The Empress Dowager's Little Carriage

Liu Chang'an went back and retrieved his phone.

The phone, equipped with fast charging technology, charged quickly. Liu Chang'an took the phone, turned it on, and then walked into the coffin, instead of placing the phone on top of the coffin as before.

He refused to believe that Shangguan Dandan could still use her phone while he was holding it.

Using known natural principles, Liu Chang'an couldn't explain how Shangguan Dandan did it... However, there are too many things that known scientific knowledge cannot explain, and he himself is such an example.

It's not surprising that it's inexplicable.

Liu Chang'an waved his phone around. "Okay, now you can tell me, right? After you tell me, I'll give the phone back to you."

Shangguan Dandan remained silent.

"You regret it?" Liu Chang'an opened the novel she was reading, exclaiming in sudden realization, "Oh dear, no wonder you were so agreeable earlier! Turns out you were reading the chapter before the climax, and you just stopped... Tsk tsk, this psychological feeling is actually similar to the physiological one. Humans, as beings whose emotions are determined by hormones controlled by the brain, are essentially driven by the same source of pleasure, whether psychological or physiological. It's verifiable that boys and girls before puberty have different expectations of stories than those after puberty. Sexually mature teenagers crave stories that bring a series of climaxes, thus unconsciously satisfying their physiological needs. So, when hormones are high and they don't have a partner, they especially enjoy reading online novels..."

"Shut up."

Shangguan Dandan's voice was filled with angry authority. Although the girl's voice was immature and lacked depth, it was not the first time Shangguan Dandan had experienced his unbridled remarks. It touched on her memories of her furious outburst towards him years ago.

"No, I just want to tell you that once desires arise, they will be released involuntarily, or resolved in different ways. You can no longer remain calm; desires will generate more and more emotions for you. Currently, the only way for you to resolve and release these emotions in your subconscious is by reading novels. Sooner or later, you will compromise with me, exchanging the information I need for what you need. So why waste our time? Let's benefit each other." Liu Chang'an patted the coffin, feeling as if he were patting Shangguan Dandan's shoulder.

"Do you still remember the more than a thousand crimes that led to your dethronement?"

"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext. How many days have I been emperor? Have I been busy committing crimes all day?" Liu Chang'an scoffed.

"You stole my little carriage, is that a false accusation?" Shangguan Dandan's voice was still full of anger, still possessing the imposing manner of a woman holding the highest position in the empire.

Liu Chang'an opened his mouth. Shangguan Dandan had a royal carriage that she used when she strolled in the palace garden. The horse she used was Fruit-Tree Horse, which was only three feet tall and very cute. It pulled Shangguan Dandan around the garden, and it was one of her favorite treasures.

Even if the emperor did this, it would be considered an act of defiance against the most supreme young woman in the empire.

"This crime is perfectly clear, and it's one of the major reasons I made up my mind to remove you from the list. How am I wronging you!"

"I played with it for a bit, then gave it back to you, didn't I?" Liu Chang'an was as bold as he was in admitting it. "I played with your little carriage for over two thousand years, and you're still bringing it up? You're really petty."

This event is recorded in history books.

"Anyway, you played with my little carriage, now you have to give me that treasure."

"I'll give it to you. I just wanted to know how you use your phone. You need to understand that this thing will need repairing again in a while, and you'll have to bother me again. If you tell me how to use it, it'll be my duty to help you repair it in the future." Liu Chang'an decided that as long as she agreed, he would bring in a power strip for her and give her the phone charger and data cable as well.

Shangguan Dandan fell silent again.

Liu Chang'an waited patiently.

"Coffins are treasures too."

Is this the answer? You don't even need to tell me! Liu Chang'an knew perfectly well that this coffin was practically a magical artifact, like alien technology.

Although he already remembered every texture and pattern on the coffin clearly, Liu Chang'an still examined it again.

A striped dragon swung its tail.

Liu Chang'an stared intently, slightly surprised, and then saw a golden crow spreading its wings.

The Heavenly Emperor's snake tail stirred up clouds and mist.

The toad stretched its legs and hopped.

The monster with the head of a bull and the body of a qilin stood up.

The patterns on the coffin lid flickered like an animation. In an instant, the center of the entire coffin lid became transparent, as if a thin, clear crystal had been inlaid there. Liu Chang'an saw Shangguan Dandan inside the coffin.

She looked at Liu Chang'an, then immediately closed her eyes tightly, a faint blush spreading across her fair cheeks.

Liu Chang'an recalled Song Yu's "Ode to the Goddess" and Cao Zhi's "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River".

The most beautiful moment in life is the first meeting. When I first saw Shangguan Dandan, I was amazed. The high and mighty Empress of the Empire, the girl who was about to become his "mother", was like a lone, bright red plum blossom in a vast snowfield.

O magnificent, magnificent, is her pheasant-feathered pheasant. Her black hair is like clouds, she need not wear a wig; her hair ornaments are made of jade, her hair is adorned with ivory, and her skin is fair and bright. How could she be so celestial? How could she be so emperor?

