A notice was posted in the capital a few days ago, stating that His Majesty would set out for the Ancestral Temple at 9:00 p.m. today, and the main roads in the city and the city gates that His Majesty would pass through would be closed and cleared from 7:00 p.m.
Therefore, Qin Zhao had to leave the city before noon.
After leaving the city, we have much more time.
The carriage prepared by Qin Zhao left the city, drove on the official road for about half an hour, and stopped at a tea shop.
This teahouse is located on the official road on the way to the ancestral temple. It is well connected and has a great view. It is still early this morning, but there are already several tea drinkers chatting in the teahouse. When they saw Qin Zhao coming in, they acted as if they didn't see him and didn't even glance over here.
The tea shop owner came forward and, without Qin Zhao saying anything, took him to the private room on the second floor of the tea shop with the widest view.
"Don't worry, sir. Everything in the shop has been taken care of. We are all family members." After serving Qin Zhao a pot of tea, the tea shop owner said this and turned away.
In the past half month, Qin Zhao has arranged for all the people he might meet on this trip. And to ensure safety, these people only know their tasks and don't know who they are working for.
Qin Zhao observed from the window for a moment. Seeing nothing unusual, he closed the window and took out an old patched coarse cloth shirt from his luggage.
He is going to play the role of a miraculous doctor who travels around the world to save people.
The little emperor's illness had not healed in the past few months. The officials in the court were worried and doubtful, and they recommended many famous doctors to their superiors.
Unfortunately, they were stopped by the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Medical Bureau.
The court officials wanted to send people in but couldn't, and they had long been complaining about this.
Taking advantage of the opportunity of the emperor's visit to the ancestral temple, Deng Yuyou recommended the miracle doctor, which was unexpected, but also reasonable.
At least that's what the ministers thought.
The clothes had been fumigated with herbs in advance. When Qin Zhao put them on, he could smell the strong and pungent smell of herbs in his nostrils.
He looks just like a doctor who deals with herbs all year round.
In addition to the clothes, he also had a medicine box filled with medicine jars and ointments, all of which were needed for practicing medicine.
All these things were prepared by Jing Li.
Jing Li always felt that he could not help much, but Qin Zhao felt that the young husband was the one who helped him the most along the way. It was Qin Zhao's luck to have such a beautiful and capable young husband by his side.
Although the little guy is sometimes silly and a little willful.
Thinking of this, Qin Zhao began to feel uneasy.
He did not agree to bring Jing Li out with him this time, firstly for his safety, and secondly for the perfect implementation of the plan. He had already told Xiao Fulang about this, but every time he mentioned it, he would say that he could disguise himself and refused to agree.
If that guy really followed him in disguise, Qin Zhao had no confidence that he could concentrate on the plan.
… worried that he might not make it in time.
Although the young husband finally agreed to wait for her at home, judging from the look on his face this morning, he was obviously still angry.
This time when I go back, I don’t know how long it will take to coax her back.
Qin Zhao took a sip of tea and felt very worried about his life in the next few days.
Qin Zhao waited in the teahouse for more than half an hour. At 3:30 pm, a cloud of dust rose from the mountain road in the distance.
The emperor's ancestral worship is a big event, and many court officials and guards are accompanying him. These people leave the city in batches according to different arrangements of the Ministry of Rites. According to historical records, the most grand ancestral worship ceremony in this dynasty, the entire team stretched from the imperial city to the outside of the city, comparable to the grand occasion when the founding emperor's army entered the capital.
What Qin Zhao is seeing now should be the vanguard troops for this ancestor worship ceremony.
There were many carriages and horses accompanying the ancestral worship ceremony, and they stopped at the post stations along the way to replenish supplies and rest, and this teahouse was one of them. According to the plan, Deng Yuyou had bribed a young eunuch around the emperor to let them enter the teahouse to rest for a while when they passed by this place.
That was the time for Qin Zhao to meet the little emperor.
Qin Zhao half-closed the window beside him and waited quietly.
