Chapter 24 second quarter

Cui Miao asked Pei Xuanjing: "You expected it a long time ago?" Pei Xuanjing stared at the stone figurines without answering. "What exactly is going on?" "It's Shengzuka." She finally spoke. "Birth mound? Who's birth mound?" Pei Xuanjing pointed to the tombstone and read: "'Tomb of Fu's Lady in Chang'an'. From this, it can only be seen that the tomb should be buried with a woman. She was born in Chang'an and her surname is Fu." A line of small characters, "Yuanhe first year established. Therefore, she should have died eleven years ago."

Cui Miao asked: "What should it mean? Is she dead?" "I don't think so." Pei Xuanjing said, "If a person died but the bones were not buried, then her clothes and the like should be placed in this tomb, which is the clothes tomb. But now, what is placed in the tomb is Stone figurines." Han Xiang hurriedly said: "I know this. Taoism uses stone figurines instead of real people to enter the tomb, also known as 'Shizhen', which is actually a spell to pray for the living and prolong life. From this point of view, this lady from the Fu family in Chang'an is indeed still alive." Alive. But from the outside of the tomb, one would think she was dead."

"So someone came to check." "That's right!" Cui Miao's eyes lit up, "No wonder Jing Niang said that those two gravediggers came prepared! But how did you guess that, you know this Chang'an Fu family?" Pei Xuanjing shook her head. "Have you identified the gravedigger?" Pei Xuanjing shook her head again. Han Xiangdao: "Jingniang and I climbed the mountain early this morning and arrived here at noon. How can there be such a clever plan like you said." "Then I don't understand even more." Pei Xuanjing said: "Look, Cui Lang, the secret tombs are built next to Zhenwu Palace, and all the female crowns who have practiced in Zhenwu Palace over the years are buried. Because these female crowns have practiced all the year round, they have long since left behind the secular world, and they have no family after death. For his burial, so I can only be buried here. Surrounded by green hills and Zhenwu Palace, there is also the town of gods and gods. According to Taoist Fengshui, it is actually an excellent cemetery. When we arrived at noon today, Han Lang and I I have already seen that all the tombstones simply write the surname, the time of entering Taoism, and the time of burial, and there is no other record. This is also in line with the principle of simple burial in Taoism and returning to the mountains and rivers. But only this tomb, The first time I saw her, I thought it was strange, because the date of Fu's entrance into Taoism was not recorded on the tombstone, so it is not appropriate for her to be buried here."

"Ah? Why didn't I notice." Han Xiang scratched his head. "There are even more strange ones." Pei Xuanjing added, "Look, the tombstone says that it was established in the first year of Yuanhe, which is more than ten years ago. The weeds in the tomb grow longer than this tomb. So..." Cui Miao interjected, "So this tomb was not erected eleven years ago?" "I suspected it from the outside. This tomb was erected recently. The wooden coffin dug out proved my guess even more. Think about it, if the wooden coffin was buried more than ten years ago, it is made of perishable material. , the landfill is still so rough, how could it be possible that there is no decay at all?"

"It makes sense, it makes sense." Han Xiang agreed. Pei Xuanjing said: "Because we came to Zhenwu Palace for our own purpose, so although I noticed the strangeness of this tomb during the day, I didn't want to meddle in other's business. But who would have thought that the gravediggers would come at night, so I couldn't help it." I don't care about it. However, based on the current clues, the details of this tomb are still confusing." "Then what's the next step?" "Look." Pei Xuanjing pointed to the side of the stone figurine and asked, "What is this?"

Cui Miao stretched out her hand and picked something out of the coffin: "Is it a small stone box?" He handed the small stone box to Pei Xuanjing's hand.She thought for a while and said: "Well, first restore the tomb to its original state. Han Lang and I stayed in a quiet room in Zhenwu Palace tonight, and Cui Lang and He Niang simply came to rest for the night together. Let's discuss it carefully. Besides, we have a lot to tell each other." "Okay." Cui Miao replied, "It's easy to re-pile this tomb, and we'll finish it quickly together."

