145: Chapter 145 Daming Palace

The crowd climbed the stone steps, walked along the flat stone path, and crossed the threshold into the great hall.

The hall was spacious and lofty, with the ceiling reaching a height of five meters.

Looking around, behind those red lattices, there were no towering Buddha statues or Four Heavenly Kings sitting in meditation.

In the center sat a handsome man wearing a golden dragon robe and an imperial crown.

His posture was upright, and his bearing was heroic.

His eyes revealed wisdom and decisiveness, possessing both the imposing aura of an emperor and the scholarly elegance of a literatus.

The slightly upturned corners of his mouth constantly displayed arrogance and self-confidence.

On both sides, dozens of Heaven-Suppressing Generals were neatly arranged.

The rest were a large crowd of little people surrounding these giant sculptures.

There were palace maids in pink silk, barefoot, dancing on the red carpet and throwing red curtains.

This was court ritual music.

There were also warriors clad in golden armor, swords hanging at their waists, standing on the left and right, holding their breath and concentrating.

This was the Imperial Guard.

The entire palace felt like a mobilization meeting before a war.

And from the expression of the main figure in the center, it was not hard to see that he was very confident in winning the war.

It was as easy as tearing a piece of white paper.

Seeing this, Chen Mo immediately understood what the King meant by Daming Palace.

"Chen Mo, do you know who this is?" Su Qing asked.

"A hexagonal warrior!" Chen Mo replied.

"What the hell?"

"This is the Ming Emperor Xuanzong, Zhu Zhanji. Because he was proficient in everything from zither and chess to calligraphy and painting, fought well, governed the country effectively, and had off-the-charts personal combat power."

"That's why modern people call him a hexagonal warrior!"

"In ancient times, it was said: A descendant to pass on the legacy, prosperous for generations."

"To a certain extent, his spotlight also stems from his grandfather, Zhu Di." Meng Zhou took the initiative to clarify.

"Exactly! If the King's opponent is him, then there's no point in playing. The Ming Dynasty's combat power is off the charts; they were invincible in the era of cold weapons."

"Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean weren't just to make money; the main purpose was to proclaim national prestige. Only when a country is powerful to a terrifying degree would it do such a thing." Chen Mo also added.

"Oh~ My history isn't very good. I didn't really understand the geography-economics and history-economics lectures from a few days ago." Su Qing puffed out her cheeks.

The couple and Little Fatty nearby saw the group's performance and confirmed that they were definitely students.

Lu Chengfeng took the initiative to walk closer, observed carefully, and said: "That's right! These sculptures are all wax figures."

Just as he raised his head, he saw the wax figure of Zhu Zhanji suddenly blink.

"No way, again?!"

Before Lu Chengfeng could react, a halo flashed before his eyes.

The nine people had left reality and entered a deeper dimension.

Golden lamplight reflected in their pupils.

Silver oil lamps surrounded Chen Mo and the others. Turning back, they saw the soldiers' wax figures, all holding spears, aimed at them.

Red curtains constantly rippled and swirled in the air, forming various strange patterns and symbols.

Fair little feet ran neatly to both sides, quickly retreating under the red curtains, revealing the scene behind the red curtains.

Zhu Zhanji, wearing a dragon robe, was lazily lying on his side on the dragon throne.

Beside him, several eunuchs holding fly whisks were kneeling and applauding.

Zhu Zhanji held a delicate bamboo stick in his hand, poking at a lively cricket in a pottery jar.

Seeing this, Chen Mo's mouth couldn't help but twitch.

As expected, the legendary Cricket Emperor, the number one cricket fighter of the Ming Dynasty.

The spears suspended in front of his neck drew closer and closer. Although they didn't touch his skin, he could already feel the killing intent from above.

At this moment, Zhu Zhanji's cricket finally won. Its wings were marked with a touch of cinnabar.

"My subjects, why is there such a clamor?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, we have caught a few people in strange clothes." A eunuch nearby reported.

Zhu Zhanji raised his body, one arm behind his back, and walked down from the dragon throne.

He slowly walked towards Chen Mo and the others.

"Where are you from?"

Truly worthy of being the Son of Heaven. Although he was a wax figure, his eyes were bright and piercing, like a real dragon.

It made Chen Mo and the others feel a sense of oppression.

"Respected Emperor, we have come to help Your Majesty defeat the barbarians on the opposite shore!" Chen Mo knelt on one knee and cupped his hands in a salute.

Su Qing and the others behind him saw this and hurriedly followed suit, all kneeling down.

Hearing this, a glimmer of brilliance appeared in Zhu Zhanji's originally arrogant eyes.

He turned and looked at the mural on the wall, which depicted several little people in strange clothes stepping on seven-colored auspicious clouds, occasionally scattering flower petals from the sky.

Below was the Ming Dynasty experiencing a severe drought.

The sequel on another mural showed the little people's petals passing through the clouds and turning into snowflakes as they fell.

In ancient times, the saying "A timely snow promises a good harvest" was widely circulated and praised by people.

Sometimes, when winter arrived and it should have snowed, but no snowflakes fell, the Son of Heaven would fast and set up an altar to perform rituals, praying to the heavens for snow with the help of celestial masters.

At this moment, looking at Chen Mo in his strange clothes before him, Zhu Zhanji's eyes lit up, as if he understood something.

"Are you all the divine beings sent by the heavens to help my Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Zhanji asked.

He asked Chen Mo because he could see something different in Chen Mo's eyes.

Even Chen Mo himself did not realize that in the Emperor's eyes, his deep black pupils were faintly surrounded by black energy.

"I am not any divine being, but I know I can definitely help Your Majesty relieve your worries."

Zhu Zhanji personally helped Chen Mo up and arranged for all nine people to sit at a wooden table for a meal.

These palace maids were not wax figures, but more like ghosts.

They came and went without a trace, delivering tea, rice, fruits, and vegetables to Chen Mo and the others before drifting away.

Little Fatty saw the bright red fruit in front of him, and his eyes lit up instantly.

He grabbed a fruit and started eating it.

"I didn't expect to have food while following Brother Chen. I was about to starve to death!" He laughed.

Lu Chengfeng looked back at Chen Mo and asked in a low voice: "Chen Mo, can this thing be eaten? It wouldn't be like what's described in novels, right?"

"After eating it, all the food in front of you will turn into stone toads and things like that."

"Doesn't that mean there's already a 'poison tester' here? Let's wait and see his reaction." Chen Mo signaled Lu Chengfeng to look at Little Fatty.

Chen Mo did not hesitate, got up again, and came before Zhu Zhanji.

"Your Majesty, let's just solve the problem directly."

Although they were both Chinese, Zhu Zhanji was quite nice to them; they could eat good food and enjoy the palace maids' dancing.

But the Thriller Game wouldn't wait for anyone.

Chen Mo didn't want to say: "I've fought wars my whole life, can't I enjoy myself a little?"

If he enjoyed himself too much, he would miss the military opportunity.

Zhu Zhanji also nodded, then clapped his hands lightly.

Two eunuchs immediately brought over another long wooden table and placed it in front of the group.

And in the center of that wooden table sat a candle.