Chapter 243 Finding Zhu Hong's Wife
Taiqing Temple is located at the foot of Taiqing Mountain, surrounded by mountains and water, with an excellent environment.
Even if there was a severe drought for several months, the well water in the temple was still sufficient.
After the Taoist priest on duty outside Hanguang Courtyard shouted "Fire!", he immediately opened the door and rushed in.
The two men did not rush into the burning kitchen, nor did they rush into the room that was already on fire.
Instead, he carried a child out from the room to the right of the door.
The child was about three or four years old, with a delicate and delicate appearance. Under the light of the lantern, her inner garment had a silvery silk sheen.
The child was awakened by the sudden change and cried loudly.
The children in other rooms were woken up.
The weather was dry and the fire in the room connected to the kitchen was getting bigger and bigger.
The older orphans heard the crackle of burning wood, saw the glow of fire from the tiles, and felt the warmth.
"Run! Run! The water is leaking!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the children immediately jumped off the bunk bed and ran out of the room without even having time to put on their shoes.
When the Taoist priests from Taiqing Temple rushed to Hanguangyuan to put out the fire, most of the rooms in the row facing the door had been burned.
Everyone's eyes were on the fat baby who was crying non-stop because of fear.
"I want my daddy! I want my mommy!"
They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that their most important child was safe and sound.
The other orphans stood outside the courtyard, the firelight illuminating their faces.
Let sadness and panic have nowhere to hide.
"Put out the fire."
A child said it weakly, but the Taoist priest ignored him and even put down the bucket in his hand.
There was a fire in the backyard and there was no way to get water from the well to put it out.
Hanguangyuan is relatively remote, and it is too troublesome to fetch water from other places, and the effect is not very good.
After a while, the abbot of the temple, Taoist Taixu, arrived.
He immediately took the crying child into his arms and comforted him, "Lin'er, don't cry. Your foster father will take you to rest."
After saying this, he looked at the disciple beside him.
"Take the children to the front yard and let them sleep on the ground for one night. Tomorrow, put up a notice at the entrance of the Taoist temple, asking pilgrims to donate to repair the Hanguangyuan."
This is a good opportunity to make money, we can't let it go!
"Yes, Master."
Qi Yanzhou followed Taoist Taixu to Wujiyuan where he lived.
The child was obviously spoiled. No matter how he was coaxed, he kept asking to see his parents.
After Taoist Taixu lost his temper, he cried even more breathlessly.
"Little ancestor, stop crying. I will take you to find your mother."
After hearing this, Qi Yanzhou was certain that the child was Zhu Hong's concubine.
“Click!”
Taoist Taixu turned the oil lamp on the table, and the wooden board under his feet moved away, revealing a secret passage.
He held the child in one hand and picked up the oil lamp in the other. He covered the hole under the lamp with a book and entered the secret passage.
Qi Yanzhou put the tiles back in place, jumped off the roof, and entered the room through the window.
Before the board closes, jump into the secret passage.
There is a mechanism in the secret passage.
Although Qi Yanzhou dodged, Taoist Taixu, who had not walked far, heard the noise.
"who?"
"Qi Yanzhou."
Taoist Taixu was so frightened by these three words that he ran forward quickly with the child in his arms.
The oil lamp went out and the dark passage was pitch black.
The child was frightened and cried loudly and struggled frantically.
Then he was knocked unconscious by a knife attack.
The mechanisms in the secret passages were all arranged in a similar manner. Qi Yanzhou easily avoided them and quickly caught up with Taoist Taixu.
Taoist Taixu felt his heart in his throat when he heard the approaching footsteps.
In his panic, he forgot to turn and crashed into the dirt wall.
The huge rebound force made him fall to the ground, and his buttocks were almost broken in two.
The child in her arms was also hit and woke up from the pain, crying loudly.
Qi Yanzhou took out a fire starter from his arms and blew into it.
The dim light illuminates the small space.
Taoist Taixu's forehead was swollen, his head was buzzing, and his vision was black.
The fat kid rolled off his body and fell to the ground, his face swollen and he was crying with snot and tears.
