Chapter 3: The Nation's Heavy Equipment (2)

  Cixi and Guangxu looked at each other in surprise, but Li Lianying was worried, his face covered in cold sweat, staring into the hole without daring to blink.

  Cixi said: "Lotus English, go."

  Li Lianying's throat was tight, and she could hardly say anything, so she forced herself to calm down and said: "Yes, yes!" Li Lianying had been following Cixi for many years and was considered to have seen and heard a lot. She would often tell Cixi about strange stories from the Jianghu world when there was nothing else to do. But on this trip, seeing such bizarre scenes, she was still uneasy in her heart, and her feet were chilled with fright. Except for Cixi and Emperor Guangxu, Zaifeng and others had changed their expressions greatly, and they all stared blankly for a moment.

  The Guangxu Emperor originally had a sickly look on his face, but seeing the light emanating from the cave, he suddenly looked spirited and stood up straight.

  Cixi watched, couldn't help but hum a sound, turned her head back, and followed the man in the yellow robe, walking straight into the cave. The crowd saw Cixi lead the way, also stiffened their scalps, and soon the whole group walked down into the cave.

  Everyone entered the cave and walked down a few steps before the entrance creaked shut, fortunately the interior was already bright as day, so it didn't shock everyone.

  The downward staircase looks winding and long, but in fact it's because the cave was not very bright when it just opened, and the stairs are curved. Actually walking down, there are only more than 20 steps. Everyone walked down the stairs to a brightly lit hall, which is very spacious, with an area far exceeding that of the temple on the ground. On one side of the hall stood three rows of masked men wearing clothes of different colors, five in each row, dressed in yellow, red and green brocade respectively, all wearing headgear of the same color as their clothes to cover their faces, revealing only two eyes.

  These fifteen strange men stood still, like clay or wooden sculptures, not moving at all. The yellow-robed man walking in the front clapped his hands three times, and only then did these fifteen people stir into action. They pulled out planks from under their feet and against the wall, and instantly assembled them into three soft chairs. Five men formed a group, rushing towards Empress Dowager Cixi, Emperor Guangxu, and others.

  Li Lianying shouted loudly: "You have a big nerve, kneel down and worship! How dare you disturb the imperial carriage!"

  These strange men didn't even bother to greet them, but directly walked up and helped Empress Dowager Cixi, Guangxu Emperor, and Empress Longyu onto a sedan chair and lifted it up.

  Li Lianying had by now recovered from her shock and knew that they did not have any malicious intentions, but she still scolded: "Where do you rascals come from! You..."

  Cixi grasped the armrest of her soft chair, her hand trembling slightly. Li Lianying hastily closed his mouth and remained silent. Cixi said in a low voice, "Do not speak further!"

  A man in a yellow robe saw Cixi, Guangxu and Longyu already seated, turned around, slapped the wall with one palm, his five fingers exerting force together. A brick on the wall was pulled out by him, he pressed it with both hands, and heard a cracking sound, this wall slowly split open from the middle, revealing a wide passageway inside.

  The yellow-robed eunuch turned around and gave Cixi a slight bow, saying in a deep voice: "I have disturbed Your Majesty, please move to the palace."

  Cixi nodded in agreement, and the yellow-robed Han man led the crowd forward once again.

  I don't know how far we walked, but I heard the sound of drums, and in front of us was a vast expanse of brightness. Suddenly, it was a huge temple hall. Everyone walked into this great hall, only to see an eight-sided altar placed in the center, as high as two people. Each side was densely carved with sacrificial texts and patterns. A discerning person would know at a glance that the inscribed texts and patterns were the numbers of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams divination. They were: Nine Harmony Nine, Righteousness Penetrates Three Realms, Compassion is Fundamental, Virtue Must be Preserved, Face the Eight Directions, Filial Piety Penetrates Three Realms, Six Paths Six, Rituals and Righteousness Must Come First, Three Worlds of Cause and Effect.

  On this octagonal altar, there is a precious tripod placed in the center.

