"Tsk, it's just a shame he's gone, a pity~"
Glancing at the person beside her, who clearly enjoyed watching trouble unfold, Lin Qingge frowned and asked, "Constable Yan, what exactly happened? Prince Andre was a living, breathing person, how could he just disappear? Never mind, let's talk as we walk."
With that, Lin Qingge began to stride away. Yan Tinghao, who had been running around and was now starving, spotted the pastries on the table and grabbed two, stuffing them into his mouth haphazardly. However, the pastries were too sweet, forcing him to pick up the teapot and gulp down several mouthfuls.
Lin Qingge, who had to associate this ravenous individual with the dignified Prince of Zhennan, rubbed her aching forehead and impatiently called out, "Silly deer, hurry up!"
"Mmm, Da- D- Da- Sir, wait for your subordinate!"
On the way, Yan Tinghao, having finished his snack, recounted the entire incident. Master Xuanjing had led Prince Andre and his entourage to worship in the temple. They heard that Putuo Temple was very effective for matchmaking. Prince Andre, who had recently taken a liking to a woman, immediately expressed his desire to try. As if to show his sincerity, Prince Andre donated a large sum of incense money. Abbot Xuanjing, excited, cleared the area for Prince Andre, vacating the Guanyin Hall, which already had few visitors. The other members of the Chiled Kingdom's delegation were either married or uninterested, so only Prince Andre entered alone. However, after waiting outside for a long time, neither Prince Andre nor anyone else saw him emerge. It wasn't until Lian Chengyi, sensing something was amiss, pushed the door open that they discovered Prince Andre, who should have been in the Guanyin Hall, was nowhere to be found.
Lin Qingge listened and immediately became angry, saying, "Are you fools? How could you let the person you were protecting out of your sight? Aren't temple doors usually wide open? Why was it closed? And isn't Guanyin for praying for children? Shouldn't one pray to Yue Lao for marriage?"
"Replying to Sir, Yue Lao is a deity and usually has his own temple. However, in Buddhism, praying for marriage often involves praying to Guanyin~"
Lin Qingge heard this and turned her gaze to the person beside her, baring her teeth and saying, "Don't tell me you're behind this again?"
"Sir truly misunderstands me, this student is deeply hurt~"
"Speak like a human!"
"Replying to Sir, this student has no enmity with Prince Andre. It would be too costly to abduct him and then provide him with good food and drink. Furthermore, if this student wanted to abduct the rich and foolish Prince Andre, I would have done so long before he arrived in the capital. Why would I wait until now to cause trouble for you, Sir~"
Lin Qingge snorted unhappily upon hearing this, "Heh, who was it just now that boasted that after I took office, I would have nothing to do and wanted to find something for me to do!"
"Did I?" Hua Jinrong raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly, then fanned himself and said, "If so, it must have been an extremely handsome man with a beautiful heart."
"In my opinion, it's more like an ugly person with a dark heart."
While Lin Qingge and Hua Jinrong were bickering, they had already arrived in front of the Guanyin Hall. Seeing her, the Chiled Kingdom's delegation anxiously surrounded them. Unfortunately, they couldn't understand each other. After much gesturing, Lin Qingge, finally able to break free, approached Abbot Xuanjing and asked with a stern face, "Abbot Xuanjing, I need an explanation."
"Amitabha, I am ashamed to say, this humble monk does not know what happened!"
Lin Qingge glanced at Abbot Xuanjing, instructed Yan Tinghao to keep an eye on everyone present, and then strode to the entrance of the Guanyin Hall. The monks standing on either side of the entrance quickly stepped forward to push open the large doors of the Guanyin Hall.
Stepping inside, Lin Qingge found that the Guanyin Hall was not as large as she had imagined, occupying a space of about twenty square meters. Apart from the Guanyin statue, which was over two meters tall and stood in the center of the hall, there was nothing else. Looking around, it was almost in full view.
