Mountain and River Festival 180. Imperial Tombs of the Former Dynasty
It was the first time that Ye Li felt such a headache since she woke up from her coma. It has been more than two hundred years since the fall of the previous dynasty, and at least in the past few decades, there has been no news that the remnants of the previous dynasty want to restore the country. But... who can tell the difference between national hatred and family feuds? Although the Dingguo Palace is not the one sitting on the throne today, at least half of the battles that led to the fall of the previous dynasty were fought by the first generation Ding Wang Mo Suoyun. Therefore, Ye Li could not be sure whether the survivors of the previous dynasty hated the Emperor of Great Chu more or the Ding Wang more. And now, she has obviously fallen into a place where the survivors of the previous dynasty gather. But the good news is that, except for a very small number of highly respected people, the residents living here do not seem to know anything about the change of dynasties, and they are obviously not interested in who will be the emperor.
Seeing her holding her chin with a changing expression, Doctor Lin did not say much. After all, this was not something that most people could accept.
"Master... do you want to restore the country?" After a while, Ye Li sorted out the chaotic thoughts in his mind and asked casually.
"Restore the country?" Doctor Lin looked at her with a strange expression, as if he had eaten something he shouldn't have. After a while, he snorted and said, "Have you seen anyone who has been hiding in this deep mountain for decades to restore the country? And... I'm a doctor, what can I do to restore the country? Poison Mo Liufang and Mo Jingxuan?" Ye Li took a sip of the light tea and said calmly, "It was Mo Jingqi and Mo Xiuyao. Mo Liufang and Mo Jingxuan have been dead for many years." Doctor Lin glared at her fiercely, frowned a little strangely and said, "This generation of Ding Wang is called Mo Xiuyao? I remember that when Mo Liufang's son was born, he was called Mo Xiuwen..." This time, Ye Li believed that Doctor Lin really hadn't been out for decades, and answered seriously, "Mo Xiuwen was the previous Ding Wang, who died nine years ago." Doctor Lin glanced at her and said, "You know it clearly."
Ye Li smiled and said, "Didn't Master also say that I come from a famous family? How could I not know such a big thing?"
Doctor Lin waved his hands and said irritably: "National hatred and family feuds... It has been more than two hundred years. Who can explain those things clearly? Moreover, even if the people of the world are dissatisfied with the royal family of Da Chu now, will they still miss the previous dynasty?" If so, the previous dynasty would not have been destroyed. At that time, the emperors of the following generations were incompetent and the people were living in poverty. Even if the last emperor wanted to reform and innovate, he himself was not an emperor. In the end, he was unable to save the situation and had to watch the country fall and the family perish. To be honest, it is not the fault of Da Chu Taizu. To put it bluntly, it is just that those who succeed become kings and those who fail become bandits.
"What does Lin Yuan want? Why is Master so reluctant to give it to him? Since Master no longer cares about the restoration of the country or the outside world, why..."
Doctor Lin sighed, looked at her and smiled bitterly, "It's not that I don't want to give it to him, but... I don't have anything to give him. What he wants... is the treasure from the tomb of Emperor Gaozu of the previous dynasty."
Ye Li frowned. It was only natural that there were treasures hidden in the emperor's mausoleum. Ye Li did not understand what Doctor Lin meant by "no". Doctor Lin said calmly: "The mausoleum of Emperor Gaozu is indeed here. The people in this village are the descendants of the most loyal guards who followed Emperor Gaozu. After Emperor Gaozu passed away, these people vowed to guard the mausoleum for Emperor Gaozu forever. In order to prevent unfilial people from the younger generation, they also set rules. The younger generation is not allowed to learn to read, and people are not allowed to step out of the vicinity of the mausoleum or leave the village to go outside the mountain. Moreover, the secret of the mausoleum is only passed down from generation to generation by the clan leaders in the village. Even these villagers never know their origins.
Ye Li didn't know how to comment on this, so she simply didn't say anything. She raised her head and asked, "Master, what are your plans now? If you find out that your subordinates didn't bring the things back, will Lin Yuan come back in person?"
Doctor Lin nodded, thought for a moment and asked Ye Li: "Now... the world is unstable?" If the country of Chu was peaceful and the people were safe, and there was no hope of completely restoring the country, Lin Yuan would not have thought about the imperial tomb.
Ye Li did not hide it and nodded: "It is indeed a bit chaotic. If nothing unexpected happens... the Mohist Army and the Great Chu Royal Family are likely to break up..."
