Xuan Lian's face had the kind of pale complexion that came from years of vegetarianism. "Indeed, you are the Temple Master of Dali, even if you knew who it was, there wasn't a hint of retreat."

  Jing Wan'er looked at Xuan Lian and said, "Master, do you still remember me?"

  In this square room of about ten feet, there were no stinking monks, and Jing Yuanyu looked straight at Huanlian and asked.

  Xuan Lian looked at Jing Wanniang: "Does Mistress Jing still want to shave her head and become a nun?"

  Jing Wan'er's expression changed slightly.

  It's not just her, Pei Tan's expression also changed suddenly when he heard this sentence.

  Jing Wan'er pursed her lips and stopped talking directly.

  At this time, Xuan Lian looked at Pei Tan for a moment before slowly saying: "Perhaps this is what people often call 'fate'."

  Pei Tan was speechless; as a layman, he couldn't discuss Buddhism, and naturally, he couldn't see through worldly relationships.

  Xuan Lian sank into silence for a moment before speaking: "I have been remiss in my duties towards Your Highness, it is also the fault of this old monk."

  The sun has already shone into this ten-square-meter room.

  Pei Tan stared at Huan Lian: "Since the king is here to cultivate for the Holy Ancestor, why lock the door tightly? Could it be that this is also the king's requirement?" Would the monks of Qinglong Temple dare to lock up a royal prince?

  Xuan Lian said, "In Buddhism, when one closes the door to seek enlightenment, they must cut off all worldly distractions. On the first day His Highness arrived, he asked our temple to lock him in the Qing room, and every day only offer him clear water until the full moon on the 15th. Only after the Buddha's pure spirit has been cleansed will His Highness come out of seclusion again."

  Jing Wan'er's eyes flickered slightly. Today was the sixteenth, so yesterday was the day when Prince Chang Le said his cultivation was complete?

  Everything is too coincidental, but who doesn't say that things in the world are connected by coincidence? That room, no matter how you look at it, doesn't seem like a place for quiet contemplation.

  "Why did the King of Changle choose that place among so many Chan rooms in Qinglong Temple?" Especially since Qinglong Temple values its inner courtyard, why would a noble like him stoop to such a place.

  "I didn't expect that the building had been renovated under the supervision of King Xuan, with the middle floor hollowed out, leaving only a staircase. In my Buddhist family, this kind of place is meant to be isolated from worldly dust and connected to the heavenly spirit."

  This left Pei Tan and Jing Wanyu both speechless.

  "If Prince Wang has nothing to do with this, then who knew of his whereabouts this morning?" Pei Tan's voice was somewhat eerie as he stared at Xuan Lian.

  Xuan Lian shook his head and said, "The old monk has already told Master Pei everything he knows. Last night, Hui Gen came to the outside of the Chan room to ask about the time, and informed him that it was past midnight. He had already put the key outside the door of the attic, allowing Prince Wang to leave on his own."

  "Are you saying that Zi Hui left the key at the time and then came to see you?"

  Xuan Lian nodded: "Not bad."

  But those little monks outside didn't say so.

  "This morning, the young master in the temple informed Mr. Pei that since only Hui Gen had the key to the attic, they couldn't find it under Hui Gen's place, so they came to Master Xuan Lian to get the key."

  And the key has already broken off inside the lock.

  Xuan Lian said: "However, after midnight, Master Wang doesn't need to stay in the purification chamber anymore."

  When did Wang Yongle leave that attic? It's simple, just ask Wang Yongle.

  "Pei needs to write a letter to report the events at Qinglong Temple to His Majesty. Additionally, Pei needs to see Prince Wang." The officer from the Dali Temple, who had come to escort the prisoner, was faced with such a situation and neither he nor Xuanyan dared to take charge, they could only wait for an imperial edict.

  Xuan Lian slowly said: "The death of Xiao Tu, I will rely on you, Pei Si Kong."

  "Pei said after a long while: 'I, Pei, will certainly do my utmost.'"

  It seems that with the abbot's order, the attitude of those monks immediately became different.

  Just as he walked out of the door of the square room, he was about to return to the yard when a monk with a calm face and tone came over and said: "The temple master's residence has been cleaned up, would you like to go there now to rest?"

  "What kind of house?"

  That little monk pointed to the inner courtyard, "After the temple closes tomorrow, the outer courtyard will be filled with incense guests. The abbot entrusted us to take care of Temple Master Pei and his followers."

  "Arrange for him to enter the inner courtyard, it will be more convenient for Pei Shi to move around."

  It's all about making things easy for Pei Tan to investigate and get to the bottom of things, this is Xuan Lian paving the way for Pei Tan.

  Pei Tan said to the monk, "I still have some courtesy to pay in the front yard."

  The little monk said: "Please rest assured, Temple Master. We will have a young master send the adult's gifts and inform their subordinates at the same time."

  Pei Tan stopped talking and asked, "What about Wang Ye?"

  The little monk's eyes darted back and forth: "Your Highness, the king is in the front courtyard because he has been waiting for a long time and Temple Master has not arrived. The monks have already led the king to rest in the inner courtyard."

  But in just half an hour, so many things have been arranged.

  Xiao Heshang stretched out his hand and walked forward: "Please." Pei Tan only moved his feet then.

  Jing Wan'er walked and discovered that this Qinglong Temple... was actually another Da Ming Palace. No matter how large the scale, it was just a temple after all, but here the layout was strict, with the Xuanlian Dashi Fangzhang Temple as the center, and the surrounding areas were secretly in harmony with the Feng Shui land. Even outside the wall, those monks didn't dare to take a step easily. No wonder the monks they met before looked at people with such arrogance and had no casualness of an out-of-house person.

