Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot-Chapter 354 - 329: The Truth About the Shang Family

Tan’er asked in surprise, "Where’s the dead body?"

Meng Qianqian gently patted the coffin and said, "It’s empty. Some people arrange their affairs before they pass. Coffins made of golden nanmu are quite rare; this is likely what the Prime Minister prepared for himself for the future."

Tan’er crossed her arms. "For the future? Fat chance!"

Meng Qianqian pushed open the coffin lid.

The little wolf cub immediately tried to climb inside.

Meng Qianqian lay down inside the coffin.

Bai Yuwei’s expression changed. "Hey—what are you doing lying in a coffin while you’re alive? Aren’t you afraid it’s bad luck—"

"I want to too!"

Tan’er giggled and climbed into the coffin, lying down beside Meng Qianqian.

The little wolf cub clawed at the coffin wildly.

"Alright, alright." Bai Yuwei picked up the little creature and placed it inside too.

Tan’er held the little furball close.

Meng Qianqian said to Bai Yuwei, "Little sister, Tan’er and I will go down first. If there’s no danger, you can follow."

"No way! If you’re going, I’m going too!"

Bai Yuwei decisively joined them.

Tan’er stuck out her tongue, squirming. "It’s so cramped!"

Meng Qianqian braced her hands against the coffin lid.

The moment it shut, the base of the coffin suddenly opened, and the three humans and the wolf all tumbled downward.

"Grab onto me!"

Bai Yuwei flung out a whip, wrapping it around a wall-mounted lamp bracket.

However, no one reached out toward her.

Bai Yuwei panicked. "You two, grab onto me!"

Tan’er tilted her head, stroking the little wolf cub in her arms. "Why don’t you come down yourself?"

Bai Yuwei looked down to see she was less than a foot from the ground.

She cleared her throat, withdrew her whip, and jumped down.

Meng Qianqian chuckled.

Bai Yuwei frowned. "No laughing at me!"

Tan’er stuck out her tongue. "We’ll laugh if we want to. Bleh!"

The little wolf cub couldn’t wait any longer and leapt out of Tan’er’s arms, huffing and puffing as it dashed forward.

Meng Qianqian took out a fire starter, blew it to life, and illuminated a long secret passage.

Bai Yuwei was shocked. "Such a long passage—how massive of a hidden chamber did the Prime Minister’s Mansion excavate?"

Meng Qianqian held up the fire starter. "Perhaps there’s more than just one chamber."

The larger the hidden chamber, the greater the haul they could expect on this trip.

Bai Yuwei exclaimed with sudden emotion, "Your Great Zhou’s court is so complicated. In Miaojiang, we don’t have all this nonsense."

Tan’er curiously asked, "What’s Miaojiang like?"

Bai Yuwei, catching up to them, proudly explained, "In Miaojiang, we have no Prime Minister, no Chief of Staff. Only the Elders of the tribes, and all the tribespeople revere the Miao King. No one would ever dare to let their authority exceed the Miao King’s. My grandfather is venerated throughout Miaojiang. If anyone dared to plot behind his back, he wouldn’t even need to act—the Elders of the Eight Great Tribes would tear that person apart! Miaojiang’s unity isn’t just talk!"

Tan’er shrugged. "Just because you say there’s none doesn’t mean there really isn’t."

Bai Yuwei argued stoutly, "Miaojiang would never have traitors! Unlike your Central Plains, where people claim the country belongs to the Emperor, but the court is about to become the Prime Minister’s domain."

Tan’er said, "Which is why we must get rid of him!"

Bai Yuwei voiced a long-held question, "Why not just issue a decree to execute him? Don’t you people in the Central Plains say, ’When the ruler commands a minister to die, the minister must obey’?"

Tan’er turned to Meng Qianqian. "Is that true, elder sister?"

Meng Qianqian nodded. "It is so."

Bai Yuwei stood taller. "See! That’s why I say you people invite trouble for yourselves."

