Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

095: The Birth of a New Buddha

Upon hearing Cui Lingyu's words, Su Wen immediately pictured the bookshelf and the arrangement of the numbers in his mind, and in an instant, he understood.

The arrangement of these numbers should correspond to a character in a Buddhist scripture.

Thinking of this, Su Wen immediately turned and ran towards the room where the former governor was kept. Seeing this, Cui Lingyu hurriedly followed behind Su Wen, calling softly, "Su Lang, what's wrong?"

Su Wen entered the room, took several Buddhist scriptures to the table, and began to search for them according to the arrangement of numbers.

Cui Lingyu arrived late and saw that Su Wen had written all the words on a piece of paper. Cui Lingyu leaned closer to take a look and was startled.

Only after Su Wen finished writing the last word did he realize that it was written on the paper.

The Tibetans have amassed troops and intend to seize Dunhuang in Shazhou. There are Tibetan spies in the city who will cause unrest. They will attack from both inside and outside. Please be careful!

Upon seeing this, Su Wen finally understood why the Tibetan envoy had said he wanted to give the golden Buddha to the former governor. Since he couldn't give it to the former governor, he figured giving it to the current governor would be just as good. It turned out that there was such a hidden message in this story.

But why would a Tibetan envoy pass on such important information to the former governor?

Su Wen looked at Cui Lingyu, who said softly, "I'm afraid this Tibetan envoy isn't Tibetan at all; he's very likely a spy sent by our Great Tang!"

Su Wen asked, "Does the Tang Dynasty have a list specifically for recording spies?"

Cui Lingyu shook her head: "Spies usually only contact one or two people, and only those one or two people know about them. This person was able to become an envoy to Tibet, so he must have been lying low for a long time. I'm afraid only the former governor and the previous governor would know. But, we can write to the court to inquire and see if the previous governor of Shazhou knew about it!"

Su Wen nodded, then looked at Cui Lingyu with a blank expression and said, "Miss Lingyu, you've seen my writing; it's incredibly ugly. Please write a letter and go inquire about it!"

Cui Lingyu covered her face with her hand, chuckled, and nodded!

half an hour.

Su Wen and Cui Lingyu arrived at the courtroom. Xu Ge summoned all the people from Ningyue Pavilion and brought in Lu Yao's body, asking, "Do any of you recognize this person?"

Everyone went to look, but after seeing him, they all shook their heads. The burly man then bowed to Su Wen and said, "Sir, none of us have ever seen him before. He might be someone from another Ningyue branch!"

"This tattoo is indeed from Ningyue Studio, but it's definitely not from our main branch; it must be from one of our other branches!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen frowned and looked at everyone, asking, "What were you all doing last night at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM)?"

The burly man said, "After our acrobatic performance last night, it was almost 11:45 AM. Everyone ate and drank, and it was almost 1:00 AM. After that, everyone was busy dismantling the venue, packing up their things, and preparing to leave Dunhuang County. We plan to leave Dunhuang today and head to Chang'an!"

"Last night, a horse was spotted on Chang Le Fang Street in the inner city. This horse galloped wildly and disappeared around a corner. I think it must be illusion magic. In Dunhuang County, only the people of your Ningyue Pavilion know illusion magic. I wonder who among your people knows illusion magic?"

Faced with Su Wen's questioning, everyone knelt down, crying out, "Shangguan, we're innocent! Our illusions are just a trick; they can only be used in places where we've practiced beforehand, and only then can they be seen!"

"How could you possibly perform that on the street!"

"Even if the opponent could perform it, it would require a long rehearsal period and extremely sophisticated tools. The people of Ningyue Pavilion have always been in the outer city and have never entered the inner city, so how could they possibly have the time to perform illusion magic!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen secretly felt that it made sense. There are no ghosts or gods in this world, so it is impossible to conjure a horse out of thin air and then make it disappear. If it is not an illusion, then there is another possibility.

