Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

Vertical sun.

The sun rises in the east.

The warm sunlight shone through the window into the room, waking up the sleeping Shen Lian.

Shen Lian stretched and got up to wash.

After finishing packing, he quickly walked out of the room.

As soon as I went out, I saw Lu Shisan and Fatty Zhang waiting outside the door.

When the two saw Shen Lian, they bowed to him directly, "Master Shen."

Shen Lian nodded slightly and said, "Let's go eat first."

As he spoke, Shen Lian brought the two of them to the food stall they usually went to and said, "Boss, the same old rules, three servings."

"okay."

The shopkeeper's resounding reply.

Soon, three bowls of mutton soup and three naan were served.

Shen Lian said, "Eat quickly. After you finish eating, we will go to the palace together."

Yesterday at Han Xun's residence, Shen Lian learned that the building built by Han Qian ten years ago was the Temple of Heaven. He then decided to go to the Temple of Heaven to take a look in person.

If no problem can be found in the volume, then the problem may be in the physical Temple of Heaven.

So, he specifically called Fatty Zhang and asked him to accompany him.

Fatty Zhang was a disciple of the tomb-robbing captain, and was best at feng shui and mechanisms.

As an altar, the Temple of Heaven may still have some secrets, and Fatty Zhang is the best candidate.

Fatty Zhang is good at Feng Shui.

If there are some hidden mechanisms, Fatty Zhang is also good at it.

As for Lu Shisan, Shen Lian also wanted him to use the power of the Shadow Guard to investigate whether anything special was discovered when the rooftop was built ten years ago.

What happened ten years ago is very difficult to investigate. Only a high-level intelligence agency like Shadow Guard can find out.

If even the shadow guards can't find it, then basically no one will be able to find it.

Shen Lian drank a mouthful of mutton soup and said to Lu Shisan, "Have someone keep a close eye on the temple. Han Qian was killed, and Zhang Qin was also killed. Both of them were related to the temple."

"If the people in the temple knew about this, they might suspect that they had been exposed and try to escape."

Lu Shisan nodded and said, "Don't worry, sir. I have arranged enough forces. Anyone who goes down the mountain will be followed by our people. We will never let anyone in the temple escape."

Shen Lian nodded slightly.

He continued, "After I check the Temple of Heaven, I will go to the temple myself. I want to see how many secrets this temple hides."

The three of them soon ate and drank their fill.

Shen Lian placed the copper coin on the table and left with his men.

Soon, they arrived at the palace gate.

Shen Lian took out a token, and after the guards looked at it, they quickly made way.

Li Shimin gave Shen Lian the privilege of entering and leaving the palace at will. Except for a few special places in the palace, there was basically no place Shen Lian could not go.

In the past, Shen Lian would not run around the palace casually except to find Li Shimin.

After all, the palace is a very sensitive place, and if too many people come here, it is inevitable that some unnecessary trouble will arise.

He led the two of them to a hall and said, "Wait for me here. I will go see His Majesty first."

It would be inappropriate if I didn't meet Li Shimin after arriving at the palace.

Moreover, if you want to go to the Temple of Heaven, which is reserved for emperors, you also need to inform Li Shimin in advance.

He asked the guard to report, and soon the guard came back and said, "Lord Shen, His Majesty allows you to come in."

Shen Lian nodded slightly and walked towards the main hall.

When I entered the hall, I saw that in the empty hall, only Li Shimin was sitting at the desk reviewing memorials.

Li Shimin heard the footsteps, without even raising his head, and said, "What do you mean by 'swindle you here?' You're about to get married, and you don't know how to run to the palace."

Shen Lian listened to Li Shimin's ridicule and complaints, bowed with a smile, and said, "Your Majesty, I have been busy fighting the enemy."

"Oh?!"

When Li Shimin heard this, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

He then raised his head and looked at Shen Lian, saying, "There's news about another Beidou gang thief?!"

Shen Lian nodded slightly, and then he told Li Shimin everything about Han Qian and Han Xun.

After listening to this, Li Shimin pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly, "Madam Han is a miserable person. Although Han Xun made mistakes, he protected the files and prevented the Beidou Society thieves from escaping, so he can be considered as making up for his crime."

"Your handling of this matter is fair."

"Since you want to check the Temple of Heaven, go ahead."

Li Shimin raised his head, looked outside the door, and said, "Deshun."

At this time, a middle-aged eunuch hurriedly walked into the hall with his head lowered, "Your Majesty."

