Just accept the loss
The true energy of the Shangguan family not only perfectly merged with her supreme yang bloodline, but also enabled her spirit to enter a more powerful and pure state.
She gradually forgot whether her body felt cold or hot, and even what she could see became clearer.
She finally understood what it felt like for Lord Liyang to travel through the underground: all the dark obstacles were practically non-existent to him.
Lord Liyang said softly, "We've arrived."
What appeared before everyone was a spacious hall built of stone on all four sides, with a caisson ceiling painted with rivers, seas and stars, and also depicting cranes and children leading people to ascend to heaven.
The most eye-catching feature is the two heavy, imposing stone sarcophagi, carved with mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas, placed side by side in the center of the hall.
When A-Qiu saw the pair of stone coffins, for some reason, her heart suddenly trembled violently. It was an indescribable and intense feeling.
It felt like a heart-wrenching pain, or a deep, ocean-like sorrow.
Lord Liyang lowered his head again, gazing intently at her. Just by looking into his eyes beneath the mask, A Qiu understood that he had indeed grasped her feelings.
Although at this moment, he no longer held her hand or felt connected to her in spirit.
She had no time to ponder how Lord Liyang had accomplished this. She simply asked softly, "Is this...?"
"The coffins of Emperor Wu of Han, Sima Yan, and Empress Shangguan."
Xiao Chang'an had already answered on his behalf. He leaped forward and brushed away the dust from the stone tablet in front of the coffin with his sleeve. It was decorated with dragons and phoenixes, and indeed engraved the names, posthumous titles, and dates of death of Emperor Wu of the Great Huan Dynasty and his empress.
Looking at the two coffins, A Qiu felt a void in his heart, unable to generate any further thoughts.
When a person dies, even an emperor who possessed endless beauty and honor in life, who indulged in nightly revelry and feasting, whose Tangli Garden once held ten thousand people and whose grand musical performances lasted all night long, is all that remains after death a desolate stone coffin?
What, then, was the significance of all that splendor and extravagance for Sima Yan?
Shangguan Yuqi said in a calm and emotionless tone, "My uncle's ending was relatively good. Although he was strangled by the rebels, at least he finally got to live in the tomb he built for himself. Some kings who lost their kingdoms couldn't even keep their bodies intact, let alone be buried in the imperial mausoleum."
A Qiu heard his own voice and said, "Sima Yan... was he strangled by the rebels?"
She had never cared about these historical facts of the previous dynasty, and rarely even considered them. But at this moment, the desolate and empty tomb, and the still-roaring voice of Sima Yan in her ears, seemed to be reminding her that these were things she needed to face and bear the consequences of. Although she had no idea, nor did she want to know, what these facts had to do with her.
This time, it was Lord Liyang who answered her. He replied in as gentle a voice as possible, “His death was not painful. When the rebels stormed the palace, he was still drinking and making merry in the Jixian Hall, getting himself completely drunk. Historical records state that he was strangled by the rebels, but in reality, he was drunk and then pushed into the lake by his attendants to drown. And it is said that the attendants did this with his permission. He was, after all, a member of the imperial family, an emperor, and did not want to die at the hands of others. Furthermore,”
He continued, "Actually, after Empress Shangguan passed away, he was rarely sober. In the last two years of the Great Huan Dynasty, he lived a life of debauchery."
Shangguan Yuqi said, "His safe entry into Wuyang Mausoleum was largely due to the leadership of his thirteenth uncle. Although his thirteenth uncle had retired at the time, he still insisted on entering the palace to handle his funeral arrangements. Therefore, his thirteenth uncle was essentially the one who personally saw off the Great Huan Dynasty, which he had once helped to its peak."
In the past, when A Qiu heard about Emperor Wu of Han, Sima Yan, she felt nothing. She regarded him as just an ordinary emperor among thousands of emperors in history: some emperors were wise, some were licentious. In that position, all the advantages and disadvantages would be magnified infinitely, but none of them had anything to do with her.
But at this moment, as she stroked the deep lines on the stone coffin, she seemed to suddenly realize that Sima Yan was not just a historical memorial tablet; he was also a person, a flesh-and-blood person who truly existed in this world.
The Tangli Music Academy, which he had served, benefited from his efforts in building and expanding it. It is difficult to judge the merits and demerits of this act, but it was once an unforgettable memory for a generation.
She heard her own wooden voice say, "The former Grand Chancellor... was actually very good to him. His incompetence caused the former Grand Chancellor to return home in disappointment, yet the former Grand Chancellor still risked entering the palace when the rebels gathered there, stood up against the opinions of the masses, and saw the Great Huan Dynasty off on its final journey."
Shangguan Yuqi, with the same blank expression, said, "He is, after all, a son-in-law of the Shangguan family. Moreover," she hesitated for a moment before saying, "Thirteenth Uncle was summoned from the cemetery by his father, Emperor Dezong, who overruled all objections and issued an edict. Therefore, Thirteenth Uncle's insistence on seeing him off at his deathbed can be seen as repaying the kindness of his deceased friend."
Lord Liyang probably didn't want to see Aqiu's bewildered and hesitant expression any longer, so he gently interrupted her, saying, "If you want to know more about Sima Yan, you can ask your Aunt Yuanyi. Right now, we have more important business to attend to. Let's go see the lost scrolls of 'Shao' and 'Wu'."
