Absolutely not
Seeing that A Qiu was captured in one move, Shangguan Yuqi was speechless at first, then put down the hand that was on the hilt of the sword on her shoulder and said in a deep voice: "Senior, we, Donggong Feifeng, came here only to protect Da Sile. We did not intend to be your enemy. Please be merciful."
Indeed, Shangguan Yuqi followed him from the prison with the sole purpose of ensuring A Qiu's safety; everything else was secondary. The music of "Shao" and "Wu" were insignificant. In her eyes, if anything happened to A Qiu at this moment, it would be a case of penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Lord Liyang raised his chin and coldly asked Xiao Chang'an, "Boy, what do you have to say?"
Xiao Chang'an angrily threw away the purple bamboo flute in his hand and shouted, "If you hurt her, the entire Southern Dynasty will not let you off the hook."
Seeing that the two of them gave up resisting for his sake without hesitation, A Qiu felt an unusual warmth in his heart.
This was a feeling she had never experienced before. At least, she knew in her heart that if the same situation had happened in Lanling Hall, her eldest brother Gongyi Xiu, her second brother Mo Yimingyue, and her master Wanqiqing would never have made such a swift decision to give up on her.
This is not to say that they had no feelings for her, but the styles of Lanling Hall and Feifeng Guard were obviously very different.
Lord Liyang coldly said, "I never intended to harm her. It was just that her claws were a bit disobedient, so I was just giving her a little punishment."
As he spoke, he firmly grasped her hand, which was held in his palm, allowing no resistance.
A Qiu felt the heat from his palm and suddenly a thought struck her. She immediately remembered that there had been a similar situation before.
She lost her weapon and was countered, but the man did not harm her. He merely guarded against her sudden struggle and thus held her firmly in his arms.
But why can't I recall that person's face or description when I have such strange and unusual memories?
That person was definitely not one of his master or senior brothers. But if it were someone else, wouldn't that be extremely dangerous for a Lanling assassin whose identity had been exposed?
I can't remember anything from beginning to end, only this familiar feeling.
Seeing that she no longer resisted, the anger in Liyang Divine Lord's eyes gradually dissipated, and he smiled slightly and said, "Boy, you said that there are no calligraphy and painting books worth ten thousand gold pieces here, so you questioned me. However, the so-called ten thousand gold pieces of books buried with the emperor was said by you from the beginning. I only said that the illustrated books of 'Shao' and 'Wu' were designated as burial goods for the empress, and I never said that there were ten thousand gold pieces of books."
The three recalled their previous exchange and suddenly realized that it was indeed so. The Divine Lord of Liyang had only ever said he was bringing them here to find the illustrated scrolls of "Shao" and "Wu," never mentioning a vast collection of books worth tens of thousands of gold. The claim that genuine books and calligraphic works worth no less than ten thousand gold were buried with them was indeed made by Xiao Chang'an.
Xiao Chang'an retorted, "Later in the Northern Dynasty, I also heard about that sensational state funeral. It is said that Sima Yan spared no expense to collect books from all over the world, which even affected the Northern Dynasty. Our Xiao family donated a rare and precious copy of the 'Spring Terrace Poems Preface' worth a hundred gold pieces, and the Great Khan also donated a collection of songs, 'Yinchuan Collection,' translated into multiple languages, as a condolence gift."
When Empress Shangguan passed away, Xiao Chang'an was naturally not yet born. However, given that his family had given him this book, it was certainly not a fabrication.
Lord Liyang calmly replied, "The fact that he collected books from all over the world to be buried with him is true."
The three were taken aback. Looking around again, they found the place completely empty. There were no bookshelves or boxes, not even one that looked like it could hold books.
Shangguan Yuqi, being observant, suddenly said, "There seem to be traces of boxes being piled up here before."
Xiao Chang'an said, "Could it be that someone stole all these books? But when we opened the lock on the door just now, the young lady did not personally guarantee that no one except the descendants of the Shangguan family could open the lock completely without damaging the underground palace. It is impossible for any tomb raiders to have been here."
