sbdcsierra Chapter 170 The mastermind is at Qinglian Temple
Chapter 170 The mastermind is at Qinglian Temple
Lu Yangyang focused on her journey and remained silent.
She could understand the implication in Lü Yao's words: Yuan Xing's family was poor, yet she was living a good life, which must be due to some hidden reason.
That's not wrong. She had felt Yuanxing's pulse and there was nothing wrong with her. She was a bit rounder than others, mostly due to her constitution. But since she was being taken good care of, her life must not be too difficult.
She didn't care what kind of deal Yuanxing had with Sheng Yunzhu; what she cared about was why Sheng Yunzhu would send Yuanxing to Chunfanglou. Even if it was for punishment, there were so many brothels in the capital, why Chunfanglou of all places?
Sheng Yunzhu just gave Lan Shi three Qinglian Temple Heart Nourishing Pills a few days ago. This is quite a generous gift. Isn't it said that even the Empress Dowager in the palace only receives a maximum of two pills a month?
Furthermore, the incident where the Fairy of Goodness came to spread rumors that she was a jinx was also orchestrated by Sheng Yunzhu.
What exactly is the relationship between these two?
If the missing child is related to the Fairy of Goodness, then what does it have to do with Sheng Yunzhu? Did Sheng Yunzhu know about it?
At this moment, Lu Yangyang had a lot of questions and wished she could beat Sheng Yunzhu to death right now, but she needed Shangshan Fairy to confess first.
Lu Yangyang asked Lüyao, "Has Yuanxing told you about her family?"
"No, not really. She's only been here a few days and doesn't talk much. The old woman Zhang who brought her here told us about her family situation. She's in charge of us chores, and she's a gossip. She said this girl has offended someone and needs to be taught a lesson. Since she arrived, she's been keeping to herself and not talking to anyone," Green Yao replied.
"And you? Where are you from? How did you end up being sold to Chunfang Brothel?" Lu Yangyang didn't ask about Yuanxing anymore, but she was quite interested in Lüyao's background.
"I... my original surname was Su. I was originally from Jiangnan. Later, I went to Chenyang Pass with my father as a merchant and settled there. However, my mother died in childbirth because she couldn't withstand the long journey. Not long after, my father remarried. My stepmother was domineering. Our family was merchants and was originally quite well-off, but I suffered a lot under her control from a young age. Two years ago, when I was just over thirteen, she wanted to sell me to a border general who was nearly fifty years old as a concubine. I refused to comply and, with the help of my younger brother, I ran away from the marriage, but I was caught and brought back. Fortunately, a young general saw what happened and, seeing that I was unwilling, helped to mediate and let me go back."
As Lü Yao recounted her past, she gave a bitter smile: "I thought I had escaped a calamity, but I didn't expect my stepmother to still be so persistent. She secretly drugged me and put me on a caravan's cart, intending to sell me to a brothel. I tried to escape countless times along the way, but I couldn't get away. In the end, I was sold to the capital. Because I refused to serve customers, I was disfigured and was thrown into the backyard to do odd jobs."
“Then I kept looking for a chance to leave Chunfanglou, but it was too difficult for us maids who did rough work to redeem ourselves. I knew that Uncle Cheng and his people were not right, so I paid extra attention and wanted to see if I could find a chance to leave.” Lüyao said with anticipation, “I didn’t expect that I would actually get my chance.”
"Miss, if this succeeds, could you help me leave Chunfang Pavilion?"
"Do you want to go home?" Lu Yangyang asked her.
"No, no, I don't want to. I've ended up like this because my stepmother can't tolerate me, and mostly because my father thinks I'm just a girl and doesn't care about me. Otherwise, why would he let my stepmother mistreat me? If I go back, I'll just be sold off anyway. I'd rather die than go back. I'm just a little worried about my younger brother. He's all alone, struggling to survive under my stepmother's care. I don't know how hard it is for him, but thankfully my father loves him, so he should be able to manage." Green Jade thought for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Miss, if this works out, can you promise me one thing?"
"If it succeeds, I'll remember you for a great service, and I'll naturally agree." Even if Lüyao didn't come with her to acknowledge her, just the fact that she stood up to help at Chunfang Tower would earn Lu Yangyang's favor.
The journey from the south of the city to Qinglian Temple was much shorter. Lu Yangyang rode at full speed and arrived at the foot of Qinglian Temple in less than an hour.
At this time, Qinglian Temple had been completely surrounded by government troops from the foot of the mountain to the top. Lu Yangyang dismounted and was wondering how to get up when she happened to see a familiar carriage.
Lin Feng stopped the carriage and exclaimed in surprise, "Miss Lu?"
Before Lu Yangyang could reply, Princess Liduan, who had heard the commotion, climbed out of the carriage: "Yangyang? What are you doing here? My second cousin said you went back to the capital ahead of schedule. He's really good at making things up. Come on up."
After saying that, she glanced at Lu Yangyang and asked in surprise, "Where did you bring this girl back from? Was she also lost last night?"
“No, I did just return from the capital. Are you going to Qinglian Temple?” Lu Yangyang asked instead of getting into the carriage.
"My second cousin tricked me and Jiaojiao into returning to the capital. Do you think I'd fall for that so easily? The moment I saw the commotion he was making, I knew something big had happened. How could I miss this opportunity? Besides, my mother is still at Qinglian Temple. I immediately called Lin Feng, and we came right away," Princess Liduan said proudly.
Sheng Yunjiao also popped out from inside: "Me too, Yangyang. What happened? I heard you and Yan Yue went to look for someone. Did you find them?"
“We found them, but the Dali Temple has taken over the case of the abduction. Yan Yue is coordinating with them, so I came to Qinglian Temple first.” Lu Yangyang was in a hurry to find the person, so she quickly urged Princess Li Duan, “Princess, aren’t you going to Qinglian Temple? Hurry up and take us in.”
Princess Liduan raised an eyebrow: "No problem, let's go!"
With Princess Liduan as a living advertisement, and the Eldest Princess happened to be in Qinglian Temple, no one stopped her, and the group entered Qinglian Temple smoothly.
However, the Qinglian Temple was not as peaceful and tranquil as it was when Lu Yangyang and his group came last time. Instead, it was guarded by imperial guards everywhere, and His Highness the Crown Prince had already arrived.
Princess Li Duan was seeing such a scene for the first time and couldn't help but feel a little nervous. She whispered to Lu Yangyang, "Yangyang, will my mother be alright?"
“No, judging from the looks of it, His Highness is probably with the Eldest Princess right now. Let’s go straight to the front hall,” Lu Yangyang said after thinking for a moment.
Thanks to Princess Liduan's connections, the group finally made it to the front hall without incident.
The open space outside the front hall was now filled with people, divided into two groups. One group consisted of the nuns of Qinglian Temple and the pilgrims who were staying there, while the other group consisted of all the Taoist disciples and servants of Qinglian Temple.
Inside the main hall, the eldest princess looked at the expressionless crown prince with a slight headache: "A-Que, now the entire Qinglian Temple is here. What exactly do you want with such a large entourage?"
“I have just reviewed the case file. In the past three years, more than two hundred children and girls have been reported for abduction within the jurisdiction of Anping County. This case is very extensive. Witnesses have pointed out that the mastermind is in Qinglian Temple.”