Chapter Fourteen: Right and Wrong, Merits and Faults (End of today's update~~~~~~)

Qingyang's tea ceremony was as elegant and serene as she was. Yue Qianling and Gu Anqi seemed to harbor an inexplicable fear of the woman behind the Buddhist shrine that day, refusing to return under any circumstances, leaving only Qiunuo and me at the tea table in the room.

Although I knew nothing about the art of tea, I could see that Qingyang’s brewing was no longer just for tasting; every movement was detached and tranquil, like a form of Zen meditation. Such a state of mind could not be achieved overnight.

"Auntie, my mother...?" Qiunuo asked timidly.

"Look at you, child. Why are you so reserved in your own home? Your mother is strict with you only for your own good. She is currently at the shrine offering prayers; don't go back tonight, she wants to see you."

"Aunt Qing, I apologize for disturbing you again. I hope you and your sister-in-law will not mind," I said with a regretful smile.

"I rarely have visitors here. It’s a good thing for you and Qiunuo to keep me company. It’s no disturbance at all." Qingyang pushed a freshly brewed cup of tea toward me. "They say drinking tea cultivates the heart and character. I’ve been drinking it for so many years and haven't gained any profound enlightenment, though my brewing skills have certainly improved. Try this; it is Pre-Qingming Longjing."

Qingyang was being modest. I took a sip and felt the fragrance of the tea seep into my heart. It was bitter yet sweet, with the heat and water temperature perfectly balanced—a moment more would have made it stale, and a moment less would have left it bland.

"Aunt Qing, your tea ceremony is so superb it rivals Lu Yu’s," I said politely.

"Yanhui, your words are truly sweet. However, speaking of Lu Yu, I really cannot admire him. The Tao of tea requires a settled heart, and a man like Lu Yu, who wandered everywhere, lacked that stillness. To speak of tea ceremony under such conditions is simply arrogant."

I was stunned. Qingyang always appeared to be someone indifferent to fame and fortune, yet she spoke of the legendary Sage of Tea with such disdain. Her tone surprised even me.

Qingyang seemed to realize she had said too much and smiled gracefully.

"Those are all things of the past, mere shadows. Yanhui, you didn't come here just for a cup of tea, did you?"

I immediately told her everything about the secret chamber in the underground palace of Daci'en Temple.

"Aunt Qing, I didn't know the wooden box contained the true relics of the Buddha. No wonder you were so reluctant to part with it that day. I have usurped something that was yours, and I am truly sorry."

"There was no such reluctance. I had simply served the relics for many years, and they were considered precious by Qiunuo's mother, so it was a pity to see them go," Qingyang said, slowly lifting her teacup with a faint smile. "Later, Qiunuo's mother told me that life is like a play—transient and impermanent. Why hold on to the comings and goings?"

"Auntie, I have learned everything about the Tang Dynasty from you since I was a child, but you have never mentioned the Qianling Mausoleum to me."

"Why the sudden interest in Qianling?"

"To trigger the mechanism of the underground palace, we must find the Imperial Seal. I have deduced that the true Seal was never lost; it was buried alongside Empress Wu Zetian in the Qianling Mausoleum."

Qingyang’s cup paused at her lips, and she gave a faint smile.

"You want to enter the Qianling Mausoleum?"

"Aunt Qing, we went to look at the site today and have many questions. From a Feng Shui perspective, there is something very wrong with the layout," I said calmly. "It seems the mausoleum was not built according to traditional geomancy, but rather specifically to prevent tomb raiding."

"And that is why... you cannot find the entrance."

I nodded and sighed. "If it was indeed designed to prevent theft, finding the entrance will certainly not be a task for a single day."

"Auntie, you are the most knowledgeable person regarding Tang history. Are there any records of the Qianling Mausoleum—I mean, things not found in the official documents?" Qiunuo asked while sipping her tea.

"Entering the Qianling Mausoleum is not difficult," Qingyang said nonchalantly while pouring tea.

My hand trembled. The mausoleum that an army of four hundred thousand could not breach was, to Qingyang, merely "not difficult."

"Aunt Qing, you... you know how to get in?!"

"To enter the Qianling Mausoleum, you must first know who is buried inside," Qingyang asked with a smile.

Qiunuo and I looked at each other. This was common knowledge; even a three-year-old in Jingzhao knew that Wu Zetian and Emperor Gaozong, Li Zhi, were buried there.

Seeing that I was stumped by such a simple question, Qingyang spoke earnestly.

"How much do you really know about Wu Zetian as a ruler?"

"Wu Zetian?!" I didn't understand why she would suddenly ask this, but I answered without hesitation. "The only orthodox female emperor in history. She entered the palace at fourteen as a talented lady for Emperor Taizong, who bestowed upon her the name Meiniang. Under Emperor Gaozong, she became a Zhaoyi, then Empress, and was titled 'Heavenly Empress,' ruling alongside Gaozong as the 'Two Sages'."

