Master Kongzo tells a story, even a fairy tale.
But Qining knew that this eminent monk would never tell such an ordinary story without reason. He looked at Master Kongzang with a kind face and asked: "Who is the little eagle that the master is talking about?"
Master Kongzang smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, it is never easy to reach the top. It must go through a lot of hardships." He raised his hand and picked up the small clay pot on the table and poured a cup of tea into the cup. , pushed it over, and then said: "You inherited the title of the Jinyi Qi family, and you have repeatedly performed outstanding achievements. Now you are honored as the king of the Chu Kingdom. Although you have experienced ups and downs along the way, it is not a bad result after all. I don't know what the prince has to do with it." Is the current situation happy or sad?"
Qi Ning was startled, then pondered for a moment, and then said: "It's not about happiness or sorrow, I'm just trying my best to live."
"Then, do you have any attachment to your current life?" Master Kongzang asked: "If one day, everything you have now disappears, whether it is your official title, relatives, friends, and your family, none of these will matter. Can you accept it if it’s all yours again?”
Qining shook his head and said: "I can't accept it. All the efforts I make now are to make things better."
"Please use tea!" Master Kongzang raised his hand and said: "This is clear tea. It calms the mind and is good for the body."
Qining picked up the teacup, took a sip, then put it down, nodded and said, "It's good tea!"
"The prince wants to protect everything he has now, and even make it better. This is of course a good thing." Master Kongzang said: "The prince went up the mountain today because he wanted to ask about what happened eighteen years ago."
Qi Ning nodded and said: "That's right. Master, I don't know if you know that there are many rumors in the streets and alleys in the capital, saying that I am not a bloodline of the Qi family."
"Then who does the prince think he is?"
Qi Ning frowned and said: "I am King Yiheng of Dachu, inheriting the bloodline of the Jinyi Qi family!"
"Since Your Majesty thinks so, why should you care about other people's words?" Master Kongzang sighed: "What happened back then is in the past. Your Majesty wants to take the future path, so why bother with the past?"
"Master, I wonder where this Buddhist teaching comes from?" Qining suddenly asked with a smile.
A smile appeared on Master Kongzang's lips, and he said: "What the prince means is that everything in the world has a predestined origin. Buddhism traces its roots to Tianzhu, and the prince also wants to know exactly where he comes from."
"good."
Master Kongzang lowered his head and was silent for a moment, and finally said: "Eighteen years ago, your father was on the front line, and your father was pregnant with Liujia and was about to give birth to Lin'er. That day, Mrs. Tai sent someone to send a letter...!" Here, he took out a yellowed letter from his sleeve and handed it over. Qining immediately took it with both hands and looked at Master Kongzang. Master Kongzang smiled and nodded slightly. Qining then took out the letterhead from it and read it carefully. Looking at it, he frowned and said: "The letter said that my mother is about to give birth, but there is an invasion of evil spirits, and she needs a high monk to protect her. Master, who is this evil spirit referring to?"
"When the poor monk saw this letter, he knew that Mrs. Tai would not send someone to deliver this letter unless it was absolutely necessary." Master Kongzang said: "When Mrs. Tai was young, she respected the Buddha's teachings and had kind thoughts in her heart. Your mansion donates incense and silver every year, so the poor monk sent Junior Brother Jingchen and six other monks from the temple to protect the Dharma, hoping that Lin'er can give birth smoothly."
Qining didn't speak, just looked at Master Kongzang.
"What Mrs. Tai said is not wrong." Master Kongzang said: "On the night when your daughter was born, the evil demon came and wanted to snatch Lin'er. Junior Brother Jingchen led the crowd to repel the evil demon, but... the evil demon was so good at martial arts that he finally He robbed a child."
Qi Ning's heart trembled, and he immediately asked: "Master, did my mother give birth to two children back then?"
Master Kongzang nodded and said: "Exactly, after the twins were born, the evil demon invaded and one of them was taken away. The evil demon had great magical powers and not only took away Lin'er, but also successfully left the city. Since then, After that, no one knew the whereabouts of the child.”
Qining took a deep breath.
He had previously judged that Liu Suyi might have given birth to twins, but there was no evidence to prove his conjecture. At this time, he finally got the confirmation from Master Kongzang.
In this way, it was easy to find out that Xiao Diaoer and the Jinyi Crown Prince had the same appearance, including the same mark.
According to what Master Kongzang said, the evil demon he spoke of did take away a child back then, and that child was naturally his own little mink.
Qining remembered Xiaodie saying that when Little Diaoer was discovered by Father Tu, he was in a woods. The man with the sword was not sure whether he was alive or dead at the time. Father Tu rescued Little Diaoer and later went to the woods. , the man with the sword has disappeared.
Xiao Diaoer has been living at the bottom of the civil society ever since, and was displaced during the war.
If we follow what Master Kongzang said, is the evil demon in his mouth the man with the sword
A man with a sword broke into the heavily guarded Jinyihou Mansion, even took away a baby, and then escaped from Jianye Capital. This was certainly not an ordinary person.
