Chapter 1480 – Side Story, Dragon Boat Festival An Kang
# Oh no! The Emperor’s tomb has been dug up! #
Wei Ci stood at the entrance of the royal mausoleum, his expression blank, teeth clenched tightly.
He had no idea what was going on; in the blink of an eye, it had gone from warm spring to the scorching heat of July.
The unfamiliar surroundings made his whole body tremble. When he glanced at the introduction in front of the mausoleum, he felt as if he had plummeted into an icy abyss, filled with both anger and sorrow.
Jiang Zhao’s lineage had thirteen Emperors up to now, and the founder’s tomb was referred to as “Chen Ling,” being the only royal mausoleum open to the public.
Wei Ci couldn’t understand the mentality of future descendants, allowing the ancestral tomb to be toured, disturbing its peace—it was simply… Lost in thought, he couldn’t find the right words to express his inner grief and fury, only tightening his grip on the ticket.
He felt like a statue, pushed through the inspection, and entered the first grand gate of the mausoleum.
Despite being a royal tomb, the decorations lacked a haunting atmosphere and instead seemed spacious and plain, devoid of the opulence expected from such a place.
Leading to the mausoleum was a long stone corridor, its walls inscribed with tales of the founder’s life from youth to old age. Walking through this corridor felt like witnessing her entire life. As one of the country’s famous tourist attractions, there was a daily limit on the number of visitors, and tickets were often in high demand.
Wei Ci followed the crowd for about a hundred meters, spotting several tourist groups, with guides explaining the historical significance of the murals. He pressed his lips together, stumbling forward, his pale face resembling a wisp of a ghost within the mausoleum.
He heard one guide say, “The mural we see now is the famous ‘Founder’s Edict,’ which warns the current young emperor against excessive mourning. All accompanying burial items should be replaced with ordinary clay, forbidding live persons and valuables like jade, gold, silver, and iron. This became a custom passed down among the Emperors of Jiang Zhao. According to historical records, the most ‘extravagant’ Emperor in Jiang Zhao history was Emperor Ren, whose burial goods were merely two more pure gold medals than his ancestors. This led to a trend of extremely simple funeral customs for the following Emperors, making this period’s tombs the least attractive targets for grave robbers, lacking any valuables.”
While the mausoleum may have been frugal, it was spacious, divided into five areas.
The “Stone Corridor” recorded the Emperor’s life, the “Main Tomb” housed the Emperor’s coffin, the “Study” was for royal documents, the “Minister’s Hall” displayed clay figures of relevant ministers, and finally, the “Outer Hall” contained figurines of a thousand soldiers.
Historical records showed that, aside from the current Empress, the structural design of the previous twelve Emperors’ tombs were exactly the same.
Visiting “Chen Ling” was equivalent to seeing the tombs of the other eleven Emperors.
Wei Ci navigated through the “Stone Corridor,” surrounded by many people. Thankfully, his height stood out in the sea of faces.
Holding back tears, he stood at an end of the corridor, slowly trying to regain his composure.
At that moment, he heard a youthful voice that echoed his inner feelings.
“What a great humiliation!”
Though the royal family had relinquished power for a constitutional monarchy, they were not extinct, yet they were forced to open their ancestral mausoleum.
Wei Ci turned to the source of the voice, spotting a delicate six or seven-year-old girl with a serious expression, her eyes slightly reddened.
“Do you think it’s humiliating too?” Wei Ci asked her.
The young girl replied, “Isn’t it?”
Seeing a familiar look in her eyes, Wei Ci felt an impulse of closeness.
“There are too many people here; let me take you somewhere else until your family arrives?”
With so many shady characters around, a girl as pretty as her might attract trouble.
The girl glanced at him, pursed her lips, and extended her hand.
Wei Ci held her hand and walked forward, casually asking, “Why did you say ‘What a great humiliation’ earlier?”
The girl coldly stated, “Almost a hundred years ago, the rise of private capital pressured the royal family to reform. The royal family’s influence gradually faded. That generation’s Empress decided to sign a constitutional treaty. However, the royal family is still the royal family; some worry about the Empress restoring her power, repeatedly testing the limits. The royal family had already surrendered power; apart from a small portion of military authority, they had no other leverage and had to compromise. More than twenty years ago, the founder’s tomb collapsed, and the outside world sought to send experts to repair it under the pretense of protecting historical sites, then went further to demand it be made a tourist attraction—”
Wei Ci trembled upon hearing, “That’s so outrageous—why concede power for a constitution?”
“Because…” The young girl paused, contemplating before speaking in a somber tone, “Times always move forward; the royal family couldn’t keep up with the changes. If they stubbornly cling to their privileges, they would have to oppose the tide of the era, and one side must be sacrificed. The royal family chose to sacrifice their own interests, partly for the nation’s stability, partly to secure their future survival.”
No transformation comes without bloodshed and sacrifice unless one side willingly steps back to facilitate change.
Wei Ci felt like he had a lump in his throat, nearly unsure how to respond.
“But—” The girl’s expression suddenly hardened, and she muttered, “The royal family’s concessions don’t mean they forget this grudge. Relinquishing power doesn’t mean they’ll let others trample over them! This shame of being forced to open the ancestral mausoleum will eventually be settled—”
The core of this era is technology.
Beyond that, the royal family has never lost; eventually, the capital forces that rose in chaos will strip away every last bit of the ancestral wealth!
Ancestry?
A glimmer of shock crossed Wei Ci’s eyes. Before he could think further, two elegantly dressed women approached and blocked their path.
“Princess Huichang.”
The girl coldly retorted, “Isn’t it alright to visit my ancestors on the Dragon Boat Festival?”
At that moment, Wei Ci noticed the girl was clutching a bunch of rice dumplings in her other hand.
This girl truly is—
“You just snuck away without a word. Lady is angry with you.”
The girl replied, “She’s known I like to sneak away for ages; it’ll just end with her punishing me a little.”
The two Empresses since the constitutional change have both been remarkably gentle, at least on the surface.
The girl’s mother appears amiable to the public, but who knows how vicious she can be when angry with her daughter?
“I’ll just go give my rice dumplings a check and come back.”
On non-festival days, the main tomb of the Chen Emperor is not open to the public, but royal descendants can come to pay respects to their ancestors.
Wei Ci noticed something peculiar; the two women who addressed the girl as “Princess Huichang” didn’t even acknowledge him.
The girl took Wei Ci through a secret passage to the main burial chamber of the mausoleum, where it was eerily quiet except for the lights installed near the ceiling.
There was only one coffin in the main burial chamber, but it contained two corpses.
Aside from the royal family, no one knew the identity of the other male corpse. Some gossip experts had speculated about his identity, but regrettably, none were accurate.
The girl felt puzzled; the male corpse in the coffin was also her ancestor—it’s her family matter; what business do outsiders have in researching it?
Wei Ci watched as the girl placed two rice dumplings on a plate, bowing respectfully.
She said, “This is my first time seeing my ancestor’s spirit. The portraits left by our predecessors are quite realistic; otherwise, I wouldn’t have recognized them.”
Wei Ci: “…”
This child is a bit clever.
“I came… to see her.”
“And after that?”
“I should go back to keep her company; I feel lonely for even a moment without her.”
