Azure Dragon Temple

After finishing the steamed buns, Xu Qi'an asked Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng to inform the rest of the team to gather in the front yard.

Xu Qi'an's current team consists of Jin Yutang, Zhenxietang, Chunfengtang, Chu Caiwei from the Bureau of Astronomy, and six constables from the government office.

A total of 24 people.

Min Shan and Yang Feng, the two silver gongs, were responsible for verifying the gunpowder production and usage records of the Ministry of Works, a tedious and time-consuming task.

Xu Qi'an was convinced that the gunpowder did not originate from the Ministry of Works, but out of caution, he did not stop investigating the Ministry of Works.

Today they were leaving Beijing. Knowing that the Sangbo case involved so many forces, Xu Qi'an followed his heart's desire and tried to take as many people as possible with him.

He went to the capital first, while the others were stopped outside the capital. The only one who could walk with him was the foodie Chu Caiwei.

This girl is a frequent visitor to the capital; she can come and go as she pleases, indicating that she holds a very high status.

"Did the Princess bestow a jade pendant upon you?" Xu Qi'an asked.

Chu Caiwei nodded.

"I have one too." Xu Qi'an took out the jade belt bestowed upon him by Princess Lin'an and proudly showed it off.

"She looks familiar. Oh, is she Princess Lin'an's?" Chu Caiwei exclaimed sweetly.

"I'm now Princess Lin'an's woman, and she really appreciates me. When the eldest princess didn't give me a jade pendant, she quickly gave me one, showing that she values me more than the eldest princess and that I'm more worthy of her trust." Xu Qi'an told the big-eyed girl about what happened yesterday.

"She's so silly." Chu Caiwei giggled, mocking Lin An.

"Brother, don't laugh at Second Brother. Where do you get the audacity to mock Biao Biao?" Xu Qi'an chimed in, "Yes, not every woman is as intelligent and quick-witted as Miss Caiwei."

Chu Caiwei's oval face and her smile grew even sweeter.

Before long, they finally arrived at the Prince Huai's Mansion. The title of the Prince of Zhenbei was Prince Huai, and he was also the younger brother of Emperor Yuanjing, hence the name of his mansion.

Two white marble lions stand before the gate, the central gate is two zhang tall, and the golden door studs are arranged in an orderly manner. The door knockers with the Jiaotu design are larger than those in the residences of ordinary princes and nobles.

Besides "high-end, classy, and sophisticated," Xu Qi'an couldn't think of any other adjectives to describe it.

A line of heavily armored soldiers stood at the entrance, their expressions solemn.

"I am Xu Qi'an, the official appointed by His Majesty to handle the Sangbo case. I have business with the Princess Consort. Go and inform her immediately." Xu Qi'an revealed his gold token.

A soldier glanced at Xu Qi'an and said in a deep voice, "The princess is not seeing anyone. Please leave."

Xu Qi'an raised an eyebrow, about to rebuke, when he heard the armored soldier add with a cold laugh, "This is also His Majesty's order. Even if the Eldest Princess wants to see the Princess Consort, she has to consider the Princess Consort's mood."

"Get out of here right now, and stop making a big deal out of nothing."

Xu Qi'an exclaimed "Oh!" with sudden realization, and laughed, "So the gold medal personally bestowed by His Majesty was actually a chicken feather. This person has disrespected His Majesty and committed a grave crime of disrespect."

He gripped the hilt of his sword with one hand and grinned maliciously. "I'm here to apprehend criminals. Anyone who dares to obstruct me will be killed without mercy!"

Clang!

The black and gold longsword was drawn half an inch from its sheath, and a fluctuation of energy emanated from it.

The guard who had mocked Xu Qi'an realized he had said the wrong thing and his face turned slightly pale.

The head guard glared at his outspoken subordinate and walked towards Xu Qi'an, the armor plates clattering as he walked.

"My lord, the Princess is not in the residence."

"Where did you go?" Xu Qi'an, sitting on his horse and looking down at him.

"I'm just a gatekeeper, how would I know the Princess's whereabouts? But she's definitely not in the manor. She just left the city this morning, only half an hour ago," the head guard said politely.

Xu Qi'an nodded slightly, his attitude firm, and said, "I am now arresting a criminal. If you do not want to be accused of protecting a colleague, you will help me capture this person."

He pointed to the armored soldiers who were mocking him as they left.

"My lord!" The head guard was anxious, furious inside, but dared not show his anger, and said sincerely, "The princess is indeed not in the residence."

The guards of a prince's mansion, who are usually treated with disrespect by ordinary princes and nobles, are not to be trifled with.

However, the other party held the gold medal and had also caught his subordinate in the act, so the head of the guards had no choice but to prioritize peace.

Xu Qi'an then believed it, turned his horse around, and left with Chu Caiwei.

"Our princess is quite interesting; even the eldest princess can't stand to see her," Xu Qi'an said tentatively with a smile.

