The Famen Temple of the Tang Dynasty is located in Qizhou, more than 200 miles west of Chang'an City, early in the morning, Xue Ne and Fan Ning set off out of the city and hurried there. Every thirty miles, the two of them would stop for a moment at the post station, drink tea and rehydrate, and most importantly, let the horses rest.

Each post station has a portrait of Wu Hou holding Fan Ning, strictly checking the people who come and go, Fan Ning relies on the kung fu of painting skin fairies, walks between Wu Hou with his waist inserted, and points out the rivers and mountains to compare and draw, without shying away. Xue Ne drank the horse, filled the water bag and walked out of the post station, seeing this scene, he felt helpless and funny, and greeted: "Brother Ning, it's time to go." ”

Fan Ning responded from afar, trotted over, took the horse's bridle, raised his hand and beat his back: "If it goes on like this, I'm afraid that I will be able to rush to Famen Temple at night, I don't know if those monks will let us stay ......"

Xue Ne thought about it, it was really not convenient to live in the temple with Fan Ning, and he planned to propose to stay at the next post station tonight, saying that he hadn't exited yet, and suddenly heard someone behind him calling: "Xue Yushi, Brother Ning?" ”

Before Xue Ne turned around, he heard Fan Ning shout softly: "Master Gao? Why are you here? Did you help Wuhou arrest the suspect? ”

Gao Min's appearance made Xue Ne a little surprised, and after thinking about it, such a big thing happened in Famen Temple, and the Criminal Department would inevitably send officials to investigate, which was not surprising, but Xue Ne still pretended not to know, stepped forward, separated Fan Ning and Gao Min, and intervened and said, "Where is Master Gao going?" ”

"Go to Famen Temple", Gao Min greeted Fan Ning with a smile and replied to Xue Ne, "The physical evidence that I got back yesterday, Lord Shangshu attaches great importance to it, and specially ordered Gao to investigate...... Famen Temple has Buddha relics, the emperor and queen of heaven have welcomed the Buddha's bones here, bowed and worshipped, and now there is such a serious case, but the red-clothed Yaksha Fan Ning has not been caught, how can it not make people anxious? ”

Gao Min said the truth, but Xue Ne and Fan Ning looked into the distance at the same time, and did not see that he had a companion, and then looked at Gao Min at the same time, looking at him from top to bottom, as if they didn't understand why they paid so much attention but only sent him alone.

Gao Min scratched his head, and his handsome smile was full of embarrassment: "In the past few days, there has been a big case on the side, and many people have been transferred, so this case was handed over to Gao, did the two of you also go to Famen Temple?" ”

"Yes, Master Gao, let's go together?" Without waiting for Xue Ne to reply, Fan Ning beckoned Gao Mindao.

"Okay", Gao Min happily agreed, led his horse, turned over, and smiled and motioned for Fan Ning and Xue Ne to set off.

Xue Ne was anxious and helpless, and he couldn't care so much, so he grabbed Fan Ning's hand and asked in a low voice, "Why, why did you invite him along?" ”

"You are stupid", Fan Ning secretly twisted Xue Ne, beckoned him to come close and whispered, "He will go too, and we will go too, if not, wouldn't it be more suspicious?" ”

With that, Fan Ning turned over his horse in a dashing manner and drove along the official road in the direction of Fengxiang. Xue Ne couldn't say why he was so wary of Gao Min, he always felt that the feeling this person gave him was not so simple, so he hurriedly turned over and got on the horse, and hurriedly caught up with Fan Ning's footsteps.

By the time they arrived at Fengxiang, it was getting late, and the three of them rushed to stay at the post station before the curfew. This place is the only way for Chang'an to and from the Western Regions, there are many business travelers from all over the world, the two-story wooden shop is very lively inside and out, Fan Ning led the horse into the shed, handed it over to the handyman to feed, and whistled, teased the camel that drank water, when entering the store, he saw Xue Ne and Gao Min standing in front of the high counter, as if discussing something with the shopkeeper, the two of them had a black and white face, and it was interesting to distinguish between them.

