Wait a minute, heroine

Ta Ta ~

Three footsteps landed in the claustrophobic tunnel that had been closed for hundreds of years.

The deep stone path buried deep in the ground is about two meters wide and high. It is made of stone bricks on both sides and has an arched top. The construction is extremely solid.

Ye Jingtang picked up the palace lantern, looked at the authentic bricks carefully, and gently tapped the ground with the scabbard to determine the solidity and firmness of the bricks. It was found that they were extremely strong and seemed to be in normal use.

Dongfang Liren held a lamp in his hand and was also looking at the details of the tunnel entrance, walking slowly along with the Night Terror Hall.

The Queen Mother looked at the dark and deep tunnel, feeling a little guilty, and followed Li Ren, but as soon as she walked a few steps inside, a figure fell down at the entrance again, calling:

"The Queen Mother."

Ye Jingtang looked back, only to see that the person who came was a middle-aged palace maid with an official sword hanging on her waist. She had seen her when she first entered the palace. She was Yang Lan, the little leader of the imperial city's secret guards, who was responsible for the security of the Queen Mother's palace. He That's why it's hard to go to the ginkgo tree to dig for the treasure left by your adoptive father.

The Queen Mother was quite nervous at first, but when she turned around and saw the follower running towards her, she felt a little resentful:

"This place hasn't been opened for two hundred years, and nothing will happen. I'm not nervous at all while you're here. I'll wait outside. If something happens, I'll come to my rescue."

Yang Lan checked the conditions of the tunnel entrance and could see that it was built as an escape route. The wall construction and capping made it difficult to hide the mechanism, so it seemed quite safe.

But the place is safe, but not the people. Ye Jingtang is a man, and he is also very powerful, so he let Prince Jing and the Queen Mother run around. If the beastly nature of Ye Jingtang comes out, everyone will be killed. The Queen Mother watched it last night Bansu's "The Secret History of Marie Claire" is probably going to come true.

Yang Lan knew that the Empress Dowager lived a boring life in the palace, and wanted to find some excitement, so she did not force herself to spoil the fun. She just said:

"I'm waiting behind you. I'll come immediately if there is any situation."

The Queen Mother raised her hand to signal, then held Dongfang Liren's sleeve and followed him into the pitch-black tunnel.

Because the tunnel has to go around lakeside and other environments, it is not a straight line. In some places, it will go down a few feet, and then rise again, seemingly jumping over the foundation of the palace.

Ye Jingtang held a small palace lantern and walked slowly on the floor tiles, taking every step to check the firmness of the walls on the ground.

Dongfang Liren followed twenty steps away. Perhaps he was infected by Ye Jingtang's cautious appearance, and he was also carefully looking at the subtle marks on the wall.

The beady Queen Mother may have played such a secret adventure for the first time since entering the palace. Her cheeks were tense, her big eyes looked left and right, and sometimes she looked back at the increasingly smaller light at the entrance, and found Yang Lan and the ghost. Like a shadow hanging behind, he waved his hand.

Because they were too cautious, the three of them were as fast as a tortoise. They walked less than 300 steps within a quarter of an hour after entering.

Dongfang Liren carefully inspected it for a long time, but he really didn't feel that this place was special, so he said:

"The construction of this tunnel is too large, and it is too luxurious to use for private meetings. It is probably built by an emperor of a certain dynasty as an escape route."

The Queen Mother retorted: "The entrance to the retreat route built by the emperor should be in Chen'an Palace. The Queen Mother Xuanyang has been listening behind the curtain for seven or eight years. I estimate that this tunnel was built secretly by the Queen Mother Xuanyang because she was afraid that the courtiers would force the palace. Escape from the capital when necessary; when I am idle, I will also send some gifts from here to the palace to welcome you..."

Night Terror Hall responded: "The Queen Mother's guess is very likely. The private interview should be just incidental and mainly used to escape from the war."

The Queen Mother received the approval, smiled with crooked eyebrows, and muttered:

"Look at the Queen Mother, how happy she is living. The court can cover the sky with one hand, and she can also summon beautiful men to the palace at any time to be happy... Wow~"

The words stopped abruptly.

