After dawn, after being interrogated and tortured all night, the unconscious Wangfu Dianxuan (the person in charge of propagating religious orders), who was also the suspected messenger who crossed the wall overnight, was dragged down to the lake of flesh and blood for treatment; Feng Sima also came to King Pu to reply.
"Your Majesty, the suspected criminal An Guobao has confessed." However, at this moment, he was hesitant to speak: "I said... I said that I was ordered by..., Chen Fengyi, one of the crown prince's concubines; to repay your Majesty's life Daily life and private matters; are you running away after being surprised?"
"Chen Fengyi?" King Pu couldn't help being slightly startled when he heard this, but he remembered that among the relatives who had come to see and greet him, there was a fairly dignified and elegant woman. In addition, she seemed to have given birth to a son for the prince, so she was registered as one of the royal wives in the royal palace.
However, she was also the daughter of the former king's great farmer; therefore, she got acquainted with Prince Pu and his younger siblings at an early age; and she was forced to reject the original engagement after she grew up, and became King Pu's favorite. One of the concubines. However, the next moment, King Pu became extremely angry and laughed:
"Are you afraid that this will cause serious trouble? So what? Could it be that she is still thinking of going against the grain! Someone, the descendant of the throne, came to fast and bathe with me, as a way to make offerings to the Buddha. The lonely king is not many years old. There are withered bones in the grave, and the laborers are still spying on it? How filial."
Jiang Tian, who was watching coldly, was slightly embarrassed, but also a little surprised. Things are clearly getting weirder and weirder. This traitor who has been hidden for many years in Prince Pu's palace seems to have been involved in some kind of palace fight in the back house of the palace.
"Since this has already involved the family affairs of the palace, it is inconvenient for me to interfere more." So Jiang Tian couldn't help but stand up and wanted to say goodbye: "No, you are not an outsider anymore." King Pu shook his head lightly and said again. He changed his words and said: "What the lonely king means, please be a witness."
At the same time, Secretary Lang Yang Su also led a group of troops to break open the Jinminghuoyuan, one of more than a dozen large and small Zoroastrian Temples located in Liquanfang. Because this is also where the underground tunnel network with the exit of the secret passage as the center contains newly discovered traces of being excavated and then filled up.
Along with the exotic-looking painted door with withered flowers, it was slashed to pieces and cracked open. The sergeants of Nanya's left guard wearing helmets and armor rushed into the empty circular courtyard and pushed down many Zoroastrian believers covered in white robes, as well as the fire officials and priests in white smocks with red edges. .
Yang Su led the people into the Holy Fire Hall, which was open on three sides. Without hesitation, he stepped on the fragrant flowers, fruits, colorful silks, gold and silver, and many other offerings offered by believers; and came to the blazingly burning and filled with stone-fat water. In front of the big fire altar with the unique smell of burnt lake; full of decisive wave of hands.
In an instant, the several priests who were taken down on the spot in the hall were panicking and shouting; the sergeants carrying baskets of wet fine sand filed in, and then they were lifted and dumped on the ground, filled with into a large fire altar filled with grease; it was completely extinguished in a few moments.
The believers and fire officials who saw this scene from outside started to cry heart-breakingly and loudly, beating their chests and grabbing the ground with their heads. There were also people who tried to break free, but were responsible for suppressing them. The sergeant knocked him unconscious with the back of his knife and the barrel of his gun without hesitation.
This scene did not affect Yang Su's determination, because this was the instruction from his powerful elder and the secret envoy of the Imperial Privy Council, "Uncle Xiaoguo" Yang Guoguan. Therefore, the hardened sand that had quickly absorbed the grease was shoveled out piece by piece, revealing the smooth bottom of the fire altar.
Several sergeants with big muscles and round waists stepped forward, jumped into the bottom of the arc-shaped sunken fire altar, and swung their sledgehammers and struck one after another. They hadn't been hammering for long before the bottom of the fire altar appeared one after another, with faint cracks like spider webs and tiny cracks in the clay.
Finally, among the stunned expressions of the deacons who were pushed down and subdued in the hall, there was a dull crash, and the violent movement of falling apart first. After a brief period of dust and smoke dissipated, there was only a deep pit where the fire altar had been, and there was a faint sound of wind blowing.
"Finally found it." Yang Su said with an expressionless face, but felt greatly relieved in his heart. "Come here, clean up and investigate quickly." Soon after, a reply came from below the pit of the fire altar. This also means that the evidence of Jin Minghuo Yuan’s crimes is conclusive and that he did engage in shady activities.
However, a piece of news not long after made his heart sink again. Because at the same time, they went to Fangshi a few blocks away to capture Kang Shouzhi, the former Sabaofu Zhu who was once in charge of Jinminghuoyuan and the chief disciple of the local fanfang, but the other team came to nothing.
Because the other party had actually escaped one step ahead and set his own house on fire, causing quite a bit of chaos in the nearby market. After finally extinguishing the fire, which was believed to have spread to several nearby houses, new discoveries were made among the ruins.
Because, under the residence of Kang Shouzhi, who was an official worshipper of Sabaofuzhu (Liuwaipin) and a great disciplinary envoy, a sacrificial chamber that had existed for a long time was also discovered. In the sacrificial chamber, Hu Tian (Ahura Mazda) and the fire altar are not worshiped, but the Great Ming Zun/Lord of Light of Manichaeism.
This is a bit unbelievable and horrifying; Kang Shouzhi is a high-level priest in Zoroastrianism, one of the few officially certified Sabaofuzhu, and also a prestigious chief disciple of Tibetan Buddhism; in private, he is actually a A secret believer in teachings like Zumani and Damingzun.
