The second day of the twelfth month, the hour of Hai.
It is late at night and everything is silent.
"Hurry up, hurry up, don't damage the goods!"
On the northern outskirts of Laifeng State, in front of the Xiangyang Temple archway at the foot of Qifeng Mountain, a manager of the Si family caravan was directing more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages, which were rumbling along the winding and rugged mountain road, heading towards the halfway point of the mountain.
A quarter of an hour later, they finally arrived at the back gate of Xiangyang Temple halfway up Qifeng Mountain.
“Knock knock knock~”
The manager of the Si family caravan, who was escorting the "goods" this time, knocked on the back door of Xiangyang Temple.
"Who is coming?"
The questioning voice of the Taoist priest guarding the gate of Xiangyang Temple came from inside.
The manager of the Si family caravan said leisurely, "Delivery!"
Then the Taoist priest who was guarding the back door of Xiangyang Temple spoke again: "What kind of stuff is this?"
The Si family caravan manager said as usual: "Winter melon, loofah, gourd, but my favorite is bitter melon."
Seeing that the people outside the door had given the secret signal, the Taoist priest guarding the gate in the courtyard immediately opened the back door with a "creak". Then a group of people wearing dark green Taoist robes and dressed like Taoist priests came out of the back door of Xiangyang Temple and carried the sacks from the Si family caravan's carriage into the big kitchen of Xiangyang Temple.
"Thank you for your hard work, Manager Feng!" The Taoist priest in charge of the Xiangyang Temple's dining hall bowed to the manager of the Si family caravan.
"Sure, sure."
After returning the gift, the manager of the Si family caravan directed everyone to drive the empty carriage away from Xiangyang Temple and down Qifeng Mountain.
After the people from the Si family caravan left, the Taoist priest in charge of the dining hall returned to the kitchen and came to a large built-in wooden cabinet where the bowls and chopsticks were placed.
But he opened the cabinet door and turned a large bowl inside. Then, an entrance to a tunnel appeared on the ground. The dim light inside shone dimly from the secret passage.
“Get to work!”
Following the order from the Taoist priest in charge of the dining hall, the Taoist priests in the kitchen who were wearing dark green Taoist robes immediately stepped forward and carried the sacks on the ground down the stairs one by one from the entrance of the secret passage.
Ermao, bound hands and feet and stuffed in a rag in his mouth, was placed in a sack. He felt dizzy and his breathing seemed to be getting harder and harder...
About half a cup of tea later, Ermao was finally released from the sack, untied, and the rag stuffed in his mouth was removed.
However, Ermao found himself in a stone chamber. He was almost suffocating, but then he began to breathe deeply.
However, several children who unfortunately died were dragged away by the expressionless Taoist priests. Ermao had no idea where they went.
"Dad, where are you?"
"Ermao is so scared!"
“Wow wow wow wow…”
The huge panic and the crying of children around him who had the same experience as Ermao magnified his inner fear infinitely, and then Ermao also burst into loud crying.
It’s a pity that no matter how loudly the children in the secret room under the big kitchen of Xiangyang Temple’s dining hall cried, the people outside couldn’t hear even a single sound.
…
“Chuckle…”
December 3rd, early morning.
At four quarters past the hour of Mao, Xiaobai's lifelike hen crowing sound came from the direction of Fanyin Pavilion on time again.
Hua Qingcheng, who had stayed in Bingquanxuan for two consecutive nights, also woke up slowly.
"Ugh~"
"Xiao...Xiao Qingcheng, it's time...time to get up and go...vomit...to the Imperial College..."
Han Yichen suffered from morning sickness again early in the morning. While enduring the discomfort, he called Hua Qingcheng to get up and go to school.
"Achen, I asked Hua Heshang to ask for leave for me when he goes to school today."
Hua Qingcheng, who had not yet fully woken up, saw Han Yichen start vomiting again, so she hurriedly sat up from the bed, brought him water to rinse his mouth, and patted his back to help him breathe.
"But...Xiao Qingcheng, you already took a day off yesterday. If you don't go to the Imperial College today, will that old woman Wen Siyin report you to the Emperor?"
Although Han Yichen also likes Hua Qingcheng to accompany him, he would feel uneasy if she "lost her ambition" because of him.
"Achen, it's okay. It's already the twelfth lunar month, and we haven't had any new classes recently. We've just been reviewing what we've learned. Even if I don't go to the Imperial College to study, it won't have much of an impact. I can just go back to the study and study in the evening." Hua Qingcheng said indifferently.
If this period of time were in modern times, it would be equivalent to the review period before the final exam. Hua Qingcheng, who always prided herself on her self-control, felt that it was more than enough for her to read in the East Palace.
Of course, the main reason was that Hua Qingcheng saw Han Yichen almost die in front of her. Hua Qingcheng felt very distressed for Han Yichen and planned to stay with him for a while longer.
"real?"
After hearing this, Han Yichen felt a little less guilty.
"Of course. When have I ever lied to you?" Hua Qingcheng raised her hand and scratched Han Yichen's nose lovingly, looking at him with a doting smile on his face.
"In that case... then, Xiao Qingcheng, can you accompany me to see the thorny rose flowers again?" Han Yichen raised the corners of his mouth slightly and looked at Hua Qingcheng with anticipation.
Thinking back to what Yu Xiaotian had said about the vengeful spirit following Han Yichen back from his outing, and seeing that this third husband wanted to go to Xiangyang Temple in the north of the city, Hua Qingcheng's eyes flashed with worry. She was worried that if the vengeful spirit followed him back on his way back, what would she do?
"What? Xiao Qingcheng, don't you want to?" Han Yichen pouted slightly in disappointment.
"That... Achen... Okay! I'll promise you." Hua Qingcheng couldn't bear to see Han Yichen sad, so she had to agree to his proposal.
"It's just... Achen, when we go to Xiangyang Temple this time, I want to take Xiaotian with us. Xiaotian always stays alone in Fanyin Pavilion, and I'm really afraid that he will be bored." Hua Qingcheng said half-truthfully.
Han Yichen imagined Yu Xiaotian becoming increasingly stupid, until he couldn't even eat or dress, and needed help with urination and defecation...
Han Yichen suddenly felt a chill all over his body, then shook off the goose bumps on his body and said, "Xiaotian... Well, okay then."
Although Han Yichen secretly wanted to be alone with Hua Qingcheng, since Hua Qingcheng had already said that she preferred him, Han Yichen felt very satisfied. He also had no objection to Hua Qingcheng wanting Yu Xiaotian to go as well. Besides, he and Yu Xiaotian had a good brotherly relationship.
"Bo~"
Hua Qingcheng gently held Han Yichen's face and gave him a sweet kiss on the forehead.
"I knew you were the most considerate person, Achen."
…
At four quarters past noon, after having breakfast and a short rest, Hua Qingcheng, who had taken leave from the Imperial College, took Han Yichen and Yu Xiaotian with her and boarded a carriage bound for the Xiangwang Temple on Qifeng Mountain in the northern suburbs of the city.
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