Chapter 5 The Deadly Trap: "Just a pawn, what do I care if it lives or dies?"...
Chapter 5
The bells rang in the temple, and in the warm spring sunshine, the young princess stood in front of the temple, hand in hand with her mother.
The little princess looked up at the three large characters "Yongle Temple" on the plaque above the gate and slowly asked, "Yongle... Mother, is this temple named after my title?"
"Yes." The woman holding the girl's arm spoke in a gentle voice. She knelt down and looked the girl in the eye. "I originally planned to build a palace for you in this place, but you are too young now, so I changed my mind and built a temple here for doing good deeds and accumulating merit, as a way to pray for your well-being. By the way, the blueprints for this temple were designed by my sister."
The girl's eyes sparkled as she watched the figure slowly approaching from afar, and she grinned broadly, "Sir, you've come too!"
"Sister," Feng Sangrou called out, smiling as she said, "I thought you weren't coming today."
Feng Youming said, "I only have this one precious student now. How could I possibly be absent from the opening of the temple named after her? Yongle, don't you agree?"
The little girl obediently replied, "Yes!"
As she spoke, she took the little girl's other hand and said, "Come, let me tell you about this Buddhist temple. First, you can only become a monk when you turn sixteen. Until then, you can keep your little white tiger here, so you won't have to hide from your father every day while holding the little tiger..."
"Little White is already three months old, not a tiger cub..."
"Okay, it's a big tiger."
"It's not that big..."
The three of them opened the temple gate hand in hand. Their laughter and chatter gradually faded away. Their gazes fell to the end of the temple, but no one was there. Only the solemn light of the Buddha remained.
"Feng Tan?" As the past faded away, Xiao Yinshi turned back impatiently and called out again, "Feng Tan."
Feng Tan's eyes welled up with tears, and she quickened her pace to catch up with him.
Xiao Yinshi's eyes were filled with inquiry. "You've been here before?"
Feng Tan said, "This is a royal forbidden temple; I have no right to enter."
“It’s almost no longer a forbidden temple,” Xiao Yinshi said as he walked. “News has come from the cabinet that the Second Princess, Feng Dai, will soon turn fifteen, and His Majesty wants to reopen Yongle Temple for her.”
Upon hearing this, Feng Tan suddenly reached out and grabbed Xiao Yinshi's arm, her eyes filled with a kind of stubbornness, and said, "But I heard that this temple was built by Feng Youming for Princess Yongle back then."
Xiao Yinshi's gaze fell on the boy's fair and delicate left hand, and the oppressive look in his eyes made Feng Tan loosen his grip.
Xiao Yinshi said, "Whether it's Feng Qinghuang or Feng Dai, they are both His Majesty's daughters. What's the difference?"
Feng Tan concealed the loneliness in her eyes and forced a smile. "Yes, nothing's different."
As the largest royal temple in the capital, Yongle Temple enshrines the Three Buddhas and Three Bodhisattvas. The two passed through the Vairocana Hall, walked along a 100-meter-long white stone platform, and stopped at the Revolving Wheel Hall located in the southeast of the temple.
Outside the Hall of Revolving Wheels is a replica of an ancient pavilion with double eaves. In the main position is a golden Buddha statue several feet tall. To the left of the Buddha statue is an octagonal rotating bookshelf with stacks of scriptures. Next to it is a prayer wheel more than ten meters long with Sanskrit scriptures engraved on it. The whole arrangement is magnificent and solemn, and being in it is like being bathed in Buddha's light.
The lone lamp and candlelight could not fully illuminate the Buddha statue. The hall was cold and silent. Xiao Yinshi stood in the hall, looking up at the Buddha statue with his lips tightly pressed together and his expression gloomy, showing no piety.
Feng Tan glanced at him and said, "Buddhism speaks of the Three Refuges: first, taking refuge in the Buddha; second, taking refuge in the Dharma; and third, taking refuge in the Sangha. Lord Xiao, what do you take refuge in?"
Xiao Yinshi turned to look down at her and said, "Gods and Buddhas are nothing but illusions that people use to comfort themselves. I don't believe in anything."
Xiao Yinshi is a mountain that will never make a fuss. From the few times they have met, Feng Tan feels that he is as if his emotions have been taken away, cold and ruthless with a heart as sharp as a knife. She is somewhat curious about his upbringing, but now is not the time for curiosity to get the better of her.
