Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 240

Chapter 240 Be Beyond One’s Expectation
Li Ke hid behind a few guards and pulled Qin Mubai over to accompany him. Looking at the five-step poisonous snakes that had been killed by the guards, his face turned a little pale and he kept breathing in cold air. He was truly frightened.

Zhao Chong glanced back at him and sneered.

“What are you laughing at? Have you heard of Yuchi Jingde?” Li Ke was a little annoyed.

Zhao Chong turned around with great interest and asked, “Of course I’ve heard of it. It’s like thunder piercing through the ears! It’s a hero who’s as famous as General Qin’s father.”

“Hmph! Yuchi Jingde is afraid of dogs. You must have never heard of him, right?” Li Ke snorted, “What’s so strange about a fierce general who kills people like a numb man in a vertical model battlefield? When he sees a dog, his legs go weak from fear. Sometimes, he is chased by a dog until he cries for his father and mother. What’s so strange about me being afraid of snakes?”

“Didn’t I say it was weird? I really didn’t confess.” Zhao Chong laughed loudly and walked forward with Shi Shi Ran.

Li Ke rolled his eyes angrily and said to Qin Mubai, “Mubai, this fellow is a bit hateful!”

“Haha, don’t ruin the fun of adventure hunting because of a trivial matter. Hurry up and leave!” Qin Mubai howled and said in her heart, “It seems like Li Ke hates people pulling his whip and talking.” Actually, this was only human nature. No one liked to be discovered weaknesses and flaws and openly joked about them. Especially someone with a noble status like Li Ke, he loved face more and hated being teased in public.

“You’re right, don’t be like him. Let’s go and start searching for treasures!” Li Ke was magnanimous, rubbing his hands together and smiling, “Where do we start digging?”

Qin Mubai bent down and picked up a stone and smashed it on the ground. The ground was extremely hard.

“How do I dig this?” Qin Mubai stood up and clapped her hands. She shook her head.

“Then what should we do?” Li Ke was also worried.

Zhao Chong stepped forward and said, “General Qin, there are dozens of acres of land around here. Can you be sure where it is? If you can be sure, even if Yu Gong moves the mountain, there is still hope.”

“Yes, let’s confirm the location first.” Li Ke said. The two of them exchanged glances, twitched their lips, and turned their eyes away.

Qin Mubai took out a detailed map for reference. Unfortunately, this map only depicted the distribution of the waterways in the Western Dao Cauldron and did not specify the location of the treasure. Those few short poems were already like sponges, and Qin Mubai was about to wring out the last drop of water. He really couldn’t think of anything else worth exploring.

“Such a large stone mountain, covered in weeds and poisonous snakes, without any special features, I really can’t think of any clues for the time being.” Qin Mubai shook his head.

“Then let’s forget it?” Li Ke couldn’t help but be a little disappointed and said, “Why don’t we look around and find something like a mechanism or an entrance?”

“Alright, everyone, split up and look around. You must be careful. Spray more realgar to prevent poisonous snakes!” Qin Mubai said.

“General Qin, I’m with you. I don’t want anyone to worry that I’ll take this opportunity to escape.” Zhao Chong said.

Qin Mubai smiled and said, “That’s good. Everyone, split up and look for it.”

Everyone split up and searched. The dozens of acres of land were large or small, but they had spent a lot of time searching for it, but they still hadn’t found any clues.

Everyone gathered again and shook their heads.

The entire stone mountain was like a huge rock. Not to mention the entrance to the mechanism, there were no caves, and even poisonous snakes only lived in the cracks in the rock.

“Ah, it seems that I am destined to not be able to solve this mystery left behind by my ancestors.” Zhao Chong regretted his actions and said to Qin Mubai, “General Qin, I can only ask you to spend more time to solve this secret. Even if you can’t see the result in your life, it would be enough to be relieved if you were able to learn the good news in the spring for a few years after your death.”

“Don’t be discouraged. Perhaps there will be another surprise?” Qin Mubai could only comfort him so much.

“Strangely enough, there are only a few weeds growing in this place. It seems like there are huge stones.” Li Ke said, “I’ve never seen a hill like this before. There’s no soil, it’s all stones. Mubai, don’t you think this is very strange?”

“It’s a little strange.” Qin Mubai said, “The West River Channel is full of swamp mud, but this place is full of stones. It looks very different. If a large number of treasures are to be buried, how much effort will it take to dig a hole?”

