Chapter 671 Bringing the Empress Home
Under the big tree with countless red ribbons tied to it, the king and his minister fell into silence.
Xu Zhen looked at the strip of cloth with the "password" recorded on it placed horizontally in her palm, and felt increasingly confused and bewildered.
She had not experienced the Layuan dungeon or the Donghai dungeon. Even though she had heard Zhao Duan's retelling of the story, she still couldn't empathize with him.
Therefore, it was not until she personally received the last "key" from the female temple priest that she clearly felt the fear of being "arranged".
Emperor Taizu was like a prophet who could see into the future and arranged everything many years ago.
If the previous arrangements for Zhao Duan were still vague, these three keys were too clear.
"Did he... leave anything behind? Or what did he say before he left?" The empress asked again in disbelief.
The female temple keeper shook her head and said apologetically:
"There's really nothing more."
silence.
Seeing that the empress remained silent, Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows, clasped his hands together, and cracked the bones, then said viciously to the female temple priest:
"I think you are not honest..."
Female temple priest: “…”
Xu Zhenguan was stunned for a moment, then he didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and shook his head:
"Let's go."
She sighed softly: "Since our ancestors have arranged everything, there is no point in asking anything more."
Zhao Duan uttered an "oh" and put away his ferocious attitude. He said to the trembling female temple priest:
"I'll spare you this time."
Then, the emperor and his ministers walked out of the temple. The empress carefully looked at the cloth strip several times, memorizing all the codes on it. Then she raised her head, threw the cloth strip to the ground, and said:
"Go back."
The strips of cloth floated down to the ground, and the two people turned into two rising pillars of light and disappeared into the sky.
…
…
Yu State, capital, old building.
Zhao Duan and Xu Zhenguan were shocked at the same time and opened their eyes on the cushions.
"What are your plans next?" The empress looked at Zhao Duan and asked.
Zhao Duan stretched his shoulders and said:
"When I came back, I told Master Zhang that he needed at least three days to recuperate...
Well, after two big fights in DJI and Donghai, Lao Zhang must be feeling bad.
But he's so obsessed with his reputation that he always pretends to be nonchalant on the surface. But I suspect right now, he's probably sneaking into the Heavenly Master's Mansion, holding the medicine jar, and stuffing the pills like they're free...
Well, no one knows what's in the Mubei Forest, so we must be well-prepared before we can act. We can't rush for a moment without making preparations."
The empress nodded, agreeing with his plan. She smiled:
"Alright, then let's rest for three days, and then I'll go with you into the golden gate."
"Okay...eh?" Zhao Duan nodded subconsciously, then realized something was wrong. He looked at her in shock:
"Your Majesty is going too?"
Xu Zhenguan smiled and said, "Why? Not welcome?"
"No..." Zhao Duan was a little confused:
"Then Your Majesty will not care about the Xiping battlefield?"
Xu Zhenguan said as a matter of course:
"My true body will naturally stay in Xiping, but I can use this puppet body to act with you."
Zhao Duan said blankly:
"That's not right. I remember that this puppet body couldn't leave the capital at all..."
He had tried this before.
Because the transfer of soul requires the help of the "stone wall" as a medium, it cannot go too far.
Until this moment, a cunning smile appeared on the empress's fair face. She said with a smile:
"Rules are dead, but people are alive. Even that old bald donkey Xuanyin can have an external incarnation, so why can't I?"
After a pause, facing Zhao Duan's surprised gaze, she slowly explained:
"These days, I have learned a secret technique from Emperor Taizu's notes called 'Soul Division', which means that I can cut out a small part of my soul and attach it separately.
I haven't fully mastered it before, but after trying it today, I'm almost there. With this method, I can attach a wisp of soul to this puppet within a certain period of time and allow it to move freely.
Of course, this method also has many limitations. For example, once the soul is destroyed, my original body will also be harmed.
For example, the time cannot be too long, otherwise the separated soul will become weaker and weaker, and may dissipate on its own..."
Zhao Duan listened blankly, and suddenly he said:
"Why does it sound a bit similar to the method used by Guhuo Zhenren to revive him?"
The empress was stunned:
"Now that you mention it, it does seem somewhat similar."
Guhuo Zhenren split his soul into several parts and stored them separately, so he was devoured one by one by Zhao Duan... What a pitiful man.
Zhao Duan asked curiously:
"Isn't Emperor Taizu a warrior? How could he possess such a skill? Could this also be a technique from the Martial God Path?"
The empress thought for a moment and slowly shook her head:
“There is indeed no record of this method in the Martial God Path. Judging from the notes, it is possible that our ancestors learned it from sorcerers of certain factions.
