Lord Qin's first thought was that his connection with a certain Daoist cultivator had been discovered.
However, this letter seemed to only warn him to be on guard, not a conclusive accusation!
Who wrote the letter? Was it a prank? Or was it waiting for him to make a mistake? Or was it hinting at something else?
Could it be the mysterious force in the Zhaoye Kingdom that specialized in dealing with cultivators?
However, this was not their style! If there was something wrong with them, they would have arrested him a long time ago. Why would they send a letter to remind him? There were many people who wanted to sit in this position, and he was worried that he would not have the opportunity!
It was better to believe it than not. This was the cornerstone of Lord Qin's career as an official. In the officialdom, a small mistake could ruin his reputation!
Collusion with Buddhism and Taoism was not rare among the officials. There were many direct relatives who had become monks and there was no way to control all of them. However, the principle was not to interfere with the official system.
Regardless of his distant relatives, Lord Qin checked himself to see if there were any loopholes. He had a son and a daughter. His daughter had married far away, so he would not be blamed. His son was studying in the Zhaoye City and wanted to take this year's Literature Exam. He was not by his side, so he could not often remind him. This was what he was most worried about.
He had decided that tomorrow he would send an experienced man to investigate everything about his son, night and day. He hoped that nothing too embarrassing would come out of the investigation.
Then, there was his wife. What could happen to her? Other than eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures …
Chanting Buddhist scriptures?
Lord Qin's heart skipped a beat! The letter was sent to Pu City. Did this mean that the problem was here? If that was the case …
Lord Qin stood up. He needed to use a special force to deal with these special things!
He looked for the person at noon. Before dinner, the cultivator who appeared last time appeared in his study.
"Have you found out?" The quick reply meant that everything was going well.
The person nodded. "Yes! Madam is fine, but there's also something wrong! "
Lord Qin was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
The person's words were unusually concise. "There's something wrong. It means that the amulet sent by the monks of the Jokhang Temple has energy that can affect one's mind. There's nothing wrong. It means that Madam has only been in contact with it for a short time, so there won't be any negative consequences."
Lord Qin slammed the desk in anger. "How dare you! How dare they lay their hands on the family of an official? Aren't they afraid that the imperial court will eradicate their Jokhang Temple? "
He paused for a moment. In the end, he still had some misgivings about the mysterious power in his heart. He suppressed the urge to send troops to encircle and annihilate it, and asked the person in front of him for advice.
He had met this person when he took up his post in another place. He was a member of the secret force that the court used to deal with cultivators. However, this person slowly gained a deeper understanding of cultivation during the process of taking up his post. In the end, he actually broke away from the organization of the court and became a true member of the cultivators. He was also a weirdo.
This story was very complicated and involved a lot of people. There was no way the Imperial Court would let go of a traitor like him. At that time, Lord Qin was still young and hadn't been an official for long. He still had a bit of pride left in him and coincidentally helped this person. Although they didn't become friends, they relied on each other.
This person relied on Lord Qin to be free and unfettered in the world. Lord Qin could provide protection for his identity and continue his own cultivation, while Lord Qin could use him to deal with some matters that he couldn't deal with on the surface. It could be said that they both benefited from each other.
This was a very strange relationship. They didn't see eye to eye with each other, but they relied on each other for survival.
"What do you think would've happened if we hadn't found this amulet?"
The cultivator curled his lips. "As time passed, Madam would've probably become a Buddhist. Perhaps she would've even donated all the ill-gotten gains you've accumulated over the years to those monks … That's right, you're a fanatic. Do you understand?"
Lord Qin realized that the anger he'd just suppressed was once again stirred up by this person in front of him.
"Then how is it ill-gotten wealth? First of all, I didn't take bribes from criminals. Second of all, I didn't buy official positions or titles. It's just normal business dealings. I'm just a bit more well-informed … "
The cultivator smiled but didn't say anything. Lord Qin also stopped talking. He knew that he'd lost his composure this time. It seemed that his self-restraint wasn't enough. If he really lost his composure after being provoked in the Imperial Court, how would he survive?
He took a sip of tea and completely calmed his emotions. His mind finally returned to normal and his mind was clear again.
"Is it specifically targeting my wife, or does it include other people as well?"
The cultivator had obviously thought of this long ago. "Through your housekeeper, I have already obtained the Madam of City Guard Wang, who is on good terms with you, and the Old Lady of the Li family. The Buddhist objects they obtained this time are a Buddhist scripture and a sachet. Like Madam, their Buddhist objects also contain this mysterious power.
From this, we can infer that the monk went to six families in the city this time and gave them Buddhist items. They're probably similar items.
It's harmless for now, but it'll cause people to gradually become addicted to Buddhism. How far they'll go depends on their self-control.
From the looks of it, their goal is only to amass wealth. I can't see any other motives. This should be the closest answer to the truth. After all, no matter how scheming the Jokhang Temple is, under the current Imperial Court's control, it's impossible for them to have fantasies that they shouldn't have. That's the path to death! "
Lord Qin was so angry that he laughed. "They're trying to amass wealth on me. Aren't they bold enough?"
The cultivator sneered. "You're the ones they're trying to amass! Because you're officials of the Imperial Court, according to the law, you shouldn't have too much contact with cultivators. Therefore, if I gave you this item, no one in the manor would recognize it!
Besides, it's easy for you to get money anyway. If you don't have it, you can just go and get greedy again! You won't cause a tragedy of your family being destroyed and make people suspicious. If I'm not wrong, you'll probably suffer in silence and no one will dare to say anything, right? "
However, this time, Lord Qin wasn't provoked by him. "No, I remember that the Li family has cultivators. You were the one who told me!"
The cultivator snorted. "They left three months ago! Even if the Li family is rich, they can't afford to support a cultivator! "
"Which other families are there?" Lord Qin didn't usually pay attention to trivial matters like the Spring Spiritual Assembly, so he knew nothing about it.
"The Hu family, the Fan family, and the Lou Province! They're all regulars at the Spiritual Assembly. The amount of money Pu City receives this year is all determined by them! "
Lord Qin paced around in the study. He was a smart person and had enough brains. Even a fool wouldn't have climbed to this position.
"From the looks of it, it's as you said. It's basically to amass wealth!
But what I'm curious about is, where did this warning slip come from? That monk only left the city for a few days. How did the prefectures know about this? That's impossible! Even the yamen you used to work in didn't have the ability to act so quickly, right? "
The cultivator sighed. "You've been an official for so long that you think you're the best!
Why do you think that only you can have cultivators to help you, and no one else can?
Isn't it obvious? The person who gave the warning must be one of the other five families. There are cultivators hidden in the manor. The only reason they didn't come forward and told you instead was because you're the head of the manor. You have the duty to act arbitrarily! "
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