Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C134 pt2

In the third month of the sixth year of the Qianwu era, the Emperor passed away in Zichen Hall at the age of thirty-seven.

This emperor, when he was still a prince, established remarkable military achievements, expanding the territory of Great Liang and deterring all barbarians from invading.

During his reign, although he was autocratic and acted independently, he was diligent in his administration, loved his people, and was good at employing the virtuous and capable, creating a rare period of peace and prosperity in Great Liang. Although some inevitably criticized him for excessive killing, his merits outweighed his demerits, making him worthy of being called an enlightened ruler of his generation.

The only regret was that his reign was too short, and he did not leave behind any descendants, which led to the throne falling to a collateral branch of the imperial family.

Moreover, because of his affair with Lady Fengtian, although he left a strong and colorful mark in the history books, he inevitably became tainted with some romanticism, making later generations unable to help but have flights of fancy and relish the story, so that this affair became widely circulated.

***

Because Emperor Qianwu left an imperial edict before his death, the mourning ceremony only lasted for seven days, and his coffin was sent to the mausoleum that had already been built.

Everything had been arranged.

Emperor Qianwu carefully placed her on the lotus stone platform.

"This method of changing fate and altering destiny has never been successfully arranged. Not only have the techniques been lost, but the celestial phenomenon of the Seven Stars Alignment is a rare sight, occurring only once in a century. This subject only gleaned a thing or two from handwritten notes passed down by his ancestors... Besides the opportune moment in Heaven, favorable conditions on Earth are also required. Nothing in this world can support the changing of fate and altering of destiny, only the interception of the dragon vein's energy... Even if the formation is set up, whether it will succeed is still unknown, and the dragon vein's energy, once damaged, cannot be restored. This matter concerns the dynasty and the world; Your Majesty should act with caution..."

Emperor Qianwu did not speak, but took the medicine from Song You's hand and swallowed it in one gulp, then went to lie down beside her.

As lamp after lamp was lit, Song You's indistinct voice reached his ears.

"This subject does not know if it will succeed, nor what the situation will be at that time. Your Majesty can only act according to circumstances..."

The voice grew more and more distant.

With a series of rumbles, the gate of the underground palace gradually closed.

***

It was boundless, endless darkness.

Faintly, there was a glimmer of light in the distance.

He moved towards it, and saw himself dressed in black, and also the crystalline light in his palm.

For some inexplicable reason, he knew that this light was her.

[What is this place?]

[I don't know, but I feel we should go forward.]

The two walked forward side by side.

Gradually, there was more and more light in the darkness. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that they were actually tiny fragments.

Within those fragments, there were actually scenes playing out, and those scenes were inexplicably familiar.

He saw her fall to the ground with her eyes closed, and he held her, roaring towards the sky; he saw her quarreling with him, not because she still harbored feelings for Zhao Jianzhi, but because she felt guilty and didn't know how to broach the subject...

The further they went, the more fragments with scenes there were.

But each fragment was very far away. They could clearly see them, but it took a very long time to reach them.

He did not know how much time had passed.

Perhaps it was a day, or two...

And so, the two continued to walk. The dark path ahead seemed to stretch on without end. Only through those scattered fragments could they discern the passage of time.

At first, they could reach a fragment each day, but gradually, it took them two. The certainty of time's passage rested solely on Emperor Qianwu's silent counting within his heart.

Counting thus, ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

The two grew increasingly weary, and they had only reached the time when she was suffering cold treatment in the Zhao family.

[You shouldn't have let the Zhao family go in the first place.]

[This Emperor only thought that perhaps she wouldn't wish to see such a scene.]

At the beginning, the two would still exchange idle words, but gradually, all their energy was focused on walking. They felt increasingly tired, more and more exhausted.

At first, they could walk without stopping, but gradually, they needed to rest, so that their speed became slower and slower. And from this moment on, the firefly-like light suddenly became unstable, like a candle flickering in the wind.

Although they didn't know what was happening, the two tacitly agreed to forgo rest.

Faster, a little faster.

Slowly, walking turned into shuffling step by step, and at this time, they had only arrived at the day she married Zhao Jianzhi, seeing her looking at the other with shyness, only to be met with cold eyes and contempt. The two were both angry and heartbroken.

[Don't delay, keep moving.]

For the first time, someone collapsed from exhaustion.

It was the one in white robes.

The one in black turned around, grabbed him, and dragged him forward, while carefully holding the firefly-like light in his other hand.

[Do you know that, in fact, this Emperor hated you very much at the beginning? You disrupted everything this Emperor had. Because of your appearance, this Emperor had to go to the border. Because of your appearance, this Emperor became a madman as they wished. Because of your willfulness, this Emperor had to clean up your messes time and time again… You even wanted to monopolize her. The little tricks you played are not worth mentioning in front of this Emperor…]

The one in black impatiently changed from supporting him to dragging him by the arm.

