Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 94 Closing the Net: Regicide

Although the news of the empress's visit to the White Horse Temple was not spread openly, there was already an undercurrent of movement around the White Horse Temple. Xue Huaiyi called a group of monks to pretend to teach the "Da Yun Sutra" to some pilgrims, so when the holy carriage arrived, the temple was already filled with chanting.

At the same time, the underground bank of the White Horse Temple was also bustling with singing and dancing, and several businessmen came here.

Hong Xian also brought several secret guards to this underground bank. According to the Ghost-Faced Man's request, she needed to catch the "spy" hiding among the merchants.

When the two merchants from the Western Regions arrived, Hong Xian's eyes followed them. The man was handsome and the woman was tall and slender with beautiful features. The man was not like other merchants who showed a lustful and hungry look when they saw the women here. Instead, he had a look of excitement and curiosity, as if it was his first time to come to such a place. He was particularly excited and occasionally chatted with the woman next to him, but the woman next to him was not so excited. From time to time, she gave him a look of contempt and even slapped him a few times.

"What should we do if we can't speak the Western dialect?" the young man whispered in the woman's ear.

"You're out of your mind. People from the Western Regions must speak the Western dialect. If you can't speak it, just shut up and I'll speak."

"Okay, okay, I'm relying on you, sister. My life depends on you."

The woman sat upright, while the man sipped tea and ate snacks, his eyes looking around.

When the two heard people talking about the illegal salt business, how the price of salt had increased several times, how ordinary people could not afford to buy salt, and how many of their children had been sold to them, anger was clearly revealed in the eyes of this Western merchant couple.

Hong Xian was watching secretly. After about a cup of tea, the couple finally got up. While other businessmen were entertaining prostitutes, they walked out of the hall and wandered around the underground bank.

The two searched everywhere, and after searching every corner, they finally found a secret room where several decent women were imprisoned. They opened the door of the secret room and saw the women huddled together, all of whom showed angry pity.

"Get out, I'll take you out!" said the man.

The detained girls were confused at first, but after the "couple's" repeated and kind persuasion, they tried to get up and escape one after another.

But just as they were about to escape, Hong Xian and several men in black with knives blocked their way.

Seeing the bell on Hong Xian's wrist, the man immediately recognized her identity. He stepped forward and shouted, "You are Hong Xian. I've heard your story. You are also a victim. You were sold to that man and tortured and exploited, and then became a killer. Do you still want to help him and continue to harm other women?"

Hong Xian cast an interested gaze at the two of them and asked in surprise, "Aren't you Xiao Zhongcheng and that young lady who can play the flute and enter dreams?"

The man laughed triumphantly:

"Oh? So you were waiting for them? I'm sorry to disappoint you!"

After saying that, the two of them pulled off the disguised wigs on their heads, revealing two faces that were Lu Shiyilang and Xie Zi'e.

Hong Xian smiled and said, "No, I'm not disappointed. This kind of game is more exciting. They really didn't disappoint me. Could you tell me where they have been hiding these days, except for the two days they briefly stayed at Princess Taiping's residence?"

Xie Zi'e continued in a cold voice: "I'm sorry, but we have no comment to make!"

Hong Xian smiled again: "It doesn't matter, I will let you tell me in person!"

After saying that, she gently raised her wrist and played with the bell in her hand. Suddenly, it seemed as if the surroundings were filled with tinkling sounds, ethereal and eerie.

The figure in the red line also seemed to become blurred, and walked towards the two of them like a ghost.

Lu Shiyilang was startled, and immediately slapped himself, and shouted to Xie Zi'e beside him:

"Plug your ears, don't look at her, and don't listen to the ringing!"

As he spoke, he stuffed the two balls of soft cotton he had prepared into his ears, and also stuffed two balls into Xie Zi'e's ears.

"Hong Xian, we are not afraid of your hypnosis. Since we dared to come here today, we never thought of returning empty-handed. If you still have an ounce of conscience, stand on our side, expose the crimes in the White Horse Temple, and let these women go!"

"Oh, so you two want to be heroes who save the damsel in distress! Then I'll make your wish come true!"

Hong Xian said this with a smile, holding up the bell in her hand to signal a group of men in black behind her, and then the group of men in black attacked the two of them with knives in their hands with a ferocious look.

A fierce battle took place, but no one noticed that a large number of officers and soldiers in black inner guard uniforms quietly poured into the underground bank and quickly surrounded all the merchants and gamblers inside.