Li Shimin said, "Deshun, you go with Shen Lian. If Shen Lian needs to ask anyone in the palace during his investigation, go and find them for him."

De Shun was a eunuch trusted by Li Shimin and had great power in the palace.

As the Temple of Heaven is inside the palace, it is inevitable that the cooperation of people in the palace will be required when the time comes.

Therefore, Li Shimin arranged De Shun to allow Shen Lian to conduct the investigation more smoothly.

To avoid being delayed by some short-sighted guys.

Deshun did not dare to hesitate and said hurriedly, "Slave, obey your command."

…………

Shen Lian and Deshun left the hall.

Deshun said quickly, "Sir Shen, if you need anything later, just tell me. I will do my best to get it done for you."

Shen Lian nodded slightly and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, eunuch."

Deshun hurriedly shook his head, "This is what a servant should do. Lord Shen, please don't be so polite. This will embarrass me."

Shen Lian said with a smile, "Then from now on, I will not be polite to you, sir. I will treat you like a family member. If I am not humble in any way, you must forgive me."

When Deshun heard this, a smile immediately spread across his face. "It is my luck to be treated as a family member by Lord Shen."

Shen Lian and Deshun looked at each other, then both smiled and nodded.

Since De Shun was able to serve Li Shimin in the palace, he must be a very smart person.

He knew very well that Shen Lian's current status was no less than that of any royal relative.

In the entire court, not only the emperor is optimistic about him, but many officials also value Qin Wenyuan and Shen Lian very much. Moreover, because of some cases, Shen Lian has a very good relationship with bigwigs such as Wei Zheng, Zhangsun Wuji, and Fang Xuanling.

Under such circumstances, Shen Lian's reputation has already become unmatched among the younger generation.

Therefore, when facing Shen Lian, De Shun did not have any arrogance of a close attendant of the emperor. Instead, he kept a very humble attitude.

This was done specifically to show goodwill to Shen Lian.

As smart as Shen Lian was, he naturally saw through De Shun's thoughts at a glance.

Therefore, his response just now was also a recognition of Deshun's goodwill.

Therefore, the two of them smiled at each other, and their tacit understanding between them was unspoken.

Deshun got the recognition he wanted and worked even harder. He led the way and said, "Sir Shen, when the Temple of Heaven was built, I didn't have much power, so I don't know much about it. But I know that there are still some old people in the palace who know about the construction of the Temple of Heaven."

"So, if Lord Shen needs them, I will call them over in a moment and let Lord Shen question them."

When Shen Lian heard this, his eyes lit up slightly. He did not refuse and said with a smile, "Then I'll have to trouble you, eunuch."

There are definitely some secrets in the Temple of Heaven.

And this secret may not be so easy to find.

Therefore, if we can get more information from the people who knew the inside story at that time, we will naturally find the secret and it will be more helpful.

De Shun smiled and said, "It's no problem, it's no problem. It's my honor and theirs to be able to help Lord Shen." Soon, they came to a side courtyard and stopped.

The gate to the side courtyard was closed, with two guards guarding outside, and above it, there was a plaque.

On the plaque, there are two large characters written in a flamboyant style: Temple of Heaven.

Deshun said, "Master Shen, we are here."

Shen Lian nodded slightly.

Deshun looked at the guards and took out a token. His expression was far from the warm one he showed when facing Shen Lian. He said calmly, "His Majesty has ordered that Lord Tang will investigate a case here. You must cooperate well."

Seeing this, the two guards nodded quickly.

Soon, the door was opened.

After entering the gate, you will see a huge square in front of you.

In the center of the square, there is a platform two people high.

The platform is octagonal and made of white marble. It looks very grand and solemn.

Behind the square is a palace.

The palace is not very large, but it is built with a solemn atmosphere, which is completely different from other architectural styles in the palace.

It can be seen that these palaces are supporting facilities of the Temple of Heaven.

The overall feeling is consistent and full of solemnity.

Deshun introduced to Shen Lian, "Sir Shen, this is the Temple of Heaven."

He pointed to the white marble platform in front of him and said, "Before, His Majesty offered sacrifices to the heavens and ancestors here for the wedding of Lord Shen and Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Shen Lian nodded slightly. He knew about this matter.

Deshun pointed to the palace in the back and said, "There are some altars for our ancestors here. Your Majesty sometimes comes here to burn incense."

"Of course, most of the time, your majesty still goes to the ancestral temple to offer sacrifices. What he does here is more of a thought."

