Chapter 167: I, Qin Shi Huang, Send Money!

Upon hearing the Black Armored General, Zu An didn't hesitate, pointing at Qiao Xueying on the other side. "Her, let her go first."

Qiao Xueying was speechless.

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

"You're not my woman, why should I protect you? Besides, we're enemies, aren't we? What's the point of waiting when I could be kicking you while you're down?" Zu An showed no embarrassment whatsoever.

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

Zu An looked flabbergasted. "Did I hear that right? You're actually agreeing with me for the first time ever?"

Qiao Xueying rolled her eyes. "Are you just being difficult? You're not used to me agreeing with you. Do I have to oppose you every time for you to be happy?"

Lying on the stone platform in the center, Chu Chuyan couldn't help but chuckle. These two always argued so fiercely whenever they met; they were truly a bickering couple.

The Black Armored General glanced at Zu An. "You're much more direct than that man earlier; you could even be called a true villain."

"How am I a true villain? Look at how sincere I am towards my wife," Zu An immediately protested. "Wait, by what you're saying, did that guy Shi Kun just abandon her? Did he use her as a human shield to buy himself time to escape?"

Qiao Xueying frowned. "How do you know? Have you been hiding in the shadows, spying?"

"I don't have that kind of hobby," Zu An shrugged. "Do I even need to see? I just guessed. Haven't those TV dramas from my past life shown these plots countless times?"

"What's a TV drama?" Neither Qiao Xueying nor even Chu Chuyan had ever heard the term.

"That's not important. What is important is that you should now recognize Shi Kun's true nature. People like him value their own lives above all else. Forget about you, a mere maid; if he truly encountered danger, he'd probably abandon his own father without hesitation," Zu An said. "You young girls are so shallow. You see someone handsome and immediately assume he's a good person. But there aren't many good people who are also handsome in this world."

"Ahem, of course, I'm the exception. Someone as handsome, gentle, and kind-hearted as me is one of a kind, a unique specimen in the whole world," Zu An added after a moment's thought.

"Stop talking, I'm about to throw up," Qiao Xueying said, rolling her eyes. "I'm miserable enough as it is, about to die. Don't torment me further."

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

Just then, the Black Armored General beside them snorted coldly. "Are you two finished? If you've babbled enough, then it's time to go. Don't worry, I'll take both your lives simultaneously. You can continue your argument all the way to the Underworld."

With a wave of his hand, two blades floated above their heads, poised to strike at any second.

"Ah Zu~" Chu Chuyan's face turned ashen. She was completely paralyzed and, even if unharmed, would be no match for the Black Armored General.

Qiao Xueying closed her eyes. Her heart had died the moment Shi Kun used her as a human shield, and now death felt like a release.

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

Chu Chuyan, not far away, was startled. Even Qiao Xueying curiously opened her eyes. Who was he talking to?

The two women instinctively glanced around. There was no one else.

"Zhang Han..." The Black Armored General stiffened. After a long moment, he spoke in a wistful tone, "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 even more incredibly, Zu An actually knew it?

What was happening in this world?

A glint of surprise also flashed in Chu Chuyan's beautiful eyes. Zu An had given her too many surprises recently. His endless secrets made her wonder if she had known too little about him before.

"How do you know my name?" Zhang Han turned to Zu An, clearly just as bewildered.

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

He had already activated his "Billionaire's Friendliness" skill, effectively incinerating another hundred thousand taels of silver!

Having learned his lesson from dealing with Shi Kun previously, he knew that even if they were forcibly made friends, it might not alter the other person's mindset. Therefore, he remained cautious, not daring to be too direct.

"Friends?" Zhang Han stiffened, then burst into laughter. "I, Zhang Han, have no friends. Not before, and not now!"

Despite his words, the two blades suspended in the air instinctively moved to one side.

Zu An sighed. "You're a classic example of saying one thing but doing another. Do you truly not wish for friends? Guarding this cold, desolate tomb all alone must be incredibly lonely, wouldn't you say?"

Zhang Han fell silent, then finally sighed. "Loneliness? For me, time has lost all meaning. How can there be loneliness?"

Qiao Xueying and Chu Chuyan exchanged bewildered glances. The scene before them was utterly bizarre: in the depths of this gloomy underground palace, Zu An was seriously discussing philosophy with a zombie.

After a moment, Zhang Han seemed to snap out of it, two faint blue flames in his eyes fixing on Zu An. "Who exactly are you, and why do you know my name?"

"A woman named Mi Li told me," Zu An said, carefully observing Zhang Han for any reaction.

