"I'll go to the Temple of Heaven with you!"
"No way!"
Zhongli Mingye firmly rejected Song Jinyu's proposal.
She sat down angrily. "It was me who told you the clue. Why won't you let me be involved?"
"Who knows what dangers are waiting?"
After Ji Qinglin left the Prince Yu's Mansion, his steps were heavy. He looked up at the sky and sighed. "Maybe I won't be able to see such a beautiful view tomorrow."
The layout of the Temple of Heaven was not only his own arrangement but also under the instruction of the King of the Southern Courtyard of Yanqiu. The purpose was to stir up the royal family of the Xia Dynasty so that they could profit from it. The deep hatred had to be avenged. The emperor's laziness in government led to the Ji family's extermination, and there was no chance for them to turn things around.
Now, he had sent all the relevant enemies to the underworld to accompany the dead family members.
"It's not over yet!"
He had waited for this day for too long.
Ji Qinglin could kill those corrupt officials and wipe out the entire Shen family, but he couldn't tolerate betraying the whole Xia Dynasty.
His junior sister was smart since childhood. Since she could suspect him, she must also be suspicious of the Temple of Heaven.
Just as he walked past the crossroads, he was surrounded by several people. "The master wants you to go there."
He followed them without changing his expression. Looking back at the Prince Yu's Mansion, he hoped his junior sister wouldn't be too slow!
At the Temple of Heaven, countless soldiers from the capital had surrounded the place.
"Mingye, look here!" Song Jinyu, dressed as a bodyguard, pulled him over.
There was a crack under the huge Buddha statue's foot. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't notice it at all.
She took out a silver hairpin and gently scratched it a few times. The silver bugs inside, which had been startled, rushed out with a "rustle" sound. Zhongli Mingye grabbed her and quickly retreated to a farther place!
When the silver bugs saw the candlelight, they turned into ashes. Song Jinyu could tell at once that there was a deadly poison in them. "Fortunately, I took the antidote pill in advance."
"I'm afraid this is just one part of the plan!"
The huge Buddha statue suddenly cracked more severely from bottom to top and seemed on the verge of collapse!
"Run!"
Zhongli Mingye picked up Song Jinyu and quickly took to the air. The Buddha statue was tottering, and the people in the Temple of Heaven scattered in all directions.
"I've sent people to arrest Ji Qinglin!"
He looked at Song Jinyu calmly. "This is the end of your involvement in this matter!"
He never agreed to let Song Jinyu be involved in the first place. Now, because of her repeated pleas. Now that something had happened to the Temple of Heaven and the sacrifice in three days couldn't be carried out normally, it was a matter of great importance.
He sighed. "Okay!" Now she could only listen to Zhongli Mingye.
"The Buddha statue in the Temple of Heaven is in this state now. Father will surely be extremely angry."
It's not just extreme anger. He should also be feeling scared. Because if it weren't for Ji Qinglin's tip-off, how could the secret inside the Buddha statue be exposed so easily?
"Ji Qinglin..."
Suddenly, Song Jinyu remembered Shen Shulan who was in a coma in the Xiangguo Temple and felt inexplicably sad.
Late at night, Zhongli Mingye returned to the mansion. "Ji Qinglin has disappeared!"
"Did he flee after avenging his great hatred?"
It couldn't be. He had only left the mansion for a short time. "How could Ji Qinglin build up such a large force in such a short time?"
"Moreover... Ji Qinglin was always an honest official. He was able to plot against several important officials successively in just a few days. There must be some force supporting him behind the scenes!"
Song Jinyu's analysis was logical. Zhongli Mingye looked at her admiringly. "You're right. He does have many extraordinary aspects."
"Therefore, he definitely won't flee!"
The more she thought about it, the more heartache she felt. The disciple taught by the master himself had always been someone who considered the overall situation, knew benevolence, righteousness, and reason.
But the matter of Shen Shulan was so incredible and unimaginable.
After a long time, Zhongli Mingye went out again!
This time, there was no news for three consecutive days. Song Jinyu was very worried.
