Changes in the sky
Volume 2: The Edge of Heaven
Chapter 150: Establishing a Crown Prince
I always feel that tomorrow there will be more officials trying to get my mouth to tell me something. And there will be more people who firmly believe that I know something. In fact, I also want to know something, but at least before the hour of Hai, I still know nothing.
The Liu clan members all went back, but the regents did not leave. I didn't know whether I should resign or not. After all, I was still a regent, and the emperor had no intention of letting me leave. My father, teacher, and Brother Meng De had no intention of letting me leave. So, although I felt that it was not good for me not to resign, it was even worse for me to resign. So, my Situ and I still retreated below, bowing our heads and saying nothing.
Just after midnight, Xu Zheng was also ordered by the emperor to leave. Soon after, the queen also left.
I'm not a fool, I know what I should know.
It was obvious that something was going to happen in this room. I suddenly got bolder and looked up. But I found that everyone was looking at me, and I felt a little guilty, so I quickly lowered my head.
Then I heard my father's tone of reproach: "Why don't you come up? You don't even have the slightest idea."
"Oh." Hearing the laughter of the emperor and Brother Meng De, he hurriedly followed and went forward.
“My boy Zirui, you are older but braver now. When you were seventeen, you were very brave. You almost took it down for me. Ah, haha…” I heard my father, teacher, and brother Meng De all laughing, but my father was obviously embarrassed.
"At that time, I was young and inexperienced. I only knew that I had to suppress the rebellion around my father, and I didn't have any other thoughts." I felt a little relieved when I heard the laughter. At this time, I didn't need to think too much when answering such questions.
"It sounds like you are experienced now, but who is your Grand Marshal?" His tone suddenly turned cold, and I was startled. I quickly took a step back, looked up, and knelt down. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of my father's face and saw that there was no tension at all. I immediately understood that the "Long live the emperor, my godfather" was most likely just a blackmail on me.
"Your Majesty, I am a talented general who led the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the past." I said this without any trembling or fear. It was just like telling him that I just ate a bowl of fried spinach.
"Oh, you are really honest." When the emperor said this, I felt more at ease. The tone of his voice clearly felt like you didn't even give me a bowl of fried spinach. "Even if you are the leader of the thieves, how dare my son Zirui stay in front of the tent and never report it to the court."
Since the words mentioned my son Zirui, it was clear that there was no intention to blame him, so I might as well act like a naughty son and play a little rogue. But thinking about the elders above, I was afraid of being laughed at by them, so I had to put on a smile and then turned serious: "At that time, the Ten Changs were in power." In fact, my stepmother's brother was also included, but at this time, everything depended on the dead man without an heir. I was not afraid of revenge, confrontation, or offending the Queen Mother, my stepmother. "Another drought that hasn't happened in a hundred years, the people are living in poverty, the common people have no food to eat, but the eunuchs and their followers continue to exploit the people, without restraint, and completely ignore the policy of sympathy for the people of our Han Dynasty. At this time, the Yellow Turban rebels are in the name of peace and salvation, bewitching the people and finally inciting rebellion. Bōcai and others were deceived by them, so they came out to attack the granary and official warehouse. At first, they just wanted to have a full meal, and killed some local eunuchs and powerful people, but they didn't want to be harmed by them. The death penalty was determined, so they attacked states and counties. They made one mistake after another, and it was too late to undo the damage. Later, the evil gang found out that General Bō and others were loyal to the emperor and were unwilling to continue attacking the important areas of Guanzhong and the capital, so they wanted to get rid of them. Fortunately, they escaped. When I met General Bōcai and others, they had escaped from the Yellow Turban rebels and lived in the mountains for a long time." I had practiced these words in my mind several times, so I was very proficient in them and had no hesitation at all. Just as I told him, there was only one bowl of fried spinach from the beginning, which I had already eaten by now, and I didn't even know where I threw the bowl.
