treacherous world

Yinhou and Tianzun's proposal was serious, but Zhao Pu was embarrassed, "Dali royal family..."

"Hello." Gongsun poked him, "The Duan family of Dali seems to have always had a good relationship with Song Dynasty. They respect you very much, so they should know everything. If he doesn't know, someone else must know. "

Zhao Pu rubbed his chin as if thinking about something, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, and asked him puzzled, "What's the problem?"

"Hey, Duan Sulong is famous for his sincere face to the Buddha and his disregard of government affairs. I don't know if we can talk to him." Zhao Pu frowned, "Besides, he should be in a certain temple right now. It is not easy for Gao Zhisheng and Dong Jialuo to be found, and it is not easy to meet him."

"That's right." Gongsun nodded.

"Boss Pan is Gao Zhisheng's brother-in-law, and the owner of the Erhai Palace seems to be a relative of Dong Jialuo." Zhe Ying investigated the backgrounds of several people before, and was a little suspicious, "I asked, and Dong Jialuo and Gao Zhisheng are also powerful. The government and the opposition, the two have been apart for a long time."

"I've also heard the emperor mention this matter." Zhao Pu thought for a while, "Duan Sulong is very likely to get the seat of Zen because of his devotion to the Buddha. Both Gao Zhisheng and Dong Jialuo are interested in competing for the seat."

"The Duan family doesn't have any other descendants?" Zhan Zhao wondered, "Why do you give up your position to the courtiers?"

"The whole family is devoted to Buddha, and Duan Sulong inherited the throne from his uncle Duan Sulian." Zhao Pu calculated, "He lived a life of Qingxiu, he had no heirs, only a nephew, what's his name?"

"Duan Suzhen." Zhe Ying helped answer.

"You can see that these emperors' names are devout to the Buddha, only vegetarian but not meat." Bai Yutang shook his head, "He may not know about the two families, right?"

"That's not necessarily true." Zhao Pu laughed suddenly, "Usually the emperor doesn't know anything else. It's natural for him to pretend to be confused and hide his secrets." Then what should we do? " Gongsun also felt that this matter seemed to have entered a dead end.

"Hmm..." Zhao Pu stroked his chin, looked at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, "otherwise, where is he?"

"The monks might know about it!" Zhan Zhao thought for a while, "Why don't you sneak into the temple and become a monk?"

Bai Yutang raised his eyelids, "Say it again?"

"Or sneak into the temple...then what..." Zhan Zhao babbled.

"Temple what?" Bai Yutang asked him with a sullen face.

"Miao...meow?" Zhan Zhao looked around and asked, "Did a cat meow just now?"

"Isn't it meowing?" Bai Yutang leaned over and whispered into Zhan Zhao's ear, "If you dare to cut a single hair, I'll shave the entire Kaifeng mansion bald."

Zhan Zhao pursed his lips and touched his hair subconsciously.

Bai Yutang called Bai Fu and asked him to find out if there was any way to sneak into the Buddhist hall and find Duan Sulong without being suspected.

After Bai Fu got the order, Dian Dian'er ran out to do some errands.

"Do you suspect that Duan Sulong was imprisoned by Gao Zhisheng and Dong Jialuo, not because he wanted to practice in a temple?" Gongsun asked Zhao Pu, "The so-called devotion to Buddha is just an excuse for him to protect himself?"

Zhao Pu nodded, "I've heard about both Dong Jialuo and Gao Zhisheng, do you still remember my brother Xing Huaizhou?"

"Oh! Of course I remember!" Gongsun nodded, thinking how could he not remember, if it wasn't for Xing Huaizhou back then, he would not have known Zhao Pu, let alone start this fate.Including Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao, if it weren't for Xing Huaizhou's case, Bai Yutang would not have come to Kaifeng, and he would have been fighting Zhan Zhao ever since. "Huaizhou guards southern borders and is very familiar with the royal family of the Duan family in Dali. He mentioned to me that Duan Sulong's uncle, Duan Sulian, was coerced by Gao Zhisheng and Dong Jialuo. Although Duan Sulong became emperor, he never held real power. Those two people have military power in their hands and use the emperor as a puppet. Moreover, he also mentioned that Duan Sulong is not as gentle and dull as he appears on the surface."

Zhan Zhao frowned, "This time the Erhai Palace and the Cangshan faction are in trouble. If the temple is involved, it will be Dong Jialuo and Gao Zhisheng fighting each other. This snipe and clam are fighting each other for the fisherman's profit. In the end, maybe the emperor Duan Sulong will be the emperor. It's the one with benefits, will Duan Sulong also participate in this strange case?"