"Sir, this student has just examined the hall. There is no back door or side window. The front door has always been guarded, so anyone opening the door or window would have been noticed. Although Prince Andre is tall, just in case, this student checked the table where the incense burner was placed, the donation box, and any other places that could conceal a person, but unfortunately, as expected, found nothing."
"In that case, has this become a locked-room disappearance case?" Lin Qingge mused, tapping her chin. She then walked to the futon in front of the Guanyin statue and squatted down, retrieving a pendant tied with a red珞樱 from the gap between the two futons.
"This is a pendant called 'Moonlit Courtyard' that Prince Andre bought yesterday from Pingnan Misty Rain Jewelry Shop. According to the shopkeeper, this pendant is a rare, one-of-a-kind item that cannot be found easily. It's good enough to be passed down as an heirloom."
"Sir, are you saying that this pendant was dropped here by Prince Andre?"
"At the very least, after Prince Andre entered, he did come to the Guanyin statue to make a wish and pray. However, when he knelt, the pendant on his waist got caught in the gap between the two futons. But logically, if the pendant was stuck, Prince Andre should have felt a noticeable tug when he stood up. Unless..."
"Unless Prince Andre was unable to move for some reason, or had lost consciousness?"
At this point, Hua Jinrong and Lin Qingge exchanged a glance, and both began searching the hall. Soon, Lin Qingge discovered a small amount of white powder behind the door.
"Master Hua, use your handkerchief to collect some of the powder and send it to Lin Manor for Magistrate Murong to examine."
"Yes, Sir~" Hua Jinrong replied and then called over Lu Mingxuan, who was standing guard outside, and explained what their Sir had instructed.
Lu Mingxuan: ...
Meanwhile.
After a thorough inspection of the Guanyin Hall and finding no hidden mechanisms or secret passages, Lin Qingge came outside. As it was nearing mealtime, she asked Hua Jinrong to fetch some food, then instructed Yan Tinghao and Lian Chengyi to scout the vicinity for any clues, while Lin Yan stayed to comfort the anxious Chiled Kingdom's delegation. She herself went to the pavilion behind the Guanyin Hall to interrogate everyone present individually.
"Abbot Xuanjing, why was the door closed after Prince Andre entered the Guanyin Hall?" Although Lin Qingge didn't believe in such things, she knew that temple doors were usually kept open. Opening the door allowed Buddha to come and go. Conversely, closing the door was considered inauspicious, hence the saying, 'Opening the door is auspicious, closing the door is ominous.'
Upon hearing Lin Qingge's question, Abbot Xuanjing recited a Buddhist chant and replied, "Replying to Sir, it wasn't that the door was closed after Prince Andre entered the Guanyin Hall, but rather that the door of this Guanyin Hall is only opened at specific times. After Prince Andre entered the Guanyin Hall from the left side door, he casually closed the side door, thus creating the illusion that Prince Andre was alone in the Guanyin Hall."
"What do you mean 'only opened at specific times'?"
"Amitabha, this matter dates back to when Putuo Temple was founded. Legend has it that Emperor Yuanfeng, the founder of the previous dynasty, once came to Putuo Temple to offer incense. Suddenly, it began to rain heavily, and Emperor Yuanfeng happened to be standing at the entrance of this Guanyin Hall. However, the large door of this Guanyin Hall was tightly shut and would not open. Emperor Yuanfeng wanted to enter the hall to shelter from the rain, but the young monk guarding the door said that the country has laws, and the temple has rules. The newly sculpted golden Guanyin statue in the hall had not yet been consecrated and could not receive guests. Emperor Yuanfeng, who had to take shelter from the rain in the pavilion behind the Guanyin Hall, which is where we are now, was angered upon returning to the palace and issued an imperial decree stating that the large door of this Guanyin Hall, except for welcoming members of the royal family, must never be opened again."
After hearing Abbot Xuanjing's words, Lin Qingge couldn't help but ask strangely, "Since it cannot be opened at will, but I clearly saw earlier..."