"How dare you, you are really a loyal person. I don't know how long it took you to make up such nonsense, but it is so smooth, unlike explaining it to me, just memorizing it." The emperor's meaning is obvious. I knew you had a bowl of spinach, so you ate it. I won't tell you before or after eating it. It's too unfilial. This is indeed my mistake. If I stuttered a little, I'm afraid it would be better. Then just tell him that I thought he had already eaten and that you were asleep.
It seems that I have to cheat. Since I am going to cheat, why shouldn't I? I have to tell him that spinach is poisonous and the emperor's daughter is not suitable for eating. I can only test the poison on myself. If I see a bowl of it again, I will bring it to him.
"Bōcai has a very high reputation among the Yellow Turban bandits. If he persuades them to surrender, the scattered Yellow Turban bandits will return in the thousands every day. Within a month, my Vietnamese army has exceeded 10,000. Who knows if it is better to suppress them or appease them with more than 10,000 people?" Lai Youyou quickly changed his tone, indicating that although "spinach" is highly toxic, it has extremely high medical value: "Besides, Bōcai has the talent of a great general and has no intention of rebelling. Today, the world is slightly peaceful, but there will be wars in the future. If we can get this good general, we will have a better chance of rectifying the world with my father."
"Oh, you are really capable, and your words make sense. I want to see what this Bōcai is capable of, so that my son, Ping An Feng Yun Hou, can protect him. Oh, forget it, let's leave it at that. A new crown prince will be appointed in the next few days, and then the whole country will be pardoned. Bōcai will be pardoned, and you can use him as you like." After that, the emperor seemed to be still thinking about something, looking at me with some surprise. It seems that "spinach" tastes good and is well received. Maybe my father and others have already leaked the news and helped me to clear it up in advance. I am afraid that they have already decided not to use Bōcai and let him be used by me, but they came to test my mouth to see what Bōcai is like.
In fact, think about the fact that my two generals Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song were both helpless against Bōcai and always took a defensive stance, which should have known Bōcai's talent. Since Bōcai, the biggest Yellow Turban rebel leader alive, is about to be killed, I am afraid that no one will point fingers at the Yellow Turban remnants in our army in the future.
Therefore, obviously, the issue of appointing a crown prince should be the most important thing now. But they seem to have not discussed this with me yet, and continue to attack me through the emperor: "I also heard that tens of thousands of Yue people have moved from Yangzhou, Wu State to your Yue State. Some local officials have also abandoned their posts and gone to your place. Lord Wu is a little unhappy."
"Ah, I thought he would be very happy. The Yue people are my wife's clan, living in Wu all year round, with their own mountains and forests. If these tens of thousands of people live and work in his corner, I am afraid that Lord Wu will be even less happy. At that time, I had almost no soldiers available, and I was still in Jingzhou, so I asked my wife Yinling to go and seek reinforcements. Asking for officials is his own business. It was his general Sun Jian who paved the way. He took over the counties and prefectures and quietly replaced the officials, and immediately replaced them with Wu's own people. Those people had nowhere to go, so they followed the Yue people and followed me, and even arrived in Yue before me. How can it be considered my fault? Since everything is as General Sun did, you, Lord Wu, should be happier, right?... I don't know if I have done anything wrong, and I hope your Majesty will understand." After finishing, he felt that the previous part was too much like a child playing tricks, so he quickly added serious words at the end.
The emperor kept shaking his head and pointing at me with a smile but saying nothing; my father lowered his head and seemed to be thinking about something; my teacher and Brother Meng De were looking at me and laughing, but my teacher laughed slowly, while Brother Meng De was already laughing before I finished. I thought that the emperor was probably just some tactful person, and he would only take my words as a serious matter. He was probably treating me as a child throwing a tantrum; although my father was my closest relative, he seemed to be still thinking about the strangeness of it; but the one who understood the deep meaning of my words was my teacher, and the one who was unsure and ahead of me was Brother Meng De.
If this could reach Lord Zhu, he would probably want to investigate what Sun Jian did, which would be a good thing for me. I have never had a good relationship with Sun Jian. Although we seemed to have exchanged greetings several times, and were polite during conversations, and he even sent someone to escort me home, I was still plotted against by him. To this day, I am still not very clear about who was behind him. However, the few people who had a deep hatred for me at that time are no longer here. Even if there were still some, such as the one in Yizhou, I really couldn't use him at that time.
