Chapter 55 Part 2

When the group arrived at Xianyang City and Liu Yuan came to greet them, Liu Zhen saw the subtle look he gave Madam Tao and knew that he must have heard about this matter as well.

If this group had only consisted of Madam Zhang and her retinue, Liu Yuan would absolutely not have come out of the city to welcome them. But with the addition of Song Xie, An Zheng, and the others, it was different. No matter how busy Liu Yuan was, he would personally come out to greet them. This was a display of respect for worthy men, something many knew of but few could actually do. Thus, Song Xie and the others were very moved. Reunited after a long separation, they naturally had much to talk about.

Liu Zhen noticed a middle-aged man behind Liu Yuan. He looked unfamiliar, but from his attire, he didn't seem to be an ordinary attendant. Sure enough, after a while, she heard Liu Yuan introduce him: "This is the former Qin's Minister of the Treasury, surnamed Fang, name Yu, courtesy name Ruohua. He has assisted me greatly these past days."

The Minister of the Treasury was the official in charge of the state treasury. Fang Yu's contribution was certainly not small, as he had helped Liu Yuan take inventory of the treasures in the Emperor of Qin's Palace and distribute them among the feudal lords. However, in front of Song Xie, An Zheng, and the others, he didn't dare to act arrogant. Hearing Liu Yuan's introduction, he quickly cupped his hands in greeting, and the two sides exchanged another round of pleasantries.

While Liu Yuan was busy strengthening his relationships with his subordinates, Liu Zhen had already raised her head to survey the majestic city.

Xianyang hadn't been the imperial capital for long, only during the Qin dynasty. Before it, the capital of the Son of Heaven of Zhou was Haojing, and after it came Chang'an. However, because of Qin Shi Huang, the ancient capital of Xianyang radiated a unique brilliance.

The Emperor of Qin's Palace had not been put to the torch by Xiang Yu as it was in history. Just by standing at the city gate and gazing in its direction, Liu Zhen could already glimpse its magnificence and splendor. To think that back then, one edict after another to eliminate the six states and unify the world was issued from this very place. To think that back then, Qin Wuyang and Jing Ke entered the Emperor of Qin's Palace from here, intending to assassinate the Emperor of Qin, but their legs grew weak and their faces changed color at the foot of the high steps out of fear and the palace's sheer majesty. From this, it was not hard to imagine how magnificent and grand this palace, a crystallization of the wisdom and effort of generations of the Qin State, truly was!

Liu Zhen took a deep breath, barely managing to calm her stirred emotions.

She could understand why Liu Yuan had to seize this place before anyone else. Upon entering Xianyang, taking this city and this palace for oneself, watching them submit at one's feet, what arose spontaneously was a heroic ambition to dominate the world.

Xiang Yu looked down on Xianyang and detested the people of Qin, so he had no great attachment to it. Given the choice, he would rather burn it down than keep it. What the other feudal lords valued was the wealth within the Emperor of Qin's Palace, not the empty shell of a palace.

But Liu Yuan was preparing to make this place the starting point of his hegemonic cause.

Perhaps others didn't feel as deeply as Liu Zhen. After hearing that they would soon be living in the Emperor of Qin's Palace, Liu Wan and the others had the fatigue and frustration from the long journey swept away completely, and they began to excitedly discuss with Liu Zhuang which palace chamber they would live in.

When the carriages finally arrived at the Emperor of Qin's Palace, Liu Wan realized just how naive her previous plans had been.

The steps stretched upwards, one after another, for at least a hundred feet. Just the thought of how to climb to the top was enough to daunt anyone. Not to mention the magnificent palace buildings atop the high platform, which rose and fell like mountain ranges, and the covered skywalks that spanned two palaces like flying rainbows. Even after looking again and again, it felt impossible to take in the entire scene.

They stood on the ground, gazing up in awe at these palaces that seemed to be among the clouds.

For a moment, there was dead silence.

The younger ones stared, their eyes fixed. Liu Wan couldn't help but murmur, "To live in a palace like this, I would be willing to die!"

Song Hong glanced at her with disapproval and said with maturity, "Without these steps, the palaces and pavilions would look ordinary. The higher the steps are built, the more they can display the emperor's majesty!"

To hit the nail on the head at such a young age—Liu Zhen was once again amazed by Song Hong's precociousness. But what she was thinking was that a palace complex of this scale probably couldn't be matched even by a dozen Forbidden Cities of later eras. How much manpower and resources must it have cost? Add to that the expenses for the Great Wall, the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, and the Epang Palace, it was simply unimaginable how much wealth Qin Shi Huang had amassed from the world. No wonder the feudal lords were tempted by the treasures of the Emperor of Qin's Palace and were willing to travel thousands of miles to extort them.

