Chapter 35 It's no wonder he's so kind-hearted...
At this moment, no one knew whether the man in black would notice something was wrong and chase after them. Moreover, Hengbo's combat strength was now weakened, so taking refuge in the imperial mausoleum became the only option.
Fortunately, the Vajra Gate, built of stone bricks, had been broken open by the strongmen, and the top stones behind the two white marble doors on the inside had also been removed.
Shen Guitang pushed open the inner door, which was carved from a single piece of white marble and was about ten feet high and six inches thick, without much effort.
As soon as the stone gate opened, a damp smell mixed with the stench of rotting corpses wafted out. Shen Guitang took out a porcelain bottle from his bosom, took out a pill, and handed it to Hengbo: "Take one of the Detoxification Pills first."
Hengbo took the medicine and placed it in her palm, but did not swallow it immediately. Seeing her cautious demeanor, Shen Guitang asked in a cool tone, "What? Are you worried that I'll poison you?"
Hengbo didn't know why he had such thoughts. After hesitating for a moment, she finally couldn't help but ask him: Is it bitter?
Shen Guitang was speechless for a moment, truly wondering what was so special about this person that made him overestimate her every time.
Having received no answer, Hengbo sighed, then, as if determined to make a fatal mistake, closed his eyes and swallowed the pill in one gulp, as if afraid that the pill would stay in his mouth for even a moment longer.
But wait, why does it taste sweet? Hengbo smacked his lips again; this detoxifying pill really was sweet.
Seeing her still savoring the memory like a greedy cat, Shen Guitang couldn't help but smile slightly, which was a testament to his rare kindness.
Hengbo, lying on his back, naturally saw that he hadn't taken the medicine and couldn't help but ask curiously: Aren't you afraid of being poisoned?
Shen Guitang stepped over the threshold and walked towards the main hall, answering a question unrelated to the one being asked: "My life is miserable; I cannot eat sugar pills." The beauty of this world easily makes people weak, and he will eventually return to hell.
The so-called front hall is actually more like a long corridor. The eternal lamps hanging on the stone walls on both sides had spontaneously combusted the moment the tomb was opened by the warriors and the inhabitants entered.
Contrary to Hengbo's expectations, the furnishings in the imperial tomb were surprisingly simple. On the east side were murals carved by craftsmen that were quite exquisite, while on the west side, there were simply eighteen kinds of weapons hanging on the walls.
Hengbo casually picked up a sword, but encountered resistance when he tried to draw it. With a little force, he managed to pull the sword out, but only half of it was pulled out, while the other half was already rusted in the scabbard.
Not to mention the extravagance she had witnessed in Jiangnan, it was far superior to even the ordinary palace life she had seen in her childhood.
Shen Guitang also clicked his tongue in amazement: "His Majesty treats his own father and mother so poorly, it's not just a little bit worse."
Others may not know how much money Ji Heng prepared for Empress Dowager Zhengde's funeral, but Shen Guitang, who handled the matter, knew it all too well. He even suspected that Ji Heng had emptied his own private treasury.
However, compared to the throne that Empress Dowager Zhengde secured for him, this was nothing.
Passing through the front hall, one enters the slightly more spacious central hall, flanked by east and west side halls, where the coffins of the late emperor's empress and crown prince are placed respectively. Further ahead lies the rear hall, naturally the final resting place of the late emperor, the owner of this imperial mausoleum.
Inside the central hall was the late emperor's dragon throne. Shen Guitang brushed away the layer of dust that had accumulated over the years and placed Hengbo on it. "Let's rest first and recharge our energy for tomorrow."
After a long night of travel, Hengbo was indeed quite tired and, disregarding any sense of propriety, almost collapsed into sleep. Fortunately, before falling completely asleep, she remembered Shen Guitang, who had worked so hard along the way, and slightly shrank back to make room for him.
Seeing this, Shen Guitang smiled gently: "You can sleep peacefully. I'll just wander around around here."
