Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 899: The Back Mountain of Xuanzhen Temple
South slope of Nanshan Mountain,

Inside Xuanzhen Temple,

In the front yard, the Taoist boy opened his eyes wide, not understanding what the Marquis meant. Zhang Jinyu did not explain further.

"May I ask what is the Taoist's name?"

"Replying to the layman, this is Qingfeng, a disciple of Xuanzhen Temple."

A sincere face made Zhang Jinyu look a little strange. The Taoist name is everywhere. Who else is Qingfeng? Mingyue seems to be...
"Excuse me, little master, is there any disciple in Guannei named Mingyue?"

"Well, Mr. Lai, that's not the case,"

Qingfeng was a little puzzled, and looked at the nobleman in front of him in confusion, asking why he mentioned the word "bright moon".
Zhang Jinyu shook his head. Since there is no such thing, he would search for it.

"Someone, go in and search to see if there are any letters or account books?"

"Yes, Lord Marquis,"

Ning Bian nodded, knowing what the Marquis meant, and personally led his personal soldiers to search the rooms carefully one by one. This momentum was really scary. Qingfeng shrank aside in fear, and mustered up the courage to ask;

"May I ask why you disturb the tranquility of the Taoist temple? How can you be so unreasonable in such a place?"

Looking at the angry Taoist boy, Zhang Jinyu also wanted to tease him.

"First, this place, or the Taoist temple, was bought by me. The deed is in my hands, so I cannot trespass without permission. In addition, the temple master is not here, and someone in my family believes in Buddhism, so I can only use this place to change my family. May I ask, little master, is there a place to go?"

It is very clear.
This place is no longer a Taoist temple. You can choose your own future. As expected, Qingfeng was a little surprised after hearing this, but then his eyes darkened. He really had nowhere to go. He bowed and replied;

"Reply to the layman, the child has nowhere to go,"

"Okay, since you have nowhere to go, and I am a nostalgic person, since you are here to serve, as the saying goes, a person who practices Taoism can practice Taoism anywhere. I am in the front farm and I am going to buy a house. You can move all the things you need for practicing Taoism in the temple there, sort them out, and keep watch for me. You will get a monthly allowance, and your food, clothing and other expenses will be covered by the mansion. How do you do that?"

Zhang Jinyu's idea was not sudden. Since he could leave someone to look after the place, even though he was young, he was loyal. In this case, wouldn't the house he planned to buy need someone to look after it? In case something could be found out, he could make a lot of money.
Qingfeng stood there, hesitating for a long time before he bowed.
"My Lord, the young Taoist priest has agreed, but I don't know when he will move out?"

Seeing the young Taoist agree, Zhang Jinyu thought to himself, this matter is settled, and nodded.

"Wait a few days. After the house is bought, you can move in. Don't ask about this place anymore."

"Thank you, Lord Marquis."

While the two were talking, Ning Bian and his men had already searched the backyard. They saw that the backyard was too plain and very different from the front yard, so they paid attention and checked the side rooms. There was nothing unusual. The same was true for the main hall.
When no one noticed,
In the inner temple,
The meditation area in the west warm room was actually empty. There was only a high platform in the room. On the platform, there was a square table and a Taoist meditation cushion. There was nothing else. On the corresponding north wall, there was only a table, which seemed extremely incongruous.

Ning Bian looked at the table and felt it. It seemed that the table was moved here later. He carefully looked at the ground where it touched the floor. There was no indentation. If that was the case, there must be something wrong with the wall. He reached out and pulled the table away. He carefully touched the wall with his hand. It was cold. He knocked on the wall and listened attentively. There was nothing unusual.
Ning Bian frowned, squatted down, and knocked on the ground again. After the "dong dong" sound, there was an echo. He was shocked and stomped his feet hard again, and the ground shook slightly.
It's empty inside.
In this case, where is the mechanism? He looked around but found nothing, so he shouted to the guards outside the Marquis' Mansion;

"Come on, go in and search this room. There is a secret room with a mechanism. Send someone to inform the Marquis."

"Yes, General,"

The guards rushed in and searched around.
The front yard,
A captain came to report,
"Report, Lord, in the backyard, General Ning found a secret room in the west warm room and is looking for the mechanism."