"That night, Mrs. Qi passed away." Kongzang said slowly: "The evil demon was highly skilled in martial arts and came and went without a trace. To prevent this person from returning and returning to the Jinyi Hou Mansion for revenge, the poor monk sent two monks to enter The Marquis Mansion, with the permission of the Dowager Madam, is hidden in the Mansion for protection."
"Who to protect?" Qi Ning said immediately: "Protect the Madam? Why do you think that person will come back and do harm to the Madam? The evil demon in the Master's mouth has robbed the children of the Qi family and wants to harm the Madam." It’s not good, why does he hate the Qi family so much?”
Master Kongzang remained silent.
"In this letter, Mrs. Tai directly called that person a demon." Qining shook the letter in his hand that Mrs. Tai sent to Master Kongzang: "In other words, before that person took away the baby of the Qi family , Mrs. Tai has determined that the man is an evil spirit, and there has been a feud between the two parties for a long time. The Jinyi Qi family is one of the four hereditary princes in the empire. When fighting on the battlefield, many people will naturally regard the Qi family as a big enemy. If the Qi family knows that there is an enemy coming to assassinate them, , it is really easy to set up a dragnet." After a pause, he said: "Why did Madam Tai think of asking the Great Guangming Temple to protect the Dharma?"
Master Kong Zang joined his hands and sang a Buddhist chant, and Qi Ning had already continued: "Hu Shen Ying, Jing Du Mansion, and Shen Hou Mansion all have large numbers of people and strength. It is not difficult for the Qi family to request an order to dispatch troops from these yamen to protect them. However, As far as I know, when the incident occurred, not only were no other troops mobilized, not even the guards of the Hou Mansion were involved. The only ones who really came into contact with the so-called evil spirits were the eminent monks of Daguangming Temple. Of course, this was A very strange thing is that when the Jinyi Hou Mansion was in crisis, it was Daguangming Temple that they thought of, which is really unbelievable."
There was a rustling sound around the wooden house, which was the sound of the trees shaking in the night wind.
"I've thought about it, and maybe there's only one explanation that makes sense." Qining sighed: "That matter is very secretive, or maybe the madam wanted to keep the matter very secretive and did not mobilize other troops. Even the guards of the Hou Mansion were not allowed to get involved. Just because the Madam didn't want these people to know the truth, the Madam asked the eminent monks of Daguangming Temple to take action, because in the Madam's view, monks can always keep some secrets. .”
Master Kongzang stared at Qining, still silent.
"That person wants to enter the house to commit murder when my mother is giving birth. Of course, it is impossible to notify the Marquis Mansion in advance. That will only make it more difficult for him to act. No matter how stupid he is, he will not inform him in advance." Qi Ning's eyes were sharp: "But the letter sent by Mrs. Tai proves that Mrs. Tai is sure that the person will appear at that time. Why is Mrs. Tai so sure? The Mrs. Tai must be very familiar with the origin and methods of that person. She invited the eminent monk of Daguangming Temple to come in. The purpose of the government is actually to capture the evil spirit in her mouth."
He picked up the tea cup, took a sip, put it down and continued: "But there is an extremely important problem, and that is when the evil spirit appears. Why did the man not go early or late, but happened to be at home when his mother was giving birth? Arrive? How did that person determine that my mother would definitely give birth that night?" He stared into Master Kongzang's eyes: "If I were to make a point, I can only say that the evil devil has been paying attention to the delivery date, and Mrs. I also understand that the person is here for the child."
Master Kong Zang called out the Buddha's name again, and Qin Ning smiled faintly: "So I want to ask Master, what is the relationship between that person and my mother? There are rumors in the market that I am not a bloodline of the Qi family. Of course, this is not groundless."
"Your Majesty, you want to know the truth?"
"The rumors in the capital come from Xiao Shaozong." Qining said: "The incident back then was extremely secretive. Even if some people suspected that there was something fishy in it, very few people in the world knew about the truth. How did Xiao Shaozong know that I was not The bloodline of the Qi family? Once this matter is true, it will naturally be a huge blow to the reputation of the Qi family, so it is absolutely impossible for the madam to reveal it to the outside world, so... has the master informed others? "
Master Kongzang sighed and said: "Old Master, the prince's questions are so aggressive that the poor monk can hardly resist them. Please don't hide out and relax."
Qi Ning's heart trembled. There were only him and Master Kongzang in the room. Master Kongzang was obviously talking to a third person, and he called that person "Old Master". Qining was really surprised and looked around. , suddenly heard the sound of footsteps behind him, he immediately turned around and saw a person walking slowly from outside the door. The person was wearing a green shirt and had a slender figure. When he walked, his steps were light. If Qining's ear hadn't been amazing, he would have even His footsteps could not be heard.
Daguangming Temple is an important place for Buddhism. At this time, it has already closed its doors to thank guests. It is impossible for pilgrims to stay on the mountain at this time. What's more, this ancient forest alone is a special place. It is impossible for ordinary pilgrims to come here. .
Under the light, seeing the man's face clearly, Qining changed his face in shock, stood up abruptly, showed an expression of disbelief, and said in a voiceless voice: "Mr. Zhuo... Zhuo!"