"That's even better." Zhao Pu smiled slightly, "Both Dong Jialuo and Gao Zhisheng are ambitious, and whoever wins power will definitely cause unrest in the Southwest. If Duan Sulong really wants to get rid of these two officials and return to the government, it's justified , I don't mind doing him a favor, and selling him a favor."

"It's better not to be his fault." Gongsun poked Zhao Pu at the side, reminding him, "How many people died this time? You should think about it, if Duan Sulong has something to do with the young master and is so ruthless, I guess. , not as easy to deal with as Gao Zhisheng and Dong Jialuo."

Zhao Pu raised his eyebrows, what Gongsun said was not unreasonable.

"Knowing yourself and the enemy is more important." Both Tianzun and Yin Hou nodded, thinking that getting in touch with Duan Sulong would not be a bad thing.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other, but didn't express any opinions. The first problem now is that this Sulong didn't just meet him just because they met him. No one knows where he is.

Near noon, Bai Fu came back from inquiring about the news, and hurriedly said to Bai Yutang, "Fifth Master, there is a door!"

Everyone looked at each other, and looked at Bai Fu in puzzlement, "What door is there?"

"I inquired just now, and it was said that the emperor is in the temple!" Bai Fule replied hesitantly.

"Which temple?" Zhan Zhao asked, thinking that Bai Fu is so capable, he is really quick at handling things.

Unexpectedly, Bai Fu shook his head, "I don't know."

Everyone stared at him, Bai Yutang frowned, "How many temples are there in Dali?"

Everyone said that there are only a few temples, and it's a big deal to look for them one by one.

Bai Fu stretched out one hand and spread five fingers, "There are more than 500 large temples, and countless small temples."

Everyone opened their mouths, Bai Yutang looked at him, "Then where is the door you mentioned?"

"It's going to be Duan Sulong's birthday soon!" Bai Fu continued, signaling that the words were not finished, "So we're going to hold a ceremony to worship the heavens, and invite a big Buddha from Vientiane in the south."

Bai Yutang was confused, "Get to the point."

"The important thing is to find a little golden boy and go with the emperor to pick up the big Buddha." Bai Fule said with a chuckle, "The little golden boy must be similar to the white jade baby fairy boy sitting in front of the big Buddha!"

Everyone looked at Bai Fu in puzzlement, unable to understand what the point was.

"The point is." Bai Fu took out an embroidered portrait from his pocket, "Who do you think this little golden boy looks like?"

When the embroidered image was opened, everyone took a closer look and were immediately dumbfounded.

Xiao Liang pointed at the screen, "Ah, Jin'er!"

Gongsun pulled the fourth son over and put it in front of the portrait for comparison. Looking left and right, the portrait of the fourth son was exactly the same!

"It's crazy!" Zhao Pu took a look at the portrait and asked, "Who painted this?"

"This is a printed copy of an ancient painting." Bai Fu said, "It is said that it was drawn based on that statue of Buddha, and that little fairy boy looks just like the little prince!"

The fourth son also pinched his chin to look at the embroidered portrait, but Gongsun hid him behind his back, "They won't take the fourth son to sacrifice to heaven or something, or give it directly to the Vientiane Kingdom. I won't do it. Who will send it to you?" Who am I going to fight with if he leaves!"

Seeing that he was in a hurry, Zhao Pu quickly persuaded him, "How is it possible? It is clearly stated that the baby is borrowed, and the parents can follow it. It took only three days to pick up the Buddha statue, and the child will be sent back home. From now on, he will be a distinguished guest of the Dali royal family." .”

"So good?" Gongsun took the embroidered portrait and looked at it carefully, "You can follow the parents..."

"Parents..." Zhan Zhao thought for a while, and asked Bai Yutang, "When did you say how many parents would you go to?"

Bai Yutang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Let's have a family together."

……

Just after noon, in front of Jianlong Temple, the largest temple in Dali, an old man with a gray beard and three old monks yawned with their chins in their hands.

A stack of embroidered portraits on the table, pressed by a paperweight, flipped with the breeze.The temple at the entrance was crowded with people and the incense was very lively, but it was deserted in front of the three people.

"Prime Minister?" An eunuch behind the old man leaned over and said, "Where in this world is there a living person who looks similar to a fairy boy, why not just find any cute little doll?"

"Yes, Lord Prime Minister." Another attendant ran up, with a thick stack of portraits in his hand, "I think many children are very good-looking."