Fan Ning took two steps forward and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"There are only two rooms left", Gao Min seemed to be surprised by this situation, patted Fan Ning on the shoulder and said, "Brother Ning, let's live together?" Xue Yushi is busy with official business, and it is just right to have a single room. ”

Before Fan Ning could refuse, Xue Ne pulled her behind him, obviously unhappy in his heart, but his expression was still so light and light, no different from usual, he scratched his head with a smile and said: "Brother Ning's snoring voice is extremely loud, someone was in the same room with her before, slept all night, and became deaf when she woke up in the morning." The senior director must not take this risk, if he breaks his body, how can he delay the investigation of the case......"

"It's a coincidence", Gao Min not only didn't mind, but looked like an old acquaintance in a foreign country, "I love to listen to people snoring, I can't sleep without snoring, so good, then ......"

"No", Xue Ne stood between the two of them, separating Fan Ning and Gao Min with his height advantage, but he couldn't say why.

Fan Ning gave Xue Ne a slap from behind, pushed him aside, frowned, his expression was extremely complicated, and he said with a thoughtful pretentiousness: "Chief, don't worry about saving face for me...... I have a feverish evil, occasionally I get startled at night, wander around without knowing it, and once even almost injured my grandfather. Therefore, Ning never stayed with him, and he had to wronged the head of my family and the head of the high family. ”

"Ah, I see, it's easy to say", Gao Min seemed to be a cheerful person, laughed twice, and said to Xue Ne, "How many girls in Chang'an City are staring at the lintel of the Xue family, staring at our handsome Xue Gongzi, Gao is really fortunate to sleep with Xue Dagongzi today." ”

Fan Ning knew that Xue Ne was most afraid of people making such jokes, so he couldn't help but smile and peeked at him, and sure enough, he saw that his face was red and white for a while. Fan Ning wouldn't know that Xue Ne originally wanted to share a room with her, but now that she has made a mistake, she has become a room with Gao Min, who can she talk to about the annoyance and unhappiness in her heart?

The three of them went upstairs along the wooden spiral staircase, Fan Ning's room was in the middle, and Xue Ne and Gao Min's room was at the top of the stairs. Xue Ne opened the door and saw that the bed was extremely narrow, and it was difficult to accommodate one person, let alone sleep two big men. Fan Ning almost didn't laugh out loud, said "cherish", and swaggered back to his room.

Gao Min pushed Xue Ne into the room, sat on the edge of the couch and yawned: "The conditions here naturally can't be compared with Xue's mansion, Xue Yushi is guilty, Gao will find a guy for a while to ask for two more futons, and just make a bunk." ”

Gao Min said this, which made Xue Ne a little embarrassed: "It's better for Xue to sleep underground." ”

"Xue Yushi doesn't have to be polite", Gao Min said, leaned out of the room, and ordered the little two to say a few words, and did not forget to say a few nonsense, which made the girl from the Western Regions on the other side laugh more than once. After a while, the guy sent two futons, Gao Min chose the vacant seat next to the wooden table, quickly laid the floor, leaned over it, stretched a long lazy waist, smiled sparsely and contentedly, "If you can eat a bowl of hot soup cakes for a while, you will have a good day today." ”

"Is Director Gao from Qizhou? I have a soft spot for the face like this.。 ”

"I'm from Luoyang, but I've never lived in Luoyang", Gao Min's smile flashed with a hint of imperceptible bitterness, he propped himself up, and asked Xue Ne mysteriously, "By the way, Xue Yushi, 'that case', do you have any clues?" ”

Xue Ne was making the bed, turned around, and his face was full of confusion: "Isn't the clue the same as Master Gao, do you want to go to Famen Temple to have a look?" ”

"No, no, Gao is talking about that case."

