The story (II)

The story from a year ago. Xu Qi'an's mood changed from disappointment to excitement. Without a doubt, the story Hengyuan was talking about was mostly the story of Heng Hui and Princess Pingyang.

The events surrounding these two individuals hold the key to solving the Sangbo case. So far, the Demon Race has not appeared; only Heng Hui has stirred up trouble using the sealed artifact. This forces one to ponder: what exactly are the remnants of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons planning?

Sabotage? So far, there has only been the Pingyuan Marquis's family massacre, which had a significant impact but caused little actual harm. Heng Hui could have easily gone on a rampage, causing heavy casualties in the capital. But he didn't.

Sealed artifacts? If the goal was merely sealed artifacts, Heng Hui should have left the capital long ago.

"The case of Monk Heng Hui and Princess Pingyang has now overshadowed the Sangbo case. I have a feeling that someone behind the scenes is deliberately exposing Heng Hui to the light of day."

Yang Yan lightly tapped the tip of his spear, the energy shredding Hengyuan Monk's sleeve. His muscular arms contained immense power, but were definitely not those of a demon. This ruled out the possibility that the severed hand was on him.

"Heng Hui is indeed dead. He died a year ago. What survived is just a walking corpse. He has been freed. This is not some conspiracy." Heng Yuan looked at his junior brother, who was so close to him, his eyes seemingly filled with dark clouds.

In an instant, the clouds in Hengyuan's eyes collapsed, and the past poured down like a torrential rain.

Heng Hui was sent to Qinglong Temple by his parents when he was six years old. He was a child with a bright and Spiritual Qi look in his eyes, and he was immediately noticed by Abbot Pan Shu and taken as a disciple.

Heng Hui's early education was completed under the tutelage of his senior brother Heng Yuan. This burly senior brother, who had a bitter and resentful appearance, taught him to read and write, to meditate and chant scriptures, and also taught him the principles of being a good person.

He had a fatherly respect and love for this senior.

Years passed in the blink of an eye, and the clever little monk grew into a handsome monk with delicate features. He originally thought that he would spend his years like his master and fellow disciples, with only the ancient Buddha and the green lamp for company.

Until one day, he met a girl.

It was a bright and sunny spring day. He was washing clothes in the stream when he saw a handkerchief floating downstream. He instinctively reached for it, and then he heard a clear, melodious song like that of a nightingale:

"Master, that's my handkerchief, can you give it back to me?"

Heng Hui raised her gaze and saw a graceful woman standing by the bluestone upstream. She wore a lotus-colored long dress, had the long hair of an unmarried girl, and wore a plain face. Her face was pretty in the sunlight, and she had a pair of smiling eyes.

"Is the female benefactor a worshipper at the temple?"

"What, you're not going to return my handkerchief just because I said I'm not a pilgrim?" She put her hands on her hips, feigning a coquettish tone.

"No, no, this humble monk just finds you unfamiliar, lady." He explained as he offered a handkerchief with both hands.

"Hmph, all you do all day is bury your head in your work and chant scriptures; you have no regard for the worshippers."

How did you know, female benefactor?

"Because I've been following you for a long time."

On a bright spring afternoon, with a babbling brook flowing by, they met for the first time.

Their acquaintance and growing understanding of each other was a natural process.

When Heng Hui meditated, the young girl stayed by her side, passing the time by looking at the forbidden books she had secretly kept in her boudoir, or gently fanning herself with a fan, resting her chin on her hand, and staring blankly at Heng Hui's focused face.

Occasionally, he would tease him with foxtail grass, preventing him from concentrating on his meditation, which annoyed the monk. He angrily said, "If you keep doing this, I'll go into seclusion."

She always stuck out her tongue, and her apologies were never sincere.

Sometimes we would go hiking together. Baifeng Mountain is beautiful, and in spring, the mountains are covered with wildflowers. She would smile among them, and it was hard to tell whether the flowers were more beautiful or she was more beautiful.

Gradually, rumors about the two began to circulate among the monks of Qinglong Temple, saying that he was not pure of the six senses, had broken the precept against lust, and was a lewd monk.

Master Panshu stood before the Buddha sculpture and asked him three questions: whether he was still devout to Buddha; whether he had feelings for that woman; and whether he wanted to return to secular life.

He firmly stated that he remained devout to Buddha; he had no interest in women; he wished to remain with Buddha and never return to secular life.

The abbot had only one request: to stop speaking to her.

As for why he would no longer see her or let her into the temple, Heng Hui later learned that the abbot did not mean he did not want to, but rather that he could not.