As expected, Chu Caiwei remained completely unaware of Xu Qi'an's probing and honestly replied, "The Princess Consort's status is very special."

"What's so special about it?"

"It's a secret." Chu Caiwei smiled, revealing her teeth. "Don't pry into these things; it won't do you any good."

After saying that, she put on a stern face and warned, "You're not allowed to bribe me with food."

"Why?"

"Because I'm afraid I won't be able to resist," she said, sounding aggrieved.

There are three tasks today. The investigation into Magistrate Zhao's death yielded relatively accurate results last night. Of the remaining two tasks, meeting the Princess was not completed.

Xu Qi'an was furious at his unsuccessful start!

He is a meticulous and serious person when it comes to his work, and his bad mood is definitely not because he is attracted to the princess's beauty or wants to catch a glimpse of her.

Was the princess special? This specialness certainly wasn't about her looks, but something else entirely. If she was so special, why did Emperor Yuanjing give such a beauty to the Prince of Zhenbei back then? Or was it precisely because of this special quality that Emperor Yuanjing gifted the beauty to him?

Xu Qi'an was distracted for a moment before putting the princess out of his mind.

The case is already so difficult; we can't waste our brain cells on these trivial matters.

There is a mountain called Baifeng Mountain in the western suburbs of Great Feng. It takes about half an hour to get there from the west gate.

Baifeng Mountain gets its name from a white wild bird that lives in the mountain. It has long tail feathers, resembling a phoenix, hence the name.

However, the white phoenixes on the mountain have almost disappeared now, which is actually the fault of the Bureau of Astronomy.

One year, a Healer from the Bureau of Astronomy went to Baifeng Mountain to collect herbs. He caught a few white phoenixes on the way and took them home to study. He discovered that the flesh of the white phoenixes could enhance male virility.

Arriving at the foot of Baifeng Mountain, the well-informed Lü Qing recounted the incident with a smile.

Song Tingfeng's heart skipped a beat, and he hesitated before speaking, "Boss, I have a friend who's not well, and I'd like to get him a few white phoenixes."

Min Shan and Min Yinluo glared and said, "What time is it? Still thinking about hunting wild game? Business is important. If this delays the case, who will be responsible?"

Li Yuchun frowned but did not answer.

Xu Qi'an smiled and said, "The main reason for coming to Baifeng Mountain this time is to learn about an old story. It's not very urgent. Tingfeng, remember to go and come back quickly."

Upon hearing this, Min Shan said shyly, "Lord Xu, why don't I accompany Song Tongluo? That way, we can look out for each other."

Even hunting birds requires mutual support? Xu Qi'an glanced at him. "You have a friend too?"

Min Shan felt that all the men were staring at him with a strange look.

Min Yinluo was a little anxious, and after a long pause, he managed to say, "Whether it's an aphrodisiac or not doesn't matter, I mainly want to taste what a nearly extinct bird is like."

Everyone burst into laughter. After Xu Qi'an finished laughing, he said with a straight face, "I was just joking. The background of the Sangbo case is very complicated. I don't care where you go in the capital, but once you leave the capital, don't stray from the group."

The winding mountain steps lead deep into the forest, and at the foot of the mountain stands a huge archway with a plaque that reads "Qinglong Temple".

While Qinglong Temple isn't exactly bustling with worshippers, it's not exactly deserted either; you can occasionally see groups of local residents heading up the mountain to burn incense.

A luxurious carriage was parked beside the archway, guarded by more than a dozen armored soldiers.

Xu Qi'an recognized the carriage. It was made of Phoebe zhennan wood, and the details of the body were covered with jade pieces and gold foil. It was the same carriage he had encountered when he went to the Imperial Academy of Music.

The owner of the carriage had also asked Xu Qi'an to play the pitch-pot game, exchanging four hundred taels of gold for a Bodhi seed bracelet.

"By the way, Master Jinlian said that the woman in the carriage would have a connection with me. Who could it be? Golden nanmu wood is reserved for the royal family. The carriages of the eldest and second princesses are not made of this wood. Could it be a princess from the imperial family? Or perhaps, one of the emperor's concubines?"

"No, no, no, it's definitely not a concubine. Don't scare yourself."

Even if she were a concubine, she would have to be a beautiful woman of the auntie level, he added in his mind.

The horse was tied to a wooden stake by the archway. One of the yamen's servants and one gong-bearer were left to watch the horse, while Xu Qi'an led the Nightwatchers up the mountain.

After walking a few steps, Xu Qi'an's legs gave way and he stepped on a sachet.

Are we picking up sachets instead of silver today?

He naturally bent down to pick it up, held it in his palm and examined it. The sachet was embroidered with intricate cloud patterns, exquisitely crafted, and made of expensive materials, something that no ordinary wealthy young lady could afford.

One side of the sachet is embroidered with the golden word "" and the other side is embroidered with the word "Gardenia". The golden tassels are tied with beautiful thousand-thousand knots.

