This Lady Is Trying to Kill Me

Chapter 190 - 190: Crypt Adventure

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Tread, tread…

Three footsteps landed in the enclosed tunnel that had been sealed for more than a hundred years.

The deep stone path buried deep underground was about two meters wide and tall. The two sides were made of stone bricks, and the top was arched. The tunnel was built extremely solid.

Ye Jingtang raised the lantern and carefully sized up the bricks in the tunnel. Then he tapped the floor lightly with his scabbard to determine the bricks’ solidity and sturdiness. He found that they were extremely sturdy and looked normal.

Dongfang Liren held the lantern in her hand and was also checking the details of the tunnel while slowly following Ye Jingtang.

The empress dowager looked at the dark and deep tunnel and felt a little nervous. She followed behind Liren, but after taking a few steps in, another figure landed at the entrance and called out, “Your Majesty.”

Ye Jingtang turned around and saw that the person who came was a middle-aged palace maid with an official saber hanging at her waist. He had seen her the first time he entered the palace. She was a junior commander of the Imperial City’s secret guards, Yang Lan, and in charge of the safety of the empress dowager’s palace. It was also because of this that he couldn’t go to the ginkgo tree to dig up the treasure left behind by his foster father.

The empress dowager was originally quite nervous. But when she turned around and saw the palace maid running over, she was a little resentful. “This place hasn’t been opened for two hundred years. Nothing will happen. I’m not nervous at all with them in front of me. Go outside and wait. If something really happens, come save me.”

Yang Lan checked the conditions of the tunnel at the entrance and could tell that it had been built as an escape route. The way the walls and ceiling were built and sealed made it difficult to hide mechanisms. It looked quite safe.

Even though the place was safe, the people might not be. Ye Jingtang was a man, and he was very powerful. If the Prince of Jing and the empress dowager ran around with him, what if his beastly nature erupted and he ate them? What the empress dowager had read in The Secret History of the Romantic Empress for half the night last night might come true.

Yang Lan knew that the empress dowager’s life in the palace was boring, so she wanted to find some excitement. She didn’t spoil the mood and only said, “I’ll follow behind. I’ll rush over immediately if anything happens.”

The empress dowager raised her hand to signal her to step back. Then she held Dongfang Liren’s sleeve and followed Ye Jingtang into the pitch-black tunnel.

Because the tunnel had to bypass lakes and other environments, it wasn’t a straight line. In some places, it would go down for a few feet before rising again, seemingly jumping over the foundation of a palace.

Holding the small lantern, Ye Jingtang slowly walked on the floor tiles. He took each step carefully and checked the firmness of the walls and the floor.

Dongfang Liren followed twenty steps behind. Perhaps infected by Ye Jingtang’s cautiousness, she was also carefully checking the subtle marks on the wall.

As for the empress dowager, it might be the first time she had a secret adventure since she entered the palace. Her face was a little nervous, and her big eyes looked left and right. Occasionally, she would turn back to look at the increasingly dimmer light at the entrance. When she found that Yang Lan was hanging behind like a ghost, she even waved her hand.

Because they were too cautious, the three of them were as fast as tortoises crawling. After entering for fifteen minutes, they had only walked less than three hundred steps.

After Dongfang Liren carefully inspected her surroundings for a long time, she really didn’t feel that this place was special. She said, “The construction of this tunnel is too big of a project. It’s too extravagant to use it for private meetings. It was probably a retreat route built by an emperor of a certain dynasty.”

The empress dowager retorted, “The entrance to a retreat route built by an emperor should be in the Peaceful Hall. Empress Dowager Xuanyang ruled in place of the emperor for seven to eight years. I estimate that she secretly built this tunnel because she was afraid of the court officials forcing her to step down. She would use this tunnel to escape from the capital if necessary. Usually, when she was idle, she would get some handsome male companions delivered through here to the palace for her pleasure…”

Ye Jingtang replied, “Her Majesty’s guess is very likely. The private meetings should only be a byproduct. Its main purpose was to escape from danger.”

Receiving his approval, the empress dowager smiled and muttered, “Look at how carefree and happy this empress dowager was. She could cover the sky in the Imperial Court and even summon handsome men to the palace to have fun with at any time… Wu~”

Her words came to an abrupt halt.