Li Ke shook his head and said, “Even if we know that there are countless treasures buried below, we can’t take them out. Could it be that the foolish duke really moved the mountain? I’m not so relaxed. Perhaps there won’t be anything in the end, so wouldn’t I be depressed to death?”

“Haha, that’s right.” Qin Mubai said this, but in his heart, he said, “I don’t care about treasures. Of course, it’s better to have them. It doesn’t matter if it’s not there.” I kind of enjoyed the process of solving the mystery. This is the difference in temperament between me and him, right? Li Ke is obviously more pragmatic and pursues more practical benefits; As for me, I’m more playful and casual.

“General Qin, you won’t give up just like that, right?” Zhao Chong said anxiously, “Perhaps there are countless treasures buried beneath. Just wait to take them out, and you’ll be rich enough to be a match for the country!”

Qin Mubai smiled and waved his hand to indicate that he wasn’t in a hurry. He stood on a rock and climbed a little higher, looking around. Gradually, his expression became somewhat silent and grim.

“What’s the matter?” Everyone asked in shock.

“Nothing.” Qin Mubai smiled casually and said, “It’s getting late. If we don’t leave now, it will be inconvenient for us to sail. Let’s call it a day. Let’s go back first!”

Li Ke knew that he hadn’t finished his sentence. It was probably because there were too many people present, so he didn’t ask further. He waved his hand and said, “Alright, let’s go back first!”

Only Zhao Chong was dejected and extremely disappointed.

Along the way, Zhao Chong rode back to the Governor’s Mansion. He was still imprisoned, waiting for tomorrow to arrive in the capital. Li Ke caught Qin Mubai and asked him to accompany him to dinner. Just as the wine was about to be served, he hurriedly rejected the others and asked, “Did you seem to have something to say just now?”

“Yes.” Qin Mubai did not deny it anymore and nodded. “There are many people with mixed eyes. There are some things that cannot be said casually.”

“What did you discover? How serious is it?” Li Ke asked curiously.

Qin Mubai twisted his head and moved the dishes and chopsticks on the table for a while before saying, “Your Highness, come and see.”

“En, what?”

‘”For example, this plate of steamed fish is the stone slope we climbed. These chopsticks are the surrounding rivers. This is the hill not far away with sycamore trees. This is the other hill. The reeds on it are bigger and taller than the sycamore hill. It’s arranged like this, isn’t it?” Qin Mubai said.

Li Ke looked carefully for a while and said, “You should be right! You know, my ability to remember the road is not good. But if you say yes, then it must be. At that time, you showed a rare surprise. You should remember correctly.”

“Actually, I’m only half a jar. I can only make wild guesses.” Qin Mubai stared at the table and muttered to himself.

“What half a jar? What are you guessing?”

“Feng Shui!”

“Feng Shui? You still know this?” Li Ke couldn’t help but be surprised.

“I can only say that I know a little. Li Jingchuan tells me that there are many things about the Yin Yang Five Elements, the Qi Gate Escape Armor, the weather hydrology and the vertical and horizontal of the earth veins. They are profound and difficult to understand. I haven’t read them for a long time. Although I have repeatedly consulted him, I haven’t paid much attention to them.” Qin Mubai said, “However, the geomorphology and hydrology in front of me make me feel very surprised!”

“What exactly is it? Hurry up and tell me!” Li Ke urged.

‘”Look–” Qin Mubai pointed at the table and said, “The Wutong Mountain in the west is the backer, and it just so happens that it agrees with the’ West Mountain Phoenix ‘. The reed slope on the east side of Gao Gang corresponds to the Azure Dragon Divine Throne, isn’t it Yu Jinglong? Xishan Feng and Yu Jinglong looked at each other at dawn, and it was this stone mountain that was situated in the middle of them. Therefore, the treasure was definitely here. “Let me put it this way. The last two sentences are homonym ‘Look west, three elements inside’, which means that there is a west-to-east number. The third river bend is facing Shi Zishan-that is, this place!” “This is the place!” “This is the place where the third river bend is facing Shi Zishan!”

With that, Qin Mubai knocked his knuckles heavily on the side of the bowstring of the steamed fish plate.

Li Ke’s eyes widened in surprise, “What you said makes sense. It seems that it should be correct-then why didn’t you point out the explanation just now?”

“I can’t say.” Qin Mubai’s expression turned grim.

“Why?” Li Ke asked in surprise.