"No!" The prime minister with hair back waved his hands repeatedly, "The emperor will be furious for the crime of deceiving the emperor! If you say you want a fairy boy, you want a fairy boy!"

"Amitabha!" The three monks next to him also shook their heads, "You must treat the Buddha with sincerity, and you must not resort to deceit, otherwise you will anger the Buddha and bring disaster."

The entourage and the eunuch spread their hands, "But I've been looking for it for less than half a month. Seeing that there are only three days left before the grand ceremony, the emperor is in a hurry to ask for someone these days... Will we be punished because we are not good enough?" The prime minister also frowned, "Anyway, we can't lie to the emperor, let's think of another way..."

I was in a difficult situation here, so I heard a tender voice, "Father, what are you selling at the gate of the temple? Are you selling paintings?"

"Hey, there is a painting seller somewhere at the gate of the temple. Look at the old man holding a pen. He is either drawing portraits or fortune-telling."

"Shall we go to fortune-telling?" the child asked.

"Where in this world is there any magic fortune-telling? It's probably a liar. Look, there are still monks. Where can there be monks who tell people's fortunes?"

The child's father has a nice voice, but his words can be regarded as mean.

Sitting at the gate of the temple waiting for the "fairy boy" was none other than Feng Yin, the prime minister of Dali.Regardless of his age, the old man's status in Dali is equivalent to that of Bao Zheng in the Song Dynasty, and he is widely loved.Moreover, he is a man of great learning and wealth, and he is a great talent in the world, and he is said to be a portrait of fortune-telling.He was flustered by gambling because he couldn't get things done and couldn't pay errands, but now he was even more angry.

The three monks beside me are also eminent monks, they were accused of being cheated and abducted, how could they not be angry, they all raised their heads and followed the sound...

When he looked up, he saw a fairy-like scholar in white clothes with a little doll.Everyone was stunned when they saw the scholar's eyes brighten, and then looked at the doll.

The writing brush in Feng Chengxiang's hand slammed on the table with a "clack", and the ink was splashed all over his body. He didn't notice it. He stood up in a "huh", pointed at Xiaowa, "Xian...Xiantong!"

The scholar and Xiaowa are naturally Gongsun and Xiaosizi.

The two of them came to trap this group of people, and as soon as they saw that they had succeeded, Gongsun immediately tried to get him, he picked up the fourth son and ran away.

Prime Minister Feng was so anxious that he turned over the table and came out. He had no image, and chased after him, shouting, "Xiantong! Little Xiantong, wait!"

Gongsun ran with his youngest son, thinking in his heart, this prime minister is careless enough, much more sincere than Mr. Bao.

Every now and then, Gongsun successfully ran into the dead end according to the route that Bai Fu had studied for him in advance.

When the prime minister saw that he was blocked by himself, he quickly stood up and gasped for breath.

Gongsun held the fourth son in his arms and looked at him vigilantly, as if asking - what do you want? !

"First, sir!" The prime minister hurriedly took out the imperial list and embroidered portrait, and ran forward to discuss with Gongsun.

Gongsun pretended to read it, and looked at the prime minister, "You mean, take my son to see the emperor?"

"That's right!" The prime minister patted his chest and assured him that it was definitely a good thing and there would be no bad things. He also said that if you are worried, you can bring more family members.

Gongsun and the fourth son knew each other, and they looked at each other—it's easy to catch a turtle in a jar!

Early the next morning, at the gate of Jianlong Temple, Prime Minister Feng looked at the big family in front of him, his eyelids twitched.

The fourth son was overjoyed, holding Gongsun's hand, Zhao Pu was beside him, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were beside him, Xiao Liang was closely following the fourth son, Tianzun, Marquis Yin, and Bai Fu.

"How many... are all parents?" The Prime Minister looked at it for a long time, and his expression seemed to say, why are these parents all men, without any mothers, aunts or anything like that.

"Yeah." The fourth son pointed at Gongsun, "Daddy!" He pointed at Zhao Pu again, "Ninety-nine!"

The few monks around the prime minister didn't quite understand. Thinking about it, it might be "uncle", but they all said that the nephew looks like an uncle.

"Then who are these two?" He looked at Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang again.

The fourth son blinked, "Meow for nothing."

Prime Minister Feng also blinked, what?

Gongsun helped and said, "It's his cousin and cousin."

"Oh..." Everyone looked at Bai Fu again, probably a housekeeper, so Xiao Liang...

"I'm his elder brother." Xiao Liang said, pointing to Tianzun and Yin Hou behind him, "Grandpa and Grandpa."