After talking for a long time, we finally got to the point. However, just when they wanted me to express my opinion, a eunuch came to report: Taiwei Zhang Wen, Si Tu Cui Lie, Si Li Xiaowei Bao Xin, and Chariot General He Miao were summoned to see him.
Of these four people, I know Bao Xin. Of the other three, I have only heard of Cui Lie, who seemed to have been Sikong in the past. I really don't know who Zhang Wen is. I have never heard of him, but he is now the head of the Three Dukes. Although I have never heard of the last one, He Miao, I feel that he has some relationship with the queen just by his surname. These four people are all important officials. They responded to the imperial edict, which should be for the matter of establishing a crown prince. And obviously, the matter of establishing a crown prince has not been decided yet. I was summoned tonight for this matter.
"Zi Rui, come up and stand under your father." His heart warmed up, and he quickly thanked him, with a smile on his face. He leaned close to his father and looked at the teacher opposite him, Brother Meng De, and smiled even more brightly, which made his father scold him quietly: "Don't be so useless, stand still."
But I was still very happy in my heart, and I couldn't hide my joy on my face; even though he still regarded me as the regent, the emperor was not afraid of all the ups and downs I had done, how could I not be happy. Zhifei was greedy for this position, but how could he not be happy for such respect and care. But I really didn't have many ways to hide my feelings, so I took being scolded as a compliment.
Four people came in one after another. I had never seen this Zhang Wen before, but Cui Situ and Brother Bao looked friendly. The last one looked not much older than me. He was able to climb to such a high position. Since I didn't seem to have heard of any deeds about him, it was probably due to nepotism.
"My dear ministers, please stand up. I have gathered all of you and the four regents here today to discuss the matter of appointing a crown prince. If you have any opinions, please speak up."
There was no talking for a while. The four of us seemed to be waiting for someone else to speak first, or for one of us four to speak, so as to see which way the wind was blowing.
But I suddenly realized the seriousness of the matter. The heir must be chosen from the two princes, Liu Bian and Liu Xie. My father had mentioned this to me when I was the lieutenant of the Sili Army. It must be decided early. It was not decided before because the two princes were both in power. However, various forces in the court were fighting against each other, so it had been undecided.
The eldest son, Liu Bian, was the biological son of Empress He; the second son, Liu Xie, was born to Concubine Wang, but was raised by Empress Dowager Dong, known as Marquis Dong. Concubine Wang was secretly poisoned to death by Empress He. According to records, the Empress and Marquis Dong also had a feud over the murder of their mother. However, Marquis Dong was still young at that time. When the incident happened, apart from Empress He, only people like the Secretary knew about it, and no one else knew about it. The Secretary was a relative of my Shen family, so my father knew about it, and so naturally I knew about it too. People outside didn't know if anyone else knew about it. Marquis Dong only knew that his mother died early and he was raised by Empress Dowager Dong. Now that Empress Dowager Dong has long passed away, this matter has been buried in the palace.
There is something fishy here. Dong Zhong was executed and Dong Zhuo was trapped in Yizhou. Although Empress He no longer has He Jin as her backer, she is still the empress after all. Therefore, since Liu Bian is the eldest son, it is natural for him to be the crown prince. But here comes the problem. The eunuchs were powerful back then, and they were probably close to Liu Bian for a way out. Therefore, Liu Bian was close to the eunuchs at an early age. Brother Meng De and I have killed eunuchs before, and we did it in a ruthless way. But behind Liu Xie is the Dong family, which we have tried our best to eliminate. It seems that we, the four regents, are in a dilemma.