"Everyone knows these familiar facts. If you want to enter the mausoleum, you must understand what kind of person she truly was," Qingyang said, appearing dissatisfied. "Let me ask you another question: why do you think she was able to become an emperor?"

I lowered my head to think. The *Luo Xuan Shen Ce* had been given to me by Qingyang, and in the scroll painting in her basement at the Pavilion of Agarwood, it was depicted that Wu Zetian had obtained the *Nine Heavens Hidden Dragon Technique*.

"Aunt Qing, if she had obtained the *Nine Heavens Hidden Dragon Technique*, it wouldn't be difficult for her to ascend to the throne if she could comprehend its mysteries."

"She was a woman, and while gifted, she could not be compared to Yuan Tiangang or Li Chunfeng in the metaphysical arts. Since even those two could not fully grasp the essence of the book, how could Wu Zetian, who was no deity, have done so?"

Her words made sense. If Wu Zetian had relied on that book, the Tang Dynasty would have lasted for ten thousand generations and could never have been replaced.

"Auntie, Emperor Gaozong was mediocre. The Liaodong campaign in his later years caused a crisis in the Zhenguan Era. Historical records show he was not a competent ruler, and Wu Zetian was clearly the stronger one. It was only natural she replaced him," Qiunuo said earnestly.

"So, in your eyes, Gaozong was mediocre?" Qingyang looked at Qiunuo with a meaningful gaze. "Gaozong had the wisdom to recognize talent; he was surrounded by many virtuous ministers. The territory of the Tang reached its peak under his reign, spanning from the Korean Peninsula to the Aral Sea, reaching Lake Baikal in the north and the Hoanh Son mountains in the south. He maintained this for thirty-two years. Do you consider such a conqueror to have achieved nothing?"

"Then... why did he let Wu Zetian usurp the throne?" Qiunuo asked, unconvinced.

Qingyang set her teacup down heavily on the tea tray. I was startled; Qingyang had reached a state of stillness like calm water, so why was she so agitated over a historical figure?

"Usurp the throne? Wu Zetian was a woman in a patriarchal era—what power did she have to 'usurp'? These are all fictions created by later generations," Qingyang said, her voice deepening.

In Qiunuo's memory, Qingyang had never spoken to her in such a stern tone before.

"Auntie, did I say something wrong...?"

Qingyang realized she had lost her composure and sighed, looking at her teacup. "Sigh... so much for cultivating the heart. It seems I have yet to reach the state of your mother."

"Then how do you think she ascended to the throne?" I asked curiously.

"You are all wondering what methods she used to take the throne. Why not look at it from another angle? What if she didn't want to be emperor, but someone insisted that she be?"

"Aunt Qing, how is that possible? Who would willingly..." I stopped mid-sentence, my expression one of pure astonishment. "Are you saying... that Li Zhi gave the throne to Wu Zetian?!"

"An emperor is a monarch above all, possessing supreme power. Perhaps because of this, people assume every ruler clings to power. But could Gaozong Li Zhi not know the weight of the empire? He allowed Wu Zetian to attend court sessions because of his absolute trust and reliance on her," Qingyang said, her voice growing low. "Or perhaps, he had no one left around him who could help him."

Qiunuo poured more tea for Qingyang, and as we thought about her words, they began to make sense.

"Since the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, imperial power had been weak, with the Guanlong aristocrats controlling the court. By helping Gaozong strike down these veteran ministers, Wu Zetian helped restore imperial authority. In that sense, she was indeed an unparalleled administrator."

"After the Crown Prince Li Hong died, the new heir, Li Xian, was mediocre and incapable. Gaozong knew that if he were to pass away, the suppressed aristocrats would inevitably return. Li Xian had no ability to contend with them, so he had to cultivate someone he trusted who could stabilize the nation," Qingyang said softly.

"So, Wu Zetian was pushed onto the throne by Gaozong himself!" I muttered, a sudden realization dawning on me.

"And what good did ascending to the highest position do? She bore the burden of the empire for the Li family, only to leave behind a legacy of eternal condemnation," Qingyang said with a melancholy expression.

I looked up, still puzzled. "Aunt Qing, even if she didn't want the throne, what does this have to do with the Qianling Mausoleum? Didn't you say you knew how to get in?"

Qingyang smiled gracefully and said with profound meaning:

"There is a wordless stele at the Qianling Mausoleum, left by Wu Zetian. If you go to that stele, the method to enter the mausoleum is inscribed upon it."

"A wordless stele?!"

Qingyang smiled and said no more. I knew that the rest would be up to me to solve. Since she had said all she would, I did not dare to ask further, and I quickly rose to take my leave.