Chapter 1013 Startling the Snake
Hearing this, Lüxiao was still a little confused, but she gradually came to her senses. However, she still looked at Shang Ruyi in disbelief. After a long while, she whispered, "Are you really here for the so-called treasures in Zuo Gong's tomb?"
Shang Ruyi looked at her and laughed, "People die for wealth, birds die for food."
"..."
"Even the Khan of the Western Turks and Wang Shaoqiu could abandon their attack on Xia Prefecture and their support for Luoyang because of this suspected tomb of Zuo Gong. How can I be any different?"
Green Silk said, “As the Princess Consort of Qin, you are not short of money. Besides, didn’t you yourself say that you have been living a life of luxury and having servants at your beck and call all these years? Even though I only lived in the Shen residence for a while, I know that after you gave birth, the Emperor doted on you and gave you rewards every now and then.”
"..."
"You're already so wealthy, why would you still covet this little bit of wealth?"
Shang Ruyi said, "Miss Lüxiao, you don't understand. My life in the palace is certainly luxurious, but it doesn't cost much money. The most expensive things in the world are raising troops and fighting wars. Compared to these two, everything else is nothing."
"Raising soldiers? Fighting wars?"
Green Silk looked at her with increasing confusion: "What kind of army are you raising, and what kind of wars are you fighting, all by yourself?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at her but didn't say anything.
Green Silk's heart grew heavier. She had originally thought that Shang Ruyi was only concerned about Xia Prefecture, but she hadn't expected that Shang Ruyi had other plans. Now that she was going up the mountain with the Turks and Wang Shaoqiu, who knew what would happen?
Those two are no pushovers.
Just then, footsteps sounded from the side. Looking up, they saw Lei Yu walking towards them. Shang Ruyi subconsciously pursed her lips, and seeing her wary expression, Lüxiao also looked away. Lei Yu walked over, looking at Shang Ruyi with the same puzzled expression as Lüxiao: "Ruyi, are you really here to find Zuo Gong's Suspicious Tomb?"
These words are exactly the same as what Green Silk said earlier.
Shang Ruyi replied, "Yes."
Lei Yu frowned even more: "What, what are you thinking?"
Lei Yu was not unaware that although the two could still be close, they were actually on opposing sides. Even so, she still wanted to protect Shang Ruyi. Before coming, she guessed that Shang Ruyi had released the news of Zuo Gong's suspected tomb in order to lure Ashina Zhuxie and Wang Shaoqiu. She was also worried that the two would turn against Shang Ruyi if they did not get what they wanted, so she made the difficult decision to leave He Du behind and insist on coming with her.
Unexpectedly, although Shang Ruyi brought people over, she did not do anything about the crisis in Xiazhou. Judging from her words and actions, it seemed that she really wanted to find Zuo Gong's suspected tomb.
This left Lei Yu somewhat uncertain.
Seeing her similar confusion, Shang Ruyi calmly said, "Actually, for the past two years, I've been trying to find Zuo Gong's suspected tomb. It would be such a waste to leave such a large sum of money underground to rot away."
"..."
"Using this opportunity to lure Ashina Zhuxie over will give Xiazhou some time to delay, which is a win-win situation."
"..."
That's all.
Her words were already very frank, but Lei Yu's brows furrowed even deeper.
She said, "Do you really need the money for Xiao Shan Gong's burial?"
Shang Ruyi glanced at her but didn't say anything. The two friends, who had once been inseparable and could talk about anything, were now speechless, and the atmosphere became awkward and heavy.
Everyone drank water and ate, and in the time it took to eat, they were all refreshed.
Shang Ruyi stood up and said, "Let's go."
At her command, everyone silently stood up and followed behind her. Shang Ruyi seemed to have become the leader of the group without anyone noticing. Along the winding path that was partially hidden in the lush bushes, the group began to climb the mountain where the immortal had stepped.
As she said, the path up the mountain is shady. Although the sun is blazing and the air is scorching, no sunlight reaches this area. As a result, weeds and vines grow everywhere, making it seem like the sky is blocked out even without tall trees surrounding it. With each step, you have to push aside the branches that extend from both sides of the path and the layers of weeds under your feet. Sometimes it takes a long time to find a path. And even when you find a path, you will often see some green, red, or even brightly colored snakes and insects that look very dangerous slithering in the grass, which makes you tremble with fear.
They had only gone halfway when several Turks had already been bitten by snakes.
The first two were only bitten by common serpents, and with simple bandaging, they could still walk. But one of them was unlucky. The snake that bit him on the leg was black with silver rings and was obviously venomous. After being bitten, the man immediately foamed at the mouth and fell unconscious. Ashina Zhuxie could only immediately order the first two people who had been bitten by snakes to escort him down the mountain and hand him over to the other half of his men who had stayed at the foot of the mountain for treatment and rescue.
As a result, everyone became even more cautious, and thus walked very slowly.
Gradually, the sun began to set, and the opposite peak was illuminated by the fiery red sunlight, resembling a red-hot pillar.
And just as the sun was about to set, they finally managed to make out a faint outline of a roof protruding from the summit of the mountain that stretched out ahead of the path.
Shang Ruyi's men, who were clearing the way, immediately asked, "There's a house! Is anyone living there?"
Upon hearing this, the Turks who had been suffering terribly behind them immediately became excited. Ashina Zhuxie's eyes also lit up. He hurriedly pushed aside the people in the middle and stepped forward to peek out. Sure enough, he saw the corner of the house on the mountaintop. He quickly turned to Shang Ruyi and said, "That is the suspected tomb of Zuo Gong?"
Shang Ruyi was also pleasantly surprised, after all, she did not expect to find some useful clues so quickly, but after thinking about it carefully, she said: "The tomb should be buried deep underground, not built on the ground."
"oh?"
"That roof looks more like a house."
Ashina Zhuxie frowned upon hearing this.
Shang Ruyi added, "However, if Zuo Chen'an's tomb is really on Tian Ding Mountain, the people living here will know some clues. Let's go up and take a look first."
After saying that, he used the stick in his hand to clear away the dense weeds in front of him and continued walking forward.
At this moment, everyone could only listen to her and follow behind her. But after taking only two steps forward, suddenly, Wo Xue, who was right next to Shang Ruyi, shouted: "Your Highness, be careful!"
In the blink of an eye, a slender black shadow suddenly darted out of the grass, spiraling up the stick Shang Ruyi was using to cut the grass, and suddenly smacked her hand!
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