Chapter 10: The Secret Room

  Liu Bian was shocked, had she seen through his weakness?

  "What's different?"

  "In the past, Your Majesty could only hide behind others and didn't even dare to speak loudly. Sometimes, you had to let your subjects appear in front of you to shield you. Today's Your Majesty dares to confront Yuan Shu's uncle and nephew head-on, although for now, you can't gain the upper hand, but the courage is unprecedented."

  Liu Bian smiled and evaded the question: "So, do you like the changes I've made?"

  "What do you think?" Tang Ying's eyes fluttered, and she leaned lightly on Liu Bian's shoulder, letting out a sigh of relief: "Your Majesty, I naturally hope that Your Majesty is a husband, a true Son of Heaven. Although I am strong-willed, after all, I am a woman, and I cannot bear such heavy responsibility, I... am very tired."

  She smiled, with tears shining in the corners of her eyes, and a sense of relief that she couldn't put into words: "Now that Your Majesty has taken a stand, I won't have to be so tired anymore. I'm very pleased, Your Majesty, I'm overjoyed."

  Liu Bian hesitated for a moment, reached out to put his arm around Tang Ying's shoulder, patted him lightly and sighed: "Dealing with Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, I might still be okay, but in front of Yuan Wei, I couldn't even say a word."

  "This is normal." Tang Ying curled her lips: "The most outstanding leader of the Yuan family, who has been in power for four generations and three public offices, let alone Your Majesty, even if the previous emperor were alive, he would not be able to contend with him."

  "He's so fierce... why is that?"

  "One is the profound family background, with a foundation of over 100 years and four generations of high-ranking officials, which is unattainable by ordinary people. Two is that he himself has been in officialdom for a long time, holding high positions, and has developed an air of authority." Tang Ying lowered his head, using his foot to splash the water in the pool. "Nowadays, no one among the high-ranking officials in the court can be compared with him. Even Dong Zhuo is his former subordinate, and even if he doesn't respect him in his heart, he has to show respect on his face, otherwise he will be ridiculed."

  "Dong Zhuo is a former subordinate of Yuan Shao?" Liu Bian was taken aback. If that's the case, then he could understand Dong Zhuo's humility in front of Yuan Shao.

  "Dong Zhuo used to be Yuan Shu's Sikou, so he was naturally his former official." Tang Ying curled her lip again: "Yuan Shu's wife came from Fufeng Ma family, and Lu Zhi was a student of her father Ma Rong, so when Lu Zhi saw Yuan Shu, his momentum would also be weaker by three points."

  Liu Bian understood. The four generations of three dukes, the students and former officials all over the world, can't it be just a simple talk on the mouth? This is the rule, to mix in this official circle, you must follow this rule. Lu Zhi was a great Confucian scholar, Dong Zhuo was a fierce general, but they couldn't violate this rule either. Even he himself was no exception. Yuan Wei was the Grand Tutor, his nominal teacher, if he didn't show respect to Yuan Wei, he would also be ridiculed by people all over the world.

  No wonder Yuan Shu was able to move the world with a single word and have everyone respond to his call.

  "But no matter how powerful he is, he's still a subject. Your Majesty may be slightly weaker now, but you're still the ruler." Tang Ying changed his tone and comforted, "As long as Your Majesty doesn't reveal any weaknesses, he can't do anything to you."

  Liu Bian let out a bitter laugh, thinking to himself that he had ultimately underestimated Yuan Yi. Looking at Yuan Yi and Yuan Shao's current attitude, even if he struggled with all his might, the most he could do was preserve his life, becoming a puppet, until Yuan Shao's power grew strong enough, then he would be kicked aside.

  "If... you can grasp the secret of Tai Ping Dao, perhaps you can turn defeat into victory."

  "What secrets could Taiping Dao possibly have? Even Zhang Jiao is dead, what use would any secrets be?"

  Tang Ying shook her head and stood up: "I don't know what secrets the Taiping Tao has, but if this secret is ordinary, the previous emperor would not have spent so much effort." She looked at the fake mountain across the pool: "Your Majesty, maybe... you should go take a look at what the previous emperor left behind here."

