Chapter 493
However, the Moon Shadow Guards and Phoenix Guards were not to be underestimated. They quickly wiped out most of the assassins, and Wen Xin was firmly protected by the highly skilled Regent, so no one could do anything to her.
Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes.
As the group fought, the ground suddenly collapsed, revealing an underground river. Wen Xin and the Regent were swept away by the current.
After falling into the water, the delicate and frail young empress fainted immediately, and when she woke up, she was in this underground palace.
What incredible luck for a female lead!
Looking at the grandeur of this underground palace... well, Wen Xin understands now, she must have triggered some hidden dungeon.
If I had known, she would have just stayed at the Summer Palace, lounging around like a couch potato.
What are you doing out here?
What are you doing out here?
Wen Xin wanted to slap herself for being so restless.
See? Trouble is brewing!
The female lead is just destined to have no chance of traveling safely!
However, Wen Xin swore that he had been very careful, not only choosing a place to visit that was right next to the Summer Palace, but also not going to any distant places.
She even deliberately avoided the plot hole of the female lead getting into trouble when she went out alone, and waited until her prince was free before going out to play with a group of guards.
With His Highness the Regent protecting them, surely demons and monsters wouldn't dare to cause trouble?
Who would have thought that some fool would have conjured up a group of assassins who had been lying in ambush there all along?
Good heavens, why is the female lead's life so full of hardship?
In fact, the Regent had not expected that someone would be so reckless as to attempt to assassinate them near the Summer Palace.
What infuriated him even more was that those useless fools below had managed to let a group of assassins hide silently in the woods behind the Imperial Summer Palace without anyone noticing anything amiss.
He couldn't imagine what might have happened if His Majesty hadn't told him and he had gone to the stream alone.
When they return, the Imperial Guards and the troops in the capital will need to be thoroughly reorganized.
There was no firewood for heating in the underground palace, and the regent was worried that the young empress would catch a cold from being soaked, so he could only use his internal energy to slowly dry her clothes.
Wen Xin grasped his hand. "Your Highness, I'm fine. The dangers here are unknown, so don't waste too much of your inner strength on me."
The Regent stroked her fair wrist tenderly, "It is my incompetence that caused Your Majesty to be in danger."
Wen Xin smiled, her eyes showing little worry but full of trust in him. "With Your Highness here, we will definitely get out safely."
The regent was immediately filled with warmth and carefully lifted her up.
Wen Xin asked, "Does Your Highness know which emperor's tomb this is from the previous dynasty?"
The Phoenix Continent reveres the phoenix, and emperors of all dynasties have used the phoenix as a symbol, except for the previous dynasty.
The previous dynasty was also a female-led regime, but the founding emperor did not worship the phoenix; instead, she believed in the azure dragon and revered it.
Therefore, the dragon became the totem and symbol of the emperors of the previous dynasty.
However, the previous dynasty had a very short lifespan, collapsing within a few decades of only two emperors.
Legend has it that the previous dynasty did not respect the phoenix and was rejected by the true phoenix god, which is why it died after only two generations.
There is a legend that in order to appease the anger of the Phoenix God, the founding emperor of the Fengyuan Kingdom used the phoenix as a symbol for the emperors, while the empresses and noblewomen used the dragon totem, implying that although the dragon is noble, it will always be subordinate to the phoenix.
Because Feng Yuan deeply revered the Phoenix God, he received protection and continued to prosper for two hundred years.
This also made the nations of the Tianhuang Continent worship the phoenix even more.
But whether these rumors are true or false, nobody knows.
It's been so many years.
Even the historical records in the imperial library are vague.
However, Wen Xin thought that in a patriarchal world, the dragon's status is always above that of the phoenix, so in a matriarchal world, it would be normal for the opposite to be true.
Wen Xin recounted what she knew to the Regent, then casually asked, "Your Highness, do you really think the downfall of the previous dynasty was due to disrespect for the phoenix?"
The second emperor of the previous dynasty was clearly not a foolish ruler, but rather a wise and capable monarch skilled in both literature and martial arts, yet the country still perished.
The regent's eyes were unfathomable. After a few moments of silence, he said, "No, it's because the emperor of the previous dynasty fell in love with a man."
The man was the son of the founding emperor of Fengyuan, and also a carefully trained assassin she had cultivated to be sent to the emperor's side to help her rebel and become empress.
Wen Xin: "..."
So the previous dynasty perished because of love!
This is really...
Wait a minute, does that mean her ancestor was not only a rebel, but also a heartless woman who exploited emotions?
But, well, in the struggle for power, there are only winners and losers, not right and wrong.
The winner takes all; this has been true throughout history.
The means don't matter!
The Regent followed the girl's gaze to the magnificent underground palace and said in a deep voice, "If I am not mistaken, this should be the mausoleum of the last emperor of the previous dynasty."
Wen Xin said, "According to historical records, when the capital of the previous dynasty fell, the deposed emperor disappeared, and no one has been able to find him since, and his fate is unknown."
However, imperial mausoleums are usually built by the emperor after he ascends the throne, so whether or not the previous emperor is buried here does not affect the existence of this mausoleum.
The Regent said calmly, "She died when the country fell, but... she and that man had a son who was safely evacuated. Many years later, her remains were brought back here for burial."
The man couldn't betray his mother and master, but how could he remain unmoved by the king's unwavering love? So he concealed the existence of their child, allowing the child to survive.
Wen Xin was shocked, and something suddenly flashed through her mind, "So, that child has been carrying the mission of national hatred and family feuds and restoring the previous dynasty, and has been fighting against the Fengyuan rulers in the dark, generation after generation, without stopping?"
The Regent looked at her intently, and said, "Yes."
Wen Xin: "..."
Oh no, this dungeon is getting bigger and bigger!
Wen Xin mentally scratched the wall: I don't want to waste my brain playing a game that has been going on for over two hundred years. Wouldn't it be better to be a hedonistic and incompetent ruler?
But it was still her own country, and she couldn't tolerate the restless remnants of the previous dynasty, so Wen Xin braced herself and continued to ask, "Their organization isn't called the Heaven and Earth Society, is it?"
The Regent asked in surprise, "How did Your Majesty know?"
Wen Xin: "..."
Don't ask, the answer is simply "Overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming"!
The Regent said in a low voice, "After that child grew up, he built a powerful army and attempted to reclaim the throne, causing a lot of trouble for the second king of Fengyuan. But in the end, he lost. After his death, his remaining forces and his child went into hiding and established the Heaven and Earth Society."
"Later, every generation of Fengyuan Emperors tried every means to eliminate the Heaven and Earth Society. When it came to His Majesty's grandmother, Empress Wuming, she was a wise and almost demonic monarch. The Heaven and Earth Society was driven to the brink of collapse by her."
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