'tap tap tap'
A burst of horse hoofbeats sounded outside Qingxia Temple, and then it stopped, followed by the sound of greetings from a group of government soldiers and officials.
Immediately afterwards, Xuan Shang saw a tall and tall young man, handsome as a brocade, wearing a fourth-grade official robe of the Tang Dynasty, a green scarf to tie his hair, and a jade belt around his waist. Surrounded by officials from Bailu City, he came from Qingxia Guan Guanmen walked in.
Xuan Shang looked at this young man with doubtful eyes. She must be the new prefect of Bailu City, right? It’s just that he’s really young.
And Xuan Shang's eyes were blurry. She was thirty-nine years old this year, but she always felt that the new prefect's appearance was very familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.
A person named 'Mei Qing' slowly emerged from her already vague memory. Only then did Xuan Shang suddenly realize, why did this new prefect look so similar to 'Mei Qing'?
Immediately afterwards, another name named 'Mei Xianzhang' appeared in Xuan Shang's memory. Xuan Shang remembered that the girl who was not afraid of being beaten or died, and who wanted to return to Kuixingyan no matter what, had disappeared from her memory. Been in high school for more than ten years.
Xuan Shang originally thought that Mei Xianzhang was dead, but when she saw the new prefect in front of her who looked so similar to Mei Qing, Xuan Shang's heart began to beat involuntarily.
This is all a coincidence, all of this is just a coincidence. How could she, a lonely girl, become the governor of the imperial court?
Thinking of this, Xuan Shang finally felt more at ease, and then she took all the Taoist nuns and personnel in Qingxia Temple to pay homage to the prefect.
"The grass people Qingxia watch Xuan Shang and pay homage to the prefect."
"Meet the prefect."
As the Qingxia audience knelt down to Mei Xianzhang, Mei Xianzhang, who was pointing his riding whip, slapped the riding whip twice in his hand, then directly walked around Xuan Shang and others with his hands behind his back, turned around and entered the main hall of Qingxia Temple. Inside, the officials behind him quickly followed.
The ignored Xuan Shang and others were full of doubts and surprises, but without Mei Xianzhang's order, they knelt on the ground and did not dare to get up.
The main hall enshrines the statue of Taishang Laojun, but the surrounding decorations are filled with a strong smell of powder.
Mei Xianzhang walked around the statue of Taishang Laojun twice more, and then said to the chief clerk of the Taishou Mansion behind him: "From today on, all worship activities in Qingxia Temple will be stopped, and all the statues will be moved to the Taishou Mansion for disposal. , and also, all personnel from Qingxia Temple were brought to the Prefect’s Mansion for review.”
When the chief clerk heard this, he was startled and asked quickly: "Prefect, why is this?"
Mei Xianzhang stared at the chief register and asked, "Have there been any cases of infant drowning or abandonment in Qingxia Temple over the years?"
The chief clerk was suddenly startled when he heard this, but he didn't know how to answer. He had been the chief clerk in Bailu City for six years, so of course he knew whether these things happened.
On the surface, Qingxia Temple is a Taoist temple, but in fact it is a "negative product" under the background of Taoism in the Tang Dynasty. Qingxia Temple looks like a Taoist temple, but in fact it does the same thing as a brothel. The Taoist nuns here also recite Taoist scriptures, but They recite Taoist scriptures not for practice, but for fun.
However, Qingxia Temple is different from ordinary brothels. It receives celebrities and dignitaries from all over the Tang Dynasty.
Since we are doing this kind of business, it is inevitable that babies will be drowned and abandoned. After all, you can't expect gentlemen to be responsible just for fun, right? Moreover, Taoist nuns also need to remain 'pure', so what's the point of carrying an 'evil'?
But I know that this kind of thing cannot be exposed. The Tang Dynasty strictly prohibited the drowning and abandonment of infants among the people. Not only the human court, but also the underworld punished infant drowning and abandonment severely.
