PNB Chapter 426 Here it comes, the treacherous memorial tablet has arrived!
Chapter 426 Here it comes, the treacherous memorial tablet has arrived!
Gao Mengli and Lin Xi also frowned as they looked at Lin Yong and Pang You.
Not right.
Something is very wrong!
Jiang Shuzhi patted Pang You on the shoulder with a smile, then took out the memorial tablet covered with a cloth from the main room and placed it in the center of the large round table in the courtyard!
Upon seeing this, Lin Xi nodded to Gao Mengli.
Yes, that's the memorial tablet!
Jiang Shuzhi gently lifted the red cloth, revealing an ebony memorial tablet.
The inscription on it was not the name of an ordinary person, but seven large gilded characters: "The Spirit Tablet of Emperor Dou of the Yue Dynasty"!
Gao Mengli's breath hitched, and her pupils contracted sharply.
This, this, this isn't the memorial tablet of the former emperor that Hongluan of the Sun and Moon Sect put in the coffin!
Unexpectedly, the Lin family also had one!
They even secretly offered sacrifices!
Upon seeing the memorial tablet, Pang You's smile instantly froze.
He immediately straightened up, ran over and carefully examined the memorial tablet several times, then exclaimed "Eh!"
He thought it was the memorial tablet of some heinous criminal, but he never expected it to be the tablet of Emperor Dou Zhen, the last emperor of the previous dynasty!
Emperor Dou Zhen's benevolence was evident in his early years when he accepted refugees from the north, opened granaries, settled them, and exempted them from taxes, thus allowing a group of people to survive.
However, those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts.
Moreover, their beliefs are different; the gods worshipped by that foreign race are said to have wings on their backs.
The foreign tribe settled in Yuechao, and instead of being grateful, they even set their sights on the throne.
Emperor Dou Zhen, the Son of Heaven guarding the nation's gate, when all hope was lost and the tide had turned, chose to hang himself on the city gate, solely to save his life and the lives of his people.
But his sacrifice for his country ultimately failed to earn him the pity of the foreign tribes.
Those wolves disguised as refugees revealed their true colors in an instant, and after the city gates were opened wide, they ordered a ten-day massacre of the city.
Iron cavalry trampled across the bluestone slabs of the imperial city, and the firelight illuminated half the sky.
Foreign soldiers brandished their scimitars, looting and slaughtering house to house. The once bustling streets and alleys, filled with the smoke of cooking fires, were transformed into a living hell in the blink of an eye.
The alien race that worshipped the Winged God did not believe in Emperor Dou Zhen's benevolence, but only in the barbarity of burning, killing, and looting.
They looted all the treasures in the palace, drove the unarmed people into the streets, and when the swords fell, even the cries of children were drowned out by the blood.
Once upon a time, there was an elderly man with white hair, holding the memorial tablet of Emperor Dou Zhen, huddled in a corner of the ancestral hall.
The alien soldiers kicked open the ancestral hall door, and the moment they saw the memorial tablet, they grinned and cleaved it in two. The old man screamed and lunged at it, but was ultimately hacked to death by the jumbled blades beside the cold fragments of the tablet.
A young woman hid her child in a dry well, while she led the foreign soldiers in the opposite direction.
Finally, he was caught up by the cavalry and pierced through the heart by an arrow.
Before she died, she gazed in the direction of the dry well, a faint smile still lingering on her lips.
For those ten days, the clouds over Kyoto were blood-red.
Thick smoke billowed, obscuring the sky and the sun. The once-prosperous temples were burned down, and the ornately decorated pavilions were demolished.
The city was filled with wails day and night, and even the water in the moat was stained a murky red, with countless corpses floating on it.
Those who were lucky enough to survive were bound one by one with ropes and exiled from Kyoto to various places to fend for themselves.
And it was during that catastrophe that our ancestors, under the cover of night, protected a piece of Emperor Dou Zhen's memorial tablet, mingling among the fleeing crowds.
After crossing high mountains and treacherous shoals, they finally hid in the deep forests, barely clinging to life.
They dared not mention the past, much less openly worship the late emperor.
