Da Li Temple - Chapter 17.1
Chapter 17.1
Girl
The morning after the thunderstorm, the sun shone brightly without shade. The sunlight passed through the diamond-shaped window of the file room, leaving mottles on the floor.
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When Su Moyi woke up, his eyes were still blurred, like standing at the bottom of the water and looking up. His thoughts were jammed, like sediment silted up in a small canal. He propped himself up and sat up, curling up one leg and rubbing his forehead uncontrollably with his long fingers. Yesterday, someone drugged him outside the paddock.
Recently, due to the tight situation in Song Residence, they checked all exchanged news. If Song Zhengxing wanted to send news out, the spring hunt would be the best opportunity. So, he sent someone to follow him. For the first two days, perhaps to avoid people’s ears, Song Zhengxing has been quiet.
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Yesterday, the secret agent suddenly came to report that Song Zhengxing had changed into civilian clothes and left the paddock for a dilapidated Buddhist temple in the north.
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Su Moyi arranged for his subordinates just in case and brought Ye Qing to follow him. It was a Buddhist temple situated at the foot of a mountain. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, there was only one access point. His intuition said that it was not right. If the cunning Song Zhengxing wanted to find someone to exchange news with, how could he choose such a place?
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Once surrounded, there was no escape. Su Moyi fixed his mind and immediately turned back, but after only a few steps, he realized his body’s difference.
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With the whoosh of arrows in his ears, he knew they had already fallen into the trap. The visitor wants to force him into the dilapidated temple. He would not be able to return to the paddock. If the visitor had left a backhanded move on the way back, it would be hard to cope with it in his current state.
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Hence, Ye Qing brought the pre-arranged people to stall the visitor, and he mounted his horse and went straight back to Da Li Temple.
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Later —
Everything that followed was a blur of images; he remembered the sound of a thunderstorm and breathing. In his hands was a soft touch, while underneath was a burning temperature. A white undershirt covered his body fall. With a muffled sound, he was stunned and only cared to look down at himself. Breathing stopped for a breath as a flood of memories from last night rushed into his mind.
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A woman, he remembered.
A roar flashed through his brain, and Su Moyi rose up. His gaze fell on the white undershirt with suspicious marks on it.
A hard stain smelled salty and fishy.
A faint red color on his moon-white clothes was like a few red plums in the snow, a shocking contrast.
Virgin blood mixed with sperm stains.
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Lord Su, who had seen countless crime scenes, certainly knew what this was, and his chagrin turned to shock. He silently clenched his teeth, and his pupils shook tremendously.
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He lost control —
Even after riding a horse for almost three hours and traveling thousands of miles back to Da Li Temple —
He still lost control —
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An unspeakable sense of humiliation, like swarms of ants, climbed all the way up from his tailbone to his temples. His mind went blank. He put on his outer robe rapidly, then ran to root into his bathroom.
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Although the morning was not cold in the early summer, it wasn’t suitable for a cold water bath. However, Su Moyi couldn’t wait for the water to boil. He fetched a bath towel, grabbed a thick layer of soap, and after rinsing with a few buckets of cool water, he began to scrub his body. The sound of water and rustling scrubbing in the bathroom was like boiling water in oil as if he couldn’t wait to scrub off a layer of skin. But soon enough, that twinge was replaced by the annoyance that followed.
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Even in broad daylight, a woman is rarely seen in Da Li Temple, not to mention at night. It seemed that woman, indeed, was suspicious. Could it be that this was also a trap designed by Song Zhengxing?
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The sound of scrubbing slowed down. Su Moyi scooped some water and drenched his head. In the midst of the cold, his thoughts cleared up a bit.
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If Song Zhengxing wanted to slander him for raping a good woman, that woman wouldn’t wait in Da Li Temple. His return to Da Li Temple was only an improvise. How can someone silently let him have a good time and then quietly leave? It was evident that that person didn’t want people to know.
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He was so upset that he doused himself with another splash of water. When he looked up, he saw Ye Qing lunging at him, covered in blood and mud.
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Su Moyi backhandedly grabbed a clean robe and covered himself with an agile sidestep, and Ye Qing fell face-first to the ground.
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“My lord ……” he crawled up from the ground, spat out the bath soap crumbs in his mouth, and muttered, “I thought that I would never see you again …… “
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Su Moyi then remembered that he left first by himself. Looking at Ye Qing’s appearance, he must have looked for him along the road in the thunderstorm after repelling the mountain bandits. When he was disheartened, he returned to the office to wait.
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“Oh,” Su Moyi said perfunctorily, “I’m fine.”
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Ye Qing choked. Seeing him leaving, he panicked and dragged him to say, “The Emperor invited you into the palace for questioning.”
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“What?”
Su Moyi’s footsteps paused and remained silent.
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Ye Qing saw him look cold and solemn, worried that he did not hear, and then repeated the words, and at the end, he carefully probed: “Lord, are you going or not?”
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Su Moyi gazed at him fiercely, softly mocking: “The Emperor summons, can I not go?”
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Ye Qing dare not to make a sound, thinking that you previously refused to —
The person before him suddenly stopped walking, and his back slightly trembling. He saw Su Moyi hesitate for a long time before asking weakly: “What kind of woman can …… there be in Da Li Temple?”
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Ye Qing did not expect him to ask this question, rolled his eyes, and thought for a while, “There are a few cooks over at the Food Court.”
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Su Moyi’s heartbeat missed a beat. He commanded calmly, “Go find them to record a statement. Check where they were last night and what they do.”
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Ye Qing was confused, touched the back of his head, and said, “They are all women over 50 years old. If they weren’t at home hugging their grandchildren, would they analyze the case in the file room?”
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“……” Su Moyi’s face darkened like a pot, casting a bombastic side-eye towards Ye Qing.
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Ye Qing’s smile gradually stiffened. He shut his mouth and flew away, but he heard the person behind him say in a deep voice: “Check all the drugstores in the East and West Markets to see if anyone has gone to buy birth control pills this morning.”
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“Birth control pills?” Before he had time to ask, the thunderous Lord Su left him with only a shadow.
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Ye Qing: “……”
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Su Moyi’s carriage quickly entered the palace. Generally, courtiers are not allowed to enter the harem. But Su Moyi has special care from the Empress Dowager, so no one stops him from entering the harem every now and then. As soon as he entered the palace, a servant came to lead him and took him directly to the Empress’ Hall of Happiness.