The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 1262 - 672: The Four Conspirators

Is it possible... that the Grand Ancestor Emperor... is still alive?

In the Zhao family courtyard, by the pond, when Zhao Douan slowly voiced this speculation, he clearly saw the face of the Empress reflected in the water showing a shocked expression, and then her slender eyebrows slowly raised.

Regarding this speculation, which could be called "absurd," the Empress did not immediately refute it, but after thinking for a while, she asked, "Why?"

Zhao Douan hesitated for a moment, shaking his head, "I can’t provide evidence, it’s just a guess. Besides, wouldn’t any emperor be unwilling to die? It’s not like he didn’t have means to live forever. Tuoba Weizhi is an example, and Pei Niannu too. If the former was a coincidence from Qi Country’s experiment, then what about Pei Niannu? I actually suspect that Xu obtained a lot of things from the heritage left by Qi Country back then, including methods to make the Divine Soul eternal..."

Xu Zhenguan seriously pondered and then said, "But the demise of our ancestor was confirmed by countless people back then, including many powerful witnesses of that era..."

Zhao Douan glanced at her and said, "When Xu Jianwen died during the Xuanmen Coup back then, there were also many witnesses."

Xu Zhenguan was suddenly at a loss.

This was evidently a stain on her history; if she had realized Xu Jianwen’s Fake Death back then and pursued it in time, many subsequent events would have been different.

"How can he be the same as our ancestor? Xu Jianwen’s cultivation was extremely low, so it’s easy to impersonate him, but our ancestor had astonishing cultivation. Not to mention anything else, just the physical body alone, no one could imitate. Moreover, his life cultivation dispersed, didn’t it? That Dragon Essence is still with you." Xu Zhenguan tried to find an angle to explain.

But Zhao Douan said, "But this possibility does exist, doesn’t it?"

Xu Zhenguan paused, reluctantly nodding, "In theory, it’s indeed possible, but..."

Zhao Douan seriously said, "Speaking of which, the last time I devoured Master Gu Huo’s memory, I seemed to get a hint from it. He helped Xu Jianwen back then not only to enhance his own cultivation but also seemed interested in the royal tomb, possibly related to the Netherworld Sect? However, this memory is too fragmented, very incomplete. I’m wondering if those evil cult magicians know something?"

Xu Zhenguan was stunned again. She wanted to say that the royal tomb is a treasure of feng shui; not to mention the rich Spiritual Energy, it’s normal for people to covet the burial artifacts inside. But she keenly sensed a hint of probing in Zhao Douan’s words, and her pretty face changed slightly, cautiously saying, "What are you really trying to say?"

Zhao Douan suddenly squeezed out a smile, a bit awkwardly saying, "Your majesty, see, we’ll enter the Golden Door in a couple of days, and no one knows what lies ahead, and all this relates to our ancestor. So, for safety’s sake, isn’t it necessary to verify a little? What I mean is... is it convenient to visit our ancestor in the tomb?"

The Empress was stunned.

The air was quiet for several seconds.

Then Xu Zhenguan suddenly stood up from her chair, glaring at her fiancé angrily, her voice raised a few pitches, "You want to dig up our ancestor’s grave?!"

"Shhh! Keep it down..." Zhao Douan hurriedly stood up, smiling and reaching out to appease, "It’s not digging up the grave, just opening the coffin..."

"Say that again!?"

"...Ahem, isn’t this considering the bigger picture." Zhao Douan said a bit awkwardly.

Indeed, this was difficult to discuss, regardless of the reason, but under non-essential circumstances, just because of a baseless speculation, to go and excavate the Royal grave seemed quite presumptuous...

Moreover, this is an extremely filial feudal society. Not to mention anything else, if the Empress agreed to dig the grave, as long as information leaked, her reputation as Emperor would be ruined; official history might not dare mention it, but folk history would certainly see her reputation lost forever.

"Of course, I was just saying." Zhao Douan noted her displeasure and quickly tried to make amends.

In the night, under the lantern’s light, the Empress’s fair face changed variably, showing an expression of extreme inner conflict, as if two little figures in her mind were battling fiercely, wavering indeed.

Rationally, she agreed with Zhao Douan’s view; since everything involves our ancestor’s shadow, it’s indeed worth gathering information before entering the unknown door.

But emotionally... she found it somewhat unacceptable.

As the Empress stood by the pond feeling conflicted, You Jinhua and her daughter gently tried to call from the other end of the hanging flower door: "Your... majesty? Dinner is ready..."

Hence.

Zhao Douan simply escorted the Empress to the dining hall, and she clearly felt relieved, temporarily halting the topic.

Tonight, the dinner specifications at Zhao Mansion were grand, though there was only one table. Due to time, many grand dishes couldn’t be prepared, appearing slightly "simple," yet it was the best the residence could offer—colorful, aromatic, and flavorful. Especially the tableware for dining, they were brand-new, precious official kiln antiques of immense value, given as gifts by the Capital’s nobles during Zhao Douan’s celebration.

Zhao Douan and the Empress took their seats, You Jinhua and Zhao Pan accompanied them.

Although it wasn’t the Empress’s first visit, it was her first meal with them; mother and daughter felt immensely restrained, You Jinhua squeezed out a smile, several times wanting to serve food to the "daughter-in-law" but dared not, even the usually gutsy Zhao Pan became timid, suppressed by the Empress’s aura, dared not make a sound.