After leaving the palace, the two bought two sets of commoner clothes and changed into them. Dodo hired a carriage until they were a few miles away from the city. Then, he hired another carriage, but he didn't order the previous driver to leave. Instead, he gave him more money and had him drive the carriage side by side with the second carriage. After that, they had to change carriages every time they traveled. Chu Menglin didn't understand his intentions. Since he had already reported this to the emperor, why did he have to be so sneaky? But when she asked, Dodo always answered vaguely.
After a few days, the carriage entered Liaodong. Dodo didn't explain to Chu Menglin. They stopped at Liaozhong, Kangping, and Changhai. He asked for a room in each of the inns and told Chu Menglin to stay in the room and not go out. Chu Menglin was used to being quiet around him and didn't ask much.
Today, Dodo took her on a journey again. He ordered the driver to drive to Liaoyang. After a while, he left and took Chu Menglin to another carriage. The person driving the carriage was an unfamiliar young man. His appearance and figure were very ordinary, but he gave people the feeling that he was too ordinary. It was actually a little abnormal. Chu Menglin heard him mention Hetu Ala in Xin Bin County, a place she didn't know before. Finally, she couldn't help but ask about the reason for their recent actions. Duoduo told her about it.
Hetu Ala was the capital of the Later Jin Dynasty. It was also known as Xingjing, which meant "Henggang" in Manchu. In the 31st year of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Nu 'erhachi built a castle here. Two years later, he built an outer city for his family and elite troops to live in. In the 9th year of the Tianming Dynasty, he moved the tombs of his grandfather, brother, and son to Liaoyang and built the "Dongjing Mausoleum". But Prince Zhuang Shulhaqi had secretly arranged for the tombs to be moved. He was imprisoned by his elder brother and died. In his early years, he had a close female friend named Mu Qingyan. She built a huge underground palace for him. It was located under the Zhao Clan Temple in the old town of Yong Ling Town, so that he could be buried with Princess Yong 'an.
Princess Yong 'an had married beyond the Great Wall in her early years. Although she had gone through trials and tribulations with Shurhaqi, she had never formally performed a formal bow to heaven and earth ceremony. Even until her death, she had not been able to enter the annals of history as his Shu Fu Jin.
To prevent outside thieves from disturbing them, the royal mausoleum was built like a maze. Not only were the paths winding and difficult to traverse, there were also countless traps and hidden crossbows. The map drawn from the blueprint was the map of the royal mausoleum. Those words were Schulhaqi's last words. He said that he had died unjustly and hoped that his descendants would avenge him after they found out the truth when he entered the underground palace during his sacrificial hour.
Dodo thought that the tomb was fraught with danger. If he didn't find an experienced companion, it would be difficult for him and Chu Menglin to accomplish anything, and they might even meet with misfortune. His plan was meticulous. Before he left the palace, he took some jade articles with him from the prince's mansion. They were all looted from the common people's homes after he entered the Pass. Some of them were quite old. When he went to a large town to sell jade articles, he purposely attracted attention. At first, he only attracted laymen, but gradually, experts came.
After he sold most of the jade articles, a young man quietly followed behind him. When he arrived at a shabby alley, he showed himself and asked where the jade articles came from. Dodo first pretended that it was passed down from his ancestors and that he was forced to sell it to make a living. The young man pressed him for a few words, then pretended that he couldn't cover it up, saying that it was all obtained from a bucket fight.
The young man was half believing and half doubting, but after listening for a while, he was overjoyed. He introduced himself as a foreigner who had been doing this business since he was a child. He had lost his patience with those unknown tombs, so he came alone to this unfamiliar place with the intention of digging a big hole. After many days of investigation, he set his eyes on the Xing Jing Mausoleum at the foot of the Qi Yun Mountain. It was the place called 'Unte and Momeng An' in the Manchu language. Dodo told him half truths and half lies about the underground royal mausoleum. The young man was very interested and immediately expressed his willingness to go with him.
Chu Menglin listened to his complicated explanation and couldn't fully understand it, but he still praised him. Dodo was disinterested and wanted to settle this matter as soon as possible. He sat in the carriage and closed his eyes to rest. Chu Menglin didn't dare to disturb him and sat quietly beside him. The journey was bumpy and after an unknown number of days, the carriage stopped. According to the young man, the road ahead was full of rocks and mud. The road wasn't easy to drive and they had to walk.
After Dodo got off the carriage, he helped Chu Menglin down. After traveling for a short distance, they saw the ruins of Hetuala in front of them. It was devastated and overgrown with weeds. There were still some remnants of the outer walls, but the rest had become dilapidated walls. It was no longer as majestic as it used to be. When Chu Menglin saw this desolate and dilapidated scene, he felt that the affairs of the world were unpredictable. His heart ached and he wanted to cry.
During the chaotic times of war, many people lost their homes. Although this place was dilapidated, there were still some eaves that could shelter them from the wind and rain. It was barely enough to be a place to settle down. Because of this, people often gathered together and over the years, it gradually became a small village. Usually, people rarely came here. When the villagers saw a few outsiders, they couldn't help but take a few more glances.
In order to keep it a secret, Dodo first brought the two to various places to pay their respects. They passed by the Guan Di Temple, the Confucian Temple, Qi Yun Academy, Xian You Palace and Di Zang Temple. They left the Zhao Ancestral Temple for last. After the three of them paid their respects to the bronze statue, they searched everywhere in the ancestral hall. The will clearly stated that the royal mausoleum was built under the Zhao Ancestral Temple, but it didn't point out the entrance. After searching for a long time, they still found nothing.
