Liu Bian at the start, so you're called Dong Zhuo, right?

Chapter 125 All Under Control

On the same night, in a side room of the Yuan residence.

The lights were dim.

Yuan Shao sat behind his desk, but his face was more somber than usual.

"It's done."

When he said those two words, his voice was somewhat dry.

"Reports have come back from Zhangde Palace that His Majesty vomited blood today and has ordered the Crown Prince to take charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel and enter the palace to attend to state affairs."

Behind the screen, the slender figure simply gave a soft "hmm".

Yuan Shao stared at the screen, finally unable to suppress the anger in his heart.

"You really have a knack for sitting still."

"He coughed up blood in the Zhangde Hall, and the Crown Prince immediately took charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel and entered the palace to listen to government affairs. At this point, I would not believe that his next move would not be to strike me."

Behind the screen, Jia Xu finally raised his eyes slightly.

"It will come naturally."

Yuan Shao's gaze turned cold.

"Then, in your opinion, what should I do?"

"Pretend to be sick and stay home, just to get through this period?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu gave a faint smile.

"If my lord wishes to die quickly, he may well give it a try."

Yuan Shao's face darkened.

"Wenhe."

Jia Xu, however, remained calm. He simply put down his feather fan and said in a flat voice, "At this moment, my lord, the thing you should avoid most is not seeing the Crown Prince."

"It's because I'm afraid of the Crown Prince."

"If you run away, it means you have a guilty conscience; if you hide, it means you admit it; if you claim to be sick, it means you are handing over the hilt of your knife to him."

"The Crown Prince has just assumed the presidency. Although he has the title of the Prince of Zhangde Palace, he does not yet have the real power to kill the Lord in court."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao's eyes flickered slightly.

Jia Xu continued, "He wants to harm you, but what he lacks most right now is precisely evidence."

"Without irrefutable evidence, he could not have killed the Yuan family members; without irrefutable evidence, he could not have targeted the Xiyuan Colonel and the powerful families on his first day as regent."

"Therefore, one"

He paused for a moment before uttering the most important sentence.

"My lord, you cannot hide."

"I still need to see them."

Yuan Shao remained silent for a moment, then slowly said, "To go see him openly and legitimately?"

"Exactly," Jia Xu said, "and we should be even more prudent and composed than he thinks."

"If Your Highness issues the summons, then my lord shall proceed; if Your Highness does not issue the summons, my lord may also seek an opportunity to speak out."

The more open and honest you are, the harder it is for him to make a move.

"The more you act like a minister with a clear conscience, the more he can only suppress his anger."

Yuan Shao narrowed his eyes.

"But what if he confronts me directly?"

"Then let him ask." Jia Xu's tone remained unchanged. "The more he knows about the Prince's Palace, Chang Le Palace, the post roads, Liangzhou, Zhangde Hall—the less you should panic, my lord."

"Whatever he asked, the lord answered only one thing—"

"Please provide evidence, Your Highness."

Yuan Shao paused slightly on the table with his fingertips.

Jia Xu slowly said, "My lord is a member of the Yuan family, a Colonel of the Western Garden, and an official appointed by the imperial court."

"Without evidence, the Crown Prince wouldn't dare kill you."

"Without evidence, the angrier the Crown Prince gets, the more he seems to be in the wrong."

"If he fails to deliver the first blow after assuming the regency, he will naturally lose three-tenths of his strength before he can breathe a sigh of relief."

These few words seemed to gradually calm down Yuan Shao's somewhat chaotic emotions.

After a long while, he slowly sat up straight.

"So, you want me to go to the Chengde Hall and show it to him—"

"He can't kill me right now."

"It's not about seeing," Jia Xu said calmly, "it's about letting him know for himself."

"I know some people who, even though they know they should be killed, cannot be killed."

"That's the most agonizing part."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao suddenly smiled.

But that smile wasn't relaxed.

"Wenhe."

"Your method is indeed ruthless."

Jia Xu, however, remained unmoved.

"This doesn't count as poison."

"It's just using the lord's name to test just how far the Crown Prince's hand can reach now."

Yuan Shao remained silent for a moment, then suddenly looked up.

"And what about you?"

Jia Xu looked at him.

Yuan Shao said, "If the Crown Prince really investigates further, he will eventually find out that I have someone behind me. Your staying in Luoyang is not a long-term solution."

This time, Jia Xu did not deny it.

He simply pushed a sealed letter off the table.