"This Qingxia Temple is a Taoist temple. These Taoist nuns are familiar with Taoist scriptures and have benevolent hearts. They wouldn't do such a thing." The chief clerk said after hesitating for a moment.
"Haha." Mei Xianzhang sneered and said to the chief clerk: "You touch your conscience and see if it's still there."
After all, the chief clerk is the third-in-command of the Bailu City Prefecture, so it would be embarrassing for Mei Xianzhang to say that to his face.
After all, she was Tanhualang, and Tanhualang dared to beat up the minister in the capital. He had heard of her reputation for a long time, but he didn't expect that he would bump into her head-on.
Mei Xianzhang participated in the imperial examination and passed the imperial examination among more than a thousand outstanding scholars selected throughout the Tang Dynasty. This was already extraordinary.
It stands to reason that once you become a Tanhua, you should stay in Beijing and become an official, but Mei Xianzhang is a restless person. On the third day after finishing the roll call of Tanhua Golden Palace, she beat up the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs on Zhuque Street. Just because this minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs was old-hearted and used a semi-forced method to forcefully marry a sixteen-year-old girl as a concubine.
So how could Mei Xianzhang endure his violent temper? He gave full play to the spirit of "The Whispering Words" and was directly pulled out of the sedan chair by Mei Xianzhang on the way to court as Minister of Civil Affairs and beat him up.
This incident caused an uproar in the government and the public at that time. It was Yu Jiang, the prime minister at the time, who saved Mei Xianzhang. Otherwise, Tanhua Lang would have been deprived of his reputation, let alone an official position.
But Mei Xianzhang was idle from then on, and the court did not arrange any official position for her. It was not until later that the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs connived with his family to annex land and occupy fertile farmland. A loyal person who is not afraid of using force to punish 'corrupt officials'.
Therefore, it was precisely because of his good reputation among the people of Chang'an City that Yu Jiang arranged an official position as Nanzhou County Magistrate for Mei Xianzhang.
It's just that Mei Xianzhang's ability is too strong. He has been a county magistrate for three years and has achieved outstanding achievements. The entire Nanzhou people are praising him. Even if the high-ranking officials in the court want to suppress women, they can't. .
Finally, under the strong pressure of the high officials in the imperial court, Mei Xianzhang was suppressed for another three years. It was not until the memorials stating her political achievements could no longer be suppressed that she was reluctantly promoted. Governor of Bailu City.
"Chief Jiang is just making a guess, so why should the governor use sarcastic words?" The second-in-command of the governor's office, Fu Cheng, said at this time: "Besides, even if there are cases of infant drowning and abandonment in Qingxia Temple, There is no evidence, Governor, do you have any evidence?"
What Fu Cheng means is very simple. You have just taken up the post, so why are you in such a hurry to fix these things? Besides, since you just came here, even if infant drowning and abandonment really happened in Qingxia Temple, do you have any evidence?
But Mei Xianzhang just smiled lightly and said: "Evidence, I am the evidence."
"What?" Fu Cheng and the chief secretary were stunned when they heard this. They looked at each other, their eyes full of doubts and questions.
"Prefect, we don't understand what you mean," the chief clerk said.
Mei Xianzhang said calmly: "Prince Lin and Chief Jiang, do you know who my parents are?"
Lin Fucheng and Chief Jiang were startled again, and then they raised their hands and asked, "I really don't know this. May I ask the prefect, your Majesty, where is the mourning hall?"
Mei Xianzhang said: "My father's name is Mei Qing. As for my mother, she is kneeling outside right now. The one named Xuanshang is the master of Qingxia Temple."
"Ah?!" All the officials present were stunned at this moment. Even Lin Fucheng and Chief Jiang were surprised and looked at each other speechlessly.
Teams of government soldiers came in and out, arresting everyone in Qingxia Temple, not even a single gatekeeper was spared.
At the same time, all the Qingxia Temple was sealed, and all the Taoist statues were moved away and sent to the prefect's mansion for disposal.
