Chapter 206: Living together and dying together

Zhang Yang felt the staff's questioning gaze and quickly went over to explain so as not to call the police.

"Don't get me wrong, Auntie. I am a professional who studies cultural relics protection."

"I came here with a friend today to study the protection of the underground palace. My explanation may be a bit professional, and I guess you misunderstood it."

"Professional? I didn't hear that."

The aunt shook her head, really not giving me face.

Zhang Yang helplessly explained: "Anyway, you just need to believe that we are here to visit and learn."

"How fresh! Who doesn't come here to visit and learn?"

"But sir, remember, many of the tourists who come here are enthusiastic people. They believed you and called the police to arrest you. Don't blame me for not reminding you."

"Okay, I'll pay attention then."

Zhang Yang thought of the auntie who knew everything on Antique Street, and suddenly remembered that Yanjing was their headquarters.

The staff's reminder is not without reason.

"Senior brother, as long as we are upright, we have nothing to fear!" Shen Yiyi came up and said confidently.

After hearing this, Zhang Yang could only sigh in his heart that it was great to be young, as he had never lost his freedom in the small room in the police station, and he could speak with confidence.

As a senior, he should be more steady.

Zhang Yang quietly skipped the topic of how to destroy the Diamond Wall.

He took the two girls directly into the left side hall of the entire emperor's tomb.

The overall shape of the side hall is a bit like a rural shed, and there is a huge stone coffin bed in the hall.

While Zhang Yang was explaining the Vajra Gate, a tour group of more than a dozen people had already arrived at the side hall, and the tour guide was giving the explanation at that time.

Zhang Yang pulled Shen Yiyi over and rubbed against him.

Tour guide: "This left side hall was originally designed to hold the coffins of concubines buried with the deceased."

"But because Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty abolished the system of burying concubines alive with the dead, this place was originally empty, and it was only preserved according to the system..."

"Then this Emperor Yingzong is pretty good!" Shi Nannan sighed softly after hearing this.

Zhang Yang and Shen Yiyi, two knowledgeable people, smiled at each other.

Yingzong must be good, after all, he was the only overseas student among the Ming emperors, and he learned advanced ideas in Wala.

Abolishing the system of burying concubines with the deceased may be the only thing I have ever done.

The left side hall was originally empty, and nothing good was found during the excavation. Hearing the tour guide talking about the Ming Dynasty's system of burying people alive with the dead, Zhang Yang hurriedly pulled the two girls and continued forward.

After passing through a passage that is wide for two people, you enter the central hall of the entire underground palace.

"Which way are we going?" Shen Yiyi asked in front.

"Turn right and go to the back hall first."

When Zhang Yang came, he looked at the map and found that there was nothing in the entire central hall. The photos of the underground palace that was opened can now be found on the Internet.

The most precious are the three white marble thrones. The middle one belonged to Emperor Wanli, and the remaining two belonged to his two queens.

In front of each throne, there is a large blue and white jar that can accommodate an entire adult.

It is said that when it was opened, there was still a full tank of lamp oil inside, but the lamp had gone out long ago due to lack of oxygen.

The emperor's eternal lamp will go out after the underground palace is sealed. The person who designed this underground palace should be executed!
Behind the large vat, in front of the white marble throne, there are the "Five Offerings" - an incense burner, a pair of candlesticks and a pair of flower vases.

This is actually a Taoist tradition, but Emperor Wanli himself was a serious Taoist emperor who even practiced alchemy, so his funeral naturally also referred to Taoist customs.

"This large blue and white jar with dragon pattern must be fake, right?" Shen Yiyi leaned close to Zhang Yang's ear and asked.

The reason why she only asked about the large blue and white jar was, firstly, that she did not recognize the "Five Offerings", and secondly, there were many coins thrown on the white marble throne and no one had cleaned it up, so it did not look like a cultural relic.

Only the large blue and white jar looks like this.

"To be precise, it's not called fake, it's called a new imitation."

"The original has long been lost, so this jar is placed here for the Emperor Wanli's use, which is equivalent to a repair made for him by later generations."

"Gone? Was it stolen by tomb robbers?" Shi Nannan asked in surprise.

"What are you thinking? This tomb was excavated by the state organization back then. It was just smashed at a special time."

Although it was a pity that it was smashed, Zhang Yang felt that the quality of this blue and white jar, which was copied from the photo, was just average. The decoration was very ordinary and the shape did not show any special features.

Maybe because it is a practical utensil, it does not demonstrate the level of Ming Dynasty blue and white porcelain.

Only the five-clawed dragon above is a gimmick.

That’s all the content of the nave.

Zhang Yang didn't bring any coins, otherwise he could have learned to throw some at the throne of Emperor Wanli.

"Come on, let's go to the back."

"The essence of the entire underground palace is in the back hall."

"Okay." Shen Yiyi followed Zhang Yang's steps closely.

Just after taking two steps, she suddenly felt Shi Nannan pulling her from behind and whispered to her:

"Seize the opportunity, don't forget what I told you that day."

Shen Yiyi didn't look back, but nodded very firmly.

She remembered clearly that she had to express her feelings in the way of Natsume Soseki, with the key being to combine it with the surrounding environment.

Entering the back hall, you will be greeted by many red wooden boxes.

The largest one in the middle is the coffin of Emperor Wanli.

The smaller red boxes placed next to it contain burial objects.

Of course, they are all replicas.

The authentic ones were chopped up and burned as firewood decades ago, including the remains of Emperor Wanli, which were burned to ashes at that time.

"The two next to them, one is Empress Xiaojing, the other is Empress Xiaoduan..."

Zhang Yang still has some knowledge of the history of the Wanli period. After all, anyone who wants to make progress in Handong Province has to read a little bit of "The 15th Year of Wanli".

"The emperor already has three palaces and six courtyards, so why does he need two empresses?"

Shi Nannan whispered beside him:

"Can't you give your first wife a little respect? Men have been the same for thousands of years. Even if they become emperors, they are not satisfied."

With this punch, Zhang Yang felt the power of twenty years of training.

But anyone who knows a little about history knows that this statement is humorous.

During the reign of Emperor Wanli, there was only one empress, Empress Xiaoduan, who sat on the throne for 42 years.

Empress Xiaojing was a noble concubine during her lifetime. She was posthumously named empress by her grandson Zhu Youxiao because she gave birth to the crown prince.

However, Zhang Yang and Shi Nannan were not familiar with each other, so naturally they didn't say anything. At most, he just smiled at Shen Yiyi, who also knew about Ming history.

Zhang Yang glanced at his junior sister.

The latter suddenly said to him without any warning or explanation:
"I really envy this kind of love that allows us to sleep together in life and be buried together in death!"

These are the words that Shen Yiyi came up with after seeing the three coffins in front of her.

It fits the current situation very well.

But Zhang Yang was stunned when he heard it.

"???"

"Yiyi, you may have made a mistake. Both of these queens died before Emperor Wanli."

"Especially because Empress Xiaojing died early and was buried for many years but was dug out and placed here. As a result, the coffin rotted away early. It was very unfortunate."

"Is...is that so?" Shen Yiyi replied embarrassedly.

The emotions that had been forced to build up dissipated in an instant.

Shi Nannan didn't understand history, but as soon as she saw Shen Yiyi's expression, she knew something had happened.

She quickly came out to save the situation and said, "You can't say that, at least they died in the same grave."

"But they didn't sleep together." Zhang Yang frowned and retorted, "The Emperor Wanli favored Concubine Zheng the most. Neither of these two queens was favored."

"Junior sister, learning a craft is one thing, but you must not fall behind in historical knowledge!"

(End of this chapter)