The story from a year ago … Xu Qi 'an's mood changed from disappointment to excitement. Without a doubt, the story Hengy Yuan was talking about was most likely the story of Heng Hui and Princess Pingyang.
What had happened to the two of them was the key to solving the Sampo Case. Up until now, the demons had not appeared. Only Heng Hui had stirred up trouble with a Sealed Artifact. This made people wonder what the remnants of the Myriad Demon Kingdom were up to.
Sabotage? Up until now, there was only the massacre of Count Pingyuan's family. It had a great impact, but the actual damage was not great. And Heng Hui could have gone on a killing spree and brought heavy casualties to the capital. But he did not do so.
Sealed Artifact? If the target was only a Sealed Artifact, Heng Hui would have left the capital long ago.
"Heng Hui and Princess Pingyang's case has overshadowed the Sampo Case … It feels like the mastermind is deliberately exposing Heng Hui to the light …"
Yang Yan pointed his spear lightly, his aura shredding Hengy Yuan's sleeves. A pair of muscular arms contained immense strength, but it was definitely not a demon. This eliminated the possibility that the broken arm was on him.
"Heng Hui is indeed dead. He died a year ago. The one who survived is just a walking corpse. He is already free. This isn't some conspiracy. "Heng Yuan looked at his junior apprentice brother, who was right in front of him. Dark clouds seemed to gather in his eyes.
Suddenly, the clouds in Hengy Yuan's eyes collapsed, and the past poured down like a storm.
…
Heng Hui was sent to the Azure Dragon Temple by his parents at the age of six. He was a child with eyes that exuded spirit. He was chosen by the abbot, Monk Coiling Tree, at a glance and was taken in as a disciple.
Heng Hui's initiation was completed under his senior brother, Hengy Yuan. This burly and seemingly bitter senior brother taught him how to read, meditate, and recite scriptures. At the same time, he also taught him how to be a person.
He had a fatherly love and respect for this senior brother of his.
In the blink of an eye, many years passed. The intelligent young monk had grown into a handsome monk with delicate features. He had thought that he would be like his master and senior brother, passing his life in the ancient Buddhist lamp.
Then, one day, he met a girl …
It was a sunny spring day. He was washing clothes in the stream. He saw a handkerchief flowing down the stream. He subconsciously picked it up, and then he heard a crisp voice like that of an oriole.
"Master, that's my handkerchief. Can you return it to me?"
Heng Hui raised her gaze and saw a slender and elegant woman standing beside a bluestone upstream. She wore a peach-colored dress and had long hair combed like an unmarried girl. She wore no make-up and her face was pretty under the sunlight. She had a pair of smiling eyes.
"Patron … are you a devotee from the temple?"
"What, I said it's not a pilgrim, so you don't plan on returning my handkerchief?" She put her hands on her waist and pretended to be coquettish.
"No, no, I just feel that you don't look familiar." As he explained, he presented the handkerchief with both hands.
You only do you keep your head down and keep reciting. All. You is is your chanting...
"You know....."
"Yang Du Lady....
It was the first time they met in a beautiful spring afternoon. The gurgling stream flowed through the river.
. "It was the first time they met each other when Heng Hui was meditating.
When Heng Hui was meditating, the young girl would accompany her. She would read her private books to kill time. Sometimes, she would fan herself and stare at Heng Hui's focused face.
Sometimes, she would tease him with green foxtail grass so that he could not meditate. This annoyed the handsome monk. He said angrily, "If you do this again, I will go into seclusion."
She always stuck out her tongue and apologized without sincerity.
Sometimes, they would go hiking together. White Phoenix Mountain was beautiful. When spring came, flowers bloomed all over the mountain. She smiled in the bushes. It was hard to tell whether the flowers were more beautiful or she was more beautiful.
Gradually, rumors about the two of them spread among the monks of the Green Dragon Temple. They said that his six senses were not cleansed, that he had broken the precept of lust, and that he was a lecherous monk.
Master Pan Shu asked him three questions in front of the Buddha statue: Was he still devout to Buddha? Was he interested in that woman? Did he want to return to secular life?
He firmly said that he was still devout to Buddha. He had no interest in women. He wanted to accompany Buddha and not return to secular life.
To this, the abbot only had one request: never talk to her again.
As for why he did not see her or let her enter the temple, Heng Hui later found out that it was not that he did not want to, but he could not do it.
She was Princess Pingyang, the legitimate daughter of King Yu.