Suddenly, I thought of one more thing. Empress He must be very afraid of the matter of Concubine Wang. Although I usually see that Empress and Second Prince Liu Xie are normal, as if the son is filial and the mother is loving, and they often smile; but if someone mentions it, or even leaks it, how can Second Prince feel uncomfortable? Empress He alone will think that it is related to my family. Empress He and my Shen family were good friends in the past, and I am afraid there is another reason. If Second Prince Liu Xie is really recommended, Empress He will also regard my Shen family as someone who is trying to control me. I am afraid that there will be many more variables in the future.
Thinking of this, he felt that it would be best to recommend the eldest prince, and he began to consider resigning.
Suddenly I remembered what I said: One person's words can determine life, one person's words can determine death, one person's words can determine prosperity, one person's words can determine destruction.
I couldn't help but sigh: This is really something we should not ignore.
Someone finally started talking, but it was Zhang Wen, a person I didn't know at all. "Your Majesty, I am a humble person, but I know that the throne is a gift from heaven. Since heaven bestowed the throne on the previous emperors and the emperor, it will naturally be bestowed on the next crown prince. This matter of heaven is not something that a fool like me can guess. Perhaps there are people who can guess the will of heaven, such as the four regents who can guide me, but only Your Majesty can know for sure which prince will receive the grace of heaven and inherit the throne."
This made me stare at him for a long time. Although we cannot judge people by appearance, this man's appearance is indeed not flattering. He is not tall, and his beard is thick but not majestic. If he is a general, he always feels that something is missing just by looking at his appearance. But I have to say that this man knows how to be an official. He must not offend anyone and has no opinions, but it is not the same as having nothing. It's just that he seems to be a newcomer in the officialdom. It's really strange that he is so polite despite being a general. But I still can't remember where I have heard this man's name before.
At that moment, Brother Bao actually agreed repeatedly, and felt ashamed that he had been thinking for a long time in vain, but had no clue, and needed the general to wake him up. This was a bit shocking, and suddenly recalled that in the military camp, he could encourage and instigate a group of soldiers to force me to compete with him with just a casual word. It seems that Brother Bao, who looks honest, is actually a versatile person. It turned out that asking him to ask for help was really a blessing in disguise. If I could have predicted that he would say a few words tonight, it would definitely be right to let him go. Thinking about Huangfu Song's promise and the order immediately, it seems that it was not because of my slip of the tongue that he misheard. Maybe he had already taken a fancy to Brother Bao in his heart, but he felt that if he came directly, Brother Bao would definitely find a way to reject him. In the end, he took advantage of my slip of the tongue to harm Brother Bao, so that if Brother Bao wanted to blame anyone, the most he could blame would be me. Although this is just my guess, I feel it is pretty close, because I just arrived at the military camp and I don't know his subordinates as well as General Huangfu. Why would General Huangfu let me choose someone when he wants to send someone? I'm afraid he would let me make up a few words and then bring the message to Brother Bao, and then give it as my suggestion.
It seems that I was the only fool in the camp back then. But it seems that since I made great contributions to this matter, Brother Bao has been promoted, so he still owes me a favor. This is considered a harm to him, so he should not care about it.
But He Miao thought the same as I did, insisting that the eldest prince Liu Bian should be made the crown prince, which made me feel a little better, proving that I was not a complete fool, at least not now. His reason was very simple, and I also planned to use the same one: the ancestral system should be followed and not changed.
However, Cui Lie thought that the second son Liu Xie should be made the crown prince. This surprised me very much. I couldn't think of a reason, but it takes some courage for someone to support the second prince. It seems that his name Lie is not an insult to himself. I wanted to hear his reasons, but he hesitated. I guess the existence of He Miao made him a little hesitant. However, he looked at the people around him and said, "The second prince is young and has a good reputation. He is well-known among the princes. When the world needs great governance, it needs a wise and capable emperor to rule it." This is not a reliable reason. I'm afraid it's not the reason.
In this situation, the two of them pushed each other around, and the remaining two each took care of one person, which was a balance.
The emperor also sensed this problem, and turned to ask me directly, but his tone became solemn: "Marquis Yue, what do you think?"