Tianzun and Yinhou raised their faces to count their seniority - why doesn't it seem right?

"Oh, what a big family, haha." The old prime minister asked kindly, "Where's the baby's mother?"

The fourth son pursed his lips and hugged Zhao Pu's leg beside him, "Jiujiu is mother!"

Gongsun patted his head—my boy!

The corners of Zhao Pu's mouth twitched, Prime Minister Feng and the monks in Shenhou wiped their tears, saying it was really touching!It is estimated that the child lost his mother when he was young, so the uncle loves him so much as a mother, which is earth-shattering.

Zhan Zhao couldn't help shaking his head at Bai Yutang, as if to say - this prime minister is so honest, how could he lie to an honest person like this.

Bai Yutang also nodded with emotion - that's right, Master Bao is hypocritically honest, this is a genuinely honest person.

"The emperor is at Jianlong Temple?" Gongsun asked.

"Oh, no, it's in another temple. The old minister will take everyone there, but... I will keep you here until the ceremony is over. This is what Mr. Gao and Mr. Dong ordered. I want someone to know where he is and disturb his practice."

Everyone nodded to express their understanding, and at the same time felt that Gao Zhisheng and Dong Jialuo really had the power.

Therefore, the fourth son, as the little fairy boy selected this time, led a huge team of "parents" to follow Prime Minister Feng to meet Emperor Duan Sulong.

"Several, the accents don't seem to be locals?" Prime Minister Feng asked curiously.

"We are from the Song Dynasty." Zhan Zhao replied, "It's a coincidence that we came here to play."

"So it's God's will, haha!" The Prime Minister was in a good mood because he was able to do business.

Unexpectedly, Bai Yutang interjected, "For such a matter as finding a child, why should the Prime Minister personally do it?"

In a word, the prime minister immediately wilted like a frosted eggplant.

He sighed and shook his head, "Oh, it doesn't matter if you don't say anything."

Everyone looked at each other, and the old man seemed to be underappreciated.

Zhao Pu is funny, he has heard of this Feng Yin a long time ago, he is very talented, but it is a pity that he is sandwiched between the two powerful officials Gao Zhisheng and Dong Jialuo, so he must not have the opportunity to show his talents.

Zhan Zhao winks at Bai Yutang - cheat him!

Bai Yutang looked at the sky helplessly, thought for a while, and then asked the old man, "Dali hasn't been here for so many years, why is everyone panicking recently?"

Feng Yin raised his head and asked, "My lord, where are the people in Dali panicking?"

"Oh, I heard that there was a conflict between the Cangshan School in Dali and the Erhai Palace recently. During the meal, everyone was talking about it in panic, fearing that the fight would harm the people." Zhan Zhao chimed in, and the two began to sing together again.

"Oh." Feng Yin sneered, "The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked."

"why do you say so?"

"You guys don't know, Dali is only a small place, and the largest sects are no more than Cangshan and Erhai. However, compared with the Tianshan and Shaolin sects in the Central Plains, this sect is simply a punk who has learned some tricks and embroidered legs. It's not worth it. Let me mention it." Feng Yin stroked his beard, "There are people behind the Cangshan Mountains and Erhai Lake. This time it is not a struggle between the rivers and lakes, but a battle between temples... Dali has no rivers and lakes, only official circles."

In a word, it confirmed Zhan Zhao's previous guess.

After Feng Yin finished speaking, he shook his head again, "Oh, if you don't say it, you will be very angry when you say it."

Everyone left Jianlong Temple, walked westward, turned through several streets and alleys, came to the outskirts, walked through the forest and crossed several bridges, it was almost dark, and finally arrived in front of a small hill.

The fourth son couldn't walk anymore, and fell asleep on Zhao Pu's shoulder.Zhao Pu stopped, and he also woke up, yawning and stretching.

Everyone looked up and saw a small temple on the top of the mountain, surrounded by bamboo forests, very quiet.

Yin Hou asked, "Is the emperor living here?"

"Exactly." Feng Yin walked a few steps quickly and led everyone up the mountain.

Bai Yutang patted Zhan Zhao, pointed to the side of the road, and dragged Xiao Liang back who had walked out of the steps.

Feng Yin glanced back and smiled, "This young master seems to be a person who is proficient in mechanism.

Bai Yutang just smiled, "No wonder there are no guards around, so many traps have been set up to ambush."

"This is also a last resort." Feng Yin smiled helplessly, and when he reached the top of the mountain, he saw several guards at the door.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang had a visual inspection - it should be a strong martial arts, it seems that Duan Sulong is indeed right here.

