Chapter 17: The Scream in the Temple

  Ancient temple, green lamp, beautiful woman.

  Removing the pure white tulle hat, letting down a head of raven-black hair, revealing the woman's original makeup, instantly adding a hint of gentle elegance.

  Furui seemed exhausted, weakly sitting down at the edge of the bed, taking over the tea soup handed over by the maid, lightly sipping a mouthful, and then putting it down. After a long silence, a sigh sounded.

  "Your Ladyship, why are you sighing? Did Her Highness the Princess have any instructions?" asked servant girl Ku'er with concern.

  "The empress just told me to be careful!" Fu Li's expression turned gloomy as he sighed: "Our current situation is not good!"

  "Yes, Uncle is being too stubborn... Madam should have been buried long ago, but he insisted on holding a 99-day mourning ritual, otherwise we would have returned to Bianliang already." Ku'er said: "At this time of the year, the willows along the Bian River are misty and green, the spring scenery is beautiful."

  "Yes, Bianliang's scenery is like a painting, but... perhaps we will never see it again." As she spoke, Fu Li's expression had a hint of determination.

  Ku'er was suddenly startled and said in surprise: "Why did the princess say such a thing? If there is any danger, Ku'er will fight to the death to protect the princess."

  No one knew that Su Li's personal maid was also a bodyguard, with impressive martial arts skills.

  "Kui'er has a mind of his own, but this time... Lü Qiu Zhongqing, the old scoundrel, has been persuading my uncle to hold an 81-day mourning ritual, with the intention of keeping me here!" Xuan Li was incredibly frustrated at being deceived by her foolish uncle.

  "Detain the county master? The meaning of county master is……” Ku'er suddenly realized that they had not left Puzi Temple for a long time. The temple was heavily guarded, and it was called protection, but it could also be said to be under house arrest.

  Furui nodded slightly: "Mm, as expected before, Li Yun has already been in contact with the Emperor, and it seems that he still hasn't given up."

  Ku'er said: "The county master once said that Li Yun had a rebellious heart, and he contacted the king for..."

  "Hmm!"

  "What does the king mean?" There must be a master and a servant, Ku'er is also clever, and said in a low voice: "To say carefully, the king has a reason to start a war, after all, both Da Niangzi and Er Niangzi are empresses of the Great Zhou..."

  "What's the use? Zongxun is my nephew, how can Father Emperor not be heartbroken? But with the change of dynasty and the throne, who can only consider one word 'kin'? " Fu Li sighed: "Big brother-in-law passed away too early, Zongxun was too young, those generals were like wolves and tigers, it's too difficult to sit firmly on the mountain."

  "General Zhao appears to be a gentle and kind person, but unexpectedly he is a treacherous minister... However, Sixth Lady has good fortune."

  Fu Li warned: "Be careful what you say, those who succeed become kings and nobles, while those who fail become bandits. In the past, it was Zhao Taiwei, but now it is already the Song official's family!"

  The young man's eyes moved, and he asked in a serious tone: "Is the princess certain that he can sit firmly on the throne? Is he truly the destined emperor?"

  "I don't know about that, but the Fu family can't make a move now. Han Lingkun is in Chengde and Murong Yanzhuang is in Zhending, all to prevent Father from acting rashly." Fu Li said in a low voice: "There are still many people from the Fu family in Bianliang, so Father will not act lightly. Moreover, Liu's husband is the younger brother of the Zhao official family, and there is this relationship..."

  "It's also a bit of a pity for the two empress dowagers and the minor officials... Zheng Wang."

  "Hmph!" Fu Li smiled faintly, this sudden coup had completely changed the fate of her own sisters. The luckiest was Fu Liu Niang, who married the younger brother of the Emperor of Great Song and would surely become a princess in the future. The most tragic one was undoubtedly her second sister, from being the Empress Dowager who ruled the world to becoming a prisoner. As for herself, she was undoubtedly the most dangerous and unlucky one.

  Unfortunately, at the time of the military uprising, he happened to arrive in Luzhou and encountered Li Yun, a foolish and ambitious man, really unlucky!

  "Isn't Chu Qiu Zhong Qing trying to intimidate and entice Father King into cooperation by leaving himself behind? Fu Li was very clear in her mind that Father King loved her, but compared to the entire Fu family, it was obvious who was more important. Her mother had already hinted at this in her letter, and she had mentally prepared herself."

  "County Master, who is that little monk? Is he really sent by the princess?" Suffering child did not know the county master's deep worries, and turned to ask about this matter.

  "Tell Jiang Yun to be careful, that little monk... is both an enemy and a friend!" Suddenly, Fu Li felt that she had neglected the monk who was against lust. Her mother had already reminded her in the letter, he was Zhao Kuangyin's person.

