boyutpedia Chapter 18 Jinglinghe Village
Chapter 18 Jinglinghe Village
"Your Majesty, I have located the whereabouts of the Emperor Emeritus!"
Chen Xiao was speechless: ...Please, brother, can't you keep your voice down a bit?! Luckily, we booked the entire teahouse; there were no ordinary people around.
Xu Qian was quite surprised and hurriedly asked Chen Xiao why he was investigating this matter. Hadn't the Emperor Emeritus already gone to the imperial mausoleum long ago? ...and other similar questions.
Seeing how concerned Xu Qian was about Chu Yanxi, Chen Xiao pondered for a while before letting Ye Yu come in to report. The two of them learned about Chu Yanxi's whereabouts together.
The two of them stood up together, shocked, and exclaimed, "What!? How is this possible!?"
"Your Majesty, I also thought it was impossible. I went to check it myself and found that what you said was true. It is indeed inscribed with the Tomb of the Retired Emperor... Your Majesty, I dare not act rashly. I only sent people to guard the place. I am here to report to Your Majesty immediately!"
Xu Qian slumped into a chair, muttering, "How could this be?"
Chen Xiao frantically called out to Xi Xi in his heart, but there was no response. Perhaps the hidden storyline had not been triggered and could not be unlocked.
Chen Xiao calmed down and asked, "Where is this tomb?"
"Your Majesty, this tomb is located at the border of the capital and Guangling, separated from the 'Heroes's Tomb' in Guangling only by the Hulong River. It is in a remote location, and it was the villagers there who discovered and reported it."
Chen Xiao then ordered Ye Yu to lead the way, as she wanted to investigate personally.
Xu Qian also hurriedly asked to join him.
Chen Xiao looked at Xu Qian, but she had no time for gossip, so she nodded in agreement.
An hour later, at the border of Jingling, in Hecun.
Chen Xiao and his two companions rode their horses to the entrance of He Village. A child saw them and was terrified. The group quickly reined in their horses and comforted the child.
Her mother quickly pulled her daughter aside. Seeing that the three people were dressed in fine clothes and were of noble status, she dared not utter a word.
Only after Ye Yu explained that they had come to visit on business did the villagers realize that they were again high-ranking officials and dignitaries who had come to see the tomb.
Seeing the villagers' knowing expressions, Chen Xiao felt that she must know something, so he quickly dismounted and asked her.
The villagers then answered, “Ever since someone discovered the tomb of the retired emperor near our village, they went to the city to report it, but unfortunately the new emperor did not know about it. It also attracted many high-ranking officials who knew about it. You are the sixth wave.”
Chen Xiao gave Ye Yu a wink, and Ye Yu immediately nodded and rode away in a flash.
Chen Xiao smiled gently at the villagers. "I see. Would you please take us to see that tomb?"
The villager readily agreed, letting his daughter go home first while he led the two of them to their destination.
The group walked through the deepest part of the village and arrived at the Hulong River. The willows along the river had sprouted tender buds, winter was quietly receding and spring was gradually emerging.
The warmth of spring melted the ice and snow, and the meltwater dripped down the mountain apricots and over the roots of the hibernating grass. The sun was shining brightly, and the breeze was gentle. And there was the tomb of the retired emperor right in the center.
A large crowd surrounded them, including villagers, guards, and many richly dressed dignitaries.
The villagers that Chen Xiao and his companion brought along joined in the conversation after seeing people they knew.
The guards then noticed the arrival of Chen Xiao and his group, and stepped forward to pay their respects, but were stopped by Chen Xiao's gaze before they could speak.
Upon seeing them, the group of high-ranking officials quickly stepped forward to pay their respects. Chen Xiao, not wanting to reveal his identity, was about to stop them when, unexpectedly, they bowed to Xu Qian instead, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency the Prime Minister!"