Although I don't know the opinions of the other three elders, my father should agree with me; since many people in the court are trying to get my mouth to say that they have already reached a consensus by not allowing the three of them to discuss with the emperor, and now it's just a formality, I can rest assured and arrange the ideas I have already considered.
"Your Majesty, I originally thought that Your Majesty would appoint the eldest son Bian as the crown prince, but I didn't expect that this matter was still undecided." I also tried to evade it, leaving myself more room for maneuver. In fact, I really wanted to add a long sigh, how did I finally become such a person: "I have heard that the ancient sages said that to abolish the eldest and appoint the youngest is to take the way of luàn. Now that the eldest prince has not done anything immoral or evil, the position of crown prince should still be taken by the eldest prince Bian."
But the emperor’s next words surprised me. I was really surprised.
"Haha, interesting. You agree with your father, but disagree with your teacher, Lord Chu, and Lord Wei. Interesting, interesting. My eight important ministers actually have such different opinions on this issue, and they happen to be evenly matched. Interesting, interesting. In addition, I also asked for the opinions of Sikong Wang Yun, Honglu Temple Minister Xun Shuang, Taichang Cai Yong, Zongzheng Yuan Huai, and Taifu Tian Kai, who were summoned a few days ago for the preparations for the Lantern Festival, and it was a tie." Obviously, at least one or three of these five were making excuses like the Taiwei.
I murmured in my heart that I had asked all the three dukes and nine ministers, everyone who was related to this matter, and they were still evenly matched. This matter was really troublesome.
"Okay, let's not discuss this today. Let's put this matter aside for now. It gives me a headache just thinking about it. Let's all go home tonight." After waving his hand, the eunuch shouted, and the rest of the people knelt down and respectfully sent the emperor back to the harem.
The situation seemed a little awkward for me. The people on the steps below bowed and left, and we returned the greetings. After they left, the four of us looked at each other, feeling a different kind of emotion.
"Brother Wang, please come to my house and stay for a while. Would you please do me the honor?"
"Mr. Chu, you don't have to be so polite. We have talked about this several times, but we have always disagreed. Today, Zirui and I agree, so we are even on this matter. It depends on how the emperor decides." This means that the father has obviously talked with the teachers several times, but they still disagree. This is a bad sign. The father paused and softened his tone: "However, Zirui just came today, so he should pay a visit to the house of Master Xian En. I will bring Zirui to bother you."
At that moment, the three of us were silent along the way. Only I kept greeting him and occasionally said things like "It's been a long time since we last met" and "How are you?", trying to ease the atmosphere a little.
After leaving the palace, the four of us rode horses, but the other elders were followed by a group of guards, but I didn't have one. I followed my father, and my father asked me where my guards were. I followed a few of them, and when Xu Zheng and I went in, only I went in, and I asked them to go back.
My father told me to be more careful and bring some with me in the future and not to be stubborn. I wanted to make my father happy, so I just agreed and didn't insist. In fact, I didn't think so. It would be strange if there were still dangers on this road.
My father obviously saw through me, so he gave me another lecture: This is a courtesy, and these flags and ceremonial objects are required.
I honestly admit that I didn't bring any, and probably had no preparation at all.
My father shook his head.
The four regents all have residences in Luoyang, but I don't know where mine is. Now the Si Li Xiao Wei Mansion should be given to Brother Bao, and my Yue Hou residence should be moved to a new place. Actually, it's not very useful to know, my father and mother will definitely not let me go back to live; when I was Si Li Xiao Wei, I didn't stay in my own residence for a long time. Maybe I can stay there when Yin Ling and the others come over.
But it doesn't matter, after all, living with my parents always makes me feel warm and secure. Even though I never stayed with my parents from a few days after I was born until I was 18 years old.
While I had time to think about these things, I arrived at the teacher's residence in Luoyang. When I went in, I saw a few familiar people, Li Zhen, Zhou Yu's wife, as well as Jiang Li, Li Pu and Zhu Kai. The last three were brought by Uncle Gongye, and it seemed that they were all recommended for their virtuous and upright character to come to the capital. They first served as palace attendants, and now they have filled vacancies.
