The Fairy: From the Traveling Merchant

Chapter 730: Stories of Troubled Times and the Queen

The Queen wants to see me? At this time?
After hearing the eunuch's announcement, Zhao Chen glanced at the wall clock in the flower hall and found that it was already past the twilight hour. The evening drum had already sounded. He had a new understanding of the emperor's "magnanimity":

The imperial concubine can go out of the palace at will to participate in competitions and socialize, and the queen can even meet with men outside the palace at night...

I had always heard that the rituals of the Great Xia had long been abolished, but I didn't have any intuitive feeling about it. Now I can understand it a little.

After all, this is a world dominated by spiritual practice, where powerful monks dominate everything and pursue freedom. Naturally, the secular ethics and morals will be difficult to continue to implement.

Of course, where some people treat it as a worn-out shoe, there are naturally others who treat it as a golden rule. Conservatives are everywhere, including among monks.

I heard from Fei Meng before that some of Daxia's vassal states have preserved similar cultural heritage, and even some small countries in the West that admire Daxia use this to govern their countries...

Zhao Chen shook his head slightly, and retracted his thoughts that were drifting further and further away. He politely asked the eunuch who came to announce the decree, "What should I prepare?"

"Mr. Zhao, just follow me. Don't keep Her Majesty waiting for too long... Her Majesty is easy-going and doesn't need any false formalities." The eunuch responded with a smile.

Zhao Chen was just about to meet with Queen Zhong to confirm whether she was the "ghost" mentioned in the poem, so he had no intention of disobeying the order. He just turned around and looked at the King of Liang and his wife, and requested:

"I wonder if my companions can stay in your house for one night?"

If we go back to the house that Lord Zhan gave us now, firstly, we won't have time to pack up, and secondly, it's not safe either.

Although Xiao Ling is considered a "top" master in the capital, where one can only use his supernatural powers, it would be bad if Ning Meng was seen by that "Master Yuchan".

"Don't worry, Yue'e didn't want you to go back today, and she has already prepared the room." Prince Liang, who was dressed in casual clothes and had a casual attitude, pointed at his wife and said with a smile.

Princess Liang was not so cold in front of her husband. Instead, she nodded gently.

After settling his female companion, Zhao Chen quietly released "Lei Ji" Fang Pei Niang from the "Bai Hua Pu" and asked her to hide nearby and report any situation at any time.

After doing all this, Zhao Chen exchanged glances with Ming Xueling, followed the eunuch out of Prince Liang's residence, and got into a car sent by the palace.

Along the way, Zhao Chen repeatedly brought up the topic, trying to find out some basic information about the Queen, but the eunuch was obviously a seasoned man. Although he answered every question, there was not a single practical word in his answer.

It was not until the car arrived in front of Kaiming Gate and was about to enter the palace that Zhao Chen finally gave up this futile effort and began to think about how to test the Queen.

However, at this time, the eunuch saw that Zhao Chen had fallen silent, and took the initiative to open the conversation:

"There are many allusions to Kaiming Gate. Sir, please take a look. Doesn't the tower look like a lying tiger? And the gate is the tiger's mouth."

Zhao Chen glanced through the glass window and found that it was indeed a bit similar, except that the part at the gate did not look like a tiger's head, but instead had the outline of a human head.

"It is said that this 'Kai Ming Gate' is the skull of the King of Liang who was killed by Emperor Gaozu during his conquest of the Central Plains. It was placed here to suppress the King's fate and make him unable to rise again." The eunuch said this without looking at Zhao Chen, but smiled and said, "It is said that the King of Liang is similar to Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, both of them are possessed by a 'great evil' from outer space.

"It's just that the King of Liang is not as powerful as Emperor Taizu of Song, nor does he have great magical powers to suppress the evil spirits, nor does he have a wife who has stepped half a step into the realm of the Taoist Lord...

"So he was corrupted by the 'Great Evil' very early on and became the vessel of the 'Enlightened Beast'. He then poisoned the Central Plains until he was killed by Emperor Gaozu."

Kaiming beast? It has a human head and a tiger body. No wonder the city gate tower looks like a crouching tiger... But isn't this thing the gatekeeper of Kunlun? How did it become a demon?

Moreover, this eunuch seemed to have some hidden meaning in his words...

Zhao Chen glanced at the eunuch who looked like an ordinary person, pretending not to understand the meaning of his words, and asked curiously: "Is it possible for the King of Liang to revive?
"If he comes out, won't it be a disaster for the capital?"

Although he asked this, Zhao Chen also knew that since the King of Liang had completely become a part of the "great evil", his status was equivalent to that of the "Shengxuan" True Lord, and it would be difficult for him to die. Otherwise, Emperor Gaozu would not have chosen the so-called "suppression and killing" in the first place.

"You are joking, sir. How would a eunuch like me know such a thing? Moreover, although Emperor Gaozu has been in seclusion for many years, he is not completely indifferent to the affairs of Daxia. Even if the King of Liang escapes, he will definitely be suppressed again." The eunuch shook his head, but when he mentioned Emperor Gaozu, his tone was full of admiration.

That may not be the case. When the Xiliang Empress revived, he did not take any action... Who knows what the Emperor Gaozu is thinking now...

After muttering a few words in his heart, Zhao Chen nodded in agreement on the surface. Then, as if he was interested, he began to inquire about the stories that happened in various places along the way:
There was a pool where a prince was forced to commit suicide thousands of years ago, a palace where a concubine was imprisoned hundreds of years ago, a tunnel where a queen had an affair, and so on and so forth...

The eunuch also told stories one after another, as if he was very familiar with every tree and blade of grass in the palace.

Zhao Chen was terrified when he heard some of these things, fearing that he would be silenced if he knew too much...

He was thankful more than once that Daxia was now open enough and royal scandals were no longer news, otherwise he would have run away immediately.

Just like that, when the eunuch stopped talking with great interest, the car happened to stop in front of the door of the queen's bedroom.

At this point, the eunuch did not follow him anymore, but only let Zhao Chen follow the maid at the door into the bedroom to meet the emperor.

"No matter how I think about it, it feels like entering the palace is too easy. The only thing missing is a ticket office to sell tickets..." Zhao Chen complained in his mind while taking a deep breath. He then walked through the bedroom gate without looking around and entered the inner hall.

The space here was huge, but there were few people, so Zhao Chen immediately saw the Queen Mother kneeling on the tea couch by the window, slowly sketching the picture with a pen in front of the easel.

She was wearing a bright red home dress with a phoenix pattern embroidered on it. Because of her kneeling posture, her waist showed a full and taut curve, making the "phoenix" look a little bloated.

Zhao Chen only glanced at her and then looked away. When she looked at him, he saluted and said, "Your Highness, I am honored to meet you."

However, he waited for a long time without hearing any response, so he looked up. He was caught off guard by a pair of dark and deep eyes that seemed to be able to suck a person's body and soul into them.

At some point, the Queen had appeared in front of Zhao Chen, but he didn't notice it at all until he raised his head!
(End of this chapter)