You must know that as one of the three foreign religions introduced to the Tang Dynasty; compared with the route of kneeling and licking the upper class, Nestorianism, which has been allowed to preach in the East since Taizong, or Zoroastrianism, which followed Hu Shang into the Central Plains earlier teach. In the early days, Manichaeism did not flourish in the East, but became popular in the Uighur countries outside the Great Wall.
"Becoming an Immortal in One Step"
During the great sea and land expansion after Taixing, the Uighurs collapsed and dispersed due to civil strife, and all the tribes in the grasslands fell on their knees again under the iron heel of the Tang Dynasty; eventually they became dotted with princes outside the Great Wall. The transformed Manichaeism also entered the Middle Earth again along with the re-naturalized people of all ethnic groups.
However, in the name of Mingjiao, which respected Guangming Zun/Daming Zun, it began to penetrate the existing followers of Zoroastrianism, Nestorianism, and even (Dashi) Tianfang Sect and Xiren Sect; and even the Theravada Buddhism. The Pure Land Sect of Mahayana, the White Lotus Sect, caused a lot of disputes and turmoil.
Therefore, although at the official level of the Tang Dynasty, there was basically a restrictive attitude towards these Ming sects that were active among the people in the market, not encouraging, not promoting, and prohibiting public activities; but those sects of Eastern Chinese sects that had suffered greatly were obviously A more radical attitude toward shouting about beating and killing.
However, this time the tracing of old news from more than 20 years ago can actually involve this sect that has been hidden for many years; this invisibly further increases the weight and relationship of this news. In other words, just the suspicion of Mingjiao/Manichaeans being involved in a conspiracy against the royal family is enough to make them irreversible.
Therefore, the underground network search operation in Liquanfang, which was already coming to an end, has once again spread to all Zoroastrian temples on the ground, and a new round of arrests and screenings are targeting Zoroastrian believers and members of the sect. In Puwang Bieyuan, Jiang Tian also saw Chen Fengyi who came with the prince.
Chen Fengyi is wearing an azure skirt draped in the shape of a married woman, and her hair is combed into a bun. Although he is nearly 40 years old, he looks well-kept and still has a graceful figure. His appearance is elegant yet bookish, and he has an eye-catching charm just standing there.
"Who are you? How could you appear in front of the palace? Don't you know the difference between etiquette and education?" Even in the other palace, when she suddenly saw Jiang Tian, a stranger, she calmly asked in a deep voice: "Where are the guards in the tent, and where are the guards on the side?"
"Please be patient and calm, Fengyi. I am the left patrol judge of Yushitai Procuratorate, and I am the envoy of Guanyi." Jiang Tian couldn't help but smile slightly and said: "I came here under the order of the king. I happen to be involved in several public cases, and I want to ask Fengyi for advice in person."
"..." Chen Fengyi's eyes shrank slightly when she heard this. She was obviously stimulated by this straightforward statement. However, the next moment, her face was filled with frost and she said coldly: "This is unreasonable. The imperial court has its own laws; but every clan has its own laws. Relevant matters should be handled and accepted by Zongzheng Temple; and matters related to the internal affairs of women must be issued by the internal edict of the central palace hall. How could it be the turn of the Xiantai of the outer court to come and take care of it!"
"Well said, Fengyi is really proficient in laws and regulations." Jiang Tian clapped his hands unmoved and said: "So, I am here just by invitation. I want to ask Fengyi a few extra words and ask some questions about the past. It's just a matter; but I didn't expect that Fengyi had already made plans."
"You... are so rude," Chen Fengyi couldn't help but feel angry when he heard this, but he said forcefully: "Even if I am a weak woman, I will never follow the same path as you. Someone... someone... …”
However, Jiang Tian smiled and let her call her back and forth several times, but there was no response or movement at all. He then watched her angrily turn around and push the door away, only to find that the door had been bolted shut at some point. Then he became even colder and said: "You have worked so hard, what do you want?"
"As I said before, I just want to ask Fengyi about some past events." Jiang Tian then found a chair in the middle, sat down with his feet raised, and said lightly: "Please rest assured, Fengyi." Don't worry, take me through the questioning and everything will be settled naturally."
"I don't know who gave you the instructions to succeed in Prince Pu's palace for a while." However, Chen Fengyi suddenly restrained his anger and looked at him coldly: "But I am not weak without any foundation. You can be bullied; if you have anything to say, please tell me..."
"It is said that Fengyi and Canghaijun (Zhenzhu Ji's fiefdom) were old acquaintances back then; I wonder how their daily relationship is like?" Jiang Tian nodded and said slowly: "In our daily interactions, we can Is there anything unusual? Or any strange experience?"
"Cang Haijun? Is it because of her old story?" Chen Fengyi heard this, but his expression became calmer: "It's a pity that when the Third Secretary Ju Yu asked me about it, he had already said everything that needed to be said; plus Times have changed, and I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do to satisfy the envoy.”
"It doesn't matter, you can say as much as you want." Jiang Tian smiled brighter and brighter: "Maybe under the inspiration of Ben Xian, Feng Yi can still find a different way, thinking of more of those years What about the unintentional omissions?”
"So, the king, who has lived in seclusion for many years, is now determined to restart the unfinished investigation?" Chen Fengyi was extremely calm. He took a deep look at Jiang Tian and said: "In this case, as a junior minister, what can I do? How can I not try my best to cooperate? Just tell me."
At this moment, Jiang Tian could not help but admire it secretly in his heart. Because, except for the excitement and dissatisfaction at the beginning, this Chen Fengyi's reaction and attitude from beginning to end were all polite or with a clear conscience; it seemed that he was basically a normal person, and there were not many problems;
Except, suddenly in Jiang Tian's field of vision, a mission progress reminder popped up quietly.