In fact, it is very likely that they are specially placed in the capital as the teacher's spies. None of the three of them are from Jingzhou. Although they were recommended by the teacher, they are generally not suspected of being Jingzhou spies by anyone, but will only be regarded as the teacher's virtuous recommendation. I can't do this, because this time I went to Yue State for the purpose of pacifying the rebellion. The imperial edict to recommend virtuous and upright people was the predecessor's thing before the rebellion in Yue State, and it has been forgotten for a long time now; in fact, even if it was really discovered, I would secretly keep them for my own use, and I was worried about the lack of people. And I always feel that it is inappropriate to place spies around the emperor. If it were me, I would definitely not want to do it, but Yinling would do it for me, although she might not want to do it either.
Li Zhen was finally promoted this time. He was appointed General of Cavalry at the end of last year. Because last winter when I went to Yue State, it was "just" time to hand over the Wandi and other places to the emperor, but the remaining bandits in this place "just" rebelled, and Li Zhen "just" happened to be there, so he "just" quickly quelled the rebellion. So because of his merit in quelling the remaining bandits in Nanyang, the entire Wancheng in Nanyang was presented to the emperor. Once reported, he was summoned by the emperor, and he was satisfied with it, so he was transferred along with the land. In fact, I always feel that this place is "just right" very "just right". The emperor also heard that his wife was quite capable and participated in quelling the remnants of Nanyang, so he also gave her more rewards, and gave her the title of General Hongxiu, and the brocade clothes and red robes, and commanded the very mysterious female cavalry shooters in the Yulin Army, the army that I have never seen in countless times I have been in and out of the palace. Now I know that they are not in the Luoyang Palace, but in the Zhuolong Garden in the northwest of the city. This army was formed when we fought against the Huns (the story originated in the Western Han Dynasty and has a certain amount of legend, author's note). Because the Huns almost attacked Chang'an, under the imperial edict at that time, almost all the people in Chang'an were soldiers, especially the empress and the imperial concubines, who all wore military uniforms and led a group of young women to train in the Shanglin Garden. Since then, the organization of this army has been left behind.
However, when Zhou Yu went there, he found that this army had only 300 people, and they had been neglecting training for many years. They were all concubines or maids of officials and were very spoiled. Although they had salaries and military discipline, this period was no longer comparable to that time. They only came to make up the numbers when they had a day off. They just laughed and played there every day, and they didn't look like an army at all. The people who came to manage them in the past were either afraid of the power of these people's families, or they had no intention of managing them, so they just let this army of women become a chat group of old women. The words behind this are practical, and I actually thought so too, so I nodded happily to him and laughed together.
Zhou Yu was also in a headache, but someone helped Zhou Yu at this time, and this person was my sister. As the princess of Zhao State and the daughter of the current regent, this title and power are not to be underestimated. She volunteered to join this army and was willing to be a deputy to assist Zhou Yu, and immediately rectified the military discipline. Zhou Yu was very embarrassed, and always felt that she had to give orders to my sister, and felt very guilty.
Zhou Yu has changed a lot, and it was all taught by the princess.
Now I really think she is worthy of Brother Zishi. I also asked whether Zishi's shoulder pain had healed, and he had recovered a long time ago.
However, when chatting with my brothers, I would eventually be interrupted. After the three elders came in, they saw that Zishi and I were chatting happily. They waited patiently for a while, but eventually they felt that there were more important things to do, so they let me in. When they saw that the teacher had come back and had other things to do, they took their leave. Only Zishi and I exchanged a few glances, which meant that we should find time to get together.
But after entering the house, in addition to greeting the teacher and Brother Meng De, I also advised the three elders to calm down and cool down. One said: "Abandoning the elder and enthroning the younger is the way of swindling"; another said: "The great responsibility of the world needs wise men to do it"; someone else said: "It can also prevent the resurgence of the power of the relatives of the emperor"; this side immediately replied: "Aren't you afraid that the eunuchs will make trouble again?" I think all of this makes sense, but no one asked me to express my opinion. Because of the heated words, I actually couldn't say anything. But when everyone calmed down a little, I quickly suggested that we stop here today and I would go back with my father to rest.
