The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

Chapter 347: Qingxu Temple

| May 1st |

As the sky darkened, there was a commotion in the front courtyard of Sun Mansion.

Jia Yingchun needless to say, Ruan Rong heard that she was going to Qingxu Temple to pray; she also made a fuss about going. In addition, the maid and nannies next to the two of them were packed with five carriages.

In addition, there were several small actors from that troupe who somehow gained access from Sun Shaozu's connections and also chattered and occupied a place in the team.

So when they went out, seven carriages lined up in a row. Sun Shaozong rode a tall horse to lead the way, and behind him, Zhao Zhongji led several healthy servants, driving donkeys, mules, and horses to and fro in unison. It was really bustling.

The Qingxu Temple was located within the inner city, and there was not much distance.

In about half an hour, the Sun family's team arrived at the nearby Qingxu Temple and saw the open space in front of the mountain gate, which had already been surrounded by colorful coarse cloth. A dozen or so high-sounding middle-aged Taoists were posing at the only entrance, waiting for their grand visit.

Sun Shaozong raised his horsewhip, and someone nearby had already come forward to greet him. It was said that the Second Young Lady, who had just married in the Rongguo Mansion, had arrived. The Taoists immediately dispersed, and a special informant came forward to lead the convoy inside.

At this time, the people of Rong-Ning Mansion had not yet arrived; only a few young servants who were standing in front of each other were checking and filling in the gaps inside and outside.

This was already expected by everyone in the Sun Mansion. If Jia Yingchun arrived late after Jia's mother arrived, she would have missed the courtesy of being a younger generation.

It was precisely because Old Lady Jia had not arrived that the scene of the Qingxu Temple had not yet been cleared. Therefore, after the seven carriages were parked in the corner, all the female relatives obediently waited in the carriage. Only a few elderly women got out of the carriage and, together with the male servants, criticized the Taoists of the Qingxu Temple.

Sun Shaozong dismounted and took out a pocket watch from his sleeve pocket. He looked at the time and saw that it had just passed 8 am. He estimated that the convoy of the Rong-Ning Mansion would take some time to catch up.

He asked Zhao Zhongji to set up a Maza and read the palace newspaper that was only sent out yesterday evening.

To be honest, the content of this issue of the palace newspaper was quite unexpected to Sun Shaozong. The ”Immortal Powder Project,” personally ordered and supervised by Emperor Guangde, only occupied a piece of tofu in the second edition; on the contrary, it was the ”Longsheng Old Store Heart Stealing Case” that appeared in the fourth position on the front page.

However, compared to the intricacies of the case, the content in the palace newspaper focused on criticizing the practice of holding slaves in wealthy families, indirectly condoning the rampant use of human traffickers.

Should it be that…

Did Emperor Guangde intend to suppress the trend of slavery?

This was not something new, as many kings in history have issued similar laws.

However, this kind of thing has always had policies and countermeasures. In terms of current customs, at most, it was to reduce the number of people buying and selling young slaves. It was simply unrealistic to completely ban it.

“Second Master.”

He was working overtime here, trying to figure out the meaning of the Emperor, when he suddenly heard Zhao Zhongji remind him in a low voice, "A few Taoists have come over.”

Sun Shaozong glanced up and saw an old Taoist with a white beard and hair and a kind eyebrow. He was rushing towards him with strong strides, but the two middle-aged Taoists behind him couldn't catch up with him.

This old Taoist was naturally a Head Taoist advocate of the concept of purity and emptiness, Taoist Zhang.

Because he was a replacement for the former head of the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Daishan, he had an extremely close relationship with the Rongguo Mansion. Previously, when Jia Baoyu was poisoned and turned insane, Taoist Zhang also participated in the treatment, so he was also recognized by Sun Shaozong.

This old Taoist not only had connections with the Rongguo Mansion but also was the leader of the Capital's Taoist sect, which was granted the Imperial decree. Since he personally came to entertain him, Sun Shaozong naturally didn’t dare to neglect him. He quickly asked Zhao Zhongji to take away the Maza and the palace newspaper and walked forward, arching his hand, saying, "How have you been, Old Taoist?”