Ji Qinglin was beaten to the brink of death, but his elegance remained undiminished.
"What a loyal patriot!"
"I was blind. I painstakingly cultivated you for five years!"
Now that all their efforts were in vain, the King of the Southern Courtyard of Yanqiu hated him to the core!
After five years of planning, cooperating with Ji Qinglin to infiltrate the officialdom of the Xia Dynasty and planning a deadly trap for the emperor in the Temple of Heaven.
Originally, when the emperor was offering sacrifices to heaven, the silver bugs would just run out because of the high temperature of the candlelight and poison the emperor. During the sacrifice to heaven, all the members of the Zhongli royal family would be sacrificing in front of the Buddha statue.
If the Buddha statue collapsed, then the entire Zhongli royal family would either be dead or injured.
Yanqiu could take advantage of the situation and capture the Xia Dynasty in one fell swoop.
Unfortunately, the King of the Southern Courtyard underestimated Ji Qinglin. He was from the Xia Dynasty. Although he carried a deep hatred in his heart, he still kept a loyal and patriotic heart.
"Humph!"
He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. "In any case, I, Ji, will not betray the Xia Dynasty."
As soon as he said this, the people who were beating him became even more ruthless. The King of the Southern Courtyard angrily ordered someone to kill Ji Qinglin. But before that person could do it,
Zhongli Mingye led people to surround the stronghold of Yanqiu in the capital.
"Long time no see, King of the Southern Courtyard!"
The King of the Southern Courtyard of Yanqiu looked at the newcomer coldly. "You came quite quickly?"
"If I hadn't come, would you have killed the number-three scholar of our dynasty?"
"Number-three scholar? He killed so many people and betrayed your Zhongli royal family. Is he worthy of being a number-three scholar?" The King of the Southern Courtyard looked at Zhongli Mingye leisurely. "I haven't congratulated you on your wedding yet. You've finally won the beauty's heart, haven't you?"
Zhongli Mingye sneered and glanced at Ji Qinglin. "Then I'll thank the King of the Southern Courtyard. It's just that I have to trouble you to come with us."
"The matter of the number-three scholar will be decided by Father."
He really didn't expect that he had originally just been looking for Ji Qinglin's trace, but unexpectedly, he had caught the big fish, the King of the Southern Courtyard.
"Take him away!"
Song Jinyu hadn't slept in her room and was waiting for the news. After learning that Ji Qinglin had been captured, she couldn't calm down anymore.
She got up and went to the Xiangguo Temple.
Shen Shulan had just woken up. Her eyes were dull, and her abdomen was slightly bulging. Rong Shuang'er was taking care of her. "You should at least eat something for the sake of the child in your belly."
Seeing her silent, Song Jinyu understood. I'm afraid the father of that child was really Ji Qinglin. "You're not eating or drinking like this. What's bothering you?"
"Greetings to the princess!" Rong Shuang'er saluted and then stepped aside.
"Give her a bowl of plain rice porridge."
She felt inexplicably heartache. Loving the wrong person had cost her a great deal. It was a good thing that Shen Shulan hadn't gone crazy. "He's so cruel! Why did he treat me like this?"
Shen Shulan finally spoke, which made people feel very heartache.
She couldn't figure it out. They had been so close just a few days ago, but now he had turned against her. After Song Jinyu felt her pulse, the fetus was still strong after such a great disaster.
In any case, Shen Shulan wouldn't give birth to this child, right? After all... there was a deep hatred between them.
When Song Jinyu left, she told Rong Shuang'er to comfort Shen Shulan well. Although the entire Shen family had been exterminated, she was still alive and should try to live on.
The court would surely make a fair decision for the Shen family.
She sighed. The Ji family was not as powerful as the Shen family back then. So even though they were exterminated, it didn't have as much influence as the Shen family's extermination case today.
If... the Ji family's tragedy had been cleared up in time back then, Ji Qinglin might have become a pillar of the Xia Dynasty.
It's a pity that there are no ifs in life.