Chapter 151: Investigating the Corpse

The Imperial Ancestral Temple is vast and solemn; gazing at it from afar cannot help but evoke a sense of profound reverence.

Coiled dragons are carved into the pillars, which are like Ink Jade, and the floor is scrubbed so clean it almost reflects one's silhouette.

Incense flickers, wisps of smoke rise into the air, and nearby stand two sets of prepared chime bells, ready to play funeral music or sacrificial music at any moment.

Since the founding of Great Gan, the spirit tablets of every generation of emperors and empresses have been kept in this temple, receiving the incense and sacrifices of their descendants.

Furthermore, the Grand Ancestor of Great Gan established the Civil and Martial Temples on the left and right sides of the Imperial Ancestral Temple; any loyal minister or virtuous general may enter these temples after death to receive state-sponsored incense and sacrifice.

After worshipping at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the emperor must also go to these two temples to pay respects; this can be said to be the highest honor a minister can enjoy.

Chen Mo stands in the center of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, before him are layers of coffins.

The current emperor, or at least an Acquired Perfection Martial Artist who looks exactly like the current emperor, is currently lying inside the coffin.

However, the other martial artists might not notice.

But Chen Mo, being an Innate Martial Artist, possesses an extremely keen ability to perceive Qi.

He can sense that the Qi of this physical body before him is not right; it is indeed thoroughly dead, carrying a deep aura of twilight.

Yet, it is too different from the emperor he once saw.

However, with everyone watching, even if Chen Mo wanted to investigate further, he could only give up for now; he could not simply pry open the coffin in front of everyone.

He quietly steps back, his True Qi vibrating to seal the gap.

There are not no martial artists present, but their strength is at most the Acquired Realm; how could they possibly discover the small movement Chen Mo made?

Stepping back to the side, Chen Mo cannot help but knit his brows.

The corpse inside the coffin is not right; that is only the first point.

What is important is that he is definitely not the only one who has examined the corpse.

Since the Prince of Pingxi has the heart to usurp the throne, he must have examined the corpse repeatedly after the emperor died.

If he could discover something wrong, it is possible that the Prince of Pingxi could as well.

If he discovered that the corpse was not truly the emperor's, even if there were only the slightest possibility.

Then, even if he were given three more guts, he should not have attempted to usurp the throne at this time; the risk would be too great.

Therefore, there is only one possibility: the Prince of Pingxi confirmed that the corpse at the time was indeed the emperor's, but the corpse disappeared after he confirmed it.

How did that corpse disappear?

Who would want to steal a corpse? And to do so under heavy guard, opening the coffin to take it away.

This is not an impossible feat, but to accomplish it, one would need at least several Innate Martial Artists and a Golden Core Dashiu.

Furthermore, there is another possibility: the person who took the corpse mastered the Palace Array.

In that case, it would not be so troublesome.

But if someone really had such ability, why go to such great lengths to steal a corpse?!

Therefore, besides the corpse being stolen, there is another possibility: the emperor is not dead at all, and he is secretly watching all this happen from another place.

Chen Mo knows the emperor is very good at doing such things; last time, he used this method to severely trap the Demonic Path and the Alien Races.

But what he has done this time is a bit too big; if it goes wrong, it could truly trigger internal chaos and turmoil in the country.

Doing this is a bit too risky.

Moreover, even if he really did this, it is about time to stop; why has he not appeared yet?

Or is it that he was wrong? The corpse inside the coffin is indeed the emperor's body.

Chen Mo stands in the shadows of a corner, his brows tightly locked, constantly pondering these questions.

Wanting to figure these things out is by no means an easy task; it would be best to find a way to see the Innate Experts who went with the emperor to encircle and suppress the Alien Races that day.

They must know many things that he does not.

Moreover, even if the emperor is not dead, with his strength, even if he could master all the arrays in the Palace City, it would by no means be easy to replace the corpse and leave the coffin without a sound.

There must have been Innate Experts or a Golden Core Dashiu helping.

Until this moment, this matter is still shrouded in layers of mist, making it impossible to see clearly.

"General Chen, is there some difficulty?" Empress Xu quietly walks to Chen Mo's side and asks in a soft voice.

She certainly did not see Chen Mo quietly open the coffin, but she keenly noticed that Chen Mo had been frowning and hiding in the dark, clearly pondering some important matter.

As the only Innate Expert currently able to protect their mother and son, Empress Xu has been keeping her mind focused on Chen Mo.

"This matter is complicated and difficult to speak of." Chen Mo shakes his head slightly, not directly revealing the matter.