She was Princess Pingyang, the legitimate daughter of Prince Yu.

From that day on, Heng Hui indeed ignored her. Whenever Heng Hui came, she would close her eyes and meditate, remaining unmoved by Heng Hui's teasing and pranks.

She arrives each day full of anticipation, only to leave disappointed and alone.

"Monk, isn't this flower pretty? It suits me perfectly."

"."

"Monk, may I play the zither for you? I brought it especially from home."

"."

"Monk, I'm dizzy and not feeling well. Aren't you worried about me?"

"."

"Monk, do you really want to isolate yourself in loneliness?"

"."

She finally stopped coming. She didn't set foot in Qinglong Temple for a whole month, completely withdrawing from his life as if she had never existed.

I can continue to accompany the Buddha, and no one will disturb me anymore. He breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his sincerity had moved the Buddha.

One day, she came again, looking lost and dejected, her face thinner and her expression haggard.

"Monk, I'm getting married."

For some reason, the prayer beads were scattered all over the ground.

At that time, Prince Yu was at a crucial juncture, serving as Minister of War, and with the support of the nobles, he was expected to enter the cabinet.

Examples of nobles and members of the imperial family serving as chief ministers are not uncommon in this dynasty. Throughout its six-hundred-year history, there have been as many as five people who served as chief ministers as nobles.

For the increasingly weakened aristocratic group, the rise of Prince Yu gave them hope, propelling him forward.

Prince Yu, who was in the eye of the storm, arranged a marriage for Princess Pingyang, both to find a good home for his daughter and to try to gain more support through the marriage alliance.

"Monk, would you like to elope with me?"

". good."

Heng Hui agreed. He finally saw his own heart clearly and chose to face his true self.

They began to plan their elopement. Princess Pingyang was always accompanied by guards. If she disappeared for more than half an hour, the guards would search the mountain, and soon the news would reach Prince Yu's mansion.

Therefore, in order to successfully elope, they needed a magical Law Artifact that could conceal their presence in order to evade the search and capture by the Warlock of the Bureau of Astronomy.

Finally, a channel is needed to prepare new household registrations for them and help them leave the capital city.

Therefore, Princess Pingyang sought out a trustworthy friend, hoping he could help her.

"He's the eldest son of the Earl of Pingyuan! That friend of yours is the eldest son of the Earl of Pingyuan?!" Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice, interrupting Hengyuan's story.

All this suddenly became clear. The Earl of Pingyuan controlled a brokerage organization that was most skilled at identity fraud and smuggling. Even if Princess Pingyang was unaware of the existence of the brokerage organization, it was reasonable for the two families, as close family friends, to know some of the Earl of Pingyuan's methods.

Prince Yu once said that the Earl of Pingyuan was exchanging glances with civil officials and was gradually distancing himself from the nobility. The Earl of Pingyuan definitely had a motive to harm Pingyang.

This led to the later massacre of the Pingyuan Earl's family. It's just unclear what role the Ministry of War's office played in it. Xu Qi'an looked at Hengyuan, number six, and thought, "You only concluded they were kidnapped because you knew they had contact with the Yazi organization?"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he didn't dare to ask.

After hearing Xu Qi'an's words, the several Golden Gongs looked at Hengyuan with questioning eyes.

"Yes," Hengyuan nodded gently, "The naive Princess Pingyang had no idea of the complexities of the court, much less the wickedness of people's hearts. A young girl with little experience of the world and a monk who chanted Buddhist scriptures—from the moment they decided to elope, their tragic ending was already sealed."

"At that time, the Earl of Pingyuan and the noble clique had long been at odds. After learning about this through his son, he immediately discussed the matter with Zhang Feng, the Ministry of Revenue War, and Sun Mingzhong, the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, and devised a plan to send Princess Pingyang out of the capital in order to strike at Prince Yu."

"Where is Princess Pingyang now?" Jiang Luzhong asked in a deep voice.

Hengyuan seemed not to hear and continued, "Human hearts are like snakes and scorpions. After sending the person out of the capital, the eldest son of the Earl of Pingyuan, together with the sons of Sun Mingzhong, the Supervising Secretary, and Zhang Feng, the Vice Minister of War, attempted to assault Princess Pingyang on the way."

"The two fought desperately, and in the end, one was killed and the other committed suicide by swallowing a hairpin. In order to cover up their crimes, they buried the bodies of Heng Hui and Princess Pingyang in the desolate mountains, along with the magical Law Artifact that shielded their aura."

"The outside world only knows that Princess Pingyang disappeared without a trace. Even if the investigation leads to Qinglong Temple, they will only assume that the two eloped. Who would have thought that they had died a year ago?"

