Such careful planning, using sugar cakes as bait, revealed deep scheming and malicious intent. I felt more at ease and continued walking with the sugar cakes. The path sloped downward, and after some time, I reached level ground. As I ventured further inside, the light around me brightened, and soon it opened up completely.
I never imagined that beneath the An residence, there was such a magnificent secret room. Nearly ten zhang high, it was more spacious than the square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Dozens of massive dragon-entwined pillars stood in the room, each with a dragon head holding a pearl that emitted a dim light, like a rare night-luminous pearl.
Oil lamps carved with dancing auspicious cranes hung on the walls at intervals, resembling the legendary eternal lamp. If not for the neatly arranged tall dark wooden shelves, I might have thought I had entered an imperial tomb.
The shelves were arranged in two rows, with space wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The wood’s deep, rich fragrance filled the air, and the shelves were packed with drawers marked with strange numbers and symbols.
One drawer was open, and I leaned over to peek inside, finding several scrolls tied with silk ribbons, with a “Su” character written on the rightmost scroll.
My heart stirred as I took out the scroll and unrolled it. Su Quan, originally named Su Kuang from Xiongzhou in Xiliang, relocated with his wife Wang and their children, Wu Xi and Su Hui. They bribed Feng City officials and forged household registrations.
It had been nearly ten years since the fifth year of An Ming. If this record was true—Superintendent Su Quan and his family had deliberately hidden in the Great Qi Kingdom for nearly ten years, and Su Quan and Su Xi had risen to high positions.
I tied the scroll back and returned it to the drawer, my heart pounding. What kind of place was this?
The passage between the shelves, wide enough for two people, seemed like a shortcut to the truth. Having come this far, I couldn’t turn back. I waited to look calm and then proceeded along the passage.
At the front was a heavy stone door that opened with a light push. Inside was an empty stone room with doors on both sides, leading to unknown destinations.
