While Wu Chengsi was thinking silently, Zhuge Nan suddenly said:
"Your Highness, Her Royal Highness the Queen lost her temper just now and said she had decreed to kill these masons."
Wu Chengsi looked towards the mason and soon saw Xue Ne and waved to him.
Xue Ne came over in a hurry. When the Qianniu Guards guarding the masons saw Wu Chengsi waving, they did not stop him and let him out.
Before Wu Chengsi could speak, Xue Ne hurriedly said: "Your Highness, we, the masons, had nothing to do with the damage to the Buddha statue. I suspect it was the monks in the temple who did it!"
Pu Guang was stunned for a moment and then got angry: "You birdie, my master has been interceding for you, but you have beaten me down, repaying kindness with evil!"
Xue Ne glared and said, "I'm just telling the truth. Before Tongtou died, he said that these monks were causing trouble on the Buddha statues. If there is a problem in the future, it must be their fault."
Puguang said angrily: "That's nonsense, Master. I don't think we should beg for mercy for them. Let Her Royal Highness the Queen execute these ungrateful bastards!"
Xuanzang looked gloomy and said nothing.
Xue Ne ignored him, stared at Wu Chengsi, and said: "Your Highness, what Xue Ne said is true. Please make the decision for us stonemasons!"
Wu Chengsi pondered for a moment and said, "Please tell me the details of the situation at that time."
Xue Ne nodded and told the story of following Tong An into the back mountain and encountering a monk who stepped forward to criticize him.
He had an excellent memory and recited the entire conversation between Tong An and the monk.
Wu Chengsi's expression changed slightly and he said, "You said that monk's name is Hong'an?"
"Yes, that's the name."
Puguang lost his voice and said: "Why is it Hong'an again?"
After Cai Yang's death, some people pointed out that monk Hong'an had secret contact with Cai Yang, but unfortunately Hong'an had disappeared at that time.
Wu Chengsi's heart was filled with ups and downs. Hong An must have been ordered by Cai Yang to do such a thing!
No wonder Cai Yang wanted to hire a murderer to kill Tong An. Hong An must have been discovered by Tong An when he was doing something, and then he killed Tong An and silenced him!
Wu Chengsi looked up at the Buddha statue that was split into two halves. Suddenly, his whole body shuddered, and a terrible guess arose in his mind.
He turned his head stiffly and asked Master Xuanzang: "Master, where is Her Majesty the Queen settled?"
Xuanzang was startled and said: "Originally, it was supposed to be settled in the Shangbao Hall, but a murder just happened there, so it was settled in the Guangming Zen Room."
Puguang explained: "It's the one on the far left of the row of Zen rooms where the master competed with the lamas in sitting meditation! That's the best Zen room in the temple, except for the Shangbao Hall."
In an instant, many things in Wu Chengsi's mind finally connected, and he finally understood the other party's purpose.
All these arrangements are for Wu Mei.
His whole body was ice-cold, with cold sweat dripping from his forehead. He ran towards the direction of the meditation room, shouting in his heart: "Wu Mei, Her Royal Highness! You can't die!"
When I came outside the door, I saw that the entire row of Zen rooms were surrounded by Qianniu guards. The guards were impeccable and there were checkpoints set up at a long distance.
Wu Chengsi passed through the Thousand Niu Guards and rushed outside Wu Mei's Zen Room.
A palace maid was about to go in to report, but Wu Chengsi had already kicked open the door and rushed in.
"Who dares to be so presumptuous!" Wu Mei's majestic shout sounded from the room.
Xie Yaohuan and Shangguan Wan'er walked out of the Zen room with anger on their faces.
After seeing that the person coming was Wu Chengsi, Xie Yaohuan frowned and said, "Your Highness, King Zhou, why did you break in without permission?"
Shangguan Wan'er opened her eyes wide with surprise on her face.
Without saying a word, Wu Chengsi pushed the two of them away and quickly broke into the inner room. He saw Wu Mei hurriedly putting on her coat, with an evil look on her face.
