Chapter 28: The Tiger Tally in Hand

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That morning, a gentle autumn rain pattered down from the sky. Listening to the water dripping from the eaves outside, the Empress rubbed her eyes and gently advised, “Your Majesty, it’s raining today. Why not forgo martial training for once?”

Liu Tan shook his head. “No, even if blades were falling from the heavens, I would persist in my training! Haven’t you noticed I’ve shed some of my fat? And I feel much stronger, too!”

With that, he climbed out of bed. Seeing this, the Empress sat up as well, only to be pushed gently back down by Liu Tan. “It’s raining outside. Sleep a little longer.” He threw on the white robe that had been prepared for him, leapt from the bed, and strode toward the back courtyard.

A little monkey darted out from who knows where and followed close behind.

Letting the rain beat against his face and body, Liu Tan maintained a single posture throughout. After several days of diligent practice, he could now comfortably hold this stance for two hours. His internal energy flowed smoothly, and even after two hours, his body no longer ached as before.

Finding the horse stance now effortless, Liu Tan recalled his previous life, when he had once practiced Tai Chi. Why not give it a try here?

No sooner thought than done. He took a deep breath, set his energy in motion, and raised his hands to commence.

He proceeded through warding off, grasping the bird’s tail, single whip, lifting hands, white crane spreads its wings, brushing knee and twisting step, repulse monkey, diagonal flying, needle at sea bottom, flash through the back, turn and chop with fist, step back and parry with fist, closing form.

“Hmm!” Liu Tan nodded, reassured. “I haven’t forgotten. Again!”

So he performed the Tai Chi sequence once more. This time, it wasn’t merely the thirteen forms of Wu style from his previous life, but rather a fusion of every move he knew. Strangely, the techniques that had once felt so awkward and difficult now came naturally. In his mind, he rehearsed each movement, and as thought guided motion, they blended together seamlessly.

The rain continued to fall from above. Clad in white, Liu Tan sometimes stood as motionless as a bell, as if the only thing in the world was the sound of rain. At other times, he moved like the wind, scattering raindrops in all directions. At one moment, he was a thousand-pound hammer; in the next, he was light as a feather.

In his previous life, Liu Tan had only mastered the outward form of Tai Chi, but now he expressed its profound essence to the fullest.

Stillness within motion, motion within stillness. Borrowing the force of the opponent, four ounces deflect a thousand pounds.

The more he practiced, the more familiar and harmonious the movements became, until even Liu Tan couldn’t help but cheer for himself.

Sensing the time was right, Liu Tan finished his routine. By now, the Empress was waiting at the edge of the courtyard with an umbrella. When she saw the Emperor conclude his movements, she asked, “Your Majesty, what was that martial art you practiced just now? I’ve never seen it before! But, the way you moved was truly... truly...”

Liu Tan interjected, “Handsome, right?” He felt a little awkward. In this era, there was no such term as “handsome” for men, and Tai Chi hardly fit the traditional idea of martial vigor.

“Handsome?” The Empress looked puzzled.

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Liu Tan explained, “It means describing a man whose movements are graceful and whose appearance is charming.”

The Empress nodded. “Yes, yes, Your Majesty was so handsome just now!”

“This is Tai Chi, a martial art I created myself. Practiced to perfection, it allows the weak to overcome the strong, using minimal effort to move great force. Perhaps, if I keep at it for a year or so, you may find you’re no longer my match, Empress. Just wait and see!” Once again, Liu Tan shamelessly claimed Tai Chi as his own invention.

“Your Majesty, you should bathe now. The Empress Dowager is already waiting in the main hall.”

“The Empress Dowager? What brings her here—has she come to hold me accountable? I didn’t take out my anger on Prince Liang, did I?” Liu Tan undressed and stepped into the wooden tub, puzzled.

The Empress, attending to him, replied, “I don’t think she’s here to reproach you. Prince Liang is with her as well—he’s come bearing a bundle of firewood in atonement.”