Gao Min looked at Xue Ne with frowns, as if he was flattering, which made Xue Ne feel a chill: "What kind of case is it, please make it clear to Director Gao." ”

Gao Min was stunned, a little incredulous: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince treats Xue Yushi so kindly, didn't he tell Xue Yushi about that case?" That Gao didn't dare to say more, it was rude. ”

The more Gao Min said this, the more confused Xue Ne became, but his temperament was never as immobile as a mountain, so he didn't ask, but said, "Does Master Gao want to eat soup cakes?" Xue asked Xiao Er to send some. ”

After dinner, it was the beginning of the hour, Gao Min was crooked on the floor and looked at the script, and fell asleep in a few moments. Xue Ne got up and extinguished the oil lamp, but he couldn't sleep on the couch. Somehow, when he had no clue a few days ago, he wasn't so worried, but now that he has a clue, he can't sleep.

The sophistication, cruelty, and breadth of this case have exceeded Xue Ne's expectations, and all of this is directed at Fan Ning. Xue Ne couldn't understand that every big case must have a motive, and Fan Ning was just Li Chunfeng's little apprentice, so who would go to great lengths to frame her?

Early the next morning, the sky was bright, and Xue Ne, Fan Ning and Gao Min continued to set off for Famen Temple, and arrived after noon. Famen Temple is the Tang Dynasty Temple, the temple with white tiles of the vermilion wall is shrouded in green smoke and incense, before it is close, the three of them are impressed by the long-distance, quiet, and peaceful atmosphere of the Buddhist temple, and consciously slow down their pace.

In addition to the little novice, there were also a group of guards in military uniform, Xue Ne showed his waist card, Gao Min handed over the official document of the Criminal Department, and the guards searched the body, and then put the three of them into the temple.

This kind of thing is just a man, Fan Ning is a girl, and she must be scared and uncomfortable, but she can't show resistance. Xue Ne was worried about Fan Ning, and seeing that she was not exposed, she was distressed and helpless, so she stepped forward and patted her shoulder as comfort. Fan Ning's thin lips were pale, but he still smiled back, signaling that Xue Ne was fine.

After passing the plaque, I walked forward dozens of zhang, and then I arrived at the mountain gate, and there was a monk who was about twenty years old waiting at the door, and he folded his hands and saluted: "Xue Yushi, the high master, the abbot master is invited." ”

Xue Ne and the other three hurriedly returned the salute, and followed the monk through the Mahavira Hall and the Liberation Pond, etc., and came to the tea room of the side hall on the east side. The abbot of Famen Temple is waiting in the tea room, chanting while boiling water, he is about the year of Mo Ershun, born with kind eyebrows and kind eyes, hair and beard are white, at a glance you know that there is a very high cultivation, slowly said: "There are three donors who come from afar, I heard that the disciples of our temple have an accident in Lantian, the abbot and the poor monks are very shocked, all living beings are suffering, unjust creditors, there are three donors, and the disciples of my temple will be repaid a fair ...... as soon as possible."

"Xue came here today, it is for this matter, there are some details, we need the master to help us recall, maybe it can become the key evidence to solve this case."

Xue Ne nodded lightly and motioned to Fan Ning, who opened the cloth bag he was carrying, took out a pen and paper, and prepared to start recording.

Gao Min stood aside and watched Xue Ne investigate the case with interest, only to hear him go straight to the point and ask, "Dare to ask the master, why did you send those masters to the other courtyard to get the Lotus Sutra?" ”

"The Lotus Sutra is supplemented twice a year, with the first half of the year being the Buddha's birthday and the second half of the year around the Double Ninth Festival, a tradition that has been maintained for nearly 20 years."

Xue Ne secretly thought that the murderer in this case was only afraid that he knew about the tradition of Famen Temple, but devout believers like his mother did not know about it, and he was afraid that only the royal family or extremely prominent people would know about it like this. Xue Ne calmed down for a moment, and then asked, "Is the date of each year also determined?" ”

"I am not sure, but the autumn rain in Guanzhong at the beginning of September is not conducive to the storage of scriptures, so the date changes every year."

"For those who have come here to worship the Buddha in the past two months, does the master have any records?"

"Every time I come to Shuo Ri and Wangri, there are so many people who come and go to worship incense that I can't record them one by one, and I also invite Xue Yu Shi Haihan."

