Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

Soon, they arrived at the right side hall.

The door to the right side hall was locked, but Deshun had already prepared the key.

He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

The door opened and looked inside.

Then I found that the area of ​​the right side hall was about the same as that of the left side hall.

At this time, many sacrificial items were placed in an orderly manner in the side hall.

Burn incense.

Candle.

tray.

Yellow cloth.

Yellow paper.

In the right front corner of the side hall, there were several pieces of white marble stacked there.

Seeing that Shen Lian saw that the stones looked like white marble, Deshun said, "These jades are the remaining building materials. These pieces of jade are intact and unused. It would be a pity to just throw them away."

"But if I don't throw it away, it's heavy and big, and I don't know where to put it..."

"So we just keep it in this warehouse. If the Temple of Heaven needs to be repaired one day, or if a stone is broken and needs to be replaced, we can use it for replacement."

Shen Lian nodded slightly.

He came to the jade stones, ran his fingers over them, and found that his fingertips were covered with dust.

It can be seen that this jade has been placed here for a long time.

It hasn't moved at all.

Shen Lian grabbed a piece of jade and lifted it up slowly.

Deshun, who was standing by, saw this scene and couldn't help but widen his eyes, "Master Qin is so powerful!!"

Yuan Tiangang was also extremely surprised.

And Shen Lian narrowed his eyes.

It can be said that his strength has reached the limit of human beings.

But even so, he had to use a lot of effort to lift it.

If it were an ordinary worker, it would probably take four people to lift one piece.

At this moment, Shen Lian suddenly realized something.

Zhao Heng said that hundreds of people and five days' worth of construction materials suddenly disappeared.

It is impossible for just a few people to move five days' worth of building materials carrying such heavy stones.

It is not something that can be done in just a few hours.

This would require at least dozens of people and several days to accomplish.

In that case...it seems that the guards, the Ministry of Works or the eunuchs, who were lying, did not just tell a small lie.

That is a big lie that treats everyone as blind, deaf and stupid!!!
Shen Lian had ignored this matter before.

He only noticed that it was impossible for so many building materials to disappear out of thin air.

Someone must be lying and someone is assisting.

However, he overlooked the quantity of building materials and the manpower and time required to move them.

Now, seeing these building materials with his own eyes, Shen Lian realized how huge a workload it would be to move so many building materials.

It's impossible to do it without a few days.

It is impossible to do it without dozens of people.

Moreover, this requires going in and out of the warehouse.

It is not something that can be done by sending the guards away for a quarter of an hour or an hour.

This will require sending the guards away for a few days.

But, is this possible?
Those guards might be forced to leave due to some special reasons.

But I definitely wouldn't dare leave for too long.

After all, this is the Temple of Heaven built for the emperor, and the emperor cares about it very much. Who dares to relax at this time? !

Don’t want your head anymore?
So, they will never be away from here for more than a few days.

Does this prove one thing...

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes.

Could it be that the guard is lying?
Are all the guards lying?
Or are only some lying?

Did the guard whom I just questioned lie?

Or, the guards did not lie, they thought what they said was true, but in fact, they were deceived.

Are they lying and not knowing it?

At this moment, Shen Lian's brain was running at high speed like a high-tech computer.

That moment.

He thought of no less than ten ways to carry out this scheme.

But all of this is just my own speculation and there is no empirical evidence to prove it.

"We are still missing the most crucial clue."

Shen Lian calmed his mind, paused his fast-running brain, and forced himself to be objective, preventing subjective assumptions from affecting his judgment.

He looked at Yuan Tiangang and said casually, "Master Yuan Tiangang, I wonder if Master Yuan Tiangang still remembers the strange things that happened when the Temple of Heaven was built?"

Yuan Tiangang wrinkled his gray beard, nodded slightly, and said, "I certainly remember it."

"I came to check on what happened at that time, but I don't have any clues."

"I was worried for quite a while at that time."

"After all, the location of the Temple of Heaven was chosen by me, and the construction style of the Temple of Heaven was also suggested by me."