Well, it is a modified method that can be mastered without the need to worship any gods."
Zhao Duan's heart moved, and he seemed to be thinking about something.
But soon, he became happy again. Although the empress, a puppet, could not provide any support in terms of combat power, as a descendant of the royal family, it was not a bad thing for her to go along.
At the very least, it is also a supervision of Zhang Yanyi.
Zhao Duanke did not completely trust Lao Zhang and had to be prepared for the worst.
However, in this case, he felt that he should send the "Divine Dragon Grass" to Xiping as soon as possible to repair the empress's injuries.
But before that, it was his stomach that first protested.
“Gurgle…”
Zhao Duan felt the hunger in his internal organs, shook his hair, glanced at the sky, and said:
"In that case, I will go home and rest first. I will gather my strength and prepare for departure in the next few days."
The empress followed him and said calmly:
"Come along. I have nothing else to do, so I'd like to relax with you."
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment: "I want to go home..."
The empress blinked and said:
"Then what?"
…
…
Zhao Mansion.
The sun completely sank into the ground, and the entire capital was shrouded in the veil of night. Lanterns hung high on both sides of the plaque of the Zhao family mansion.
Zhao Duan raised his hand and knocked on the door, and a servant opened it:
“Who is it…?”
Halfway through his words, he couldn't help but widen his eyes and said flatteringly:
"Master is back? I'll go inform the lady right away!"
Zhao Duan was at a loss for words, thinking that he had only been away for a short time, so why did he look so surprised?
Behind him, Xu Zhenguan, wearing a cloak, came over, smiled, and said jokingly:
"Master Zhao doesn't like this?"
Zhao Duan felt extremely awkward, and after a moment he realized the source of his awkwardness: he was a public servant, but now he had become the master of the surname Zhao...
"Your Majesty, please stop teasing us. Let's go in."
He took the empress's hand and then the two of them crossed the threshold and entered the house.
Whether as an emperor or as a wife, this is undoubtedly against etiquette.
But one of them doesn't care about feudal etiquette at all, and the other is the one who made the etiquette...so they don't care.
The two walked forward holding hands and soon saw Eugene Hua and Zhao Pan'er, mother and daughter, coming out to greet them in the backyard, surrounded by several maids holding lanterns.
Both mother and daughter had happy expressions on their faces.
Because before leaving this time, Zhao Duan left a message at home saying that he might be away on business for a while, and he didn't want to come back so soon, as if he hadn't been away at all...
Then, the mother and daughter quickly noticed the person standing next to Zhao Duan and the hands they were holding.
Eugene Hua's expression changed slightly, and she subconsciously said:
"Da Lang, you went out for a while, and why did you bring back a woman? Let go quickly, if others see us and let His Majesty hear about it..."
Zhao Pan had sharp eyes. He suddenly reached out and grabbed his mother's hand. With a stiff expression, he lowered his voice and reminded her:
"Mother... stop talking, this is His Majesty..."
What nonsense is this kid talking about? His Majesty is not in the capital… Eugene was stunned for a moment, and with the help of the lantern light, he looked closely and was shocked.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty?!"
Xu Zhenguan smiled and turned to stare at Zhao Duan:
"Zhao Qing, how many women have you brought home?"
As she spoke, the empress pinched two fingers hard on the hand they were holding.
"..." Zhao Duan:
"This is a misunderstanding, do you believe it?"
…
A moment later.
By the pond in the Zhao Mansion, Zhao Duan finally explained that it was the last time he took Tuoba Weizhi with him that caused the misunderstanding.
The empress ignored him and sat down on the bamboo chair by the pond to cool off, looking angrily.
At this time, the servant came over with a fruit plate and whispered:
"Master, Madam and Miss are preparing dinner in the kitchen..."
"I understand. Go ahead. Don't let anyone else come over." Zhao Duan said as he took the fruit plate.
At this time, the Zhao family had actually finished dinner, but the empress had come and Zhao Duan had just returned, so naturally they had to prepare a table of decent dishes again.
Well... there must also be an element of avoiding embarrassment.
Zhao Duan approached with a shy face: "Your Majesty, eat melon."
The empress looked at Zhao Duan's profile reflected in the rippling water of the pond, smiled slightly, and said:
"Alright, I'm not angry. Do you think I'm such a ruthless woman?"
Zhao Duan sat down next to her with a smile and said:
"As the saying goes, a prime minister's heart can hold a boat. Your Majesty is far superior to the prime minister. I'm afraid your heart can hold the whole world."