From that day on, Heng Hui did not talk to her anymore. Whenever she came, he would close his eyes and meditate. He was indifferent to her teasing and pranks.
Every day, she came full of expectation and left disappointed and lonely.
"Monk, is this flower beautiful? It matches me very well."
"…"
"Monk, can I play the zither for you? I brought it from home. "
"…"
"Monk, I feel dizzy and uncomfortable. Don't you care about me?"
"…"
"Monk, do you have to put yourself in loneliness?"
"…"
She finally stopped coming. She did not step into the Green Dragon Temple for a month. She completely withdrew from his life as if she had never existed.
"I can continue to accompany Buddha and no one will disturb me …" He breathed a sigh of relief. He felt that his sincerity had moved Buddha.
One day, she came again. She looked as if she had lost her soul. Her face was thinner, and she looked haggard.
"Monk, I'm going to get married."
For some reason, the Buddha beads were scattered on the ground.
At that time, King Yu was at a critical moment. He was the Minister of War. With the support of the nobles, he was expected to enter the cabinet.
It was not uncommon for nobles and members of the royal family to serve as the Prime Minister. Throughout the 600 years of history, there were five nobles who served as the Prime Minister.
For the declining noble group, the rise of King Yu gave them hope. He kept moving forward.
King Yu, who was at the heart of the struggle, arranged a marriage for Princess Pingyang. It was not only to find a good husband for his daughter, but also to gain more support through marriage.
"Monk, are you willing to elope with me?"
"… Okay."
Heng Hui agreed. He finally saw his heart clearly and chose to face his true self.
They began to plan for the elopement. Princess Pingyang was accompanied by guards everywhere she went. If she was missing for more than an hour, the guards would search the mountain. Soon, the news would be sent back to Prince Yu's mansion.
Therefore, in order to elope successfully, they needed a magical artifact that could hide their breath from the search of the Celestial Commissioner.
Finally, they needed a new household registration for them, as well as a channel to help them leave the capital.
For this, Princess Pingyang found a trustworthy friend and hoped that he could help her.
…
"It's the legitimate son of Earl Pingyuan. That friend is the legitimate son of Earl Pingyuan?!" Xu Qi 'an said in a low voice, interrupting Hengy Yuan's story.
Everything suddenly became clear. Earl Pingyuan controlled a spy organization, which was best at faking identities and smuggling. Even if Princess Pingyang did not know about the existence of the spy organization, it was reasonable for her to know some of the tricks of Earl Pingyuan's mansion as they were close friends.
King Yu once said that Earl Pingyuan flirted with the civil officials and gradually drifted away from the noble group. Earl Pingyuan definitely had a motive to harm Princess Pingyang.
This later led to the case of the extermination of Earl Pingyuan's mansion … But I don't know what role the Minister of War played in this … Xu Qi 'an looked at number six Hengy Yuan and thought to himself, "Did you think that they were kidnapped because you knew that they had contact with the spy organization?"
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he did not dare to ask.
When the Jinluo heard Xu Qi 'an's words, they looked at Hengy Yuan with questioning eyes.
"Yes." Hengy Yuan nodded lightly. "The simple-minded Princess Pingyang did not know the complexity of the situation in the court, nor did she understand the viciousness of people. An inexperienced girl and a monk who chanted Buddhist scriptures. From the moment they decided to elope, the tragic ending was already destined. "
"At that time, Earl Pingyuan and the noble group had already been united on the surface. When he learned about this through his son, he immediately discussed with the then assistant minister of the Ministry of War, Zhang Feng, and the Minister of Revenue, Sun Mingzhong, and formulated a plan to send Princess Pingyang out of the capital to attack King Yu."
"Where is Princess Pingyang now?" Jiang Lüzhong asked in a low voice.
Hengy Yuan seemed not to hear him and continued, "The human heart is like a snake. After sending her out of the capital, the legitimate son of Earl Pingyuan, together with the sons of Sun Mingzhong and Zhang Feng, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, wanted to rape Princess Pingyang on the way.
"The two of them resisted with all their might. In the end, one was killed, and the other committed suicide by swallowing a hairpin. To cover up their crime, they buried the bodies of Heng Hui and Princess Pingyang in a barren mountain, along with the aura-shielding magical artifact.