Ye Jingtang turned around to look around, only to see that the rebellious Benben actually covered the Queen Mother's mouth with his hand. When he saw him turning around, he gave him a fierce look:

"You should explore the way carefully. Why are you interrupting when I am talking to the Queen Mother?"

Ye Jingtang shook his head secretly, and honestly explored the way ahead without interrupting the two of them.

The Queen Mother's mouth was covered in front of the guards. She obviously felt that she was disrespectful, so she raised her hand and patted Dongfang Liren's shoulder:

"I just sighed, but I didn't say that I should be learned and decent. I didn't talk about cultivating my reputation, and I wanted to go out to the palace to relax, but you always resisted. That is to say, I am sensible and won't make trouble with you. I really want to do something wrong. , do you think you can control me?"

Dongfang Liren did not refute this statement. After all, the Queen Mother was not a flower vase. Behind her stood the Jiangzhou Navy and the Southeast Merit Group. Although she did not have the means to interfere with the harem's political affairs, she did have the conditions to dethrone the emperor.

Seeing that the Queen Mother was unhappy, Dongfang Liren comforted her softly:

"Knowing that the Queen Mother is sensible, I am not trying to push back, but there is an undercurrent surging outside, and the risk is too great. I have to be careful even when I go out..."

The Queen Mother was about to say "Humph~" in a depressed manner, but she saw the Night Terror Hall in front of her. When she reached a corner, she paused slightly, then suddenly took half a step back and grasped the handle of the knife.

Wow——

The tunnel was already deep and dead, and the noise sounded loud.

The Queen Mother was just a little nervous, so she had nothing to say. When she saw this ghostly reaction, she was so frightened that her whole body shrank and her breath froze.

Dongfang's courage depends on how many guards he has around him. Seeing Ye Jingtang reacting so violently, he naturally became nervous. He didn't know what was behind the corner, so he asked anxiously:

"What's wrong?"

"Zhizhizhi~"

As soon as the words came out, there was a strange cry from around the corner, and then a dark shadow came out of the corner and rushed towards the two of them. Only a pair of small green eyes could be seen.

"ah--!"

Two exclamations.

The Queen Mother's beauty turned pale, and she quickly hugged Dongfang Liren's arm.

Dongfang Liren was caught off guard and was also shocked. He lost the lantern in his hand and pulled the Queen Mother to dodge to the side.

"Zhizhizhi~~"

Amid the strange cry, the black shadow blinked and arrived in front of him.

Fortunately, the personal guard in front was not dead. The light flashed forward and stepped on the black shadow.

Step~

The black shadow suddenly stopped.

But before the two royal ladies could breathe a sigh of relief, they saw a dark figure clearly through the light of the lamp - a big black rat with fluffy hair. After its tail was stepped on, it grinned at them and rolled and twisted on the spot. , just a stone’s throw away from your feet! !

Seeing such a horrific scene, the Queen Mother turned pale with fright. She jumped directly to the Night Terror Hall, hugged her arms and slapped her shoulders with her hands:

"Hurry up!"

Dongfang Liren was a little more steady, but he was also a little off-kilter by the sudden arrival of the big rat. He ducked behind the Night Terror Hall and urged:

"Get it away quickly..."

Ye Jingtang found that the pale Queen Mother hugged his arm and wanted to crawl into his arms, so he quickly comforted:

"Don't panic, don't panic, it's just a mouse."

Because I was afraid of getting my shoes dirty, I didn't step on the mouse to death. I just kicked it forward and kicked the mouse out.

"Zhizhizhi..."

The escaped big mouse immediately ran into the depths of the dark tunnel. As a result, there was a "bang~" sound, as if someone had kicked it against the wall, and it immediately stopped moving.

The Queen Mother was still frightened, and she moved her arms in her arms for a moment before she realized what she was doing and quickly let go:

"I'm scared to death. This place has been sealed for two hundred years. How come there are rats..."

