Chapter 94: Looking for Someone
The eighth day of the sixth lunar month (Yinshi)
Wen Yanbo left the secret room and quietly left the small building. He thought that no one knew what was happening, so he passed under Shen Kuo's feet. When he went out of the corner door, there was a sedan waiting outside the door, which took him away.
Shen Kuo felt mixed emotions. Many mysteries that had been bothering him were finally solved. He recalled the night when he traced the tunnel to the pagoda, and confessed to Lao Bao that he had released Huai Bing privately, just waiting for Bao Zheng to decide. However, Lao Bao said something about the foundation of the country with a sullen face, which seemed to be pointed out. Now they can be matched. It was because Wen Yanbo hinted to Bao Zheng that man-made disasters could actually be used by scholars and officials to scare officials, thereby affecting the direction of policies and even forcing the emperor to issue a self-criticism edict. This flexibility in Wen Yanbo's mouth made Lao Bao alert that he was involved in conspiracy. Then Lao Bao said another intriguing sentence. He said that it was not just Huai Liang, but too many people were self-righteous and thought they could do whatever they wanted by upholding the public spirit. This may be the most painful moment for Lao Bao, because he realized that the foundation of the country was shaken, and he had to bend the law and release many people privately.
He sat on the tree in a daze, watching Wen Yanbo go away.
Xu Chong was confused, because he didn't have a quiver, so he didn't hear clearly, but he also heard some key words such as "Xiao Ping" and "Maitreya Religion". He was anxious at the moment, but it was not the place to ask questions.
The lights in the room over there went out, and soon there was snoring, which meant that the cunning old Yan Shu had fallen asleep. The two of them slowly backed away from the tree branches and tried to retreat back to the outer wall.
Xu Chong turned around and climbed up the wall, then jumped out to the street. Shen Kuo was a little slower. Just as he reached the wall, he caught a glimpse of a green light flashing on the edge of the wall. He was so scared that he almost fell down. He turned around and saw a kitten staring at him.
"Is it you?" He recalled that it was the cat he gave to Xiao Ping a few months ago. He didn't expect it to be so big. Yan Shu said that this little thing looked less and less like a house cat, and it really didn't look like one.
The kitten wasn't too afraid of people. It ran over and rubbed against his feet, probably recalling the smell from its childhood and thinking it was the smell of its mother.
"Since this family doesn't want you and lets you do whatever you want, why don't you just follow me?"
He grabbed the kitten and hid it in his clothes, then climbed down the wall slowly using the iron chain. The kitten seemed to have recalled its childhood and did not struggle.
When they got down to the ground, Xu Chong had already found the donkey. The two of them left the alley together. They saw a light in the distance, which was a wonton stall, so they went over and ordered a bowl of wontons each, which was considered breakfast. It was already the morning of Mao, and it was summer. The east was already dim, but the guest star was still shining in the sky.
Xu Chong was surprised to see Shen Kuo take the kitten out of his clothes and feed it with wonton stuffing.
"Why did you kidnap someone's raccoon?"
"This is not theirs. You bought it from the hunter that day. How come you don't remember it? Later I gave it to Xiao Ping. Xiao Ping was in a hurry when she left here and didn't have time to take it with her."
"You still want to keep it by your side? Is it because of the rats in Yang Chunguan's house?"
"Not really."
"What's the point if you can't catch mice?" Xu Chong was puzzled.
“I always find it useful.”
Xu Chong did not ask any further questions. He had no interest in this cat. He bought it in order to get some information from the hunter. He saw the woman making wontons adding firewood to the stove, and hurriedly asked what he wanted to know.
"What did you hear just now? Why did Prime Minister Wen go there? What I'm worried about is that since Prime Minister Wen is there, then Mr. Bao..."
"Don't worry, Mr. Bao has nothing to do with them. This is what Yan Shu said just now. He once tried to win over Mr. Bao, but failed."
"What on earth is going on? Why did Xiao Ping's donkey get here? I have no idea at the moment."
"I have roughly guessed what happened. However, we still need to find Xiao Ping to verify our guess."
"Can you find Xiao Ping?"
"Maybe. I only know it's near the Yuanfei Temple beside the Luo River."
As he was speaking, he heard the night watchman's call from the distant city wall. It was already three quarters past three in the morning.
"I'm going to ride this donkey out of town."
"Go find Xiao Ping? So urgent?"
"Well, I'm afraid that Wen Shuxiang's people will find her first, and then..."