Hengbo has now guessed that Shen Guitang's purpose in returning to the imperial mausoleum is not so simple, but isn't she the same? Putting herself in Shen Guitang's shoes, Hengbo decided to pretend that she knew nothing and slowly closed her eyes.
Shen Guitang waited until her breathing became even before tiptoeing away, but instead of continuing deeper as Heng Bo had predicted, she retreated back to the entrance of the tomb.
But at that moment, a figure stood quietly there with his back to the camera.
Upon seeing Shen Guitang approach, the dark figure quickly turned and bowed. When he raised his head, who else could it be but Hei Feng?
He breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing that Shen Guitang had no injuries, but then began to complain, "Young master, why didn't you wait for me?"
Heaven knows how terrified he was when he rushed to Shen Guitang's room and found it empty. Fortunately, he found the hidden weapon that Shen Guitang carried with him at the back door of the inn and found the mark he left behind, which made him realize that he had gone to the imperial tomb.
Shen Guitang remained silent. He had originally intended to wait for Hei Feng to join him, but somehow he ended up leaving with Heng Bo on his own.
Black Wind knew he wouldn't hear any self-reflection from him; it would just be a bunch of complaints and that would be it. He pointed to a large, fat figure lying on the ground beside him, "The person responsible for keeping an eye on him rescued him on the side. I didn't know what to do with him, so I brought him to you."
The man lay face down on the ground without making a sound, presumably knocked unconscious. Even so, in the dim light, Shen Guitang immediately recognized him by his silhouette; it was none other than Lord Ji, Ji Run, with whom he had conspired that afternoon.
Shen Guitang's lips twitched: "So you want me to explain to him and the little princess how a living person suddenly appeared here out of thin air?"
Black Wind acted as if it were none of his business: "If you had waited for me back then, this trouble wouldn't have happened. If all else fails, just say it was a magic trick."
Shen Guitang: ...
Just as Shen Guitang was about to say something more, he saw the person on the ground suddenly move his fingers. With a flick of his sleeve, the black wind understood and disappeared into the darkness.
Before long, Ji Run woke up peacefully.
Perhaps the person who struck him used considerable force, because he remained motionless for a while after getting up and sitting up, until Shen Guitang's voice rang out, at which point he turned his head in surprise.
His eyes showed surprise and doubt, but his face feigned delight. He stood up and took two steps toward Shen Guitang, saying, "Brother Shen, I thought I would never see you again!"
Seeing that he stopped more than ten feet away from him, and seeing his tense posture, Shen Guitang knew that he was full of doubts at this moment.
He didn't expose him, but instead acted even more wary than the man, taking two steps back: "I wonder why my foolish brother is here?"
Ji Run was completely dumbfounded when he heard this question. He had wanted to get Shen Guitang to tell him how he escaped, but now it seemed that Shen Guitang was even more shocked than he was.
He tentatively took two more steps: "Wasn't it Brother Shen who rescued me?"
Seeing this, Shen Guitang took another step back. "Brother Ji, please don't joke. My servant and I had escaped to the imperial mausoleum and were resting when we suddenly heard a noise. We came to check the situation and found you lying on the ground, Brother Ji."
Seeing that he was even more wary than he was, Ji Run felt a sense of relief. He even stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, reassuring him, "Brother Shen, don't panic. Since this is the imperial mausoleum, it is the ancestral tomb of my Ji family. You should treat this place as your own home."
“But,” he changed the subject, his small eyes scrutinizing him, “why didn’t you send your servant to scout? How can you let your master put himself in danger?”
Upon hearing this, Shen Guitang brushed away the hand that was on his shoulder: "My servant is a loyal man. He was seriously injured while protecting me." As he spoke, he glanced at him coldly and made a gesture of invitation: "If Brother Ruoji still does not trust me enough, you may leave on your own."