"No! One of you must search for the dead man, and then cover the body with branches." He Niang interjected: "I'll just go, it's not difficult." As long as she was in front of Pei Xuanjing, she couldn't help but want to prove her ability, and showed a little disdain for Pei Xuanjing. Pei Xuanjing smiled: "He Niang, you can't go. Because you have to verify one thing." "What's up?" "I guess the gravedigger is an eunuch. So, I must ask some gentleman to have a look." "Ah, it's an eunuch?" Han Xiang looked Pei Xuanjing up and down, "How do you know?"

No matter how calm Pei Xuanjing was, this surprise made him a little embarrassed: "...the eunuch has a smell on him. I have been in and out of the palace a few times, so I know. Just now, I felt as if I was on the two gravediggers. It smells the same." Han Xiang still didn't understand: "Smell? What smell?" Cui Miao laughed: "It's the smell of urine! That's right, I also smelled it in Xingqing Palace. In order to cover up the smell, they also smoked incense, which made it even more weird and disgusting." He said Looking at Han Xiang with malicious intentions, "Hey, you are so curious, why don't you go and see it, and you will understand after reading it."

He himself picked up the shovel and began to reseal the "Tomb of Chang'an Lady Fu".Halfway through the seal, Han Xiang came back with an indescribable expression. "See everything clearly?" Cui Miao asked with a smirk. "Yeah. Jingniang is right, she is indeed an eunuch." Han Xiang lowered his head and waved the shovel to fill up the soil.After a while, he took advantage of the two women not paying attention, and then lowered his voice and said to Cui Miao: "I figured it out, without that thing, it's troublesome to pee, and it's easy to drip dirty, so the clothes will be stained with urine." Smell. Thinking about it, uncle spends all day with those eunuchs, how can he bear it?"

Cui Miao also said in a low voice: "The superior eunuchs have their own way of cleaning. At worst, they often change their clothes and pants. Anyway, there are slaves to help them wash them. No matter how much incense is used, they will not smell anything. Otherwise, the emperor's concubines will not be able to smell anything. It’s been smoked, how can it be born? But low-level eunuchs don’t have that blessing, they can only carry this smell all day long. Like today’s two, they’ve been away for a long time, so naturally they can’t take care of it.” Han Xiang sighed: "The eunuchs are miserable enough. Originally, they might not be recognizable from the outside, but they still carry such a special scent mark. No wonder most of them are surly and love to do evil. Think about it for them. It's also a fate."