"It can be said that the entire Temple of Heaven has a lot to do with me. The Temple of Heaven is originally a mysterious thing. When it was being built, such a strange thing suddenly happened. It is inevitable that people will think that the construction of the Temple of Heaven is inappropriate."

"This put me under great pressure at the time. I even wanted to stop the construction of the Temple of Heaven. However, it takes a lot of manpower, material resources and time to build the Temple of Heaven, and the Temple of Heaven is already half built. If we suddenly give up, it will be too costly and laborious."

"Therefore, after discussing with Lord Qin He, I decided to conceal the news and pretend that nothing happened. We will continue the construction. If such strange things still happen, we will stop the construction immediately."

“But if it doesn’t happen, then just ignore it. As a result, maybe Wuliang Tianzun is behind the scenes and nothing strange is happening.”

Yuan Tiangang’s explanation was very detailed and clear.

Reasonable reasons were also given for the choices made later.

In this way, Shen Lian suddenly understood the whole story.

It must be said that Master Yuan is a man who has seen the world. He is very clear about his purpose and answers directly without any hesitation.

Shen Lian nodded slightly.

As he walked around the warehouse and observed it, he said, "Ten years ago, did Master Yuan know about the renovation of the Temple of Heaven?"

Yuan Tiangang nodded: "I've heard of it."

"However, I have not participated in the construction of the Temple of Heaven, so I did not participate in the repairs."

Shen Lian turned his head and glanced at Yuan Tiangang, and said, "So after the construction of the Temple of Heaven was completed, did Yuan Tianshi ever visit it?"

"Of course."

Yuan Tiangang said: "After all, the Temple of Heaven has a great relationship with me. After it was built, I came here to perform rituals. So I was actually the first one to use the Temple of Heaven."

"Oh?!"

Shen Lian's eyes flashed, "Master Yuan is the first person to use the Temple of Heaven?"

Yuan Tiangang nodded: "Yes, the Temple of Heaven has just been built, and I need to consecrate it and prepare to welcome the tablets of the royal ancestors into the temple." "Therefore, I am the first to use the Temple of Heaven."

Shen Lian asked: "When the Heavenly Master was using the Temple of Heaven, did he find anything wrong with it?"

Yuan Tiangang shook his head, "Nothing unusual happened..."

He smiled and said, "If there is really something abnormal, I would not dare to let Your Majesty use it."

Shen Lian nodded slightly, "I see."

Shen Lian looked around the warehouse carefully.

Didn't find any problems here.

He pondered for a moment, then said, "It seems there is nothing to see here, let's go out."

Everyone nodded and left.

After leaving the palace, they returned to the Temple of Heaven.

At this time, Fatty Zhang came over.

He looked at Shen Lian, and Shen Lian gave him a wink.

Shen Lian and Fatty Zhang came to a corner and asked in a low voice, "But what did you find?"

Fatty Zhang looked a little suspicious and said, "I'm not too sure, but there is indeed one place where the stone has some friction marks that are different from other places. It seems that it has been moved many times."

"However, the stone is too heavy. I cannot move it and check it by myself."

"Besides, this Temple of Heaven is also quite sensitive. I dare not destroy it at will, so I am not sure whether there are any secrets underneath."

Shen Lian pondered for a moment and said, "Where are you talking about?"

Fatty Zhang turned his back and used his body to block his finger. He pointed to an area and said, "It's right there."

After reading it, Shen Lian nodded slightly.

"I understand. Go check the palace later, especially the storehouse to see if there are any hidden passages or mechanisms there."

"This officer needs to confirm one thing."

Fatty Zhang said without hesitation: "I understand."

Having said that, he walked towards the palace.

Shen Lian returned to Deshun and Yuan Tiangang.

Yuan Tiangang asked curiously, "But what did your men find?"

Deshun also looked at Shen Lian.

Shen Lian smiled bitterly, "If I had really discovered something, I wouldn't have to worry so much."

"I'll ask him to go to the palace and see if he can find anything. If he can't find anything, maybe there really isn't anything wrong with the Temple of Heaven."

Yuan Tiangang stroked his beard and said with a smile, "From what I have seen from Lord Qin's face, Lord Qin is a blessed person. I think everything will go smoothly for him."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words, Master."

