Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

Suddenly, Jie Zhi's face turned pale when he heard Xu Gou's words.

The abbot, who had been silently reciting Buddhist scriptures with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes.

They all had a look of disbelief on their faces.

"How...how could this happen..."

Jie Zhi felt as if he had been hit hard and could not help but take a few steps back.

He shook his head, his face pale and terrified.

Looking at the look on Shen Lian's face, he felt that Shen Lian was a devil.

Under such circumstances, he didn't expect that Shen Lian could still find a way to confirm that he was not at the scene.

And there is such irrefutable evidence.

This this……

Shen Lian looked at Jie Zhi's horrified expression and said calmly, "If you don't want others to know, then you better not do it. If you have done it, there will definitely be clues! You are indeed very smart. You know that in such a chaotic situation, it is difficult for people to confirm that you were not at the scene... But you didn't expect... We have integrated everyone's testimony, so you have nowhere to hide!"

In fact, what Shen Lian used was a very simple big data comparison technology.

In later generations, this is not worth mentioning at all.

But in this era, that is something they simply cannot imagine.

Shen Lian took a deep breath, looked at Dezhi, and said, "Dezhi, now... do you have anything else to say?"

"Amitabha."

Dezhi looked at Shen Lian with a struggle in his eyes, but after a moment, it turned into tranquility.

He said: "All this is just Lord Shen's inference. Lord Shen, you have no direct evidence."

Shen Lian shook his head and said, "You really won't cry until you see the coffin!"

"You said I, Shen, don't have direct evidence?" Shen Lian sneered and said, "Dezhi, you seem to have forgotten the joke I just told you. Five thousand silver taels turned into stone. This..."

He said meaningfully: "Isn't this enough to be irrefutable evidence?"

brush!
Dezhi's calm face turned completely pale after hearing Shen Lian's words.

He stared at Shen Lian with eyes wide open, his whole body seemed to be struck by lightning...

…………

at the same time.

The imperial palace, the sleeping palace.

Li Shimin was suddenly awakened by some noises.

He frowned and sat up, asking, "What's the commotion?"

The eunuch Zhao Deshun ran over in a panic, holding a letter in his hand, and said, "Your Majesty, no... no, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei... is missing... This is what we found in the Prince of Wei's mansion."

"What!?" The King of Wei disappeared.

Li Shimin stood up in an instant.

King Li Tai of Wei was the one he loved most among all his sons.

He hurriedly took the letter, opened it, and his face changed instantly.

There was only one line of words in this letter.
-
Li Tai is in my hands. If you want to save him, you must arrive at Huasheng Temple in Chang'an before dawn. If you are late, Li Tai will die!
Li Shimin looked at the contents of the secret letter, his face so calm that it seemed as if water could drip out of it.

He clenched his hands tightly, and the blood vessels on the back of his hands seemed to be about to burst. Anyone who saw it could tell how angry Li Shimin was at this moment.

But no matter how angry he was, he knew he couldn't show it.

The mess caused by the locusts and the Five Surnames and Seven Families had just been cleaned up, and the entire court was still in turmoil, when something like this happened again.

You must never lose your reason and calm.

Otherwise, there might be a big mess.

He took a deep breath and left the bedroom without waking Empress Changsun.

"His Majesty."

There were already guards waiting outside.

Li Shimin said calmly: "First, control the Prince of Wei's mansion. No one, from top to bottom, is allowed to leave the Prince of Wei's mansion without my order!"

"Investigate and interrogate each person separately. If anyone dares to behave in a strange way or to conceal something, they will be killed without mercy. All nine clans will be killed, and all the relatives will be punished together!"

The guard was shocked and realized that Li Shimin was really furious!

This kind of punishment can be said to be the most severe punishment in the Tang Dynasty.

He didn't dare to delay and nodded quickly.

"second."

Li Shimin paused, as if he was making a decision.

After a long while, he finally made a decision and said, "Go and summon the newly promoted Lord immediately and have him come to see me."

Li Tai is missing. The thief doesn't take me seriously at all, he must have something to rely on.

Li Shimin knew that if he wanted to find Li Tai in the shortest possible time, since it was related to his son, he had to rescue him quickly.

If you want to rescue Li Tai, you must find the smartest person!

The Dali Temple is not acceptable.

Jingzhao Yi can't do it.

Even Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and other civil servants were no match for him.