Finally, today’s events have come to an end. I really don’t want to be involved in it, but I know I can’t avoid it.
On the way home, at this hour, some officials “just happened” to have not rested yet and “just happened” to come out, so they “just happened” to meet us and “just happened” to salute us and give us all kinds of “just happened” greetings.
When we got home, my father didn't talk to my mother who came to greet us. He just nodded and walked back to the lobby quietly to sit in the chair. My mother held my hand from behind and asked me what happened to my father. I said quietly that the regent was arguing about the issue of the crown prince. My mother nodded, she must have known about this matter, she helped us to get food and let me talk to my father.
I sat next to my father and looked at him, who was staring at the ground in a daze. I didn't want him to worry about this matter anymore, so I wanted to find another topic.
I wanted to ask where my sister was, but suddenly I felt that my sister was going to marry Brother Meng De, and there seemed to be some obstacles at the moment, so it seemed inappropriate to bring it up; I wanted to ask where my Yuehou Mansion was, but I felt that I had always behaved as if I was not a person who was so greedy for enjoyment, and my father would definitely know that I was not sincere when he heard it; suddenly I remembered that everyone else seemed to be very happy about my father recently, so I said, "Father, Pei'er is pregnant, and you will have a grandson."
Sure enough, my father smiled, "Yeah, yes, this is the happiest thing recently."
"When Yinling has a child, if it's a boy, let him go to your place to be regent, and Zhao State will have a successor." I always feel that I am a little biased towards Yinling. If I send the son born to me by Pei'er to her, it will be too cruel. Yinling will definitely understand my painstaking efforts.
"Hu, if Pei'er gives birth to a boy, the eldest grandson must come." The father suddenly started to act out, with a smile on his face. It was known that his father's mood had improved and this plan was effective: "I am the father, I have the final say."
"I'm the kid's father, I have the final say." Naturally I had to show my temper. I just acted like a spoiled brat in front of my adoptive father, so it wasn't a big mistake for me to show my temper in front of my own father.
"Don't you have an adopted son? He's very smart. Let him take care of the baby first, and then you can have the baby later."
"That child is very stubborn and refuses to do it."
"Oh, I remember that the child is only seven or eight years old this year. Strange! This child is quite stubborn. You need to guide him well. Then you have to let your eldest son, my eldest grandson, come over."
We were arguing, not acting like a father and son, and were finally interrupted by my mother, who walked in with an almost smiling face and said incoherently, "This... child... hasn't been... born yet. It's not clear whether it's a boy or a girl... yet?"
"Mei, you shouldn't say that!" The father even called his mother's name and scolded her, which really made his son feel a little nervous. He quickly changed the subject to prevent his parents from arguing again: "Mom, where are my sisters?"
In the end, it was my father who answered, while eating Yuanxiao in the bowl: "Qi'er has been living in your Yuehou Mansion recently, helping you take care of her. In fact, she doesn't want to see me or Meng De. Jin'er was originally here to accompany me, but she went to Shanglin Garden to play a few days ago. The emperor will go hunting in a few days. If you go there, you will be able to see her then."
I quickly took a bowl from the tray my mother was holding, and while eating, I changed the subject again: Who is looking after Zhao State now? The answer was my uncle and a few cousins. My father would occasionally visit, but Zisheng was the main person who made decisions in the court, and Wenyuan would make the final decision if there was a war on the front line.
In addition, my father also recruited several generals from my teacher who were originally assigned to help me look after the baggage in Lingling: Liu Pi, Gong Du, and He Yi. I finally understood why these people never came. I thought they were still in Lingling looking after my baggage, because Jiaozhou had not been completely pacified and I was attacked when I went there, so I never let them bring a large amount of baggage. But my father thought that those three were actually scholars who had not been able to realize their ambitions, and they thought it was a waste of talent for me to let them look after the baggage, so he took the initiative to let them go. It was Yinling who approved it, probably when I went to Tanzhong.