At this time, a few more people came outside.

The leader was none other than the Minister of Works, Du Chuke.

Behind Du Chuke, there were two people.

Du Chuke came in front of the group and bowed to Shen Lian, saying, "Sir Shen, I hurried here after hearing what Sir Lu said."

"One of these two people participated in the construction of the Temple of Heaven."

“The other person participated in the renovation ten years ago.”

"In fact, there are other people involved in the Ministry of Works, but they have been sent to other places to build dams and bridges. It is difficult for them to return in a short time, so I can only bring them here first."

When Shen Lian heard this, he looked directly at the two men.

The person on the left was thin and looked to be in his forties. He was not dressed luxuriously and seemed to be a technician in charge of specific matters.

Shen Lian looked at him, and he bowed quickly, "Greetings, Lord Shen. I am Zhang Cheng, a subordinate who once participated in the construction of the Temple of Heaven. If you want to know anything, just ask me, and I will tell you everything I know."

Shen Lian nodded slightly and looked at another person.

The other man was slightly fat and younger, about 30 years old. He said, "Sir Shen, I am Fan Duo, who participated in the renovation ten years ago."

Shen Lian looked at Zhang Cheng and got straight to the point: "Zhang Cheng, did you ever encounter any strange things when you were building the Temple of Heaven?"

"Something weird?"

Zhang Cheng hesitated for a moment and asked, "What strange thing do you want to know, sir?"

When Shen Lian heard this, his eyes flashed: "Which one? You mean more than one?"

His eyes suddenly swept over Yuan Tiangang, as well as other guards and eunuchs who had participated in the construction of the Temple of Heaven.

Zhang Cheng nodded and said, "There are three cases that I know of."

three item?

When Shen Lian heard Zhang Cheng's words, his eyes suddenly flashed.

He glanced at the eunuchs and guards.

Then they all showed expressions of surprise at this time, as if they had no idea that there were so many strange things.

He glanced at Yuan Tiangang again in silence.

Yuan Tiangang stroked his beard, and looked surprised.

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes, looked at Zhang Cheng, and asked, "Which three?!"

Zhang Cheng recalled it all on the way here.

Speaking at this time is also very smooth.

He said: "The first thing was that when the Temple of Heaven was halfway through construction, five days of construction materials suddenly disappeared. No matter how hard we checked, we couldn't find out where so much construction materials went."

Shen Lian nodded slightly.

He already knew about this.

However, he did not say anything, but listened to Zhang Cheng carefully.

What he had listened to before were all the words of Yuan Tiangang and Zhao Heng. Once there was a problem with these two people, then the details might be misleading.

So if you listen to Zhang Cheng one more time, you may be able to discover some problems.

However, Zhang Cheng's description was basically consistent with what Yuan Tiangang and the others said. All three of them were correct in not lying about the disappearance of his building materials.

"And the second thing is the cracking of the ground."

Zhang Cheng talked about the second strange thing.

"The ground is cracking?"

Shen Lian looked at Zhang Cheng in confusion.

Zhang Cheng nodded and said, "During the construction of the Temple of Heaven, there were three times when cracks suddenly appeared on the newly laid white marble after one night, forcing us to replace the white marble."

"In addition, we once discovered that cracks appeared directly on the ground below the white marble."

"This crack is something we have never encountered before when we built a house. It is as if it was splitting upwards from deep underground."

"At the time, this scared us. After all, first the building materials disappeared, and then the ground cracked. This was unprecedented and unheard of. At the time, we, who were in the know, were very panicked."

Shen Lian saw Yuan Tiangang and asked, "Does the Heavenly Master know about this?"

Yuan Tiangang shook his head and said, "I have never heard of anyone mentioning this."

Shen Lian looked at Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng said, "When the Secretary of State discovered it, he sent people to dig down. He finally found that the crack was very shallow. There was nothing underneath, so he didn't make it public."

"However, even if the ground cracks, the hard white marble on top shouldn't crack as well."

"I was really puzzled by this matter, but later, after re-paving the wall with white marble, the jade did not crack again, so I had no choice but to keep it to myself."

………………(End of this chapter)