The tea on the table was boiling, but the sound was completely drowned out by the sound of horse hooves and footsteps in front of the post station. The guards in the front passed quickly, followed by the Minister of Rites, and then it was time for...
Qin Zhao observed through the crack in the window, but his eyes froze slightly.
After the Ministry of Rites, it should be the emperor's carriage.
But what appeared before him was not the imperial carriage, but... the phoenix chariot that the Queen Mother rode.
Black is the most respected color in this dynasty. Through the layers of black gauze covering the phoenix chariot, one can vaguely see a graceful and elegant woman sitting behind it. The woman's face is not clear, and she seems to be reading something. When passing by the teahouse, she seemed to have something in mind and looked up at the second floor.
The windows on the second floor of the tea shop were all half-closed, and nothing could be seen from the convoy's perspective.
The Queen Mother withdrew her gaze and spoke softly, "Chang Shun."
"I'm here." The old eunuch beside her responded quickly.
The Queen Mother's voice was very youthful, and she spoke softly, but it revealed a sense of majesty without anger: "Pass the order down, the weather looks gloomy today, and it may rain in the evening. Tell them to hurry up and not stay on the road unless it is urgent."
"I obey your order."
The old eunuch turned to leave, but the Queen Mother stopped him again: "Yes, send people to search along the way, especially those post stations and teahouses. Your Majesty is sick and weak, don't give those thieves an opportunity to take advantage of you."
The Empress Dowager's decree was quickly passed down. Deng Xiyou was far away from the Empress Dowager's phoenix carriage. When he learned the news from the imperial guards, the surrounding post stations and teahouses had already been thoroughly searched.
Including Qin Zhao's hiding place.
Deng Xiyou was so fidgety in the carriage that he even breathed very lightly. He kept an eye on the movements outside, fearing that he would hear news that a suspicious person had been spotted in the distance.
But no.
No new news came until the convoy left the post station.
Deng Youyou let out a long sigh, only to find that his palms were already covered with sweat.
Not far away, Qin Zhao came out from the dense bushes. The tea shop owner was waiting beside him: "Sir, what should we do now?"
Looking at the far-away convoy, Qin Zhao said leisurely: "It seems that today's luck is bad."
Is it because he didn’t bring his young husband with him
According to past practice, except for the current empress, other concubines were not allowed to accompany the ancestor worship, and the empress dowager was naturally not allowed to accompany. Moreover, before today, the royal family had clearly sent a message that during the ancestor worship ceremony, the empress dowager would stay in the capital and would not accompany.
Now it seems that things have obviously changed.
But this did not surprise Qin Zhao too much.
Meeting the little emperor in the teahouse was only the simplest of all his plans. Before that, he did not have much hope that this plan could be successfully implemented.
How could he be allowed to see the king of a country so easily
Qin Zhao gathered his thoughts and ordered, "Bring the horses here."
The horses were prepared in advance. If they failed to successfully bring the little emperor in at the teahouse, Qin Zhao and his party would take a shortcut and ride on horseback to the ancestral temple.
Qin Zhao selected five people to go with him.
However, his luck today seemed to be really bad. When the group had just climbed over a mountain, it suddenly started snowing nearby.
This was the first snow they encountered after entering Beijing.
It was as if the old man wanted to make up for the late snow this year. The originally fluttering snow turned into heavy snow in a moment, and thick fog rose in the mountains, making it difficult to see.
There was a storm of wind and snow in the mountains. After Qin Zhao persisted in the snow for half an hour, he finally found it difficult to move forward.
Even if the horse can walk, others cannot walk.
Qin Zhao's body had not fully recovered yet, so he didn't dare to joke with his body at this critical moment. Therefore, when they came across a dilapidated temple on the road, Qin Zhao immediately ordered them to go in and hide from the snow.
There is no village in front of this temple and no shop in the back. It is not very popular. There is only an old abbot and a few young monks in the whole temple.
Qin Zhao was taken to the main hall to rest. In the courtyard outside the hall, there was a large lotus pond. Lotus leaves grew in the pond, and snowflakes melted as they fell into the water, creating ripples on the surface.