“Come to beg forgiveness?” Liu Tan mused. “That’s certainly possible. It seems the Empress Dowager is reasonable after all. If she weren’t, I really wouldn’t know what to do. After all, she holds the Tiger Tally for the Imperial Guards. Just thinking about it makes me uneasy—how secure is the palace, really? I am deeply concerned!”

“Your Majesty need not worry. The Empress Dowager’s Tiger Tally is of little use.”

Liu Tan shook his head. “If I were dead, wouldn’t that Tiger Tally suddenly become very useful?”

At these words, the Empress’s face changed instantly. It seemed he had a point!

After bathing, Liu Tan dressed in fresh clothes and went to the main hall.

Sure enough, the Empress Dowager Liao was waiting, beside her stood Prince Liang, Liu Li, bare-chested and carrying firewood on his back. He knelt on the ground, soaked by the rain and shivering from the cold.

“Oh, Mother, what brings you here through such heavy rain? If you needed me, you could have just sent someone. And Prince Liang, what are you doing? Get up! Empress, fetch one of my robes for Prince Liang—look, he’s freezing!”

At this, the Empress Dowager spoke. “Empress, do not move. Liu Li listened to slanderous words and acted with grave disrespect. Even execution would scarcely atone for his crime.” Turning, she addressed Prince Liang, “Well, aren’t you going to beg your imperial brother’s forgiveness?”

“Oh! Of course!” Liu Li immediately turned to the Emperor and kowtowed several times, the sound echoing on the floor. “Your Majesty, your brother was wrong. I beg your forgiveness!”

Liu Tan smiled, slowly seated himself, and asked, “Was it you who cut the ropes that bound me the other day? Afterwards, I examined the break. It was clean and neat—not worn by stone.”

Prince Liang’s expression changed yet again. Silently, he thought, “Mother was right—my brother knows everything!”

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Knowing there was no way to deny it, he kowtowed again. “Your brother was foolish, truly foolish. I beg Your Majesty’s pardon!”

“You—” Liu Tan was about to address Prince Liang at length, but the Empress Dowager interrupted him.

“Your Majesty, I came today not only to plead for Prince Liang, but also for another matter.”

She had to interrupt. If Prince Liang continued to kowtow, his scalp would soon be bloodied, and who knows what other mischief the Emperor might expose. She, as the Empress Dowager, would lose all face if her son’s wrongdoings were laid bare.

As the Empress Dowager, it was mortifying enough to know her son had plotted against the Emperor.

“Oh?” Liu Tan’s interest was piqued. “Mother, what is it? Please, instruct me.”

The Empress Dowager smiled, producing something from her sleeve. As Liu Tan glanced at it, his heart skipped a beat.

“How dare I instruct Your Majesty? It is just that the late Emperor decreed that the Tiger Tally for the Imperial Guards should now be kept by Your Majesty.” With that, she pressed the Tiger Tally into Liu Tan’s hands.

Liu Tan picked up the tally, turning it over in his hands. It was made of jade, one side carved in the shape of a tiger, the other smooth. Clearly, it was meant to match a counterpart, which Liu Tan knew was held by the commander of the Imperial Guards.

After a long moment, he stood and bowed deeply to the Empress Dowager. “Mother’s great kindness, your son will never forget. Please, let Li’er rise. It was only a quarrel between brothers; you need not take it to heart.”

The Empress Dowager breathed a long sigh of relief. Seeing the Emperor bore no further grudge, she gathered Prince Liang and took her leave.

After they had gone, Liu Tan continued to run his fingers over the Tiger Tally, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. Who would have thought that a casual act would win him command of the Imperial Guards’ Tiger Tally? Truly, you plant flowers deliberately and they refuse to bloom; plant willows unintentionally and they flourish in the shade.

“Your Majesty, it’s just a Tiger Tally for five thousand men—look how pleased you are!” The Empress was puzzled. “My father once commanded an army of a hundred thousand.”

Liu Tan had no answer for that. He simply caressed the Tiger Tally again and again. To rise to power, he must control the army. As a great leader of his previous life once said, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” Without military force, all else is empty.

Though the Imperial Guards numbered only five thousand, it was still an army, was it not?