Clouds and Moon Shadow

Chapter 374 The fish has taken the bait, the grand show begins

The man stood still, and Gu Qingyue carefully observed him.

With arched eyebrows and captivating eyes, he appeared to be in his thirties, tall and straight, dressed in white with a jade pendant at his waist, holding a folding fan, and his long, dark hair tied up with a jade crown, exuding the air of a refined gentleman.

Gu Qingyue narrowed her eyes at this appearance, thinking it deserved at least a 90 out of 100.

Seeing that the man showed no sign of leaving and was staring intently at 'Mrs. Qin', the maidservant was somewhat annoyed. "Young master, please have some self-respect."

Upon hearing this, the woman, Qin, looked up and saw the man's face. She paused, then lowered her head in embarrassment and annoyance. She squeezed the little maid's arm and said, "Let's go. This place is for the young master."

After saying this, the master and servant helped each other leave the pavilion.

The woman's figure was graceful and swaying, her movements delicate and boneless, perfectly embodying the fragile beauty of a white flower in the wind.

Gu Qingyue pouted. With this kind of acting skill, she was indeed very suitable for seducing men.

Watching the master and servant walk away, the man lowered his head and picked up the round fan from the pavilion.

He brought the fan close to his nose, sniffed it, and looked completely intoxicated. Where was the demeanor of a gentleman?

There are perverts everywhere, but there seem to be more this year than ever!

Remembering what Yu Mo mentioned about Lin Zizhan, the Earl of Ancheng, it seems this is it.

The fish has taken the bait, and Gu Qingyue's lips curled into a strange smile.

The grand show begins!

Gu Qingyue reunited with Yu Mo. After exchanging a few words, she circled around Ci'en Temple and arrived at the front gate.

Ci'en Temple is extremely popular with worshippers.

Seeing the ever-increasing number of people coming to offer incense and pray early in the morning, Gu Qingyue couldn't help but sigh at how devout the ancients were to their faith.

Gu Qingyue had anticipated that since the Princess was conducting a prayer ceremony today, the crowds would be cleared out. However, this did not happen, and everything proceeded as usual.

Gu Qingyue leaned against a large tree outside the main gate square, arms crossed, lazily watching groups of people walk into the temple.

She wondered whether to go in now or wait for the princess and the others to arrive.

"Young master, slow down, Madam hasn't come up yet, wait a moment," a nanny's voice suddenly rang out from not far away.

Gu Qingyue looked up and saw a boy of about seven or eight years old running very fast towards the temple, followed by a nanny who was panting heavily.

Gu Qingyue didn't really care at first, but the little boy bumped into an old lady walking in front of her with a 'bang' the next moment.

The old woman was caught off guard and lunged forward.

The basket in his hand fell to the ground, and the porcelain cups and dishes inside shattered into pieces with a crash.

The flowers and fruits prepared as offerings to Buddha also fell to the ground, startling the people in the square.

Gu Qingyue stood at a distance, picking at her ear, her brows furrowing in impatience.

Seeing a large crowd gathering around, it seemed a conflict had broken out.

"How do you walk, young master? You bumped into someone!" the onlookers chimed in.

"Yes, this old lady is getting on in years. What if she falls and gets seriously injured?"

"Mind your own business, get out of my way! I have plenty of money, so what if I want money? Humph, you troublemakers!" The little boy's arrogant voice rang out.

Gu Qingyue: ...There are so many arrogant people these days. Look at them, they've seen the big picture from a small one, it's incredible!

"How can you talk like that? You hit someone and you think you're in the right?" The old woman's family members objected, and a quarrel broke out.

"You scoundrels, how dare you! Do you even know which family our young master belongs to? Have you ever heard of the Marquis of Cheng'an? Our young master is the eldest son of the Marquis of Cheng'an!" the old nanny following behind the little boy shouted angrily.

The crowd fell silent for a moment.

Those who had just been loudly condemning the incident dared not utter a sound, only whispering amongst themselves with their heads down.

The little boy saw that everyone was stunned with fear. He turned around and shoved the person blocking his way, saying, "Get out of my way, you want to die?"

"Rui'er, what's wrong? What happened?"

At this moment, the lady mentioned by the old woman finally climbed up to the square in front of Ci'en Temple, panting heavily. She was terrified when she saw a crowd surrounding her son in the distance.

"Madam Lin is here!" someone shouted.

Upon hearing the noise, the onlookers immediately scattered and hurried into the temple.

These days, nobody's stupid. The family of the old lady who was hit ran especially fast; they didn't even pick up the basket that fell to the ground.

Madam Lin? The Marquis of Cheng'an's mansion? Ha! This is going to be interesting.

Gu Qingyue touched her nose. She thought her plan was brilliant. Wouldn't it be perfect to use a plan within a plan?

It was Gu Qingyue who leaked the news that Madam Lin was able to come to Ci'en Temple.

The message revealed was, of course, that the prayer ceremony had invited many prominent families to participate.

They thought they might not make it to Ci'en Temple today, but unexpectedly, Madam Lin happened to be staying at the Cheng'an Earl's villa near the temple. It was a godsend!

Seeing that most of the people had left, Gu Qingyue took out a show-off weapon from her spatial storage and fanned herself with overwhelming force!

That's right, it's the folding fan that was once a common prop for teenagers.

Gu Qingyue strode into Ci'en Temple with an air of indifference, seemingly ignoring all her family and friends.

Upon entering, I was immediately struck by the magnificent palace before me—tall, grand, solemn, and dignified.

However, she didn't have time to appreciate it now; she had to deal with Liu Shi and the henchmen of the Prince An's mansion before Princess Pei and the others arrived.

Just keep that pretentious little white flower; after all, Liu has worked so hard to smear Qin, she has to repay her in some way.

She walked around all the Buddha halls in front to make sure no one was following her, and then swaggered towards the backyard.

"Please wait, benefactor," suddenly, an old voice came from behind.

Gu Qingyue calmly turned around and looked at the person who spoke. It was an old man, or more specifically, an old monk.

At this moment, the old monk was carrying a bucket, his coarse robes were soaked with water, and it was obvious that he had just been carrying water.

Gu Qingyue gave a slight curtsy. "Master, is there something you need?"

The old monk slowly walked over carrying a bucket of water. Only when he got closer did Gu Qingyue realize that the old monk looked quite old, at least seventy years old.

But he seemed quite at ease carrying the bucket.

Gu Qingyue couldn't help but wonder if this was some kind of hidden master or something.

Are you looking for someone, benefactor?

The old monk smiled and put down the bucket of water, then naturally wiped his wet hands on his body.

"Yes, that's right," Gu Qingyue replied, not wanting to dwell on it any longer.

“This is a sacred Buddhist site, not a place for killing. Please, benefactor, show mercy,” the old monk said, his expression becoming more solemn, but with a hint of compassion in his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingyue was startled, her whole body tensed, and her eyes turned slightly cold.

"What do you mean by that, Master?" How did he figure out that she was planning to kill someone?

"Amitabha Buddha, it seems we have a connection, benefactor. May we meet in the meditation room for a chat?"

The old monk seemed completely oblivious to Gu Qingyue's sudden change in expression, and stared at her with a smile.