Early the next morning, Chang Ji took a dozen hidden stakes and transformed into a group of business travelers walking slowly in the official road. Rong Shu, wearing a futou on his head and a sky-blue straight skirt, was invisible in the group of business travelers.

In Zhu's Zhuangzi, Zhuangtou's surname was Qiu and his given name was Shi Yang. He was born with five big and three tall heights. The wind rustled when he walked, making him look like a member of the army. He was as careful as his hair and acted cautiously. He was driving an ox cart on the official road. Turning left and right, Fang quietly headed towards a nunnery.

This nunnery is on the road from Wanping County to Shangjing. It is in a remote location and not very popular. Today, there are not even a single pilgrim.

Qiu Shiyang stopped the ox cart at the entrance of the temple, looked up at the plaque with three gilded characters "Lianfu Temple" engraved on it, then glanced left and right, and walked into the temple with two large baskets of seasonal fruits and vegetables carried on a pole. He didn't come out for a long time.

There is a teahouse near Lianfu Temple for business travelers to rest. The teahouse owner obeyed Changji's orders and arranged a room with a wide view for Rong Shu early in the morning.

Rong Shu stood by the window, opened the bamboo curtain, and stared at the official road opposite for a moment. If someone wants to go to Renfu Temple, they will definitely pass by the official road.

Now they had been waiting for almost an hour, and except for the ox cart at Qiuzhuangtou, no other carriages or horses passed by.

After waiting for a long time and no one was seen, Luo Yan couldn't help but said: "Girl, will Qiu Zhuangtou just go to Lianfu Temple to deliver something today?"

"Wait a little longer." Rong Shu put down his hands gently. Bian Lian, recalling the light sandalwood scent that eldest aunt wore every time she came back from a trip, said: "Starting at Chenshi, it was a smooth journey from Cheng'an Marquis Mansion. It would take at least two hours, about half a hour, to get here. "It's about time, someone should be here."

Just as Rong Shu expected, half an hour later, a half-new and half-old green-covered carriage came from the direction of Shangjing. After passing the tea house, the horse's head turned. Then we went to Renfuji Temple.

Rong Shu looked at the familiar carriage and slowly straightened his lips.

In the green-covered carriage, Ms. Zhu was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed and meditating. Next to her was a wooden basket with a pile of hand-written scriptures in the basket.

The carriage stopped at the entrance of Lianfu Temple. Mrs. Zhu opened her eyes, opened the curtain and looked outside. Seeing an ox cart parked under the tree outside, she picked up the wooden basket, got off the car and went inside.

As soon as the abbot of Renfu Temple saw her, he said: "Amitabha, madam, please come with the poor nun."

The two passed through the Buddhist hall and walked through a winding path before stopping in a small independent quiet room. Down.

"Madam, please go in, the man is waiting inside."

"I'm sorry, abbot."

This Lianfu Temple is different from ordinary nunneries. It is specially designed to take in desperate women. These all kinds of women are all poor people. There are noble ladies who have been kicked out of their homes, and there are also brothel girls who have seen through the world of mortals and want to escape into Buddhism.

When the vassal kings led their troops to besiege Shangjing, the Lianfu Temple located on the outskirts of Shangjing suffered a disaster. The poor women in the temple who had already become nuns fled one after another, and they happened to be rescued by Rong Jun who came to investigate the military situation. Later, Emperor Jiayou came to Beijing, and Zhu personally sent those women back to Lianfu Temple. The current abbot was one of the women who was rescued at that time.

What is enshrined in this small quiet room is Rong Jun's spiritual tablet.

Mrs. Zhu pushed open the door and entered. She placed the newly written sutra in front of the spiritual tablet, purified her hands with incense, opened the curtain on one side after worshiping and walked in.

It turned out that behind the curtain, there was a small side room for storing sundries inside the quiet room.

Qiu Shiyang stood up, bowed his hands in salute, and said respectfully: "Madam."

Mrs. Zhu said lightly, "Yes", and her delicate face was filled with a hint of gloom in the darkness of the room.

"Is there any news from the second master and Shen Zhi? The Qi family was defeated, the second prince Xiao Yu was imprisoned, and even the Xing family was stripped of their hats by the emperor, forcing the chief minister and assistant Xing to claim to be ill at home. "Can what we have planned still be accomplished?"

When Zhu said this, the patience he had cultivated over the years was almost exhausted.

Qiu Shiyang belongs to the second prince. When the second prince was serving in Qingzhou many years ago, he formed an alliance with Shen Zhi and took refuge with the second prince. Over the years, all the money Shen Zhi sent from Yangzhou was sent to Qiu Shiyang, and then sent to the Qi family through her hands.

From Zhu's perspective, the second prince's future was clearly bright. Last year, the second prince wrote a letter saying that the emperor was coughing up blood and that the day when the second prince would ascend the throne was just around the corner.

