Qin Gui was sitting inside the horse carriage but she didn’t pay attention to what the bodyguard had said. Instead, her attention was on “Jianglin Palace.”
For the past two days, she had been trying her best to recall the plot of the novel. Although she only remembered bits and pieces, she remembered that Jiangli Palace was an important place to the plot.
No wonder Qin Xin would be here!
“Elder brother.” Qin Gui’s eyes brightened as she smiled at Xiao Ze sitting across from her. “Let’s stay for a few extra days. Maybe we can see the emperor mingling with common people. That’s how the novels usually describe it.”
Her almond eyes smiled, and her skinny and dry face seemed to be a bit spirited.
Xiao Ze touched his chin and said gently, “Since sister likes to watch shows, it’s fine if we stay a few more days.” As he said this, Xiao Ze peeked out of the carriage window and said to Bodyguard Xu, “Bodyguard Xu, we’re going to be staying for a few more days.”
Regarding a small request like this, Bodyguard Xu agreed quickly.
About two hours later was it finally their turn. The guards verified the document and asked about their statuses before letting them in.
Qin Gui was originally worried that they might find something off with the document, but she could finally rest assured now. She thought: this hundred silver taels is really worth it.
After they entered the city, they looked for a tavern and stayed the night there. The next morning, Qin Gui left by herself.
She was going to Qinyun County’s Tranquil Temple in the suburbs.
Tranquil Temple was on top of the Tranquil Mountain, and it had a lot of followers.
It was September and autumn. The breeze was cool, and the maple forest was a popular sight at the Tranquil Temple. The ground was full of red leaves, incredibly beautiful. There were many worshippers every day coming to the temple to pray and admire the scene.
Qin Gui went to Tranquil Temple for the next three days, Every day, she stayed until the sun set before leaving. Up until the third day did she feel that security in the temple had tightened.
Not only were there more monks inside the temple but also a lot more sturdy and strong “worshippers” acting nimbly. Even the Hall of Great Strength where worshippers were allowed to come in and out as they wanted freely was closed. The monk explained and said that it was because the hall required refurbishment. It’d be open to the public in the afternoon.
Qin Gui was delighted. The time she was waiting for was finally here!
She didn’t remember if the original novel mentioned a specific date. Even if it did, she couldn’t remember it. That was why she had to come here and wait every day.
Finally, her efforts hadn’t gone to waste.
For the past few days, she had searched through the entire Tranquil Temple, so she knew the structure by heart. She headed straight for the place— Mirror Lake.
Mirror Lake was at the back of the temple, near the maple forest. Many worshippers had come here to admire the scene too.
Qin Gui waited patiently like an ordinary tourist. She admired the scene and watched the lake, slowly walking along the path.
“I am glad that I came today.”
“This maple scene by the Tranquil Temple really tops off.”
Two worshippers smiled as they walked past Qin Gui’s side.
Qin Gui froze before suddenly realizing something.
Qin Gui hurriedly stopped a passing by Buddhist monk. She smiled and asked, “Master, I heard that the viewing of the maple forest from the Mirror Lake is very beautiful, but there are lots of people here. Are there any other places to admire the maple forest?”
The little monk seemed to be only five or six years old. He greeted her and exclaimed childishly, “You can cross through the maple forest and you’ll see a lake there. People don’t often go there. If you want to admire the scenery, you can go there.”
Qin Gui’s eyes brightened and revealed a delighted expression. She asked, “Can you bring me over?”
The little monk immediately agreed and said, “This way please.”
It wasn’t far from here to the lake, but there were a lot of corners through the forest. With the monk leading the way, Qin Gui didn’t take any wrong paths.
“The lake is ahead…”
“Ah—”
The monk’s voice just dropped when there was a shriek coming from the lake. One could hear that it was a child’s voice.
Qin Gui’s heart thumped. It couldn’t be that she came late, right?
Qin Gui quickened her pace and rushed out of the maple forest.