Just as they were discussing how to take apart the bricks on the ground to search, they suddenly heard a heavy cough. A man with a curly beard walked in. The three of them thought that he was also a guest who came to pay his respects, so they quickly put on a respectful expression in front of the bronze statue, hoping that he would finish paying his respects and leave as soon as possible. Unexpectedly, the man didn't pay his respects to the statue. His pair of small eyes kept looking at the three of them. After sizing them up, he coldly said, "As soon as the three of you entered the Guan Di Temple, I noticed you. But because you were too focused, you didn't notice that I was following behind you. Sneaking around, what are you doing? Are you trying to steal something? "
Chu Menglin was the first to lose his cool. He angrily said, "Are your dog eyes blind? In this kind of dilapidated place, what's there to steal?" The man said, "Not stealing? Then you must be looking for something. " Dodo pondered for a moment and then said, "In the past, a hero was buried here. We respect his virtue and came here to pay our respects to him." The man stared at him and said, "Prince Heshuo Zhuang's tomb is not here. Go back to where you came from!"
Chu Menglin shouted, "Aha, you've exposed yourself. We didn't mention Prince Heshuo Zhuang. We only said that he was a hero. There are so many heroes in the world, how did you know?" The man had lived here for a long time and didn't know much about the world. Like the villagers, he was simple and honest and lacked experience in dealing with the outside world. He was very angry. He angrily said, "So what? Our ancestors were entrusted by our benefactor to be the guardians of the tomb for generations. We won't allow tomb robbers to wantonly invade! "
Dodo saw that the situation was like this. The villager obviously knew what was going on. Judging from his tone, he didn't have any hatred towards Prince Zhuang. On the contrary, he was respectful. If they wanted to enter the tomb, they could only rely on him. He might as well tell the truth. Immediately he respectfully bowed and said, "To be honest, I have some relationship with the tomb owner. This Prince Zhuang … is my uncle. Big Brother, please make things easy for me. I can't thank you enough."
The man said, "Your uncle? You're from the Aisin Gioro family? "Dodo said," That's right. "The man's face was still unfriendly. He coldly said," What's so strange about being from the same family? Even if it's between brothers, they can still kill each other! "When Dodo heard the words" kill each other ", he was secretly shocked.
Chu Menglin was very angry. Although the man's mind was simple, he was very stubborn when he decided on something. If it was another situation where the entrance had already appeared and the other party was just a troublemaker who came to stop them, of course he wouldn't say anything and kill him with a sword. But now, killing him would be of no use. He angrily shouted, "We are following Senior Mu Qingyan's instructions to enter the tomb to retrieve Prince Zhuang's relics. Could it be that you wish for the loyal relics to be buried underground forever, never to see the light of day?" She racked her brains to come up with an excuse. She inadvertently remembered that Ji Qiannian had mentioned to her that the Tears of Severing Souls were closely related to Mu Qingyan. There were also rumors that she was Schulhaqi's lover. It was only because of her sisterly relationship with Princess Yong 'an that she purposely kept her distance from him. For the time being, she might as well make a Hail Mary effort.
When the man heard this, his stern face actually softened. He said, "You know our benefactor's name? Could it be … "He suddenly shook his head vigorously, saying," No, no, it can't be. Our benefactor has already passed away for many years. You're still so young. How could you be entrusted by her? Heh heh, I'm not that easy to fool. "
Chu Menglin said, "Idiot, who said that you have to personally entrust someone with a task? Although Senior Mu has passed away, she could have left behind a letter or a personal order, or let her descendants pass it on. Don't you think so? " This could be considered a gamble. She could only hope that the man didn't have any ulterior motives. Otherwise, if she really had to take out Senior Mu's personal letter as evidence, then there would be nothing she could do. Fortunately, the man respected Mu Qingyan like a deity. When he heard that it was related to her, he didn't think too much about it and believed it to be true. He scratched his head, saying, "Since we are Senior Mu's messengers, then we should treat it differently …"
Chu Menglin was overjoyed. He praised, "That's right! I didn't expect that a blockhead like you would finally have the time to be enlightened! "Dodo and the grave robber shouted in unison," Shut up! " It wasn't easy to persuade the man to change his mind. If he changed his mind because of one sentence from Chu Menglin, then all of their previous efforts would be wasted.
Fortunately, the man didn't get angry, but he didn't agree either. He scratched his head a few more times, saying, "I can't make the decision on this matter. I need to ask the village chief first. Wait here, don't leave. "When he reached the door, he was still worried. He turned around and said," You must not leave. "After saying this, he ran off like a wisp of smoke. Dodo thought to himself, "Do I need you to say that? It seems like the secret of the Soul Severing Tears is related to Prince Zhuang's injustice. This matter must be investigated immediately. Even if you chase me away, I won't leave. "
Chu Menglin cursed, "You can't make the decision to let us go to the underground palace. You can make the decision by stopping us! Hmph, if I knew that you were a paper tiger and didn't have the authority to do anything, why would I waste so much time talking to you? Wouldn't it be easier to just let you call the village chief? "
Perhaps because the village was too small, the houses were only a few steps away from each other. Not long after the man ran out, he and a few other villagers escorted an old man to the ancestral hall. The old man's body was thin and withered. He had white hair and a white beard. His eyebrows were slightly drooping. At any time, he looked like he was frowning in distress. The old man walked to the center. His eyes passed over Chu Menglin, three people one by one. His gaze was firmly fixed on the other party's eyes. Chu Menglin had never been stared at like this before. Perhaps it was more appropriate to say that he was being scrutinized. He felt uncomfortable all over and stared back.
The old man coughed and said, "I heard that the three of you are Miss Mu's descendants." "That's right," Chu Menglin said, "Why haven't you opened the tomb passage and let us in?"
"That's not right," the man called out, "Just now you said that you are He Shuo Zhuang's descendants. Now you've changed your words. What you said is contradictory. Most likely you are lying."
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