"Wu Chengsi, you are so brave!"
It turned out that she had been dealing with government affairs all day and rushed to Daci'en Temple. She had lost her temper just now and was extremely tired. So she took off her clothes and wanted to take a nap in the Zen room.
Unexpectedly, someone dared to break in without permission.
When Wu Chengsi saw that she was safe and sound, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, but did not go out immediately.
"Aunt, please get dressed quickly and my nephew will give you a satisfactory explanation."
After saying this, he left the room and said to Xie Yaohuan and Shangguan Wan'er: "You two go in immediately and protect my aunt!"
Shangguan Wan'er obeyed the order without hesitation and went in. Xie Yaohuan looked at him suspiciously and finally went in.
Wu Chengsi glanced around the room and whispered instructions to Feng Wu.
Feng Wu nodded her chin and quickly left the room.
After a while, Wu Mei got dressed and came out with an angry look on her face.
Wu Chengsi smiled: "Aunt, you almost scared your nephew to death today."
Wu Mei said angrily: "I was almost scared to death by you! Tell me, what happened that made you break into my bedroom without permission!"
Wu Chengsi solemnly said: "Aunt, please call some guards in immediately."
Although Wu Mei didn't know the reason, she always trusted Wu Chengsi and did as he was told.
Not only did the guards come in, Wu Chengsi also let Master Xuanzang, Nie Ziyun, Zhuge Nan and others outside the door come in.
He stepped hard on the ground under his feet and sneered: "There must be a secret passage in this house. Find it immediately!"
Zhugenan said loudly: "Yes." He searched the house first, followed closely by Nie Ziyun and other guards.
Xuanzang was shocked and said: "Your Highness, King Zhou, this row of Zen rooms was built under the personal supervision of a poor monk. There is absolutely no secret passage. Please observe carefully."
Wu Chengsi folded his hands and ignored him.
Wu Mei was so smart that she immediately understood the reason for Wu Chengsi's sudden intrusion. Her face was turning green and white, and her eyes looking at Xuanzang were filled with murderous intent.
Zhuge Nan suddenly shouted: "Found it!"
I saw him squatting in the corner of the room, using an iron bar to pry up a loose floorboard. His movements were not unpleasant.
Xuanzang competed with Wu Chengsi, and Wu Mei came to Zhugenan first.
After Zhugenan pried open the floor, a dark cave was revealed underneath. What could it be if it wasn't a secret passage?
Wu Mei said in a solemn tone: "Xuan Zang, what else do you have to say?"
Xuanzang was stunned and silent, but Wu Chengsi said: "Aunt, this secret passage was not dug by the monks of Daci'en Temple."
As he said that, he turned to one of the guards and said:
"Go to the Jinwu Guards Office immediately and pass on my order to have the Jinwu Guards block all city gates. Then lead a team of Jinwu Guards to capture all the people from the Tibetan Office in Beijing here!"
After saying that, he handed over a waist badge.
The guard took the belt and took the order.
Wu Mei said coldly: "Chengsi, could this matter have something to do with the Tubo people?"
Wu Chengsi said: "Although the Tubo people were not the masterminds, they assisted in this matter."
Staring at the entrance of the cave, he said: "If I guessed correctly, there is someone hiding in this secret passage."
Zhuge Nan volunteered and said, "Your Highness, I will go down and catch him."
He asked the guard for a torch and jumped into the cave. The secret passage was very narrow and he could only crawl forward.
Wu Mei suddenly said: "Chengsi, there must be another exit to this secret passage."
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "My nephew has already had someone block the entrance on the other side."
Wu Mei nodded, glanced at Xuanzang, and said coldly: "You are really competent at your job as the abbot. You let people dig a secret tunnel in the temple without knowing it, huh!"
Xuanzang was ashamed and confused, and couldn't help but said:
"His Royal Highness King Zhou, there are monks patrolling our temple day and night. There must be noise when digging underground tunnels. How did the Tubo people dig tunnels?"