Shen Lian nodded slightly.

He had seen the significance of the Temple of Heaven in the files, and Du Chuke had also introduced it.

At this moment, his attention was focused on this solemn Temple of Heaven.

Thinking back to how Zhang Qin and the fake Han Qian had spent a full ten years searching for the secrets here, Shen Lian's eyes couldn't help but flash with golden light.

"Where is your secret?"

Shen Lian climbed up to the Temple of Heaven while thinking.

There are nine steps in the Temple of Heaven.

It symbolizes the number nine.

In ancient times, the meaning of nine was extraordinary.

According to legend, a dragon gave birth to nine sons.

And for the emperor, he would be called the Supreme Lord.

Nine is the extreme, and no one can use it except the emperor.

If a minister or a prince used the number nine in his family, it would be a serious crime.

Shen Lian walked while observing the Temple of Heaven carefully.

He found that there were auspicious cloud patterns carved on each step.

Walking on the steps feels like riding on clouds.

It seems like I am really walking towards heaven.

When we arrived at the top of the Temple of Heaven, we saw that it was very spacious.

There is a table in the center of the Temple of Heaven.

The table is made of solid red wood and covered with golden cloth.

On the table, there was an incense burner and some bowls and dishes.

The burnt incense ashes can be seen on the incense burner.

But the dishes were empty.

I think it was used to place offerings, and after a few days, the offerings were taken away.

Apart from this, there is nothing else to see in the Temple of Heaven.

Simple, grand, solemn and dignified.

Shen Lian said to Fatty Zhang, "Did you find out anything?"

Fatty Zhang pondered for a moment and said, "This Temple of Heaven should be built according to the Taoist Yin-Yang Bagua."

“Although this place is not located in the center of the imperial palace, it is where the dragon vein passes and where the dragon energy gathers.”

“In terms of feng shui, this is an excellent location.”

"Compared to many imperial tombs, the feng shui is better."

"The person who chose this place for the Temple of Heaven must have considered it very carefully."

The eunuch on the side, upon hearing Fatty Zhang's words, looked at the fat man with some surprise, and said, "What the lord said is correct. The Ministry of Rites spent a lot of time and effort on this place, and Taoist Yuan Tiangang Tianshi confirmed the location after many calculations."

Yuan Tiangang?
When Shen Lian heard the name, his eyes flashed.

Yuan Tiangang is also a famous figure in history.

However, he was not famous for his official position.

Instead, he became famous for his divination and incense-telling techniques.

Shen Lian originally did not believe in these superstitions, but he believed that anyone who could leave his name in history was definitely not a simple person.

Even if it is superstition, the fact that Yuan Tiangang was able to leave his name in history and be remembered by future generations is enough to show his extraordinary character.

However, Yuan Tiangang was a Taoist, and although he was also an official in the court, he seldom showed up in public. He often stayed at home, meditating, so Shen Lian never had the chance to meet him.

Shen Lian looked at Deshun and said, "Excuse me, sir, when the Temple of Heaven was built, did Yuan Tiangang also participate?"

Deshun nodded. "Although Yuan Tiangang Tianshi did not participate in the construction, he gave a lot of suggestions, including the site selection and the shape of the Temple of Heaven. They were all proposed by Yuan Tiangang Tianshi."

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes.

Yuan Tiangang was involved in all of this, but why didn’t he see Yuan Tiangang’s name in the files?
In the files of the Ministry of Works, there is a detailed list of people who participated in the construction.

But there was no Yuan Tiangang inside.

This is because Yuan Tiangang only came up with the idea but did not personally participate in the construction.

Or is there another reason?!
Shen Lian thought for a moment.

Then, he looked at Lu Shisan and asked, "Where is Yuan Tiangang now?"

Lu Shisan is in charge of the shadow guard, and the information of all court officials is in the shadow guard’s intelligence room.

So Lu Shisan did not hesitate at all and said directly, "In the Tiandao Pavilion in Chang'an City."

"Send him here."

Shen Lian spoke.

Lu Shisan turned around and left without saying a word.

Deshun looked at Lu Shisan's back and couldn't help but admire, "Lord Shen has capable subordinates."

No matter why, when you hear the order, do it without any hesitation.

………………

Deshun looked at Lu Shisan's back and couldn't help but admire, "Lord Shen has capable subordinates."

No matter why, when you hear the order, do it without any hesitation.

………………

(End of this chapter)