My father also told me that he asked the teacher for Zhang Kai and Liu Wen. After all, my father was a royal relative. He appointed Zhang Kai as the Minister of Works of Zhao State and gave Liu Wen an imperial decree. The old matter from many years ago was completely settled and there would be no more trouble. In fact, I think that instead of asking my father to help solve the problem, my father got a great deal. I don't know how the teacher agreed to it.
However, while eating, my father gave me an order to go see my sister and comfort her.
I asked, "Now?" My father nodded.
I think Sister Qi might have already fallen asleep. Father, he would go up to the tower late at night every day to look there. He would always see the lights there, and sometimes the windows would be open, and he would see Qi drinking. After saying that, he sighed. Mother seemed to be about to cry. She went to see Sister Qi several times, and every time Sister Qi cried in her arms, and she couldn't bear to see her sister anymore.
Seeing his father sighing and his mother crying, he took his leave and was about to leave.
He immediately turned around and asked where Yue Hou Mansion was.
The answer was that it was the fifth house to the south, and there was a plaque on the door which read "Marquis Ping'an Fengyun Mansion". It was said that the emperor thought it was auspicious and ordered people to carve it.
As soon as I walked to this place, I remembered it. It was originally General He's Mansion, and later Wu Ning's Mansion. Now it has been rebuilt, and two Xiezhi are placed on the left and right of the door. It seems that no one dares to choose to live here. The emperor also thinks that only I can ward off the evil here, so he used my most famous title as a plaque and used two "I"s to suppress the door.
The guard at the door just led me in. All the maids knew me and continued to lead me in. There was also a braver leading maid. The princess could only introduce two people, one was her mother and the other was me.
I gently pushed the door open, and the people behind me immediately retreated. I thought my sister must be in a bad mood recently.
But I saw a person dressed as a man with his back to me.
It was the fourteenth day of the first month of the first year of Chuping, and this day was truly extremely long.
Note 1: Spinach was introduced to my country at the latest in the Tang Dynasty, but considering that the Silk Road led to the Roman Empire and there was trade with Bosnia, it is assumed that everyone knew about this plant in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Spinach is also called Bosnia grass, and its origin is Bosnia. The word "Bo" probably refers to Bosnia.
Note: Many people think that Emperor Ling was a very debauched emperor, but he seems to be good in Tianbian, and he is a person with ordinary humanity. I find it incomprehensible. Many people have asked me this question. Let me explain why I wrote Emperor Ling well. First, the Biography of Eunuchs in the Book of the Later Han records such a story: At that time, eunuchs built houses and planned palaces. The emperor once climbed the Yong'an Waiting Platform. The eunuchs were afraid of seeing him, so they asked Zhao Zhong and others to advise him, saying, "The monarch should not climb high. Climbing high will scatter the people." Since then, he dared not climb the platform again. This sentence is quite foolish, but it should not be a concern for a debauched person; second, he was able to evaluate his eldest prince Liu Xie: "He is frivolous and has no dignity, and he cannot be a ruler." This is not something that a foolish person who is debauched can say. Emperor Ling of Han came to power because Emperor Huan of Han had no descendants. He was chosen by Empress Dou of Emperor Huan from the Liu clan. He was the son of a mere Marquis of Jieting. Apart from his Liu clan bloodline, he had no power in the court. He was only one year old when he ascended the throne. Such a big kid was brought from his own marquisate to the Luoyang Palace. What else could he do except trust the eunuchs who were always by his side and rely on them? He was able to take full control of the government from a child, relying on these eunuchs, and of course, in this book, he also relied on the four assistants. Of course, in the official history and later records, many of this person's behaviors are really absurd, but in the Tianbian, I just think of him as an ordinary person who is lustful, greedy, easy to trust others, dependent on others, and simple in character, but his position is special. In fact, there is a third, and the most important, this book is written in the first person. Zirui only wrote what he saw with his eyes, heard with his ears, and understood in his heart. Tianbian is just Zirui's first-hand record of the world at that time.