Xue Ne also wanted to ask if the officials on the third grade or the prince of the county had any dealings, but because Gao Min was here, Xue Ne was inconvenient to ask, and said: "Do you remember what the masters wore when they went out?" ”

"All of them are dark monks' robes, three people of the Zhizi generation, all torn at the arms, and six people of the Miaozi generation, all torn at the big share, which is the internal inheritance of my Famen Temple, and there will be no bias."

Xue Ne looked at it, and the abbot's collar was indeed torn, so he naturally changed the subject: "Dare to ask if I haven't seen these masters come back for many days, can there be an official in the temple or send someone to look for it?" ”

"Never, the monks of our temple went to the other courtyard to pick up and send scriptures, as short as more than ten days, as long as a month, after all, walking on foot, may encounter heavy rain and wind, and it is inevitable to be delayed. Yesterday, the Qizhou Yamen sent someone to inform them, and the poor monks only knew. Although life is not happy, and death is not sad, there should always be the word fairness in the world, and I ask Xue Yushi to find out the truth as soon as possible and give me justice in Famen Temple. ”

"Master, please rest assured, Xue Mou will do his best to solve this case as soon as possible."

Xue Ne asked the abbot for some details, and then took Fan Ning to resign. The abbot sent the three of them to the release pond until the prescription, and Xue Ne, Fan Ning and Gao Minfu bowed to the abbot. After the abbot left, Gao Min asked Xue Ne: "The corpses of those monks have been burned to the point that they are not covered with clothes, and they can't see any damage at all, how could Xue Yushi remember to ask this?" ”

"I just want to go back and have a couple with a few people", Gao Min was really keen, and heard the key to the questioning, Xue Ne smiled lightly, and with a bit of stupidity, he said haha, "Maybe there will be a gain." ”

Gao Min's face was full of admiration, and he clapped his hands and said: "Xue Yushi is really knowledgeable and meticulous, and Gao has been taught." ”

Fan Ning followed behind the two of them, looked east and west, and saw that there was a doorway leading to the backyard, and many people in the courtyard were busy, so he immediately greeted Xue Ne and said, "Hey, you come here to take a look!" ”

Xue Ne didn't have time to investigate in detail that he was Fan Ning's chief officer, and turned around and followed. It turned out that a group of craftsmen were building a new Buddha statue in the backyard, but I saw that this Buddha statue had excellent appearance and was dressed differently from other Buddha statues. Xue Ne looked at the face of this Buddha statue, it seemed to be very familiar, but he couldn't say where he had seen it, and while frowning and thinking, Fan Ning, who was also curious, raised his hand and pointed to the Buddha statue and asked, "What kind of Buddha is this?" ”

Xue Ne pulled Fan Ning's hand down, held it in his palm, and said in a low voice: "Taboo!" Don't do anything wrong. ”

Fan Ning stuck out his tongue, and before he could justify, he heard someone behind him call: "This donor ......"

The three of them looked for prestige, only to see that the person who came was an old monk with white eyebrows and long hair, and looked at the location of the torn monk's robe on his body, and he was the same generation as the abbot. Gao Min stepped forward, folded his hands and saluted, "But Master Abbot?" Gao Min, the director of the lower punishment department, this is Xue Yushi and his subordinates, and the three of us are here today to investigate the case. ”

Unexpectedly, the man ignored Gao Min's words at all, walked past Gao Min and Xue Ne tremblingly, and came to Fan Ning. Thinking of Fan Ning's action of colliding with the Buddha statue, Xue Ne hurriedly stood in front of her, and apologized stubbornly: "Our little brother just now acted carelessly, not malicious, and I hope that Master Haihan." ”

The abbot ignored him, and just looked at Fan Ning's face blankly: "The old man is old, his eyes are dizzy, and his ears are not very good, but he is still very accurate in seeing people." Dare to ask where the donor comes from, can he have parents and relatives? ”

Hearing the abbot suddenly ask such a question, the three of them were a little confused. Fan Ning knew that he was currently in the identity of "Ning Chungong", and Gao Min, the head of the criminal department, was standing beside him, if he did not respond properly, it would easily arouse Gao Min's suspicion, and after a moment, he replied: "No, my parents have been gone for a long time, and I was pulled up by my grandfather." ”

