As night gradually descended, the lanterns of Luoyang City began to ignite, and the highly anticipated Shangyuan lights finally slowly kicked off. Fire trees and silver flowers were shining, and Luoyang City was completely integrated into the world of lights.

As it was getting dark, every household had dinner early, closed the door, took their wife and children out to watch the lights. Millions of people rushed to the streets, and people were crowded with people watching the lights everywhere in Luoyang.

The children followed their parents around with small lamps, and groups of girls were holding wallets and choosing their favorite small items everywhere. Many large shops and wealthy families had various artists performing.

Hu Xuanwu, Hu Tengwu, Tuozhiwu from Sogdian, fire skills from Tianzhu and Tochar, horse dance from Tuyuhun, lion dance, military play, puppet play, and various entertainments were all available, which was dazzling and thunderous.

But the most attractive thing is the unblocked Dharma Assembly held on the eve of the Lantern Festival every year. The reason is not that Buddhist rituals attract, but that a large amount of money is spent during the ritual, which fatally attracts the people of Luoyang. As soon as the Dharma Assembly began, tens of thousands of people rushed from all directions, crowding the southern bank of the Luoshui River into pieces.

However, not all Dharma Assembly were held by Luoshui. There was not enough spacious venue there. Some Dharma Assembly was still held in the imperial city. It was just that ordinary people were not allowed to enter, and only thousands of monks and nearly ten thousand believers participated.

This is also the final compromise. Only by intercepting many idle people outside the imperial city will the court agree that real monks and believers will enter the imperial city to attend the Dharma Assembly.

Thousands of monks and tens of thousands of believers in cassocks recited the Great Cloud Sutra together to pray for the Holy Emperor, and their momentum was spectacular, while the southern bank of Luoyang was crowded with ordinary people waiting to spread money.

Xue Huaiyi was half lying on a temporary high building, looking a little absent-minded. He didn't look back at the palace city Yingtianmen. So far, the Queen Wu Zetian had never come out to attend the Dharma Assembly, which made Xue Huaiyi extremely depressed and also made him despair.

This Dharma Assembly was his last effort to win back Wu Zetian's heart. For this reason, he did not hesitate to invest 30,000 yuan in heavy money, but Wu Zetian refused to show up. At this moment, he suddenly felt that the huge curtain on Tianjin Bridge was so dazzling. The painting was not a Buddha statue, but a full of humiliation.

"General, Master Chibao is here!" A monk who served him said respectfully.

“Where are the others?”

Xue Huaiyi immediately stood up and sat down, looking at the Dharma Assembly. Without waiting for the monk to answer, he had already seen that on a wooden platform a hundred steps away, a ball of fire was spinning up and down around a black shadow. Xue Huaiyi nodded slowly, "Take him over to see me!"

.........

Under the careful care of the imperial physician and lover Shen Nanmiao, Wu Zetian's illness improved day by day and finally recovered completely in two days. In the past few days, Wu Zetian and Shen Nanmiao were in love and their relationship became deeper and deeper.

After years of struggles between the government and the country, she finally settled in the throne and was a little tired physically and mentally. At this time, she no longer needed rough passion, but also a kind of warmth. Shen Nanmiao's careful and considerate personality undoubtedly caters to Wu Zetian's needs.

At this time, Wu Zetian and Shen Nanmiao were sleeping in the tent of Furong, and had long since thrown their former lover Xue Huaiyi out of the sky. Wu Zetian's personal maid Yan Shuang'er felt that the emperor was sleeping soundly, so she quietly retreated from the bedroom.

As soon as he walked out of the bedroom, an eunuch waiting here secretly handed her a note and whispered: "The General wants to know when the Emperor will leave?"

Yan Shuang'er was secretly annoyed. She was obviously illiterate and wanted to give her a note. Is this humiliating her? She sneered and said, "The Lord is still taking medicine. I don't know when he will leave. Let's talk about it later!"

She turned around and walked towards the other side of Taichu Palace. Soon after, she came to Shangguan Wan'er's official room and handed the note to Shangguan Wan'er tremblingly. Since Shangguan Wan'er caught her on the spot a few days ago and concealed the hookup between her and Xue Huaiyi for her, she was completely subdued by Shangguan Wan'er.

Shangguan Wan'er has been waiting patiently for the opportunity. Although she was not sure what would happen tonight, she was still ready.

Shangguan Wan'er opened the note and looked briefly. The note was Xue Huaiyi's handwriting. When asked when the emperor would go to attend the Dharma Assembly, Shangguan Wan'er showed a sarcastic smile on her lips. Is this Xue Huaiyi still dreaming about it?

This afternoon, she told the emperor that the huge Buddha statue twenty feet tall, which was said to be painted with blood on Xue Huaiyi's knees. The emperor just smiled and didn't take it to heart at all. Xue Huaiyi actually promoted it all over the city, but just brought shame on himself.

