After leaving the airport, Chen Zihan drove Lu Qinglan and Lu Ruorong to Qianling Mausoleum, which was about 30 kilometers away from the airport.
The car was parked outside the Qianling Mausoleum scenic area.
After getting off the car, Chen Zihan first took Lu Qinglan and Lu Ruorong to visit several burial tombs.
The tombs of Prince Zhanghuai, Prince Yide and Princess Yongtai are the three most important tombs of imperial relatives in Qianling Mausoleum.
All three tombs have been developed, and the Qianling Museum has been built next to Princess Yongtai's tomb.
After getting off the car, Chen Zihan looked at the two beautiful women walking beside him and suddenly asked them a question, "What do you think of Wu Zetian?"
"She was a heroine, but her vision was lacking," Lü Ruorong immediately expressed her opinion. "Because she came to power illegitimately and purged dissidents, both domestic and military affairs declined rapidly during her reign. If we put aside her status as the only female emperor recognized by historians in Chinese history, her governance can only be described as mediocre. The seeds of the Tang Dynasty's decline were sown during her reign."
Lu Qinglan looked around, tightened her windbreaker, and replied calmly, "She is a role model for women and the person I admire most. She single-handedly rewrote the history of women in feudal society."
Chen Zihan was not surprised by Lu Ruorong and Lu Qinglan's answers.
He smiled and expressed his opinion.
"My opinion of Wu Zetian is highly consistent with Rong'er's. If you put aside her status as a female emperor, she didn't accomplish much that deserves praise. She nearly ruined the glory of the Zhenguan and Yonghui reigns, created by Li Shimin and his son, Li Zhi. To achieve her goals, she even murdered several of her own children. It can only be said that she was an expert in palace intrigue, ruthless to an indescribable degree."
"Hmph!" Lu Qinglan snorted in dissatisfaction, ignored him, and walked forward.
Lu Ruorong smiled at Chen Zihan and took the initiative to hold his hand.
The two people had similar evaluations of Wu Zetian and almost identical views, and a feeling of being close friends naturally arose.
Chen Zihan took Lu Qinglan and Lu Ruorong on a brief tour of the three tombs.
The Tomb of Prince Zhanghuai is the tomb chamber of Li Xian, the second son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, and Empress Wu Zetian.
After his brother Li Hong died suddenly while serving as the crown prince, he was appointed the crown prince. However, the position of crown prince during the reign of Wu Zetian was the most precarious one in the Tang Dynasty.
Li Hong died suddenly a few years after becoming crown prince. The public cause of death at the time was sudden death from illness. However, many historians believe that Li Hong was poisoned by his mother, Wu Zetian.
After Li Xian became the crown prince, perhaps because of his outstanding performance, he was deeply appreciated by his father Li Zhi, but was eventually not tolerated by Wu Zetian. Not only was he deposed from the crown prince position, but he was also killed by Wu Zetian.
They are all Wu Zetian’s biological sons!
Li Xian's eldest son Li Chongrun is buried in the tomb of Prince Yide.
Li Chongrun was born to Empress Wei.
Because he secretly discussed the usurpation of power by the brothers Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi with his sister Princess Yongtai and Prince of Wei Wu Yanji, he was slandered and sentenced to death by Wu Zetian. He was only 19 years old when he died.
Princess Yongtai Li Xianhui was the seventh daughter of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Li Xian. She was "beaten to death" by Wu Zetian because her brother Li Chongrun and others talked about the scandal between Wu Zetian and Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong.
After Wu Zetian's death, Li Xian ascended the throne. Feeling sorry for his son and daughter, he gave them the honor they deserved.
Li Xianhui should be the only princess in Chinese history whose tomb is called "Ling".
"After hearing these people's introductions, I think I'm feeling pretty heavy." After a brief tour, Chen Zihan looked at Lu Qinglan and Lu Ruorong with a touch of emotion. "Being born into an imperial family is sometimes a tragedy. If you have a mother as cruel and ruthless as Wu Zetian, it's even more tragic. I think when they died, they would have sighed, why not live and die in an ordinary family?"
Chen Zihan's words made Lu Qinglan's face change instantly.
"What are you trying to imply?" she asked in a cold voice.
Hearing Lu Qinglan's questioning, Lu Ruorong's expression changed.
She knew what Lu Qinglan meant by the question.
Although the Lu family is not an imperial family, they have a prominent family background and great influence.
Because there are too many conflicts of interest involved, there are constant disputes within the Lu family.
Regardless of the generation, overt and covert struggles are frequent.
Even now, it's the same.
Lu Qinglan is the youngest, but she is the most favored by her parents. In addition, she is talented, ruthless, and decisive in doing things. Therefore, her influence in the Lu family is incomparable to ordinary people.
Because of this, she was envied by many people and was often plotted against.
What Chen Zihan said really sounded a bit insinuating to Lu Qinglan.
Chen Zihan also immediately understood why Lu Qinglan was angry.
"Auntie, don't be so sensitive!" Chen Zihan explained with a smile, "I was just expressing my feelings for them, there was no innuendo."
"In reality, no matter what level of life one is born into, one has their own frustrations and expectations. It's impossible for anyone to achieve perfection and have everything go their way in life. If you can mostly follow your own instincts, unconstrained by constraints, then you're already lucky." Chen Zihan finished speaking, holding Lü Ruorong with one hand and Lü Qinglan's arm with the other, pulling them forward. "Let's go see those headless statues and the inscriptionless stele. Since we're here, we have to pay our respects to the two emperors buried here. Two emperors buried in one mausoleum is the only one of its kind in the world."
Lu Qinglan struggled to break free from Chen Zihan's arm and walked forward alone.
Seeing this, Lu Ruorong also let go of Chen Zihan's hand and stepped forward to hold Lu Qinglan's arm.
"Aunt, let's ask him to tell us about history later. He's quite knowledgeable about it." Lu Ruorong tried to cheer Lu Qinglan up. "Although I studied history, I don't have a clear understanding of many historical details. It's really meaningless to visit a place like this without understanding history and listening to the explanations."
"Okay!" Lu Qinglan agreed.
Chen Zihan was also happy to explain to them the history related to Qianling Mausoleum and the Tang Dynasty.
Standing in front of the headless stone statues of the foreign kings, he told them some legends related to them.
He also briefly talked about the legend of the two mantou peaks in front of Qianling Mausoleum.
When Chen Zihan told her that the terrain of Qianling Mausoleum was a bit like a woman lying on her back, and the two steamed bun peaks on the left and right were also symbols of women, she rolled her eyes at him.
Chen Zihan also took some photos of them, but when he approached the tomb, he stopped taking any more photos.
What Chen Zihan didn't expect was that when Lu Qinglan reached the main peak of Liangshan where Qianling Mausoleum was located, he bowed three times respectfully towards the high-raised tomb chamber.
Seeing Lu Qinglan like this, Chen Zihan leaned over to Lu Ruorong's ear and whispered, "Your aunt really wants to be a figure like Wu Zetian, otherwise she wouldn't have such respect for her."
Lu Ruorong sighed slightly and didn't say much.
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