"Why doesn't Master Xu Lian come?" Pei Tan looked at them. The one who died was the abbot's beloved disciple, but only this group of young monks were sad.

  The head monk said, "The abbot's closed-door meditation on Buddhist scriptures was not something you could see just because you wanted to. You should know that even when Your Majesty brought the empress and consorts to visit in person, it did not disrupt the abbot's practice."

  To put it simply, I still look down on Dali Temple. Nothing can interrupt Master Xuanyuan's quiet cultivation.

  Just as they were at an impasse, a young monk rushed in from outside the temple and bowed to everyone present, saying: "The abbot has just sent word that he would like to see the donors who came with Da Li Temple."

  The monk glared at the little monk: "Who secretly informed the abbot?"

  The little monk lowered his head.

  Jing Wan'er couldn't help but find it amusing at this moment, thinking that if their Master Xuanlian was indeed the number one divine monk of the Tang Dynasty, even if he were in seclusion, how could he possibly be unaware of what was happening in this mundane world.

  The little monk said again: "Please ask all donors to follow me immediately to see the abbot."

  Those monks and Xuan Tai didn't dare block them again.

  Master Xuánlián's abbot chamber was in the direction of the entire Qinglong Temple "Tianyuan Difang", with the martial monks closely following behind Pei Tan, as if the dignified Master of the Great Li Temple had already become a criminal in their eyes.

  Outside the Fangzhang room, Pei Tan took off his official outer garment and handed it over to Pei Shiwei standing beside him.

  "You stay here." Pei Tan looked at him. Out of reverence for the Buddha, Pei's guards had secretly brought weapons into the temple, already arousing hostility, and it was clearly not the time to further inflame tensions.

  Xuan Tai saw an opportunity and stretched out his hand to stop Jing Yuane.

  Jing Wan'er coldly looked at him: "What do you want?" Now that things had come to this, she was no longer afraid.

  Xuan Tai coldly glanced at her and said, "This is the pure chamber of the temple's successive abbots, how can it be trodden by a woman like you?"

  The little monk who led the way turned around and said, "The abbot's original words were to let Temple Master Pei and this young lady go together to meet each other."

  If Xuanlian doesn't want to see him, there's no need to emphasize it specially.

  Xuan Tai seemed skeptical: "Master, why must you see this woman?"

  Jing Wan'er didn't care about Wu Seng's gloomy face at all, and directly brushed past him, walking towards the main hall.

  In the quiet and cool air of the temple, the only one dressed in simple monk's robes was the abbot of this temple, Xuanlian.

  Jing Wanyi had wandered all the way to Chang'an, she knew that on the entire land of the Great Tang, there were also many foreign cultivators. The only way to distinguish them was by their clothes. White clothes represented the cultivator's desirelessness, emptiness of the four elements, as if this would isolate them from the filth of this world.

  Master Xuanyuan's gaze, seemingly light, fell on Pei Tan's body. He knew that this young man was the one who was currently the most popular in Chang'an City, the Temple of Great Wisdom. In the history of the Tang Dynasty, there seemed to be no precedent for a weak and gentle noble like him to take charge of the Temple of Great Wisdom.

  "Master Pei Shi." Xuan Lian spoke up, the abbot of this famous temple in the Tang Dynasty, was surprisingly very calm.

  Jing Wan'er, even with her unruly behavior, felt an inexplicable pressure wash over her the moment she saw Master Xuan Lian.

  Tan Pei made a secular bow to Master Hsuan Lien, and Ching Wu-nu also slowly followed suit.

  Looking at Master Xuanlian up close, this supposedly venerable monk who even emperors must show respect to, his aged appearance clearly exceeded Jing Yuanner's expectations.

  The monk who followed in couldn't help but say with a sorrowful expression: "Master, Hui Gen Shidi he is..."

  Jing Wantong wanted to observe from that face whether there was any sadness or similar emotions. As a monk who had already achieved emptiness in the four elements, and with the reputation of being the greatest saint of the Tang Dynasty, he should have already cultivated himself to be without desires or pursuits.

  Master Xuanlian slightly closed his eyes and said after a while: "Life is impermanent, birth and death are unpredictable."

  Moreover, there is no colder phrase in the world than these eight words. Especially those monks who were about to speak, saw Xuanlian wave his hand, and those monks immediately covered their expressions and left the grand hall.

  Jing Wan'er didn't say a word and just stood beside Pei Tan, observing Master Hsuan Lien. She wanted to know why Master Hsuan Lien wanted to see her.

  Pei Tan first spoke up: "I heard that when practicing closed cultivation, one must cut off worldly desires and the five precepts. Are we disturbing Master's practice?"

  The so-called five precepts, in addition to emotional love and hatred, also include abstaining from food and drink, which is the same as closing oneself off during this period. Master Xuanlian only drank water and did not eat anything else.

  Master Xuanlian's pale face was like the cold and quiet air in this room, only to see Master Xuanlian move a bead of the rosary in his hand.

  "Life and death are unpredictable, this is probably the fate of wisdom." Regarding the interruption of his closed meditation or the obstruction of his practice, the abbot did not show any emotions.

  Bai Tan looked at Xuan Lian and said, "But the duty of the Dalisi Temple is to uncover the truth." This was a responsibility bestowed by the Emperor, just like the certain responsibilities bestowed upon the Qinglong Temple.

  Pacify the people and protect the imperial family.

  Behind Master Xuanlian was a hanging portrait of the Buddha holding a flower, and Jing Yu'er saw this painting and felt as if there was a hand grasping her chest.

  In the pure room, time seems to have stopped. Perhaps in the Buddhist land, many worldly times have been cut off.