The abbot smiled lovingly, picked up the Buddha bead in his hand, and gently printed it on Fan Ning's head: "Donor Dragon Chapter Phoenix, Nirvana, you need to be cautious." The ambition of the bird, in this world, may not be as good as the bird. ”

Seeing that the abbot did not reproach Fan Ning, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. Xue Ne bowed to the abbot and said, "The abbot master really deserves his reputation. This is Xue's subordinate officer Ning Chungong, although he is smart and clever, he doesn't dare to compare with the phoenix, which is really false. ”

The old monk turned around, looked at Xue Ne and said with a smile: "This is Xue Lang, the eldest son of General Xue?" Speaking of you, although Lao Wei is not in the red dust, he has also heard about the Yongle Fang well case. Xue Lang is a young talent, this case is handed over to you, and the old man can rest assured. ”

"The master also knows the head of my family?" Listening to the meaning of the old abbot's words, Fan Ning couldn't help but be a little curious, "It turns out that our chief official actually made such a statement......

"Of course, there are people in Chang'an City who can get involved with the case, how can anyone not know Xue Dasha'......" Gao Min agreed, and felt that it was inappropriate, smiled embarrassedly, and hurriedly stopped.

The abbot didn't pay attention to Gao Min at all, and patted Xue Ne's hand with his rough palm and said, "Although Xue Lang is talented, do you know the deep meaning of your father's name 'Ne'?" Too much wisdom is easy to die, love is not long, and you should pay more attention. ”

After saying these few words, the abbot folded his salute and turned to leave. Xue Ne and Fan Ning looked at each other, not knowing what the meaning of his words was. There was no turning back in the temple, and the three of them walked out along the other side of the road. Outside the Daxiong Treasure Hall is a ginkgo planted by Li Shimin himself, it is late autumn, the golden fan-shaped leaves hang all over the branches, swaggering, shaking so that people can't open their eyes.

A few steps further before he was about to go out of the mountain gate, Gao Min arched his hand and said to Xue Ne: "Xue Yushi finished asking, but Gao is still confused, and he has to continue to stay and ask, so he will say goodbye to the two." ”

Xue Ne and Fan Ning returned the salute and said goodbye to Gao Min, walked out of Famen Temple, turned over their horses, and drove towards Chang'an City.

I originally thought that I would stay at the post station next to the official road today, but I didn't expect Xue Ne to insist on entering Fengxiang City and find a good inn to stay.

Somehow, there are unusually many people who are dragging their children and daughters to live here today, many of them have Chang'an accents, and Xue Ne gave nearly double the amount of silver to make the shopkeeper even out of an upper room.

As soon as Fang moved in, Xue Ne asked Xiao Er to prepare hot water for the bath, and said to Fan Ning: "You hate strangers when you are young, and you must be very uncomfortable when those people search your body today...... Tear off the dough, take a shower and change your clothes, and rest early. ”

Unexpectedly, Xue Ne didn't say anything on his face, his mind was so delicate, Fan Ning trembled his lips, couldn't say anything, and turned to bathe behind the screen.

Today, when I came to Famen Temple, although I only asked a few words, the harvest was very rich, the offender knew the tradition of learning scriptures in Famen Temple for many years, but did not pay attention to their habit of tearing up monks' robes according to their generation, it seems that this person used to know Famen Temple very well, but now it has gradually drifted away.

Xue Ne's heart was full of the joy of the first solution of the fog, and he raised his handsome face slightly, but saw that the screen could not block the light, reflecting Fan Ning's delicate and graceful girl's figure, he was so shocked that he turned around and memorized the "Three Character Classic", "Disciple Rules", and "Thousand Character Text" three times silently before stabilizing his mind.

She is really the only one in this world who can make his mind confused, no wonder the abbot master said that "it is easy to die with wisdom" and "deep love is not long", I am afraid that it is inconvenient for the monks to say "deep love is easy to die", right?