Chapter 11: The Secret of Twelve Years Ago

Li Xian turned to Tong Guan: “Dao Fu, you too, leave. What I have to say is not for your ears.”

Tong Guan bowed in assent, paid his respects to Zhao Ti, and hurried out the door; his mind was fixed solely on the Kuihuabaodian —he had no interest in royal secrets, for those were things that could cost you your life.

Once Tong Guan had closed the door from outside, Li Xian spoke in a low, weary voice: “Your humble servant is gravely ill, his days numbered. Your Highness, the Prince of Yan, has deigned to visit me—this I cherish deeply, etched into my heart. Since Your Highness has asked of the Three Treasuries, even if my words risk offending Your Majesty, I am willing to answer.”

Zhao Ti said nothing. Li Xian bore a faint resentment toward the court—and who could blame him? Once favored by the late Emperor, he had achieved great glory on the northwestern frontier, rising to the pinnacle of power. Yet he was demoted again and again, nearly imprisoned, his final years spent in squalor on the edge of the city, clinging to life, forgotten by all. Such a fall could not leave no trace of bitterness—now, a dying man, his words carried sorrow.

Li Xian continued: “Emperor Taizong… loved martial arts and excelled in poison.”

Zhao Ti rubbed his chin. Such words were unheard within the palace—no one dared speak them—but later histories recorded that Taizong favored poison, especially the Qianjidu .

“Thus, after ascending the throne, he moved all belongings from his former Prince of Jin’s mansion into the imperial palace. But unlike the laxness of his princely days, he feared theft or misuse, so he built three secret treasuries: one for weapons, storing martial arts manuals acquired during his southern campaigns and northern expeditions; one for arms, holding various swords and spears—including relics of famed generals from the Five Dynasties like Wang Yan Zhang and Yang Xingmi, as well as blades from the martial world that could cut through iron; and the third, the poison treasury, filled entirely with toxins.”

Zhao Ti pursed his lips. He had never known such treasuries existed within the palace. As a child, he had secretly searched every corner, yet never found them, nor heard anyone mention them.

“Emperor Renzong was benevolent and did not wish such items to remain in the palace. But since the treasuries were built by Taizong, they could not be destroyed outright. Only in his final years did he resolve to dismantle them—thus the Three Treasuries vanished, and those martial arts were lost. As far as I know, the Yin Finger Technique was among them.”

Zhao Ti felt a headache coming. It was too tragic. More importantly, it shattered his own hopes—but something felt off.

“The Yin Finger Technique was the treasured art of the Shanhai Guan on the Yangtze River’s Jianghai Guan town. Shanhai Guan was a great martial sect, its libraries vast as the sea. When we attacked, countless died…” Li Xian sighed: “Even Taizong’s forces were not all soldiers—he recruited many from the martial world. Half were lost in that battle. Even Master Dou suffered severe internal injuries. It took three days and nights to finally seize the place.”

Zhao Ti thought: “If Shanhai Guan was so powerful, why didn’t Taizong absorb it into his own service?”

Li Xian shook his head: “Though Shanhai Guan was a Daoist temple, it was the ancestral temple of the Southern Tang. Its leaders were all members of the Southern Tang imperial clan—they would rather die than submit to Taizong.”

“So it was an ancestral temple…”

“Precisely. Shanhai Guan was like Dali’s Tianlong Temple—a clan stronghold, a royal shrine, accumulated over generations. Its martial arts were countless, but three stood above all: the Yin Finger Technique, the Shan Scripture, and the Wuliang Hai Bao Lu. And the power of the Yin Finger Technique was no weaker than Dali’s Yang Finger Technique!”

“No weaker than Yang Finger?” Zhao Ti drew in a breath: “Is the Illusion Yin Finger truly that powerful?”

“They were equally famed in their time. But a hundred years have passed—the martial world has forgotten the Yin Finger Technique. Even Shanhai Guan, that great sect, has vanished into time…” Li Xian’s voice grew heavy with regret.

