"It seems that Governor Wei's trip was in vain. Isn't Magistrate Wei very good? He is always talking and laughing!"
Li Yiyan stroked his beard and replied directly.
The old man never lets anyone take advantage of him.
"snort!"
Wei Chengqing's chest heaved violently and he glared at Wei Zhenxuan fiercely.
I stood up for you despite the pressure from the envoys, but you ended up working as a follower?
Wei Zhenxuan also saw his uncle and hurriedly said: "Prefect Wei, there is a thief monk in Famen Temple who is so bold that he makes false promises of good fortune and hides a package in the relic pedestal. The package contains the scriptures and secret biographies of the former Master Xuanzang, which are related to important cases in the capital.
!”
Wei Chengqing was startled when he heard this: "Is that so?"
Wei Zhenxuan continued: "Xiaoguan was impulsive last night and almost made a big mistake. This morning, with Deputy Ambassador Li's teachings, I realized that this case happened in our territory of Fufeng, and we have no shirking responsibility. I hope that I can work with Deputy Ambassador Li to identify the culprit and return it to me."
clean!"
Wei Chengqing understood his nephew's intention, looked at Li Yan, and his expression softened: "I have heard about Deputy Ambassador Li's reputation for a long time. If I can handle this matter, I, Wei, will definitely appreciate it!"
Li Yan said: "Chief Wei is so polite!"
Wei Chengqing came here to exert pressure, but it was inconvenient to stay at this time, so he bowed his hand and said, "I'll take my leave then!"
Everyone returned the gift: "Send it to Governor Wei!"
When the highest official here left, Li Yan stopped being verbose and commanded resolutely: "Brother Juyuan, could you please take Kuanji to the stupa? Brother Zaisi, ask the Wu De Guards to send over the pedestal they put together last night."
The two of them went immediately, and Li Yiyan said: "Yuanfang, you investigate the case quickly, I will let the envoys prepare first!"
Li Yan responded: "I understand that sending an envoy to Tibet is the first priority!"
Li Yiyan nodded and left with steady steps.
Seeing that everyone else had left, Wei Zhenxuan whispered: "Deputy Ambassador Li, this matter is very important, please!"
Li Yan glanced at him: "Judging from Governor Wei's reaction just now, he should also know what is in the hidden compartment of the pedestal, right?"
Wei Zhenxuan was silent, it was impossible for him to answer this question.
But silence is actually a hint, otherwise it would be a direct denial.
Li Yan asked again: "Auspicious things have happened in all dynasties. I know it well. Only if you confess to me can I help you investigate!"
Wei Zhenxuan has obviously made up his mind: "In the dark space of the pedestal, there should be an ancient glazed Maitreya Buddha with a piece of jade in his arms!"
Li Yan raised his eyebrows: "Jade?"
Wei Zhenxuan nodded: "That is a piece of jade mined from Qishan Mountain. It has the shape of a dragon and a phoenix surrounded by it."
Li Yan's heart moved and he guessed the answer, but still said with certainty: "What does this jade mean?"
Wei Zhenxuan gritted his teeth and said: "The dragon and the phoenix embrace each other, and they are in harmony. This is a sign that the two saints will come to the court and will be in harmony with the Lord."
Li Yan: "..."
After working on it for a long time, is Webster trying to build momentum for Empress Wu to return to the position of Queen of Heaven?
That's right, Empress Wu lost power because Wu Minzhi was stained with blood before her death, causing her reputation to plummet.
Wherever you fall, you have to get up. Since losing ground is due to a hit to your reputation, building auspicious momentum is indeed a good way.
After the confession, Wei Zhenxuan also came over and whispered: "Isn't Vice Ambassador Li also a member of the Queen of Heaven's party?"
Li Yan immediately denied: "What kind of Queen's party? I am loyal to Your Majesty, the Queen and the Crown Prince!"
Wei Zhenxuan was stunned for a moment and thought he had learned something: "Yes, yes, we, as ministers, are indeed loyal to Your Majesty, the Queen and the Crown Prince!"
