Chapter 2875: The Altar

When Zu An returned to the cavern with Zhao Xiaodie, Tang Tian’er was lying lazily on the bed in a state of undress. When she saw the two of them walking in, she cast a taunting look at Zhao Xiaodie and said, “Ahh, I’m feeling weak from head to toe now. Little sister Xiaodie, I hope you don’t mind.”

Despite having mentally prepared herself for this, Zhao Xiaodie still felt anger surging through her when she saw Tang Tian’er’s expression. She sneered, “Call me big sister.”

Tang Tian’er ignored her and pitifully said, “My whole body is aching from just now. Can you help me put on my clothes?”

Zhao Xiaodie plopped down by the side and rolled her eyes. “Stop acting like your arms are fractured.”

“Little sister Xiaodie, are you angry at me?” Tang Tian’er pulled her robe to cover her body while asking with a concerned tone.

Zhao Xiaodie had already thought of a comeback. “Why would I be angry? I’m more than happy to have someone help my husband vent his needs.”

There was the concept of ‘bedroom maids’ in this world. Bedroom maids took on the responsibility of serving the patriarch when the matriarch was feeling unwell. In other words, Zhao Xiaodie was proclaiming that she was the matriarch, whereas Tang Tian’er was just a bedroom maid.

Tang Tian’er narrowed her eyes, having understood what Zhao Xiaodie was driving at. But as someone who had grown up in the chaotic Hub of Freedom, there was no way she would lose to an imperial princess like Zhao Xiaodie in a battle of words. She first beamed a smile at Zhao Xiaodie before leaning in and whispering, “Your husband is fantastic!”

Zhao Xiaodie’s face heated up. Her hand flew straight toward Tang Tian’er’s cheek.

Tang Tian’er reacted fast and dodged to the side.

But Zhao Xiaodie wasn’t about to let her slip away like that. She gritted her teeth and chased Tang Tian’er. Soon, the two women began fighting outside the cavern.

What a commotion!

...

The group arrived at Yunnan amid bickering. The first thing Zu An did upon arriving was to look for Hermes.

Both of them were defectors from the Order faction’s upper echelons, and Zu An, in a sense, was the mastermind behind Hermes joining the Annihilation faction. So, from the viewpoint of the Annihilation faction, the two of them were in the same boat.

Once again, Zu An tried to persuade Hermes not to crack down so harshly on Southern Ming, and that he should focus on maintaining an appropriate level of troops to reinforce his position instead.

But Hermes’ attitude remained cold. “If not for your earnest attitude, I’d have reported your earlier words to the Annihilation faction, and that would have been the end of you.”

The current emperor is my son, the empress dowager is my lover, and I’m on good terms with the Annihilation faction’s powerhouses. What can you do even if you report me?

Zu An scoffed in his mind, though he wouldn’t voice those words aloud.

“You used to be the Conglomerate’s Second Elder, after all. Not even Sixth Elder Naraka is as hardworking as you after joining the Annihilation faction. What do you seek to get from doing all these?”

“This is the least I can do as a show of faith to the Annihilation Progenitor!” Hermes replied matter-of-factly.

Like I’d believe those words

. Zu An got straight to the point and asked, “Are you doing this for the Deity of Love and Beauty?”

Hermes reacted explosively. “What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Zu An stared intently into Hermes’ eyes. “Chen Yuanyuan must resemble the Deity of Love and Beauty a lot.”

“I don’t know what you are saying. You may leave now.” Hermes flung his sleeves and left.

His vehement reaction verified Zu An’s conjecture.

Hermes’ old lover was likely the Deity of Love and Beauty, but a universal deity wouldn’t romance a mortal. It was more likely to have been one-sided love from Hermes’ side. In other words, he was actually a Love and Beauty worshiper.

The next thing Zu An did in Yunnan was to gather news about Isabella.

He discovered that when the Yongli government was destroyed, she hadn’t fled to Burma with the Yongli Emperor. Instead, she'd gone missing.

Zu An exploited his influence to gather the checkpoint records. There was a record of a nun named Nine Tribulations passing through one of the checkpoints. With that, his heart was finally put at ease.

My words must have gotten through to Isabella. She didn’t guard the Yongli government to the bitter end. This defeat must have made her realize that there was no way for the Order faction to turn the tables around anymore, so she decided to leave.

