Chapter 002 The Prince Next Door
"Marquis Fenyin is so anxious to see me, he must have something important to tell me, right?"
It was Liu Bang who took the initiative to change the subject.
"right."
Zhou Chang then remembered the business he came here to do, and he said seriously: "Your Majesty wants to depose the crown prince and make Prince Ruyi the crown prince. This is wrong!"
"Oh? Although the prince is smart, he is too cautious and lacks courage. Ruyi is free and easy-going, likes martial arts, and has my style. He is more suitable to be the emperor. I want to make Ruyi the prince. What's wrong with that?"
Liu Bang sat down slowly, without even looking at Zhou Chang, and fiddled with the decorations on his skirt.
"The prince is kindhearted, filial and respectful. He comes to see your majesty every day and is very harmonious with his brothers. Moreover, he is intelligent, studious and kind. Why should such a prince be dismissed?"
"Let's not talk about anything else. I'll just give you the simplest reason..."
Liu Bang said lightly.
"He is my eldest son! But he is always bullied by that older boy! Can such a person be the emperor?!"
Liu Bang's tone suddenly became fierce, and his voice was several decibels higher than usual. At this moment, he no longer looked like the smiling old rogue. He was majestic and murderous, worthy of being the iron-blooded emperor who had been on many battles.
But Zhou Chang was not afraid of him at all.
His face turned red with anger, and he said in a louder voice: "The prince is not afraid of the eldest son, he just dotes on him and tolerates him because he is young! Is this still a sin?!"
"Do you want to choose a prince who is not bullied and can kill his own brothers directly?"
"Do you want to become the second Qin Shi Huang? Do you want a Hu Hai?"
"I may not be a good speaker, but I will never...never...never agree to dethrone the Crown Prince!"
Seeing that Zhou Chang got angry, Liu Bang was no longer angry. He put away his anger and looked at Zhou Chang with a smile again.
Zhou Chang was not the first person to persuade Liu Bang. Before him, almost all the ministers came to persuade him. Liu Bang's idea of changing the crown prince had already caused a huge wave in the temple. Countless ministers were arguing about this matter, and there were countless people who advised him. Of course, most people explained the reasons in an obscure way, but Zhou Chang was the first one to give direct advice without any concealment.
In the end, Liu Bang just said the word "OK" slowly, which seemed perfunctory and insincere.
But Zhou Chang couldn't say any more.
When Zhou Chang walked out of the Xuanshi Hall, he "happened" to meet Empress Lu who came here to find the emperor. Empress Lu was much younger than Liu Bang. She was wearing a scarlet dress. As the emperor and empress of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang and Empress Lu had almost opposite dressing styles.
Liu Bang always liked to wear his old clothes. After he became emperor, he still wore his old crown. He only wore more luxurious clothes when he went on tours. He usually wore extremely simple clothes when he was drinking and bragging with ministers in the palace.
But Empress Lu always wore the most colorful and luxurious clothes, and she was always followed by several palace maids, who kept their heads down.
Liu Bang was carefree. He drank with his ministers. When he was drunk, they would put their arms around each other's shoulders and even beat people when they had a quarrel. But Empress Lu was always cold and solemn, like an iceberg beauty.
Zhou Chang hurriedly bowed to greet her, but Empress Lü also began to bow and thanked her loudly, saying, "If it weren't for you, the prince would have been deposed."
Hearing this, Zhou Chang, who was always bold and daring, was also shocked.
The issue of the crown prince has always been sensitive, especially between the empress and the emperor, because the prince to be deposed was born to Empress Lü, while the new prince was the son of Concubine Qi.
Unexpectedly, the Queen would speak her mind so generously at the door of Xuanshi Hall. It was impossible for Liu Bang not to know what was said here. A rare smile appeared on Zhou Chang's face, but the smile looked a little creepy. He nodded, turned and left.
Empress Lu lowered her head and waited until Zhou Chang left before she walked into the Xuanshi Hall. During the entire process, her expression remained cold.
When Empress Lu came in, Liu Bang was kneeling in front of the desk and looked much more serious.
During these years, the relationship between the couple was not very stable. Liu Bang was madly infatuated with Concubine Qi and was basically with her every day. It was not that Empress Lu was no longer beautiful, but the two had been together for too long, and Liu Bang might have been a little tired of her.
However, Empress Lu did not cry and make a fuss like ordinary ladies. She accepted this fact very calmly.