Princess Pingyang died. The guards exchanged silent glances, their faces grim and terrifying.

Princess Pingyang was the legitimate daughter of Prince Yu and the niece of Emperor Yuanjing. Killing the princess was a heinous crime punishable by the extermination of three generations of her family.

Nangong Qianrou gripped the hilt of her knife, narrowing her eyes. "Since Heng Hui is already dead, why is she here a year later?"

This is also a question in everyone's mind.

Once a person dies, it's like a lamp going out; there's no way to bring them back to life.

"He's dead," Hengyuan said in a way that no one could understand.

"He died a year ago, his Primordial Spirit sealed in his body by Secret Method, turning him into a mindless walking corpse. What sustained him during this year was revenge, the deep-seated hatred for Princess Pingyang."

"If you don't believe me, take him back to the yamen and let the coroner examine him."

"Who saved him?" a man with a golden gong asked.

Hengyuan shook his head.

The man with the golden gong exchanged glances with Yang Yan and the others, then said, "Where is Princess Pingyang's body? Take us there."

He paused, then instructed the silver-clad officials around him, "Take Heng Hui's body back to the yamen."

Several men escorted Hengyuan away from the courtyard, gave him a horse, and the group left the city in a grand procession.

Xu Qi'an, mounted on horseback, felt a heavy heart. He remained silent for a long time before finally whispering, "Is that Hengyuan? Is it possible that he has been possessed or controlled?"

The gray cat perched lazily on his shoulder said, "It's Hengyuan, no doubt. Heh, although I can't read auras, I have my own ways of distinguishing the real from the fake."

"Is Heng Hui really dead?" Xu Qi'an was skeptical.

"His life or death isn't the key to the case," Gray Cat whispered. "He was just a puppet. With the mastermind gone, his life or death is no longer important to the people behind it. You should be glad; the case was solved easier than you thought."

"I really can't be happy. Heng Hui and Princess Pingyang are both pitiful people." Xu Qi'an tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that was not genuine.

He sighed and changed the subject, "There's something wrong with Heng Hui's case; it's like someone behind the scenes deliberately pushed it into the spotlight."

At the border of Taikang County and Changle County, on a desolate mountain, Hengyuan trekked along, glancing around as if searching for something.

The process was inefficient and slow. He told the Jinluo men that Heng Hui had only given him the general location and that Princess Pingyang was buried at the base of an old locust tree that would take three people to encircle.

The golden and silver gong players spread out around Hengyuan, surrounding him in the center to prevent him from escaping.

Half an hour later, they found the old locust tree. The three silver-robed men cut down the bushes and weeds under the tree, used their swords as shovels, and dug for a while. The black soil vaguely revealed white bones.

"My lord, we've found it!" Silver Gong shouted excitedly as he turned around.

"Dig it out!" Nangong Qianrou said in a deep voice.

Princess Pingyang's remains were gradually exposed to the public. After more than a year, she finally reappeared in the light of day.

The flesh had decayed, leaving only a skeleton with tattered strips of cloth clinging to it, presumably the clothes it wore before death. In addition, a dull-colored gold hairpin was found between the throat and chest/abdomen of the skeleton.

As Hengyuan said, she committed suicide by swallowing a hairpin.

"Amitabha." Hengyuan couldn't bear to watch any longer, closed his eyes, and solemnly chanted the Buddha's name.

"Without anything else, there's no way to prove that this skeleton definitely belongs to Princess Pingyang," Jiang Luzhong frowned.

"That's normal." Amid the contemplation of the Jinluo members, Xu Qi'an walked to the locust tree and said, "Princess Pingyang and her lover eloped, so they definitely needed to disguise themselves. They wouldn't carry any valuables that would attract attention."

"First, prepare the remains for burial and bring them back to the yamen. Then, send someone to inform Prince Yu's residence; perhaps Prince Yu will recognize this hairpin."

After the remains were properly disposed of, the group headed out of the mountain. Jiang Luzhong patted Xu Qi'an on the shoulder. "Well done."

The usually taciturn Yang Yan nodded slightly and, unusually, said, "You deserve the most credit for this case. Even if the truth of the Sangbo case is never fully revealed, His Majesty will most likely pardon you."

Just as Xu Qi'an was about to speak, he felt as if a knife had slashed his back.

He didn't need to turn around to know that the sharp gaze came from Zhu Jinluo.

PS: I'm so relieved to finally finish the Sangbo case today.

Hey everyone, please help me find the typos! I'm going to keep working like crazy on Chapter Two.