Firstly, this news is simply too big; secondly, he has not yet had time to carefully confirm back and forth that the corpse lying in the coffin is not the current emperor.

"I will first go to reorganize the Yulin Guard and arrange for people to guard the Imperial Ancestral Temple. As for this matter, I will discuss it with you, Your Majesty, later." Chen Mo bows and turns to leave.

Outside the Imperial Ancestral Temple, many Yulin Guards gather.

Zheng Ying leads his five hundred or so trusted followers, who have also removed their armor and are waiting honestly outside the temple.

"General Chen." The Commander of the Yulin Guard, who controls all the Yulin Guards, walks up to Chen Mo and bows respectfully.

His strength is not bad; although he has not entered the Innate Realm, he is at the Houtian Consummation Realm.

In terms of official rank, he is actually much higher than Chen Mo.

The Commander of the Yulin Guard, who controls all the Yulin Guards in the Palace City, is a second-rank official position and cannot be held by anyone other than the emperor's confidant.

But since Chen Mo now holds the military tally, it is enough to mobilize and dispatch all the Yulin Guards, including this Commander.

"Leave one thousand Yulin Guards to be responsible for guarding other parts of the Palace City, and divide the remaining Yulin Guards into three batches to guard the Imperial Ancestral Temple in turns; no one is allowed to enter or leave at will.

Any food or water sent into the Imperial Ancestral Temple must be tested for poison by someone before being handed over to me for inspection." Chen Mo instructs him carefully.

There are still many experts among the Yulin Guards; besides the Commander, who is at the Houtian Consummation Realm, there are five other martial artists of the Acquired Realm.

At this moment, they are scattered along the perimeter to ensure that no one can enter or leave at will.

The Palace Array is activated, and rays of brilliant light swirl around; even if an Innate Expert were to break in, this array could still serve as a barrier.

During the period of guarding the spirit in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, neither the concubines, the Empress, nor the princes and princesses are allowed to leave easily, and even food and water are delivered by others.

However, during the period of guarding the spirit, one may only eat vegetarian food, and only two meals a day.

Chen Mo is currently waiting for this meal time; it is naturally impossible to eat in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, so he will still dine outside for the time being.

By then, there will be no one else in the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and he will be able to safely and boldly conduct a careful inspection.

After arranging the Yulin Guard, Chen Mo walked over to the side of Zheng Ying.

"Have your trusted subordinates bring their weapons and armor to guard the Palace City gate together with the Yulin Guard," Chen Mo instructed.

"This subordinate understands!" Zheng Ying bowed and saluted.

In truth, his official rank is not low; even though he is not a trusted aide of the Prince of Pingxi, he still attained the Right Fourth Rank with his acquired-stage strength.

Yet he understands that his Fourth Rank Official position cannot be compared to Chen Mo's Fourth Rank Official position at all.

He is an Innate Expert and is currently a Fourth Rank Official, just that he has not yet had the chance to be promoted.

"My Lord, this subordinate still has many troops currently outside the city; may I have them brought into the Palace City to assist me in the defense?" Zheng Ying asked respectfully.

With his official status, it is naturally impossible for him to have only these few trusted aides; there is still a portion of his men stationed outside the city.

"Good, you may have them brought in," Chen Mo smiled and nodded, then patted Zheng Ying on the shoulder and encouraged him.

"Do well. If you perform meritorious service, neither the Empress nor the Crown Prince will forget you. When the time comes, I will certainly request a reward for you."

"This subordinate understands!" Zheng Ying's expression was slightly agitated.

He is, of course, clear that standing on the side of the Empress and the Crown Prince at this time carries a certain risk.

But high risk also represents high reward.

Protecting the sovereign during a succession is a great merit among great merits.

Moreover, even if it does not succeed, he will still be a loyal official in the history books, rather than bearing the name of a treacherous official.

Zheng Ying led his trusted subordinates to prepare quickly and hurried toward the Palace City gate.

After arranging the Palace City defenses, Chen Mo then set off to walk back to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Except for the Third Prince and his birth mother being taken away by the Prince of Pingxi and not being here, the remaining princes and princesses are all guarding the spirit.

Since the Prince of Pingxi wants to enthrone the Third Prince, he naturally must keep him firmly in his grasp.

The Imperial Ancestral Temple is, after all, within the Palace City, which is not a place where he can intervene at will.

Walking into the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Chen Mo hid in the shadows and gave Empress Xu a look.

She had been observing Chen Mo and naturally noticed it at this moment.

