I Shouldn't Have Stayed in the Car

Wang Ming cast a rather envious glance at Wei Shuo.

The Marquis of Changping was truly different, possessing great experience and vast knowledge.

To think he could even discover a secret passage here.

"It is not that I am particularly brilliant!" Wei Shuo, understanding the meaning in Wang Ming's eyes, said, "It is because there are tracks here. Look, someone must have come in here."

"They left behind so many traces."

"All the tracks point right to this entrance."

The others quickly went to look and indeed saw quite a few traces. A rough estimate suggested there were about five or six people, and the tracks were very fresh, likely left no more than two days ago.

Ren Tianye narrowed his eyes slightly.

Someone was still investigating this White-robed Chancellor?

Besides him, who else could it be?

The Concentric Alliance?

That was the only possibility.

He ordered, "Send someone in to take a look."

"Yes, sir!"

Taking the lead, Wang Ming brought five elite guards into the secret passage. They followed the winding path for a short while before the space suddenly opened up before them. Inside was actually a hollowed-out stone chamber.

The space was quite large, divided into a front hall and a waiting room. Going further in, there was a place carved with the words "Secret Council Hall." It even had a secret archive and living quarters, lacking absolutely nothing.

Clearly, this was the true core of the White-robed Chancellor's operations, equivalent to a complete manor.

Wang Ming continued to search. Following the tracks left by the previous group, he quickly discovered an escape passage behind the cave dwelling, and... there was also a massive secret room. Placed right in the middle of it was a coffin.

The coffin was made of white marble wrapping bluestone, engraved with several large characters: "Liu Qingyan, Third Palace Master of the Concentric Alliance."

Upon closer observation, one could see that at the junction where the coffin lid met the body, six bluestone rotating wheels were embedded. They were three inches in diameter and half an inch thick. Each wheel was carved with over a hundred characters, and the bottom of the wheels connected to a reed mechanism.

Beside the rotating wheels, a bluestone inscription plaque, three feet long and five inches wide, was chiseled into the wall.

And a line of small characters was intaglio-carved upon it.

"Five Questions, Five Answers!"

Although Wang Ming did not understand mechanisms, he could tell at a glance that this stone coffin involved some sort of contraption. One needed to complete the questions and answers specified on the stone coffin to open it.

"Then..."

"Those characters on the side are used to provide the answers?"

Wang Ming realized this and did not dare to act on his own authority. He quickly returned and reported the situation in detail.

He added, "Lord Duke, there are indeed traces of movement inside that stone chamber. Clearly, someone arrived here before us, and I am afraid they have already touched the coffin."

Ren Tianye nodded and said, "Let us go down and take a look!"

"Yes, sir!"

The group descended one by one and soon reached the stone chamber. They saw the coffin and, more importantly, the questions and answers left behind.

"Lord Duke, this mechanism is irreversible. Judging by its design, once answered incorrectly, it will self-destruct."

Su Pengcheng, being the most experienced and knowledgeable, pointed out its essence at a single glance.

"It seems we must be extremely careful when answering the questions."

As Su Pengcheng said this, a hint of smugness appeared on his face.

Answering questions would absolutely give others a massive headache; even Pei Jingzhi would likely struggle. But he, Su Pengcheng, the head of the Su family in the capital and the teacher of scholars across the world, was uniquely unbothered by such things. It could not stump him.

"To think that General Wei Shuo has delivered a piece of merit right to my doorstep!"

Su Pengcheng volunteered to step forward.

Then he saw the first layer of obstacles.

"They are ancient characters. Most scholars today cannot distinguish these characters, but fortunately, I recognize them all."

Ren Tianye gave him an approving look.

Because he truly could not recognize the characters carved on the rotating wheels.

Not only could he not recognize them, but Wei Shuo and Wang Ming were also looking completely bewildered.

Only Pei Jingzhi was faring a bit better. He had been leaning in and staring for a long time, muttering under his breath, clearly pondering what exactly the characters were.

Only Su Pengcheng had a well-thought-out plan in mind.

"Solve this, and I will count it as a great merit for you," Ren Tianye said.

With Ren Tianye's golden promise, Su Pengcheng became even more motivated and quickly looked at the first question.

"Your humble concubine!"

Su Pengcheng's brows instantly furrowed!

Your humble concubine?

What was this business about a concubine?

Hiss?

