Chapter 97 Thirty Years Ago
June 12, noon
The drizzle is still falling.
"I will never tell anyone, and I am not afraid of being silenced." Shen Kuo's curiosity overwhelmed his reason, and he agreed without thinking about the pros and cons. Even if his life was like this, he would explore the unknown at all costs, and the rest could be ignored.
Seeing his frivolous answer, Xiao Ping knew that he had not thought it through, and she hesitated a little, but finally decided to continue, because she knew that the person in front of her was the most trustworthy person in her life and should not be deceived.
"Mr. Yan's secret is a long story."
"Speak slowly."
"Thirty years ago, the former emperor was superstitious about ghosts and gods. He first forged a heavenly book and then offered sacrifices to the gods on Mount Tai. The atmosphere in the court became corrupted, and all states and counties focused on presenting auspicious signs instead of people's livelihood. For a time, lotus flowers with two stems, white old turtles, and five-colored divine deer were found everywhere. In the end, even half-foot-long locusts were presented to the emperor as auspicious signs. The civil servants in the court noticed the signs of the country's demise, but they had no solution until Mr. Yan came up with a solution. The solution was to cooperate with Yu Jing's grandfather Yu Hao. They were in a confidential place, They secretly made a flying thing that looked like a ghost or a monster, and called it a hat monster. Then they used it to attack the two capitals at night, and then at night it looked like a demon that could be seen with its head raised three feet high, and the passers-by were panicked. As expected, rumors spread everywhere, and the whole world was shocked. This was a strategy of using disasters from heaven to counter fake auspicious signs, and using magic to defeat magic. This trick really frightened the late emperor. The late emperor thought that his behavior of pretending to be a heavenly book had angered the heaven, so he had to write an edict of repentance, and he dared not waste the national treasury on making a mystery again. So the hat monster at that time gradually subsided. "
"The Hat Monster from thirty years ago was caused by this? The secret location must be the manor of Gu Liugang where we met?"
"Yes, that's exactly where it is. After the Hat Monster incident thirty years ago, that place became the summer resort for that group. Now you know this secret, if you tell it, how can Mr. Yan tolerate you? You must know that there are many powerful people in his group who are unknown to the public. It is not difficult to silence them without making a sound."
"What does that have to do with Mr. Yan sending you to infiltrate the Maitreya Sect?"
"Listen to me. After the death of the previous emperor, the emperor was diligent in his work after ascending the throne. However, he became lazy over time and began to believe in astronomy. He often used the astronomical reports of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau as a sign of good governance, and he also liked to refuse ministers' advice based on the direction of the stars."
"So, Mr. Yan wants to repeat his old tricks?"
"That's right. However, after Yu Jing died, the magic to control the hat monster was lost. I don't know how the hat monster works, but I know that Yu Hao is cunning. Although he cooperated with Yu Xianggong, he never taught him the tricks. Therefore, Yan Xianggong cannot copy the hat monster."
"So you want to use Maitreya religion instead?"
"That's right. The Maitreya Cult is good at playing tricks. Their methods are also very sophisticated, and they are the best substitute for the Hat Monster. However, after Beizhou City was captured, although Wang Ze was captured and killed, the Saint Girl escaped. Mr. Yan's plan to use me to control the Maitreya Cult did not succeed."
"You and that young master are the ones who knew each other in Beizhou?"
"Yes, we sisters alone cannot deliver military intelligence across the battlefield, so Yan Shu asked his seventh son to travel between the two camps. Sometimes I disguised myself as a man to go out of the city to meet him, sometimes he disguised himself as a woman to sneak into the city to meet me, and sometimes we used hawks to deliver information. I spent a long time in contact with that young master in dangerous situations, and then I fell in love with him. That young master swore to marry me." Xiao Ping was probably heartbroken about Young Master Yan Qi, and she only called him that young master and no longer called him by his name.
“It is so.”
"Wang Ze was defeated and killed, the Maitreya sect was scattered, and Lord Yan's plan failed. I returned to the Baifan Tower in Tokyo, waiting for the man to propose marriage. During this time, he even sent me a few poems. Now I think that I was just daydreaming. How could Lord Yan allow a bitch from a brothel to humiliate his family tradition?"
"But Master Yan is still associating with you?"
"He was also infatuated with me at that time. He actually told his father about this and said that he insisted on marrying me."
"Mr. Yan doesn't want to?"
"Of course he refused. However, at that time, the remnants of Maitreya suddenly rose again. He wanted to use me to infiltrate Maitreya and try to take over. So he pretended to agree and let us sisters infiltrate Maitreya again. If it worked, he would let the young master marry us sisters."
"How many people know that you two sisters are pretending to be one person?"
"We have to deceive the Maitreya sect's spies. If we fail, we will lose everything. So only Mr. Yan and his son know about this. My aunt is not my biological aunt. She was hired by Mr. Yan to cover up the truth. They and Jin'er still don't know that we are two people. But my aunt is very careful. She often says that my temper changes a lot. Sometimes I am cold and quiet, and sometimes I am warm and talkative. I don't like the new clothes I bought the next day. All these make her very difficult to serve."
"Are you the talkative one?"
"Um."
"What happened next?"
"Later, I infiltrated the Maitreya Sect again, and the Saint Lady actually found Yu Hao's grandson Yu Jing to be the master of divination. This put me in a difficult position."
"Why?"
"Because Yu Jing himself knows how to use illusions and fabricate things, he naturally doesn't believe Wang Ze's fairy magic nonsense. He joined Maitreya not because of the doctrine of the end of the world, but because he is backed by the forces of the Northern Kingdom. What they want is no different from Xianggong Yan. They both want to use Maitreya to play tricks, but one is for factional struggles in the court, and the other is to overthrow the Song Dynasty."