‘”Because” Qin Mubai took a deep breath. “The landscape here is extraordinary! To the west, the Parasol Tree Mountain, the Stone Mountain, and the Reed Slope should be linked together. If it weren’t for the flood season, it should be obvious. Perhaps many years ago, this place did not form a river bend, but because of the change in the water level of the Han River, this place was submerged. In other words, these three slopes may be three undulating mountains. ”

“What does that mean?”

Qin Mubai’s expression darkened and he said, “Your Highness, haven’t you thought of this? This is a dragon and a phoenix. How could it be something that ordinary people should mention? Furthermore, these three mountains facing north and south are buried in the middle. Could it be something ordinary?”

‘”You mean …” Li Ke was also shocked. He lowered his voice and said in surprise, “This is an imperial mausoleum?!”

“Isn’t that so?” Qin Mubai said, “The Wutong Mountain is the tail, the phoenix is the yin, and the dragon is the queen; the reed slope is the lead, and the dragon is the head; the middle runs through the stone slope, and the mountains and rivers surround it, and the negative yin holds the sun. Isn’t this a dragon vein that is the unity of heaven and man?”

“Really!” Li Ke’s eyes widened in astonishment. “I said … why don’t there grow trees on this stone mountain? There are only snakes. The only reason is because of the dragon qi, and the vegetation is self-defeating. The snakes are dragon-shaped, so they flourish! … Mubai, why do I suddenly have a trace of fear?”

“Now you understand, why did I suddenly reveal such an expression?” Qin Mubai said.

‘”Understood” Li Ke’s expression became solemn as he whispered, “Who in the world of the Great Tang dares to be so unruly as to build a mausoleum of the Dragon Vein here? Isn’t this meant to ruin our Li Tang Jiang Shan?! Mubai, could it be that we’ve encountered an even bigger problem this time?”

“Whether it’s wealth or disaster is hard to say.” Qin Mubai said, “This map was left behind by Zhao Chong’s grandfather. Perhaps his grandfather doesn’t know why, and is only responsible for passing it on to future generations.” Unfortunately, before he died, the old man didn’t answer and forgot to leave behind what he should have said. Now, unless we get something out of the rock slope, we’ll never know what’s hidden beneath it. “However, according to my guess, the thing below should not be mine at the very least.”

“That makes sense.” Li Ke nodded and said, “It has only been twelve years since my father ascended the throne, and only twenty years since the founding of the Great Tang Empire. However, this drawing has been passed down from father to elder Zhao Chong for at least twenty years. In other words, it should be possible to rule out the possibility of someone harboring malicious intentions to secretly gather dragon qi here.”

“It should be possible.” Qin Mubai nodded and smiled.

Li Ke wiped away his cold sweat, “Then I can finally relax a little.” Otherwise … I’m afraid I won’t be able to afford such a big thing happening in my Xiangzhou Prefecture. But then again, the Dragon Qi is the property of our Li Clan. How can anyone else absorb it? There’s no need to say anything. No matter what, I have to get the things under this rock slope out! At all costs! ”

“In the beginning, it would be best to keep the commotion quiet and not alert too many people. It’s not too late to report the matter to the Imperial Court after the matter is revealed.” Qin Mubai said.

“I agree.” Li Ke nodded his head in agreement, “Right now, only the two of us know about this matter and secretly discuss it.” I’m not interested in finding any treasures now. In comparison, that little bit of gold, silver, and jewelry is not worth mentioning compared to our country in the Great Tang Dynasty. Mubai, it’s all up to you. Wind, weather, hydrology, these things, I can’t understand them. But when you say that, I remember coming. The Royal Mausoleum did indeed have such a customary structure. In other words, the possibility of that place being an imperial tomb was extremely high. “No matter what the secret is, we must dig it out!”

Qin Mubai nodded and pointed at the edge of the fish basin that he had just knocked on with his knuckles. “The imperial mausoleum is located north to south. The entrance is also a bit more special than ordinary mausoleums. It is usually heavily guarded against grave robbery. Since the Zhao family’s ancestral blueprints implied this place, I estimate that this is very likely the entrance.”

“There’s no need to say anything. Send troops to dig! Dig him for ten days, half a month, or even half a year, and I’ll dig out the exit!” Li Ke said resolutely.

“Stop digging. Isn’t this all known in Xiang Prefecture and spread all over the world?” Qin Mubai shook his head, “Either you don’t make a move, you have to take it down quickly!”

“Then what should we do?” Li Ke’s expression turned ugly. “Could it be that the heavens send a yellow scarf warrior to help you open a mountain pass like a fool?”