Only Shen Lian, the son-in-law who won the title of No. 1 scholar and broke through many tricks, could do it!!
In the entire Tang Dynasty, only Shen Lian has this ability.

Therefore, he could only ask Shen Lian for help.

Only Shen Lian can protect Li Tai's life.

It seems that I must meet my son-in-law.

Li Shimin's eyes flickered.

At this time, a shadow guard spoke up and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Shen... Lord Shen is not in Chang'an."

"what?"

When Li Shimin heard this, his expression changed instantly.

Hear this.

This made Li Shimin's heart suddenly skip a beat.

"Sir Shen Lian, where is he? Where is he?"

Li Shimin couldn't help but ask.

The voice was not low, almost a shout, and this loss of composure made the shadow guard stunned for a moment.

The shadow guard did not dare to delay and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, Lord Shen, he went to the Huasheng Temple in Chang'an yesterday morning and has not returned yet. He should be staying in the Huasheng Temple."

For the Shadow Guard, it is not too difficult to find Shen Lian's whereabouts.

He said that Qin Zulai left yesterday morning because it was already past midnight and it was already the second day.

"Chang'an Huasheng Temple?"

When Li Shimin heard these five words, his eyes widened and his whole body was stunned for a moment.

He thought he had misheard, and hurriedly asked, "Are you talking about the Chang'an Huasheng Temple? That temple?"

The shadow guard didn't know why Li Shimin had such an expression, and nodded quickly: "Yes, it is Huasheng Temple."

Li Shimin quickly opened the secret letter, read it carefully and confirmed it.

That’s right, the place mentioned in the secret letter is the Huasheng Temple in Chang’an!
So, is this a coincidence?
Li Shimin shook his head. Whether it was a coincidence or not, Shen Lian was in the Huasheng Temple in Chang'an. Li Shimin instantly breathed a sigh of relief. The person who kidnapped Li Tai wanted him to go to the Huasheng Temple before dawn, so whether it was a coincidence or all this was the kidnapper's intention...

In short, as long as you go to Huasheng Temple, you will meet Shen Lian.

And he believed that even though they had never met, many things proved that as long as Shen Lian was there, even the most sinister conspiracies and plots would be exposed.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin did not hesitate at all and said directly: "Go to Huasheng Temple!"

…………

At this time, in the Huasheng Temple in Chang'an.

Shen Lian didn't know what happened in the palace.

He is in the final stages of explaining the case.

He looked at Dezhi and said, "Abbot Dezhi, as I said, apart from using the power of the gods, it is impossible to explain the scene at Cuihua Mountain with human power."

"But... there is also a limiting condition, that is, the silver must have been exchanged in Cuihua Mountain."

"But what if the silver was replaced with stone before it was shipped out of the temple? The result would be completely different."

Everyone was shocked when they heard Shen Lian's words.

Deyuan couldn't help but say, "Before leaving the temple, it was replaced with stone. This..."

He couldn't help but look at Dezhi and said, "Brother, is this really the case?"

Dezhi looked at the look of disbelief on the face of his junior fellow apprentice, at the gazes of all the monks in the temple, and at Shen Lian's confident smile as if he had everything under control.

He took a deep breath and finally sighed: "Amitabha, the smartest man in the Tang Dynasty is indeed worthy of his reputation."

"Today, I am sincerely convinced."

After hearing Dezhi's words, the monks' faces changed completely.

Deyuan's eyes also widened and he kept shaking his head, as if he was meeting Dezhi for the first time.

Dezhi's words were, without a doubt, self-destructive.

Admit it!
Shen Lian was not at all surprised by this.

After all, I have pushed Dezhi into a dead end. Even if he refuses to admit it, the truth will be told to everyone.

Shen Lian said calmly: "In Cuihua Mountain, it is absolutely impossible to change copper coins into stones in just one hour."

"But what if it's in your temple? With the strength of virtue, wisdom and discipline, it won't take a day, it can be easily replaced in one night, right?"

"So, after eliminating all the impossible situations, even if it is unbelievable, it is still the fact! That is, Master Deyuan, the ransom you transported has actually been replaced with stone a long time ago, but you just don't know it."

"Then I think that relic was thrown there by Jie Zhi when he left while you were not paying attention. His purpose was to let you know that the thieves had been there. In this way...their suspicion can be cleared."