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "As long as you know where the exit of the other tunnel is, you will understand." He cupped his hands to Wu Mei and said: "Aunt, please come with me."
After saying that, he immediately walked out, Wu Mei followed closely, and the rest of the people followed.
After Wu Chengsi walked out of the door, he turned right and came to the second meditation room on the right before stopping.
The door had already been pushed open, and Feng Wu stood in the center of the room with her hands folded.
"Is anyone coming out?" Wu Chengsi asked.
Feng Wu shook her head.
All the monks from Daci'en Temple waited for Wu Mei to enter the house and followed her in.
All the monks were shocked, and Pu Guang couldn't help but said: "Your Highness King Zhou, this Zen room was used by the Tibetan lama and my master when they competed in sitting meditation. Could it be——"
He stopped at this point because what he said next felt too unbelievable and he couldn't say it out loud!
At this moment, there was a "click" sound, and a stone slab in the corner was pushed away.
A man stuck his head out from under the secret passage, his face covered with dust, it was Zhuge Nan.
When he saw the crowd, he shouted: "Your Highness, I have caught that person."
After saying that, he got up, pulled another person out of the tunnel, threw him on the ground, and said, "It's a pity that he's already dead, right next to the entrance of the tunnel."
The deceased was a monk.
Puguang exclaimed: "Isn't this Hong'an?"
Wu Chengsi looked at Hong An's body silently and said slowly: "Master Xuanzang, is he responsible for the cleaning of the Shangbao Palace?"
Xuanzang was stunned for a moment, seemed to understand something, and blurted out:
"That's right! Hongfa, who was originally in charge of the Shangbao Hall, was killed when he went out to do business in the temple. Hong'an was responsible for this errand."
Wu Chengsi nodded and turned his gaze back to Monk Hong'an.
"He probably heard our conversation underground and wanted to escape through the exit here. Later, he guessed that the exit must also be blocked, so he chose to commit suicide."
Wu Mei felt cold all over.
This monk had been hiding underground. Before Wu Chengsi came, he was probably under the movable stone slab in her room, waiting for the best opportunity to jump out and assassinate her!
She has experienced countless assassinations in her life, but this one was the most dangerous. If Wu Chengsi hadn't arrived in time, she might have suffered a much worse fate.
She glanced at Wu Chengsi and said warmly: "Chengsi, it's thanks to you this time."
Wu Chengsi touched the bridge of his nose and said with some fear:
"Aunt, what happened this time is really dangerous. My nephew also learned that you came to Daci'en Temple, and then he realized that they wanted to assassinate you. They just broke into your house rudely, please don't be offended."
Wu Mei patted his arm and said with a smile: "I should have thought a long time ago that you act in a measured way and there must be a reason for doing what you do. How can I blame you?"
After a pause, his expression became stern: "You just said that the Tubo people were just accomplices, so who is the main culprit in plotting to assassinate me?"
Wu Chengsi echoed: "Aunt, this matter is related to the treasury."
Wu Meifeng's eyes narrowed and she said calmly: "So, you have found out who stole it?" Her eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Wu Chengsi echoed: "The people behind the scenes have been found out, but they are very cunning, and my nephew still lacks evidence."
Wu Mei was silent for a while, feeling that it was not convenient to discuss this matter here, so she changed the topic and said:
"Just now the monk from Daci'en Temple said that this Zen room was used by the Tibetan lamas when they meditated. Could it be that they really dug the secret tunnel while meditating?"
"exactly."
Everyone had a look of disbelief on their faces. Xuanzang said in astonishment: "His Royal Highness King Zhou, how on earth did they do this?"
Wu Chengsi looked around and said, "Don't you think that many of the Tubo people's behaviors during the sitting meditation competition this time were particularly weird?"
Nie Ziyun was the first to react and said: "They have been chanting sutras loudly while sitting in meditation, without interruption, just to cover up the sound of digging!"
