Chapter 19: The Ten Thousand Year Princess

  He savored the aftertaste of the true energy for a while, but when he deliberately tried to feel it again, he found that the sensation was getting weaker and weaker, and soon disappeared, making him wonder if he had just woken up from a spring dream.

  Until Tang Ying stopped grinding her teeth, yawned and woke up from the dream, Liu Bian still didn't feel any aura.

  "Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Seeing Liu Bian's face full of loss, Tang Ying sat up, somewhat uneasy: "I... did not do well, or I got up too late, and served you inadequately?"

  "Ah?" Liu Bian was taken aback, looking at Tang Ying's half-pleased and half-reproachful face, and hastily said: "No, you're doing great." As he spoke, he squeezed his eyes: "Keep up the good work!"

  Tang Ying let out a breath and glared at him: "What is Your Majesty thinking?"

  "I'm thinking... about the Twelve Shapes of the Yellow Emperor."

  "It doesn't matter, I'll go ask the princess today and we'll know for sure." Tang Ying volunteered.

  "Good." Liu Bian gently stroked Tang Ying's face: "Beauty, you've worked hard."

  "It's worth all the hard work." Tang Ying smiled lightly: "As long as Your Majesty can restore the imperial power, I am willing to do whatever it takes."

  Liu Bian's face was a bit bitter, this goal is a bit too big, can't afford it, and I'm here to find Long, being the emperor is just incidental.

  ……

  After breakfast, Liu Bian went to see Empress He. The Han Dynasty was founded on filial piety, and even the emperor could not be an exception. Moreover, Empress He was a very powerful person, and Liu Bian had been afraid of her before, so he visited her every day. Although he is no longer afraid of her now, thinking that there are only a few relatives in this world, and the empress has just suffered a shock, broken her leg, going to see her and giving her some comfort with affection is also necessary.

  The Empress Dowager's complexion was still poor, and when she saw Liu Bian, she didn't have much spirit. She said a few words of idle chatter and then waved her hand to let him withdraw. Liu Bian was just about to leave when he saw his sister, Princess Wannian, who had come with Liu Xie to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager. Liu Xie's complexion wasn't very good either; his eyes were sunken, and his expression was somewhat dazed.

  Liu Bian stroked Liu Xie's head and asked anxiously: "A Xie, what's wrong with you?"

  "Nothing." Liu Xie shook his head, wanting to speak but stopping himself, and quietly took a step back, leaving Liu Bian.

  "Your Majesty, I and Prince of Chenliu will go to pay our respects to the Empress Dowager, and then return to speak with you again."

  Liu Bian listened to the voice that didn't sound right, and without asking more questions, he nodded and waited outside Yongle Palace. After a while, a faint footsteps sounded from behind, and Princess Wannian walked over, but she didn't see Liu Xie.

  "Your Majesty!" Princess Wan bowed deeply. Although she was Liu Bian's own sister, she also had to pay homage as a subject.

  Liu Bian glanced at Princess Wannian and waved his hand. "Sister seems to have something to say to me, let's go to the Dragon Washing Garden, so as not to disturb Mother."

  The princess of Wan Nian was slightly surprised, she thought for a moment and nodded her head.

  The Washing Dragon Garden is just west of the Yongle Palace, not far away. After exiting from the small gate at the southwest corner and walking a few steps, one arrives at the Washing Dragon Pool. Along that small path, Liu Bian walked up to the pavilion on the artificial hill, leaned against the railing, and gazed out into the distance. The burnt remains of the Vermilion Bird Tower were shocking and extremely eye-catching.

  "Sister, is there something you want to say to me?" Liu Bian turned around, looking at the astonished Wan Niang Gongzhu: "Is it that Ah Xie told you I took away the things Father Emperor left for him?"

  The princess's eyes widened, her small mouth rounded in surprise. In fact, she had already been quite surprised earlier, because she saw Liu Bian standing under the corridor, although his appearance had not changed, but his overall temperament was vastly different from before the coup, like two completely different people. The former emperor, whether standing or sitting, always hung his head and hunched his back, with a timid and cowardly demeanor, while the current emperor, although with a melancholic gaze, held his head high and puffed out his chest, like a bamboo that refused to bend, weak but with a different kind of aura.

  And as he asked this question, the proactive and confident tone in his voice made her wonder if the young man in front of her was still her brother.

  After hesitating for a moment, Princess Wan nodded: "That is the memorial left by the previous emperor to him. You already have the entire Jiangshan, there is no need to take this...this..."

  The princess hesitated for a long time and still couldn't say what this thing was.

  "Sister, you should be clearer than me, the first emperor originally intended to pass on the entire empire to him."

  The princess of Wan Nian let out a soft sigh, speechless. This was the truth, and she couldn't deny it.

  "And this... thing, I don't know what it's called, because the previous emperor never told me." Liu Bian raised an eyebrow, his tone sarcastic. "Maybe you know, maybe you don't, but now I believe that this thing is not just a notion. It is the entire empire."

  The beauty of Princess Wanyan has faded.

  "It seems that sister also knows?" Liu Bian let out a long sigh: "You and the previous emperor are the same, both thinking I'm not capable of shouldering this burden, instead placing your hopes on Ah Xie who's only nine years old?"

  The Princess Wan year lowered her head, avoiding Liu Bian's sorrowful gaze. After a moment, she lifted her head again, with unbearable pain in her eyes.

  "Your Majesty, you should not complain about the late Emperor, nor should you blame me and Prince Chenliu. It is fate, it is fate, no one can change it."

  "Life, what life?"

  "At first, the previous emperor had asked Xu Zan to divine for Your Majesty and Prince Chenliu. He wanted to see which of you two had a more auspicious fate as the Son of Heaven." The face of Princess Wan'an turned pale, her lips losing all their color. "Xu Zan said that you have an imperial destiny, but your life is short. Prince Chenliu also has an imperial destiny, but his life is bitter. What do you think the previous emperor should have done?"

  Liu Bian took a deep breath in, and for a long time, he couldn't say a word.

  Is Xu Zhe a monster? How can he calculate so accurately. Liu Bian in history was not short-lived, and Liu Xie was not miserable either. Is this world still the one I knew, how come there are so many monsters? The dragon in my dream, won't it be real too?

  "Because of Xu Jiao's words, the previous emperor abandoned his intention to replace the crown prince with a younger son." Princess Wan Year looked at Liu Bian with pity: "Your Majesty, do you... know the reason behind this?"

  Liu Bian was furious and laughed instead. Of course, he knew that he had the emperor's fate, but his life was short, and the throne would eventually belong to Liu Xie, who was destined for hardship. Since this was the case, why did Emperor Ling have to fall out with He Jin and insist on letting Liu Bian ascend to the throne first? Could they not wait a little longer, let him enjoy his brief reign and then die, and naturally let Liu Xie succeed him?

  There was actually such a thing inside, and I didn't know it at all. Outsiders, ah, the previous Liu Bian was an outsider, muddled through playing a minor role, and then muddled through death.

  "My life is not in heaven, nor is it in Xu Shao." Liu Bian, who had calmed down, shook his head and cast aside his grievances and all his worries. "Since I am still the Emperor now, I will take on this burden. Sister, are you willing to help me?"