To outsiders, the Qiu family is a family of scholars, but how could a family last for a thousand years with just a group of bookworms?

Will others appreciate you and refrain from attacking you just because you have beautiful handwriting, a beautiful painting, or a beautiful poem?

Do they really think they can "govern the world with propriety"?

In fact, Xiliang was not originally an autonomous planet. The rulers of the Ryan royal family had tried to turn Xiliang into an ordinary planet under their rule.

However, the ground forces that the Ryan royal family sent to Xiliang for this purpose are still hanging under the roots of the "Ghost Hand Hell"...

Ultimately, Ryan and Xiliang reached an agreement: Xiliang would exist as an autonomous planet within Ryan's territory, and Ryan would not interfere with Xiliang's ground activities, but the people of Xiliang would not be allowed to venture into space.

In exchange for this, Xiliang Star's technology tree was locked down.

All modern equipment is prohibited from being brought into Xiliang, so upon entering Xiliang, one will be subject to strict scrutiny by both Ryan and Xiliang.

If anyone attempts to smuggle modern equipment into Xiliang by smuggling ship, the "Skynet" system will bombard them into dust in space.

For this reason, Xiliang has maintained its traditional way of life, and in this area surrounded by interstellar civilization, it still maintains a ruling model similar to a feudal monarchy.

However, Ryan would not allow two "kings" within his territory, so when the last "Queen of Xiliang" abdicated, the head of the "Qiu family" became the nominal and de facto "king" of Xiliang.

After Xiliang closed itself off from the world, did no one from Xiliang ever leave Xiliang Star?

some.

Qiu Wanyan, the eldest daughter of the Qiu family, was the first.

"Madam Qiu Wanyan is so gentle and virtuous, it must have been really difficult for her to marry Marquis Charles to the Qiu family," Zhang Fan said as he walked on the bluestone slabs.

"Gentle and virtuous?" Qiu Wanlan suddenly looked at Zhang Fan with a half-smile. "So, that's how you see your sister?"

“Isn’t that right?” Zhang Fan looked at Qiu Wanlan with some confusion. “The Marquis’s gentleness and virtue are well-known in the Duchy of Ryan. The wife of the Grand Duke of Ryan even recognized her as her adopted sister. She can even freely enter and leave the Ryan Royal Palace without prior notice. Even Marquis Charles does not have this privilege.”

"Oh, so that's how you see me." Qiu Wanlan withdrew her gaze, looking indifferent, and didn't continue the topic. "Whatever makes you happy."

"Second Aunt, do you know that Madam Qiu seems to disapprove of Princess Alice marrying Prince Reinhardt?" Zhang Fan asked curiously.

“I know.” Qiu Wanlan nodded. “My sister already told the old man about it before.”

"Don't you think it's a pity?" Zhang Fan asked, somewhat surprised. "After all, he's the first in line to the throne of the Duchy of Reinhardt. If Princess Alice marries Prince Reinhardt, she will undoubtedly become queen in the future, and the Qiu family's status will be as secure as a rock, or even rise to a higher level..."

"I'm talking to you," Qiu Wanlan glared at Zhang Fan impatiently, "Isn't Alice your fiancée? Are you really going to push her onto someone else? Alice may be a little headstrong, but she's not ugly, is she?"

"Ah, this..." Zhang Fan was speechless for a moment, and could only explain, "The other party is a prince. Although he and Princess Alice are not formally engaged, it is almost a tacit agreement among the Ryan noble class..."

"So what?" Qiu Wanlan raised an eyebrow.

"What I mean is, even if we don't consider Prince Reinhardt, we should at least consider Marquis Charles's position, right? Is Mrs. Cho really that confident that she can handle such a complex web of interests?"

Zhang Fan couldn't understand why Madam Qiu seemed convinced that Alice could not marry Prince Reinhardt, and he didn't know where her confidence came from.

“My sister never fails to accomplish what she sets her mind to,” Qiu Wanlan said nonchalantly. “Tch, you all just keep treating her like a gentle and virtuous lady. I bet you’ll all be helping her count the money after she sells you out.”

"This... Second Aunt, it seems you have some resentment towards Madam Qiu?"

"How could I dare to complain about her?" Qiu Wanlan's face clearly showed her displeasure. "She's quite something, abandoning Xiliang to me and going out alone. The old master is still waiting; if my sister returns one day, she will still be the head of the Qiu family!"

“Mr. Qiu would never allow someone from the Charlie family to be the head of the Qiu family, unless…” Zhang Fan didn’t finish his sentence, unless Mrs. Qiu was no longer a member of the Charlie family.

“Who knows…” Qiu Wanlan turned to look at Zhang Fan, “By the way, how did my sister choose you? You seem alright, you do have some talent. It’s just that your taste in people is terrible, especially when it comes to women…”

"I don't know." Zhang Fan looked bewildered. Was this a compliment or an insult?

rustling sound—

Zhang Fan suddenly stopped in his tracks as if by reflex; it was a sound etched into his DNA.

"What's wrong?" Qiu Wanlan stopped in her tracks as soon as she saw Zhang Fan's serious expression.

rustling sound—

"Yaksha demon, this level won't be easy to get through." Zhang Fan had a headache. There was no MK10 anti-insect mech here, and the "Holy Armor 77" was unlikely to appear in Xiliang. Now, all he could rely on when encountering insects was an iron shovel and a dagger.

"Tell me the truth, what exactly is a Yaksha demon?" Qiu Wanlan walked closer to Zhang Fan, and together they looked in the direction from which the sound was coming from.

“You can think of Yaksha demons as mutated insects.” Zhang Fan tried to keep his language simple and easy to understand. “Remember that mural from earlier? More than a thousand years ago, the Tang Emperor used DNA gene surgery on cockroaches, and after a thousand years of evolution, they became the Yaksha demons we know today.”

Qiu Wanlan was a little confused for a moment. She didn't quite understand what Zhang Fan was saying, especially the DN stuff.

"Could I simply interpret this as the Yaksha demon being created by the Tang Emperor?"

“Yes!” Zhang Fan nodded.

"Why create these monsters? Just to guard the royal tombs?"

“Guarding the royal tombs was just a side job.” Zhang Fan listened intently to the sounds around him. “The Tang Emperor wanted to use insects to guide me and my companions here.”

"Why do I feel like you two know each other?" Qiu Wanlan looked at Zhang Fan with a suspicious expression.

“I do know him.” Zhang Fan laughed. “Although I don’t know how the Tang King did it, his name is indeed a household name in my hometown.”

"So, in your hometown, what kind of person is the Tang Emperor in people's hearts?" Qiu Wanlan asked curiously.

“How should I put it…” Zhang Fan thought for a moment, “He is a person with strong faith and perseverance, who takes saving the people from suffering as his life’s mission.”

"That sounds like if you lived in the same generation, you might become best friends who can talk about anything."

"Who knows..." Zhang Fan looked ahead, his thoughts drifting away, "Maybe I'll have a chance to meet and talk to him right now."

"Are you crazy? The Tang Emperor has been dead for a thousand years..."

"Didn't you say that the Tang Emperor's Mausoleum holds a secret to immortality?" Zhang Fan smiled. "Perhaps there's still a chance."

"That's just a legend...you actually believed it?"

"Whether it's true or not, we'll find out by going to see the Tang King." Zhang Fan said, pulling Qiu Wanlan aside to hide, his brows furrowed.

"Before that, we had a big problem..."

rustling sound—

rustling sound—

rustling sound—