Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Meeting Flower Mother Again
Translator: 549690339
J inzhou City.
Liang Sheng’s Mansion.
Liang Sheng thought he was in for big trouble this time but it turned out to be a false alarm; one could say that Jinshan Temple had mastered the art of muddling through, managing to escape unscathed despite the County Government Office’s grand preparations. At this point, Liang Sheng had already learned the whole story, as everyone in Jinzhou City already knew about it. He had never expected such a bizarre tale to unfold in Jinzhou City.
However, he quickly decided that the story, though melodramatic, was logical. If it weren’t for such circumstances, there would be no reason for Xia Zhiqiu, a cunning and wicked character with a cultivation level of nine realms in the Postnatal realm, to linger in small Jinzhou City for decades.
But who could have imagined such a melodramatic twist, like the legitimate heir to the royal palace disappearing for more than 20 years without a trace after being taken away by a wet nurse?
Who could believe it? Who would dare to believe it?
Even with the most outrageous, fantastical narratives of the past, it would be difficult to come up with such a plot. Otherwise, would it not discount the intelligence of the readers?
It can only be said that reality is always stranger than fiction. But now Jinzhou City won’t have any conflicts, and he no longer has to worry about any unexpected trouble coming their way.
However, Liang Sheng never expected that he had already become a sought-after person by the Lifeless Sect, and that a woman was already acting on their behalf.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door of the mansion. Ma Xiaoliu hurriedly went to open the door, ready to declare that they were not receiving guests.
Soon after, Ma Xiaoliu came back to report that Zhang Rongjun had arrived. With the crisis averted, Liang Sheng decided to meet his old friend.
As soon as Zhang Rongjun appeared in front of Liang Sheng, he exclaimed, “Sheng, how can you be so calm? Princess Ping’an has personally come to Jinzhou City. Aren’t you going to see the excitement? I’ve lived so many years and never seen a royal princess before. I think it’s worth it to see her in person even if I die afterward.”
Zhang Rongjun was extremely excited, but Liang Sheng just shook his head.
Excluding the fact that there would definitely be masters guarding Princess Ping’an at this time, he didn’t want to get involved with Jinshan Temple at all.
He could even imagine how anxious Xuannan and the others must have been when they were surrounded by the County Government Office before. After all, their sect is an offshoot of the Dharma Sect and wouldn’t withstand investigation.
If the truth got out, it wouldn’t be just Jinzhou City besieging them, but the entire government launching an attack on them. The mere thought was thrilling.
Zhang Rongjun, seeing that he could not persuade Liang Sheng, could only go to see the excitement on his own. After all, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Princess Ping’an.
After Zhang Rongjun’s departure, Liang Sheng’s eyes were somewhat mysterious. He naturally had some understanding of why Princess Ping’an would make such a grand fuss about going to Jinshan Temple.
This was nothing more than her way of declaring on a broad scale the return of the son of Prince Ping’an. She must want to make up for her sense of guilt and give him the greatest honor. Surely, the return to the Capital’s royal palace would be even more spectacular.
Of course, there must have been some unrest in the royal palace lately which led Princess Ping’an to make such a grand self-exposure. But what did any of this have to do with him?
The real matter at hand was to live a life of leisure and wealth and find a suitable time to “die peacefully in his sleep”!
Although Liang Sheng had no interest in joining the excitement, he was relieved now that the crisis had passed. He decided to go to Shengde Building to have a few drinks in celebration.
However, the horse carriage suddenly stopped midway. Surprised, Liang Sheng asked, “What happened, Xiaoliu?”
“Master, it seems that we accidentally bumped into someone.”
Hearing this, Liang Sheng did not leave the carriage but slightly lifted the curtain, catching a glimpse of a plump young woman on the ground, holding her foot and frowning in pain.
But when Liang Sheng saw her face, his heart tightened, because he recognized her as his own step-aunt, Flower Mother.
At this moment, Flower Mother watched the carriage stop out of the corner of her eye and secretly rejoiced, thinking that her beauty had captured Liang Sheng’s attention. But in the next moment, Liang Sheng had Ma Xiaoliu throw a silver note at her and told him rather impatiently, “Xiaoliu, let’s go.”