Why did things in Beijing suddenly change in less than a year? The person who was appointed as the crown prince was not the eldest prince nor the second prince, but Gu Changjin who appeared out of nowhere.

Mrs. Zhu was no stranger to Gu Changjin. When Zhaozhao wanted to marry him, she was probably the only person in the Cheng'an Marquis' mansion who supported Mrs. Shen and Zhaozhao.

At that time, Zhu only felt that this young man's mind, means, and ability were all outstanding, and he did not participate in the party struggles in the court. If something happened to the Rong family in the future, Zhaozhao, as his wife, would not be implicated.

Emperor Jiayou only had two sons, either the second prince ascended the throne or the eldest prince ascended the throne.

A few years ago, the Qi family secretly ordered Shen Zhi to buy firearms from the Water Dragon King and hide them in Zhuangzi in Wanping County. The reason is that when Emperor Jiayou appoints the eldest prince as the heir apparent, they can still be powerful.

The Qi family has soldiers. Both the General Soldier of Liaodong and the Governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Liao Rao have secretly taken refuge with the second prince. If there is a need to rebel and seize the throne, with these firearms and elite soldiers, even if the eldest prince has the Jinwu Guard and the Yulin Army, it is still unclear who will win. It can be known.

Emperor Jiayou transferred Zhu E, the former deputy commander-in-chief of Yunnan and Guizhou, back to Shangjing, and broke tens of thousands of elite soldiers into parts with the help of Yuma Jian, and secretly hid them in Shangjing to prevent future rebellion.

Only the second prince swore that even if Zhu E was here, he could not change the outcome. The second prince would definitely be the one to take the throne in the future.

Zhu believed it, and the situation was already very good.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Yaojin showed up halfway, Zhu E did nothing wrong, but Gu Changjin completely messed up the chess game, causing the Qi family and their many years of planning to fail.

Now that Qi Heng has admitted his crime of betraying Li Tao and confusing the emperor's bloodline, Xiao Yu has become a son of the Qi family, with no possibility of recovery.

Zhu was unwilling to give in.

She didn't believe that Gu Changjin was Empress Qi's son. She had tried every possible means to find out the inside story these days, but she couldn't find out even a scrap of information.

That's why she came to Lianfu Temple to see Qiu Shiyang, wanting to know if the Qi family had any backup plans.

So what if the second prince is the son of the Qi family?

As long as you have enough troops and money, you can still accomplish something!

The founding emperor of every dynasty took away the country from others. As long as he could be a king or a bandit, as long as he could sit in that position, it was not the emperor who had the final say on what the historians would write in the future, whether he was plotting to usurp the throne or bring order to chaos!

Zhu's soft eyes were like will-o'-the-wisps floating in the dark night, with a bit of fiery and crazy hope.

Qiu Shiyang said: "Master Zhenfu sent a letter two days ago, saying that the Rong family should no longer be involved with the Qi family. It would be best to erase all traces of previous contacts with the Qi family."

"Is Rong Yuan afraid? At the beginning It was he who asked me if I wanted to regain the title for Brother Ze and let Sanfang suffer the consequences. Now he will retreat at the slightest hint of trouble?" Zhu said with a cold look on his face: "The Qi family is not defeated yet, as long as Shen Zhi can do it. Transporting that batch of firearms to Shangjing can turn defeat into victory! What about Shen Zhi? "

Qiu Shiyang shook his head: "Shen Zhi seems to have disappeared from the world, and even Lord Zhenfu has not received his letter. Lord Zhenfu is just afraid that something will go wrong on Shen Zhi's end, so he ordered his subordinates to tell you to erase all traces of your dealings with the Qi family. Lord Zhenfu asked me to tell you that in the future, I will be able to avenge you!"

Zhu's vision went dark, and she held on to the wall in a panic.

A long time to come.

They had been planning for fifteen years, and thought they would get what they wanted in a year or two, but now they can only suffer from hatred! How could she be willing to do so? How many more fifteen years does she have to wait?

Brother Ze is already twenty-two years old, and now he only has the honor of being a civil servant.

Although this child has never slacked off in his studies and took advantage of the Qi family's influence to send him to the Imperial Academy, how easy is it to get on the examination list?

She can wait, but neither can her brother Ze. Zhu originally wanted to regain his title for Rong Ze, so she married him a wife from a famous family.

Seeing her livid face, Qiu Shiyang couldn't help but give some more advice: "Queen Qi has given up on Governor Qi Zuo and the second prince, and has chosen to preserve the Qi family. The situation in Beijing is now treacherous, and the Crown Prince who appeared out of nowhere is even more so. It's mysterious and unpredictable, and Master Zhenfu is also cautious."

He looked out at the sky and continued: "It's time for me to leave. I have always felt that someone is watching from the dark these days. It is really not appropriate to be in Lianfu. Staying too long in the temple."