For a time, the entire Qingxia Temple was filled with mourning, and everyone shouted that they were not guilty, but the soldiers did not listen to their cries, and all were taken away in shackles.
In the end, Lin Fucheng and Chief Jiang failed to stop Mei Xianzhang. After all, as a victim of Qingxia Temple, Mei Xiuzhang herself was the biggest witness and victim of some illegal things in Qingxia Temple.
Xuanshang looked at the scene in front of her with dull eyes. Seeing that Qingxia Temple, where she had lived for more than 20 years, was sealed off, her heart was filled with sadness and collapse.
What she wanted most at the moment was to find Master Ao Ren to rescue Qingxia Guan, but she couldn't do it because she was also locked up.
Xuanshang didn't understand why the new prefect targeted Qingxia Temple in this way at first, but when she was brought to the new prefect and asked the first question, she understood everything.
"Where is Kuixing Yan?" Mei Xianzhang asked, looking at the shackled and mature woman in front of him who was still quite charming.
Xuan Shang's whole body was shocked as if she had been struck by lightning. Her face instantly turned as pale as paper. She stared blankly at Mei Xianzhang and said, "You, you are"
"I am Mei Qing's daughter. As for you, you have never regarded me as your own daughter, so I don't have to recognize you as my mother." At this point, Mei Xianzhang pointed at Xuan Shang and said: " Is an old madam with no trace of humanity worthy of being the mother of a fourth-rank official in the imperial court?"
Xuan Shang was trembling all over, and her face became paler. Mei Xianzhang was sitting high at the head, wearing the uniform of a fourth-rank official in the imperial court, with a bright future.
And she is just an old and beautiful skilled woman.
"Where is Kuixing Yan?!" Mei Xianzhang shouted again, which only shocked Xuanshang into panic.
After a long while, Xuan Shang murmured: "Kui Xingyan is no longer here with me, nor in Qingxia Temple. You will never find him again."
Mei Xianzhang's eyes suddenly turned cold when he heard this, and then he stood up and said, "Take her down and investigate carefully to see what crimes she and the people in Qingxia Temple have committed over the years. Find out and judge them together."
Later, Xuan Shang and Qing Xia were taken to the Bailu City Prison together and were subjected to a 'Great Memory Restoration Technique'.
Five days later, all the crimes committed by the people in Qingxia Temple over the years were found out. Among them, 17 people had drowned or abandoned babies, and 23 people had murder cases on their bodies.
But what surprised Mei Xianzhang was that Xuanshang had not been involved in any cases in recent years.
Mei Xianzhang was still a little unconvinced at first, so he personally took someone to investigate, and found out that it was Xuan Changhou who had been selected by Liu Qingxia, the previous head of Qingxia Temple, as the next head of Qingxia Temple. After that, she started to clear her name.
So Xuan Shang only had a bunch of old scores between Mei Xianzhang and her father Mei Qing. After receiving this result, Mei Xianzhang seemed a little depressed.
Three days later, Xuan Shang looked haggard, dressed in commoner clothes, and no longer had the charming and romantic look of the past.
She walked out of the prison with a bundle in her arms, looked at the sun in the sky, and then walked aimlessly out of the city with a dull look on her face.
When she walked out of Bailu City and walked along the old road to Yanlai Lake without any conscious thought, she suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves.
Xuan Shang immediately turned around and saw a 'handsome young man' dressed in white and wearing a jade scarf riding a horse among the catkins dancing in the sky.
Xuan Shang was in a trance at this moment, and suddenly she went back to the scene twenty years ago, when she was in her cardamom years, and met the handsome young master Mei Qing at the Yanlai Lake. The young man who came on horseback in front of her looked exactly like Mei Qing. .
Suddenly, Xuan Shang suddenly woke up. It was not Mei Qing, but Mei Xianzhang!
'唏伦'
The horse stopped in front of Xuan Shang, then Mei Xianzhang turned over and dismounted, holding the riding whip and walked lightly to Xuan Shang.
