The mistress is reborn, no one who bullies me can escape

Ling Yan looked straight at the abbot, without any intention of beating around the bush, and asked directly: "Abbot, I have a question to ask you, could you please help me solve it?"

The abbot quickly responded respectfully, "I am honored to have your presence here, Your Highness. What can I ask you?"

Ling Yan's face was as gloomy as water, and he spat out three words without hesitation: "Empress Dowager Hui."

These three words were like a thunderclap, instantly turning the abbot's face pale.

His eyes widened, his face full of astonishment, and he stammered to explain, "Your Highness, I am so sorry! Huangshan Temple has always only had male novice monks practicing here, and there has never been a female novice monk living here, so there is no Concubine Hui you mentioned."

Upon hearing this, Ling Yan frowned tightly, his eyes were as sharp as a knife, piercing the other person's heart, and he asked in a cold voice: "Abbot, do you know who told me these words?"

Before the abbot could answer, Ling Yan immediately said, "Before his death, the emperor specifically asked me to come here to find the whereabouts of Concubine Hui."

Hearing this, the abbot was slightly startled, his brows furrowed, and he seemed to be lost in thought.

However, at this moment, Ling Yan spoke again, his tone becoming even stronger: "Abbot, if you don't hand over Concubine Hui, then I'm afraid I will have to order a comprehensive search of the entire temple."

The host slowly raised his head, a bitter smile appeared on his face, he put his hands together and chanted "Amitabha", then shook his head and sighed, "Your Highness, since you are so persistent, if you really don't believe what I said, you can search at will. I just hope that Your Highness will not disturb the tranquility of Buddhism."

The prince frowned slightly and thought to himself: Things have already developed to such a point, but he still dared to speak so confidently at the time. Could it be that there really was no such thing?

However, the emperor had clearly explained the relevant matters before his death, so how could it be false?

At this time, Ling Yan's expression became more and more solemn. Li San, who was standing beside him, came back in a hurry and whispered something in Ling Yan's ear.

After listening, Ling Yan turned to look at the abbot and said, "Monks have always been honest and trustworthy and never lie to others. I believe that the abbot is an honest and trustworthy person and would never lie or make up stories about such an important matter."

Upon hearing this, the abbot clasped his hands together and nodded his head in thanks. At the same time, the Buddhist scriptures in his hands were still turning slowly and continuously, and he kept saying, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your trust and kindness to me."

The prince nodded slightly in response, then turned his gaze to the abbot beside him and said slowly, "It is already late now, and it will be noon soon. I would like to stay in your temple to enjoy a vegetarian meal. I wonder if the abbot would mind?"

The abbot bowed and said with great trepidation, "It is an honor for our temple if Your Highness the Crown Prince can condescend to have a meal in our temple. I would never dare to neglect you or mind you."

The prince waved his hand and said with a smile, "I know the abbot is very busy and has no time to accompany me for long. Go and do your work."

Upon hearing this, the host could not help but show gratitude on his face. He was deeply moved by the Crown Prince's understanding. His mood also became particularly comfortable, and he immediately took his leave from the Crown Prince.

But when he turned and left, Ling Yan frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice: "Have you really found out everything?"

Li San quickly bowed and replied, "Your Highness, it is absolutely true! There are indeed no women in Huangshan Temple. I have led people to search every room in the temple carefully, but I have not seen even the shadow of a nun."

Li San spoke with certainty, but Ling Yan's doubts not only did not disappear, but became even stronger.

He murmured to himself, "If there really are no women here as you said, then why did the emperor tell me that?"

Thinking of this, Ling Yan felt as if a huge stone weighing a thousand pounds was pressing on his heart, making him feel even heavier and more depressed.

As the saying goes, "When a man is about to die, his words are good." He really couldn't believe that his father would lie to him when he was dying. Besides, there seemed to be no need to lie about this matter.

At this time, Li San looked solemn and was confused by Ling Yan's questions.

After all, he was absolutely sure about the results of this investigation and firmly believed that his men would not make any mistakes.

However, what went wrong when things became so confusing? Did they miss some key clues?

Li San thought about it over and over again, and the thoughts in his mind were intertwined like a tangled mess.

Just as he was thinking hard, suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to him like lightning across the dark night sky, instantly illuminating his world of thought.

In an instant, he seemed to have realized something crucial, and his expression suddenly became serious.

"Your Highness, I have just thought of something extremely important!" Li San took a deep breath and said in a serious tone.

"Oh? Tell me quickly."

Prince Ling Yan frowned slightly, stared at Li San, and motioned him to continue.

Li San calmed himself down and spoke slowly, "Although we have found out from our investigation that there are no nuns in this Huangshan Temple, I wonder if there are some nuns hidden outside the temple who are related to this temple?"

Hearing this, Ling Yan showed a puzzled look on his face and asked, "Why do you have such an idea? What do you mean by this?"

Li San hurriedly explained, "It's like this. I accidentally heard a piece of news. It is said that the abbot of Huangshan Temple goes to the back mountain on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every month. Think about it, usually the first and fifteenth day of each month are the most prosperous times for incense in Lingyin Temple! However, this abbot is not in the temple to preside over the overall situation, but insists on leaving the temple. Isn't this very strange?"

"You mean, maybe there is someone on the back hill?"

Ling Yan frowned slightly and looked at Li San sharply, as if he wanted to see more clues from his expression.

Li San nodded hurriedly, and replied with a serious look: "Your Highness, this is just my guess based on some clues. As for whether there is anyone, I really can't be sure at the moment."