She looked left and right, her figure slowly shifting backward, then she rose and moved with light lotus steps to Chen Mo's side.

"Your Majesty, when it is time for the evening meal later, you lead the others to dine outside. This subject has things to do inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple. If this subject has not come out, you must not bring anyone into the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Chen Mo lowered his voice and cautioned her carefully.

He did not directly tell Empress Xu that he wanted to examine the corpse.

After all, he was not one hundred percent certain that the corpse did not belong to the current Emperor.

"Very well," Empress Xu agreed without hesitation, not even asking what Chen Mo wanted to do.

Chen Mo is now the only loyal official she and her son can rely on, and she can only hold absolute trust in him.

"Furthermore, there is one more matter. The remaining few Innate Martial Artists of the Imperial Clan must have also gone to suppress the Alien Races that day; where are they now?

Besides the Imperial Clan's Innate Martial Artists, many Innate Experts from other factions must have also gone; are any of these experts currently in the Capital?

Additionally, as far as I know, a Senior Chu Tianxiu should have arrived in the Capital not long ago; does Your Majesty know where he is?"

Chen Mo asked many questions in one breath.

Innate Experts are few in number and possess extremely strong power.

These experts do not easily show themselves on ordinary days, and even now, with so many vying for the throne, the vast majority of factions and Innate Experts do not intend to get involved.

This is a matter between the Imperial Clan, and most factions have no interest in wading into these muddy waters.

Because this matter has no direct conflict of interest with them, and furthermore, having an Innate Expert within their faction already gives them the confidence not to take sides.

But for the situation to reach this point without a single Innate Expert appearing is truly too strange.

Chen Mo does not believe that the current Emperor, knowing he was severely wounded and dying, would not have entrusted the orphan to anyone; this in itself is an extremely strange matter.

And if he wants to understand these circumstances and unravel these mysteries, the most direct method is to find those Innate Experts and ask them about these various situations face-to-face.

"This..." Empress Xu's tone was slightly hesitant; her gaze swept quickly left and right, and she stepped closer to Chen Mo.

"The other few Innate Martial Artists within the Imperial Clan were all severely wounded while suppressing the Alien Races and announced they would go into seclusion as soon as they returned.

Additionally, there are several court-appointed experts who also had to go into seclusion to heal their wounds; they have not been seen for a long time."

Her delicate brows were tightly locked, and her voice was extremely low.

Since the suppression of the Alien Races, all the Innate Martial Artists who went that day have announced they were severely wounded and in seclusion, and none have appeared until now.

"As far as I know, the court's several appointed experts practice year-round at the top of Wanfa Tower, while the few Imperial Clan Innate experts practice in seclusion year-round at the Imperial Mausoleum of the Grand Ancestor outside the Capital."

As the Empress of a nation, she naturally knows quite a bit, and now she tells Chen Mo everything without reservation.

"Chen, you should not think about asking those Innate Experts to take action; not to mention they are currently severely wounded and in seclusion, even if they had no injuries, they likely would not appear at this time."

Empress Xu sighed, her eyes filled with worry.

How could she not want to ask those Innate Experts to help, but she knows even more clearly that this is impossible.

Moreover, Chen Mo is the only Protective Talisman she can hold onto right now; until the ancestor of her own family arrives, she cannot let Chen Mo leave.

Although there are many Yulin Guards now, who dares to guarantee there are no eyes and ears of the Prince of Pingxi among them?

Perhaps the moment Chen Mo leaves, the Prince of Pingxi will immediately lead men to storm into the Palace City.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, before the state funeral ends, this subject will never leave the Imperial Ancestral Temple lightly."

Chen Mo could understand the worry in her tone and guaranteed it immediately.

"That is good, that is good," Empress Xu finally breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed out a smile for Chen Mo.

Time passed second by second, and soon it was time for the meal, and the Imperial Kitchen sent over vegetarian food.

Empress Xu took the numerous princes, princesses, and imperial concubines to leave the Imperial Ancestral Temple for the time being to go dine.

In just a moment, only Chen Mo remained inside the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

He opened the layers of coffins and, using Inner Qi and Blood Qi to cover the entire corpse, began to carefully examine it one by one from the inside out.

The more he examined it, the more certain Chen Mo became that this corpse was absolutely not the current Emperor.

Although this corpse was dead, it had been killed by a single strike, and was definitely not someone who had died from incurable severe injuries.

He could even perceive that someone had used a Secret Technique to disguise this corpse, which was the only reason the corpse's appearance was the same as the current Emperor's.

(End of chapter)