  A little monk? What's so special about him? Putting him by her side with great care, it's just surveillance, as for protection... looking at his frail appearance, can he really change this desperate situation?

  Furui nodded slightly and whispered, "He seems to be injured. Send a bottle of wound medicine over, it's also a way to thank him for delivering the message from afar."

  ……

  ……

  The bathtub was filled with swirling steam, and after testing the water temperature, Zhao Zhuang couldn't wait to jump in.

  Hot water instantly overflowed the shoulders, warm and comfortable on every inch of skin, nourishing each pore, exceptionally comfortable. Although this journey was not as miserable as pulling a lie, it was really tiring.

  At this moment, taking a hot bath is the best way to relieve fatigue. As someone with mild OCD, taking a bath is one of the happiest things.

  After washing away the dirt and grime from his body, Zhao Zhuo casually leaned against the wooden barrel, allowing the hot water to relax his muscles, with his eyes closed but not asleep, instead quickly sorting out what he had heard and seen today.

  Originally thought that entering Puzi Temple would be a bumpy ride, in order to reduce the vigilance of the Luzhou garrison, he deliberately pretended to be strong on the outside but weak and timid on the inside. Zhao Zhong knew that this disguise would eventually be seen through, he just hoped that this day could be delayed for a little while longer.

  It was unexpected to meet Li Shoujie, and his straightforward cooperation also surprised Zhao Zhuang. At first, he thought there would be some ulterior motive. But after seeing Fu Li, Zhao Zhuang roughly understood that this guy was probably looking for an excuse to see the young mistress of the manor again.

  Cough, really don't know what's good about a delicate girl disguising herself as a man, with an air of superiority. To the point that the son of a powerful general has forgotten even the most basic sense of vigilance. Having a thief's heart but not a thief's courage, it's all so infuriating and laughable.

  As for Qin Dakang, Su Li's uncle, he is simply a stupid and arrogant nouveau riche. He rose to prominence because of his sister's skirt ties, but now he has foolishly put his niece in a desperate situation, still clueless about it. Hmph, if anything happens to Su Li, Su Yanqing will definitely tear him apart limb by limb. Perhaps before that even happens, Li Yun will kill him with ease.

  The most hateful is that Lu Qiu Zhongqing, with a belly full of sinister plots and tricks, the motive for leaving Fu Li behind in disguise is very clear, isn't it to threaten Fu Yanqing?

  Can Xue Yanqing, for the sake of a daughter, use the entire family as a stake and start an uprising?

  From this perspective, Zhao Zhuo actually felt some sympathy for the young mistress, she might be the tragic sacrifice in this game of chess.

  No one wanted such a result, and as Zhao Kuangyin was about to leave, he repeatedly instructed that it would be best if they could rescue Fu Li safely. Although Fu Yanqing had the intention of surrendering to the Zhao family, if he lost his beloved daughter because of this, it would be difficult to avoid future resentment.

  Zhao Kuangyin wanted to have it both ways and handed this difficult problem over to himself, which was like taking a tiger by the mouth. The difficulty and risk were self-evident.

  Especially after arriving in Luzhou, Zhao Zhuang had a deep understanding. On the contrary, he was willing to enter the Pujisi Temple, but in fact, he entered a cage, a cage for detaining death row prisoners...

  Zhao Zhuang rushed in like this, with a tragic and heroic air of a sheep entering the tiger's mouth. It was not easy to fly away now. It was simply forced to die, could he survive in such an environment? Now that contact with Chu Zhao Fu had also been lost, Zhao Zhuang felt like a kite without a string, without a clue.

  Is this the price of being overly ambitious and trying to reach for the sky? If there was a chance to choose again, on the night of Chen Qiao's mutiny, Zhao Zheng would absolutely not jump out again.

  No, act, no, die, Zhao Zhuang now deeply understands.

  Regret is useless now, what's important is how to survive and how to escape danger with the young mistress.

  Just thinking about Su Li's "no one in her eyes" temperament, not seeing any signs of cooperation at all, Zhao Zheng couldn't help but sigh repeatedly, it's tough!

  After a long time of contemplation, the water in the bathtub had cooled down. Zhao Zhuang let out a light sigh and prepared to get up and go to sleep. No matter what happens, he would first have a good sleep before dealing with it.

  As he had just stepped out of the bathtub, the door was suddenly pushed open.

  "Little monk......ah!" A shrill cry broke the silence of the night.

  Ku'er saw Zhao Zhuang's strong and healthy body, with water dripping down, and the robust thing under him was about to rise. In an instant, his face lost its beauty, and after a mournful cry, he fled in panic.

  With a crash, a porcelain vase fell to the ground and rolled to Zhao Zhuang's feet, his face full of astonishment!