Chapter 65: "Palace X" Live Broadcast: Queen Yao's Collapse
"Hello everyone, welcome to the latest episode of 'Into Archaeology', a special edition on the Tang Dynasty."
On the live broadcast interface, a dignified and elegant female host, Zhan Hongfu, smiled and greeted everyone. Her equally handsome and sunny male companion, Qian Yu, took over the conversation tacitly:
"Yes, today we are very honored to be able to enter the Zhanyu Tomb together under the guidance of Professor Liu Qingfeng of the Archaeology Department of Shaanxi University and uncover the legendary life of Zhan Xiaomo, a female official of the Tang Dynasty."
"Then without further ado, let's go in now!"
Zhan Hongfu turned sideways as she spoke. Although she didn't say it explicitly, everyone inside and outside the screen could see her urgency. The comments on the live broadcast platform instantly increased:
【Hahahaha, I can see how anxious Sister Hong is.】
[Sister Hong: Stop nagging and get in the car!]
[Xiao Qianqian, you have some good sense. Your sister is urging you.]
Ahhhh, so excited! Wuli Yubao is the number one fan of the Emperor and Empress couple! I remember her story in "Tang History: Biographies" mentioning that she and Yan Zi both loved keeping diaries. There must be one in this tomb!
[It’s great, I have new food to eat right after entering the circle, my wife is still my family, ah ah ah ~]
Along the way, Professor Liu also followed the two hosts' topics and gave a brief introduction to the tomb owner's life:
"Zhan Yu is a familiar figure to everyone. She and another court lady, Qian Hu, were Empress Yao's two most capable subordinates. Under Empress Yao's leadership, they promoted a series of women's rights movements in the Tang Dynasty, including those for female doctors, female education, and female workers. In the ninth year of the Dazhong reign, they also became the first women in my country to take the imperial examinations and receive official appointments."
"In addition, Zhan Yu also followed Empress Yao's orders to travel to Jiangnan three times and established official institutions such as the Jiangnan Weaving General Administration and the Haifan Market, which greatly promoted the economic development of the Tang Dynasty."
"The most widely known is her service as a diplomatic envoy of the Tang Dynasty to numerous countries. Under the guidance of Empress Yao, she used economic warfare and alliances to bring all who could be seen around the world under the patronage of the Tang Dynasty."
Liu Qingfeng chatted briefly and then came to a display stand inside the tomb that had been prepared.
Gao Xian, a famous professor of Tang history research at Yenching University, had been standing by waiting for a long time.
Liu Qingfeng didn't bother chatting with the two young people anymore. He hurriedly called them over and walked ahead. "Alright?"
"I'm ready now. I've been waiting for you." Professor Gao Xian glared at him, then turned to the two hosts and the camera, becoming dignified again. "Hello, I'm Gao Xian. This time, I'll be showing Zhan Yu's personal recording of 'The Daily Records of the Emperor and Empress,' and Professor Liu Qingfeng will be explaining it together."
[Hmm? 'The Emperor and Empress' Diary'? That's not what a diary is usually called, right?]
[The preceding text is nsdd. Generally, daily records record the words and deeds of a particular emperor. The name is simply the emperor's posthumous title or temple name followed by the daily records.]
[Then, judging by the name, this one records the daily lives of Emperor Xuanzong and Empress Yao, right?]
Zhan Hongfu, a devoted supporter of Empress Yao, was not the only one who saw the name. He immediately realized the meaning behind it and asked, "Teachers, why is this called 'The Daily Records of the Emperor and Empress'? Is it because it records the words and deeds of both Emperor Xuanzong and Empress Yao?"
Gao Xian nodded in agreement. Liu Qingfeng, standing nearby, carefully showed the specially preserved paper to the two of them, pointed at the column of words on it, and smiled as he interacted with the camera:
"Everyone, come and take a look. This is the cover of the diary. Take a close look at the starting point and see if you can spot the Easter egg hidden inside."
[23333 Mr. Liu is quite fashionable and even knows about Easter eggs.]
[Nonsense, if they are truly knowledgeable, they might even be better at using their phones than you are.]
[I'll go first, I'll go first! I don't recognize any of the words above!]
[Uneducated, it clearly says circle, circle, circle, oh~oh~oh~]
[Don’t speak up, my own people! ]
There’s a voice in my head, ahh ...
"Tomorrow is the college entrance exam. If you remind me of Quanquanyuanyuan, you're doomed! Not even Jesus can save you, I say!"
"Hahaha, the kids are so lively." Liu Qingfeng smiled kindly as he listened to the two hosts reciting some popular comments.
【Hahahaha, the kids are so embarrassing.】
[Jin Yi Liang Yuan, I want Jin Yi Liang Yuan! Ahhhh give it to me, give it to me! I can't stand life without Jin Yi Liang Yuan!]
[How dare you! My honest CP is the real one, all the others are cults!]
[That’s enough. Aren’t the Honest CP also the Xuanzong couple? ]
"Actually, a netizen mentioned earlier hit the nail on the head." When the online melee began, the two teachers had already begun to diligently popularize science for everyone.
Gao Xian pointed to the three clearly blacked-out circles on the cover and said with a smile to Zhan Hongfu beside her, "After our examination, we found that the three blacked-out characters were 'Emperor Wenxian'. Many historical documents record that Empress Yao chose the posthumous title 'Wenxian' for herself before her death. It was this posthumous title that the new emperor chose for his mother after ascending the throne."
Liu Qingfeng took over the conversation, "In other words, this diary was originally annotated by Zhan Yu specifically for Empress Yao, and was called 'The Diary of Empress Wenxian'. But later it was changed to a joint annotated volume by the emperor and empress."
"Then why do we need to rewrite it? One person's workload should be much less than two, right?" Qian Yu couldn't help scratching his head and complained with his working man's mindset.
Zhan Hongfu disagreed: "Zhan Yu is not an ordinary person. Perhaps she was so moved by the relationship between the Emperor and Empress that she even wrote a daily journal for them."
Liu Qingfeng waited for them to finish speaking, then took out the rubbing plate and turned to the second page: "That's not necessarily true. No matter how outstanding Zhan Yu is, he is still a human being. Naturally, he doesn't like to work overtime for no reason."
Then he read out the contents of the second page: "I have lived in poverty for half my life. Fortunately, I met Empress Yao, who did not regard me as a mean person. She gave me authority and taught me the principles of literature. I finally woke up from my dream and was reborn into the human world."
"I have always been worried that future generations will not remember Empress Yao's virtue and kindness, so I have written this book to make her known to the world forever."
"The emperor's order cannot be disobeyed. I have written this book to make it known to the emperor and his empress for eternity."
"On the 17th day of the second month of the 24th year of the Dazhong reign."
At this point everyone understood. Zhan Hongfu and Qian Yu looked at each other and couldn't help but reveal the same raised corners of their mouths:
"Oh~ So it's our mighty Emperor Xuanzong who asked his subordinates to write himself and his wife together~"
Qian Yu's words sounded normal, but his tone was extremely creepy.
The screen was filled with "Jin Yi Liang Yuan" and "Dying of Thirst".
"Not only that, according to our research, this diary was written by at least seven people." Gao Xian said with a smile.
"Ah? With such a large workload, it's possible that Zhan Yu can't handle it alone. Isn't it normal to have someone to help?"
"No, according to the contents of this diary, they were written by Zhan Yu, Qian Hu, and... the royal family of five!"
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