Chapter 167: I, Qin Shi Huang, Send Money

Upon hearing the Black-Armored General, Zu An pointed to Qiao Xueying on the other side without a second thought. "Her. Let her go first."

Qiao Xueying: "..."

"Oh, I really ought to thank you!" Qiao Xueying glared fiercely at him.

"You're not my woman, so why would I protect you? Besides, we're enemies, aren't we? What are we waiting for if not to kick someone when they're down?" Zu An showed no trace of embarrassment.

Qiao Xueying sighed. "You're right. You don't need to protect me."

Zu An looked as if he'd seen a ghost. "Did I hear that right? You're actually agreeing with me for once in a blue moon?"

Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. "Are you deliberately being contrary? You're unaccustomed to me agreeing with you. Do I have to disagree every time for you to be happy?"

Lying on the central stone platform, Chu Chuyan couldn't help but chuckle. These two always argued fiercely whenever they met; they truly were a destined pair of adversaries.

The Black-Armored General glanced at Zu An. "You are much more direct than that man just now. You could be considered a true scoundrel."

"How am I a scoundrel? I am utterly devoted to my wife," Zu An immediately retorted, displeased. "Wait, from what you said, did Shi Kun abandon her just now? Did he use her as a human shield to buy time for his escape?"

Qiao Xueying frowned. "How did you know? Were you hiding in the dark, spying?"

"I don't have such hobbies," Zu An shrugged. "Do I even need to see? I just guessed. Haven't I seen enough of these plots in TV shows from my previous life?"

"What are TV shows?" Not only Qiao Xueying, but even Chu Chuyan had never heard of them.

"That's not important. What's important is that you should recognize Shi Kun's true nature now. People like him value their own lives above all else. Forget about a maid like you; if he truly faced danger, he probably wouldn't hesitate to abandon even his own father," Zu An said. "You young ladies are just so shallow. You see someone handsome and assume he's a good person. Few handsome people in this world are any good."

"Cough, cough, of course, I'm an exception. Someone as handsome, gentle, and kind as me is one of a kind, with no imitators anywhere." Zu An thought for a moment and added.

"Stop talking, I'm going to puke." Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. "I'm miserable enough as it is, dying. Don't torment me anymore."

"What kind of talk is that from a young lady?" Zu An looked annoyed.

At this moment, the Black-Armored General on the side let out a cold snort. "Are you two finished? Once you've had your fill of nonsense, it's time to go. Don't worry, I will take both your lives simultaneously. You two can continue bickering all the way to the Yellow Springs."

As he spoke, he waved a hand, and two blades floated above their heads, as if they would fall the next second.

"Ah Zu!" Chu Chuyan's face drained of color, but she was completely immobilized. Even if she were unharmed, she would be no match for this Black-Armored General.

Qiao Xueying closed her eyes. Ever since Shi Kun used her as a human shield, her heart had already died. Death, to her, was a release.

Just then, Zu An suddenly said, "Brother Zhang Han, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Chu Chuyan, not far away, froze, and even Qiao Xueying curiously opened her eyes. Who was he talking to?

The two women subconsciously looked around. There was no one else.

"Zhang Han..." The Black-Armored General's entire body trembled. After a long pause, he spoke with a sigh of melancholy, "It's been so, so long since anyone called me that. I've even forgotten my own name."

Qiao Xueying's jaw nearly dropped. This zombie had a name, and what was even more outrageous was that Zu An actually knew it?

What was wrong with this world?

A strange light flickered in Chu Chuyan's beautiful eyes. Zu An had brought her too many surprises these past few days. His body held an endless stream of secrets, making her wonder if she had known too little about him before.

"How do you know my name?" Zhang Han turned to look at Zu An, clearly sharing the same confusion.

Zu An smiled slightly. "Would you believe me if I said we were friends in a past life?"

He had already activated his "Rapport by Riches" skill, and another hundred thousand taels of silver had evaporated!

Having learned from his previous encounter with Shi Kun, he knew that even if they were forcibly made friends, it might not change the other person's way of thinking. So, he was cautious, not daring to be too direct.

"Friends?" Zhang Han's entire body trembled, and then he burst out laughing. "I, Zhang Han, have no friends. Not before, not now!"

Despite what he said, the two blades suspended in the air unconsciously moved to the side.

Zu An sighed. "You're saying one thing and doing another. Do you truly not wish for friends? It must be very lonely guarding this desolate ancient tomb all alone."

Zhang Han fell silent, then finally sighed. "Lonely? For me, time has no meaning. How can I speak of loneliness?"

Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan exchanged glances. This scene was truly bizarre. In the depths of this dark underground palace, Zu An was having a serious philosophical discussion with a zombie.

After a moment, Zhang Han seemed to wake from a dream. Two streaks of eerie blue flame in his eyes stared intently at Zu An. "Who exactly are you? Why do you know my name?"

"A woman named Mi Li told me," Zu An said, carefully observing him, trying to glean some information from his reaction.

"Oh?" Hearing his words, a woman's surprised voice suddenly echoed from a mysterious space deep within the palace, though her voice was extremely faint, so no one else heard it.

"Empress? No, that's impossible!" Zhang Han frantically shook his head, as if he had learned something terrifying.

