The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 1265 - 673: Opening the Coffin! The Empress’s Social Suicide (Part 2)

Chapter 1265: Chapter 673: Opening the Coffin! The Empress’s Social Suicide (Part 2)

The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a figure draped in a black cloak slowly emerged. Under the loose cloak was Zhao Douan’s indifferent face; he nodded arrogantly and said, "I have important business; you all must leave the cemetery immediately."

"...As you command!"

A group of officials hesitated slightly, but remembering Zhao Douan’s status as the Imperial Consort, they quickly complied. They stood up, one by one, heading out, with someone even running back to call down the soldiers standing guard on the city wall. Soon, even the palace guards and female officials who accompanied the carriage withdrew outside.

...

Behind the rooftop.

The few people spying lay frozen, staring unanimously at the equally bewildered Zhao Douan.

Gongshu Tianyuan’s eyes changed, looking cautiously at Zhao Douan, "Brother Zhao... Are you real or fake?"

Zhao Douan almost swore aloud, glaring at him ferociously: "If I were an impersonator, could I escape the Heavenly Master’s Dharma Eye?"

Zhang Yan Yi was quite pleased.

Jin Jian lowered his voice and asked, "So what’s with the person down there impersonating you?"

How the hell should I know... Zhao Douan’s mind was in chaos, yet he held his breath, focusing, continuing to spy.

By this time, after everyone retreated, only the "Zhao Douan" standing by the carriage under the arch remained.

Then, "Zhao Douan’s" physique suddenly changed, turning into a woman’s figure, and the facial features adjusted to resemble Xu Zhenguan.

Gongshu Tianyuan’s eyes widened, "It’s a puppet I made... It’s His Ma... Mmm Mmm!"

He was quickly muffled by Zhao Douan, and next, under the shocked gaze of the grave-robbing quartet, the Empress sneakily climbed back into the carriage, seemingly to retrieve something. When she emerged again, she had a sturdy iron shovel in her hand...

The grave-robbing quartet: "..."

In the night, the Empress, wielding the iron shovel, walked alone into the courtyard. Xu Zhenguan’s expression was a bit nervous; on the one hand, at this moment, she was merely in a puppet’s body, only able to change appearance with the puppet and perform some shallow martial arts, with limited capabilities. On the other hand, as the current Emperor, the act of secretly excavating her own ancestor’s tomb was undoubtedly causing her considerable psychological pressure.

In fact, Xu Zhenguan was conflicted for quite some time before finally choosing to come here.

Is it possible the ancestors never died?

This speculation was incredibly tempting and important; after leaving the Zhao Mansion, Xu Zhenguan wrestled with herself, ultimately deciding on a rebellious act—to take a look herself and confirm...

"Ancestors, please don’t blame me; I, your unworthy descendant Zhenguan, am doing this for the Great Yu Kingdom, for our Royal Family’s eternal legacy, forced into this desperate measure..."

"I guarantee, I’ll only take a peek, absolutely not disturb the ancestors’ peaceful rest..."

At this moment, Xu Zhenguan had entirely lost the imperial aura, sneakily holding a shovel, resembling a mischievous child.

Finally, Xu Zhenguan climbed up the city wall along the steps, quickly reaching the position near the ancestral tomb’s cover by following the female wall. However, at this time, the spiritual sense belonging to the Heavenly Emperor within her acted up. Xu Zhenguan’s eyes suddenly sharpened; she almost instantaneously turned her head, glaring in the direction of the rooftop nearby, shouting, "Who!?"

This shout wasn’t loud yet changed the expression of the quartet.

The four exchanged glances; Zhang Yan Yi shook his head, indicating that although he could cast spells, the Empress’s keen eyes would certainly see through it was him...

"Show yourselves! What kind of petty thieves dare to trespass on the Royal sacred ground!" The Empress raised her shovel, her eyebrows raised in anger, birthing a killing intent.

After a brief silence.

Behind the rooftop, silently stood four figures, each holding a shovel.

Five pairs of eyes met, and the air suddenly quieted down.

Zhao Douan clearly saw under the night mist, the Empress’s face, initially filled with anger and alert with killing intent, first froze, stupefied, then became incredulous, finally turning pale, instinctively hiding the shovel behind her back.

Silence.

Silence is tonight’s Cambridge.

After a long while, Zhao Douan thickened his face and broke the silence, "Your Majesty, what a coincidence..."