  Liu Bian looked at the artificial hill in front of him, and suddenly a thought popped up in his mind. That's right, before Ling Emperor passed away, he had been hiding here for a long time, busy with something, but no one knew what it was. When he finally fell ill, he was carried out from this very place. Perhaps... there really were some secrets hidden inside, such as what this stone ball was and whether it had anything to do with the dragon.

  Liu Bian got up and walked around the Dragon Washing Pool, bent down and entered the fake mountain, turned a few bends in the towering giant stones, climbed up more than ten stone steps, and a secluded small building appeared before his eyes.

  ……

  This is a small building that can't be considered spacious, but it's absolutely not cramped. The first floor is inside the artificial hill, and the second floor is on top of the artificial hill, which is a pavilion with transparent walls on all four sides. From the outside, it seems to be just an ordinary pavilion, and no one would know that there is a secret room under this pavilion.

  In the empty room, there was only a very wide and sturdy brocade couch. On the north wall hung a portrait of an emperor, but it was unclear which one, with an ancient and awkward appearance, a stern expression, sitting on the back of a dragon, as if floating in mid-air.

  On the east wall, an old man riding a cow is painted, somewhat like the Shouxing of later generations. He has slender eyes and long whiskers, no crown on his head, only a headscarf, with wide sleeves and a majestic demeanor, both hands clasped in front of his chest, as if paying homage to the emperor in the middle.

  On the west wall, however, is painted a Hu man riding an elephant. It is impossible to tell who it is. His eyes are half-closed and his hands are clasped together in front of his chest, with a dignified and majestic appearance that commands respect.

  "This is..."

  "The one riding the dragon in the middle should be Huangdi." Tang Ying said uncertainly: "The one riding a cow is naturally Laozi, and this one riding an elephant... should be Fotu Hu Seng."

  Liu Bian suddenly remembered, that's right, the previous emperor not only worshipped Laozi in the palace but also worshipped Fotu, which is the Buddha of the Western world. He just didn't expect the Buddha to be so thin and frail.

  Tang Ying looked around and slightly frowned: "It seems that the Empress Dowager has already taken everything away, nothing is left."

  Liu Bian nodded in agreement, and just as he was about to turn around and leave, his eyes suddenly caught something out of the corner of his eye, and he couldn't help but pause for a moment. He turned around and walked over to the wall, lifting up the tapestry that covered it. Tang Xing followed him, took one glance, and also let out an involuntary cry of surprise: "Ah——"

  The entire wall is filled with vivid and lifelike Spring Palace paintings. Although they can't be compared to the precision of later generations' digital photography, the figures' movements and even expressions are extremely well-expressed, and you can almost hear their breathing sounds beside your ears.

  Liu Bian was very embarrassed, Tang Ying was his wife after all, but in this situation, he still felt a bit unnatural. On the other hand, Tang Ying quickly calmed down: "Could it be... that this is the Taiping Dao's Fangzhong Shu?"

  "What is the relationship between Taoism and Tai Ping Dao in this house?"

  Tang Ying glanced at Liu Bian, pursed her lips and smiled, and in an instant, Liu Bian was dazed and lost his mind, with a strange flutter in his heart.

  "Your Majesty doesn't know, after the Yellow Turbans were annihilated, the sacred objects of the Taiping Dao, the Nine-Section Staff and the 'Taiping Scripture', were all brought into the palace. Zhang Jiao claimed to be a great virtuous teacher, with two treasures: one was the Nine-Section Staff, and the other was the 'Taiping Scripture'. The 'Taiping Scripture' talks about the art of bedroom techniques. It's said that in the Yellow Turban army, there were not only Yellow Turban warriors but also Yellow Turban holy maidens. The Yellow Turban warriors were Zhang Jiao's elite guards, and the Yellow Turban holy maidens were Zhang Jiao's alchemical furnaces for cultivating his inner energy. Zhang Jiao's magical powers all came from the art of bedroom techniques."

  Liu Bian looked at those vivid and vibrant paintings, and it was easy for him to shift his gaze away: "Where are the Nine-Section Cane and the Taiping Scripture?"

  "This is naturally the most suitable for Empress Dowager." Tang Ying glanced around, her face flushing: "After the death of the previous emperor, everything in the palace was decided by the Empress Dowager."