"Empress?" Zu An's eyes lit up. He suddenly recalled a piece of history from his previous life: During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the state of Qin was originally on good terms with the state of Jin, even helping the exiled Duke Wen of Jin ascend the throne and become a hegemon. However, Qin wanted to advance east into the Central Plains, and Jin blocked its inevitable path.

Jin, too, could not accept Qin's influence reaching into the Central Plains, so the irreconcilable conflict between them led to the Battle of Yao, where Jin ambushed the Qin army on its way back west, decisively defeating Qin and causing the two states to completely break ties.

The "Goodness of Qin and Jin" naturally became a thing of the past. Qin could only turn to form marital alliances with Chu in the south. With Jin as their common enemy, they immediately hit it off.

For a hundred years thereafter, Qin and Chu intermarried generation after generation. The queens of Qin's rulers were often princesses from Chu, and male members of the Chu royal family had the surname Xiong, while females had the surname Mi.

The surname Mi is very rare, so it easily linked to the state of Chu.

However, successive Chu princesses who married into Qin could only be called queens. Theoretically, only two individuals were qualified to be called Empress.

But, in his memory, history didn't record either Qin Shi Huang or Qin Er Shi having empresses, did it?

"How could you possibly know the Empress's name? No one under heaven should know her name. Who exactly are you?" Zhang Han rapidly rushed to Zu An's front, his tone verging on madness.

The powerful aura of pressure from the approaching figure made it difficult for Zu An to breathe. He swallowed hard, a flicker of hesitation in his mind: Should I take the gamble?

Seeing the eerie blue flames in the other's eyes so close, he knew that even if the other party considered him a friend, he probably wouldn't spare Chu Chuyan. Since that was the case, he had to gamble.

If I'm going to gamble, I might as well go big!

If he won, a bicycle would become a motorbike; if he lost, he would just die facing the sky, nothing more.

"Hahaha, you ask who I am," Zu An laughed up at the sky, causing Qiao Xueying to frequently glance sideways, wondering if this guy had been scared out of his wits.

"My accomplishments surpass the Three Sovereigns, and my virtue exceeds the Five Emperors. I am the First Emperor between heaven and earth, Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng!" An inexplicable majesty flashed across Zu An's face. "How could I, the Emperor, not know my own Empress's given name?"

In a mysterious space deep within the underground palace, a stunning woman in black empress robes, lying in a huge crystal coffin, suddenly opened her eyes. "You scoundrel, how dare you take liberties with this empress!"

Zhang Han on the altar turned pale with fright and instinctively retreated several steps. "Your... Your Majesty?"

Qiao Xueying was completely bewildered. What were these two talking about? Emperor? Qin Shi Huang? Why had she never heard of such things? Fortunately, only the few of them were here. If news of his self-proclaimed emperorship got out, not only he, but perhaps even the Chu family, would face utter destruction.

Only Chu Chuyan's delicate brows furrowed slightly. She vaguely remembered seeing that name somewhere, perhaps in the academy's collection of books on ancient civilizations. However, information about ancient civilizations was scarce, and worldwide research on them was only in its nascent stages.

"Zhang Han, why do you not kneel before me?" Zu An said solemnly, but inwardly, he was panicking like crazy. Had he bitten off more than he could chew this time?

"Your humble servant, Shao Fu Zhang Han, bows before Your Majesty!" The Black-Armored General thought, no wonder he had felt a certain familiarity with this person from the very beginning; now, there was no doubt. He immediately knelt on the ground and paid his respects to Zu An.

The two women on the side watched with wide eyes. This scene was truly unbelievable. A peerless expert was actually kneeling before Zu An? No matter how they imagined it, they couldn't conceive of such a sight.

Chu Chuyan's mind raced. This Black-Armored General called himself Shao Fu. The Shao Fu was one of the Nine Ministers, responsible for taxes on mountains, seas, and lands, managing the royal treasury, and often tasked with building royal gardens and mausoleums.

No wonder this zombie possessed such a powerful aura of pressure—he was a ninth-grade expert. Coupled with the fact that this place looked very much like an imperial mausoleum, everything made sense.

But what exactly was going on with Ah Zu? Could he really be that Ying Zheng?

"How long do you intend to keep me bound?" Zu An said in a deep voice.

"This humble servant wouldn't dare." Zhang Han quickly flicked his wrist, immediately releasing the ropes that bound him. At the same time, he secretly wondered, *Why is Your Majesty's power so weak?*

As if guessing his thoughts, Zu An said, "I have only just reawakened my memories, and my power has not fully recovered. You may rise."

Zhang Han finally understood. "Thank you, Your Majesty. It seems Xu Fu has found the art of immortality for Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty, and felicitations!"

Zu An rolled his eyes, thinking, *What nonsense is this?* It actually bore a striking resemblance to the Qin Dynasty in his memories from his previous life, but how could there have been such formidable cultivators in the Qin Dynasty of his previous life?

Something must be wrong!

However, since the act had begun, he could only brace himself and continue. He let out a long sigh:

"Forget it. My Great Qin has already fallen. What's the point of saying all this?"

Zhang Han was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground, trembling. "This humble servant deserves death ten thousand times over!"