"She Ren, how should I answer him?" Yan Shuang'er asked timidly.

"What did you say when you gave you a note?"

"I said the emperor is taking medicine, so it is difficult to determine when to go to the Dharma Assembly for the time being."

Shangguan Wan'er nodded, "Just tell them the truth, just say that the emperor and Imperial Physician Shen have rested and will not attend the Dharma Assembly again."

"Yes! Shuang'er understands, Shuang'er takes his leave!"

Yan Shuang'er slowly retreated. At this time, Shangguan Wan'er asked again: "Did Xue Huaiyi agree to the matter of worshiping Buddha in Mingtang?"

"The emperor agreed to it, but they were not allowed to hold a Dharma meeting in the Mingtang. They could only worship Buddha, and it was limited to tonight."

"I get it, you go!"

Yan Shuang'er bowed and stepped down. Shangguan Wan'er immediately wrote a letter, called an old eunuch, handed it to him and said, "Tell him this letter to Li Zhen quickly and tell him that you should pay special attention tonight!"

"I'll go now!"

The old eunuch took the letter and hurried away. Shangguan Wan'er walked to the window with her hands behind her back. She could clearly see the huge curtain Buddha statue on the Tianjin Bridge from the window. Shangguan Wan'er's eyes showed a cold murderous intent. Her years of fighting with Xue Huaiyi was about to end.

.........

Li Zhen was at the Imperial Guard Office in the Imperial City. He and more than 50 subordinates were waiting patiently for the opportunity. At noon, he swung a shot and successfully tricked Wan Guojun to Baima Temple, clearing a major obstacle. Judging from all the signs, Xue Huaiyi was also fully prepared. Both sides were waiting for the opportunity. In the hunting ground of the Imperial Palace, it was up to who could laugh to the end.

Li Zhen stood on the third floor of the official office's documentary pavilion, staring at the grand event being held in the south of the imperial city from afar. He could still hear the chanting of scriptures. At this time, Zhao Qiuniang slowly walked to him and smiled and said, "It takes so much energy to deal with a small Xue Huaiyi. To be honest, it's really a bit of a big deal."

Li Zhen also felt deeply: "This is the power of imperial power. We must be careful to avoid stimulating it. In the final analysis, the emperor's attitude towards Xue Huaiyi is not firm enough, which has caused us to go around one bend after another, just like walking a bamboo pole. We must pay attention to balance and grasp the power and influence of all aspects. If we are not careful, all our efforts will be wasted."

"But it's still him who really defeated Xue Huaiyi, isn't it?" Zhao Qiuniang said with a smile again.

Li Zhen nodded slightly, and couldn't help but smile and said, "We are just following the trend and helping him."

At this time, a soldier came forward to report, "Report to the commander, an old eunuch came to the palace and said he had a letter to the commander."

"Take him here!"

An old eunuch was quickly brought over. He took out a letter and handed it to Li Zhen, "This is the letter from the servant to the commander. There is no verbal message. If you want to say anything, you should be on it!"

"Thank you!"

The soldier took the old eunuch down. Li Zhen opened the letter and looked at it. He turned around and smiled at Zhao Qiuniang and said, "Shangguan Sheren allows us to act."

"But where should we start?"

"Of course, start from Linzhi Temple!"

Li Zhen pondered for a moment and said to Zhao Qiuniang: "If Xue Huaiyi's people enter the palace, there will be basically no suspense. Let's leave it to Zhao Zhengwei. Pay attention to Xue Huaiyi's temporary regret."

Zhao Qiuniang nodded, "Don't worry! I will make proper arrangements."

......

Xue Huaiyi finally became desperate. When Yan Shuang'er told him in person that the emperor was sleeping with doctor Shen and had no time to attend the grand event he held. The four words "Sleeping with pillow" were like a giant hammer, smashing his last glimmer of hope to pieces, he realized that the emperor had completely abandoned him.

Despair, jealousy, anger, hatred, like a sharp dagger, pierced his heart bloodied. At this moment, all there was madness in his mind, and no one could imagine what he could not get.

"Go to Mingtang to worship Buddha!" ​​Xue Huaiyi finally made up his mind and made the final decision.

More than twenty monks lined up to the Mingtang, each of whom only brought wooden fish and the most basic magic weapon, and they slowly came to Yingtian Gate.

Yingtianmen was originally called Zetianmen, with a magnificent momentum. The gate was flying and watching together. There were two levels of view. The upper level was purple microscope. The left and right sides were 120 feet high, and there were Yongtaimen and Qianyuanmen inwards.

There were thousands of guards in front of Yingtian Gate, who were responsible for responding to the Dharma Assembly held in the imperial city, while Yingtian Gate was guarded by Wu Yanxiu, the chief general of the Yulin Army.