"Oh, this happened,"

Zhang Jinyu's eyes lit up. What a surprise! Since there is a secret room in Xuanzhen Temple, it means that Jia Jing's secret may be hidden here. Maybe the secret of the crown prince, no, the secret of the loyal prince is buried here.

He led his men to the backyard and walked into the house. He walked towards the West Warm Pavilion and saw many people searching in the house.

"The entrance has been found,"

Ning Bian turned around when he heard the voice and saw that it was the Marquis who came here, so he quickly replied;
"My Lord, the entrance is at the corner of the north wall, but the entrance mechanism of the secret passage cannot be found."

Zhang Jinyu quickly looked around the room. The furnishings were too simple. It could be said that there was almost no luxurious decoration. There were only a few tables, stools, and a futon. Even if he wanted to hide a mechanism, there was nowhere to hide it. Since it was not inside, it must be outside.

"Come on, search the outer room to see if there is anything there. Also check outside the house and the yard."

"Yes. Lord Marquis."

The guards responded in unison, and then searched inside and outside the house. After a while, someone outside the house shouted,
"found it,"

I saw a soldier, there was a stone tablet in the bamboo forest on the west side, and there was a pile of stones underneath. He twisted it hard, and the hole in the house opened. This scene made everyone confused. How could it be like this? Generally speaking, the secrets of noble families and martial arts sects are all kept inside the house. How could they be outside? Although the bamboo forest is inconspicuous,

"My Lord, the mechanism was found on the stone tablet in the bamboo forest on the west side. It's a little strange. It should be set up inside the house, so why is it outside?"

Zhang Jinyu took people out to take a look. The stone tablet was just an ordinary stone, without any marks or carvings. It was ordinary. Looking at the wall on one side of the bamboo forest, there was a gate leading to the outer courtyard. After walking through the wall, there was only a small courtyard with a corner gate. Nothing could be seen.
"If you can't see it, you must think about it in reverse. Could it be that the secret passage is for people from outside to come in? This place is connected to the backyard of Xuanzhen Temple, so it may be convenient for people from outside to come in."

"Maybe what the Marquis said is true. I sent someone to hear that the Ningguo Mansion pays no less than 50,000 taels of silver to Xuanzhen Temple every year, but no one from Xuanzhen Temple goes down the mountain privately. Even if there are many people, they can't spend all the money. But without the account book, there is no trace."

Ning Bian and the Marquis came here to search for the whereabouts of the silver and to find out if there were any clues to track down the secret guards.
"Since we can't find out, let's go down and take a look. Take out the arm shield, light the torch, and be careful."

Seeing nothing useful, Zhang Jinyu simply stopped lingering and asked the heavily armored personal soldier to lead the way in front of the secret passage with an arm shield and a torch.
After packing up, they came to the West Warm Pavilion and looked at the dark cave entrance. There was no noise. It was incredible that the cave entrance was exaggerated and could accommodate two people at the same time. Four personal soldiers, holding shields, bows and crossbows, and holding torches, walked in.
After waiting for almost an incense stick of time, there was a response from the secret passage. After waiting for a while, a personal soldier came back.
"My Lord, there are no traps in the secret passage. It leads directly to a cliff in the back mountain, and there is a road down the mountain. It seems that the mountain top here has been opened up."

"Oh, that's amazing,"

Zhang Jinyu's eyes lit up. It would take more than one or two years to open up the mountain at the back.
"Let's go and have a look,"

"Yes, Lord Marquis!"

"Drive, drive,"

"Gee, gee, whoosh!" At the Donghuang Mausoleum, at the garrison, several people who had returned from the royal palace in the capital, without even a sip of water, hurried out of the city. In a hurry, they arrived at the garrison of Eunuch Song, jumped off their horses, and rushed into the house.

The eunuch at the door hurriedly stopped him, and a shrill voice rang out.

"What are you doing? There are no rules. Godfather just came back."

Seeing that it was Eunuch Song's godson Xiao Xiangzi who was stopping them, no matter how anxious they were, they could only bow. The chief clerk smiled and replied;

"It's Eunuch Xiang. Several of us have just returned from the palace. We left in a hurry and neglected the courtesy. Please excuse me, Eunuch Xiang."

"Well, that's fine. Since you have official business to attend to, it's understandable. However, Godfather and Lord Fang have not returned from the underground palace yet, so it's better for the chief clerk to go to the underground palace to report."