Xu Qi'an smelled a pleasant scent, like perfume, like sandalwood, and like a woman's unique body fragrance.

"Hey everyone in front, wait a minute!" A clear voice came from behind the group.

A young girl in a light blue jacket caught up with them. Seeing the Nightwatchers watchman's uniform, she wasn't afraid. Pointing to the sachet in Xu Qi'an's hand, she breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This was dropped by our mistress."

She wore her hair in a maid's bun, but the fabric of her clothes was better than that of the average rich girl.

Xu Qi'an subconsciously glanced at the luxurious carriage at the foot of the mountain. "Your mistress?"

"Don't ask any more questions, just give the sachet back." The girl's tone was sharp.

"What sachet?" Xu Qi'an put the sachet into his bosom.

"You—" the girl glared at him fiercely, "You just wait."

Lifting her thick skirt, she ran down the stone steps. Xu Qi'an didn't move; he stayed where he was, watching her approach the carriage and say something by the window.

"Ningyan, don't cause trouble. That's a carriage reserved for the royal family," Li Yuchun said, frowning.

Xu Qi'an was only investigating the case under orders. In Chun Ge's heart, he was still his subordinate. Chun Ge didn't want Xu Qi'an to cause too much trouble during the investigation. Even if he redeemed himself in the future, he might offend people he shouldn't have, and all his current efforts would be in vain.

You don't understand, that woman and I are destined to be together!

Xu Qi'an shook his head, offering no explanation, and continued to focus on the movements from the carriage.

The ending disappointed Xu Qi'an. He vaguely saw that the car window was open a crack, and the person inside seemed to be scrutinizing him.

He was too far away to see the dimly lit interior of the carriage.

The carriage windows closed quickly and tightly. A few seconds later, the carriage slowly moved away and disappeared into the distance.

It seems our time hasn't come yet. Xu Qi'an let out a sigh of relief, "Let's go see the abbot of Qinglong Temple."

A group of night Nightwatchers in their uniforms rushed into the temple, where they were immediately greeted by a steward.

The steward was a plump monk with a round face and kind eyes. He was in his early forties. He put his hands together and said, "This humble monk is the abbot of Qinglong Temple. My Dharma name is Hengqing. Please come in, gentlemen."

He led Xu Qi'an and the others into the temple, enthusiastically introducing the history of Qinglong Temple, claiming that it was a legitimate lineage from the West, practiced Mahayana Buddhism, and enshrined the Buddha.

Xu Qi'an's gaze swept over the magnificent palaces, and he waved his hand. "Summon your abbots; I have something to ask them."

Qinglong Temple is the only temple in the capital of the Great Feng Dynasty that practices Buddhism and Daoism. As the steward said, it is a lineage of Mahayana Buddhism from the West.

Xu Qi'an had done his homework before coming. The abbot of Qinglong Temple was a fifth-rank law enforcer, and he was more powerful than any of them.

But Xu Qi'an was not intimidated at all, because in the early stages of the Buddhist School system, people were not good at fighting, except for the eighth-rank martial monks.

In Buddhist School, the nine ranks are called novice monks (Śrāmaṇera). This realm is quite interesting. The core secret is upholding the precepts. If one does not break the precepts within three years, one can advance to the next rank. At first glance, it seems simple, but it is not.

Buddhist School precepts are strict and complex, and one may break them unintentionally.

The eighth rank is a martial monk, not much different from a martial artist, and they are very good at fighting.

The seventh-rank Dharma Masters and sixth-rank Zen Masters were not very good at fighting. It was only when they reached the fifth-rank Vinaya Master that they underwent a qualitative change.

It is worth mentioning that when Xu Qi'an was looking up information in the archives of the government office, he found something very interesting: the next rank after the ninth-rank novice monk was the Dharma Master.

They skipped directly to the eighth-rank monk.

The information didn't explain why, and with time running out, Xu Qi'an was too lazy to spend time studying the Buddhist School system. He only guessed that there might be two completely different paths within the Buddhist School system.

"The abbot is meditating and it's inconvenient to disturb him. What can you gentlemen say to me?" Hengqing led everyone into the tea room and ordered the novice monks to serve tea.

"Does the temple possess any magical Law Artifact that can shield the Bureau of Astronomy's Qi-Watching Technique?" Xu Qi'an asked directly, sitting cross-legged on a futon.

"What do you mean by that, sir?" Hengqing clasped his hands together and shook his head. "The temple does not have such Law Artifact."

"Master, monks do not lie." Xu Qi'an's gaze was sharp.

Heng Qing lowered his head, avoiding Xu Qi'an's gaze, and said, "Everything this humble monk has said is true."

"Does passing the ninth-grade novice monk realm mean you can lie without restraint?" Xu Qi'an asked with a forced smile.

Heng Qing lowered his head, ignoring the cold stares of the night Nightwatchers around him.

Nonviolent non-cooperation? Xu Qi'an was somewhat angry.

P. S.: The next chapter will be tonight.