  Around the hall, more than ten people were standing, all wearing yellow, red and green clothes, covering their heads and faces, only revealing their eyes. On one side of the octagonal altar, there was a high platform with two people standing on it, wearing red and green robes, standing with their hands down, but not covering their faces. Below the platform were five large drums, strangely, only three people stood beside the five drums, while two drums had no one in front of them.

  An old man dressed in a five-colored robe of yellow, red, green, white and purple came forward, shouting: "The auspicious time has arrived! Please welcome the Five Elements Supreme Holy King Ding!"

  Cixi's face changed slightly, her body trembling as if she was about to get up. Li Lianying hastily stepped forward to support her and asked: "Your Majesty, are you going to get up?"

  Cixi's voice trembled as she said: "Help me kneel down!"

  Li Lianying was shocked and did not dare to disobey, so he followed Cixi down. Cixi walked a few steps forward and knelt down in front of the octagonal altar with a thud. Guangxu Emperor and Longyu also hastily followed suit, kneeling all over the place according to imperial etiquette.

  Only then did the two people see the high altar faintly making a sound, gradually lowering down, until it stopped when it was about half a person's height.

  The man in the yellow robe stepped forward, took down the tripod from the altar, turned around with a serious expression and slowly walked to Cixi's side, handing her the tripod.

  Cixi took over the tripod, only to see that it was no bigger than a fist, with an ancient color and fragrance, neither gold nor iron nor wood nor jade. Five dragons coiled around the body of the tripod, vivid and lifelike, their heads gathered at the top of the tripod, and then divided into five directions, poking out their heads, baring their teeth and claws, very realistic. Among the five dragons, three dragons seemed to be holding a bright pearl in their mouths, with yellow, red, and green light emanating from their eyes, making them look even more majestic. However, there were two dragons whose mouths were empty, and their eyes were dull and lifeless, as if they had lost their souls, without any vitality.

  Cixi also saw the two dragons that had lost their luster, let out a long sigh and said sorrowfully: "Is it true that our great Qing dynasty is really going to perish?"

  Li Lianying was frightened and kowtowed, shouting like a mantra: "Long live the Great Qing for ten thousand years! Long live the Great Qing for ten thousand years!"

  Cixi ignored him, knelt on the ground and turned around, handing the tripod to Emperor Guangxu, saying sorrowfully: "Your Majesty, please pass this tripod to Puyi." Emperor Guangxu trembled as he took the tripod, holding it in his arms, his eyes dull, saying: "Puyi, Zaifeng, Longyu, come here."

  Lon Yü saw this scene, and didn't know whether to be shocked or frightened, or if he had a premonition that Guangxu's life was not long, the Qing dynasty's fate was about to end. He cried until he became a tearful person. The three of them knelt in front of Guangxu, with Pu Yi in the lead, looking at Guangxu who still looked confused and didn't know what to do. Emperor Guangxu looked at this three-year-old child, sighed, composed himself, and said: "Pu Yi, listen to my decree!"

  Although Puyi was young, he understood this sentence and hurriedly knelt on the ground, saying in a childish voice: "Your child obeys!"

  The Guangxu Emperor said: "What I hold in my arms is called the Five Elements Supreme Sacred King Ding, passed down from the First Emperor to the present day. It is a secret of the imperial family that has been kept for generations, and whoever gets this ding will get the world, while whoever loses it will lose the world. This ding is also divided into five elements, known as Jin Nie, Mu Guang, Shui Ling, Huo Xia, and Tu Pan, all gathered inside this ding, with a dragon's mouth lamp shining brightly to show people. If all five lamps are extinguished, then the five elements will disperse, and the vital energy will be exhausted, and this ding must be lost. This ding is guarded by the Five Elements Thief King, and no one else can move it carelessly. Zai Yun, Long Yu!"

  The Guangxu Emperor knew that Puyi also couldn't understand or remember what he said, but in fact, these words were entirely for Zaifeng and Longyu to hear. Zaifeng understood in his heart, listening word by word, sentence by sentence, and when he heard this, he also took a cold breath, thinking: "Indeed, my Great Qing Dynasty has the heavy treasure of stabilizing the country! Those rumors in the palace were true!"