The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 143: Survival with Broken Arm
The moonlit night was quieter than a dark night. The lights in the duty room in the backyard of the Southern Pacification Office were brightly lit, and the noise of games like finger-guessing and ordering could be heard from time to time.

The table was already littered with cups and plates, and several guards on duty had drunk so much that their faces were red.

Suddenly, the knocker on the back door banged loudly.

A soldier from the Southern Pacification Division started to curse: "Damn it! It's so late and you won't let me live in peace."

Another fan: "It must be those guys coming back again."

Another fan: "Who cares who he is, just pretend we didn't hear him and move on."

"Don't! The commander has been staying in the second hall's duty room these days, be careful not to cause any trouble."

The Southern Pacification Division officer stood up, picked up a bunch of keys and walked out. When he reached the back door, he deliberately asked loudly, "Who is it?"

An impatient voice came from outside the door: "What are you wasting time talking about? Open the door!"

"A bunch of beheaders will die outside sooner or later."

The man cursed and grumbled under his breath while he unlocked the door and opened it.

A sturdy man in night clothes walked in and went straight to the front yard.

The guy looked at his disappearing back, raised his head and spat on the ground, cursing, "Son of a bitch!" Then he glanced outside the door and closed it.

A dark shadow tiptoed along the wall to the back door, took a look through the crack in the door, and then walked along the wall again.

In the second hall's duty room, Captain Qiu was sleeping in an armchair with his head tilted to one side and his clothes on.

A captain from the Southern Pacification Division walked in quickly, walked up to Captain Qiu and whispered, "Commander-in-chief! Commander-in-chief!"

Captain Qiu shuddered and woke up from his dream: "What's wrong? Any news?"

The captain said: "The people who followed the young master are back."

Captain Qiu was cheered up: "Quick, let him in."

The captain said, “Yes.” Then he turned and walked out.

After a while, the man strode in and knelt down before Captain Qiu: "Greetings, Commander!"

Captain Qiu: "How is it?"

The man said: "Commander-in-chief, the carriage has appeared again."

Captain Qiu asked anxiously, "Are you sure this time?"

The man said, "After careful confirmation, it is that carriage. Fortunately, we prepared in advance and had people waiting at every intersection, so we were able to find the general location of the carriage."

"it is good!"

Captain Qiu stood up from his chair and paced back and forth in the duty room. His efforts over the past few months had not been in vain, and his hard work had finally paid off.

After leaving King Zhongshun, he personally led his confidants to wait outside the Daxiangguo Temple. It would have been fine if he hadn't checked, but when he did, he was shocked to find that this pure Buddhist place had become a den of filth and dirt.

In the past few months, many missing cases have occurred in the capital. The murderer behind the scenes is the monk from Daxiangguo Temple. The missing persons appear to be ordinary people, but in fact they are all the leaders of beggars.

At first he thought these monks were chivalrous men who were trying to get rid of harm to the people, but as he investigated further, he found that they were not getting rid of harm to the people at all, but were clearly trying to silence people!
As the investigation deepened, he became more and more convinced that there was a big fish behind this!

In order to catch this big fish, he remained silent and even did not report the rumor that Jia Zhen was having an affair to the emperor even though he knew it was these people who were secretly spreading it.

This carriage only appears a few times in the middle of each month. Tonight is the first time, and we can close the net in the next few days!
Captain Qiu adjusted his mood and asked the man again, "You haven't been discovered, have you? Where is your young master?"

The man said: "No. The young master and his friends stayed in an inn nearby."

Captain Qiu: "Okay, go down and rest."

The man: “Yes.”

Captain Qiu walked to the door and looked at the starry sky above the courtyard, his eyes sparkling.
Before daybreak, a sedan stopped at the small gate at the backyard of Daxiangguo Temple. The gate slowly opened and the sedan was carried in.

The little door was closed from the inside again.

The Fourth Prince, dressed in plain clothes, walked into the yard.

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple was already standing at the stone steps outside the door with a smile, obviously waiting for the Fourth Prince.

The fourth prince quickened his pace when he saw him, walked to the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple, stood in front of him, and clasped his hands together: "Master."

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple put his hands together and said, "Amitabha!" Then he stretched out his hand as a gesture of giving way, "Your Highness, please come in." Then he accompanied the Fourth Prince into the meditation room.

In the meditation room, the Fourth Prince and the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple sat cross-legged on a cushion facing each other.

On the low table between the two of them, a Tibetan incense stick was emitting wisps of green smoke.

The fourth prince closed his eyes slightly and counted his beads.

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple looked at him with a smile.

The rosary in the Fourth Prince's hand spun faster and faster, and beads of sweat appeared on his face, which was gradually showing a look of sorrow.

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple placed the rosary in his hand on the ground and said with a smile: "Amitabha, if I don't go to hell, who will?"

The fourth prince suddenly opened his eyes, and the rosary in his hand suddenly broke, and the beads fell all over the ground.

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple was stunned at first, and then he started laughing.

The Fourth Prince's face turned blue and yellow, and his mouth opened but no sound came out.

After laughing, the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple said, "I have been waiting for this day for a long time."

The fourth prince blushed and hesitated, "I don't want to do this either, but the Southern Pacification Division has set its sights on this place and may have already obtained a lot of evidence. I really have no other choice."

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple smiled and nodded.

The fourth prince took a deep breath and continued, "Master, please don't misunderstand me. I am here to inform you to evacuate the capital and come back later. Don't worry, I will definitely build a bigger Daxiangguo Temple for you in the future! And I will confer the Daxiangguo Temple as a Buddhist holy place!"

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple said: "Well, I won't leave now."

The Fourth Prince: "I have arranged everything. After dusk, you and a few mages will take two or three trusted disciples with you. All of you will change into plain clothes and go out from Guang'an Gate. I have arranged people in the western suburbs to escort everyone across the Yellow River first."

After hearing what the Fourth Prince said, the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple hesitated again and said, "I'm afraid this is not a good idea."

The fourth prince stood up and said, "With you and a few masters here, the Daxiangguo Temple is right here."

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple also stood up and said: "With its reputation ruined, can Daxiangguo Temple ever return to the capital?"

The morning light shines in through the window.

The fourth prince paused and said, "Let me be frank. If we successfully destroy the Southern Pacification Division, Daxiangguo Temple will not suffer any loss. If not, only by destroying Daxiangguo Temple can we save you and me. As for our reputation, we can only pray for Buddha's blessing."

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple was stunned for a long time before he put his hands together and said, "Amitabha!"

Suddenly, a desolate bell rang from outside the door.

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple walked to the door and opened it.

A cool breeze blew in immediately.

The abbot of Daxiangguo Temple was startled by the wind and looked at the sky outside the door.

"We must leave today, lest we have more troubles at night."

The fourth prince walked up to him and said softly, "In ancient times, the Buddha cut off his flesh to feed an eagle. Today, the monks of the Daxiangguo Temple are going to die for the future of Buddhism. This will surely be passed down through the ages and become a local legend." After saying that, he walked out.

Looking at the gradually disappearing figure of the Fourth Prince, the abbot of Daxiangguo Temple knew that he had not told the truth and that Daxiangguo Temple would be destroyed.
(End of this chapter)