From another perspective, to be able to give away all this wealth that everyone coveted, Liu Yuan was truly no simple man.

The Emperor of Qin's Palace was enormous. Besides treasures, there were also beauties.

When the state stood, they were the forbidden delicacies of the deep palace. Now that the country was shattered and their homes were gone, they naturally became goods to be picked and chosen at will. Last time, in order to bribe the feudal lords, Liu Yuan had selected many beauties of superior quality and sent them away. He sent a full ten to Xiang Yu's side in one go, all of them peerless beauties.

But the number of concubines in the Emperor of Qin's Palace far exceeded imagination. Not only were there Huhai's women, but also those left from Qin Shi Huang's era. Even if their beauty had faded and love had waned, as long as they were not dead, they would be imprisoned in this magnificent cage for a lifetime. That was why Liu Yuan had brought Madam Zhang over this time, hoping she could help deal with these matters. He had too many affairs to handle right now, and the crisis in Xianyang had not been completely resolved. It was naturally impossible for him to focus his energy on such a trivial matter as how to deal with the women of the Emperor of Qin's Palace.

But Madam Zhang had disappointed him once again.

The commotion of changing residences had been considerable. Even though Liu Yuan was in Xianyang, someone had written to him in advance to report it.

In terms of his perception of the Liu family, Liu Yuan's was definitely not much better than Madam Zhang's. But after he became wealthy, not only did he not hold onto old grudges, he even properly settled his father and brothers.

This wasn't because he truly didn't mind anymore, but because he felt that the most important thing at hand was not to get entangled in such trivial matters. Moreover, if these small things were not handled well, it would also damage his reputation.

Therefore, Liu Yuan strongly disapproved of Madam Zhang's mutually destructive approach. In his view, even if she wanted revenge, there were better ways than this method of killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of his own.

And then there was the matter of Tao Ji...

Liu Yuan rubbed his temples. After sending off Song Xie and the others, he pushed aside the documents on his desk and relaxed his body. A perceptive maid naturally came forward to massage his shoulders.

Days of intense work had kept his nerves taut. He had thought he would be able to relax a little once Song Xie, Madam Zhang, and the others arrived, but unexpectedly, he felt even more tired. If he could, Liu Yuan wanted to just drop everything and enjoy himself with a couple of beauties. But he knew he couldn't. Everything he had now was hard-won, and he would not allow it to be destroyed by anyone or anything.

There were many palace chambers in the Emperor of Qin's Palace, and the magnificent and extravagant ones were countless. Just among those that the previous few Kings of Qin had liked to live in, there were more than a dozen. Among them was one where it was said Zhao Gao had killed the Second Qin Emperor, Huhai.

The one Liu Yuan was currently living in was called Longquan. It was neither the most magnificent nor the most beautiful, nor had any Emperor of Qin ever lived in it. It had previously been used as a side pavilion for storing miscellaneous items. However, Liu Yuan liked its location. As long as the palace doors were open, he could gaze at the green fields and mountains in the distance even while sitting inside. This gave Liu Yuan the feeling of being amidst the clouds, looking down upon all of creation.

At that moment, a palace maid said from outside, "Your Majesty, Minister Fang requests an audience."

Liu Yuan had no choice but to shake off his languid state of mind. "Let him in."

Fang Yu entered from outside and bowed to Liu Yuan.

Liu Yuan said, "Minister Fang, there is no need for such formalities. Are my wife and children all settled in?"

Fang Yu said, "Rest assured, Your Majesty, they have all been settled."

According to the old rules, matters like assigning palace chambers were usually handled by eunuchs. There was no need for someone like Fang Yu, who managed the state treasury, to step in; their duties didn't align at all. But who could help it when everything was still in chaos? The former Qin eunuchs had either died in the war or fled. The few who remained were scattered, and Liu Yuan had no mind to gather them. In any case, Fang Yu was handy to use, so he decided to inconvenience him by having him take on this part-time job for now.

Liu Yuan then asked, "Which palace chambers did they choose?"

Fang Yu said, "The Princess Consort chose Zhounan."

A glint flashed in Liu Yuan's eyes. "What about the others?"

Fang Yu said, "Young Mistress Ah Zhen is in Hanguang. The other two young mistresses chose Jixin and Zijin respectively. The three young masters have gone to the western palaces."

The Emperor of Qin's Palace was actually a general term for several palaces. Its main body was the Xianyang Palace, but it also included Shanglin Park, Ganquan Palace, and the yet-to-be-completed Epang Palace. Its scale was difficult to describe with words, which was why Liu Zhen had felt the palaces looked like an endless mountain range when she first entered Xianyang City.

