Lady Chen said, "The princess is not feeling well, is she in the sedan chair? They came here in a carriage."
"It is difficult for horse-drawn carriages to go up the mountain, so if pilgrims are not good at walking, they will use sedan chairs and have them carried up by sedan bearers."
"Where have you searched now?" The old lady couldn't make a judgment for the time being, but Zhenguo Temple had a good reputation, and it stood to reason that it would not cooperate with any party to kidnap Zi'an.
"We have searched everywhere in Zhenguo Temple, and now we have sent disciples to look for it along the foot of the mountain. However, Zhenguo Temple is at the top of Linshan Mountain, and the area around Linshan Mountain is covered with dense forests that stretch for hundreds of miles. If something really happened in Linshan Mountain, it will be very difficult to just search for it." The abbot sighed.
Chen Taijun knew the complexity of Linshan Mountain. She chose to build Zhenguo Temple here in order to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The Linshan Mountain range stretches for hundreds of miles, with dense forests everywhere, and the highest point of the mountain is towering into the clouds.
"Are Concubine Mei and the Princess here to burn incense or do something else?" asked Lady Chen.
"In fact, I only saw Concubine Mei. Concubine Mei came to burn incense, copy Buddhist scriptures, and then donated incense oil and silver to the temple. She stayed for about two hours and then left."
"Master, are you saying that you didn't even see the princess?"
"No, when the princess came, she was resting in the sedan chair. Concubine Mei said that the princess was not feeling well, so I asked someone to invite the princess to rest in the side room. The sedan chair was carried all the way to the door, but I did not follow. When she left, Concubine Mei asked someone to carry the sedan chair to the door and took the princess out."
"Did you hear the princess' voice?"
Chen Taijun suspected that Zi'an had not been able to get up the mountain at all, and perhaps something happened on the way up the mountain.
However, she deliberately brought Zi'an up here to create mystery and deceive others, making it look as if Zi'an had been here before.
It is useless to explore too much now. If Zi'an was killed on the way up the mountain, then this mountain will be really difficult to find.
"Forget it, let's go look for him first." The old lady was at her wit's end. She could only hope that Zhuangzhuang could get something out of Concubine Mei. The best would be if Zi'an was in Concubine Mei's carriage.
Zhuangzhuang arrived soon. As soon as she entered the room, she asked the abbot, "Concubine Mei said that the princess herself would stay in Zhenguo Temple for two days. Is this true?"
The abbot shook his head and said, "Princess, the princess did not ask to stay in the temple. I have never even met her."
Lady Chen told Zhuangzhuang what the abbot had just said, and then asked, "Concubine Mei said that Zi'an wanted to stay here for two days?"
"Yes, she said the Third Prince was ill and she had to go back to the palace, but Zi'an didn't want to leave." Zhuangzhuang was furious, "If I had known earlier, I would have brought her here and forced her to tell me Zi'an's whereabouts."
"If she had told me, she wouldn't have harmed Zi'an." Lady Chen pondered for a moment, "First send someone to look for her everywhere, and send a pigeon to King Ye to have him interrogate Concubine Mei."
"You brought a carrier pigeon?"
"Yes, how can you go out without a carrier pigeon?" The old lady turned and went out.
It was already the second day when the Night King received the letter sent by carrier pigeon.
He went directly to the Yueqing Palace, but Xiaoqing, the head maid beside Concubine Mei, stopped him and said, "Your Highness, Concubine Mei has caught a cold and won't see anyone."
"Get out of here!" the Night King snapped.
"I'm sorry, the queen has ordered that I won't see anyone." Xiaoqing was not afraid at all and stood in front of the Night King.
The Night King frowned and rushed in directly. The people in Concubine Mei's palace could not stop him and followed him in.
In fact, Mei Fei had already gotten up. Seeing the Night King coming aggressively, she raised her hand and asked the palace maid to leave. She said calmly: "The Night King doesn't take me seriously. This Leqing Palace can be broken into at will."
"Where is Seventh Sister-in-law?" Night King asked directly without any further ado.
"I have already told the princess that Zi'an stayed in Zhenguo Temple by himself, and she asked me to come back first."
"Sister-in-law Qi was not in Zhenguo Temple, and the abbot had never seen her. Did you attack her on the way up the mountain?"
"How can you talk like that, King Ye? Why would I want to harm the princess?" Concubine Mei said angrily.
"Don't play tricks on me. If you don't want to tell me about this, then go to the emperor and explain it clearly."
When Mei Fei heard that she was going to see the emperor, she was a little scared and her tone softened, but she still insisted that she didn't know. "I said the same thing when I went to see the emperor. The princess stayed in Zhenguo Temple by herself. I can't tie her back, right? The abbot said he hadn't seen her, which is not surprising, because she said she felt a little uncomfortable on the way there, and she hired a sedan bearer to go up the mountain. When we arrived at Zhenguo Temple, the abbot heard that she was not feeling well, so he let her rest in the wing room. When she left, she said she liked the tranquility of Zhenguo Temple and wanted to stay there for two more days, so I came back by myself."
There is nothing wrong with what she said literally, but it is full of problems.
"Okay, in that case, please ask Concubine Mei to accompany me to Zhenguo Temple!" King Ye said, raising his hand, "Come here, please ask Concubine Mei to get on the carriage."
At that moment, two women dressed in plain clothes came in. They walked with a breeze and their attire was different from that of ordinary palace maids. They should be from Su Yue Tower.
The two men grabbed Concubine Mei and dragged her out. Concubine Mei screamed in shock, "Ye Wang, you are so bold. You dare to kidnap the concubines in Yueqing Palace?"
The Third Prince heard the shouting and ran out, "Uncle, Mother, what happened?"
"My son, go back. This is none of your business!" Concubine Mei said hurriedly.
The Night King had already seen the Third Prince, his expression changed slightly, "What's wrong with you?"
The third prince's lips turned purple and black, and his eyes turned red, which looked quite scary.
Mei Fei broke free from the plain-clothed woman and rushed over to hug the Third Prince, "He is sick."
The Night King walked over, reached out and gently scraped the Third Prince's lips. It wasn't stained, but looked like he was poisoned.
"Mother!" The Third Prince seemed to suddenly realize something and suddenly grabbed Concubine Mei's arm, "Is it you?"
Mei Fei's face turned pale. She pulled him hard inside and said, "Go back quickly and don't come out."
The Third Prince broke free from her hand and angrily asked, "Did you do anything to the Imperial Aunt? Are you crazy?"
When the Night King heard this, he probably understood what was going on. He raised his hand, dismissed the people in the hall, pulled Concubine Mei and the Third Prince into the hall, and closed the door.
"Someone poisoned San'er and asked you to harm Zi'an, right?" King Ye asked, staring at Concubine Mei.
Mei Fei shook her head in panic, "No, don't talk nonsense, no, he is not poisoned, he is sick."
"Why didn't you call the imperial physician when you were sick? Concubine Mei, who poisoned you? Was it your concubine's people? Did she use San'er to control you?" The Night King raised his voice.
The Third Prince knelt down in front of Concubine Mei and cried, "Mother, the Imperial Aunt was very kind to me and helped us many times. You can't repay me with evil. You harmed her, but you saved me. How can I face the Imperial Uncle?"
Mei Fei also cried after hearing this, hugged the Third Prince, and said desperately: "Mother doesn't want to do this, but mother has no choice. Mother only has you. If anything happens to you, mother can't live anymore."
The Night King said coldly: "Okay, stop crying and tell me what happened. Where is Sister Seven now?"
(End of this chapter)