Lord Liyang said, "But this place was reopened once after Empress Shangguan was buried."
A Qiu immediately understood and said, "The time when Emperor Wu, Sima Yan, entered the mausoleum."
Lord Liyang nodded and said, "That time, Shangguan Jin personally presided over the opening of the mausoleum. He came from a family of civil officials and probably felt that it was too wasteful to bury tens of thousands of volumes of books with the emperor. Since the ultimate mission of culture is to be passed on to future generations, not buried in tombs, he took advantage of Emperor Wu's entry into the mausoleum to remove all the books and seal them in Qiwu Palace. This matter was approved by Fu Zhuo, the leader of the rebel army at the time and the Duke of Xiling. Therefore, although there was burning, killing and looting in the palace, Qiwu Palace was specially ordered to be sealed and preserved intact and not to be damaged."
Xiao Chang'an slowly paced around the coffin, and said with certainty, "I have already looked around, and there are no scrolls or anything like that. So, were the illustrated books of 'Shao' and 'Wu' also taken out by Shangguan Jin at that time?"
Lord Liyang shook his head and said, "The burial of the 'Shao' and 'Wu' books was ordered by Sima Yan and personally overseen by Shangguan Jin. Since he gave his approval at the time, he could not go back on his word and take them out afterward. However, Shangguan Jin opposed the idea of burying books with the deceased at the time. Therefore, after Sima Yan passed away, he took them out for the sake of future generations."
Shangguan Yuqi also flew out and quickly surveyed the hall and even the side halls. After a moment, she returned and said with certainty, "There are indeed only the usual burial objects and ritual objects here, and nothing like books or paintings."
Xiao Chang'an stared at the coffin and suddenly said, "If the Divine Lord is certain that the 'Shao' and 'Wu' are indeed here, and we have searched everywhere but have not found them, then there is only one possibility."
Upon seeing his gaze, A-Qiu blurted out, "In the coffin!"
Before Xiao Chang'an could reply, Shangguan Yuqi stepped forward, flashed in front of the stone coffin, and shouted, "Absolutely not!"
He added, “It is already extremely disrespectful of us to enter the mausoleum of the late emperor in this way. If we were to open the coffin and disturb the peace of our ancestors for worldly reasons, that would be even less gentlemanly!”
Xiao Chang'an had already thrown away the bamboo flute, but now he picked it up again, held it in his hand, and sneered: "So, with so many of us venturing into dangerous territory, success is within our grasp, are we just going to return empty-handed?"
Shangguan Yuqi remained motionless, slowly withdrawing the "Ice Bamboo" from her shoulder, and shook her head, saying, "A gentleman has things he will do and things he will not do. Success and failure are separated by a fine line, depending on the price to be paid. If this tomb contained your Xiao family ancestor today, would you still open the coffin and rummage through it?"
Xiao Chang'an laughed loudly, looking up at the sky: "I don't know what the ancestors of the Xiao family would think, but if it were me, I would not mind if my descendants took things from my corpse." A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he said fiercely: "If you value even these bones behind you so much, how can you be worthy of being the ruler of the world!"
Shangguan Yuqi remained silent, simply holding her sword horizontally in front of her, her meaning clear: anyone who wanted to open the coffin would have to get past her sword first.
Xiao Chang'an shouted, "A Qiu, what do you have to say?"
Facing Shangguan Yuqi alone, he had no absolute chance of victory. The title of Sword Immortal was well-deserved; although Xiao Chang'an's martial arts were not weak, he had never attacked with his full strength before, always holding back his trump cards.
In truth, A Qiu's mindset at this moment was on Shangguan Yuqi's side. But for some reason, as she gazed at the Empress's coffin carved with nine phoenixes, a thought suddenly arose in her mind.