These palace chambers were connected by covered skywalks or paved corridors on the ground. After Liu Yuan took control of Xianyang City, the original palace staff were not sent away but were gathered and moved to the eastern side of Xianyang Palace by his order. He cleared out the western and central palace chambers for himself and his family to live in. As for Song Xie, An Zheng, and the others, since the palace was large enough and had plenty of rooms, and since they had to meet for discussions every day, Liu Yuan had them settled here as well to save them the trouble of traveling back and forth, granting them temporary chambers to reside in.

Most of the palace chambers in Xianyang Palace were named after various titles from the Book of Odes. Zhounan, which Madam Zhang chose, was one of the most important and magnificent chambers. Qin Shi Huang never established an empress in his life, but he had this chamber decorated to the specifications of an empress's quarters and never allowed anyone to live in it. After Huhai ascended the throne, this palace became his main playground. Thus, as soon as Liu Yuan heard which chamber Madam Zhang had chosen, he knew she must have heard from Fang Yu about the history of Zhounan.

Zhounan was not close to Longquan, where he was staying. One had to cross a covered skywalk, a journey of about half an incense stick's time.

As for Jixin and Zijin, they were located near Zhounan and were also very magnificent chambers. It was understandable that little girls would like beautiful things. However, Liu Zhen's choice of Hanguang was somewhat out of Liu Yuan's expectations.

One palace over from Longquan was Hanguang. Hanguang was neither magnificent nor simple. Its greatest feature was its convenience. To what extent was it convenient? A covered skywalk was right outside the door, and there was an internal staircase in the chamber that led directly to the ground. Above Hanguang, there was a small library.

Thus, it was not difficult to imagine Liu Zhen's original intention for choosing this place.

For Liu Zhen, this was practically a holy land for lazy people, a must-have for a homebody. The mere thought of having to climb all those winding, up-and-down staircases and skywalks near and far was enough to make her legs feel weak.

No one knows a daughter better than her father. So, upon hearing Fang Yu's report, Liu Yuan almost wanted to laugh.

He still remembered that Liu Zhen had once wanted to learn archery. But given this situation, forget being a superb archer who could pierce a willow leaf from a hundred paces, it would probably be a long time before Liu Zhen could even master her aim. Perhaps in the future, she would even sigh and groan at having to walk a long distance.

His originally gloomy mood lifted slightly. Liu Yuan asked again, "What about Madam Tao? Where did the Princess Consort place her?"

Fang Yu said, "Tao Ji is in Taoyao."

Taoyao was connected to Zhounan. Its specifications were slightly smaller than Zhounan's, but its magnificence was comparable. It was said to have been the residence of Qin Shi Huang's favored concubine. Of course, since the names of his favored concubines often changed, the master of that chamber was also constantly changing.

Madam Zhang's arrangement for Madam Tao to live in this chamber was likely because she saw how much Liu Yuan valued Madam Tao and didn't want to displease him over such a small matter.

Who would have thought that Liu Yuan would raise his eyebrows, pause for a moment, and then say, "No, have her move to Baihua."

Baihua was farther away and in a more remote location, no different from a storage room.

Fang Yu was a little surprised, but he didn't show it on his face and still complied. Inwardly, however, he thought, it seems the King of Yu is also wary of the rumor about the strange child.

Seeing that there was nothing else, Fang Yu took his leave. But Liu Yuan did not rest. Instead, he summoned Liu Zhen.

Liu Zhen had just finished washing up and was about to lie down on her new bedding for a good sleep. Unexpectedly, she was summoned and had to hurry over, all the while pondering why her father wanted to see her so soon after they had just parted at the palace gate. It couldn't possibly be for trivial matters like "Are you used to it here?" or "Was the journey tiring?".

But she was wrong. It seemed Liu Yuan really did want to just chat with her about daily life. He asked about their time in Zhuxian County, including the progress of Liu Zhen's and Liu Jin's studies, all the way to their journey to Xianyang. He asked about every detail, big and small. Liu Zhen answered each question, and Liu Yuan said with gratification, "Ah Zhen, your mother passed away early, and your eldest brother is unpromising. It's been thanks to you all these years, taking care of your younger siblings and helping your mother manage household affairs!"

Liu Zhen grinned. "Father says I've worked hard. I wonder what my reward is?"

Liu Yuan also smiled. "How about getting you a new mother?"

What???

Liu Zhen suspected there was something wrong with her ears.

Looking at Liu Yuan again, he was still smiling, as if he didn't realize what shocking words he had just spoken.

Father, are you joking, or are you serious?