Red Mansion Rebirth: Ghost Phoenix

In the Buddhist temple courtyard.

After Wang Xifeng finished reciting the sutra, she chanted the Rebirth Mantra twice for Zhuqing, whose soul had already returned to the underworld.

Then, his heart of piety towards Buddha grew stronger, and he cleaned the dust from the incense burner in the Buddhist temple, dusted the scriptures in the scripture pavilion, and even swept the fallen leaves and snow in the yard.

Finally, after washing his hands, he went to the Three Buddha Hall and recited the Diamond Sutra again. He even invited a little nun from the temple who was so sleepy that she could not open her eyes, and taught her how to knock the wooden fish while reciting the sutra!

Until the moon rose above the branches, Wang Xifeng stood at the window for a long time, looking at the stars and the moon, and listened to the cries of birds and crows. Only then, at the repeated requests of the nun, did she reluctantly leave the Buddhist temple.

After leaving the house, there was no one around. Wang Xifeng stretched her body, moved her arms and legs, and said with a smile to Fuguier and Aner who had come to pick her up with a lantern:

"This place is great! It's quiet!"

An'er smiled, went forward and changed her into a pink cloak with silver flower ribbed satin and white fox fur lining, folded the rose purple one over her arm, and whispered teasingly:

"Look, in such a quiet place, you can still get your cloak dirty. If Ru'er wasn't afraid that you would be cold and insisted that I take this one, you would have gone back wearing a muddy cloak!

"If Madam Ji and Aunt Meng see us, they will scold us for not serving carelessly."

Wang Xifeng smiled and put on her clothes, then exclaimed comfortably, "My maids are all very considerate. When you go back, you and Ru'er will each be rewarded with two taels of silver!"

Fuguier took the opportunity to make a funny face and said, "Well, my trip was in vain! The master can't even see me!"

"Oh, you bastard!" Wang Xifeng stretched out her hand and grabbed his ear, gritting her teeth and scolding, "You fool! It's only been three years, and you were a skinny boy, but you have become as fat as a pig today, and you still dare to blame me!

"You're such a big lump, how can I not see you? I just don't want to bother with you! You can't even hold a lamp properly, you only light yourself and not the road, aren't you afraid of falling into a pit and dying!"

Fuguier groaned and pleaded for mercy. When his ear was returned, he approached Wang Xifeng again with a sly smile, "Master, what are we going to eat tomorrow? It's almost Laba Festival. Shall we prepare to pickle garlic? Otherwise, let's pickle some goose feet and duck intestines to eat with wine during the New Year?"

Now even An'er started laughing: "Brother Gui'er, your three-foot-three-inch stomach is filled with only a heart full of food."

The master and servants walked back, talking and laughing in low voices.

When they were almost at Yiqiu Palace, Wang Xifeng's eyes suddenly flashed and she stopped walking: "That black shadow over there, is it Wu Jin?"

Fuguier subconsciously raised the lantern and shook it. His body suddenly stiffened and the flesh on his face trembled unconsciously. Then he forced a smile:

"No way? If it was Wu Jin, he would have come running over here long ago after seeing you come back!

“It seems to be the shadow of a dead branch.

"Today, um, the moon is nice."

An'er looked at him strangely: "What's so good about the crescent moon on the fifth day of the lunar year? It's clearly brighter than the stars!"

"The crescent moon is bright!" Wang Xifeng threw the handkerchief in her hand at her, "Why are you arguing? He is right. If it were black gold, it would have been at my feet by now.

"Let's go. Maybe my eyes are blurry."

The three men continued walking forward.

Fuguier raised his arm and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Wang Xifeng caught a glimpse of this, sneered, and returned to the bedroom without saying a word.

As soon as he sat down, he called An'er, Ru'er and Fugui'er to come and receive their rewards.

After Fuguier received the gift, he walked away happily with his feet puffing.

Wang Xifeng looked out the window and "happened" to see Jing Li patrolling the courtyard, so she smiled and called him in: "You've worked hard, too, and you'll get a reward too!"

Jing Li took two steps back and waved his hands repeatedly: "I didn't do anything..."

"You have already done it!" Wang Xifeng laughed. "When we were almost home, we were frightened by the shadow of a tree. Then I thought, you are still in the yard, what is there to be afraid of!"

Jing Li's expression changed. He looked at Wang Xifeng's smiling face and cold eyes, and immediately understood. He bowed his head and took the reward, saying, "The inspection is over. I will go and lock the door.

"Please rest early, Cheng Hui."

Wang Xifeng smiled and nodded. After he left, she immediately yawned, "I'm tired and sleepy. I'm exhausted. I want to go to sleep."

He quickly washed and undressed, then fell into a sound sleep.

That night, Jing Li followed Fuguier and found him meeting with a man in black. The two had an argument, and Fuguier gave in after being threatened by the man with a knife at his throat.

Jing Li watched from afar, motionless.

After Fuguier quietly returned to the East Palace, he followed the man in black and walked to the northeast corner of the East Palace, only to see the man flash into the Eagle and Harrier Courtyard.

Only then did Jing Li quietly return to the East Palace.

The next morning, in Lizheng Hall.

The prince was called by Qinghai for a long time before he opened his eyes tiredly, with a dark circle under his eyes.

Qing Hai was startled and was about to call the imperial physician, but the prince stopped him: "It's just a nightmare. You'll be fine after you rest."

Qinghai hurriedly brought a bowl of longan, red dates and red ginseng soup to calm the prince.

The prince sat on the bed for a long time, calmed down, and then said, "There are many things to discuss in the court today, and I should be back in the evening. Send someone to tell Yi Qiu Palace to have Wang Chenghui come to Lizheng Palace to serve dinner tonight."

Qinghai bowed and agreed, and then reported in a low voice: "Jingli sent a message..."

"Is the fox's tail about to be exposed?" The prince sneered, "It's only been a few days since the lockdown was lifted? Are you so impatient?"

Qinghai closed his mouth.

"Don't make too much noise during the New Year. If you really can't, take what you can and send it to Chen Duo.

"Although he can't do anything, he is an expert at torture. If he were in the former Tang Dynasty, his style of cruelty would not be inferior to Lai Junchen." The prince's spirits finally improved. "It would be a waste for him to handle these minor matters in our family."

Qinghai was not convinced in his heart, but he had to agree with the prince and said, "How else can I put it? The most unfortunate thing is that he is still a eunuch. If he were a guard, wouldn't he be able to control the situation if he was assigned to the Ministry of Justice or the Supreme Court in the future?"

The prince glanced at him and smiled, knowing that this guy was jealous again. He did not intend to expose him. He just dressed himself, ate a meal, and went straight to the Daming Palace.

That afternoon, Chen Duo, along with Han Zhushi, Jing Li and several experts from the Criminal Justice Department, captured a falconer in the Yingyao Courtyard.

A young eunuch who was addicted to gambling was also arrested in the East Hall of Yi Qiu Palace, and several gambling tools were found in his room.

Wang Chenghui was furious. He first sent Princess Heke to the main hall to learn chess from Mei Ruoqin. Then he burned the Pai Gow dice in the yard. He then personally whipped Fugui'er, who was tied to a tree, until his skin was torn and he was dying.

"Useless thing!

"I tell you, if you have anything else to tell me, say it quickly!

"Now that we've finished talking, let's keep our distance. Go back to where you came from!"

Wang Xifeng was so angry that her eyebrows raised and her eyes widened.

Fuguier hung his arms, lowered his head and cried with tears and snot, and opened his mouth and shouted: "I want to surrender!"