Xu Zhenguan was familiar with his glib words, but still asked in confusion:
"A prime minister's stomach can hold a boat? Where is this common saying?"
There is no such saying in Dayu.
Zhao Duan wanted to explain, but the empress already understood:
"Oh, that's the language from your world."
Then the atmosphere fell inexplicably silent.
In the cool night, the surface of the pond reflected the lights under the eaves. A man and a woman, the king and his minister, sat on bamboo chairs by the pond, with a fruit plate on the "coffee table" in the middle.
It does have the feeling of an ordinary family enjoying the cool air.
"Are you nervous?" Xu Zhenguan suddenly asked, staring at the two faces reflected in the pond.
"Why are you so nervous?" Zhao Duan also stared at the two faces in the water.
"Mubei Forest...behind the golden gate may be your life story..." said the empress.
Zhao Duan was silent for a moment, then smiled:
"I'm not nervous, I'm just a little scared."
"Afraid? Afraid of what?"
"I'm worried that if I really have some other relationship with Old Xu, wouldn't our generational structure be messed up?"
"..." The empress turned her head and stared at him dimly, her eyes shining:
"Hasn't this speculation been rejected before?"
Zhao Duan didn't turn his head and sighed softly:
"No one can be sure until the last moment."
He himself was a little uneasy, but he had to face it all eventually. Then he thought about it and said tentatively:
"Actually, no matter how you calculate it, this should be considered the fifth rank..."
Outside the five degrees of mourning, it does not affect marriage.
The empress glared, and for a moment, she wanted to kick the hateful guy into the pond.
But in the end... I couldn't bear to do it.
"Let's talk about something serious." Xu Zhenguan turned his head and continued to stare at the lights in the pond.
Zhao Duan frowned:
“Actually, in the Martial God Map, I once followed Old Xu…er, Emperor Taizu to the edge of the Mubei Forest. We didn’t go in, but we stood at the edge of the snowfield.
Well, I’m not sure what the other monks saw was different from what I saw, but anyway, I sensed that there was something extremely terrifying in the Mubei Forest at that time.
I don't know what it is, but it's like a wild beast lurking in the mountains. When mortals sense its presence, they tremble."
Xu Zhenguan said:
"I've been there too. In fact, the real Mubei Forest is still a forbidden area to this day. Otherwise, why would Zhang Yan go to such great lengths to ask you for help?"
Zhao Duan asked in confusion: "Why can't I get in?"
Xu Zhenguan said:
“Once you approach the Mubei Forest, you will not only feel a huge threat, but also be a warrior or a sorcerer, you will be subjected to extremely powerful suppression. That kind of suppression is definitely much stronger than that of Laba or the Sea God, so no one dares to take the risk.
Not to mention mortals, Luo Kedi and others stationed in the north have never even left the snowfields."
Zhao Duan muttered:
"It looks like a dungeon that's closed to players with low levels..."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"Oh, nothing..."
Zhao Duan thought for a moment, and suddenly asked another question:
"You said, did Emperor Taizu return to Mubei Forest back then... I mean, after he became emperor?
You see, he went to Dajiang and also to Donghai, leaving keys on both sides and building two doors. So, since there's a golden gate under the Taimiao that leads directly to the Mubei Forest, then... "
Xu Zhenguan shook his head and said:
"How would I know? It's not mentioned in Taizu's notes, but the palace records say that Emperor Taizu passed away suddenly in his later years."
"Suddenly? What do you mean?" Zhao Duan turned his head to look at her.
Xu Zhenguan explained:
"Although monks' lifespans are longer than those of ordinary people, they are still not very long. They are unlikely to exceed two hundred years anyway.
Then, when Emperor Taizu died several decades after he ascended the throne, he was still many years away from the end of his lifespan, which was quite surprising at the time.
The legend that has been passed down is that when Emperor Taizu was conquering all directions, he fought with too many powerful people, leaving behind many hidden illnesses, which is why he died early.
This has always been a regret in the hearts of many people. Many people believe that with Emperor Taizu's extraordinary talent, if he could live a few more decades, he might really be able to break the limit and become a human immortal.
By then, lifespan will surely break through again, but unfortunately there is no if.
Come to think of it, why are you asking this all of a sudden? "
Zhao Duan hesitated and said:
"I was just thinking, since Emperor Taizu was able to arrange so many backup plans and let people like Pei Niannu and Tuoba Weizhi live for hundreds of years...
Moreover, he even mastered the secret technique of 'soul division'...
So, tell me... Is there a possibility that he still...
Alive?
(End of this chapter)
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