Meng Qianqian spoke softly, "If the Emperor could execute a great statesman without cause, there wouldn’t even be the Three Provinces and Six Ministries. The Prime Minister’s influence runs too deep; his popularity among the common folk is high. Killing him without reason would spark internal turmoil and might even drive him to rebel. The casualties would be immense. Great Zhou has suffered years of war and cannot endure such losses."

Tan’er enunciated, "This is called stabilizing the nation!"

Bai Yuwei muttered, "You think you know everything."

Tan’er akimboed her hands. "I still know more than you!"

"We’re here."

Meng Qianqian looked at the wall at the end of the corridor.

The little wolf cub stood on its hind legs, frantically scratching at the wall with its front paws.

Bai Yuwei touched the wall. "This is just a wall. Could the hidden chamber be behind it?"

-

"What do you mean by ’a Thousand Mechanism Pavilion descendent’?"

In the dimly lit secret chamber, Lu Yuan’s expression grew more serious.

Chen Long said, "My foster mother was the senior apprentice-sister of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, a direct disciple of the old Pavilion Master. She grew up with her junior apprentice-brother—they were regarded as the golden couple of the Pavilion. Her junior had hopes to marry her, but while on a mission, she met my foster father. The two quickly pledged their lives to each other."

"I don’t fully understand the rules of the Pavilion. I only heard bits and pieces from my uncles and aunts. My foster mother gave up the position of Pavilion Master to marry my foster father."

Lu Yuan had a growing suspicion. "The Pavilion Master was—"

Chen Long said, "Her junior apprentice-brother, who later became the Pavilion Master."

Lu Yuan asked, "So the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion bore a grudge against the Shang Family because of this and conspired with the Loulan people to take revenge?"

Chen Long replied coldly, "Absurd, isn’t it?"

Lu Yuan sighed. "This isn’t absurd—it’s wicked, unspeakably wicked."

Even children weren’t spared—it was evil carved into their very bones.

"The water sounds have stopped."

Chen Long suddenly stood, staring warily at the ceiling. "Is it about to start flooding?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a crack appeared above, and a drop of liquid dripped down.

Chen Long reached to catch it.

Lu Yuan yanked him aside. "Be careful!"

The droplet hit the ground, emitting a faint silvery glow under the candlelight.

Lu Yuan said, "It’s Cinnabar, poisonous! Hold your breath!"

Chen Long held his breath, glancing up. The crack widened, and the Cinnabar dripped faster, from single drops to a steady stream in no time.

Lu Yuan’s face darkened.

This was too fast.

He was injured and couldn’t sustain his inner strength for long.

Meng Xiaojiu, if you don’t show up soon, I swear I’ll end up a widower again.

Bang—

The stone door swung open.

"Brother!"

Meng Qianqian hurriedly pulled Chen Long out of the room.

Lu Yuan, glaring as his sweetheart ignored him: "..."

While pulling Chen Long, Meng Qianqian had noticed someone else in the chamber. But by the time she realized, she had already addressed him as "Brother."

Oh no, she was in deep trouble now.

Lu Yuan stormed out of the chamber, his face like thunder.

Meng Qianqian quickly pressed a switch, sealing the stone door again. Then she turned to him with a bright smile. "Husband, what brought you here? Wasn’t the plan for only my brother to be involved?"

"Plan?"

Chen Long frowned.

The next second, he felt a warm sensation on his foot.

The little wolf cub had finally relieved itself.

After its business was done, it lifted its tiny head and struck an expression uncannily similar to Bao Shu’s haughty demeanor.

In that instant, Chen Long understood everything.

"Lu—Yuan—"

Chen Long roared like an enraged dragon, drawing his blade and chasing Lu Yuan through the passage.

Meng Qianqian helplessly yet amusedly shook her head.

Was it like this with her brother and Chu Nan in their previous lives too?

Or was Chu Nan not as maddening as Lu Yuan?