Then everyone started jostling each other, like people rushing to express their respect for Xu Qian during a clearance sale at a modern supermarket. One minor official even started spouting nonsense without thinking.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister! This is precisely the matter I wish to report to you! Please inform His Majesty, and His Majesty will surely value you highly if he knows how much you care about the royal family!"
A merchant quickly chimed in, "Your Excellency! Actually, I was the first to discover this! But I needed to confirm it thoroughly, which caused the delay..."
Among these people were some well-known merchants and minor officials with some achievements, but at this moment they began to fawn over them.
Xu Qian: ......
Chen Xiao: The Prime Minister is truly fiery.
The villagers, seeing the live prime minister for the first time, were shocked and overwhelmed with excitement, and all prepared to kneel down before Xu Qian.
Upon seeing this, Xu Qian quickly raised his hand to stop them and gently explained to the villagers that he had something to do and apologized for disturbing them.
Given the situation, the villagers all quickly left, leaving only the oblivious "high-ranking officials" still talking to the prime minister, fantasizing about getting close to him.
With the villagers gone and only these random people remaining, Xu Qian no longer needed to pretend to be gentle. He whispered to Chen Xiao and then ordered the guards to take them all away, saying that their actions would be discussed later.
These people watched as the prime minister discussed something with a woman beside him, and only then did they realize the woman's identity. Before they could react, they were all taken away.
Now the place is finally completely quiet, with only Chen Xiao and Xu Qian remaining.
Chen Xiao walked to the grave, squatted down to examine the tombstone, and mentally frantically called out to Xi Xi, "If you don't come out soon, I'm really going to get angry! I'll just tear the grave up to make sure!"
Seeing Chen Xiao's fierce expression from within the space, Xi Xi trembled and stammered, "Host, don't get agitated! You absolutely can't disturb this tomb! If word gets out, it will affect your reputation!"
Chen Xiao only didn't lift the tomb because he wanted to scare Xi Xi out.
After learning that Xu Qian also had a system, she began to have doubts about Xi Xi, because according to Xu Qian, his "deity" would often disappear after he completed his main tasks.
And Xixi also frequently disappears.
She originally thought Xu Qian had another system, but now she thinks that maybe their systems are all Xi Xi.
Xi Xi knew she probably couldn't hide it anymore, so she beat Chen Xiao to it and quickly explained, "These are rules, I can't tell you, host, it'll be censored. I really want to tell you everything, host, please understand!"
Chen Xiao didn't make things difficult for Xi Xi, but simply asked if Chu Yanxi's tomb was real. Xi Xi confirmed, "This is Chu Yanxi's tomb. She did indeed pass away the day after you ascended the throne."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao immediately stopped his pretense of inspection.
Xu Qian watched as Chen Xiao suddenly fell silent after examining him for a while, and sensing something was wrong, he stepped forward as well.
Chen Xiao turned to look at Xu Qian and nodded silently.
Xu Qian's expression went blank for a moment, as if something had silently shattered in his heart.
Seeing Xu Qian's expression, Xi Xi, seemingly oblivious to the somber atmosphere, whispered gossip to Chen Xiao, "You'd better go away! He has something to say to Chu Yanxi."
Chen Xiao did not respond.
Xi Xi then noticed Chen Xiao's mood. Her eyes were red and she looked like she was about to cry. She asked in confusion, "Why are you so sad?"
Chen Xiao explained somewhat incoherently, "Although I know this is a world in a book, and Chu Yanxi is just a fictional character created by the author, I feel that all of this is so real."
I initially treated it as just a game, but after spending some time with it, I changed my mind. Everyone here has their own unique characteristics, they're flesh and blood, unlike the two-dimensional characters I used to imagine.
Especially Chu Yanxi, I really liked her when I read the novel. Although I transmigrated into her body as her daughter and only knew her for half a day, I really felt a strange mother-daughter bond with her, as if I were her daughter, someone who had been born into the Night Dynasty...
Now that she's gone, I know perfectly well that this is a world in a book, that everything is fake, but I just can't help feeling those emotions. Do you understand what I mean?