Xu Chong stared at Shen Kuo blankly. He guessed that what Shen Kuo didn't say was "killing to silence the witnesses". He had heard about Wen Yanbo's cruelty. Several of his brothers had served under Wen Yanbo and had seen him beat soldiers to death for a small matter and didn't care at all.
"Brother Xu, I know you have a lot of questions in your mind. Let's say goodbye now. When I come back, I will tell you and Mr. Bao the truth."
Shen Kuo stood up and walked to the old donkey.
"There is one more thing I almost forgot. I have deposited thirty-six strings of copper coins and some loose gold and silver at Yang Chunguan's house. When you need money to redeem Jin'er, just go and get it."
Xu Chong stood up and clasped his fists to express his gratitude. He had not expected that Shen Kuo took this matter so seriously, and was speechless for a moment.
Shen Kuo got on his donkey and ran all the way to the city gate. When he arrived at the west gate, it was just open, so he headed westwards towards Gong County.
When passing by Yuqing Zhaoying Palace, you can see the majestic palace not far away in the dim dawn. He has never entered this palace, never admired the "Heavenly Book" hanging in the caisson of the main hall, and never seen the Tiangang suppressed under the Heavenly Book. However, the wooden platform in front of Yuqing Palace with Wang Ze's head raised has disappeared, without any trace. The hateful thing is that no one is willing to believe that it is just a skin bag filled with hot air and floating up. Everyone is more willing to believe that it is a demon that spits fire and was killed by a talisman.
He walked west along the Yellow River for two days, traveling by day and sleeping by night, and finally arrived at Gong County at noon on the tenth day of the sixth lunar month. He learned that it was still twenty miles to the Yuanfei Temple, and he didn't know if Wen Yanbo's men would get there before him. If they got there first, Xiao Ping would be in danger. He also heard that Yan Shu might want Xiao Ping to take the risk again and sneak into the Maitreya Sect. Of course, this was also a life-or-death struggle.
Thinking of the terrible situation, he could not help but whip the old donkey a few times. The old donkey howled and sped up.
There is a story behind the Yuanfei Temple on the bank of Luo River. It is said that after Cao Zhi came out of Luoyang, he met the "graceful and graceful" goddess of Luo River, Mi Fei, here, and then he left behind the world-famous "Ode to the Goddess of Luo River".
It is hard to say that Master Yan Qi chose this place to live in seclusion without the desire to compare himself to Cao Zhi. However, although Cao Zhi was a man of extraordinary literary talent, he was also a person of absurd behavior. He once drank and rode his horse in Sima Gate, which led to his fall from favor. In this way, Master Yan Qi's positioning of himself was quite accurate.
Shen Kuo was delighted to see the temple from afar. However, the old donkey was already very tired and refused to walk any faster. It kept looking for trees on the roadside to push Shen Kuo down.
After being disturbed by it, Shen Kuo on the donkey suddenly remembered that he broke his leg that day, and it was Xiao Ping who bought the donkey with a gold hairpin. At first, the donkey was a little shy after changing its owner, but Xiao Ping was quite capable of calming the donkey. As he was thinking about it, he felt something moving in front of his chest. It was the civet cat that woke up and started to struggle.
This movement brought back the memory of the day when he first rode a donkey with Xiaoping, and his heart was pounding like a deer.
He recalled that although he was young and ignorant, he knew how to make small talk. He mentioned that he felt a little indebted to Xiaoping for selling her the hairpin. However, Xiaoping said proudly, "What's a hairpin? If I had a sister from a good family, I would definitely marry her to you."
I still remember that time, he blushed with shame and quickly refused, saying, "No, no, no, you absolutely can't do this."
Xiao Ping said, "What's wrong with that? If she doesn't agree, I'll beat her until she agrees."
Shen Kuo was sitting on the donkey, recalling the ambiguous mood at that time, and then he sighed: "How many secrets do you have not told me?"
With fond memories in mind, he soon arrived in front of the temple.
The area in front of the Yuanfei Temple is quite lively. Today is not a temple fair, but there are all kinds of stalls lined up and crowds of people.
He didn't want to go into the temple to worship the goddess of Luo River, Mi Fei. He just walked around the market outside and found that there were a lot of people selling paper here. They were all slightly yellow jute paper. When he put it in front of his nose and sniffed it, there was a faint fragrance. He realized that he came a little too abruptly. This place is too big, and there are many people buying this kind of paper. How can he find Xiao Ping with just the few words he overheard?
