Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2517 Reconciliation 59.0

After hearing Shen Cha's question, Mian Bai hesitated for a moment, lifted up his clothes, and knelt down on the ground.

"Please forgive me, General."

"Forgive me?" Shen Cha raised his eyebrows, a half-smile appeared on his face, and he said, "What crime has the class owner committed?"

"General, I dare not deceive you. Before this moment, I had never thought of handing these things over, let alone giving them to you."

"Well, you are honest. The reason why I asked you is that I know you have never thought about handing it over." Shen Cha looked at Mian Bai, "If you say that you have been planning to hand it over to me, then I will definitely punish you for deception."

"Replying to the general, I dare not lie."

Shen Cha nodded, exchanged glances with Shen Jiu, Hong Ye, Jin Miaomiao and Ying Er, and at the same time set his eyes on Mian Bai.

"Tell me, what are you going to hand over?"

"I don't know."

"Not sure?" Shen Cha raised an eyebrow, "Think about it before you reply."

Seeing that everyone's eyes were becoming somewhat fierce, Mian Bai quickly waved his hands to clarify himself.

"General, I really didn't know. This box was not mine. My cousin asked someone to meet me before I left the palace and gave it to me personally."

"Empress Hui?" Shen Cha looked at him. "When Empress Hui gave it to you, didn't she tell you what was inside?"

"No." Mian Bai shook his head gently. "My cousin said that if one day, someone in a high position and power were to investigate the Qinglian Sect and the Grand Empress Dowager, this person would not be frightened by certain people or things in the Qinglian Sect, and would be very determined in his heart, so he would hand over the box. If this person is His Majesty, then find an opportunity to present it in front of all the civil and military officials."

"You have already been expelled from the palace. How can you have the opportunity to present it to His Majesty in front of all the civil and military officials?"

"Ke Chenyi and the troupe are the best way." Mian Bai sighed, "I came to run this troupe, on the one hand, I was entrusted by the Empress Dowager to take care of her only relative, and on the other hand, I was waiting for the right opportunity. The general may know that in recent years, apart from Jiangnan, the place where the troupe has stayed the longest should be the capital. I just want to wait, and if one day your majesty personally tries a case related to the Qinglian Sect, I will hand this over. But."

"You never waited, did you?"

"Yes." Mian Bai sighed, "When Ningchang fell, I thought the time had come, but I didn't expect that there would be no follow-up."

"Everything should be done slowly and steadily. Besides, such things must be kept secret. If a commoner like you could have spied on it, what do you think..." Shen Jiu raised his eyebrows, "would those people who were investigating have known about it long ago? Would they have destroyed the body and escaped?" Seeing Mian Bai's expression, he snorted, "Are you still disappointed now?"

"General Shen, I was wrong before." Mian Bai kowtowed and continued, "Now I know that whether it is His Majesty, the Duke, the Marquis, or the General, they have been investigating the Qinglian Sect and the Empress Dowager, so I decided to take the things out, which can be regarded as fulfilling my cousin's request." "But you don't know what's in it, right?"

"Yes, after my cousin gave me this box, she kept telling me to keep it safe and not let anyone see it or touch it. Most importantly, I must not be curious about what's inside and must not open it."

"Don't be curious. Don't open it. Concubine Hui is afraid that you will see something, or..." Shen Cha thought for a while, "So, for all these years, you don't know what's inside, right?"

"To answer the general, yes." Mian Bai nodded and continued, "There is nothing I can do about it. My cousin has repeatedly warned me not to open it, and I have promised, so I cannot break my promise. Therefore, I have never opened this box, and I don't know what is inside." He paused and continued, "In fact, even if my cousin didn't say anything, I wouldn't want to open it."

"Why?" Shen Jiu looked at him curiously, "Aren't you curious about what's inside?"

"I'm not curious." Mian Bai shook his head gently. "From my own selfish point of view, I'm more reluctant to know what's inside."

"Oh? Is this because of the Empress Dowager?"

"Yes!" Mian Bai nodded towards Shen Cha and Shen Jiu and said, "My cousin said that she would give it to the people who are investigating the Qinglian Sect and the Grand Empress Dowager. So, the things in here are more or less related to the Grand Empress Dowager. Maybe they are all related to the Grand Empress Dowager. It is very likely that they are evidence of her collusion with the Qinglian Sect, and this evidence is very likely found by my cousin herself. This..."

"It will be very difficult for you to read it, right?" Shen Cha sighed, "On one side is a relative, and on the other side is a benefactor."

"What the general said is true. It is indeed very difficult. I still say that although she has done many bad things and made many mistakes that cannot be forgiven in the interests of justice, she has done me a great favor. So."

"Concubine Hui must have known this, so she told you not to open it, right? She probably didn't want you to be sad, and you have nothing to do with this case, so there's no need to get involved."

"What the general said is right. I think so too." Mian Bai nodded. "For so many years, I have been running around with the troupe, just wanting to find the destined person. Now that I have found him, I can hand over this box safely." When he said this, he suddenly stopped for a long time before saying, "I remembered something. I wonder if it can be useful to the general."

"What's the matter? Tell me!"

"When I was recovering in the palace of the Grand Empress Dowager, I heard the eunuchs and maids gossiping behind my back, saying that the Grand Empress Dowager would go to the Huangshou Temple to worship Buddha on the first and fifteenth day of every month, and would stay for three to five days each time."

"We know this. Huangshou Temple is the only temple that only accepts royal offerings. The Empress Dowager didn't go there to worship Buddha on a whim. She has been doing this for many years since she entered the palace. Is there any problem with this?"

"There is nothing wrong with worshipping Buddha, but what the general doesn't know is that every time she uses the excuse of worshipping Buddha, she will meet with a man from outside the palace at the Huangshou Temple. The eunuch and the palace maid who made fun of her behind her back saw it with their own eyes, but..."

"what?"

"But the foreign man was wearing a black cloak with a black cloth covering his face. We had no idea what he looked like. We only knew that he was of medium build and walked with a limp. If you didn't look closely, you couldn't tell. When he walked fast, it looked like his right leg was a little lame."