Cui Miao said disapprovingly: "Okay, you really take it seriously! There are so many miserable people in the world, can't they all do evil? Don't think about such disgusting things. You should think about it carefully. How did two eunuchs from the Chang'an Palace come to Qingcheng Mountain to dig a tomb?" Seeing that the soil on the tomb was almost piled up, he shoveled the last shovel of soil towards the top of the tomb, "Where is this Chang'an female Fu's family?" Who is it?" The quiet room where Pei Xuanjing and Han Xiang lived was on the other side of Zhenwu Palace. After the tomb was cleaned up, the four of them went there together. When passing in front of the main hall of Zhenwu Palace, Cui Miao caught a glimpse of the shimmering light from under the closed hall door, and wondered, "Hey, is there someone in this temple?" "Of course there are people. There have always been female crowns practicing here." "We are making such a fuss, and they ignore it?" Han Xiang explained: "People are all women's crowns, and of course they don't want to be nosy in the middle of the night. The Zhenwu Palace is originally a temple bestowed by the royal family. As long as the women's crowns stay in the Zhenwu Palace, they will never enter the temple to harass them unless they are insane .So the more disputes arise, the more they want to stay behind closed doors." "I see." Finally came to this small quiet room, the four of them sat down separately.Pei Xuanjing lit an oil lamp, and the flame drew a warm red circle.Surrounding the red circle are four tired and dull faces and four pairs of bright and shining eyes. Cui Miao looked around, but it was so dark that she couldn't see anything clearly. She could only vaguely see an incense burner on the table next to the wall, and there seemed to be a few lines of poems written on the wall.On the whole, the layout of the house is very plain and simple, it really looks like a retreat for a female crown. "Whose pill room is this?" He asked curiously. Just as Han Xiang was about to answer, Pei Xuanjing said first: "We'll talk about this later, please Cui Lang answer my question first." Cui Miao was taken aback for a moment, then smiled: "I will follow Jingniang's order in everything." Yes, she is an imperial envoy of the emperor, and she travels by order.And he, after all, is just a fugitive.Going round and round, the roles of the two of them are still distinct—she is a detective and he is a thief.It started in Jiachang’s small courtyard outside Chunming Gate, and it has not changed until today.However, Cui Miao believes that since they can meet again across thousands of mountains and rivers, it is not the superficial gap that dominates their fate, but the mutual understanding and tacit understanding in their hearts. After all, she had to solve his puzzle.He was looking forward to it more than ever. "Okay." He said, "What does Jing Niang want to ask me?" Pei Xuanjing said: "Just now He Niang has told me roughly the whole story of your departure from Chang'an to Mount Qingcheng. But she couldn't explain why you suddenly decided to leave Chang'an?" "Come to find you." Pei Xuanjing remained silent, just staring at Cui Miao persistently.Her eyes were clear and gentle, without any hostility or suspicion. Cui Miao suddenly felt very relieved, so she blurted out: "The Queen Mother ordered me to leave Chang'an." Before Pei Xuanjing could answer, Han Xiang called out, "The Empress Dowager ordered you to help us?" Cui Miao was taken aback. Han Xiang said again: "I see! The Empress Dowager must be worried that we will be in danger on the way to find Wang Zhifu, so I specially sent Cui Lang to help." "Is that so?" Pei Xuanjing asked. "Er—yes." "What did the Empress Dowager say?" "She...she just said that Jingniang went to Qingcheng Mountain to find immortals and asked me to help you." Pei Xuanjing asked again: "Did she personally order you?" "yes." "Have you seen the Empress Dowager?" Pei Xuanjing showed an unbelievable expression, which aroused Cui Miao's arrogance, and he immediately replied, "Of course I did." "What... is she like?" "Have you seen Jing Niang?" Pei Xuanjing shook her head.Princess Hanyang invited her to Xingqing Palace to investigate the case twice, both under the banner of the Empress Dowager.Now she is traveling thousands of miles to find Wang Zhifu, who is also the secret order of the Queen Mother conveyed by Princess Hanyang.However, from the beginning to the end, the Empress Dowager Wang never showed her true face to Pei Xuanjing.Although Princess Hanyang finally persuaded Pei Xuanjing to agree to the trip by virtue of Jia Guiniang's death.However, Pei Xuanjing was still full of curiosity about the Queen Mother who had been hiding behind the scenes. "The appearance of the empress dowager..." Cui Miao pondered, and finally found an appropriate description, "I think it is exactly the same as the Guanyin Bodhisattva in the Buddhist temple." "Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva? Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva who saves suffering and suffering with great compassion?" "Yes." Cui Miao nodded, and said seriously, "It's both compassionate and suffering." "That's it..." Pei Xuanjing said, "So Cui Lang obeyed the Queen Mother's order?" "Of course, who can not listen to the Bodhisattva?" Cui Miao's words can be heard from the heart, without exaggeration.Pei Xuanjing couldn't help feeling touched.She thought, if the Empress Dowager is really a Bodhisattva as Cui Miao said.So their meeting today is not the arrangement of the Bodhisattva? She said excitedly: "It seems that it is God's will that we can meet on Mount Qingcheng today." "How to say?" "Cui Lang, let me speak slowly." It's really a long story.After Pei Xuanjing finished explaining the ins and outs of looking for Wang Zhifu, it seemed that countless nights had quietly passed away.In the night in the deep mountains, there is neither an hourglass nor a watch, and the flow of time becomes more and more elusive.When she finally came to an end, she raised her eyes and looked out the window, only to find that the bright moon was sinking to the west and the stars were starting to fade away. There was a low snoring sound in the room, and Han Xiang had already fallen asleep on the couch.He Niang couldn't hold it anymore, she leaned on the side of the couch, dozing off with her head drooping.Only Pei Xuanjing and Cui Miao are still in good spirits, probably because it is not just the case that excites them. "So, the treasure Yulongzi is mentioned in the book?" Cui Miao asked with piercing eyes. "That's what Mr. Yuan Weizhi said." Pei Xuanjing said, "Do you remember Cui Lang, there are two sentences in it, 'If the Sixth Army doesn't feel helpless, it will die before turning crescent eyebrows.'" "Of course I remember. These two poems are about the commotion of the Six Armies at Mawei Station, forcing Emperor Xuanzong to kill Concubine Yang Gui, right?" "Cui Lang is right. But these two poems are actually strange." "What's so strange?" Pei Xuanjing said: "Mr. Weizhi told me that the so-called six armies refer to the Left and Right Shenwu Army, the Left and Right Yulin Army and the Left and Right Longwu Army. .But, there is a mistake in the poem." "Wrong?" "In June of the 15th year of Tianbao, when Emperor Xuanzong was lucky enough to pass by Mawei Post in Shu, the Emperor's Forbidden Army had only the Left and Right Longwu Army and the Left and Right Yulin Army, that is, the Fourth Army, not the Sixth Army. After Mawei Station, Emperor Suzong went north to Lingwu to ascend the throne At that time, he ordered General Chen Xuanli to reorganize the Fourth Army into the Sixth Army." Cui Miao frowned: "If the Forbidden Army at Mawei Station was the Fourth Army, shouldn't it be written as 'The Fourth Army is helpless'?" "However, according to Mr. Weizhi, Bai Letian wrote it that way on purpose. He wrote the Fourth Army as the Sixth Army, implying that the change of Mawei Station was actually led by Emperor Suzong, who was the prince at the time. The purpose was to He forced Yang Yuhuan to death, parted ways with Emperor Xuanzong, and led the team north to proclaim himself emperor." "So the use of 'six armies' instead of 'four armies' in the poem implies that the emperor's forbidden army was controlled by the prince at that time, right?" Pei Xuanjing nodded. "Wow, this is the top secret of the royal family!" Cui Miao tsk-tsk, "Bai Letian dared to write that, it is really bold." "He has confidence." "Confidence? Just because of that Wang Zhifu?" "Mm." Pei Xuanjing said, "Mr. Weizhi said that it was Wang Zhifu who persuaded Bai Letian to hide this hidden story in the poem. Because it can only be explained by pointing out that the prince is the culprit who forced Yang Yuhuan to death." Why did Emperor Xuanzong not pass the Jade Dragon to the crown prince on the way to Xingshu? The situation at that time was so critical that Emperor Xuanzong could not directly refuse, so he excused that the Jade Dragon had been thrown into the Dragon Pool of Xingqing Palace when he was praying for rain and disappeared , declined the prince with such a set of rhetoric." Cui Miao shook her head and sighed: "Even the throne has been handed over, how much can a piece of jade dragon be used for? Emperor Xuanzong didn't pass on the jade dragon to express his resentment towards Emperor Suzong for forcing Concubine Yang to death. .” Both fell silent.After a while, Pei Xuanjing said again: "Besides that, there are two lines in the poem, which are also directly related to Yulongzi." "Which two sentences?" "There are few people walking under Mount Emei, and the flags are dark and the sun is thin." "Are there any mistakes in these two lines?" Pei Xuanjing's gaze gently swept across Cui Miao's face: "Can Cui Lang guess what's wrong?" What a familiar scene, the night in the mountains and the night, everything in the world is sleeping, only he and she are still awake, reminding each other, helping each other, just to solve a puzzle.Even they can't understand the meaning of this riddle, but they just intuitively feel that it is a matter of life and death, and appreciate the obsession and karma condensed in it. For Cui Miao at this moment, the answer itself is no longer important, only the process of solving the mystery with her is worth cherishing.If it is believed that they arose from riddles, then this journey of solving the riddles had better never end. "Cui Lang?" Pei Xuanjing called him in a low voice. Cui Miao came back to her senses: "I was distracted just now, Jing Niang forgive me." Pei Xuanjing smiled lightly. "There are few people walking at the foot of Mount Emei, and the flags are dark and the sun is thin. What is wrong?"