Chapter 338: Mountain Roaming Temple
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Zhao Neng gently lifted the roof tile to find out what was going on. However, after the tile was lifted, he realized that they were in the blind spot out of the tile’s view. They were at the exact location where he could not see.
Zhao Neng could only put back the roof tile. When he found the right position and was about to check, he realized that there was a movement behind him.
He quickly turned around and saw that it was the movement of the secret guard. The secret guard was gesturing to him that someone was coming in their direction.
Zhao Neng had no choice but to leave first.
When Zhao Neng crept back, Zhang Gang had already brought Hea Shouyi out of the house.
Zhang Gang brought Hea Shouyi and made a big detour on the street just like before. Finally, the horse carriage stopped at a street corner.
Zhang Gang left after Hea Shouyi got off the horse carriage.
Zhao Neng asked the secret guards to follow Hea Shouyi and keep a lookout for anyone following him. He then led a few people to go after Zhang Gang.
Hea Shouyi walked back to Prince Qi’s Manor.
After returning to the manor, Hea Shouyi brushed past Zhang Shuming. Zhang Shuming glanced at him and only gave him an eye signal before turning around and leaving.
Hea Shouyi didn’t immediately report the situation to Su Ying. Instead, he went back to his room and slept.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of the watchman’s gong rang out at midnight.
Hea Shouyi’s figure appeared in Su Ying’s room.
Hea Shouyi’s figure was almost hidden in the darkness. “Your Highnesses, the other party has already given me a mission today. They want me to lure the Princess Consort to Mountain Roaming Temple outside the city in three days.”
Su Ying sat on the bed, her figure wavering in the light behind the curtain. “And after that?”
“They said that they would set up an ambush there to capture you, Your Highness.”
“Capture me? They want my life?”
“From what I could guess from Zhang Gang’s words, this was probably their plan.”
The other party wanted to capture Su Ying and take her life. She felt that this was within reason.
“Your Highness, are you going?”
“Of course, I’m going. They’re planning this either because they’re confident that they can capture me, or because they want to test whether you’re useful. 1’11 go take a look.”
When he saw that Su Ying had made a decision, Hea Shouyi didn’t say anything else. “Alright.”
“Don’t reveal any flaws. Just deal with them normally.”
“1 understand.”
Hea Shouyi left after explaining the matter in detail.
“Just in case, 1’11 go with you at the appointed time.”
“If you follow me and it turns out they are intending to lure the enemy away from his base, you won’t be able to deal with the crisis immediately if something happens in the capital. It’s better for you to stay in the city.”
Xiao Jin frowned again. “Alright. 1’11 get someone to follow you secretly.”
Su Ying didn’t reject his proposal, lest he worried too much.
“Alright.”
The next morning, Zhao Neng, who had been tailing Zhang Gang, returned.
“Your Highness, after Hea Shouyi parted ways with Zhang Gang last night, 1 brought my men and went after him. We found that he entered a private residence but never came out again after he went in. 1 was afraid of being discovered, so I only stood guard outside the courtyard. We did not see anyone come out. After daybreak, I told the secret guard to continue keeping watch while 1 came back first.”
Xiao Jin murmured his acknowledgment. “Did you hear what they said yesterday?”
Zhao Neng frowned. “In the beginning, Zhang Gang put a sack over Hea Shouyi’s head and took him one round outside before returning to the original courtyard house. After that, I heard three people talking. When 1 wanted to see them clearly, the secret guard discovered some unusual movement, so 1 left. When I went back, Hea Shouyi and the others had already come out.”
“They are guarding against us. The house where Zhang Gang is staying very likely has a secret passage. Find an opportunity to go in and investigate.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Your Highness, I have received news saying that Prince Ma will be coming to the capital in a few days to congratulate the Empress Dowager on her birthday.”
“Is it due to the Emperor’s decree?”
“No, it was Prince Ma who took the initiative to write a letter requesting to go to the capital.”
“Oh?”
After Prince Ma went to his fiefdom, he would not go to the capital without an Imperial edict. Even if there was an Imperial edict summoning him to the capital, he would try to delay it or avoid going if possible. The Empress Dowager’s birthday was celebrated every year, but he had never attended before.
“Get them to gather information on Prince Ma City and see if Prince Ma has made any unusual movements.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Xiao Jin stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back. His dark eyes darkened slightly as he looked at the billowing clouds on the sky horizon.
It seemed that there was more than one pair of hands that wanted to stir up trouble in the capital.
Three days later, Su Ying finished her breakfast and got ready to go to Mountain Roaming Temple.
The night before, Hea Shouyi had already sent a message to Zhang Gang, informing him that Su Ying would be going today.
On this day, Xiao Jin did not go to the Imperial Guards’ office. Instead, he stayed at the manor to accompany his two children.
“Mother, when are you coming back?” the older toddler Ji asked when he saw Su Ying leaving.
“Mother will burn incense and pray for Buddha’s blessing. I will be back soon.”
Ji was surprised. When did his mother become a Buddhist?
Under Ji’s astonished gaze, Su Ying boarded the horse carriage and left with a flourish.
Xiao Jin brought the two children to the training hall to check on the progress of their training over this period.
“Your Highness, Duke Zhenguo’s Residence sent someone to deliver an invitation here. They said that they would like to invite Your Highness to their residence for a chat at noon.” The servant brought the invitation to Xiao Jin.
Xiao Jin took the invitation and looked at it. It was indeed written by Duke Zhenguo himself. Duke Zhenguo had stated that he would be bringing Fu Zheng to the border tomorrow and he hoped to have a meal with Xiao Jin before leaving.
Xiao Jin wasn’t the only one invited as stated on the invitation. It invited Xiao Jin’s family of four.
Xiao Jin looked at the post and frowned slightly. Rather than saying that Duke Zhenguo was his teacher and benefactor, it was more apt to say that Xiao Jin felt that he was like a strict father over a long period of time. However, Xiao Jin had never mentioned it to the older man.
In order to avoid suspicion, he did not take the initiative to contact Duke Zhenguo after returning to the capital. He did not know if the old man was upset because of this.
Xiao Jin closed the invitation and planned to take the two children to Duke Zhenguo’s Residence.
Meanwhile, Su Ying had also exited the city gates and arrived at the foot of Mount Roaming.
Mountain Roaming Temple was located halfway up Mount Roaming. As it was not the largest temple in the capital, usually there were not many people who came, so the road to the mountain was not repaired. The horse carriage could not go up, so if one wanted to go up the mountain, they could only walk up.
Su Ying alighted from the horse carriage and told the coachman to wait at the foot of the mountain while she led a few guards up the mountain.
At this moment, her every move was being observed by the people hiding in the dark. After seeing that she had only brought a few guards, the other party immediately headed in the direction of the temple.
Su Ying took 30 minutes to walk to the temple.
Today was not the first day of the month, nor was it the fifteenth day. There was not even a single person outside the temple.
The guard took the lead and knocked on the temple door.
Before long, a young monk opened the locked door.
The young monk looked at Su Ying with a puzzled expression. “Are you here to offer incense, Madam benefactor?”
“Yes.”
The young monk opened the door and let her in.
The courtyard of the temple was very empty. In the middle of the front of the temple was an incense burner filled with incense sticks. There was also incense constantly coming out from afar. A thick incense smell instantly filled Su Ying’s nose.
At first, there was nothing unusual, but soon, the guards behind her began to cough violently..