Feng Tan asked, "Sir, where is Lin Wanzhou?"
Xiao Yinshi turned around and looked outside the hall, saying, "Zhu Qi."
Zhu Qi, Xiao Yinshi's personal bodyguard, appeared outside the hall in response to the call. Behind him were Lin Wanzhou and two black-clad guards with swords. The four of them stood respectfully outside the hall, waiting there for some unknown time.
Feng Tan saw that Lin Wanzhou, standing among the black-clad guards, looked natural and showed no signs of injury, and her heart, which had been hanging in suspense for two days, finally settled down a little.
Zhu Qi led Lin Wanzhou into the hall. "Master, as you instructed, I have allowed Lin Wanzhou to stay here for two days."
Xiao Yinshi hummed in agreement, withdrew his gaze from Zhu Qi and the others, and turned to Feng Tan, saying, "I have promised to bring Lord Feng's beloved. If Lord Feng wishes to take her back to Hongxiu Pavilion, please feel free to do so."
Before Feng Tan could speak, Lin Wanzhou knelt down abruptly, kowtowed heavily, and said loudly, "Lord Xiao, this servant is only willing to serve you!"
Feng Tan stopped in his tracks as he was about to walk towards her.
Xiao Yinshi's lips curved into a subtle smile. He didn't look at the beauty kneeling before the Buddha; all the interest that had been building up in his eyes was directed at Feng Tan. He didn't speak, but Feng Tan understood what he meant.
In fact, Feng Tan had already guessed the general idea from Xiao Yinshi and Gao Yu's conversation. Lin Wanzhou was probably willing to stay in Xiao Yinshi's hands, but she didn't understand what went wrong.
The capital city is surrounded by wolves and tigers, and Hongxiu Pavilion has always protected her very well. Moreover, she is Feng Youming's daughter. With the relationship between Feng Youming and Ren Pingsheng, Ren Pingsheng will definitely be able to ensure that Lin Wanzhou is safe and sound in Hongxiu Pavilion.
Why exactly does Lin Wanzhou refuse to go back with her?
On a snowy night, in front of the Buddha statue, Feng Tan looked at the frail and beautiful girl again after eight years.
She has grown up and lost the cuteness of her childhood. She is now like a jade beauty made of ice and snow. At only fourteen years old, she is already as elegant as a solitary orchid in a secluded valley.
She knelt on the ground, bowing to the man who didn't even glance at her.
In an instant, Feng Tan saw the image of her master breaking through the predicament alone back then, while her descendants, her own flesh and blood, were kneeling and begging for pity from others.
Feng Tan suddenly felt a stinging pain in her eyes. She stepped forward, squatted down, and gripped Lin Wanzhou's shoulders tightly with both hands.
Because Xiao Yinshi was present, Feng Tan dared not reveal anything. She lifted Lin Wanzhou's shoulders, forcing her to look at her.
Lin Wanzhou looked into the eyes of the young man before her and spoke first, "You've come."
Their eyes met in the dim light, and Feng Tan knew that Lin Wanzhou recognized her.
Feng Tan said, "Come back with me."
"Lord Feng, why should I go back?" Lin Wanzhou's eyes were icy cold, filled with resentment. "You came with such ease, but do you know how I spent the eight years in the Red Sleeve Pavilion?"
Feng Tan thought she could suppress her emotions, but when she saw Lin Wanzhou's current appearance, her eyes welled up with tears. Fortunately, she was facing away from everyone, and the lighting was dim, so Xiao Yinshi couldn't see her expression.
Feng Tan's hands trembled slightly as she looked at her sister, who now seemed like a stranger to her. She held back a sob before daring to speak, "I know... I know... Wanzhou, I'm here to pick you up. Believe me, soon... you'll be able to go home..."
Lin Wanzhou looked at Feng Tan, her smile silent and sorrowful, tears dripping onto the ground. "Home? I lost it a long time ago..."
Feng Tan lowered her voice and said, "Xiao Yinshi doesn't really want to take you into his household; he's just using you. Don't be afraid. Even if you're fifteen years old, Ren Pingsheng and I will protect you and won't make you entertain guests."