Zhao Ti pondered a few breaths: “Grand Secretary Li, you said Emperor Renzong resolved to destroy the Three Treasuries in his final years. But poison manuals are easy to burn—weapons and armor are not. If it was an arms treasury, surely it held armor and gear usable by the army, yet nothing remains?”

“I do not know. I never saw it with my own eyes. But since Emperor Yingzong ascended the throne, the Three Treasuries have vanished from the palace. Perhaps…”

“Perhaps what?”

“Perhaps the Grand Empress Dowager knows more clearly. I once heard my adoptive father say that Emperor Renzong issued the order in Jia You Seventh Year, commanding Emperor Yingzong to secretly oversee its execution. At that time, Yingzong was already Crown Prince, and the Grand Empress Dowager had already entered the palace. Now that I reflect, she must know the full truth.”

“Jia You Seventh Year?” Zhao Ti thought. Renzong died in Jia You Eighth Year, and Yingzong succeeded him—so the order came just before death. But such matters would be handled in secret, for the sake of imperial dignity. Even if Gao Taotao had been Crown Princess then, would Yingzong have told her?

Yet he reconsidered: his own convenient grandfather had always been somewhat afraid of his wife. Throughout feudal history, emperors who married only one woman were rare—his grandfather was one, and later, the Ming Emperor Xiaozong Zhu Youchang was another.

Historical records state that Empress Cao feared Yingzong would repeat Renzong’s mistake and leave no heirs, so she gifted him three palace maids as concubines. But Yingzong never once visited them. Only after his death did Emperor Shenzong elevate their ranks and had them buried beside his tomb.

If so, then Yingzong must have told Gao Taotao about destroying the Three Treasuries—perhaps even before acting. Then perhaps I should go to the palace and ask her.

“Indeed, Jia You Seventh Year. Thus, I believe Your Highness must consult the Grand Empress Dowager to learn the full truth.”

Zhao Ti said: “I am curious. If so, I shall make time to enter the palace.”

Li Xian nodded, then suddenly gasped for breath. He drank some water, his face growing even grayer.

Zhao Ti asked: “Grand Secretary Li, your martial arts are supreme. Where did your internal injury come from? Who injured you so severely that even medicine cannot heal you?”

“This…” Li Xian stiffened slightly at the question.

“Grand Secretary, why not speak? The one who injured you is surely an enemy of the Great Song. Tell me—I need to know.” Zhao Ti said.

“Ah…” Li Xian sighed. “There is nothing to hide. Since Your Highness trusts me, I shall recount old events.”

“Speak freely.” Zhao Ti wondered who had wounded him. Logically, Li Xian had mastered the Complete Kuihuabaodian —not the corrupted version from Ming-era Xiaoyao. Even the corrupted version was nearly invincible; how could someone have injured Li Xian, who had the full version, so badly? It was unthinkable.

“Your Highness knows of the Five Armies’ campaign against Xia twelve years ago, and that I commanded it?”

“Of course. Had it succeeded, even if not total conquest, we would have seized at least half of Western Xia.”

“And do you know why that war, comparable in scale to the Yongxi Northern Expedition, ultimately failed?”

“The reasons seem many, but…” Zhao Ti fell into thought.

“But as commander, I failed in coordination and oversight—I bear full blame.” Li Xian said.

“Though nominally in command, the five armies operated independently. That hardly seems the main cause…” Zhao Ti said coolly.

“Your Highness is perceptive. The real cause was that four armies became trapped at Lingzhou, their supply lines cut. I remained stationed outside Lanzhou, governing Lan and Hui, and did not march to reinforce or link up with them—leading to their successive defeats.” Li Xian smiled bitterly.

“That must be it.” Zhao Ti smiled faintly.

“It was not that I refused to reinforce. The night before I planned to lead troops to Lingzhou, through carelessness and lax security, assassins infiltrated my camp. Under cover of darkness, they dared to enter the encampment and struck suddenly…” Li Xian shook his head.

“Assassins?” Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes: “They dared infiltrate a general’s camp? Was it then that you received your internal injury? Who was this assassin? Could his martial skill surpass yours?”