"So, my lord went to see the Crown Prince."

"I'm going to Liangzhou."

Yuan Shao's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Now?"

"Now," Jia Xu said, "the situation in the capital has progressed to this point. From here on out, it won't be something that can be decided with just a few words in the warm pavilion."

"His Majesty is ill, the Crown Prince is overseeing the state, and my lord is staying in the capital, which is perfect for shielding me from his gaze."

"And I am one."

He paused, and a faint, cold light finally flashed in his eyes.

"We should go and sharpen that knife outside."

Once the edict to oversee the state was issued, the atmosphere inside and outside the palace completely changed.

The footsteps of those passing through the Ministry of Personnel, the Imperial Secretariat, the Zhangde Hall, and the Chengde Hall never ceased.

Everyone thought that Liu Bian's first task would be to seize the secret contact in Zhangde Hall, clear out the medicine route, seal the kitchen, and make a memorial all night long. At the very least, he should stabilize Xiyuan and suppress Changle Palace.

However, Liu Bian's first oral order consisted of only one sentence: "Summon Yuan Shao to see me."

Even Xun Huo raised his eyes slightly upon hearing this.

Liu Bian stood by the window of Chengde Hall.

"I thought he would run away."

Xun replied calmly, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with Liu Bian's inappropriate action.

"If he really runs away, he'll be at a disadvantage."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bian's lips twitched slightly, but there was no real smile in them.

"yes."

"That's why I'm even more curious to see just how fearless he really is."

Less than half an hour later, someone outside the hall announced: "Commander Yuan has arrived—"

The palace doors opened, and Yuan Shao, dressed in court attire, walked with unhurried steps and an air of composure. He entered the hall, bowed respectfully, and performed the proper etiquette flawlessly.

"Your subject Yuan Shao greets Your Highness."

Liu Bian sat at the head of the table, looking at the person below him, and suddenly felt a very faint surprise.

He originally thought that even if Yuan Shao didn't run away, he would at least make some gestures first, such as feigning illness, making excuses, or testing the waters by using Yuan's name.

But Yuan Shao did not.

He arrived so openly and brazenly.

It's as if they're not afraid at all.

"Yuan Benchu."

"Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you today?"

Yuan Shao merely raised his head slightly, a perfectly appropriate hint of doubt even appearing on his face.

"Why did Your Highness kill me?"

Liu Bian stared at him, the coldness in his eyes gradually hardening.

Why?

"On the day the Prince of Chenliu moved his residence, he was assassinated en route; a fire broke out in a side courtyard at night, burning all the survivors; Changle Palace, the Prince of Chenliu's residence, the post road south of the city,

Every private message in Liangzhou, every single one, bears your mark.

"In the Zhangde Hall, the path to medicine, the path to incense, the path to nightly entertainment, and the path to meals—every step was being led astray by someone."

"And Dong Zhuo."

"Yuan Benchu, do you really think I know nothing?"

If any one of these statements is proven true, it would be a capital offense.

But Yuan Shao showed no real panic at all after hearing this.

He simply stood there quietly, waiting for Liu Bian to finish speaking before giving a slight smile.

"Your Highness has said so much."

"Is there any evidence?"

Liu Bian's eyes suddenly turned cold.

Yuan Shao, however, seemed not to notice and continued unhurriedly, "I am a member of the Yuan family of Runan. The Yuan family has devoted itself to the Han Dynasty, receiving the Han's salary and upholding the Han's laws. The entire family are pillars of the Han Dynasty."

"I am now the Commandant of the Western Garden, leading the Emperor's personal guard and receiving official duties from the court."

"Even if Your Highness is the regent, you cannot simply kill court officials and exterminate members of the Yuan family based on mere speculation, can you?"

As he said this, he even took a half step forward and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Don't say it's Your Highness."

"Even when His Majesty is lucid, he would not kill me without cause."

These few words were spoken calmly and without any anger.

But it is precisely this ordinariness that is most depressing.

Because everything he said was the truth.

Without irrefutable evidence or testimonies, no one could directly pinpoint Yuan Shao's guilt.

Even today, the hardest shell on Yuan Shao's body is still the Yuan family name, his title, and his status as the Commandant of the Western Garden.

Liu Bian stared at him, his fingers tightening little by little, almost making a cracking sound from the corner of the table.

The atmosphere in the hall was as tense as a fully drawn string.

Xun Yu glanced at Liu Bian, sighed softly, and finally spoke.

"Commander Yuan".