Ye Jingtang turned around, only to see the rebellious Dumdum covering the empress dowager’s mouth with her hand.

When she saw him turn around, she even glared at him. “You should scout the way properly. I’m talking with the empress dowager. Why are you interrupting?”

Ye Jingtang shook his head secretly. He obediently scouted ahead and no longer interrupted them.

The empress dowager’s mouth was covered in front of her guard. She clearly felt that she had lost her dignity. She raised her hand and patted Dongfang Liren’s shoulder. “I’m just sighing. I didn’t say that I wanted to learn after her. 1 didn’t say that I wanted to raise a handsome man. But you keep rejecting me when I want to go out of the palace to relax. I’m not doing anything reckless because I’m sensible and don’t want to cause trouble for you. If 1 really want to do something, do you think you can control me?”

Dongfang Liren didn’t refute her words. After all, the empress dowager wasn’t just a pretty face. Behind her were the Jiang Province navy and the southeast meritorious group. Although they didn’t have the ability to interfere with the affairs of the harem, they did have the conditions for deposing an emperor and establishing a new one.

Seeing that the empress dowager was unhappy, Dongfang Liren comforted her gently. “1 know that you’re sensible. I’m not making excuses, but there are undercurrents outside. The risk is too high. Even I have to be careful when I go out…”

Just as the empress dowager was just about to harrumph unhappily, she saw Ye Jingtang’s figure in front of her figure pause for a moment when he reached a corner before he suddenly took half a step back and grabbed the hilt of his saber.

Clatter!

The tunnel was deep underground and silent, so the noise sounded very loud.

The empress dowager had just been a little nervous and wanted to say something. When she saw this abrupt reaction, she was so frightened that her entire body shrunk and her breath stopped in her throat.

Dongfang’s courage depended on how many guards she had. Seeing Ye Jingtang’s huge reaction, she was naturally nervous. She didn’t know what was behind the corner and asked nervously, “What’s wrong?”

Squeak squeak squeak!

As soon as she finished speaking, a strange cry sounded from the corner. Then a black shadow crawled out from the corner and rushed toward the two of them. They could only see a pair of small green eyes.

“All!” Two alarmed shouts came at the same time.

The empress dowager’s beautiful face turned pale as she hurriedly hugged Dongfang Liren’s arm.

Dongfang Liren was caught off guard and was equally shocked. She threw away the lantern in her hand and pulled the empress dowager to dodge to the side.

Squeak squeak squeak!

Amidst the strange cry, the black shadow arrived in front of them in the blink of an eye.

Fortunately, the guard in front wasn’t dead. A light flashed forward and stepped on the black shadow.

Stomp!

The black shadow immediately stopped.

But before the two noble ladies could breathe a sigh of relief, they saw the black shadow clearly under the light of the lantern. It was a big black rat with fluffy fur. After its tail was stepped on, it bared its teeth at them and rolled and twisted, struggling on the spot, only inches away from their feet!!

When the empress dowager saw such a terrifying scene, her face turned pale with fright. She directly jumped to Ye Jingtang, hugged his arm, and patted his shoulder. “Quick, quick, quick!”

Dongfang Liren was a little more stable, but she was also thrown a little off balance by this big rat that suddenly appeared. She flashed behind Ye Jingtang and urged, “Hurry up and take it away…”

Ye Jingtang found that the pale-faced empress dowager was hugging his arm and wanted to burrow into his arms. He hurriedly comforted her. “Don’t panic. It’s just a rat.”

Because he was afraid of dirtying his shoe, he didn’t trample the rat to death. He just kicked forward and kicked it away.

Squeak squeak squeak!

The rat that had escaped immediately scuttled into the depths of the pitch-black tunnel. But there was immediately a bang, as if someone had kicked it against the wall, and it immediately stopped moving.

The empress dowager still had lingering fear. His arm in her arms moved before she returned to her senses and hurriedly let go. “That scared me to death. This place has been sealed for two hundred years. How can there be a rat…”

While speaking, she glanced at Ye Jingtang and secretly heaved a sigh of relief when she found that he was checking the surroundings in an upright manner and didn’t seem to notice her inappropriate behavior.