Ling Yan chuckled upon hearing this, but there was a hint of elusive meaning in that smile, "In that case, today happens to be the night of the full moon, why don't we stay and investigate carefully to see if there is really someone hiding in the back mountain as you said."

Soon it was time for lunch. The abbot came personally to greet them and then hurried back to his own courtyard.

When he was sure that everyone outside had started eating, the abbot quietly stood up, picked up a bulging bag, and tiptoed towards the back mountain.

Seeing this, Li San, who had been observing secretly, immediately gave Ling Yan a secret signal - a slight cough.

Ling Yan nodded in understanding, and soon stood up and left the table calmly.

After all, he is the crown prince, and no matter what he does, others usually don't dare to step forward to ask or stop him.

Soon, Ling Yan and his well-trained secret guards quickly caught up with the abbot's footsteps and headed towards the mysterious back mountain together.

The abbot walked and stopped along the way, looking back nervously from time to time, as if he was worried about being discovered.

Only after confirming again and again that no one was following him did he feel relieved and quickened his pace to continue moving forward.

Not long after, he hurried to a huge rock.

In order to make sure that there was absolutely no one following him, he first looked around vigilantly, scanning every corner with his eyes like a torch, not missing any suspicious signs.

After confirming again and again that no one was following him, he carefully reached out and gently pressed the inconspicuous switch button hidden on the surface of the stone.

Only a slight noise was heard, and then the heavy stone door in front of me slowly opened.

Soon, the abbot walked steadily into the stone gate.

Seeing this scene, Qing Yi couldn't help but widen his eyes, his face full of disbelief, and exclaimed: "Your Highness, I never expected that behind this seemingly ordinary stone door, there would be such a mystery. It's really a different world!"

However, after Qingyi calmed down and thought about it carefully, he felt that there was something fishy about this matter.

On ordinary days, when people come to Huangshan Temple to burn incense and pray for blessings, almost no one ever sets foot in this area behind the mountain.

Even if someone accidentally comes here, they will never go deep into such a remote and desolate place.

Therefore, if you want to hide someone or something here, it would not be easy for others to notice.

The prince nodded slightly, indicating that he agreed with what Qingyi said.

Then he turned to look at Qing Yi and said firmly, "Stay here and wait. Don't let anyone else get close. I will go in and check it out."

However, Qingyi looked worried when she heard this, and hurriedly persuaded him, "Your Highness, you must not do that. We don't know what the situation is like inside this cave. What if you enter it alone and encounter danger? In my opinion, it would be better for me to accompany you."

Faced with Qingyi's worries and dissuasion, Prince Ling Yan remained unmoved and still insisted on his own opinion.

He waved his hand calmly and said, "This place is so secret because the people inside don't want to see outsiders. If you go in with me, you might disturb them. So it's better for you to stay outside the cave and wait."

After saying that, he said no more, turned around and walked into the dark cave.

In the dark and deep cave, the faint candlelight flickered, barely illuminating the road ahead.

The abbot carefully pushed open the heavy stone door, and the door hinges made a dull sound.

He slowly walked through a long, narrow and dim corridor. The stone pavement under his feet was rugged and uneven, as if it led to the depths of an unknown place.

However, just after turning a corner, the scene in front of me suddenly brightened.

The originally dim and narrow road suddenly became wide and bright, and the sunlight shone through the cracks in the stones above, forming golden beams of light.

Not long after, the abbot finally walked out of the cave and came to a quiet and beautiful mountain stream.

It was the end of March, the spring was bright and beautiful, and the place was surrounded by green mountains and shady trees.

The crystal clear stream gurgles by, making a pleasant sound.

By the stream, peach trees are in full bloom, and the pink petals fall like snowflakes, adding a touch of romance to the entire valley.

After walking a few steps forward, I saw a woman in plain nun's clothes sitting quietly in the woods.

She had her eyes closed and her hands clasped together, concentrating on meditation. She exuded a peaceful and tranquil aura that made people reluctant to disturb her.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, the nun remained motionless, not even lifting her eyelids. She just whispered, "Here they come."

The abbot stepped forward, put the package in his hand on the ground, and said, "Here are your supplies for the past few days. To be honest, the temple unfortunately suffered a fire, and the number of pilgrims coming to burn incense and pray has dropped significantly, so there are naturally fewer incense sticks, so the things I can bring this time are really limited."

The nun smiled and replied calmly, "It's okay. For me, as long as I have a bite to eat, I can survive. Besides, there is still some food left from the last time you sent me. If it's convenient for you, you can bring more at once, so you don't have to make the hard trip every first and fifteenth day of every month. After all, if you go there for a long time, it will inevitably attract other people's attention, so you have to be more careful yourself."

I thought that after I spoke this time, he would leave quietly like he did in the past, but what I didn't expect was that... he actually stood firmly in the same place, with no sign of moving at all.

The nun couldn't help but frown slightly. At that moment, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked directly at the person in front of her. She asked in confusion, "This is totally unlike you in normal times! Is there something wrong?"

The abbot immediately put his hands together and said, "Amitabha, I know that there are some worldly matters that should not be mentioned to the donor, but the matter is urgent... someone is looking for you at this moment, so I can only tell you the truth."

When the nun heard this, she was surprised at first, but she regained her composure in an instant and said slowly, "I have already cut off my ties with the world and have long since stopped caring about worldly affairs. Please tell that person to leave."