At this time, a soldier reported to him, "More than 20 monks asked to enter the palace and go to the Mingtang to worship the Buddha!"

Wu Yanxiu is Xue Huaiyi's leader of the polo team. He once had a close relationship with Xue Huaiyi. However, seeing Xue Huaiyi fall out of favor, he also tried to keep a certain distance from Xue Huaiyi to avoid getting angry.

Wu Yanxiu received the emperor's oral order in advance, allowing monks from White Horse Temple to go to the Mingtang to worship the Maitreya Buddha. He immediately walked up to the city tower and looked at the twenty monks below. He immediately ordered: "Cheerly check their items and do not bring any unrelated items into the palace!"

The soldiers stepped forward one after another, searched carefully, and inspected the monk's magical tools. The last lieutenant reported: "General, they did not carry any suspicious items."

"Let them in!"

More than twenty monks lined up into the palace city, and Wu Yanxiu immediately ordered a subordinate lieutenant to say, "Take a hundred brothers with them, and take them out immediately after the ritual is over."

"Abide by the order!"

The lieutenant led more than a hundred soldiers to the palace city and went to the Mingtang. At this time, the craftsmen from the Mingtang and the heaven had withdrawn from the imperial city. The huge palace was deserted and there were only guards patrolling back and forth.

More than twenty monks slowly walked up to the second floor of the Mingtang, sat cross-legged in front of the huge Buddha statue, and began to recite the Great Cloud Sutra. The soldiers no longer disturbed them and left the Great Buddha far away.

...

Since a grand unblocked Dharma Assembly was held in the southern part of the imperial city and on the Tianjin Bridge, in order to maintain order, almost all the palace guards went to the southern city, making the east side of the imperial city deserted.

There is a lonely wooden house next to the Right Guard Polo Stadium on the east side of the imperial city. The wooden house is full of charcoal. At this time, dozens of inner guard soldiers unexpectedly appeared in the charcoal house. They used a huge iron plate to replace an old wooden board on the ground in the middle of the charcoal house, which means that the exit of the secret passage was eventually blocked.

"It's OK now!"

Captain Wang Zongyi smiled and said, "Even if they hit the stone wall, they can't even think of coming out from here again!"

"Captain, will there be another exit?"

Wang Zongyi shook his head, "There is only this exit in the imperial city. Unless they go back from the same route, they shouldn't be able to go back from the same route."

He slowly walked to the gate of the charcoal house, looked at the wide and flat racecourse outside, and couldn't help but sigh: "I really didn't expect that the underground palace secret passage of Linzhi Temple actually leads to the imperial city. No wonder Xue Huaiyi tried his best to occupy Linzhi Temple."

At the same time, in Linzhi Temple, thousands of monks from White Horse Temple entered the tunnel from Guanyin Hall one after another. The underground palace was extremely spacious and well ventilated. They changed into armor and carried swords in the underground palace, preparing to enter the imperial city from the secret passage exit at the other end.

At this time, they had the chance. There were almost no guards in the east of the imperial city. Once something big happened in the palace, they could take advantage of the chaos and directly enter the Taichu Palace.

At this time, several monks unexpectedly found that the secret door on the stone wall could not be opened. They hurriedly reported to the leader of the monk. The leader of the monk came forward to check for a moment, cursed in anger, and then ordered: "Smash open the stone wall directly!"

A dull blow sound soon came from the underground palace, but at this time something happened that the monks in the underground palace could never dream of.

More than two thousand Qianniu Guard soldiers quickly surrounded Linzhi Temple. Under the leadership of General Wu Youxu, they broke open the gate of the temple and rushed in with murderous intent.

The abbot Zhiwen hurriedly came up with dozens of nuns, but encountered a large group of soldiers rushing in, "Kill!" The Qianniu Guard soldiers roared, scaring dozens of nuns so much that they knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Where is the monk in White Horse Temple?" Wu Youxu pointed at Zhiwen with a knife and asked.

"They are in...the underground palace." Zhiwen said tremblingly.

At this time, several inner guard soldiers came out from the other side, and the leader was Huo Changlin Qinhu. He bowed to Wu Youxu, "See General Wu!"

Wu Youxu knew him and nodded, "General Li told me that the entrance to the underground palace is at Guanyin Hall, please ask Brother Lin to take me to Guanyin Hall."

Lin Qinhu bowed his fists and bowed, "Please follow me!"

Under the leadership of Lin Qinhu, hundreds of Thousand Niu Guards soldiers rushed into Guanyin Hall. There were dozens of monks guarding in Guanyin Hall. Under the fierce attack of hundreds of Thousand Niu Guards, the monks were caught off guard and were captured by Thousand Niu Guards soldiers in just a moment.

The soldiers of Qianniu Guards entered the Guanyin Hall of Linzhi Temple, which means that the retreat of the monks in the underground palace has been cut off.
Chapter completed!