"So he suspected you were a spy?"
"Before Beizhou was captured, Wang Ze wanted to escape from the city and secretly dug a tunnel under the altar. Only a few people knew about this. However, it was through that tunnel that Wen Xianggong's troops sneaked into the city to capture and kill Wang Ze. The others were also captured and killed. Only I escaped. I said that I used the clone technique to escape, which could only fool the Saint Lady, but not him."
"Because he doesn't believe it?"
"Yes, he instigated the Saint Lady, saying that since the followers were talking about my escape, it would be better for me to prove my innocence through the method of forensic investigation. I was the only one who knew that he wanted to put me to death, but fortunately he didn't know that I did have a clone and other accomplices."
"Is that the man with the dog who tricked Jiu Gong away from the boat that day?"
"It was him. I hurriedly boarded the ship that day because my sister Yong'er hadn't arrived yet and I couldn't use the clone technique. Jin'er also saw that Jiu Gong couldn't wait and was already building a wooden cage, so I ran away first."
"So that's how it is..." Shen Kuo sorted out the whole truth in his mind, and all the clues gradually came together.
"Then the puppet in Baifan Building spoke later. Was it cooperating with Yu Jing again?"
"Yu Jing couldn't harm me, and he had some plans that required my help, so Saint Lady mediated and won me over. I was about to join the sect again to complete this secret task for Mr. Yan, so I temporarily cooperated with him."
"He never hurt you again?"
"In fact, he just suspected me. The one who was really against me was the monk who was hiding behind him and never showed his face."
"This is the nature of Master Huailiang. He is a person who wants to find out the truth even if he dies." Shen Kuo couldn't help but laugh, but the occasion was really inappropriate.
"I later found out that he had a plan for joining Maitreya, which was to use Maitreya to marry Di Qing. In fact, his enemy was not me, but in the end, this bald donkey was also a little possessed. He felt that if he couldn't see through my magic, he couldn't survive, so he opposed me everywhere."
"Master is indeed such a person." Shen Kuo shook his head. He could understand Huai Liang very well because he was the same. "Then, the first time you worked with Yu Jing was in the Flower Demon Case in the Prince Consort's Mansion?"
"Yes, to do this, someone had to adjust the distance between the revolving lantern and the screen, and someone else had to pretend to be a female ghost. That night, Yong'er went in first to adjust the position, and was scratched by the drunken prince consort. Then I played the piano in the pavilion, and she sneaked in to pretend to be a female ghost. In this way, as long as I played the piano, I would have an alibi."
"Does Master Huailiang know about this?"
"I don't think he knows. Yu Jing is extremely cautious, and he and the monk are wary of each other."
"The puppet on the Alum Building came back to life, and that was the ventriloquism you used?"
"good."
"I have one thing I don't understand. How much does Master Huailiang know about this matter? Why has he been helping me solve the mystery while he himself is involved in it?"
"I don't know the reasons, but after thinking about it, it's probably because Yu Jing is too cautious and doesn't trust him, so he wants to use you to dismantle the Maitreya sect's illusions and tricks and force Yu Jing to death, so that Yu Jing can rely on him."
"However, you also want to use us to get rid of him for the same purpose? "
"Yes."
"Why did you leave in the end?"
"That young master told me that he had found out what Mr. Yan was really thinking. Even if he could control the Maitreya Sect as he wished, he would break his promise and might even kill me to silence me. So we decided to run away together. Before we left, I asked Yong'er to give you the Wood Scripture that I had stolen. I thought you would like it. But you realized that the person was not me."
Xiaoping stood up and looked towards the distance at a wisp of green smoke, which was the direction of her hut.
"Is that the whole story?"
"That's about it."
"Then...why didn't they kill you today?"
"Mr. Yan is cold and ungrateful. He didn't kill me only because the Maitreya Cult appeared again."
"I saw Yu Jing being burned to death with my own eyes. How come Maitreya Sect can make a comeback in just a few months?"
"Yu Jing was able to become a divination master in Maitreya so quickly only because he brought gold and silver. The gold and silver are not his."
"I know, it's from the Liao Dynasty."
"So, as long as there are people behind him and the money is there, this matter will not end. Maybe it wouldn't have happened so quickly, but I heard recently that the astrological changes are very unlucky."
"Who is now in charge of Maitreya again?"
"I don't know either. The four hexagram masters are clearly written in the book. Apart from Hu Yong'er, Yu Jing and Zhuge Suizhi, the last one doesn't even have a fake name. I have also asked around, and according to Jiu Gong, only Saint Auntie knows this person."
"Mr. Yan wants you to infiltrate the Maitreya Sect again?"
"It's not that he wanted me to go, but he had already forced Yong'er to do it, but Yong'er disappeared a few days ago. He knew I had to save Yong'er. Yong'er is my only relative."
"What will happen if I go there?"
"If you go, and you can survive a life-threatening situation, that would be a blessing."
"Only a 10% chance of survival?"
"When Beizhou City was destroyed, only Hu Yong'er escaped. Yu Jing was burned to death, and Hu Yong'er was lucky enough to survive. Every time Hu Yong'er escapes, the Maitreya Sect suffers. Do you think the people in the sect still believe it?"
"They also use the art of judgment?"
"It all depends on the new leader. Whether he believes the nonsense that the king will judge the fate of the country or not, if he does, then there is a 10% chance of success as I said."
"You're going now?"
"Yes! I can't abandon my sister. I heard that Yong'er disappeared near the imperial mausoleum, which is not far from here."