Over the years, she has been alone in the empty room. Liu Bang liked to go out, and he took Concubine Qi with him every time he went out. Concubine Qi acted like a spoiled child in front of him all day long, wanting her son Liu Ruyi to take the throne. The position of the prince was shaky, but even so, Empress Lu was not panicked at all. Instead, she became calmer and more cruel.
Liu Bang looked at his wife. He was not at all surprised at her appearance, as if he had known she was outside the door.
Empress Lu sat opposite him indifferently. The two looked at each other, but there was no affection in their eyes, only a sense of strangeness. The huge Xuanshi Hall seemed to be torn in half, like the confrontation between a volcano and an iceberg, one side was burning with raging fire, while the other side was emitting amazing coldness. The two just looked at each other calmly.
"I am going to enthrone Ruyi as the King of Zhao."
Liu Bang suddenly spoke.
“It should have been done long ago.”
Liu Bang wanted to say something, but stopped and complained, "Perhaps I should really listen to the advice of the Confucianists. There is no etiquette in the court. This Zhou Chang actually dared to call me Jie and Zhou! I think I should find an opportunity to dismiss him from his position as the Imperial Censor and let him serve as the Prime Minister of King Zhao."
Empress Lü looked at him, sneered disdainfully, and said, "Hmm."
The couple are very familiar with each other, and they understand each other's thoughts without even saying much.
After saying these words, the two fell silent again. They seemed to have nothing to say, neither Liu Bang nor Empress Lu. After a long, long time, Empress Lu finally stood up. She glanced at the figure that flashed by the side door, said nothing, and turned away coldly from the Xuanshi Hall.
"Oh, by the way, when you go back, send someone to bring Liu Chang to me!"
"Um."
After Empress Lu left, Concubine Qi quickly slipped into the hall. Her eyes were red and she rushed into Liu Bang's arms and burst into tears.
Liu Bang naturally began to wipe her tears in a panic. When asked the reason, Madam Qi said miserably: "Your Majesty, please grant us mother and son death. If the prince ascends the throne in the future, we will definitely live a life worse than death."
Liu Bang laughed, picked her up, pecked her on the face, and said loudly: "Don't worry, Ruyi will be fine. I have found the best person to protect him. With him, Ruyi will be safe. After all, she owes him such a big favor."
When Empress Lü was about to go to the Pepper Palace , she happened to meet the young prince Liu Ying, who was about to pay a visit to the empress.
Liu Ying was followed by four elderly men, but their attitude towards Liu Ying was very respectful. They followed not far behind Liu Ying with their heads lowered, showing great respect. It seemed a bit incongruous to see several elderly men following a young man so respectfully.
The prince knelt down and kowtowed to Empress Lu very seriously and respectfully.
Liu Ying was probably the kind of child that all parents wanted. He was very well-behaved from childhood to adulthood. He never dared to disobey his parents. He started studying at a very young age, was filial to his parents, and was friendly to others. He was patient even with Liu Chang, the devil.
He was very courteous to his ministers and very friendly to scholars, and he often sought out some great scholars to debate academic ideas with him.
This earned Liu Ying a lot of good reputation. In the entire temple, there was almost no minister who disliked him. His prestige was very high. Even though Liu Bang acted arbitrarily, he was not able to depose him. He was a very good child.
Empress Lü walked in front, and Liu Ying followed her carefully.
"Mother, please do not anger Father because of me. I do not want to cause discord in the family because of me. I heard from the elders that only when the royal family is harmonious can the people of the world be harmonious... If Mother and Father , I will definitely feel guilty and uneasy."
"Um."
Empress Lu nodded indifferently, so coldly that almost no one dared to look up at her, including her own son Liu Ying. From childhood to adulthood, Liu Ying was very afraid of his mother and spoke very carefully, fearing that any of his words would anger her.
"Your position has been determined, and no one can change it. Although your father sent someone to save his life, he can no longer compete with you."
"Mother, I am not greedy for power. If you can implement benevolent policies and spread good to the world, then I am willing to give up this position. I believe that harmony between brothers is the best..."
"Um."
Empress Lü interrupted Liu Ying's long speech coldly. Liu Ying said nothing more and continued to follow Empress Lü.
"I hope that the Queen Mother will take good care of herself..."
Liu Ying finally said a lot of words to ask Empress Lu to take care of her health, and then he made a series of long speeches on many problems within the royal family. Then he said goodbye to Empress Lu and left.
During these years, Liu Ying would visit the emperor and the empress every day, and every day he would ask them to take care of their health. Every day he would give long speeches, quoting from classics, and be very respectful and well-behaved.
With these words embellishing it, that seemingly sincere face seemed to become a little fake.