After entering the gate, Feng Yin waved his hand to the door, and the gate closed.

Feng Yin did not lead the crowd inside, but stepped on the steps, turned around, looked at the crowd, and bowed slightly.

Everyone was taken aback by his actions.

After Feng Yin saluted, his expression also changed slightly, from a little simple and honest just now, to serious and serious, he went to Zhao Pu, knelt down and saluted, "Ninth Prince, on behalf of the emperor, I beg you to save the people of Dali."

This time, everyone was dumbfounded.

Zhan Zhao looks at Bai Yutang—isn't he an honest man?Dare to pretend?She thought she had fooled him, but she didn't expect to be fooled all the way by him.

Bai Yutang also nodded - that's right, indeed all the prime ministers are flower bellies!

Hou Hou Yin poked the two of them, pointing to each other's eyes.

Tianzun nodded unhurriedly, no matter how loving he is, he must be more reserved, he has never stopped flirting all the way!

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked away in embarrassment.

Zhao Pu put the fourth son on the ground, thought for a while, and asked Feng Yin, "So that's how it is. It's a trick to find the fairy boy. You know we came to Dali, so that's why you did this show?"

"Your Majesty, forgive me." Feng Yin made amends, "If I hadn't been forced to do so, the old minister would not have made such a bad move."

"But it's been half a month since you painted this embroidered portrait, and we've only been here for a few days?" Zhan Zhao narrowed his eyes, "Is someone in Kaifeng reporting to you?"

"It's not someone from Kaifeng Mansion, but a mysterious man in black."

Feng Yin's words made everyone frown—who could it be?Well-intentioned, or malicious?

"We were at a loss at first, but half a month ago, someone gave me a letter saying that the Ninth Prince and his party would come to Dali." Feng Yin bowed to the sky, "It must be a bodhisattva, and the emperor also said that he can save Dali." For the common people, only the Ninth Prince!"

"Don't thank the Bodhisattva first." Zhao Pu helped him up, "You asked me to save the people of Dali? Why?"

"The emperor is inside, he told the prince himself." Feng Yin invited everyone inside, "Please, everyone."

Zhao Pu nodded and led the people into the house.

Zhan Zhao walked behind and suddenly asked Feng Yin, "Prime Minister, does the emperor live alone in this temple? Have you brought your concubine?"

"Hey!" Feng Yin quickly waved his hand, "Lord Zhan, don't be joking, this is a pure place of Buddhism. Although my lord uses the excuse of practicing to avoid the disaster of killing himself, but his heart is devout to Buddha, how can he bring his female relatives into the temple?" live together."

"Oh..." Zhan Zhao nodded clearly, and signaled - let's go in and talk.

Feng Yin walked in, Zhan Zhao sighed and looked at the door.

Bai Yutang lowered his voice and asked him, "Cat, why do you ask that?"

Zhan Zhao smiled embarrassingly, and spread his hands, "It seems that the bowl of medicine that the fourth son treats dreaming is not strong enough."

Bai Yutang was slightly taken aback, then looked at Zhan Zhao, and found that the color of his eyes had changed back to dark gold, "You..."

Zhan Zhao pointed to the door, "You definitely won't see the lingering hanged ghost girl in red at the door, right?"

Bai Yutang opened his eyes wide and looked at Zhan Zhao, and then looked at the door. Is there someone there? !But at this moment, he discovered something strange.

Bai Yutang stood at the door in a daze, and Tianzun was blocking the way behind him, and he stretched out his hand to poke him, "Yutang, hurry up, what are you looking at?"

"Uh..." Bai Yutang hesitated for a moment, but still walked in.

Zhan Zhao could naturally see that something was wrong with him, so he asked, "What's the matter?"

"Hmm...that door." Bai Yutang signaled everyone to look at the wooden door at the entrance.

"What's wrong with the door?" Zhan Zhao was puzzled.

Originally regarded as a little fairy boy, the little fourth son who had nothing to do now was dangling beside him with his clothes on his hem. Hearing Zhan Zhao's words, he also looked back.

"Oh." The fourth son pouted, "Isn't this fancy Dali style very popular?"

Xiao Liang also looked out following his line of sight, what the youngest son was looking at was the wooden door, the carved wooden door, and the paper window, which seemed familiar.

Zhan Zhao suddenly understood and was surprised, "How could this happen?"

Tianzun and Yinhou looked at each other, and smiled faintly—it seems that Zhao Pu said that the emperors of the world would pretend to be confused, which is too light, this Duan Sulong is really not a good person.