Zu An could have left after confirming Isabella’s safety, but Hermes’ reaction spurred his unease. He wanted to get to the bottom of what Hermes was scheming, especially since this matter concerned Yu Yanluo.

“Big brother Zu, I received news that the Burmese king has succumbed to the pressure and handed the Yongli Emperor and his followers to Hermes. They have been transported back to Kunming,” Tang Tian’er said.

Zhao Xiaodie had also uncovered some news, so she added, “The Yongli government’s Empress Dowager Ma and Empress Wang have also been captured, and they tried to strangle themselves to death on the way back. Empress Wang died, but they managed to rescue Empress Dowager Ma. Quite a few officials and eunuchs were captured as well, but they are being imprisoned in a residence right now. Only the Yongli Emperor was taken away, and his whereabouts remain unknown for the time being.”

Zu An remarked, “Empress Dowager Ma and Empress Wang are valiant women.”

The current Yongli Emperor was a descendant of the Ming dynasty’s King Gui, who was the cousin of the Chongzhen Emperor. Their lineage was settled in one of the fiefs, so Zu An had never met any of them. But just listening to their affairs was enough to move him.

He was extremely relieved that he had long since sent Zheng Dan to Taiwan’s Zheng clan and requested Chu Chuyan to take care of her. He shuddered to think about her plight otherwise.

Zu An suddenly thought about something else and asked, “The Yongli Emperor has been captured?”

“Indeed. It’s rumored that Hermes took him away personally. No one knows where he went.”

“I’ll investigate it. The two of you leave the city first,” Zu An instructed.

“We’ll go with you,” Zhao Xiaodie anxiously said.

Tang Tian’er laughed. “You’re lacking in capability. You’ll only drag big brother Zu down if you tag along. You should wait outside the city instead.”

“You damned woman. Does your skin itch when you don’t provoke me for a day?” Zhao Xiaodie raged.

A fight broke out between them, and before long, they had already unknowingly moved into the distance.

Zu An chuckled.

It almost feels natural to see them bickering. I don’t know why, but Tang Tian’er enjoys teasing Zhao Xiaodie, and Zhao Xiaodie sees Tang Tian’er as her nemesis.

He channeled his divine sense and discreetly spread it across Kunming City. With his current cultivation, he could accomplish that with ease without alarming anyone.

Hm?

He quickly noticed an anomalous region. It was shrouded in a mysterious formation that hindered his divine sense from probing in. Something was clearly amiss there.

He made his way over and arrived at Bizi Hill.

The area was tightly guarded by Hermes’ troops, but something of this level couldn’t stop him. Zu An strutted past the guards without any of them noticing him, almost as if he had morphed into the void.

When he finally breached the innermost area of Bizi Hill, his eyes suddenly narrowed.

He saw Hermes standing before a towering altar. The latter was dressed in a peculiar robe, murmuring an obscure incantation while performing a bizarre dance. He was conducting an enigmatic ritual.

—

Unimportant but filling in the gaps of history:

In history, the Yongli Emperor indeed fled into Burma, and the Manchus pressured the Burmese king to hand him over. The Yongli Emperor was then brought to Bizipo (Bizi Slope) in Kunming and was reportedly killed by Wu Sangui (Hermes) there.

People began referring to Bizipo as Bi

po (‘Coerced to death’ Slope) because of this historical connotation.

Trivia:

Empress Wang (the Yongli Emperor’s wife) was a Catholic, with the baptized name of Anne.

Empress Dowager Wang (the Yongli Emperor’s mother) was also a Catholic, with the baptized name of Maria. She attempted to commit suicide after being captured, but the Manchus saved her. She was later brought to the Qing court and was respected and taken care of by them there.

The Manchus (Later Jins/Jurchens) were sharp rulers. They know when to show mercy and when to take forceful measures to assimilate the people. They weren’t exactly benevolent rulers, but they were pragmatic and effective in the sense that they didn’t hesitate to learn from the Ming dynasty and Han officials if it benefited them.

In this case, they knew that Empress Dowager Wang didn’t pose much threat to their rule, in the sense that the Ming loyalists couldn’t rally under her. Rather than killing her, it was much better to show some magnanimity and treat her kindly as a show of goodwill to the Han.

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