  The old monk's low voice said, "Twenty years ago, someone left a baby in front of the Qinglong Temple gate. Huiru was born with a wise and clever nature, and had an affinity for Buddhism. In twenty years, his understanding of Buddhist teachings has already surpassed that of the temple's elders." As for this only disciple under his knee, Xuanyan finally spoke out what he wanted to say. The emotions between his eyebrows were not without sadness.

  Jing Wan'er's mind once again uncontrollably conjured up Hui Gen's face, that kind of monk, can't even be considered a six roots clean out-of-house person, if he wasn't taken in by Qinglong Temple, he could have become any wandering young master on the streets of Chang'an.

  Pei Tan obviously had other ideas, he stared at him for a long time and asked: "May I ask the abbot, who is living in that attic?"

  The attic, bedding and indoor air are still warm. It can be seen that someone has been living here all the time. Hui Gen died in this house, and the first suspect should be the real owner of the room?

  However, wanting to make a move within Qinglong Temple is not enough with just one secret edict from Zhongzong. Obviously... it also needs the true cooperation of the abbot of Qinglong Temple in front of him.

  Master Xuánlián said softly after turning a few Buddhist beads, "That side house is far away from the worldly moisture, it was temporarily cleaned up in the temple for the secular disciples to avoid the world and practice."

  Other temples will have lay disciples, but the Qinglong Temple was originally a national temple of the Tang Dynasty, who can easily enter the temple to practice.

  Guo Si... then naturally only members of the royal family can come.

  Pei Tan's eyes moved, and Jing Wanniang suddenly said: "That noble who came with the horse carriage yesterday, isn't he also the so-called Buddhist disciple that Master mentioned, who is avoiding the world to cultivate?"

  The girl's voice was delicate and clear in the empty grand hall, but for some reason, it couldn't help but reveal a hint of teasing, her eyes also fearlessly staring directly at Xuanyan's face.

  What nonsense about avoiding the world and cultivating one's nature, as the abbot of Qinglong Temple, Xuanlian must have already known what was in that carriage yesterday. For a moment, there was even some anger in his heart.

  Xuan Lian's plain and simple face was in stark contrast to Jing Yuanyu's elegant beauty. He had been the abbot of Qinglong Temple for nearly thirty years, making him the longest-lived and longest-serving abbot in the temple's history.

  The reason for this is known to everyone in the Tang Dynasty, but also unknown.

  What was unknown was that it involved a bloody dragon chair.

  Jing Wan'er retracted the corners of her mouth and calmly gazed at Master Xuanlian.

  Just then, Hsuan Lien turned around and slowly closed his eyes in front of the Buddha statue: "Does Master Pei still not know who he came to this temple to see?"

  This sentence is not only asking about Pei Tan's heart, but also the purpose of the temple that has been lingering until now.

  Bai Tan's eyes also slowly deepened: "...If the abbot has any guidance, please speak clearly."

  Master Xuánlián's expression was unseen: "Although the Qinglong Temple is in the Great Tang, outsiders have known that it has been built for over a hundred years. Being in the red dust, I don't care about the affairs of the red dust. This sentence, not only to my fellow disciples of Qinglong Temple, but also to me, is still an extravagant hope."

  Being in the red dust, isn't it that although the monks of Qinglong Temple chant the Buddhist mantra of "all four are empty", they still can't escape the shackles of imperial power.

  These things may not be felt by ordinary people of the Tang Dynasty, but Pei Tan, who came from a eunuch family, had long been able to understand.

  "Yu Zhang's former county, Hongdu's new prefecture. Pei Temple wants to know the identity of the person in that pavilion, and he should know that the one who was once named Tang's crown prince is Teng Wang Gongxia."

  The Great Tang Dynasty was a time when elegant and refined individuals emerged in large numbers, yet it is difficult to find even a few people who can truly be called the most renowned of the Great Tang.

  Master Xuanlian lit the incense and turned around: "This month is the anniversary of Duke Teng's death. In a distant land, there was once three inches of earth that was only for mourning Duke Teng... Prince Changle, who is Duke Teng's son from his lifetime, came to our temple half a month ago to hold a memorial service for Duke Teng."

  When the sound of Teng Wang's loud voice was heard, even Lin Jingyuan was shocked and couldn't help but be trapped inside. Teng Wang, that was the son of the great-grandfather. Who else

  Can touch, once the Datang pulse.

  His Royal Highness Prince Chang Le

  Great-grandfather and great-grandson.

  "Where is the king now? I should go and see him immediately." Pei Tan's expression became solemn.

  Master Xuanlian stopped his prayer beads and raised his eyes: "Since you already know who the noble person is, Pei Si can leave now."

  The implication is already so obvious, it's clearly not wise to ask further.

  But Pei Tan and Jing Wanyu both had a string in their hearts, which was obviously plucked. Perhaps the Tang Dynasty no longer lacked people who knew how to advance and retreat. As the son of the Pei family for over twenty years, Pei Tan was already familiar with the etiquette of advancing and retreating, until last year when he became the Minister of the Dali Temple.

  Dali Temple Master, no need to pretend to be friendly anymore.

  Pei Tan said to Hsuan Lien: "The Master's beloved disciple died suddenly for some unknown reason. The Ching Lung Temple is the second most important place in the Tang Empire, next only to the Imperial Palace. I, Pei, can only trespass."

  To put it more bluntly, the entire Qinglong Temple has now become a place of ill omen.

  Xuan Lian's face showed a momentary subtle fluctuation. This fluctuation also made Pei Tan look at him even more.

  The conversation just now gave Jing Wanyu a subtle and strange feeling, which had already appeared when Pei Tan asked about the attic. Neither Xuan Lian's words nor Pei Tan's words mentioned that Prince Chang Le was the suspect, not even a hint of suspicion.