The Ninth Lady is a rebellious person.

Chapter 210 Even the most cunning schemer falls into her hands.

Princess Chao'an had a secluded Zen temple in Huguo Temple where she lived for a long time. Since she became pregnant, the temple had never been open to the public. The princess's residence sent generous amounts of sesame oil every month, which could be considered as rent for the temple.

Therefore, even if the Zen monastery of Huguo Temple is full, this Zen monastery will not be used by others.

Unexpectedly, thanks to Gong Qi's meddling, something was actually found in this otherwise ordinary courtyard.

It was a small Buddhist shrine, where a statue of the future Buddha was enshrined. At the Buddha's feet were several adorable little children. In front of the Buddha, there were incense sticks and ever-burning lamps, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. On the walls of the shrine, there were also solemn portraits of the Buddha.

Before the eternal lamp, there is an open sandalwood box, which is said to have been kept in a secret compartment under the seat of the future Buddha. Inside is a small statue of an infant dressed in small clothes, along with his birth date and time, and a roll of yellow silk.

"What is this?" Gong Qi picked up the baby portrait and looked at it. He was surprised when he saw the birth date and time.

This, this is the birth chart of the future.

No, this time of day...

Isn't it tomorrow at midnight?

Gong Qi picked up the yellow silk scroll again, and frowned as soon as she opened it. It was a petition to the Bodhisattva written in blood. It was a petition written with her own blood, a willingness to sacrifice her soul as a sacrifice, praying that all the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas in the sky would bless her child to be born on time.

"What nonsense!" Gong Qi said with disgust.

Even in childbirth, no matter how terrified one is, who would willingly exchange their soul for the birth of a child? A mother is a human being first and foremost, and only then a mother; who would sacrifice themselves for the sake of their child's arrival...

wrong.

A petition is fine, but something about this petition seems off. It's not just a petition; it's more like it's replacing something.
"Take a look, I feel something's wrong," Gong Qi asked Lang Jiuchuan to come over.

Lang Jiuchuan had already walked around the room once. Then he looked at the items in the sandalwood box. Looking at the clay figure of the child, he took a sniff and smelled blood. It smelled like the clay figure that Bian had placed in the local temple. It had been sculpted with blood. And the birth date and time were from one of the full moons, the time when the corpse was reborn.

Looking at the petition again, she became even more certain.

Lang Jiuchuan put down these things, picked up the sandalwood box, and touched it inside and out. Suddenly, he lifted the bottom, and the box opened and flattened as if a mechanism had been triggered. The box had a different side, with runes drawn on it and a thin, paper-thin red-gold shield attached to it.

Gong Qi hissed and gasped.

Is there another secret hidden in this box?
Lang Jiuchuan picked up the talisman shield, sensing the Daoist intent within this magical artifact, and sighed softly: "Wonderful thought, if Bian had followed the righteous path, perhaps there would be another enlightened master here."

Unfortunately, fate was cruel to him. When things were going well, he was struck by bad luck and fell from grace. His mindset became distorted, and he took a different path.

Decisive as it may be, it's a pity it took the wrong path, unaware that the end of that path leads to a precipice.

That's just how fate is!

"Stop keeping me in suspense, what are all these?" Gong Qi asked impatiently.

Lang Jiuchuan tapped the box and said, "The Buddhist hall is cleverly designed with a protective array that can both protect the body and ward off calamities. If I'm not mistaken, the protective shield inside this sandalwood box should be the Crimson Sun Shield."

Gong Qi suddenly had a flash of inspiration, recalling the book on magical artifacts he had read, and exclaimed in surprise, "The Crimson Sun Shield, the one that can withstand one lightning tribulation?" "Yes." Lang Jiuchuan casually put the Crimson Sun Shield into his pocket.

Gong Qi, who was just about to take a closer look, exclaimed: "!"

How can your movements be so skillful, as if they have been honed through countless trials?
Lang Jiuchuan, seemingly oblivious to his green face, picked up the small infant clay statue and said, "Cong Bian made ample preparations for the success of his grand plan, even preparing to have a substitute shield him from the potential heavenly tribulations."

"You mean this is the substitute?" Gong Qi's thoughts were diverted, and he pointed to the clay statue: "It's just a clay statue."

"Do you know how witchcraft is done? It involves making a sculpted image, attaching the child's birth date and time, and then adding blood, essence, or nails and hair. You should know that." Lang Jiuchuan pointed at the infant sculpted image and said, "This sculpted image has a bloody smell, so it must have been made by mixing blood and essence with it. The child has not yet been born, so it can only be the blood and essence of the parents. The bloodline continues, so it's the same."

Gong Qi was still somewhat confused: "If you're pinching this little statue to help ward off disaster, why not keep it with you instead of hiding it here?"

Lang Jiuchuan, however, looked at Abbot Xuan Neng, whose expression was not pleasant, and said, "This again involves their greed and covetousness. Abbot, how much does Buddha regard all sentient beings?"

"Amitabha." Abbot Xuan Neng put his hands together and chanted the Buddha's name, saying helplessly, "The Buddha regards all sentient beings as his own children, therefore all sentient beings are equal."

Gong Qi was taken aback, vaguely guessing what was going on.

“Look, the Buddha sees all beings as his own children, all beings are equal, and all beings include everything. In his eyes, all beings are equal. Therefore, when a child is reincarnated, regardless of whether he becomes a demon or not, he is still a sentient being and deserves blessings. This is the future Buddha, also known as Maitreya, the one who brings children. To worship him is to ask for blessings. Tell me, how can someone born with the blessings of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas defy Heaven? Since he is not defying Heaven, he should be born smoothly. If Heaven is unwilling, we beg the Buddha for mercy to protect the child’s body.” Lang Jiuchuan picked up the yellow silk petition: “Is it enough that this mother is willing to sacrifice her soul to exchange for her child’s life?”

Gong Qi was deeply shocked. Looking at the small clay statue and the petition, he felt as if a new door had opened before him.

What constitutes a foolproof plan? Is this one?
If what she said is true, then Cong Bian truly lived up to the saying, "cunning and shrewd."

It's a pity that no matter how cunning he was, he still fell into her hands. In this way, she was still the better one, and a narrow victory is still a victory.

The will of Heaven is indeed unpredictable!

Gong Qi then looked at Lang Jiuchuan. Who taught such a clever person?

Master Xuan Neng sighed as well, "How similar!" But there was also worry in his eyes. "Too much wisdom is bound to bring harm, and too much rigidity is easy to break. She is both intelligent and resolute, and easily withers away."

Amitabha Buddha, may the Buddha protect you.

Lang Jiuchuan wrapped the yellow silk and the small clay figure, and said, "Of course, all of this is just my speculation. Perhaps I'm overinterpreting it. They only set up this magic array to ensure the safety of the fetus, since it's true that princess pregnancies are unstable. So whether it's true or not, even asking Cong Bian won't give us an answer. But the baby's birth date and time have given us a hint about the true birth time of this evil spirit."

"No, do they have some kind of precognitive ability? How did they know that he would be born at this exact time?" Gong Qi asked, puzzled.

Lang Jiuchuan finally couldn't help but roll his eyes: "You're so old, what have you learned? Is having a child just about letting nature take its course? There are even people who induce labor for an auspicious time or even have a C-section to remove the baby. Have you forgotten what I've seen?"

The image immediately flashed into Gong Qi's mind: the demonic infant crawling out from the woman's abdomen, which was clearly split to the sides.

Cesarean section, that matches up!

Any disrespectful remarks are solely for the sake of the plot. Amitabha, the Buddha resides in my heart, I will never desecrate him!