Xiao Xiangzi put her hand down. This room is not for casual entry. When several people heard this, they quickly clasped their fists and thanked her.

"Thank you, eunuch Xiang, for your reminder. We will go there immediately."

After thanking them, they hurried back and found the entrance to the underground palace. They went down together. They felt tired all the way. When they walked into the corridor of the underground palace, they felt dazed and uncomfortable. What's more, they felt scared.

After they looked at each other, there was some inexplicable expression in their eyes, and the corners of their mouths moved slightly, but they never spoke. The road was not long. After passing the front hall, they arrived at the seat of the central palace. As soon as they entered, they saw Eunuch Song and Lord Fang standing on a high place, directing the laborers and craftsmen to build a dam on the east side. They looked at the ear chamber on the east side. The water had already spread out. Fortunately, the canal had been widened, so there was no problem at present.

Several people hurried to the front of Eunuch Song and bowed.
"Your humble servant greets Eunuch Song."

Seeing the few people coming back with tired faces, Eunuch Song felt relieved. It seemed that the prince was relieved. He didn't know how the prince would deal with it this time. He glanced at Lord Fang who was silent beside him and asked;

"Get up, does the prince have anything to say?"

"My Lord, the prince said that we should do as Master Yuan said and take two approaches at the same time to ensure the construction of the mausoleum. In addition, the money spent on the construction of the underground palace still needs Lord Fang and Eunuch Song to petition. The money in the Ministry of Internal Affairs has already run out."

The chief clerk's face turned slightly red, whether it was from tiredness or excitement, after he finished speaking, he stood still and waited for further questioning.
Eunuch Song was stunned. He didn't expect that the prince would use both methods. What he said was right. With double insurance, even if the underground river was flooded, there would be nothing to worry about. However, he didn't know how Lord Fang would deal with the matter of asking the court for money.
He asked calmly;
"Master Fang, what do you think?"

Fang Liren smiled. Eunuch Song and the chief clerk acted in unison. The money for building the mausoleum had been calculated by the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue long ago. Even if there was an emergency, the Ministry of Revenue would have a record. Now the mausoleum was not even half built, and the money was gone. Who could believe it? But the prince had spoken, and he had to respond. Thinking of the previous carpenter who committed suicide here, he was immediately alert.
"Since the prince has said so, we will do as the prince says. As for the silver, I am new to this position and do not understand the matter, so I dare not make any corrections. I think the silver issue is supervised by Eunuch Song, so I will not interfere. As for the construction of the underground palace, I will also listen to Eunuch."

This was like throwing up his hands and not asking any more questions. Song Zhen was also a little confused. He looked at Lord Fang carefully. He had a simple and honest face and didn't cry or make a sound. He actually had such skills. He underestimated him.

"Sir Fang is too modest. As the Craftsman, I have the right to inquire about everything in the underground palace. There are also account books to record how the money was spent. If the money is not enough and the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not make up for it, we can only report it to the court for review. How can Sir Fang shirk his responsibility?"

Intentionally or unintentionally, it was a reminder to Lord Fang that he had to take care of the construction of the underground palace. The first hurdle was the screening by the great craftsmen, followed by the review by the craftsmen, and finally the seal by the supervisor from the palace like him. It was wishful thinking to want to escape from it.

"Since you said so, I can submit a memorial, but I don't recognize the account book made by the previous craftsman. I can only write from the time I took office. As for how the court will reply, I don't know."

How could Fang Liren take the blame for his predecessor's mistake? The construction of this underground palace was in accordance with the rules and regulations, and there was no modification. Even if the underground dragon turned over and there were some damages, it would be impossible to spend all the money after repairing and rebuilding. Therefore, it is unknown how far the hands of the previous craftsman, the eunuch Song in front of him, and the prince Zhou can reach.

"Haha, great, Lord Fang has made a clear calculation. In this case, let's follow Lord Fang's advice and submit a memorial. I will also submit a memorial to express my grievances."

"Thank you, eunuch. I will go back and write a memorial. Goodbye!"

Fang Liren did not delay. Since something happened today, he would write it today. As for what was inside, he remembered the secret letter from Eunuch Dai and could only report it truthfully. He clasped his fists and bowed, then walked out of the underground palace.
Leaving Eunuch Song and his group behind, the chief clerk's eyelids twitched and asked;
"Father, Lord Fang obviously wants to stay out of this. What should we do?"