She gently coaxed, "Wanzhou, come back with me first."
"Call me ungrateful, call me a sycophant, but even if I'm being used, I don't want to go back to that disgusting place." Lin Wanzhou placed her fingers on Feng Tan's arm, leaned in to whisper in her ear, and forcefully pulled Feng Tan's arm away. "The predecessors committed the sins, and the successors suffer the consequences. Lord Feng respects her, but I hate her."
Feng Tan looked at the person in front of her and felt a chill run down her spine.
Things change, people change; this is generally true.
"call out!"
Suddenly, an arrow flew through the air and pierced the sandalwood cabinet in front of the Buddha several inches deep. Immediately afterward, a fierce whooshing sound swept through the air, and countless dark arrows surged towards the Wheel-Turning Hall from all directions.
Feng Tan swiftly grabbed Lin Wanzhou and rolled her around the hall several times before hiding behind a rotating bookshelf several feet high, peering out to survey the surroundings.
As the rain of arrows subsided, several footsteps approached from outside the Hall of Revolving Wheels. She quickly scanned the hall, but Xiao Yinshi and his three guards had vanished without a trace.
Feng Tan's brain raced. In such a short time, Xiao Yinshi wouldn't have had time to run away. He must be hiding somewhere in the main hall. The place where he and Lin Wanzhou were hiding was the visible one. The hidden place of the Revolving Wheel Hall... The hidden place of the Revolving Wheel Hall was behind the rotating cylinder. In the drawings designed by the master, there was a Guanyin stone wall made of white marble, and behind the stone wall were two tunnels!
There seemed to be a taut string in the air. Without time to think, Feng Tan grabbed Lin Wanzhou's wrist tightly and ran with all her might towards the Guanyin Stone Wall.
At the same time, several assassins in black rushed into the hall. The leader, seeing Feng Tan and Lin Wanzhou running wildly through the hall, aimed and drew his bowstring, firing an arrow like a gust of wind towards Lin Wanzhou's back.
The arrow was too fast for Lin Wanzhou to dodge!
As Feng Tan ran at top speed, he sensed something and turned around. Amidst the chaos, he released Lin Wanzhou's wrist, stretched out his hands, and pushed her forcefully towards the stone wall.
Lin Wanzhou exclaimed, "Ah Tan!"
"Thud!" An arrow pierced Feng Tan's left arm. She groaned in pain and ran quickly to the back of the stone wall, where she found Xiao Yinshi.
"The fish have taken the bait." Xiao Yinshi looked at the dozens of assassins who were coming with arrows, his eyes sharp as eagles. He said to Zhu Qi behind him, "Capture them, but remember, leave them alive."
"Yes, sir." Zhu Qi drew his sword and stood up. At the same time, dozens of armored soldiers surged into the hall. Then the gate slammed shut, turning the place into a closed space.
Feng Tan clutched his left arm, which was throbbing with pain, his lips pale, and said, "The fish has taken the bait, but the bait is me and Lin Wanzhou. Your Excellency has a very deep scheme!"
Xiao Yinshi turned his gaze to Feng Tan, glanced at her bleeding left arm, and said, "Tell me how I planned this."
A chill ran through Feng Tan's eyes. "In the case you're investigating, sir, Lin Wanzhou is an indispensable witness. That's why you took her away. The perpetrators, seeing that Lin Wanzhou is in your hands, will surely want to kill her before she can speak. So, you've devised a plan, using my tracks to subtly reveal Lin Wanzhou's hiding place, luring the assassins there... luring them into a trap before capturing them. Am I right?"
Xiao Yinshi remained noncommittal, saying, "You're very smart."
"Not even one ten-thousandth of what you are capable of." Feng Tan's sarcasm was obvious, and her displeasure was plain to see. "If I weren't here today, Lin Wanzhou would be dead by now. After you got the information you wanted from her, you didn't care about her life or death at all, did you?"
Lin Wanzhou's face turned deathly pale.
Before the stone wall, swords flashed and shadows danced incessantly. A cold light swept across Xiao Yinshi's brows and eyes, revealing his sinister and ruthless nature. The murderous aura that had been dormant for many years emanated from him, cold and devoid of any warmth.
He narrowed his eyes, a cold smile playing on his lips. "Just a pawn, what do I care about its life or death?"
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