How radiant and beautiful she is! Her robes are draped with fine threads, and her hair is bound with them. Her eyes are bright and clear, her face radiant with joy. Such a graceful woman, a beauty of the land!

The poem "A Gentleman Grows Old Together" is certainly not suitable for describing Shangguan Dandan, but these two verses are quite fitting; she truly is a woman of exceptional talent!

The coffin lid quickly returned to its original transparent state. Liu Chang'an came to his senses and reached out to tap the lid, which still had that cold, bronze feel.

Liu Chang'an lowered his head, glancing at the spot where Shangguan Dandan's face was, unsure whether she could still see him through the opaque bronze coffin lid.

Liu Chang'an placed his hand on the coffin, but couldn't help touching it from one end to the other. It was amazing! This was a scene that the known natural sciences could not explain at all. This was not some kind of television set embedded in a bathroom mirror, which was a natural mirror but turned into a video player when powered on.

"Stop touching me!"

After a while, Liu Chang'an still didn't stop, Shangguan Dandan couldn't bear it any longer.

Liu Chang'an stopped touching it and placed the phone on the coffin lid. Undoubtedly, the coffin lid could not only become transparent, but also allow Shangguan Dandan to operate the phone through the coffin lid.

That's amazing!

"What's the principle behind this? Is it future technology or alien technology?" No matter how long Liu Chang'an lived, he couldn't find the reason why this happened from his memories and experience.

Shangguan Dandan ignored him. Liu Chang'an figured she'd already started reading novels. The app had simplified/traditional Chinese conversion. Small seal script and clerical script were popular during the Han Dynasty. As Xiahou Sheng's student, Shangguan Dandan's linguistic talent was undeniable. In addition, Liu Chang'an's lectures during this period had ultimately had a significant impact on her... Liu Chang'an's lectures were originally intended to help her one day leave the coffin and adapt to modern life, so language and writing were naturally the basic teaching content.

However, it seems that Shangguan Dandan has no expectations of leaving the coffin. She doesn't eat or drink all day, and it doesn't seem to affect her at all.

Liu Chang'an's understanding of the coffin didn't deepen; instead, it fueled his curiosity and generated more questions. But each question required giving away a cell phone. How much would Liu Chang'an have to bribe her to keep asking questions?

Perhaps to avoid awkwardness, Shangguan Dandan didn't say anything more besides about the little carriage.

Liu Chang'an remained calm and unhurried. Even if Shangguan Dandan wanted to wait in the coffin for another two thousand years, he could patiently wait with her. Or perhaps two thousand years later, human technology would break through its limits, and such coffins would be available for everyday use.

Liu Chang'an even suspected that the coffin's "coffin" shape might be a disguise. When it appeared in Shangguan Dandan's era, the shape of the bronze coffin seemed to be more in line with the times, and its transparent lid reminded Liu Chang'an of things like "life support pods" and "hibernation pods" in science fiction movies.

This conjecture has some merit, but what's truly mysterious is that it can also absorb life force and attract lightning. According to Li Hongfang, there are also strange phenomena filling the heavens and earth.

Something that combines science fiction and fantasy.

Thinking about it carefully, if I had a coffin like that, lying in it all day wouldn't be so bad.

Of course, that was something he was willing to do when life on Earth had not yet given rise to civilization. In recent years, human civilization has finally emerged on Earth, providing him with companionship and offering him many interesting things.

As Liu Chang'an left the carriage, it was already dawn, and looking up, the veins of the sycamore leaves shone like the patterns on jade in the sunlight.

Liu Chang'an took some preserved olives from the jar, stir-fried some shredded pork, cracked an egg, and made a simple clear soup noodle dish. He brought it into the carriage and asked Shangguan Dandan if she wanted some, but she naturally ignored him.

Liu Chang'an was puzzled. Even if she could survive without eating, enjoying food was unrelated to survival. Didn't her mouth have the physiological memory of the wonderful flavors that food could create?

"Fine, eat if you want." Liu Chang'an saw Zhou Dongdong hopping and skipping down to feed the loach, and fed her a few bites of shredded meat and egg yolk.

In the morning, the postman delivered mail. Liu Chang'an received several postcards and a letter from Gao Dewei at Jianghan University. The postcards included pictures of the cherry blossom avenue, the old dormitory, the library, the cherry blossom roof, and several others.

The postcard contained some poems and messages. Liu Chang'an smiled, feeling that it had been about twenty years since he had received a postcard like this. Nowadays, the most common places to buy postcards are probably in some trendy tourist towns and ancient cities, where ordinary-looking, artistically dressed female shop owners with a serene and peaceful demeanor run shops selling postcards or handmade notebooks, offering a service to girls with similar styles and temperaments to send themselves postcards many years in the future... Postcards written by one's past self have a slightly magical feeling of traveling through time, which is very attractive to some girls.

The remaining letter, which Liu Chang'an naturally assumed was from Gao Dewei, was about to tear open the envelope when he saw the sender's name written on the cover, "Ziqing".

"Ziqing" is Qin Peng.

I ate too much, and my stomach feels really uncomfortable. Plus, my head still hurts, so I can't have a big outburst today.