"Breakup..." Doctor Lin sighed a little, and said leisurely: "In the past, everyone said how deep the brotherhood between Taizu of Great Chu and King Ding of the founding country was, and how powerful they were when they joined forces to compete for the world. I didn't expect that the two families have now come to the point of breakup. No wonder... no wonder... Forget it, these things are not something an old man like me can do. Girl, pack up and leave here as soon as possible." Ye Li was stunned, "If we leave, what about the villagers here?" Doctor Lin snorted and said, "I will naturally leave a message to tell him that it is best not to take action against these people." Ye Li raised an eyebrow, "Will he listen to you?" Doctor Lin sneered, "If he doesn't agree, just hand the things over to Mo Xiuyao..." Ye Li was silent, and he admired this cheap master in his heart. You yourself don't even know if there is a treasure in the imperial mausoleum or what the treasure is, yet you dare to bring the matter to Mo Xiuyao? Do you want Mo Xiuyao to die or Lin Yuan to die?
"Should we change the master? How about Xiling Zhennan Wang Lei Zhenting?" Ye Li advised sincerely. It seemed that Doctor Lin still had some feelings for Lin Yuan. Ye Li was still reluctant to let him confront Mo Xiuyao, lest it hurt the relationship between them. Doctor Lin glanced at her, narrowed his eyes and said suspiciously: "Girl, who are you to Mo Xiuyao? I seem to have heard from those two guys that Mo Xiuyao is also near Hongzhou now. What a coincidence that you..."
Ye Li smiled, "Master, it doesn't matter who I am now. What do you think? You just need to know that your disciple will never do anything bad to you."
Doctor Lin stared at her for a long while, but Ye Li did not move, and sat there calmly, letting him look at her. After a while, Doctor Lin snorted and nodded, thus ending the topic.
It was not easy to leave such a secluded mountain village, especially when the people who were going on the road were an old man over 60 who had no martial arts skills and a pregnant woman. What was worse, the road they were going to take was a royal mausoleum that no one had ever walked before. Because with the lineup of an old man and a pregnant woman, there was no need to imagine that they could walk out of the huge mountain range that was dangerous even for adult men, and there was a high possibility that they would meet Lin Yuan or someone sent by Lin Yuan on the road, so the road that was said to exist in the royal mausoleum to the outside world was their only hope.
Ye Li couldn't help but think of some tomb-robbing novels she had read in her previous life. She hoped that this imperial mausoleum was not as dangerous and bizarre as described in those books. Otherwise...if she could choose, Ye Li would rather wait until the baby was born and then leave in a safe way. But now no one knew his identity. Once the man named Lin Yuan appeared, it would not be certain. If he really had the so-called ambition to restore the country, then he would definitely not fail to guess that she was Mo Xiuyao's wife, the mistress of Dingguo Palace, and then it would be a big trouble.
A few days later, Doctor Lin packed up all his things, including his ancient and rare books. Ye Li also took advantage of this time to prepare some necessary things. Then in the morning, when the villagers were still asleep, the old patriarch of the village, who was already over 70 years old, personally sent them into the mountain. Sure enough, it was under the waterfall that Ye Li had checked before. The old patriarch led the two of them to the bottom of the waterfall, and there was a huge cave inside. Ye Li was prepared, and took off the hat on his back and shook off the water on it. As early as when she took out the hat and put it on, the old patriarch and Doctor Lin looked at her in surprise. Ye Li smiled and said, "Isn't this for the baby? Just in case..." Doctor Lin looked at her meaningfully and said nothing more. The old patriarch with white hair looked at the two of them and said nothing more. Obviously, Doctor Lin had negotiated with him before, and took the two of them into the cave.
This cave is large and deep, obviously a natural one, with various stone stalagmites hanging from the top, dripping water from time to time. In the middle is a fast-flowing artificial river, not only is the river neat and beautiful, but even the roads on both sides are carefully carved out of stones. Although it is covered with moss because no one has walked for many years, you can still see the exquisite patterns on the stone base if you look closely. Ye Li couldn't help but twitch his lips. It is said that every emperor has to build a mausoleum for himself as soon as he ascends the throne. If it is the scale of the previous emperor, then it is indeed necessary to start building it as soon as he ascends the throne. Even places that are not related to the mausoleum are built like this. Otherwise, if you start earlier, you may not have a place to bury your dead.