"Look at your achievements, what are you afraid of? Deal with the water seepage in the underground palace as soon as possible, and then build the central palace faster. He wants to distance himself from the matter, but can he? The matter is up to the prince to decide. The account book must be recorded completely."

Song Zhen narrowed his eyes and followed the craftsman's back slowly. Even if he didn't want to get involved in the affairs of the imperial mausoleum, he had no choice. The emperor's temper was beyond his control. Looking at the mess around him, he felt annoyed.

"Yes, sir. I remember that when I just came in, Master Yuan had already led the laborers and the imperial guards to the bottom of the mountain downstream to choose a suitable place to dig a culvert. I think the water seepage here will be solved soon."

"That's good, let's go out and take a look."

"Yes, father-in-law."

"Slow down, my Lord. There are still a few turns ahead before we reach the exit."

The tunnel of Xuanzhen Temple twists and turns, leading directly to the back mountain of Xuanzhen Temple. Not only is it dry inside, it is not built like a secret room. Instead, it is quite regular, with a simple treatment of the tunnel. There is not even an annex, which makes people feel strange.
"The road is so long, and there is no underground palace or anything to store things. It seems that the tunnel is only used for escape?"

Zhang Jinyu looked around. With the help of the torchlight, he saw that the tunnel was quite large, one person tall and two people wide. It was obvious that a lot of people had dug it, but there were no secret rooms or supplies. It was obviously built just as a road. The key question was why this road was built.
"My Lord, is there something strange going on in the back of the mountain? It's too conspicuous to walk up the mountain. After all, there's a big manor opposite Xuanzhen Temple, and the courtyards of each household are all there. It's too conspicuous."

Ning Bian thought about it and realized that it would take a long time to go around the back mountain from Xuanzhen Temple. The most important thing is that the mountain road is steep and can be seen from a long distance. If he wants to find the whereabouts of the secret, he cannot go this way.

Zhang Jinyu heard this and thought about it. If the main road is not available, then he can only take the small road. If the small road is not available, then he can only take the night road. If he cannot even take the night road, then he can only take the underground tunnel.

"Go back and keep an eye out. Find out which manor it is and which spies are inside. A manor wouldn't just appear here for no reason."

"Yes, my Lord, I will send someone to investigate thoroughly."

As soon as he finished speaking, a light appeared on the road ahead, and it was obvious that they had reached the end. Everyone was excited.
I quickened my pace. Right at the exit, I found a hole the size of a house. There were a few boxes next to it. I opened them and saw some clothes for ordinary people, some dry food and water bags. Sure enough, they were used for running away.
After verifying the conjecture, I walked out of the cave. The view was wide and the scenery of the back mountain was in sight. There were three mountains in the distance giving gifts. There was a cliff not far from my feet. On the left was a huge rock standing there, blocking my view. On the right was a path going down the mountain. The road was covered with weeds, as if no one had walked on it for a long time.
After looking around for a while, Zhang Jinyu looked around. It was plain and ordinary. There were only trees around that blocked the entrance of the cave. Most people could only see the huge rocks here. It was a good place to hide.

"Ningbyon, where does this mountain road lead to?"

"My Lord, this path leads directly to the bottom of the mountain. We just sent someone to walk along it. We can reach the middle of the mountain and see the bottom of the cliff. This path leads to both Hexi County and Fuling County."

Ningbian followed behind. The reason why this road was hidden was because it was located in a depression on the mountainside and was blocked by dense forests. When it reached the middle of the mountain, it was unavoidable.

Zhang Jinyu suddenly laughed. He was too suspicious. Since it was an escape route, it must be hidden and connected in all directions. If it was a dead end, why bother digging a hole in the ground? However, this Xuanzhen Temple was really a good place. It would be a waste to leave it to those nuns. But on second thought, if there were outsiders here, it would be easier to conceal it. This place needed to be renovated.
Just as he was about to discuss the matter with Ningbian, suddenly, a soldier looking out from the cliff shouted in a suppressed voice;

"Report! There is a large group of people moving on the gentle slope to the south, heading east."

"what!"

(End of this chapter)