"I know Mama is a smart person." Qin Yining inwardly released a breath. If Mama Sun wasn't willing to cooperate, she really couldn't think of a good solution at the moment.
"Alright, Mama Sun, go arrange the accommodations for the people around the Empress. If they ask about the Empress, just say that the Empress and the Enlightened Divine Nun are in seclusion in the side hall of Guanyin Hall to pray for blessings. They won't come out of seclusion until the twenty-eighteenth day. No one is allowed to disturb them during this time. If they are disturbed, all their previous efforts will be wasted and there will be no benefit to the people of the country."
Mama Sun nodded and asked hesitantly, "Wang Fei, this suspension bridge may not be fixed in eighteen days. Why didn't she say a few more days for seclusion?"
Qin Yining shook her head: "The Empress Dowager's birthday is coming. Today is the second of the seventh month. The journey from Huichuan to Jing is also included. Delaying it for eighteen days is the limit. If it is delayed for too long, it will delay the Empress from returning to Jing to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday. Wouldn't it be suspicious?"
Mama Sun suddenly understood, "Wang Fei is very thoughtful. Don't worry, nubi will go and persuade them."
"Then I'll trouble Mama." Qin Yining bowed sincerely.
Mama Sun didn't dare to accept it and hurriedly moved to the side to avoid it. She bowed deeply and said: "Wang Fei is doing a good deed and saving nubi's life. Nubi is doing this for herself and can't accept niangniang's courtesy."
"Nu Shizhu is doing this for the monks of the temple." Abbot Xuan Yun sighed and said, "On behalf of the monks of the temple, this humble monk thanks Nu Shizhu for her righteousness."
Mama Sun hurriedly put her hands together to return the greeting. She despised herself for offending others purely for her own sake. But when she thought about how this could save many people from punishment, she felt more confident in her actions. Even if something happened to the Empress in the end, she could go down to accompany the Empress. It could be said that she had done her best for the innocent monks on the mountain.
Mama Sun quickly walked towards the mountain gate.
Qin Yining then instructed Abbot Xuan Yun to restrain all the monks in the temple. He then discussed with Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi, and finally decided to invite experienced craftsmen from the foot of the mountain to repair the bridge.
After three days, the Jinghu Wei had indeed quietly brought up a few experienced craftsmen from the foot of the mountain. With the Jinghu Wei around, they had sufficient manpower and it would not be difficult for them to work. However, the only obstacle was the thick fog in front of them. The fog did not disperse, and the work was indeed difficult.
As for the Empress's bodyguards, they had become impatient after three days.
Every day, they would guard outside the Guanyin Hall in shifts. Because the meditation room was inside the Guanyin Hall, and the monks would enter and leave the Guanyin Hall every day, the guards could not guard directly outside the Empress's door. They could not see her, and only saw that the vegetarian meals that the young novice monks delivered each day were eaten. When night fell, they could see the Empress' shadow reflected on the window from the brightly lit meditation room.
However, this was not enough to calm their hearts.
In the morning, the young novice monk came to deliver the vegetarian meals again.
The leader of the guards, He Bin, was about to let him pass when a hand reached out from beside him.
"Wait."
He Bin turned his head and saw that the one speaking was Xing Baoshan, who had a reputation among the guards.
Xing Baoshan had followed the Empress' orders and had not come up the mountain. He had come up later with the other guards and palace servants.
He Bin's expression was tense.
That day, he and Mama Sun had escorted the Empress up the mountain. He had not thought that something like this would happen. He had no other choice but to place his hopes on the Prince Zhongshun's consort.
Right now, he had to conceal this matter.
"Baoshan, what are you doing?"
Xing Baoshan smiled. "Brother He, you and I have not seen the Empress for many days. Why don't we pay our respects to the Empress while this young master is delivering the vegetarian meals? This way, we can be at ease. "
The young novice monk was responsible for delivering the vegetarian meals to the Empress every day. Naturally, he knew that the Empress was not inside and that the Wang Fei had found someone to impersonate her. He felt very guilty and did not dare to show any abnormalities. He only lowered his head and did not make a sound.
He Bin said: "What you say is reasonable. However, the Empress has ordered that the matter of seclusion to pray for blessings is important. If it is interrupted, I'm afraid it will be for naught. The Empress' prayers in Huichuan County have been very effective. Right now, there are still floods in many places in Da Zhou. If the Empress' important matters are ruined because of us, I'm afraid we can't afford to take the blame. "
Hearing this, Xing Baoshan hesitated.
He Bin continued: "We've been guarding the mountain this entire time. The Prince Zhongshun's family is also here. There should be no problem coming up the mountain. Also, we've been guarding this place every day. We know how many flies and mosquitoes have flown by. The Empress has been staying in the hall this entire time, so there should be no problem. Let's not rashly disturb her? "
The young novice monk inwardly released a breath and was about to carry the food box in the direction of the meditation room in the hall.
Xing Baoshan thought for a moment and then followed with the brothers that had come up the mountain. As he walked, he said: "Brother He's words are reasonable. However, we've only taken a look at the Empress. We'll kowtow and come out. There shouldn't be any problem."
He Bin's heart jumped and he hurriedly strode after them. He wanted to say something to stop them but was worried that he would expose himself.
Xing Baoshan walked quickly with his brothers and caught up with the young novice monk in two steps.
The young novice monk's heart jumped and he almost dropped the food box in his hands in panic.
Sun mama was standing in front of the meditation room in the side hall. Seeing the young novice monk come with a long tail behind him, her heart jumped.
