Chapter 095: The Imperial Seal of the State

  Liu Bian left Luoyang for just over a month, and when he stepped into the imperial palace again, he had a feeling of being away from home for a long time.

  The Zhuque Gate, which was burned by Yuan Shu, had its damaged wooden parts dismantled, leaving only the white marble base. The black marks were still there, reminding Liu Bian of the big fire a few months ago.

  Yuan Wei originally promised to rebuild the Zhuque Que, but after Yuan Shao and his brothers escaped, Yuan Wei played a dead end, and no one mentioned it again. Liu Bian wanted to rebuild, but he was busy with a burning head and scorching brain, exhausting his mind to collect grain and supplies, and had no spare money to repair the Zhuque Que.

  Looking at the former symbol of Luoyang City, Liu Bian was dazed as if in a dream.

  Liu Bian first went to the South Palace to pay his respects to Empress Dowager. The palace was very quiet, and Liu Bian, in order to reduce expenses, accepted the suggestion of Lu Zhi and others, and released almost all of the palace maids from the palace, with a total number of over 10,000 people. The concubines left behind by the previous emperors were no exception, and they were given a sum of money to disperse them, those who had families returned home, those without families relied on their relatives, and only those who had nowhere else to go remained in the palace. Fortunately, the previous emperors did not have any sons, which reduced a lot of trouble.

  It's strange to say, but it seems that every dynasty will have the problem of extinction when it declines. After Emperor Shun of Eastern Han, they faced this problem. Emperors Chong and Zhi died young, so it was tolerable. When Emperor Huan passed away at 36 years old, he had three daughters but no son. It can be said that Emperor Ling's two sons were already a great contribution to the Han Dynasty.

  Of course, Emperor Ling had far more than two sons, but only two survived. The main person responsible for this was Empress He, and if Emperor Ling had not protected him properly, Liu Bian would also have fallen into Empress He's clutches.

  She ended up with a bad fate, and it's probably also a retribution from the heavens.

  There were no more young palace maids with their elegant dresses, nor could the sweet songs of orioles be heard. The palace was desolate and seemed to have been abandoned for a hundred years. In some corners, weeds had already grown. A few old eunuchs who had survived the disaster and some white-haired palace maids who had nowhere else to go were pulling out the weeds and chatting idly. When they saw the emperor approaching, they looked dull and moved slowly, only silently watching Liu Xian pass by, then silently continuing their work.

  Liu Bian was very displeased in his heart.

  The east wing was a bit lively, and Princess Wan was directing several young palace maids and officials to put the sun-dried books back into the green bags. When Liu Bian left Luoyang, he instructed her to re-examine the books in the east wing, at least to see which ones were still there and which ones had gone missing. As for the original guardian who dared to draw his sword against Lu Zhi, Liu Bian didn't trust him, so he found an excuse to transfer him away.

  Liu Xie was also busy on the side, and in a month he seemed to have grown taller. Seeing Liu Bian walk in, he hesitated for a moment before rushing forward, bowing his head: "Chenliu King's subject Xie, pays respects to Your Majesty."

  Liu Bian licked his lips and gave a reproachful glance at the Princess of Wan Nian. The Princess of Wan Nian shook her head helplessly, indicating that this had nothing to do with her.

  "Ah Jie, there's no outsider here, don't be so reserved. These days..."

  "Your Majesty, the relationship between ruler and subject is the most important of all human relationships, it cannot be taken lightly." Liu Xie said solemnly, glancing at the guards behind Liu Bian, his face stern: "Unless they are officials from the Three Lords' offices or eunuchs on duty in the palace, it's not suitable for them to enter the palace. Moreover, these people are armed and armored, which is even more inappropriate."

  "Who told you all this?" Liu asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "This is the rule of the palace." Liu Xie made another bow: "Your Majesty and I have been studying since childhood, why do we need others to teach us?"

  Liu Bian felt anxious, seeing the good mood of his family members being ruined by Liu Xie's few words. According to his previous temper, he would have scolded Liu Xie a couple of times at this moment, but after more than a month of military life, he had learned to hide his thoughts. He tilted his mouth: "Ah Xie, I just returned from the front line and am a bit tired."

  "Your Majesty is overworked, I am incompetent and unable to share your worries, I am ashamed and wish to die."

  Liu Bian chuckled and said, "You're still young, no need to be ashamed. Study hard, work diligently, and you'll have your chance to make a difference in the future."

  "Thank you, Your Majesty." Liu Xie bowed again and retreated slowly. After his figure disappeared around the corner of the wall, Liu Bian spoke impatiently: "Elder sister, who did this? A good child was taught to be like an old man."

  "It has nothing to do with me." The princess sighed: "Perhaps... he's experienced too many things, he's a bit precocious. Ah Kuo is different from you and me, he's been sensible since he was a child."

  Liu Bian didn't think much of it. Liu Xie had been more sensible than his siblings since childhood. It's no wonder, their mothers were not on the same level. Empress He was tall and beautiful, but she lacked knowledge, upbringing, and was far inferior to Wang Meiren, who came from a noble family and was well-read and courteous.

  "Your Majesty, something big has happened in the palace." Princess Wan Year led Liu Bian to the inner chamber, her eyes filled with worry: "The Imperial Seal... is gone."

  "Lost?" Liu Bian was startled and stood up: "What does 'lost' mean?"

  "It's gone, it can't be found." The Princess of Wan said: "That day when I left the palace, Zhang let someone take it out of the palace, and then...and then it was never seen again, could it be..."

  Looking at the sorrowful eyes of Princess Wan, Liu Bian scratched his head and suddenly burst out laughing. Before this, he had been living in fear all along and didn't have the mood to care about the Imperial Seal of China, nor did he recall the legend from history. It wasn't until now, when Princess Wan told him so solemnly about the loss of the Imperial Seal, that he remembered it.

  "It's okay, he should still be in the palace." Liu Bian waved his hand, thought for a moment, and asked again: "Who else knows about this?"

  "Except for Zhang Rang and a few others, only the three of us siblings know about it now." Princess Wan Year's worried expression didn't clear up: "However, Symbolic General has already left Luoyang, I'm afraid the news of the Imperial Seal's disappearance can't be hidden for too long."

  Liu's eyebrows rose in displeasure. The Imperial Seal has been lost, how can we let the Symbol Officer leave? We should kill him directly to eliminate future troubles.

  As soon as this idea emerged in his mind, Liu Bian was startled by himself. The thought of killing someone came so naturally and directly, as if it had been hidden in his heart all along. How could this be?

  Killing people on the battlefield is inevitable, but this isn't a battlefield. The loss of the Imperial Seal isn't even the Symbol Officer's responsibility - he doesn't even know it's lost. To think of killing just to keep it secret is simply too cruel.

  Is this...the instincts of an emperor?

  Liu Bian furrowed his brow, shocked and frightened. Seeing Liu Bian's expression, the Princess Wan'an became anxious and hastily apologized. Liu Bian was taken aback, then came to himself and pulled the Princess Wan'an up: "Sister, this is not your responsibility, there's no need for you to blame yourself. The Imperial Seal should still be in the palace, I remember that after leaving the palace, I haven't seen the Imperial Seal again."

  "Really?" Princess Wan Nian raised a glimmer of hope: "Then I'll go take a look in the palace?"

  "Find an excuse and search all the wells in the palace." Liu Bian hesitated, "Don't make a fuss, if we arouse other people's suspicion, it will be troublesome."

  "I understand."

  The third update, seeking recommendations, seeking collections!