Zhu also knew that if he stayed too long as a village head, he would arouse suspicion, so he nodded briefly and let him leave first.

As soon as Qiu Shiyang left, she returned to the quiet room, stared at Rong Jun's spiritual tablet on the high case, and said softly: "Don't worry, I will avenge you, and I will also take the things that belong to you." Get it back for you."

Sandalwood curled up, and fine white smoke slowly floated out from the incense burner.

The spiritual plaque on the high mahogany table stood quietly. Zhu stared at it for a long time until a bhikshuni in gray came knocking on the door and said that the abbot invited her to have a vegetarian meal. Fang Tibu left the quiet room.

As soon as Qiu Shiyang left Lianfu Temple, Chang Ji, who was behind him, also followed him back to the tea house.

"The head of the village is a practicing master. I'm afraid of alarming him, so I don't dare to get too close. I haven't found out what they said in the room yet." Chang Ji scratched his face and said a little embarrassed.

"It doesn't matter," Rong Shu smiled: "It's a gain to know that the eldest aunt is indeed colluding with the village head. I will find an opportunity to restrain the village head tonight so that I can find out what is hidden in the village."

Chang Ji quickly agreed.

That night, he knocked Qiu Shiyang unconscious and took him away for questioning. After that, he took about ten people to look through the Zhuangzi. This work lasted two days. It was not until noon on the third day that he went back to the inn to meet with Rong. Shu reported.

"My subordinates have opened all the bricks and tiles and looked at them. Except for some moldy old grains and newly harvested fruits and vegetables, there is nothing else inside."

He knew that the village was clean and there were no weapons hidden there. , Rong Shu was really relieved.

In his previous life, Gu Changjin would come to Wanping County to investigate. It was most likely that Shen Zhi had hidden the weapons purchased from overseas in Zhuangzi.

Now Shen Zhi, his eldest aunt, and his second uncle are only halfway through their planning, and there is still time to stop many things.

Rong Shu took out the letter of separation written by A Niang from the wooden mailbox, and thought that he would take this opportunity to ask his father to sign the letter willingly and let her and A Niang go free.

"If you say hello, I will hide Qiu Shiyang Haosheng and prevent him from escaping or committing suicide."

Chang Ji responded with a smile: "Don't worry, girl, my subordinates will send someone to keep an eye on it."

The two talked for a while, and suddenly heard There was a noise outside.

Chang Ji hurriedly went out to the inn to take a look, and not long after, he came back with a happy face and said to Rong Shu: "Girl, the master is here. He is waiting outside the inn right now."

Rong Shu was stunned for a moment.

Gu Changjin is here?

He just moved into the East Palace two days ago. He should be so busy at this time, why did he suddenly come?

Chang Ji looked at Rong Shu's face and saw a slightly hesitant look on her face, and said hurriedly: "Master thinks there is something important to discuss with the girl."

Rong Shu said "hmm" and no longer hesitated. , lifted up the skirt and went out.

This inn is located on the outskirts of Wanping County, with rows of poplar trees planted nearby. At dusk, the setting sun is dim and clear, and a carriage engraved with dark gold unicorn patterns sits quietly in the shadow of the dancing trees.

On the carriage, two large agarwood doors were opened, and the curtains were lifted, revealing a face with deep outlines inside.

Almost as soon as she left the inn, the man turned his head and looked over, his dark eyes as dark as the dusk.

Rong Shu couldn't help but squeeze the skirt of her skirt.

The person driving him was the guard of the Warrior Battalion whom he had met several times in Yangzhou Mansion. The guard respectfully put down the pedal for her and said, "Miss Rong, His Royal Highness is waiting for you inside."

Rong Shu stepped on the pedal. boarding.

The carriage was very spacious, with a long agarwood table in the middle, and a three-legged carved dark gold auspicious animal Boshan stove on top of it. The light smoke was flowing, and it was burning the goose and pear incense she was accustomed to.

There is a tea set next to the Boshan stove. Two translucent white jade cups are covered with a layer of water mist. The fragrance of tea is lingering, with a bit of sweet fruit aroma. It is her favorite fruit tea.

Rong Shu raised his eyes.

Then he saw the man in front of him, wearing black clothes embroidered with a dark gold five-clawed python dragon. His black hair was combed upward, and only tied up with a dark jade crown, revealing his smooth forehead.

His brows are deep, his nose is high and his eyes are deep, and his thin lips are like blades, making his outline more sharp.

Rong Shu felt something was different about him. The moment their eyes met, her heart skipped a beat and she tightened her fingertips to control herself from looking away.

The carriage started moving slowly, and the horses' hooves kicked up a layer of dust. The evening breeze poured in from the outside, blowing away the hazy mist floating in the carriage.

Rong Shu asked softly: "Where will Your Highness take me?"

Gu Changjin responded in a low voice: "Four Seasons Garden, Rong Zhaozhao, let's go to Four Seasons Garden."