Only on New Year's Eve each year can the spirit tablet be secretly taken out, an incense stick be lit, and three kowtows performed.
They buried their national and personal grievances deep in their hearts, placing their hopes for peace on future generations, longing for the day when peace would come.
To be able to witness the expulsion of foreign tribes and to see the dragon flag of the Yue Dynasty being planted atop the capital city once again.
As for why he knew these things, it was because his parents, who were the leaders of the martial arts world, told him these stories when he was a child.
At the time, he didn't understand or comprehend it; he simply treated it as a story.
When it comes to matters concerning the previous dynasty, it's as if someone has cut out their tongue; no one dares to discuss them.
Unexpectedly, in this Wangyue Village, I actually saw the memorial tablet from the "story".
So……
Everything his parents said was true!
At that moment, he suddenly understood his parents' good intentions.
This is because the Qianyu Kingdom forbids anything from the previous dynasty from appearing in the form of books; otherwise, the entire family of nine generations will be wiped out, and no one will be spared.
Therefore, it can only be passed down by word of mouth...
With a "thump," Pang You knelt down.
The fact that his parents were able to tell him these things means that his ancestors, his great-great-grandfathers, and others had suffered inhuman calamities.
He is the descendant of the people in the story who fled into the deep mountains and barely survived!
"Ancestors... my great ancestors!"
Pang You was crying so hard he could barely breathe, which left Lin Yong completely stunned!
Pang You crawled a few steps on his knees and rushed to the memorial tablet of Emperor Dou Zhen.
His forehead slammed heavily against the bluestone slab, making a "thump, thump" sound.
Tears mixed with snot streamed down his face, and he kept muttering, "So that's how it is... So that's how it is..."
He was filled with fear before he saw the memorial tablet.
Now, all that remains is a heart full of grief, anger, and resentment.
Our ancestors exerted all their strength to preserve their bloodline, which is why Pang You came into this world.
He had to kowtow hard on this head!
His voice, filled with grief and indignation, startled the elderly people outside the courtyard who were kowtowing and offering their letters.
They looked at each other.
Why did Pang You look so aggrieved after going to Old Man Lin's house?
They quickly scrambled to their feet and rushed into the Lin family's courtyard.
Then I saw the prominent memorial tablet on the square table.
Meanwhile, Pang You was crying his eyes out in front of the memorial tablet.
Unable to contain his curiosity, Steward Zhao quietly took one step after another into the courtyard.
He squinted, taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't completely dark yet, and stared intently at the gilded characters on the ebony memorial tablet.
The next second, it was as if all the strength had been drained from Zhao, and he staggered back two steps before falling to the ground with a thud.
His lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time: "You...you...this memorial tablet..."
His voice was trembling so badly that everyone in the courtyard turned to look.
Lin Yong frowned and stepped forward to help him, but Butler Zhao grabbed his wrist.
The force was astonishing.
"My family...my family worships...this is it too!"
Butler Zhao finally spoke, tears welling up in his eyes, "My father instructed me before he died that this memorial tablet should be hidden in the deepest part of the granary, and secretly taken out for worship every New Year's Eve. Under no circumstances should outsiders know about it!"
These words struck like a thunderclap, exploding in the crowd.
Some people covered their faces and gasped, while others collapsed to the ground.
Some elderly people, trembling, moved toward the memorial tablet, their fingertips tracing the familiar characters, tears streaming down their faces.
It turns out it wasn't just the Lin family, or even the Zhao family.
More than half of the households in Wangyue Village actually have such a memorial tablet hidden inside!
"Actually, if it is this kind of memorial tablet, you can openly worship it in the future."
At this moment, Gao Mengli spoke softly from the side.
"Swish, swish, swish"!
Countless astonished gazes turned towards them instantly.
"Eldest daughter-in-law, we are already very content that we can offer our respects on New Year's Eve. You must not try to coerce Lord Dou and General Dou out of their kindness..."
Although Jiang Shuzhi also wanted to be aboveboard, reality prevented it.
Now, with another dynasty about to change, what will Lord Dou and General Dou do if they find out...?
Gao Mengli coughed twice, almost choking on her own saliva.