Ma Xiaoliu was also taken aback but had long formed a reflexive response. Upon hearing Liang Sheng’s command, he immediately drove the carriage away, passing right by Flower Mother.
By the time Flower Mother realized what had happened, she couldn’t help but glance at her own exquisite figure. She had spent years cultivating the Hehuan Skill, and her appearance was comparable to that of a young girl. Why did Liang Sheng react like that?
Could it be that she had become so ugly without realizing it? Why else would he run at the sight of her?
But in the next moment, Flower Mother regained her confidence, because the men around were staring at her with lust in their eyes.
However, some people were staring at her maliciously, no, they were staring at the silver notes dumped on her by Liang Sheng.
Damn it!
Flower Mother could only hastily get up and then duck into an alley. Two thugs glanced at each other without hesitation and followed her with a cold smirk.
The others who saw this changed their expressions but eventually sighed; the two were not good people, how could they dare to offend them?
The onlookers on the street sighed secretly and then went about their own business, feeling sympathetically for the beautiful young woman, who had been a victim of the allure of wealth.
In the alley, the two thugs hurried in, fearing that Flower Mother would get away, but as soon as they turned the corner, they saw her standing there, beaming with a big smile on her face.
The two couldn’t help but feel their hearts skip a beat; what a beautiful woman!
“Am I beautiful?”
Less than a quarter of an hour later, Flower Mother came out the other side refreshed, her confidence that had been shattered by Liang Sheng was fully restored.
As for that useless old man, she would have to think of another way to deal with him.
By the time the sun set, a passerby went through the alley on his way home and discovered two withered corpses, seemingly drained of all their essence blood.
“Murder!”
Soon after, constables arrived on the scene, leaving a gruesome unsolved murder case that fueled superstitious rumors. Few people dared to pass by this alley at night afterward.
Jinshan Temple.
At this moment, Jinshan Temple was completely surrounded. A young novice monk in his twenties was panicking, as he was being escorted by the Dragon Suppression Guards in the center of the temple.
Xuan Ji and the others had also completely let down their guard at this point. It seemed that Jinshan Temple had not been exposed, and Xia Zhiqiu and the others were indeed here to find the person they were looking for.
However, what was so special about this little novice monk? How could he attract such a big reaction from Xia Zhiqiu?
As the Chief of Reception, Xuan Nan quickly recalled the origin of the little novice monk, who had been found as an abandoned child on a winter night over twenty years ago.
Until now, he had only been a little novice monk in charge of guiding pilgrims to their lodgings in the Reception Hall. At this thought, Xuan Nan couldn’t help but sigh at the impermanence of the world.
Who could have imagined that a little novice monk would cause such a commotion? Xia Zhiqiu was extremely cautious, only after repeatedly confirming with an old palace maid from the royal palace did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Once the guards from the royal palace had found the little novice monk, they left in a rush to return to the city to report the news. How to proceed now depended on the orders of Wang Fei [Princess Ping’an].
However, although the County Government Office’s constables were still surrounding Jinshan Temple at this moment, the tense atmosphere from before had dissipated.
Xia Zhiqiu even went to chat jovially among the Xuan Generation High Monks. “I didn’t expect to have such a splendid place like Jinshan Temple within my jurisdiction. Today, I finally got the chance to visit you esteemed monks. It is my dereliction of duty not to have visited earlier.
I wonder which esteemed monk is the abbot of the temple? In the future, I would like to visit the temple to taste your tea and discuss Buddhism.”
At this time, Xuan Nan hurriedly clasped his hands together, “County Lord, you are too kind. We are just humble monks living away from the world. Our Abbot Elder Brother is currently in closed-door cultivation to understand Buddhism, so he could not come to meet you in person. 1 hope you won’t take offense.”
At this point, Xia Zhiqiu naturally would not bear any resentment. The discovery of the one they were looking for today can be considered a perfect ending. If everything goes smoothly, he will finally be able to escape the quagmire of Jinzhou City and go to the capital for a brighter future.
Just then, a rider on a fast horse came in a hurry, and the knight directly shouted: “Princess Ping’an is coming to Jinshan Temple, kneel down and receive her!”
Xia Zhiqiu’s complexion changed.
Huh?
The princess was coming to Jinshan Temple in person?