[You think I don't know? I'm just too lazy to argue with a despicable person like you. Anyway, in her heart, you are me, and I am still me. You will never have a name.]

These words successfully silenced the one in white.

After walking for a while, because he was dragging someone, the one in black's pace also became slower and slower.

The man in white began to speak again.

[Since arriving here, this Emperor has been contemplating how to change her fate. Too early wouldn't do, nor would too late. The best time would be when we first returned to the capital, during that time sheltering from the rain at the rural estate. She was there then as well.]

[Then hurry up and leave; it's still a long way off.]

Even though the man in black had always been thick-skinned, regarding all difficulties and obstacles as nothing, he couldn't help but feel a little despair looking at the endless darkness.

[I can't walk anymore. Actually, if you let go of me, you could move faster.]

The man in black was tilting his head, examining the nearby fragments, not paying attention to what he was saying at all, only hearing the four words 'move faster.'

[Actually, you're right. This Emperor was originally despicable.]

The man in white looked at his semi-transparent hand, smiling slightly bitterly. He then raised his eyes to look at the light in the palm of the other man's hand, as if seeing scene after scene of their past interactions.

When did the greed begin?

Perhaps it had begun long ago, but he was simply unaware of it.

[Remember to send her back to the time when we first returned to the capital and sheltered from the rain at the rural estate. You can also return to that time, and then find her and protect her.]

[Why are you suddenly talking so much?]

The man in black impatiently turned his head, only to see beams of crystalline white light rising from the other man's body. These lights floated towards him, drilling into his body.

This scene astonished him, and at the same time, he noticed that the other man's figure was gradually fading.

[Take care of her.]

A large amount of white light suddenly rapidly floated towards him, until the last trace of light merged into his body, and the other man had disappeared.

The feeling of fatigue was swept away, and he even felt better than when he had first arrived here.

The man in black stood in silence for a while, then suddenly said, [As expected, you have the most schemes, and you're despicable too.]

But a sense of sorrow rose in his heart, and he strode forward.

***

The man in black had been walking for who knows how long.

Until he was utterly exhausted, he finally managed to move before the fragment belonging to that moment.

At this moment, he was nearly transparent, almost blending into the darkness behind him. He looked at the glowing light in his palm, which was now very small, trembling faintly.

He dared not delay any longer and cast the glowing light into the fragment.

However, he did not expect the glowing light to drift, actually floating forward a bit. Just as he was regretting it in his heart, a force rushed towards him, and then, before he lost consciousness, he was actually blown away?

??

***

When the man in black awoke again, he was lying in front of a fragment.

He felt that he had reached the verge of collapsing.

He lowered his head to look at the fragment. Within it, a small child was hiding in the Imperial Garden, secretly crying.

For some inexplicable reason, he found this little brat very familiar.

Wasn't this the childhood of that despicable villain?

So he was such a coward as a child, bullied to tears by a few children and not daring to complain. No wonder he only knew how to resort to conspiracies and tricks when he grew up.

"They're bullying you; won't you fight back!"

The small child, dressed in a prince's robes, stopped crying and turned his head to look around.

"Who? Who is talking to me?"

"Forget it, I'll protect you from now on. It's just that being so far away, I can't go find her. I wonder if I'll still remember her by then."

"Who exactly are you?"

"I am you."

***

Within the mausoleum's underground palace, large patches of multicolored light were churning and contracting.

As this multicolored light dispersed, the scene before him suddenly shattered, slowly becoming transparent until it disappeared. The lights, as bright as day, were extinguished one by one, until everything returned to darkness.

Emperor Qianwu and Wushuang awoke as if from a great dream, both staring blankly at the wall before them.

The few people behind them also seemed to have just woken up, looking at everything in front of them with some confusion.

"Didn't they say a subterranean palace was excavated behind the tomb passage? Where is the subterranean palace?" Fusheng asked, astonished.

Emperor Qianwu and Wushuang exchanged a glance, a thousand words wanting to be spoken, but the priority was to resolve the matter at hand.

Emperor Qianwu looked around and coughed, saying, "Lord Zhang, about the subterranean palace you mentioned?"

Zhang Pu rushed to the wall at the end of the tomb passage, feeling around, but couldn't find the hole.

"Yes, where is the subterranean palace? I clearly remember there being a hole here, and behind the hole there was... what was there? Why can't I remember anything?"

Seeing Zhang Pu like this, Fusheng was somewhat displeased and was about to say something when Emperor Qianwu suddenly said, "Could it be that Lord Zhang is suffering from hysteria due to being overly tired from constructing the imperial tomb?"

Zhang Pu stood there blankly. He didn't think he was suffering from hysteria, but he couldn't remember anything, and the hole was gone. Could it be that he really was suffering from hysteria?

"Forget it, Lord Zhang must be acting this way because he is too tired. This Emperor will grant you a few days of leave. Go back and rest for a few days; in any case, there's no rush."