Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 168 Memory Palace
He couldn't sleep soundly at all; his thoughts were in turmoil, so he simply chose to remain silent. Later, by chance, he learned how to organize and preserve his memories. He put his daily memories in a drawer, and each month in a large cabinet, like in a pharmacy, with twelve cabinets in each room. As long as he didn't open them, these memories lay safely in the drawer, and he finally stopped feeling confused.

But today, perhaps due to the medication, all the memories from when he was five years old came flooding back, as if all the drawers had been opened and their contents spilled onto the floor. These terrifying memories seemed to multiply, constantly replicating themselves and surging forth, one image after another flashing before his eyes. All Yan Mingzhang could do was hold the door shut, desperately trying to stop the memories from spilling out. However, the entire memory palace began to shake, plaster crumbling from the walls, and it looked as if the entire palace was about to collapse!

Some black, viscous liquid seeped out from the crack in the door and slowly flowed down the floor. Yan Mingzhang instinctively knew that if he touched this stuff, he would definitely die!

However, Yan Mingzhang was already exhausted, and the door could be breached at any moment, and he would be overwhelmed.

Yan Mingzhang even felt that he should just give up and let these memories overwhelm him.

"My lord! My lord!"

He suddenly heard someone calling his name, but the voice was very far away. Slowly, the voice got closer, and he could hear the sounds around him clearly, but no matter how he shouted, he couldn't make a sound.

"My lord, wake up!" Yan Mingzhang suddenly felt someone shaking him; the entire palace was shaking. The voice sounded so familiar. Who was it? Who was calling him?
This palace of memories was like a transparent coffin, trapping him inside. He could clearly perceive everything, yet he couldn't open it, couldn't get out; this feeling was truly suffocating.

Fortunately, the sound didn't stop, and it slowly brought him back to his senses. It was as if the ice around him was melting, and the sound helped him find himself.

Yan Mingzhang suddenly realized: No, he couldn't give up like this. He still had something very important to do—he had to find the truth of what happened back then in these memories!

Once Yan Mingzhang made up his mind, the entire palace stopped shaking.

The world has become quiet.

He stood at the door of the room containing his memories from when he was five, intending to push it open. That room, holding his memories from when he was five, carried too much of his pain. He had never had the courage to enter before, but now, he was going to confirm, to confirm the murderer who killed his parents, to find the owner of those eyes.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then resolutely pushed open the door.

The door opened, but contrary to expectations, the world did not collapse. Inside were neatly arranged cabinets, and all the memories were in their proper places. The black liquid had disappeared. All of this stemmed from his inner fear.

He walked past several cabinets until that day arrived. He couldn't do it; he couldn't open that drawer! His hands trembled, tears streamed down his face. He couldn't do it! He couldn't do it! He felt a chill slowly rising from the soles of his feet. In despair, he squatted in front of the cabinet and wept bitterly, "Father, Mother! Your son is useless!"

After crying for a while, he actually felt his body slowly warming up, and the originally dim room suddenly became somewhat bright. He stood up, somewhat surprised, and he regained his strength and courage!

Yan Mingzhang's hand touched the drawer, and all the fear made him tremble. He had reviewed the memories of this day many times, but he had never actually opened it himself; there were only fragments.

Yan Mingzhang froze the scene before him, like a murder scene frozen in time. He examined every detail meticulously, replaying the image over and over again. It was as if he were watching his parents being killed repeatedly before his eyes, powerless to stop it. It was too cruel. Yan Mingzhang could only try his best to control his emotions and calm himself down.

Once things calmed down, many details became apparent:

There were eight assassins in total. The knives they carried all had a family crest on them. We'll draw them and have Changfeng identify them. Wait a minute, just now the older one called the youngest man in black "Little Six"! Little Six? Could it be Changfeng's sixth uncle? Yan Mingzhang walked up to the man, peering through the black cloth at his eyes, eyebrows, eye sockets, and the color of his pupils… Although Changfeng's sixth uncle had aged considerably, many things remained unchanged. This was him! He had also participated in the assassination! He was lying!
"Sixth Brother, if we can't find the things, so be it. There's no time to lose. Just burn the box in the back!" the eldest man in black ordered.

"Dad, are we going to burn all of this? What a waste!" Xiao Liu looked at the cart full of valuables and was very reluctant to part with it.

“We can’t take this corrupt official’s stuff,” the oldest man said. “The higher-ups have given instructions: if we don’t complete the mission, do you know what will happen to us!”

Xiao Liu pouted and reluctantly lit the fire. Seeing that the others were surrounding the Yan family, he secretly stuffed a small jade bottle, no bigger than the palm of his hand, into his pocket. He guiltily looked back to see if he had been discovered, but saw a pair of innocent eyes from a child.

He felt a little guilty and glared at the child.

Yan Mingzhang paused the entire scene, walked over to Xiao Liu, looked at the jade bottle, and seemed to remember something.

I said goodbye to my parents and closed the drawer.

Yan Mingzhang walked to the drawer from a month ago, suddenly opened it, and memories rushed back.

"Zhang'er, wipe your hands, come and eat some red date cake. Mother just made it, it's still warm!" Bai Yinzhi brought in a plate of red date cake from outside.

"Mom! Dad! You eat too!" Five-year-old Yan Mingzhang lifted a piece of red date cake and put it into Bai Yinzhi's mouth.

"Zhang'er, be good. Your father is busy with something, don't bother him..." Bai Yinzhi said with a smile as she took a bite of the red date cake that Yan Mingzhang handed her.

She calmed the child down, then went to the desk and tidied it up for Yan Lizhuo. Yan Lizhuo was holding a jade bottle, staring at it blankly.

"Husband, what do you plan to do?" Bai Yinzhi asked with some concern.

“I wish to report this matter to His Majesty and present this jade bottle to him for his decision.” Yan Lizhuo stopped what he was doing and sighed. “In truth, if the new emperor is benevolent, what does it matter who is emperor? But if I were to know about this and not report it, I would be unworthy of being a subject…”

Yan Mingzhang suddenly trembled as if struck by lightning, his mind racing through all the information he had gathered over the years. What secrets did this jade bottle hold? He had to find it!

"grown ups!"

"grown ups!"

The shouts around me grew louder and louder.