Chapter 159

Li Yue is from Beijing and has already visited all the famous tourist attractions in the city.

Today is the weekend, and she was planning to relax at home, but her friend dragged her to the National Museum.

"What's so interesting about this? Haven't we seen it dozens of times since we were kids?" Li Yue was speechless and didn't even bother to move.

Her friend grabbed Li Yue's arm and dragged her through the museum gate like luggage.

Surprisingly, there were quite a few people visiting the museum today.

"Today is different! Today we have a portrait of Emperor Chengyuan's first empress!" My friend was very excited.

As a history major, my friend always pays close attention to news in this area. As soon as the National Museum of China announced the exhibition, my friend hurriedly booked tickets.

Li Yue, having such a good friend, is often educated on the gossip and interesting stories of famous figures from various dynasties.

Emperor Chengyuan, as one of the most prominent figures in history, was a story that Li Yue was already very familiar with and quite interested in.

"Really?" Li Yue immediately stood up straight and quickened her pace. "Then I won't be sleepy anymore!"

Li Yue is not a fan of anyone; she simply admires famous beauties throughout history.

The Flower Kingdom boasts a history spanning thousands of years, and among its top five beauties, two are from the Southern Frontier. Emperor Chengyuan married both of them—what happiness! What envy!

Now that the famous beauties of ancient China are about to have their mysterious veils lifted, how could she not be curious? How could she not want to see just how beautiful these so-called ancient beauties really were? And how did they compare to modern beauties?

Li Yue was thrilled. Is it ancient beauties or modern beauties who are more beautiful? This has always been a hot topic among netizens.

Most people believe that modern people, with their better living conditions, must be much more beautiful than people in ancient times.

The exposure of photos of the concubines in the harem of the last dynasty, in particular, has further convinced people of this.

The reason was that the emperor's three thousand concubines in the photo, at first glance, were all ugly and deformed.

Even a very famous concubine looks like just an ordinary person.

This shattered people's fantasies about ancient beauties and made them increasingly question the value of those great beauties' reputations.

Now that Empress Yuan's portrait has appeared, the hot topic will finally be answered, which is incredibly exciting.

At this point, Li Yue no longer blamed her friend for delaying her vacation; in fact, she even praised her friend for buying the tickets so well.

As soon as the two entered the exhibition hall, they found that the entire hall was empty, which was not like the National Museum of China when it was open to the public.

"That shouldn't be the case. Yesterday's pre-sale tickets sold out in less than 5 minutes. Why is no one here now?" my friend asked, puzzled.

The two, looking puzzled, proceeded to visit each exhibition hall in an orderly fashion. Almost no one was around, which made them feel uneasy.

When they arrived at one of the exhibition halls, they were immediately stunned by the crowds there.

How crowded was it?

It was packed with people, and just one glance at it made you feel like you couldn't breathe.

"What's going on?" Li Yue asked worriedly, and even dared not go any further.

"Please line up and don't push. Visit one by one. Each person can stay for a maximum of two minutes. Please note that you are not allowed to take photos with your mobile phones! Do not crowd or trample! Do not cut in line! Please be a civilized visitor!"

The staff's shouts reached Li Yue and her friend through the loudspeaker.

The two stared wide-eyed, bewildered as to how a simple visit could turn into this. Why was there a time limit? And how could there be a risk of stampede?

Moreover, the staff member's voice was hoarse from shouting, indicating that this situation had likely been going on for quite some time.

"Should we still go? Or should we try another exhibition hall?" Li Yue felt a sense of fear, as if this exhibition hall was incredibly eerie, as if there was something terrifying and maddening inside.

"Everyone's here to see the portrait of Empress Yuan, and you're not even looking at it? What a waste of your trip!"

Suddenly, the tourist in front of Li Yue turned around and shouted. This person was obviously very talkative and explained to the two of them in a few words why the exhibition hall was like this.

It turns out that Empress Yuan's portrait is in this exhibition hall, and because Empress Yuan is so beautiful, everyone who sees it doesn't want to leave.

People in front stood still and wouldn't move, while those behind frantically pushed their way in, making the entire exhibition hall chaotic. Staff had no choice but to enforce visiting hours to maintain order.

Li Yue and the other woman were dumbfounded. Their fear vanished, replaced by intense curiosity and longing.

As expected of one of the five great beauties of ancient China, she is indeed extraordinary and her power is terrifying.

A single portrait can trigger a stampede crisis.

Li Yue had a vague premonition that the portrait of Empress Yuan would likely cause quite a stir in the Flower Kingdom.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; it's hard to say whether we'll be able to see Empress Yuan's portrait again in the future.

"Let's go! We'll go too!" Li Yue's friend said what she was thinking and ran ahead to join the queue. Li Yue quickly followed.

The waiting process was long, but the result... was more shocking than anyone could have imagined.

It was like a dreamlike journey through time and space. Ever since seeing the portrait of Empress Yuan, Li Yue had been in a daze.

My body is no longer my own, and my soul has gone nowhere.

Wrong! It should be said that the soul was lost before the painting.

Li Yue felt as if she were sleepwalking the whole time, following the crowd, and even after she finally left the museum, she was still in a daze for a long time.

When I finally came to my senses, the sky had completely darkened. It was a bright morning when I came, but it was already evening when I came out.

But Li Yue still didn't want to leave. She felt lost and confused, looking at the National Museum in front of her with mixed feelings. Her mind was a mess and she couldn't calm down for a long time.

She wasn't the only one who felt the same way; many other tourists also gathered in front of the National Museum and refused to leave.

Finally, everyone looked at each other and suddenly burst out with a strong desire to communicate. They talked all at once, venting their inner turmoil. Their words were always about Empress Yuan, beauty, and going crazy, as well as their envy and jealousy of Emperor Chengyuan.

"Alas! What a pity!" someone wailed.

The person didn't say what was a pity, but everyone knew it: their phones were confiscated by the staff when they entered the exhibition hall, so they couldn't take pictures of Empress Yuan. It's painful to think that such a stunning beauty can't be seen every day or at all times.

It wasn't until late at night that everyone reluctantly left, though many stayed behind, planning to visit again the next day.

Those who saw the portrait of Empress Yuan today not only raved about her beauty to everyone around them, but also excitedly posted about it online.

It's the same trending topic, the same comment section.

Netizens are still debating whether Empress Yuan and Empress Chen are the same person.

People who visited the National Museum of China today are all posting about it online.

Empress Yuan was truly beautiful! The most beautiful woman in the world! The most beautiful woman in history!

Their eloquent and elaborate expressions of love for Empress Yuan completely baffled all netizens.

Before netizens could even chime in, someone else dropped an even more explosive bombshell.

[Empress Yuan and Empress Chen are confirmed to be the same person!]