"Please have some tea, benefactor." The old abbot brought Qin Zhao a cup of tea.
Qin Zhao thanked him, pointed to the lotus pond in the courtyard, and asked, "Why aren't there any fish in this lotus pond in the temple?"
From the two koi at home, Qin Zhao now had a lot of experience in fish farming. He could tell at a glance that the lotus pond did not look like a place for raising fish.
The abbot smiled and said, "Donor, you don't know that the stream at the bottom of the lotus pond outside that connects to the outside is running water and cannot support fish. Occasionally, fish would swim in to beg for food, but the weather has been cold recently and they rarely come."
"I see." Qin Zhao nodded.
Perhaps because the scenery of the temple after the snow was so beautiful, Qin Zhao was trapped here but did not feel bored at all.
He drank hot tea and even chatted with the abbot: "My family also built a living pond before and raised a koi. But my fish never swam out and was very well-behaved."
The abbot clasped his hands together and said, "Koi have always been spiritual. It seems that it is destined to be with the donor."
Qin Zhao listened to these words and said, "That's right."
The corner of his mouth curled up slightly, and he glanced at the lotus pond not far away, and saw a bright red shadow suddenly flash across it.
Qin Zhao: “…”
The smile on Qin Zhao's face froze instantly.
The little koi quickly dived to the bottom of the lotus pond and hid itself among the lotus leaves.
He didn't dare to spit out a single bubble. He waited patiently for a while. When he saw that there was no movement on the water surface, he quietly poked his head out to look outside.
In the hall in the distance, that familiar figure was sitting by the door, sipping a cup of tea quietly.
Didn't seem to notice him.
…I don’t think so, right
Jing Li breathed a sigh of relief.
He never thought that he would meet Qin Zhao here.
In the past half month, Jing Li and Qin Zhao had familiarized themselves with all the routes from the capital to the ancestral temple, and had already memorized all of Qin Zhao's plans. Therefore, when he swam into the moat from the drainage ditch at home today and successfully met a convoy passing by at the city gate, he went directly to the tea shop beside the official road.
But when he arrived, there was no one there.
Jing Li guessed that something might have gone wrong with the plan, so he didn't delay and immediately joined another convoy, preparing to head towards the ancestral temple.
But who would have thought that not long after entering the mountains, we would encounter heavy snow.
Due to heavy snow, the mountain was blocked, so the caravan decided to rest at the post station instead of continuing on its journey.
Jing Li was in despair as a whole.
The convoy can rest, but he can't. He started later than Qin Zhao, and if he rests any longer, how can he catch up with him
Jingli had no other choice but to survive on his own and go upstream along the stream.
But a new problem arose. The water route and the mountain route did not completely overlap, and Jing Li was only familiar with the mountain route. He had no idea how to swim to the ancestral temple!
Jing Li lost his way not long after swimming, and the heavy snow made the water flow turbulent. He was tossed back and forth in the water several times. When he came to his senses, he had somehow swam into the lotus pond.
When he floated to the surface and raised his head, he saw the familiar face of Qin Zhao.
… is just outrageous.
Jing Li didn't want Qin Zhao to know that he had followed him secretly, so he didn't plan to show up and meet him directly. He swam a circle under the water and began to observe the people who were traveling with Qin Zhao, trying to find a way to blend in.
The caravan had to cross mountains and hills, and usually carried wooden barrels to store water. As long as Jing Li found an opportunity to crawl into the barrel, he could get a ride.
But the people Qin Zhao brought with him all came on horseback and were lightly equipped, so it was almost impossible for them to sneak in.
Jingli wagged his tail anxiously.
Once the snow stopped, Qin Zhao and his companions would continue on their journey, and it would not be easy for him to catch up with them.
What should I do
The little koi was so worried that its fins drooped down, but at this moment, the sound of horse hooves was suddenly heard outside the temple.
The sound of horse hooves came from far away and soon someone knocked hard on the temple door.
"Is anyone there? The current emperor is passing by and wants to come in to avoid the snow. Please open the door quickly!"
Jing Li: “…”
Jing Li: “???”