He had no experience in looking for people, so he wandered around outside the Yuanfei Temple all day without any results, and only made the donkey's legs thin from running so much.
I had to stay in an inn at night.
On June 11, he woke up early in the morning and had no other choice but to wait in front of the temple. He didn't even know what the seventh master Yan looked like. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack . He found nothing until the afternoon of the 30th. Just as he was about to go back to the inn, he heard someone talking beside him.
"We have to go to that guy quickly. Now that things are getting better, it can be counted as a success."
"I have the same idea. If I miss the time, I will miss the reward money."
As they were talking, they passed each other, but Shen Kuo recognized the voice as someone he knew. He had average eyesight but excellent hearing. He turned his donkey around and chased after the man on the street.
He did not see the two people clearly. But with his hearing and memory, he remembered that the people who spoke were Xiao Dalang, the Shadowless Suanni, and Zhai Tong, the Faster Donkey. These two were constables from Jingdong Road and had met them once when they were chasing Yu Jing.
Seeing the two people in front of him wearing felt hats and black clothes, still dressed like yamen runners, it was not easy to lose them. Their appearance here must not be a coincidence, most likely it has something to do with Xiao Ping.
He urged his donkey to chase after them, and saw the two people turned a corner and entered the alley behind the temple. He also got off the donkey, but was afraid that the donkey would bray and cause trouble, so he tied it to a tree and went into the alley alone. There was no one in the alley, but he heard someone talking behind the broken wall in front. Shen Kuo lowered his body, hid behind the wall and quietly walked over, and heard the voices coming.
"Zhu Yuhou. I have inquired and found out that there is indeed a handsome and elegant young man who often comes to this temple. He even bought calligraphy in front of the temple a few days ago. He has not been seen recently. However, he also wrote a piece of calligraphy for the temple keeper, which we bought."
"Oh, open it and take a look." said a strange voice.
Shen Kuo secretly poked his head out and saw Xiao Dalang opening a piece of calligraphy. Next to him was a middle-aged man with a long beard and a single-edged sword. He didn't recognize him. The calligraphy was written in a flamboyant style, and it seemed to be a poem, but it was too far away to see clearly.
"The handsome young man with the golden whip rides the green horse. He is tied to the beauty in the jade tower, under the embroidered quilt on a cold spring night... This sound, color and heroic spirit are the work of my young master." The middle-aged man said happily.
"And the signature is 'Mr. Yilan', I wonder if it is correct."
"My son calls himself Xiaoshan, which is undoubtedly a metaphor for looking down on all the mountains. It must be him. Can the temple keeper tell me where he is?"
"It is said that there is a mountain fifteen miles to the south, near the bamboo forest at the back. It is also said that when Mr. Yilan comes here, he is often accompanied by a fairy-like woman."
"Well, there's no chance of escape then." said the middle-aged man.
"Then let's not delay any further. Let's..."
"You two don't have to go on this last leg. I'll take my own carriage. Mr. Wen knows your hard work in finding the man. There will definitely be a reward in the future. Thank you for living up to your reputation as a detective and finding the man in just half a day. Please go back."
"This... is coming soon. We brothers are not only good at finding people, but also at capturing people."
"My husband, I have some private things to talk to you about. After all, you two are outsiders, so it's not appropriate, right?"
The middle-aged man said this, got on a good horse, and rode away. Shen Kuo wanted to turn around and get his donkey to chase him, but he heard Xiao Dalang and Zhai Tong still complaining.
"Brother, how come our merits are turned into hard work in the mouth of the dirty killer? We brothers searched for him for nothing and only took a few strings of money from him. Why did we go through all the trouble?"
"Yes, handling cases for the emperor can get a chance to go to the palace and enjoy a royal banquet, but it's no use trying to find the escaped slaves of Mr. Wen's eloped son. Aren't you afraid that we will spread these scandals to him?"
Shen Kuo ignored their nonsense and went back to find the donkey and chased south. He realized that he was one step behind. He thought he could get here first by leaving the city gate first, but he wasted two days. However, Wen Yanbo used public resources for personal gain and mobilized the yamen runners in Jingdong Road to find someone for him. He actually found someone in half a day. After all, the old ones are the wisest.
The donkey under his crotch seemed to be quite human-like. Knowing that it was time to save Xiaoping, it stopped making a fuss and ran forward at full speed. However, it was obviously unable to catch up with the tall horse.