Xuan Shang looked at Mei Xianzhang in front of her, and after a moment of silence she asked, "It was you. Did you let me out?"
Of all the people in Qingxiaguan who were imprisoned, she was the only one who was released, and she was allowed to take away all her belongings. No need to think that this must be Mei Xianzhang's order.
"Yes." Mei Xianzhang said: "Although you have no kindness to me in raising me, you have the kindness to give birth to me. On the premise that you have not committed any other crimes, I want to repay you for the kindness of giving birth."
As he said that, Mei Xianzhang looked at the bundle in Xuan Shang's arms and said, "Did they return everything to you?"
Xuan Shang nodded and said, "Give it all to me."
"Is this all your private money over the years? How much is it?" Mei Xianzhang asked.
Xuan Shang was startled for a moment, and then answered truthfully: "The silver note is six million taels, and all the jewelry is about one million taels."
"I'll give you a suggestion, exchange everything into gold and silver as soon as possible." Mei Xianzhang said: "The world will soon be unstable, and gold and silver are the most reliable."
Having said this, Mei Xianzhang said again: "What are your plans in the future?"
Xuan Shang was stunned for a moment, and then said with a melancholy look on her face: "The Qingxia Temple is gone, I don't know where to go."
Mei Xianzhang said: "Find a reliable person to marry. You have so much money. If you don't have a reliable person to entrust it to you for the rest of your life, you won't live long."
Hearing this, Xuan Shang immediately raised her head and looked at Mei Xianzhang in disbelief: "You said you want me to remarry?"
"What? You have been doing business in Qingxia Temple for a long time, and you can't save your face to get married?" Mei Xianzhang looked at Xuan Shang coldly and said.
Xuan Shang shook her head and didn't care about the sarcasm in Mei Xianzhang's tone. She just said, "I am your father."
"My father is my father, and you are you. You and my father have never even been married, so you are not my father's wife, and you are not worthy." Mei Xianzhang said lightly.
Xuan Shang felt mixed emotions at this moment. She was sour, blocked, and uncomfortable. All the glory and wealth had passed. She was nearly forty years old, but among those high-ranking officials and dignitaries over the years, which of them just left for fun? Who likes her?
Mei Qing, the only one who truly loved her, was abandoned by herself, and now she was finally alone, with no friends and no family. This must be retribution.
"Take this." Mei Xianzhang put a spiritual talisman into Xuan Shang's arms, "This is the amulet. Wear it with you. As long as you don't sin against those monks, this amulet is enough to protect your peace for life. This is my retribution." Your gift of procreation.”
After saying that, Mei Xiuzhang clapped his hands again. At this time, an old coachman drove a carriage and came behind Xuan Shang. Mei Xiuzhang said: "This old man turned out to be a captain in the government army. He is very skilled in martial arts. He is now You want to go back to your hometown to live in seclusion and take care of yourself, but he can escort you first. You can tell him where you are going, and he will return to your hometown after escorting you."
After saying that, Mei Xianzhang no longer had any worries, turned around, got on his horse, bowed his hands to the old coachman and said, "I'll trouble you, sir."
"What did the prefect say? It's just a little effort." The old coachman smiled faintly and returned the courtesy.
Mei Xianzhang said to Xuanshang again: "From now on, the grudges between you and me will be cleared up, and we will have nothing to do with each other anymore." After saying that, Mei Xianzhang turned around and galloped away without stopping.
"Mei" Xuan Shang opened her mouth to call Mei Xianzhang and say sorry to her, but when she opened her mouth, she realized that she didn't even know the name of this 'biological daughter'.
For a moment, Xuan Shang froze on the spot with her mouth open. The wind blew the willow catkins all over the sky, and also blew the tears on Xuan Shang's face everywhere.
The willows remain the same, but the people and things have changed. If I had known today, why bother in the beginning.
(End of chapter)