Li Yan asked: "Who told you this method?"
Wei Zhenxuan said: "The new leader of the inner guard, Doulu Qingwang!"
"The unlucky guy still took refuge in Empress Wu, and even did such dirty work to offer auspiciousness..."
Li Yan connected all the threads in his mind and suddenly understood: "So, you were so excited last night because you saw me taking Kuanji, thinking that Doulu Pavilion was the leader, and that our internal guards conspired to harm you, Webster?"
There is an unwritten rule in offering auspiciousness. Even if the effect is not good, the emperor will not do anything. At most, there will be no reward, but it must not be exposed before the performance.
That is the crime of deceiving the emperor.
If Xiangrui who was creating the momentum last night was discovered and Kuanji proved to be the mastermind, Wei Zhenxuan would definitely be doomed.
The lightest fate would be to lose his official position and be demoted to a commoner, and Webster would also greatly offend Empress Wu.
Therefore, Wei Zhenxuan laughed dryly: "Deputy Ambassador Li, please forgive me, this matter is very relevant. I am also in a hurry and have random thoughts..."
Li Yan was too lazy to pay attention to this and waved his hand: "Okay, now that the Buddha statue and jade have been lost and this matter has become controversial again, what are you going to do?"
Wei Zhenxuan had already thought about it: "The official wants Kuan Ji to change his story. He has been favored by the official. If he overturns his testimony, the matter will be over. No matter who took the jade, they will not admit it."
Li Yan was noncommittal: "This matter won't end so easily. It's useless to talk more. Let's go!"
In front of the stupa.
The moment Zhike Monk Kuanji saw Wei Zhenxuan, his body swayed and he knelt down with a pop.
Wei Zhenxuan shouted in a low voice: "Kuanji, do you still have any conscience? When you were unjustly imprisoned, I ordered the judge to re-examine the case and clear your name, so that you can survive. Otherwise, you would have been executed long ago, and you still remember!"
Kuan Ji kowtowed repeatedly: "Remember, Wei Ming Mansion forgives me, it was the Buddha who showed his spirit, forcing the young monk to say it!"
Wei Zhenxuan was startled: "Buddha appeared?"
Li Yan has deep hidden merit and fame.
Not bad, just down there.
Yang Zaisi, who was standing next to him, asked curiously: "Have you, a thief monk, ever committed a crime?"
Kuan Ji cried: "The young monk was once a boy in a shop in Fufeng County. He stole some things from the shop, but he was accused by the shopkeeper. Fortunately, the Wei Ming Mansion saw through it and allowed the case to be retried, and he was able to clear his name.
Later he became a monk..."
Yang Zaisi glanced at Wei Zhenxuan, a little surprised. He really didn't expect that the unruly county magistrate last night actually had a fair side.
Li Yan knew that there was no conflict between these. Everyone in Fufeng County had followed Wei Zhenxuan in the past. Such a high prestige was obviously not just due to family background.
As for major events involving auspiciousness, Wei Zhenxuan should not let a greedy Zhike monk get involved casually. The two had this relationship in the past, which is indeed more in line with common sense.
Seeing that Kuan Ji was still grateful, Wei Zhenxuan calmed down and quickly bowed his hand to Li Yan.
Li Yan understood his request and looked at Kuan Ji: "How did you learn to open the pedestal mechanism? Who taught you?"
Kuanji said: "No one taught me. One time, a guest wanted to touch the Buddha's relics. The young monk tried to stop him, but he accidentally stumbled over and discovered the mechanism on the side wall, which was somewhat similar to the hidden compartment where valuables were stored in my shop. I fumbled around.
After trying it many times, I finally turned it on."
At this moment, under the command of Wang Xiaojie, the pedestal that was barely put together with leather glue last night was carefully pushed over by four Wu De guards.
A small figure followed beside him, holding on with his little hands and making a hey, hey, hey sound.
He obviously didn't use any effort, it seemed like he had done a lot of heavy work.