Xu Zhenguan’s face was a mix of shame and anger, an utter lack of pride, and she gnashed her teeth, "Zhao! Dou! An!"

...

...

Moments later, on the exceptionally quiet rooftop, the trio of master and apprentices from the Heavenly Master Mansion stood alone, silent, occasionally glancing at the opposite rooftop.

And on that rooftop, the Empress sat with her back to everyone, gritting her teeth, while Zhao Douan sat beside her, whispering explanations fervently, "In short, that’s how it is; no matter all the mistakes, they’re my fault. I know this is a grave disrespect, but it’s for our Great Yu Kingdom, for our Royal Family’s eternal achievements, forced into this desperate measure... I promise, I’ll only take a peek, absolutely not disturb the ancestors’ peaceful rest..."

The Empress, expressionlessly, stared at him eerily, "You used my words."

Huh? Is that so? No wonder they sounded familiar... Zhao Douan was terribly embarrassed, explaining, "I... I’m worried that Your Majesty, being a descendant of the Royal Family, might find it hard to make a decision, so I boldly took this act, which is also good..."

The Empress’s tone grew colder, even carrying a hint of complaint, "Do you think that I am so unreasonable that for my imperial reputation, I’d let you bear the blame to maintain my name?"

"No, no, no, Your Majesty is a Holy Emperor of ages, absolutely not..."

The Empress said, "Do you think I haven’t considered this? As this relates to the Royal Ancestors, it’s the Royal Family’s matter, and I’m naturally duty-bound, unable to hand it over to others."

"Absolutely, Your Majesty came personally, without impersonating anyone."

"..." The Empress angrily extended her hand, fiercely pinching Zhao Douan’s thigh, causing him to grimace, "I didn’t say anything..."

After another while.

Zhang Yan Yi and his apprentices saw the monarch and minister duo approaching; the Empress now had a breezy demeanor, as if the earlier event hadn’t occurred, calmly looking at Zhang Yan Yi, nodding softly, "Heavenly Master Zhang is indeed tireless."

This statement held a hint of sarcasm...

Zhang Yan Yi’s old face instantly couldn’t hold up, being a renowned magic master in the world, regarded as an immortal by the populace, coming in the dead of night to dig up someone’s ancestral tomb, and being caught was undoubtedly a monumental stain in his history. He could only keep a straight face, avoiding eye contact, reluctantly saying, "Your Majesty, it’s late, let’s discuss business."

Jin Jian and Gongshu Tianyuan nodded fervently.

The Empress sighed lightly, no longer pursuing the matter; frankly, tonight’s incident was a loss of face for both parties, frequently leaking this would cause both of their personas to collapse. In essence, both sides reached a mutual "deterrence," ensuring neither would expose the matter. Realizing this, the Empress seemed to forget the earlier unpleasantness, nodding, "Let’s go down together, conveniently, with your help, I can save some effort."

Zhao Douan nodded, hurriedly reciting his plan.

After listening, the Empress suddenly pulled out a blueprint from her sleeve, stating, "This is the blueprint from when the imperial tomb was built; we can proceed according to it."

Zhao Douan’s eyes lit up; with the blueprint, it was evidently much more efficient than groping blindly.

Immediately, they proceeded.

Jin Jian led the way by casting spells to identify positions according to the blueprint, initiating a round opening.

Zhang Yan Yi released spells to temporarily seal the arrays within the imperial tomb.

The five-person group entered the opening, quickly finding themselves within an underground passage.

Jin Jian used the magic wand as a torch for lighting.

Next, Gongshu Tianyuan used the Artisan God’s means according to the blueprint, systematically disassembling the traps within the tomb.

It was an utterly smooth passage; swiftly, the group arrived at the main burial chamber, seeing the enormous coffin placed inside.

"Your Majesty..." Zhao Douan looked at the Empress, "Will you do it personally?"

Xu Zhenguan took a deep breath, nodded, handing him the shovel, first seriously bowing to her ancestors, then sequentially opening the coffin, placing both hands on the coffin lid inside.

The group circled the coffin, holding their breath, Jin Jian clutching the glowing magic wand, her small face tense.

Silence ensued.

"I am unworthy of being a descendant!" Xu Zhenguan bit her lip, closed her eyes, and forcefully lifted the coffin that had been sealed for six hundred years!

"Bang!"

The coffin lid lifted, first dust wafted, then everyone simultaneously looked inside the coffin.

And their expressions all changed.

Inside the coffin, it was empty.