The three of them walked along the cave and stopped after walking for about half an hour. They had reached the end and could only see the rushing river water coming out from under the stone wall. Ye Li just hoped that this situation did not require them to dive.
The old patriarch slowly groped around the stone wall covered with moss and various weeds. After a while, he finally found a place and took out a strange-shaped key from his pocket and pressed it against the stone wall to turn it. After a while, there was a loud bang, and a door cracked in the stone wall. The old patriarch looked at the two people and said, "You go in and take care of yourself."
Doctor Lin nodded and said: "You..."
The old patriarch raised his hand to stop him and nodded, saying: "I know, we have guarded this place for hundreds of years, and no one has ever entered. For so many years... we don't want to know what is inside. Since the great ancestor did not leave the things inside to future generations, we don't want to change it now. I am old, and I just hope that this village will be an ordinary village in the future, and there is nothing to guard. This secret ends with me. Thank you for not revealing this secret to the young master all these years... After you go in, you won't need it, take it away together."
Doctor Lin nodded and said, "Take care." Taking the key from the old patriarch, Doctor Lin took Ye Li inside, and the stone wall slowly closed in front of them.
As the stone wall closed, the two people were in darkness. Doctor Lin lit a tinder and walked to the oil lamp on the stone wall to light it. Soon, the candlelight on the stone wall shone on the copper mirror on the opposite side, and then the light refracted and shone on another copper mirror. In a moment, the originally dark passage was bright. Ye Li raised her eyebrows and followed Doctor Lin without saying a word.
The passage was quiet, and only the footsteps of two people could be heard. Ye Li walked and observed the walls on both sides. It must be said that the former emperor Gaozu was indeed rich and powerful. As the Princess of Dingguo, Ye Li had participated in one or two imperial tomb sacrifices. She had also been to the underground palace of the previous emperor, although it was only on the outermost part, but it was definitely not the case that even such an inconspicuous passage at the edge was carved with marble. The dragon reliefs on the walls and the ground were lifelike, and each dragon's eyes were inlaid with various gems. The wealth and dominance of the emperor and the royal family came over her.
The two walked along the passage and did not encounter any of the legendary traps. In the dark imperial mausoleum, Ye Li could only roughly determine the direction and distance they were walking.
Half an hour later, they finally arrived at an annex. The oil lamp in the hall suddenly filled the room with fragrance. Ye Li stepped back a few steps away from the oil lamp cautiously. But she soon realized that the fragrance was not poison but ambergris. However, it still did not do any good to the pregnant woman, so Ye Li tried to stay away from it. Doctor Lin looked down at the worn-out map in his hand and looked around the empty room, "Take a rest first, you are tired..."
Ye Li looked at the map in his hand and asked curiously, "Since the old patriarch doesn't want the treasures in the imperial mausoleum to see the light of day, isn't he afraid that we will come back and take the things away after we go out?" Doctor Lin looked back at her and said calmly, "It is said that... the entrance to the imperial mausoleum cannot be opened without a key, and the exit we want to go out... can only be opened once, and each time is only for a quarter of an hour." Ye Li couldn't help sweating, "Master, are you sure? That exit hasn't been opened yet?" The old man's expression became more relaxed when he heard the title "Master". He asked, "What will you do if it is opened?" Ye Li smiled and said helplessly, "Then I can only live and die with you, Master. It's a pity for my baby..." Doctor Lin couldn't help but smile. He looked at her and said, "This kid is very lucky. He has been with you for so long and is still fine. He will be fine."
"Thank you, Master." Ye Li smiled. Feeling a little more relaxed, Ye Li asked in confusion: "What did the founding emperor of the previous dynasty leave in the imperial mausoleum? And why didn't the old patriarch want Lin Yuan to get it?" Doctor Lin said indifferently: "I don't know, but the great ancestor did order the guards of the mausoleum not to spread the treasure inside. As for the old patriarch... they just want to live well." Ye Li raised his eyebrows, and Doctor Lin said: "Lin Yuan grew up in the village since he was a child. The old patriarch naturally knows his character. If he can't get the things, it's fine. If he gets the things, no one in this village will survive."
Ye Li was puzzled, and Doctor Lin waved his hand to indicate that he didn't want to say anything more.
Ye Li found a place to sit down, gently stroking her belly to comfort the baby. Then she lowered her head to study the carvings on the stone wall. The empty stone room was quiet, with only the occasional sound of Ye Li tapping the stone wall with her fingers.