Qi Ji said: "But even if there is no sound, you need tools to dig a tunnel. There are no tools in the Zen room. We also checked carefully when the lama entered, and there was nothing on him!"
Wu Chengsi said: "Have you forgotten that Buddha statue?"
"What Buddha statue?" Wu Mei asked.
Wu Chengsi explained: "Before the competition, the Tubo lamas asked to carry a Buddha statue in, saying that they could sit in meditation facing the Buddha statue for a longer period of time."
Wu Mei nodded.
Puguang whispered: "His Royal Highness King Zhou, do you mean they hid the tools in the Buddha statue?"
Qiuji was suddenly startled and said, "When they came out, there was indeed a hole on the top of the Buddha statue."
After a second thought, he asked again: "But the hole is so small, even if there is a tool hidden in the belly of the Buddha statue, it can't be taken out?"
Xuanzang suddenly shook his head, clasped his hands and said, "The poor monk understands that the tool they use is the banana fan on the hand of the Buddha statue."
"Banana fan?" All the monks were a little shocked.
Xuanzang smiled bitterly and said: "I checked that fan and it was made of steel. I can only regret that I didn't think much about it at the time!"
Puguang said angrily: "Those hateful lamas asked to move the Buddha statue in order to bring tools in. Aren't they afraid of the Buddha's punishment when they conspired in front of the Buddha statue?"
Wu Chengsi said calmly: "They moved the Buddha statue not just to bring tools in."
Xuanzang said: "Your Highness, please help us clear up our doubts."
Wu Chengsi said: "When digging a secret tunnel, a large amount of sand and gravel will inevitably be dug out. They need to find something to store the sand and gravel so that the secret is not exposed."
Qiuji whispered: "It turns out that the hole at the top of the Buddha statue is to put sand and stones in. They really considered every step."
Zhuge Nan looked at the dirt on his body and suddenly said: "Your Highness, that's not right. If the lama really dug a tunnel, he must be very dirty. Didn't anyone notice it when he came out?"
Nie Ziyun said in a deep voice: "The monk must have taken off his clothes to dig, and then put on his clothes after digging."
"What about your face? It's always dirty."
Zhuge Nan put his dirty face in front of him so that he could see clearly.
Qiuji smiled bitterly and said: "That lama's face was full of filth before he entered. Because there is a kind of ascetic in the Western Regions, we didn't doubt it."
When Wu Mei heard this, she not only understood the real thing, but also thought of more, and said coldly:
"They must have destroyed that Buddha statue too, just to lure me to the Great Ci'en Temple!"
Wu Chengsi said: "Aunt, it was not them who tampered with the Buddha statue, but a businessman named Cai Yang. This matter is quite complicated, and my nephew was puzzled at first."
Having said this, he turned to the others and ordered: "You all should step aside. I have something to discuss with Her Majesty the Queen alone."
Everyone left one after another and carried the body out. Xie Yaohuan and Shangguan Wan'er were guarding the door.
When only Wu Chengsi and Wu Mei were left in the room, Wu Chengsi said word by word:
"Aunt, the masterminds behind the theft of the treasury are the Wei family of Jingzhao, the Xiao family of Lanling and the Xue family of Hedong. They are also the masterminds of this assassination plan!"
Wu Mei's face changed slightly, and after being silent for a long time, she said, "Let's not talk about this here. You can follow me back to the palace."
After saying that, he and Wu Chengsi left the Zen room and left the Daci'en Temple.
Wu Mei rode Feng Chu, and Wu Chengsi rode beside her, and they returned to the Daming Palace together.
After passing through Danfeng Gate, bypassing Hanyuan Hall and Xuanzheng Hall, we finally returned to Zichen Hall.
Wu Mei led Wu Chengsi straight into the dormitory, screened out the servants, and said, "Did you just say that the people behind the scenes are the Wei family, the Xiao family and the Xue family?"
Wu Chengsi nodded and said: "Yes."