A Qiu, unsure of what to do, nodded and said, "Okay."
Just as the three were about to leave, they heard Xiao Chang'an say, "Wait!"
Shangguan Yuqi turned around and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Xiao Chang'an said, "While you were talking about the past dynasties, I had already looked around this hall, but I did not find any scrolls or books of documents or paintings. It is said that when Empress Wen was buried, the ancient calligraphy and paintings buried with her were worth tens of thousands of gold coins and were on a grand scale. However, apart from the bronze lamps and figurines buried with her, there was nothing in this hall that looked like calligraphy or paintings."
He suddenly stepped forward, and without any politeness, pointed his purple bamboo flute at the figure in front of Lord Liyang, and shouted, "So, what is your purpose in bringing us here?"
Liyang Divine Lord was forced in front of him, but he didn't seem to care at all, and said in a calm voice: "In your opinion, what purpose could I possibly have?"
Xiao Chang'an said coldly, "Then you'll have to take off your mask and let us see who you really are."
He then said to A-Qiu, "Aren't you going to leave his side?"
Shangguan Yuqi hesitated, but still made no move. This was because her mind was clear and tranquil, and she viewed things and people simply and directly. Although she still didn't know the identity of Lord Liyang, she didn't think he was a bad person, and therefore wouldn't consider him an enemy.
A Qiu was also very curious about who the God of Liyang really was. At this moment, she felt more like he was a human than a deity.
But when Xiao Chang'an pointed at her with his flute and asked, she couldn't help but say, "Little Xiao, put the flute down. The God doesn't owe us anything, and we have no reason to demand that he reveal his true face."
Xiao Chang'an said coldly, "Don't you want to see who he really is? If the three of us join forces, we might be able to take him down, and then you won't have to marry him."
A Qiu then realized that Xiao Chang'an's first move was not because he was confident of defeating Lord Liyang, but because he expected Shangguan Yuqi and A Qiu to join forces with him after he took the first step.
It seems that Xiao Chang'an had already made this plan from the moment he stepped into the tunnel. He was never one to be led by the nose, nor would he obediently follow a mysterious Lord Liyang, allowing him to enter an underground palace and mausoleum he had never been before. Constantly thinking of ways to retaliate was his consistent approach.
But he only made his move now because he realized he might have been deceived. If there were no "Shao" or "Wu" scrolls in this underground palace, then his motives for bringing them down here would be highly suspicious.
Shangguan Yuqi hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "Please explain, senior, why are there no ancient books or calligraphy rubbings in this tomb chamber as you mentioned?"
As she spoke, her right hand was already on Binghuang's shoulder.
If Lord Liyang answers incorrectly, the sword in the scabbard can be drawn in an instant.
Seeing that Shangguan Yuqi had also expressed her opinion, Xiao Chang'an immediately shouted, "Ah Qiu!"
His shouts and urging were not because of his pettiness, but because A Qiu was still by Li Yang Shen Jun's side. As long as Li Yang Shen Jun subdued A Qiu as a hostage, he and Shangguan Yuqi would not need to take action and could simply admit defeat.
Liyang Shenjun was locked on from afar by "Baiyu" and "Qingyao" from the Flying Phoenix Guard, but he did not make any move, nor did he take action to restrain Aqiu as Xiao Chang'an had worried. Instead, he remained motionless, as if he was waiting for Aqiu's reaction.
After a slight hesitation, A Qiu finally looked up at Lord Liyang and said, "I'm sorry, I..." She moved as if to escape his control. After all, compared to the mysterious and unpredictable Lord Liyang, whom she had only known for a short time, Shangguan Yuqi and Xiao Chang'an had known her for much longer and had even gone through life-and-death situations together. She couldn't possibly disrupt Xiao Chang'an's three-person plan.
But her movement immediately changed the situation.
Everyone felt as if the air in the underground palace had dropped to freezing point, and as if invisible lightning was gathering in an instant.
Before A Qiu could dart out, she was pulled back by a strong force. She felt herself instantly crash into a solid embrace and then be imprisoned by the other person's body, which was like an impenetrable wall.
She looked up in shock, only to see that beneath Shan Xuanyu's mask, his originally gentle and cold gray eyes suddenly shone like lightning, looking down at her. Even if she were slow to notice, she could see the true anger in his eyes.
A martial artist's instinct is to immediately retaliate when restrained. A Qiu slid the dagger from his sleeve and, no longer caring that Shangguan Yuqi and Xiao Chang'an were both present, drew his dagger and attacked the opponent's throat.
But almost instantly, her wrist was seized again, and the dagger was successfully slipped into the man's sleeve.
This was the first time since her debut that the assassination attempt on Qin had been snatched from her hands like this. A Qiu was shocked and horrified beyond words.
The assassin was no ordinary martial artist; if he could lose his weapon, it would be tantamount to losing his life.
What shocked A Qiu the most was that the reason this person was able to take away her dagger in one move was not because his martial arts were so much better than hers, but because he seemed to be extremely familiar with her moves and seemed to be in sync with her mind. As soon as she moved, he knew where her palm was going to strike, so he could accurately intercept her attack.
A Qiu felt cold sweat pouring down his back; it was a terrifying and dangerous experience he had never had before.
She knew nothing about her opponent, while her opponent seemed to know everything about her, and was even more aware of her hidden martial arts skills.
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