"I have to say that your plan is really good. It's not all-encompassing, but it won't make it easy for people to find you."

"But, unfortunately..."

Shen Lian's eyes passed from Jie Zhi's frightened pale face, and then fell on De Zhi's dejected face, and said calmly: "You met me, Shen."

Everyone listened to Shen Lian's words and had no idea what to think.

Mixed flavors.

All kinds of flavors, sweet, sour, bitter and spicy, come together in an instant.

This makes them feel very complicated.

There is no need to confirm it. From Jiezhi's expression and Dezhi's look, it can be seen that everything is as Shen Lian said.

"Brother, this... was really done by you?"

Deyuan looked at Dezhi and spoke with a sad face.

Dezhi clasped his hands together, not daring to look into Deyuan's eyes, and said in a deep voice: "Amitabha, I have fallen into the devil's way."

"Deyuan, from now on, Huasheng Temple will be handed over to you."

"Brother!"

Deyuan suddenly shouted loudly, scaring many people.

He stared at Dezhi with wide eyes and asked, "Why? You are the abbot! The relics belong to our temple, which means they belong to you. Why...why did you steal your own things?"

He didn't understand, he really hated not understanding.

why?
Why does Dezhi do this?

There is absolutely no reason for this!
The others were the same, all looking confused.

No one could figure out what was going on.

But Dezhi just closed his eyes and didn't answer at all.

Deyuan couldn't help but look at Shen Lian. He said, "Lord Shen, you... do you know why this is happening?"

Shen Lian looked at De Yuan's disappointed expression, sighed, and said, "Abbot De Zhi, your obsession is too strong, or rather... your obsession with winning is too strong."

"what?"

Everyone quickly looked at Shen Lian. They knew that Shen Lian must know the reason.

Deyuan said, "Please give me some advice, Lord Shen."

Shen Lian glanced at Dezhi, who was too embarrassed to face everyone and could only close his eyes and chant Buddha's name, and said, "In fact, this is a scam, a scam that your abbot set up to defraud pilgrims' money in order to win the Buddhist and Taoist debate in three months!"

"A scam?" Everyone was stunned.

Jie Cheng subconsciously raised his head and looked at Shen Lian, because it was he who told Shen Lian the debate between Buddhism and Taoism.

Shen Lian nodded slightly to Jie Cheng.

He said, "I once had a casual chat with Jiecheng and learned that three months from now, it will be time for your Buddhist and Taoist debates, and this time the venue will be in your Huasheng Temple."

"Because you lost the Buddhist and Taoist debates in the previous lessons, this time, no matter how virtuous or intelligent you are, you are all holding your breath and want to win back."

"Therefore, in order to highlight your status as the home court, to show your fame and momentum, Abbot Dezhi wants to renovate the Huasheng Temple, right?"

Everyone nodded, this was no secret.

Deyuan said, "But what does this have to do with this case?"

"Why doesn't it matter? You don't have enough money!" Shen Lian said.

Deyuan shook his head and said, "Impossible. Brother raised funds from the outside world before, and the pilgrims donated several thousand silver taels to us. This is more than enough."

It’s really easy to make your money.

Shen Lian couldn't help but complain in his heart.

He said, "If it's just a simple repair, a few thousand silver taels would be enough, but I think Abbot Dezhi would definitely not just want a simple repair, right?"

"If you want to give Taoism a warning, then you have to shock people. If you want that kind of effect, tens of thousands of strings of silver will not be enough. Ten thousand silver taels will be enough."

"But it's already not easy for you to collect several thousand silver taels from the pilgrims. If you ask for more money, the pilgrims will inevitably say that you are too concerned about formalities and that you are no longer outsiders."

"So, you can't ask for money from pilgrims for this reason. But Abbot Dezhi is already obsessed with this. As long as he can defeat the Taoists, he will never let it go even if it increases the chances of winning by one point."

"So, there is still a shortfall of several thousand silver taels. What should we do?"

Shen Lian raised his head, looked at Dezhi, and said, "Of course we have to find a way, and this scam is your idea."

Deyuan didn't speak at this time.

He's not stupid.

Shen Lian has already said this. If he still doesn't understand, he won't be able to become the head of the dean.

And based on his understanding of Dezhi, Dezhi would really do this.

And based on his understanding of Dezhi, Dezhi would really do this.

(End of this chapter)