony, Lan Xiurong received a month's supply of the magic medicine. She returned home and claimed to be sick, not leaving the house for three days.
Not only did she feel physically uncomfortable, but she also suffered a strong psychological shock, which made her ashamed to face her husband and children.
But there was no way to control this kind of thing. After she finished using the magic medicine, she couldn't help but participate in the second moon worship. This time it was the third time and she happened to run into Xuanyi Tower and was captured here.
Lan Xiurong seemed to have lost all her strength after she finished speaking. She said with a sad look, "I deserve this for what I have done. My husband, please don't tell the children."
The priest wiped his nose and nodded: "I know."
Lan Xiurong smiled, reached out and touched Jijiu's face and said: "I am very happy to marry you. When I am gone, you take good care of the children." After that, she stood up and hit the wall next to her.
"Xiu Rong! What are you doing? Someone come quickly! Someone come quickly!" The chief priest was so frightened that he didn't know what to do. He shouted at the guards to open the door.
The guards outside rushed over and opened the prison door, but it was too late.
"Xiu Rong, Xiu Rong!" The chief priest cried heart-wrenchingly while holding his wife's body.
"I never blamed you!"
The two were a young couple, and they were in love and affectionate with each other.
His wife has always been a gentle and introverted person, which made him neglect her health, and finally led to such bitter consequences. He regrets it deeply.
Lu Shaomin rushed over upon hearing the news. He could not bear to see the tragic scene. He patted the chief priest on the shoulder and said, "Please accept my condolences. I have already asked the palace to spare my sister-in-law from being buried with the crime."
The chief priest wiped his eyes and said, "Thank you very much."
"Explain it to the child."
The chief priest nodded and staggered to his feet, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
"I will keep silent about my late wife's confession."
(End of this chapter)
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