However, she was someone who had been in the palace for a long time and was able to keep her composure. Sun mama carried the identity of the Empress's most capable servant and asked expressionlessly: "Why have you come?"
Xing Baoshan and the guards respectfully bowed: "Greetings to Sun mama. We were worried about the Empress and wanted to pay our respects. "
Sun mama raised her chin and looked at the people in front of her. She took the food box from the young novice monk's hands and lightly said: "The Empress has given orders. Cultivating in seclusion and praying for the people is an important matter that concerns the lives of the people. No one is to disturb her. Everyone's loyalty is commendable. This servant will pass on the message. "
Sun mama turned around and was about to enter.
Xing Baoshan's expression was serious. He stepped forward and passed by Sun mama and loudly said: "Empress, subject Xing Baoshan requests an audience!"
Sun mama's expression changed greatly and anxiously said in a low voice: "Bodyguard Xing, please don't be impulsive. If you disturb the Empress' prayer, can you bear the responsibility?"
Xing Baoshan saw the change in Sun mama's expression and anxiousness. He couldn't help but be suspicious and said in a low voice: "If anything happens to the Empress, I can't bear the responsibility either! It's not just me. No one on Juhuang Mountain can bear the responsibility! Sun mama should follow the imperial edict and do things. However, this subject is persisting in his duties, so it can't be considered a great sin. "After he finished speaking, he strode forward and pushed the door open.
Sun mama's back was covered in cold sweat. She didn't dare to expose herself, but she was also afraid that someone would break in and find that the Empress wasn't there. In a moment of desperation, she spread her arms and blocked the door. She scolded in a low voice: "This servant follows the Empress and must strictly follow her orders. The Empress prays for the people and meditates in Buddhism. She has already clearly stated that no one is to disturb her, yet you insist on breaking in and disturbing the Empress. What are your intentions? Aren't you afraid that you'll affect the prayer and cause the rain to continue in Da Zhou!? "
With such a heavy accusation, Xing Baoshan was so angry that the fire in his heart burned.
"Sun mama, what are you doing!? We're just thinking about the Empress' safety. We only want to kowtow to the Empress and make sure she's safe. Then we'll leave. Why is Sun mama so nervous? Could it be that you've harmed the Empress!? "
"You!" Sun mama glared to hide her guilty conscience.
At this time, Qin Yining, Ji Yun, Jing Zhe, and the other three hurriedly rushed to the front of the courtyard.
She was worried that there would be trouble here, so she had arranged for Jing Zhe and Xiao Xue to take turns secretly monitoring the situation. Just now, Xiao Xue had hurriedly reported that the Empress's bodyguards had come to force their way in, so she hurried over.
"What's going on?" Qin Yining took a few deep breaths and adjusted her mood. Then, she leisurely walked into the courtyard. Her earlier anxiousness couldn't be seen at all.
Seeing Qin Yining arrive, Sun mama and the young novice monk both relaxed.
He Bin calmly moved his hand away from the sword at his waist.
Xing Baoshan and the others turned around and saw Qin Yining wearing a light blue waistcoat. She was holding a servant girl's hand as she slowly walked over with the bodyguards. They could only temporarily stop what they were doing and turn around to salute.
"Greetings, Princess Consort."
"You're excused. This is a place to meditate and cultivate Buddhism. It's not appropriate for you to be so noisy, is it not? "
Xing Baoshan said without much respect: "Wang Fei's words are incorrect. We are under orders to protect Niangniang, so we are responsible for Niangniang's safety. Niangniang is reciting Buddhism behind closed doors. Can't she show her face? Or is there someone here plotting something and keeping Niangniang under surveillance? "
As Xing Baoshan spoke, his gaze moved around Qin Yining.
The reason he was so anxious to see how the Empress was doing was because they hadn't seen Prince Zhongshun in the past few days. This Wan Fo Temple was filled with strangeness. There was such a large amount of fog in the back of the mountain, but those bald donkeys were still anxiously building the drawbridge. Wang Ye and Wang Fei had come out to play in the name of being a loving couple, but Wang Ye had left Wang Fei in the temple and gone to enjoy himself. The Empress was reciting Buddhist scriptures with some nun and wasn't even willing to show her face.
With so many things happening at the same time, how could the bodyguards not be suspicious?
Qin Yining walked in front of Xing Baoshan, his expression completely dark.
"Bodyguard Daren, you have to use your brain before you speak. People have to be responsible for their own words." Qin Yining stood in front of the door with his hands crossed. He looked at Xing Baoshan's arrogant eyes and said coldly:
"Even though you didn't say who it was, I understand the attack in your words. Your Majesty trusts Wang Ye and arranged for Wang Ye to come build the Imperial Mausoleum. What kind of favor is this? Could it be that Your Majesty and my Wang Ye are compatible, but in your eyes, it's not the same? You are worried about the Empress' safety and are sincere. This is understandable. But you are randomly spreading rumors and disturbing the hearts of the people. You are disturbing Niangniang's prayer for the people. This is a big mistake. "
Xing Baoshan smiled coldly: "It seems that Wang Fei is really not willing to let me see the Empress?"
"Put away your guesses. Whether you see the Empress or not is up to the Empress' orders. It has nothing to do with me. I just know that Niangniang is cultivating and can't bear to see you disturb her, so I came to say a few words. If you don't want to listen, then forget it. Don't randomly spread rumors. "
"Wang Fei really knows how to … …"
"Enough!"
At this time, an angry rebuke came from inside the hall. The voice was slightly hoarse, but through the door, it was clear that it was the Empress' voice.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