“There’s no need for that. He’s so busy that he’s too embarrassed to bother him.” Qin Mubai smiled and said, “I’ll do it myself.”

“You?” Li Ke was stunned for a moment before smiling again, “You’ve given me enough surprises, so stop joking around.”

“Haha, believe me, there’s no problem.” Qin Mubai laughed loudly.

“What do you want to do?”

“Old rules, it’s almost over. I’ll give you some good news. How about we eat first? I’m really hungry!”

“Alright, let’s eat!-I’ll leave it all to you!”

That night, Qin Mubai slept in the secretariat’s mansion and rested for a full night to recover his spirits. Early the next morning, he brought a few local yamen attendants to Xiangyang Port City.

“General, come here early in the morning. Could it be that you want to buy something? If you need anything, just order us servants.” The yamen attendants said.

“It’s fine, I’ll go out for a stroll. Because the ground isn’t familiar, I’m looking for you to accompany me.” Qin Mubai said casually, “Oh right, it’s almost the Dragon Boat Festival. Is there a custom of racing dragon boats in Xiangzhou?”

“Yes! Although it’s not as lively as the Tanzhou Miluo, it’s still pretty good.” The yamen attendant replied.

“The palace must have prepared a few dragon boats for the race, right?” Qin Mubai said.

“Yes!” The yamen attendants were all excited when they spoke of this. They laughed loudly, “We are all shooters!”

“Target Hand?”

“It’s a dragon boat sailor who paddles. We’re used to saying that!” The officials laughed.

“Haha!” Qin Mubai laughed loudly and said, “I heard that rowing a dragon boat is not only hard work, but also requires skill. First of all, we have to work together. We can’t go half a step wrong, otherwise it will be chaotic. By the way, we have to hang firecrackers on the dragon boat, right? I wonder how about the firecrackers in Xiang Province?”

“Oh, we call this place ‘Firecrackers’. Every year at the Dragon Boat Festival, there are many firecrackers sold.” The yamen servants replied.

“Miner? That’s right.” Qin Mubai grinned and thought, “Although gunpowder was invented in the Great Tang Dynasty, it has not been used in the military. It is generally only used to make fireworks and firecrackers, but it is not very popular. At least Qin Mubai has been in Xiangzhou for so long and has not seen any family setting off fireworks, or where there is such a specialized shop.” Chang’an is quite common.

Occasionally, the gunpowder of the Great Tang would be used for mining, but it was not very powerful. The smoke was especially black, so it was also called black gunpowder.

The people of the Great Tang could not produce high-purity and powerful explosives. Wouldn’t Qin Mubai be able to do so? Otherwise, how many years of studying in the National Defense Engineering Department would it be in vain?

“I can’t make airplane cannons, I can’t make glass cement, so I can always make explosives when I have time.” Qin Mubai secretly laughed and said, “Take me to buy some firecrackers. It’s the Dragon Boat Festival, and I’m ready to join in. If you don’t want to be a target on the dragon boat, I’ll set off firecrackers to cheer for you!”

“Alright!” “There are no firecrackers in the harbor city,” the officials laughed happily. “Because they usually seldom use them, they are more expensive and ordinary people can’t afford them. Most likely, only some government-run mines have more of these things to help them mine. They only do some firecrackers at the same time during the solar term.”

“What are you waiting for? Find a mine!” Qin Mubai ordered.

“Huh?” “General, it’s just a few firecrackers. Do you need to go to the mine? Just let this lowly person go and fetch it. Wave your whip and flap your horse back, and make a cup of tea.” The yamen servants were shocked, “General, it’s just a few strings of firecrackers. Do you need to go to the mine?”

“Then you don’t understand.” Qin Mubai smiled unfathomably and said, “Stop talking nonsense and lead the way!”

“Yes!”

The group also rented a carriage and headed to an iron mine in the suburbs. The copper and iron of the Great Tang were all strictly controlled by the government. Fortunately, they were people like Qin Mubai. Otherwise, how could that mine be a place that he could enter as soon as he said so?

“General, are you here for something else?” On the way, one of the yamen attendants finally couldn’t help but ask.

Qin Mubai waved her hand and smiled without saying anything. Naturally, that person did not dare to ask any more questions. However, Qin Mubai thought to himself, “Of course, there is something important.” A clever woman can’t make a meal without rice. To make explosives, there must be raw materials and tools. It would be best if there were a few experienced old miners to help with it, because this inventor was only rich in theoretical knowledge.

Only the mine was ready!