……

At the same time, as soon as the empress's carriage arrived at the White Horse Temple, it was attacked by a group of masked men in black. A burst of swords and sabers immediately broke out in the huge Buddhist temple, but the fight did not last long. Wu Chengsi personally led some Qianniu Guards to rescue the empress and killed all the men in black with his sword.

"I am late in coming to your rescue, please forgive me, aunt!" Wu Chengsi, dressed in official uniform, knelt in front of the imperial carriage and spoke with excitement, almost in tears.

The empress opened the curtain of the sedan chair, but did not look at Wu Chengsi. Instead, with the help of Shangguan Wan'er, she got off the carriage and looked at the White Horse Temple with its towering pagodas and majestic halls.

The White Horse Temple has five main halls, and on the east and west sides there are bell and drum towers, a dining hall, a guest hall, a meditation hall, a scripture library, a Dharma treasure pavilion and other ancillary buildings, making this magnificent pagoda temple even more solemn and dignified.

She also placed too many hopes on the White Horse Temple. Not only did she ask Xue Huaiyi to rebuild the temple and lead three thousand monks to recite the "Dayun Sutra", but she also supported these monks and gave them too many salaries and privileges.

But now everything seems to have changed.

Just as the empress was lamenting the passage of time, Xue Huaiyi also knelt before her with dozens of monks.

"I didn't know Your Majesty was coming. I beg your forgiveness! However, since Your Majesty has come to the White Horse Temple, I have something to present to Your Majesty!"

The empress glanced at Xue Huaiyi, showing no particular interest. However, this single glance filled Xue Huaiyi with joy and spirit, and he hurriedly said, "Please invite the Saint to the Heavenly King Palace!"

The empress was silent for a while before she replied, "Then go!"

Xue Huaiyi was overjoyed: "Yes!"

A group of Buddhist monks followed the empress to the vast and solemn Heavenly King Hall. They heard the sound of a mechanism turning, and a Vajra Buddha statue rose slowly from the hall. Coupled with the chanting sounds that sounded all around, the scene was solemn and magnificent like a miracle.

"Your Majesty, how about this gift I have prepared for you?" Xue Huaiyi asked with anticipation. "I have also painted a 200-foot-tall Buddha for Your Majesty, stained with the blood of my knees. Please take a look!"

After that, Xue Huaiyi ordered two Buddhist monks to unfold a long blood-stained Buddha statue in the hall.

The empress took a look at the Buddha statue and smiled calmly without any joy.

Xue Huaiyi knew that he could never win back the old woman's heart. Ever since Princess Taiping presented Zhang Changzong to the empress, the empress had never summoned him to see her again, and her attitude towards him became increasingly cold.

Because of his inner resentment and anger, Xue Huaiyi simply put away the flattering smile on his face and ordered hundreds of Buddhist monks to surround the Heavenly King Hall. At the same time, the Qianniu Guards brought by Wu Chengsi also stood solemnly on both sides of the hall with swords in their hands.

"In that case, Your Majesty, will you abdicate and let someone else take over?"

The empress suddenly burst into laughter, then said sternly, "So, you've made such a big scene today just to force me to abdicate? Are you planning a rebellion?"

"Aunt, it wasn't us who wanted to assassinate you and restore the Li Tang dynasty. It was your son, Prince Xiang, Li Dan. I've had the identities of those who tried to assassinate you identified. They were actually guards from Prince Xiang's palace."

"Hmph, Prince Xiang doesn't even dare to leave his mansion, so how could he know that I would come to the White Horse Temple today, and how could he choose such a perfect time to assassinate me?"

"Aunt, isn't there Taiping? Taiping and the Prince of Xiang were close siblings. How do you know she wasn't the one who informed the Prince of Xiang about your incognito tour of the White Horse Temple?"

"So, who told you the news that I was on tour at the White Horse Temple?"

Wu Chengsi's face changed.

At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out from the hall: "Why waste so much time talking to her? Wouldn't it be better to kill her and then put the blame of regicide on the Prince of Xiang?"

As the hoarse voice came, a black shadow rushed from the back of the hall to the front like lightning, and even shot a crossbow arrow in his hand towards the empress in the hall.

With a "crack", in a flash, another sword light came and cut off the arrow.

Wu Chengsi's face changed, and he saw Wu Lingyue rushing into the Heavenly King Palace with a group of inner guards. At the same time, another graceful figure repelled the ghost-faced man with lightning speed and stood in front of the empress.

"who are you?"

The repelled man couldn't help but ask.

The girl standing in front of the empress pulled off the veil covering her face, revealing a face that surprised him greatly.

"Murong Huan!"

(End of this chapter)