Su Wen looked at Cui Lingyu, who nodded slightly and whispered, "Su Lang, I believe what they say is true. Illusion is just a trick to fool people. The story of a horse appearing out of thin air on the street is unbelievable. I remember that General Zhang Yi and his troops are particularly fond of drinking and often get very drunk. Although the soldiers on duty are not allowed to drink, I think we can go and ask them if they have been drinking or if they have been drugged!"

Su Wen nodded: "Ling Yu is right!"

Su Wen stood up and looked at everyone, saying, "A murder has occurred in Chang Le Fang. I suspect that the murder was committed under the influence of illusion magic. Your Ning Yue Pavilion cannot leave Dunhuang County for the time being and must wait until the case is solved before you can leave!"

The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment. They made their living by traveling and performing, and they couldn't stay in one place for too long, otherwise no one would watch them.

Ningyue Pavilion has been in the sandbar for almost half a month, and fewer and fewer people are coming to see it, which is enough to show that it will not be able to make money if it stays here any longer, so it needs to leave.

However, a murder has occurred here, involving illusion magic, and they cannot leave. They could only sigh and say, "Yes, sir!"

Su Wen looked at Cui Lingyu and Xiao Bi and said, "Lingyu, we are going to the military camp. You two are girls, so it would be better if you didn't come along!"

Cui Lingyu looked at Su Wen and said, "Su Lang, are you perhaps annoyed that I'm being nosy and disturbing you?"

Su Wen quickly said, "No, that's not what I meant. It's just that the military camp is full of men, and who knows how dirty and messy it might be inside."

Cui Lingyu smiled and said, "It's alright. Lingyu just wants to follow Su Lang. Wherever Su Lang goes, I'll go. If Su Lang dislikes me, I won't follow!"

These words put Su Wen in a difficult position, leaving him no choice but to agree to go with Cui Lingyu.

Su Wen looked at Xu Ge and said, "Xu Ge, prepare the horses!"

After speaking, Su Wen looked at Cui Lingyu and Xiao Bi and asked, "Lingyu, can you ride a horse?"

Just as Xiao Bi was about to speak, Cui Lingyu glanced at her, and Xiao Bi shut her mouth. Cui Lingyu said, "This servant cannot ride a horse, so why don't I share a horse with Su Lang!"

Xu Ge said, "Ah, but men and women shouldn't be so close. It's not appropriate for me and Lady Xiao Bi to ride on the same horse!"

Xiao Bi snorted and said, "Just because my young lady can't ride a horse doesn't mean I can't. Looking at your frail body, I wonder if you can even withstand one of my moves!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen frowned. Cui Lingyu said, "Xiao Bi is my personal maid and also my bodyguard. She has practiced martial arts since childhood, taught by my uncle, General Cui Xin. She is skilled in using the Tang sword, the Mo Dao, the Guan Dao, and the Shuo sword. She once fought to a draw with a Lieutenant General of the Imperial Guard!"

Su Wen was surprised when he heard Cui Lingyu say this, and subconsciously looked Cui Lingyu up and down.

If the maid is this fierce, then Cui Lingyu must be just as fierce, right? Don't pretend to be weak here. Once we get married, she'll turn into a tigress in a heartbeat!

Upon closer reflection, the Cui clan of Boling, from Hebei, is from one of the most valiant regions in my country throughout history. They have produced countless martial arts champions and generals, and their number of rebellions rivals that of Sichuan.

Thinking of this, Su Wen felt a vague sense of fear. Good heavens, everyone says that women are different when they are dating and different after marriage. Could it be true?

But Cui Lingyu is from the Cui clan of Boling, a prominent and prestigious family. Women shouldn't know martial arts, right? After all, Cui Lingyu is very polite and has a high level of education. She couldn't possibly be a person who excels in both literature and martial arts!

When Xu Ge and several constables brought over the three horses, Xiao Bi grabbed the saddle and smoothly mounted the horse with a backflip, which surprised Su Wen. Xu Ge was also amazed by the way she mounted the horse.

After Su Wen mounted his horse, he reached out and pulled Cui Lingyu onto the horse. Cui Lingyu sat in front of Su Wen, while Su Wen sat behind her, which made Su Wen blush quite a bit.