Ji Run's chubby face twitched, and he awkwardly put his hands behind his back: "Oh dear, my dear brother, what are you saying? I would never doubt you."
As if to prove that what he said was true, he lowered his voice and said, "To be honest, I have a little idea of who was in charge of this disaster at the post station, and it has nothing to do with you."
Shen Guitang seemed to take a liking to what he said, and stared at him intently without blinking.
Seeing that he wouldn't give up until he achieved his goal, Ji Run gritted her teeth and finally made a "two" gesture.
Shen Guitang was finally satisfied and led him towards the central hall. As for whether Ji Run was cursing him in his heart again? What a joke, he didn't force him to say it.
Arriving once again at the simple front hall, Ji Run stared at the murals before him with longing in his eyes: "The people have suffered for a long time. If it weren't for the late emperor leading the way, and Marquis Dingbei Lu Yao, General Zhennan Xiao," he paused when mentioning this person, and then continued as if nothing had happened, "a host of meritorious officials assisted him, driving out the Tartars, expelling the Japanese pirates, recovering lost territories, and restoring the country, we would still be living in fear and anxiety every day because of the displacement of people."
As he looked at the murals that recorded the glorious life of the late emperor, he felt as if he were in that turbulent era, becoming one of the great army that made great achievements.
He wanted to share his excited feelings with the person next to him, but only heard the person next to him say coldly, "What's the use? Nothing was left behind." The mural, which was dozens of feet long, could not even accommodate a single figure of that person.
Ji Run, however, thought he was referring to the late emperor's heroic life, which resulted in such a simple tomb, and said awkwardly, "Your Majesty's actions were indeed inappropriate."
Shen Guitang was in a bad mood and didn't want to waste any more time with him. She just wanted to see something that would make her happy, so she walked quickly forward.
Although Ji Run was reluctant to abandon so much spiritual nourishment, her life was clearly more precious at the moment, so she had no choice but to follow him.
However, when Shen Guitang rushed back to the central hall, all that remained on the dragon throne was his outer robe draped over her shoulders; Hengbo had vanished without a trace.
Shen Guitang: ...
Ji Run glanced at his expression and asked cautiously, "Where is your servant?"
Shen Guitang didn't want to answer such an obvious question. She looked around and stepped to the right.
He had gone halfway when he finally remembered there was someone behind him. He smiled and said, "My servant loves to play hide-and-seek. Why don't you go and take a look on the west side, Brother Ji? Once you find him, we can go back to the main hall and meet up."
When Ji Run heard that he wanted to get rid of her, she shook her head vigorously: "No, no, absolutely not!"
He wiped the fine beads of sweat from his jogging head and said urgently, "Brother, you mustn't leave me behind! To be honest, I'm a good-for-nothing. I've been afraid of gods and ghosts since I was a child."
Shen Guitang was puzzled: "This is the ancestral tomb of your Ji family, Brother Ji, what is there to fear?"
Ji Run finally realized what it meant to shoot yourself in the foot, and stammered, "But I'm not familiar with them either!"
Shen Guitang remained silent, ultimately still carrying this fat tail that she couldn't shake off.
In their haste to find someone, the two didn't bother to observe the furnishings of the side hall, even though it was even more shabby than the main hall.
Whether it was good luck or not, after walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they actually saw a figure ahead.
The man stood before a coffin, his slender figure casting a long shadow from the ever-burning lamp on the wall, which fell directly upon the coffin.
The dim light made her face appear strikingly pale, and her features, sculpted by a deity, made her resemble a jade statue more than a human.
Hearing the footsteps of the approaching person, she turned around, her clear face fully exposed to the two of them.
Before Shen Guitang could even call out, he heard a loud thud behind him. Turning around, he saw Ji Run kneeling down as if he had seen a ghost, muttering in disbelief, "Your Highness, have you come back to your senses?"
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-01-29 22:53:03 and 2024-02-01 22:16:55!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Wow, oh my god~ 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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