Li Yan gave this particularly cunning little lady a funny look, and then asked Kuan Ji to roughly show the opening status, and he had an idea: "What is inside in the first place?"
Since the Tang Dynasty had not carried out the extermination of Buddha, Kuanji had nothing to avoid: "It is a shadow bone. In order to protect the relics from harm, they can be replaced at any time."
Li Yan said: "Then you took out the shadow bones and replaced them with auspicious ones. When did that happen?"
Kuan Ji said: "What happened seven days ago."
Li Yan asked: "Were there any knife marks on the pedestal at that time?"
Kuan Ji was puzzled: "Knife marks?"
Li Yan thought that when he found the knife mark, he was not there at the time, but was summoned later, so he pointed to the place with the largest gap: "There is a knife mark at this location, which should have been made with a sharp weapon.
But at first glance, it looks similar to the pattern of Phoenix Stone, did you notice it at the time?"
Kuan Ji thought carefully: "Probably not. The young monk didn't look carefully, but he touched the area and it was still smooth at the time."
"That is to say, you changed into the auspicious sign seven days ago, and then the auspicious sign was changed again and turned into the package containing the scriptures and secret scrolls last night..."
Li Yan asked again: "Do you know that guest monks usually accompany guests to pay respect to the relics, and do they take care of them throughout the process?"
Kuanji nodded: "Not only are there monks who know the guests, but there are monks standing around the relic pedestal to prevent guests from bathing in the Buddha's light, getting too excited and desecrating the relics."
In fact, he is just afraid that guests will touch him. He can describe his low quality with such high emotional intelligence. He is worthy of being a guest-knowing monk who welcomes and greets guests.
Li Yan said: "Are there any guests that you monks must avoid?"
Kuan Ji frowned: "This... the young monk has never received such a guest. Even if the Wei Ming Mansion comes, we will still have to watch."
Wei Zhenxuan nodded: "The saint once welcomed the Buddha's bones and relics to the capital, so of course we cannot desecrate them!"
Li Yandao: "If the guest cannot touch the pedestal alone, then someone sneaked in secretly, replaced the package, and left knife marks. Although the underground palace is tightly guarded, there are times when there are gaps... But if you trace it, you will be looking for a needle in a haystack!"
He thought for a while, but still had to completely eliminate the suspicion of the guest, and then consider the situation of the master sneaking in, and said: "Call Master Faming over!"
"The poor monk is here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Fa Ming suddenly appeared with a respectful look on his eyebrows: "Please give me your instructions, Deputy Ambassador Li!"
Li Yan glanced at him inexplicably and asked: "In the past seven days, among the guests who came to visit the Buddha's bone relics, are there any distinguished guests that the monks must avoid?"
Faming immediately nodded: "Yes, Princess Honghua and the former Khan of Tuyuhun came to the temple three days ago to pay homage to the relics. When they made their wishes, we stayed away!"
Wei Zhenxuan's expression changed, and Li Yan was also surprised.
After Li Jing defeated Tuyuhun and forced Tuyuhun Khan to commit suicide, the new Khan came to power and became the dog of the Tang Dynasty. However, his rule was ineffective and he was overthrown by domestic forces.
As a result, Li Shimin went over and kissed a daughter, married to the second-generation Gou Khan, to help suppress domestic forces. That daughter was Princess Honghua.
A few years ago, Tuyuhun was invaded by the Tibetan army and the country was completely destroyed. Princess Honghua and the former Khan of Tuyuhun fled to the Tang Dynasty and settled in Liangzhou, waiting for the opportunity to restore the country.
Li Yan looked at Wei Zhenxuan: "Are these two noble men in Fufeng County?"
Wei Zhenxuan nodded: "Princess Honghua and the former Khan of Tuyuhun are indeed in the county. Could it be that they...?"
Li Yan was deep in thought, thinking, when he saw a small hand tugging at the corner of his clothes, and a timid childish voice fell into his ears:
"My lord, my lord, I have made a discovery, can you tell me?"