"Oh?" Deep within the underground palace, a woman's surprised gasp was faintly heard, though it was too low for anyone else to catch.

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

"Empress?" Zu An's eyes lit up. He suddenly recalled a piece of history from his past life: During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the State of Qin had initially been on good terms with the State of Jin, even helping the exiled Duke Wen of Jin ascend as a hegemon. However, Qin sought to expand eastward into the Central Plains, and Jin stood directly in its path.

Jin, in turn, could not tolerate Qin's influence extending into the Central Plains. Their conflict became irreconcilable, culminating in the Battle of Yao, where Jin ambushed the returning Qin army, thoroughly defeating them and severing all ties between the two states.

The alliance between Qin and Jin naturally dissolved. Qin was forced to seek a marriage alliance with the southern State of Chu. With Jin as their common enemy, the two nations quickly agreed.

For a century thereafter, Qin and Chu engaged in generational intermarriage. The queens of Qin rulers were often princesses from Chu. The male members of the Chu royal family bore the surname Xiong, while the females bore the surname Mi.

The surname Mi was so rare that it was immediately associated with the State of Chu.

However, successive Chu princesses who married into Qin were merely titled 'Queens.' Only two individuals, in theory, were qualified to be called 'Empress.'

But in his memory, there were no historical records of either Qin Shi Huang or Qin Er Shi ever having an Empress.

"How could you possibly know the Empress's name? No one in this world should know it! Who exactly are you?" Zhang Han rushed forward to Zu An, his tone almost frantic.

The powerful pressure from the approaching general made it difficult for Zu An to breathe. He swallowed, a flicker of hesitation in his heart. Should he take a gamble?

If he was going to gamble, he might as well go all in!

If he won, he'd be set; if he lost, well, he'd just be dead.

"Hahaha, you ask who I am," Zu An laughed heartily, tilting his head back. Qiao Xueying kept glancing at him, wondering if he had been scared out of his mind.

"I have surpassed the Three Sovereigns in achievement and the Five Emperors in virtue; 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 the given name of my own Empress?"

Deep within the underground palace, in a mysterious chamber, a breathtaking woman in a black empress's robe and crown lay in a massive crystal coffin. She suddenly opened her eyes. "You scoundrel, how dare you take liberties with me!"

On the altar, Zhang Han was even more startled, instinctively stumbling back several steps. "Your Ma... Majesty?"

Qiao Xueying was utterly bewildered. What were these two talking about? Emperor? Qin Shi Huang? She'd never heard of any of it. Thankfully, only a few of them were present; if news of his self-proclamation as emperor leaked, not only would he be doomed, but the Chu clan would likely face catastrophic ruin.

Only Chu Chuyan's delicate brows were slightly furrowed. She vaguely recalled seeing that name somewhere, perhaps in the academy's collection of ancient civilization texts. However, information on ancient civilizations was extremely sparse, and global research on them amounted to mere fragments.

"Zhang Han, why do you not kneel before me?" Zu An demanded with a majestic expression, though inwardly, he was panicking. Had he gone too far this time?

"Your humble servant, Lesser Palace Steward Zhang Han, bows before Your Majesty!" the Black Armored General declared. He thought, *No wonder I felt a sense of familiarity with this person from the start.* Now, without a trace of doubt, he knelt directly on the ground and saluted Zu An.

The two women on the side watched with wide eyes, utterly dumbfounded. The scene before them was simply unbelievable: a peerless powerhouse kneeling before Zu An? No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't have imagined such a sight.

Chu Chuyan's mind raced. This Black Armored General called himself a Lesser Palace Steward, one of the Nine Ministers, responsible for taxes on mountains, seas, and lands, managing the royal treasury, and often overseeing the construction of royal gardens and mausoleums.

No wonder this zombie exuded such powerful pressure; he was a ninth-rank expert. And considering this place strongly resembled a royal mausoleum, everything suddenly made sense.

But what was Ah Zu's deal? Could he really be that Ying Zheng?

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

"Your humble servant would not dare." Zhang Han hastily flicked his wrist, immediately undoing Zu An's ropes. At the same time, he secretly wondered why His Majesty's strength was so weak.

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

Zhang Han then looked relieved. "Thank you, Your Majesty. It seems Xu Fu has found the art of immortality for Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Zu An rolled his eyes, thinking, *What kind of nonsense is this?* It really did resemble the Qin Dynasty from his past life, but how could people from that era possibly be such formidable cultivators?

Something must be wrong!

However, since the show had begun, he could only grit his teeth and continue. So he let out a long sigh:

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

Zhang Han immediately fell to his knees, trembling with fear. "Your humble servant deserves to die ten thousand deaths!"