"The outside world only knew that Princess Pingyang had disappeared for no reason. Even if they found out about the Green Dragon Temple, they would only think that the two had eloped. Who would have thought that they had died a year ago? "
"Princess Pingyang is dead …" The Jinluo people looked at each other in silence, their faces grim.
Princess Pingyang was the legitimate daughter of King Yu and the niece of the Yuanjing Emperor. Killing a princess was a crime that could result in the extermination of three families.
Nangong Qianrou held the hilt of his saber and narrowed his eyes. "Since Heng Hui is dead, why did he appear here a year later?"
This was also the question in everyone's mind.
A person's death was like an extinguished lamp. It was impossible to come back to life.
"He's dead." Hengy Yuan said something that no one understood.
"He died a year ago. Someone used a secret technique to seal his Vital Spirit in his body, turning him into a senseless walking corpse. During this year, the only thing that kept him going was revenge. It was the blood feud of Princess Pingyang.
"If you don't believe me, bring him back to the yamen and let the coroner examine him."
"Who saved him?" A Jinluo person questioned.
Hengy Yuan shook his head.
The Jinluo person exchanged a look with Yang Yan and said, "Where is Princess Pingyang's body? Bring us there. "
He paused for a moment before ordering the silver gongs around him, "Bring Heng Hui's body back to the yamen."
The Jinluo people escorted Hengy Yuan out of the small courtyard and gave him a horse. The group left the city in a grandiose manner.
Xu Qi'an rode on the horse with a heavy heart. He was silent for a long time before he asked in a low voice, "Is that Hengy Yuan? Is it possible that he was possessed or controlled? "
The gray cat lying on his shoulder said lazily, "It's Hengy Yuan. Heh, I may not be able to perform aura divination, but I have my own methods to distinguish between the real and the fake."
"Is Heng Hui really dead?" Xu Qi'an didn't quite believe it.
"His life or death isn't the key to the case." The gray cat said in a low voice, "He's a puppet to begin with. Now that the Devil Hand is gone, his life or death is no longer important to the mastermind. You should be happy that the case was solved easier than you think. "
"I really can't be happy. Heng Hui and Princess Pingyang are both pitiful people." Xu Qi'an curled the corner of his lips into a smile without a hint of a smile.
He sighed and changed the topic, "There's something wrong with Heng Hui's case. It's as if the mastermind purposely pushed it to the front."
… …
At a barren mountain at the border of Taikang County and Changle County, Hengy Yuan trekked while looking around. He looked like he was looking for something.
The process was slow and inefficient. He told the Jinluo that Heng Hui had only told him the general location and that Princess Pingyang was buried at the root of an old locust tree.
The silver gongs of Jinluo spread out with Hengy Yuan at the center to prevent him from escaping.
An hour later, they found the old locust tree. Three silver gongs chopped away the shrubs and weeds under the locust tree and used their sabers as shovels. After digging for a while, white bones could be vaguely seen in the black soil.
"Found it, my lord." The silver gongs turned around and shouted excitedly.
"Dig it out!" Nangong Qianrou said solemnly.
Princess Pingyang's corpse was exposed bit by bit. After more than a year, she finally saw the light of day again.
Her flesh had decayed, and only white bones were left. Tattered cloth strips were attached to the bones. They were probably the clothes she wore before she died. In addition, a dim golden hairpin was found between the skeleton's throat and chest.
Just as Hengy Yuan said, she had committed suicide by swallowing the hairpin.
"Amitabha." Hengy Yuan could not bear to look any longer. He closed his eyes and chanted the name of Buddha in pain.
"There's nothing else to prove that this corpse is Princess Pingyang's." Jiang Lvzhong frowned.
"This is normal." As the people of Jinluo pondered, Xu Qi 'an walked to the locust tree and said, "Princess Pingyang eloped with her lover, so she definitely had to disguise herself. She wouldn't bring anything valuable to attract attention.
"Let's bury the corpse first and bring it back to the yamen. Then, send someone to inform Prince Yu's Mansion. Prince Yu might recognize this golden hairpin."
After burying the corpse, everyone walked out of the mountain. Jiang Lvzhong patted Xu Qi 'an's shoulder and said, "Well done."
Yang Yan, who did not like to talk, nodded slightly and said for the first time, "You're the main contributor to this case. Even if the Sampo Case is not solved in the end, His Majesty will most likely pardon you."
Xu Qi 'an was about to speak when he felt as if a knife had slashed his back.
He did not need to turn around to know that the sharp gaze came from Zhu Jinluo.
