Mrs. Fu planned to visit the temple to fulfill her vows, naturally needing to make arrangents in advance.
In the residence, Jin Zhu and several other head maids were arranged to stay behind, while soone was sent to line the carriage with soft cushions to ensure Fu Zhen could sit comfortably.
Then soone was sent to the temple to reserve a room for the night. Originally, Baihe Temple did not accommodate female guests, but in recent years, due to the inconvenience of noble won traveling to and from the city for incense and blessings, a special Zen temple was set aside for female guests to stay.
With all these activities, the Du Family’s third household, intent on uncovering Fu Family’s news, found out about it.
Madam Du, after being scolded by Du Su, felt she was in a dilemma. It was said that since the marriage agreent was made public, they should act, but deep down she was incredibly unwilling to enter into this marriage. Even in the best-case scenario where Miss Fu could recover and bear children, she still didn’t favor this future daughter-in-law!
Upon hearing that Mrs. Fu intended to visit the temple for incense, she ca up with a plan and also sent soone to request a room at the temple for a night.
Mrs. Liu, having just heard that Mrs. Fu and her daughter were going up the mountain, and then heard that the Du Family’s third household also sent soone to the temple, couldn’t let go of this opportunity.
She knew that Madam Du was likely keeping an eye on Mrs. Fu and her daughter, and during this trip up the mountain, there would surely be interactions with Mrs. Fu. Even if she couldn’t secure this marriage for Fu Rou, she absolutely wouldn’t let Mrs. Fu succeed! To allow Fu Zhen to marry into the Du Family as she wished!
Fu Zhen was already so overbearing, if she beca the third household’s daughter-in-law in the Du Family, wouldn’t she beco even more arrogant?
No! Absolutely not!
So, she also found soone and whispered a few instructions.
Completely unaware of the multiple factions secretly confronting each other over a seemingly inconsequential marriage agreent, Fu Zhen was still focused on news from the Li Family until the evening of the fourteenth day before her departure.
Fortunately, there had been a response from the Li Family. Li Yi and his wife had returned! And they were safe and sound.
With nothing troubling the elderly couple, Fu Zhen was half relieved. Other matters would be discussed after returning down the mountain tomorrow.
In the evening, Fu Zhen and Mrs. Fu arrived on the mountain.
The Zen rooms were still to the east. To reach the ruins of the shrine, one had to traverse the middle route of the main hall, but there were no high walls in between, nor strict defenses in the temple, so it wasn’t a big problem.
The only issue was the limited space on the mountain, as many won rushed to burn incense on the first and fifteenth of the month, filling the Zen temple.
Thus, Fu Zhen and Mrs. Fu could only share a room, making it very inconvenient for her to change into her night clothes to go out.
At dinner, she chatted: "There should be an evening prayer at the Guanyin Hall. Mother, would you like to listen to the chanting?"
Mrs. Fu replied, "I’ll go. What about you?"
"I’ll just stay in the room. I can’t sit still for that long during a sermon."
Mrs. Fu put down her bowl and said, "Then let Zhang Cheng guard outside the door. Don’t go out."
Fu Zhen agreed and then helped her put on her cloak and escorted her out.
The moonlight enveloped the thousand-year-old temple, as if a pale white veil draped over the vision. Fu Zhen stood in the courtyard for a while, estimating that the Guanyin Hall’s sermon had now begun, returned to the room to change, and wrapped a handkerchief over her face, before signaling Zhang Cheng to head for the northwest corner.
The evening wind in March was still a bit chilly, with the sound of Buddhist chants echoing around. Yet, the farther west and north they went, the closer to the hills it beca, and thus quieter. Besides a few scattered stone lanterns in the courtyard, there was only the moonlight, while a few northern Zen temples had lights on, occasionally with sounds of a child’s laughter echoing, indicating they were early guests rushing for incense.
However, even so, there were more people on the mountain tonight than Fu Zhen anticipated. So, she had to be even more cautious.
Fu Zhen had already reviewed the layout of the temple in her mind beforehand. At the turtle pond outside the ruins, she instructed Zhang Cheng, "This is the main path for outsiders to enter. Just keep a close watch here."
Zhang Cheng asked, "I heard that the Miss from the Liang Family is still in there. Aren’t you afraid?"
Fu Zhen patted his shoulder, "Afraid of what? If she’s still there, she’s probably chanting at this hour."
With that, she crossed the small stone bridge in Zhang Cheng’s stunned gaze.
Across the bridge, the peach blossoms rained down her face in the evening breeze.
In the northwest corner, only the rustling sound of the pine forest could be heard.
With the sunlight gone, the ruins under the moonlight appeared even more desolate and silent, and even the peach blossoms on the old tree beside it seed extraordinarily pale.
What kind of complex and eerie feeling it must be for a "dead person" to return to the place of demise, perhaps only she understood.
Fu Zhen walked along the old stone steps of the ruins, entering the Zen room where she stayed in life, her gaze asuring the circle of broken walls, locking onto the rough area.
The previously brick-paved ground had accumulated six years of dust and sand, with deep and shallow wild grass growing, with roots intertwined, not easy to deal with. However, she had naturally made ample preparations before coming. She took out tongs from the small kitchen, prying away the thick layer of dust. Then, she took out a small shovel, steadily uprooting the wild grass.
The intactness of this floor was actually good news, as it indicated that so long as no one discovered that dagger after the fire, no one had found this floor tile later on either.
The sound of weeding was a bit loud, so she looked up; fortunately, there was no one around, and with rumors of "ghosts" here, locals would unlikely co over even if soone lived nearby.
Thinking of this, Fu Zhen felt indignant—always ghosts, yet many people are scarier than ghosts!
Fu Zhen rembered that above here once hung portraits of her two older brothers.
Liang Qin only left behind one son, Liang Chen, while Liang Jun also had just one son, Liang Zhi.
The two portraits were created by the court painter on the emperor’s order, extrely lifelike and close to the appearance of her brothers in life. Yet, they were all burned in the fire started by that beast, Xu Yin.
The vegetation thriving here and the peach blossoms blooming so lavishly; perhaps it’s Liang Ning’s bones that have beco the fertilizer?
Anger and hatred spurred her to quicken her pace, rapidly severing the grassroots to reveal the bricks beneath.
Fu Zhen was elated, clearing the soil in a few motions, and then pried away several tiles!
—Indeed, it’s exactly the sa as she rembered!
The pattern of these floor tiles was still fresh in her mory!
It appeared truly undiscovered!
From Xu Yin’s perspective, calling soone from the Court of Judicial Review to investigate was essential at the ti, but the office’s need to close the case promptly was also crucial for him.
So possibly due to Xu Yin’s interference, the investigators didn’t detect this location.
Of course, the average person would never think that a dagger was buried underground...
Digging about a foot below the tiles, the tip of the shovel hit sothing hard!
Fu Zhen, exhilarated, sped up her actions, and soon she pulled out a foot-long small box.
Under the bright white moonlight, the narrow box with its sculpted surfaces ca into view!
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