  The entire temple gives one a kind of suffocating feeling of being oppressed by absolute power.

  That little monk stood outside the courtyard, "This is the new residence of Temple Master. The king has arrived in the next room, served by monks with tea and water. Later, the little monk will send the master's luggage up."

  At this moment, Pei Tan had only one Jing Yu'er by his side.

  Jing's daughter looked at this courtyard and slowly didn't make a sound.

  "If you don't want to go, you can stay," Pei Tan said to her.

  In the imperial family of the Tang Dynasty, not everyone was involved in court politics, and Prince Chang Le had already been the son of Emperor Gaozu, no matter from his birth or experience, he was destined to never again have anything to do with the imperial court.

  Jing Wan'er hooked her lips at this time and looked at Pei Tan, saying: "Sir, do you still remember what I said earlier? This morning, in the Daxiong Bao Hall, I met a person."

  Pei Tan's expression changed slightly.

  Jing Wan'er continued to gaze into the courtyard: "Wan'er also wants to take a look at whether that person is indeed Prince Chang Le."

  The closed-door period of Changle Wang ended at midnight last night. According to the timing, Huigen left the attic and saw Xuanlian afterwards.

  According to the speed at which Jing Wanyan lit incense in front of Buddha, taking one stick of incense would be enough for at least two hours before she arrived at the Daxiong Treasure Hall.

  If Prince Changle stayed in the Great Hero Hall for two periods of time, it would be over by the hour of the Tiger and start at the hour of the Rabbit.

  Bai Tan saw that the young girl had already fallen into deep thought, clearly forgetting everything outside of herself.

  He said no more and stepped into the yard.

  The serenity of this courtyard surpasses that of other places. When Emperor Taizong ascended to the throne, he also stayed in Qinglong Temple for a month to purify himself. The place where he lived must have been even more elegant than this courtyard.

  In the courtyard, one door was open, and outside the door, a middle-aged monk was boiling tea.

  After seeing the person coming in, the monk slightly got up and saluted Pei Tan. Neither Pei Tan nor the monk made a sound, but exchanged several glances towards the inner room.

  Other temples may not have such an understanding, but the Qinglong Temple served the royal family, and they knew the weight of every glance.

  Pei Tan stood outside the door, his clear voice rising: "Dali Temple's Pei Tan, requesting an audience with Your Highness."

  In an instant, a soft and clear voice came from inside the door: "Come in."

  If you just listen to this sound, there is no ups and downs, and even half of the emotions can't be heard.

  Pei Tan glanced at Jing Yuanyuan and stepped up onto the platform, walking over. Jing Yuanyuan stared at the door inside, hearing her own almost-stopped heartbeat, she was like Pei Tan's shadow, silently treading on his heels.

  The room was spacious, but like the previous square room, there was no cover, and a white-clothed person leaned against the window.

  Li Xiuzhi turned his head to look at Pei Tan, he did not ignore the presence of Jing Wanyan, just as the rumors of Chang'an City's Long Le Feng Liu were spreading far and wide, he was even less like a prince.

  There is something on him that the overly serious imperial family has lost now.

  Even so, Jing Wan'er didn't have any shyness about meeting royalty, her clear and beautiful eyes caught a glimpse of another figure for an instant.

  Li Xiuzhi beckoned to the monk beside him and the monk came over with a teapot.

  "This is an unconventional place, all mundane etiquette can be dispensed with."

  This calm sentence stopped Pei Tan and Jing Yuanner who were about to take action. The monk brought tea over, placing it on the tables on both sides.

  "Thank you, Your Highness."

  Li Xiuyi said: "I just heard this morning that I will follow the carriage of the Temple of Great Wisdom back to Chang'an, when will we set off?"

  "Doesn't the king know that the Temple of Great Rites has come to welcome him?"

  Li Xiuzhi said: "I don't know."

  He said it so calmly, which made Pei Tan pause for a rare moment.

  "This morning, a young monk who was fetching water said that the people from Dali Temple have arrived at the temple and informed His Majesty to prepare for departure."

  "What does this mean?" Li Xiuzhi swirled the tea water in his cup and looked at Pei Tan.

  Pei Tan's expression remained unchanged as he asked, "What time did you leave the gate this morning, Your Highness?"

  Li Xiuzhi said: "It's not yet 5 o'clock."

  Jing Wan'er's eyes slowly turned downward.

  Pei Tan raised his hand and looked at Li Xiuzhi, saying: "This time the Temple of Great Wisdom has brought ten soldiers, Pei will let them escort the king back to Chang'an."

  Li Xiuzhi swirled her cup and stared at Pei Tan.

  Jing Wan'er stood up straight as a witness. She didn't think Li Xiuzhi would necessarily remember her, because whether it was in the grand hall that morning or now, Li Xiuzhi seemed to have never intentionally looked at her.

  Li Xiuzhi said slowly: "This king has heard about the matter this morning, and this king is also clear about Pei Siqing's identity. There is no need to be reserved."

  Pei Tan looked at him again at this time.

  Li Xiuzhi left his chair at this time, and the wide long sleeves swept a chill, stopping when he walked to Pei Tan's side.

  Pei Tuo lowered his eyes at this time: "Pei Mou bears the emperor's grace, serves as the Minister of the Supreme Court, and must stay to investigate the cause of death."

  Li Xiuzhi slowly lifted the cup in his hand, seemingly gazing out the window, and suddenly said: "If Pei Sicheng wants to ask, this king did not kill anyone."

  Pei Tan didn't ask, but he was indeed startled by these words and raised his head.