Qi Yanzhou picked up the oil lamp on the ground.
Most of the kerosene in the lamp had spilled, but there was still a little bit left, which was barely usable.
He placed the oil lamp with a needle at the end next to the earthen wall and lit it.
The light suddenly became much brighter.
Qi Yanzhou stepped on Taoist Taixu's chest and asked, "You only have one chance to answer. Whose child is this?"
The huge force pressed on his heart, and it seemed as if his ribs would break in the next moment.
The fear of death came over me.
Taoist Taixu said truthfully: "This is the prefect's child."
Qi Yanzhou relaxed his grip and asked again, "Is Zhu Hong's mistress at the end of the tunnel?"
"Yes, just walk along the secret passage for a cup of tea and you'll be there."
"Tell me about the situation in the outer room."
Zhu Hong's mistress was his distant cousin.
Ever since his eldest son was sent to the capital as a hostage, he knew that his son was doomed.
So he asked a distant cousin to come to Dingzhou, and placed her in a nunnery on the back mountain of Taiqing Temple, and secretly had an affair with her.
His cousin gave birth to a son and a daughter for him.
In order to avoid being seen, Zhu Hong raised his daughter in a nunnery and his son in Taiqing Temple.
He comes to see his cousin, daughter and son on the first and fifteenth of every month.
If I'm not busy, I'll stay for two more days.
Except for the abbot of Taiqing Temple and the nunnery, no one knew this secret.
After all, deceiving the emperor is a serious crime that will lead to the confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan!
The reason why the Taoists cared about Lin'er was because Taoist Taixu said that he had a high level of comprehension, so he adopted him as his adopted son.
After hearing this, Qi Yanzhou kicked Taoist Taixu.
"Go back to the room and send someone to find Zhu Hong. I want to see him tonight."
Taoist Taixu quickly got up, picked up the hoarsely crying child, and covered his mouth.
"Yes, sir!"
He picked up the oil lamp on the ground, walked in front, avoided the mechanism and left the secret passage.
Qi Yanzhou followed closely behind.
Back in the room, Taoist Taixu put the oil lamp back on the table, and the entrance to the dark secret passage was sealed with wooden boards.
He used his knife to knock Lin'er unconscious again and called his disciples.
Ask the disciples to invite Zhu Hong to the Taoist temple immediately.
The reason was that Hanguangyuan had burned down, and they wanted to ask the prefect to help raise funds for its repair.
This was not the first time that the abbot had done this, so the disciples did not think much about it.
After all, the prefect also had a share of the money raised.
"Disciple will go right away."
***
When Taoist Taixu's disciples were riding towards Dingzhou City, Pei Zirong came to the post station with valuable gifts.
He brought a large box and a wooden box.
The big box contained valuable treasures, and the wooden box contained 10,000 taels of silver.
"Madam Qi, you saved my mother. This is a thank you gift."
After saying that, he knelt down again and kowtowed.
"I'm done with saving your life!"
After saying that, he stood up and extended his hand to Ye Chutang, his tone cold and hard.
"Mrs. Qi, can you give me the prescription for my mother's treatment now?"
Ye Chutang nodded and looked at Qi Hean beside him.
"Third brother, go get the medicine bag on the table."
"Okay, second sister-in-law."
Qi Hean quickly brought the medicine bag and handed it to Pei Zirong.
Ye Chutang also handed over the written prescription.
"General Pei, the prescription contains the details of decocting and taking the medicine, just follow it."
Pei Zirong accepted ten prescriptions and the medicine.
He threatened: "If Madam Qi's medicine can't cure my mother's illness, I will not let you go even if I chase you to Tianshan County!"
After saying that, he bowed to Ye Chutang again.
"If Madam Qi can cure my mother, I will send a generous gift to Tianshan County to thank her again!"
He performed the military moves first and then the formal moves, doing this for the people at the post station and the people watching.
Ye Chutang raised the corners of his mouth, calm and confident.
"I'm in Tianshan County, waiting for General Pei's generous reward!"
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