"Since the Xue family is also among them, Concubine Xue Xian must also know about it." Wu Mei's tone was cold.
Wu Chengsi nodded silently. The reason why the other party assassinated Wu Mei was probably also due to the palace fight.
Wu Mei quickly adjusted her mood and said calmly: "You just said that the person who tampered with the Buddha statue is named Cai Yang. Who is he?"
"This person originally belonged to an organization, and the people behind that organization should be the Xiao family. Because my nephew sent people to investigate Cai Yang, they decided to kill him and silence him, but Cai Yang escaped."
Wu Mei thought for a while, frowned and said, "In that case, why did Cai Yang destroy the Buddha statue?"
Wu Chengsi touched his nose and smiled bitterly: "Cai Yang's behavior has always troubled me very much. It was not until the Buddha statue was destroyed that I understood his purpose."
"What purpose?"
Wu Chengsi took two steps and said: "I have asked people to investigate. Since Cai Yang went into hiding, his family members have also disappeared. If my guess is correct, his family members have been killed by the Xiao family."
"You mean, he wants revenge?"
Wu Chengsi secretly praised Wu Mei for her quick response, nodded and said:
"Yes, Cai Yang has been hiding near Daci'en Temple since he was hunted down. After learning that his relatives were killed, he was unwilling and planned to take revenge on the three families."
"However, he knows that he cannot defeat three aristocratic families, so he wants to lure you to Da Ci'en Temple and tell you about the Xiao family's theft of the treasury!"
Wu Mei raised her eyebrows and said, "Even if I come to Da Ci'en Temple, he may not be able to see me."
Wu Chengsi smiled and said: "Of course he has his own ways. Aunt, you were originally supposed to live in the Shangbao Hall in the temple, right?"
Wu Meifeng's eyes flashed slightly and she said: "I heard that there was a murder case in the Shangbao Hall, so they let me rest in another Zen room."
Wu Chengsi said: "Aunt, the murder occurred in the Shangbao Hall, and the deceased was Cai Yang."
"I still don't understand the relationship between Cai Yang and the Xiao Wei and Xue families in this matter!"
Wu Chengsi said: "In the beginning, Cai Yang was hiding in Daci'en Temple and used the damage of the Buddha statue to lure you here.
Then kill the original deacon monk of the Shangbao Hall, and the new deacon monk will be his subordinate, and that monk will have the opportunity to come into contact with you."
"The monk just needs to put a letter written by Cai Yang on the table, which records the theft of the treasury. Then after you see it, you will definitely tell Cai Yang."
Wu Mei nodded and said, "Well, if it's as you said, I should meet him."
Wu Chengsi sighed and said: "It's a pity that the monk under Cai Yang betrayed him and told Xiao Wei and Xue Sanjia his whereabouts and plans!"
"Is he the monk who died in the secret passage?"
"That's this person. After those three families learned about Cai Yang's plan, they saw an opportunity to assassinate you in this plan, so they secretly helped Cai Yang carry out his plan."
"During this period, a craftsman discovered that Hong'an was playing tricks on the Buddha statues. Cai Yang wanted to pay for the murder of the craftsman. When his nephew learned about it, he asked Dali Temple to stop him.
In the end, the craftsman died, and my nephew was very puzzled at that time, thinking that there was someone else behind this incident."
Wu Mei nodded her chin and asked, "What about the Tubo people?"
"Those three families discovered the lamas in Daci'en Temple and thought they could use them to assassinate you, so they took the initiative to approach the Tibetans and asked them to help complete the assassination plan.
This matter is beneficial to Tubo, so they will naturally not refuse."
"After everything was ready, they killed Cai Yang and destroyed the Buddha statue. Monk Hong'an hid in a secret passage in advance. When you arrive at Daci'en Temple, you will definitely go to the Zen room to rest before finding out the cause of the damage to the Buddha statue. He will then
Waiting for an opportunity to assassinate you!"
Wu Mei was stunned for a while and said: "So that's it."