As she spoke, she glanced at Ye Jingtang, and found that Ye Jingtang was checking the surroundings in an upright manner, and did not seem to notice her inappropriate behavior, so she was secretly relieved.

Dongfang Liren hid behind the Night Terror Hall. At this time, the crisis was over. Perhaps because he felt that his reaction was unworthy of a prince, he stood up straight again, acted calmly, and looked up as if nothing had happened:

"There must be vents in the tunnel. It's not uncommon for rats to come in."

Ye Jingtang was speechless in his heart. He felt that he was not inspecting the tunnels now, but playing in a haunted house with two beautiful cowardly beauties. Even a mouse was like this. He didn't dare to think about what would happen if he continued walking. .

Ye Jingtang picked up the fallen lantern from the ground and advised:

"Why don't you go back and I'll go in and check. There are rats in here. If the Queen Mother is frightened..."

The secret guard Yang Lan also came out from behind and advised:

"The Queen Mother, this place is not clean, you are worth a thousand gold..."

The Queen Mother patted her chest. She was still frightened, but she was a little unhappy when she heard that she was leaving.

She had been holding back in the palace for ten years, and her daily life was a stagnant water. It was not easy to encounter a little disturbance. She had never experienced such an exciting adventure since she was a child. Now who would accompany her to mess around next time?

The Queen Mother looked at the deep corner and pretended to be calm:

"It's okay, let's keep walking. I was not mentally prepared just now. Be careful this time. Yang Lan, stay away. There is nothing in the tunnel. You are hanging from behind. I always feel that it is chilly behind and something is staring at me. palace."

Seeing this, Yang Lan looked helpless and had no choice but to retreat into the darkness and continue playing house with the Queen Mother.

Dongfang Liren felt that his reaction just now was a bit embarrassing, so he gave serious instructions:

"Night Terror Hall, you go ahead to explore the road. Be cautious and don't be suspicious. It's just a mouse. I thought you encountered a ghost, which made me scared..."

Night Terror Hall did not expect that there were living creatures in the tunnel, and his reaction was indeed a bit big. Benben put the blame on him, but he naturally said nothing and continued to explore the road with a lantern.

The rest of the journey was much more peaceful. Although we encountered a few more rats, we were mentally prepared and did not get surprised again.

The Queen Mother and Dongfang Liren walked together, occasionally saying a few words, acting cautiously, and looking very engaged.

Several people walked along the tunnel, twisting left and right for an unknown amount of time, feeling like they had left the palace.

And this tunnel, as several people expected, was not just a private meeting. After turning a corner, an underground room appeared.

The room was about four feet square, and there were some furniture inside, but it had been mostly corrupted over time. There were storage compartments on the walls, and there was even a small well in the corner.

Ye Jingtang held a lantern and carefully inspected the stone room:

"This should be a transit place. If there is chaos in the capital and you can't leave the city, you can stay here for a while and wait until the storm passes before leaving..."

Dongfang Liren came to the storage compartment cut into the wall and stood with his hands behind his hands, nodding slightly:

"The preparations were really good, but it seems that they were not used in the end. According to records, Queen Mother Xuanyang committed suicide by taking poison after losing power..."

The Queen Mother carefully read The Secret History of Marie Claire yesterday, thought about it and said:

"The mausoleum was built by the Queen Mother Xuanyang. If such a tunnel can be dug secretly, it is not difficult to manipulate the mausoleum. Maybe after returning to power as the emperor, she faked her death and escaped, eloped with her lover and lived in seclusion..."

While talking, the Queen Mother came to the porch and thought of touching a stone pillar at the door.

Upon seeing this, Ye Jingtang hurriedly came forward and raised his hand to stop:

"This is the door sealing stone to block the pursuers. If you remove the door, it will be sealed. Be careful, Queen Mother."

The Queen Mother put away her hands, looked back and forth, and then looked at the exit at the other end:

"Shall we continue walking in?"

The Night Terror Hall must look for an exit from the tunnel, but just in case, they moved a stone pier that served as a stool from the stone room and placed it under the stone to block the door, and then walked deeper into the room with the palace lantern...