Could it be? Was this White-robed Chancellor not only a close boudoir friend of the Prostitute Empress but also a mistress to Xiao Jingyuan?

Was it this messy?

He could only continue reading downwards.

It was written above.

"I was careless!"

Su Pengcheng felt a sudden realization.

Careless?

Did this mean that there was actually some dirty conflict between the White-robed Chancellor and the late Empress? Were they competing for favor at the same time? And as a result, the White-robed Chancellor was defeated?

Were the relationships involved really that complicated?

If he could not figure out these relationships, there was no way to answer the question.

Having no choice, he had to skip it.

The third question.

"I should not be in the car!"

That was it, that was it!

Su Pengcheng became even more certain.

The White-robed Chancellor must have competed with the Prostitute Empress for favor but failed. Therefore, the White-robed Chancellor would utter such a lament: she should not have been in the carriage; she should have ridden a horse or walked.

Wait, no...

Su Pengcheng thought again. What if the White-robed Chancellor had successfully won favor but lost the trust of the Prostitute Empress?

Or perhaps Xiao Jingyuan forcibly established a hierarchy of primary and secondary status between her and the Prostitute Empress?

Su Pengcheng's head was already starting to hurt.

He felt it was a mess.

It was too messy. The entanglement between Xiao Jingyuan, the Prostitute Empress, and the White-robed Chancellor was simply too messy.

So, he looked at the fourth question.

"Having schemed for two and a half years, how long does that equate to?"

Su Pengcheng's mind exploded.

Scheming for two and a half years was just two and a half years, wasn't it?

Could it be asking how many months?

But that was far too simple.

Or did this "scheming for two and a half years" have a hidden meaning, actually referring to her feelings for the Prostitute Empress, or perhaps her feelings for the late Emperor Xiao Jingyuan?

Gritting his teeth, he braced himself and looked at the last sentence.

"Alone, I drink myself drunk!"

Just as expected!

Su Pengcheng was completely certain now.

It was all about the messy relationship between Xiao Jingyuan, the Prostitute Empress, and the White-robed Chancellor. But within this relationship, the White-robed Chancellor had most likely lost, which was why she had so many laments and melancholy feelings.

That was why she came up with such questions!

It was just that...

How was he supposed to answer such questions?

There were no historical allusions, no antithesis, and it wasn't even clear how many characters he was supposed to answer after each sentence. How could he answer?

"What is wrong?"

Ren Tianye's voice rang out.

Pei Jingzhi said dejectedly, "Lord Duke, I apologize. These questions... are too difficult, far too difficult."

"Unless one unravels the relationship between Xiao Jingyuan, the Prostitute Empress, and the White-robed Chancellor, they cannot be answered. This subordinate... this subordinate is powerless to help."

Pausing, he continued, "Take the characters 'Your humble concubine' written above. It seems like a mere self-address, but there is actually much more to it."

"In ancient times, 'Your humble concubine' was a term used by a subject to a ruler, or a wife to a husband. For the White-robed Chancellor to use this self-address is absolutely no ordinary expression of humility."

"This subordinate believes it holds two layers of meaning."

"First, acknowledging herself as a vassal and willingly taking a subordinate position shows that her status before Xiao Jingyuan was far inferior to that of the Prostitute Empress."

"Second, comparing herself to a concubine is clearly self-deprecating, harboring resentment and hidden anger."

"This single term expresses all the sorrow of falling out of favor and the bitterness of living under another's roof. It further conceals a secret hatred and unwillingness to accept the Prostitute Empress monopolizing the Emperor's heart."

Pei Jingzhi, who had followed along, also said, "Indeed, this relationship is complex and difficult to understand. It must be clarified first."

"Just like one of the sentences written here: 'I was careless!'"

"Careless? How lightly it is phrased, yet how piercing to the bone!"

"This was absolutely no oversight. It must be that during the palace struggles of the past, in the battle for the Empress's throne, the White-robed Chancellor miscalculated for a moment. Falling short by a single move, she was beaten to the punch by the Prostitute Empress, thus ruining her future and cutting off her royal favor."

"A single phrase, 'I was careless,' conceals a bitter remorse for the past. It conceals the tragic realization that all of one's cunning schemes have ultimately come to nothing, and it conceals the eternal sorrow wherein one false step leads to an endless cascade of ruin!"

"How could this be called mere carelessness? It was plainly a single reckless move that forfeited the entire board!"

...