Dongfang Liren was hiding behind Ye Jingtang. Now that the crisis had been resolved, perhaps because she felt that her reaction was unbecoming of a prince, she stood up straight again and acted calmly. As if nothing had happened, she looked up. “There must be vents in the tunnels. It’s not unusual for rats to come in.”

Ye Jingtang, on the other hand, was at a loss for words. He felt that he wasn’t checking the tunnel now but accompanying two outstanding beauties to play in a haunted house. Even a rat caused such a reaction. He didn’t even dare to imagine what would happen if they continued.

Ye Jingtang picked up the fallen lantern from the floor and advised, “Why don’t Your Highness and Your Majesty go back? I’ll go in and check. There are rats inside. If Your Majesty is frightened…”

The secret guard Yang Lan also walked out from behind and advised, “Your

Majesty, this place is not clean. Your Majesty’s precious body…”

The empress dowager patted her chest lightly. Even now, her heart was still pounding, but when she heard that she was leaving, she was a little unhappy.

In the past, she had been cooped up in the palace for ten years. Her daily life was like a pool of stagnant water, and it wasn’t easy to encounter even a little disturbance. She had never experienced such an exciting adventure since she was a child. If she went back now, who would accompany her to act recklessly next time?

The empress dowager looked at the dark corner and pretended to be calm. “I’m fine. Let’s continue. 1 wasn’t mentally prepared just now. 1’11 be careful from now on. Yang Lan, stay away. There was nothing in the tunnel originally, but with you hanging behind me, I keep feeling a chill behind me and that something is staring at me.”

Hearing this, Yang Lan looked helpless, but she could only retreat and hide in the dark, continuing to play house with the empress dowager.

Dongfang Liren felt that her reaction just now was a little embarrassing. She instructed solemnly, “Ye Jingtang, walk in front and scout the way. You have to be more steady. Don’t be overly suspicious. It was just a rat. I thought you had encountered a ghost, which scared me…”

Ye Jingtang didn’t expect there to be living creatures in the tunnel. His reaction was indeed a little big. Dumdum pushed the responsibility to him, so he naturally didn’t say anything. He held the lantern and continued to explore.

The rest of the journey was much more peaceful. Although they encountered a few more rats, they were mentally prepared and weren’t shocked again.

The empress dowager and Dongfang Liren walked together, occasionally exchanging a few words. Their actions were careful, and they looked very engrossed.

The three of them walked inside the tunnel, twisting and turning left and right for an unknown period of time. They felt that they had already left the palace.

As expected, this tunnel was not as simple as just for private meetings. After turning a corner, an underground room appeared.

The room was about 40 feet square, and there was some furniture inside. But it had been too long, and most of them had decayed. There were storage compartments on the walls, and there was even a small well in the corner.

Ye Jingtang raised the lantern and carefully examined the stone room. “This should be a transit place. If there’s chaos in the capital and people can’t leave the city, they can stay here for a while and leave after the storm passes…”

Dongfang Liren walked over to a storage compartment carved into the wall and stood with her hands behind his back, nodding slightly. “The preparations are really good, but it looks like they weren’t used in the end. According to the records, Empress Dowager Xuanyang committed suicide by taking poison after losing power…”

The empress dowager had earnestly read The Secret History of the Romantic Empress yesterday. After some thought, she said, “The mausoleum was built by Empress Dowager Xuanyang. To be able to secretly dig such a tunnel, it’s not difficult to tamper with the mausoleum. Perhaps after she returned power to the emperor, she faked her death and eloped with her lover to live in seclusion…”

While speaking, the empress dowager went to the door and thought of touching a stone pillar beside it.

Seeing this, Ye Jingtang hurried over and raised his hand to stop her. “This is a door-sealing stone to block pursuers. If you move it, the door will be sealed. Your Majesty, please be careful.”

The empress dowager retracted her hand and sized it up before looking at the exit on the other end. “Shall we continue further in?”

Ye Jingtang definitely had to find the exit of the tunnel. But just in case, he moved a stone pillar over from the stone room and placed it under the door-sealing stone.. Then he held the lantern and walked deeper…