Taoist Zhang also gave a salute and chuckled, "Compared to others, I am still considered good. However, compared to Lord Sun's body and bones, I am truly old and unforgiving.”

As he spoke, the old Taoist smiled and asked, "It's been more than half a month since we parted ways. We were discussing that matter, and I wonder if Lord Sun has considered it yet?”

This…

Sun Shaozong sneered bitterly and said, "You should spare me, Old Taoist.”

“You don't care if you are highly respected. How can I withstand the siege of those great monks in this small Central Judicial Office?”

The so-called ”that incident at the beginning” was actually when Taoist Zhang specifically approached Sun Shaozong during the process of expelling evil spirits and treating Baoyu's illness, expressing his willingness to adopt the baby boy who was about to be born by those two promiscuous nuns.

Although the monks were all afraid of this matter, only Miaoyu was willing to take in the baby girl among them. However, if this child were to be handed over to the Taoist, its nature would be very different!

“Hahaha.”

Taoist Zhang laughed heartily a few times and said with a wink, "It's just a joke. After you released the rumors that the Taoist priest was going to adopt children, there must already be a temple willing to take over those children, right?”

“If someone scolds me a few words and lets me be able to protect a few children for half a life without worries, I would have made a fortune.”

He was really a person with an insight into the world!

No wonder, after he succeeded as the abbot, he made Qingxu Temple the leader of the sect in just over a decade!

“The Old Taoist was indeed as humble as a valley.”

Sun Shaozong bowed his hand and sincerely praised him, then chatted with the Old Taoist a little. Suddenly, the nearby bell tower was filled with music, and someone came over to report that the sight of Rongguo Mansion had already arrived nearby.

Upon hearing the words, the old and young quickly joined hands to welcome them out.

Outside, they saw several colorful sedan chairs leading the way, with carriages and horses driving one after another and servants echoing from front to back, but they couldn't even see the mains.

Oh great~

The Emperor had just posted in the palace newspaper and revealed his intention to suppress the slave storage trend. The Rong-Ning Mansion had exposed its wealth on the street.

“Brother Sun.”

“Second Brother.”

At the forefront of the team, Jia Baoyu and Xue Pan were leading the way. Seeing Sun Shaozong and Taoist Zhang welcoming them from afar, they quickly dismounted and greeted them.

Seeing that they were only focused on chatting with themselves but somewhat indifferent to Taoist Zhang beside them, Sun Shaozong quickly called for the two of them to come forward and salute.

At this moment, a cheerful person rushed over from behind and also dismounted to approach; it was Jia Zhen, the Commander of this ceremony.

After a few days of not seeing each other, the Master of Ningguo Mansion seemed to be more energetic. After meeting Sun Shaozong, he praised without a word, "My brother's night at my yard was indeed very effective. Since then, I have never dreamed of Rong's wife again.”

Uh~

Sun Shaozong really didn’t know how to respond to this.

Fortunately, without waiting for him to answer, the previous eight-lifted sedan chair had already arrived at the door. Taoist Zhang exchanged a few words with Old Lady Jia through the curtain and then asked all the idle people in the temple to retreat and invite the women of the Rong-Ning Mansion in.

After all, Sun Shaozong was a foreign man and could only wait at the door, chatting casually with Jia Zhen, Baoyu, and Xue Pan.

Unexpectedly, after a while, there was a commotion inside, and for a moment, the voices of women shouting and killing were all heard.

Everyone looked at each other in astonishment and hurriedly entered the room to investigate the truth. It turned out that there was a young Taoist who was cutting lanterns. Somehow, he bumped into Wang Xifeng and was slapped by her, causing everyone to turn upside down. As he was about to flee, he was surrounded by servants who were scolding him with all their hands.

Taoist Zhang felt a bit embarrassed when he saw this, and it was not enough to plead, nor was it enough to sit here and watch.

Fortunately, when Old Lady Jia heard the news, she quickly stepped forward to control the crowd, which eliminated a disturbance invisibly.

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