That is, although she had seen Yanxiu's figure many times in her dreams, she had never actually seen Empress Xining Shangguan Yanxiu's face.
Is she now resting in this coffin?
Historically, when emperors and empresses were buried, they were covered with jade burial suits, had jade cicadas placed in their mouths, and were coated with various preservatives and fragrances to preserve their appearance for a long time.
She suddenly longed to see Yanxiu's face for herself.
Did she pass away peacefully? It seems she had a thousand words to say in her life, yet never found someone to confide in. Did she leave this world with regret and sorrow?
Although there was a time and space gap of more than ten years between her and Shangguan Yanxiu, Aqiu felt extremely close to her, so familiar, as if they were old friends she had known for a long time.
And this deceased friend is now separated from her by a coffin, forever separated by the divide between life and death.
If she misses this moment, she will probably never have the chance to see Yanxiu again in this lifetime.
This is not perfect.
A strong thought suddenly arose in her mind.
Seeing that A Qiu was still pondering as she touched the stone coffin, Xiao Chang'an shouted, and the purple bamboo flute transformed into thousands of flute shadows, directly merging into the sword energy that Shangguan Yuqi had locked.
He was pragmatic and utilitarian, preferring quick results. He had come to Wuyang Mausoleum specifically for the "Shao" and "Wu" scrolls. If it weren't for the other three people present, he would have torn down the entire mausoleum to find the scrolls, completely disregarding any taboos.
Shangguan Yuqi remained calm and composed, raising the ice bamboo diagonally in front of her, intercepting it with an extremely graceful arc.
The illusory image of the flute suddenly contracted, transforming into a solid form—still a three-foot-long purple bamboo flute. But at the same time, a large burst of blue light erupted from the front of the flute, striking directly at Shangguan Yuqi's face.
Shangguan Yuqi's sword strike was already underway. If she wanted to avoid the cluster of green bee needles, she would have to move with the sword, temporarily leaving her original position, and would no longer be able to protect the stone coffin as before.
Xiao Chang'an shouted, "A Qiu, why aren't you making a move!"
As if waking from a dream, A Qiu was about to agree when she heard Lord Liyang snort, "Why bother with that!"
Immediately, amidst Shangguan Yuqi's exclamation, the sleeves of the Divine Lord of Liyang fluttered, and the stone lid of the Empress's coffin was lifted off, crashing heavily to the ground and shattering into pieces.
The next instant, the nanmu coffin lid, intricately carved with mountains, seas, and phoenixes, was lifted by the gust of wind from his sleeve, flying away from the stone sarcophagus and landing to the side with a clang.
Amidst the swirling dust, Shangguan Yuqi, her face ashen, held her sword motionless, unable to move an inch.
Xiao Chang'an leaped forward, and upon seeing it, his expression also became extremely strange.
Ah Qiu's gaze fell upon the open coffin, and he was left only with shock.
She had originally thought that she would see the peaceful, sleeping face of Empress Shangguan Yanxiu, the Empress of the Great Huan Dynasty, and her body wrapped in layers of elaborate robes inside.
However, the coffin contained only a gilded crown adorned with nearly a hundred pearls, a set of precious and elaborate black embroidered robes with gold trim and a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, and a pair of pearl-embroidered shoes with a brocade base.
Judging from the style of the clothing, it should be the ceremonial dress worn by the empress during her investiture and wedding.
Xiao Chang'an muttered, "A cenotaph?"
Lord Liyang casually straightened his sleeves and said, "Who says otherwise? When Empress Shangguan passed away, what was buried in this tomb was only the clothes she wore on her wedding day. The clothes that were used to complete all the funeral rites for the Empress were also these clothes."
A Qiu was initially surprised, but after reflecting on the past, she felt only a sense of relief.
If Yanxiu were alive, she would never have wanted to be buried with Sima Yan in the same tomb, and would instead bear the responsibility of Empress Xining in the Wuyang Mausoleum for thousands of generations.
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