Chapter 1 Who are they? Xuan and Xi 3. Ji Zha
When I woke up early, Liu Xiu was no longer beside me. I climbed out of bed and started my busy day. I sent Liu Yang and Prince Yi to study with their teacher. Zhongli refused to let the maid comb her hair and insisted that I do it for her. I was halfway through combing her hair when Hongfu and his brother Liu Cang started fighting over a toy.
After finally getting rid of these little ghosts, I asked the palace maid Huangmen to take them to the garden. It was already the beginning of the morning. Chen Min quietly came to me, and I remembered what happened last night: "I asked you to give me a reply at dawn, why didn't I see you this morning? Where did you go to play?"
She smiled: "How dare I forget what you ordered? You can't imagine that Zhi Yun submitted a memorial early in the morning, saying something like 'In the past, King Wen did not dare to wander around in the fields, worrying about the people. But Your Majesty went hunting in the mountains and forests, day and night, what is it for the country and the ancestral temple? The warning of the fierce tiger crossing the river is not here yet, and I am really worried about it.'..."
"Oh?" I smiled and held my chin in my hand. "How will Your Majesty respond?"
"Your Majesty not only did not blame him, but instead rewarded him with 100 pieces of cloth and silk, and ordered that the gatekeeper of the East Central Gate who was released last night be banished to Canfeng County."
I smiled and said nothing.
Chen Min was surprised: "Your Excellency doesn't seem surprised at all?"
"It's reasonable and not surprising." After a moment's silence, I murmured, "Zhi Yun is a man of some insight, unlike those vulgar officials."
"Yes, I have checked. This person is proficient in Han Shi and Yan's Spring and Autumn Annals, and knows astronomy and calendar."
"He is really a talented man... What else did His Majesty let him do? Will he let him go back to Shangdong Gate to be a small gatekeeper?"
"Your Excellency is truly a master of foresight. Your Majesty has ordered him to teach the Crown Prince the Han Poetry."
I was startled. I had just thought of investigating this Zhi Yun last night to see if he could be used for my own purposes. I didn't expect that I was still a step too late.
"Just teaching Han poetry?"
"Yes, His Majesty has ordered me to be a lecturer in the palace..." The little girl was very clever, and had obviously guessed what I was thinking. She blinked and smiled and said, "I will be a lecturer in the palace. I just need to rearrange the Fourth Prince's lessons so that he can make time to attend the lecture together."
I laughed. Liu Qiang's teacher was Zhang Zhan, the Prince's tutor. He was dignified and polite, and was a role model for officials in the three prefectures. He was very popular. Although Liu Yang's status as a prince was not as good as Liu Qiang's, I always wanted to do my best to give him the best education, just like many modern parents who want their children to succeed, and do everything they can to send their children to key schools and enroll them in various cram schools.
As the crown prince, Liu Qiang naturally enjoyed the best material conditions. No one else in the world could compare to him. This was set by the system and could not be forcibly violated. However, how much Liu Qiang could learn depended on his innate qualifications and acquired efforts. The whole court was paying attention to this young crown prince and looking forward to his growth, just because he was the crown prince and the successor to the throne of Emperor Jianwu.
"My dear, the Fourth Prince is back." I was so absorbed in thinking about it that I didn't come back to my senses until Chen Min reminded me twice in my ear.
Liu Yang had his hair tied up in a bun, standing quietly at the door. I waved to him, and as soon as he stepped through the door, a petite figure suddenly jumped out from behind him, laughing and shouting, "Mom, I'm telling you, Fourth Brother didn't listen to Master today, and Master wanted to spank him, but he talked back to Master..."
Liu Yang's expression changed, but only for a moment. He frowned and snorted coldly, ignoring King Yi's complaint.
When Chen Min saw them coming back, she went out to prepare lunch. There were no outsiders around, so I called Liu Yang over and asked him seriously, "Is what your sister said true?"
He pursed his lips stubbornly and said nothing, but his little face, which didn't know how to hide his emotions, revealed a little disdain.
I asked calmly, "What did you talk about today?"
“The Analects.”
King Yi added: "Master, today I am teaching you the first chapter, "On Learning": 'Is it not a pleasure to learn and practice from time to time? Is it not a pleasure to have friends coming from afar? Is it not a gentleman to not be upset when people do not know you?'"
She was having a great time shaking her head and thinking, but Liu Yang rolled his eyes at her: "Go, go play somewhere else! What do you know?"
Prince Yi said unconvincedly, "Yes, I don't understand. That's why I go to study! You are the smartest and most amazing? Mother, you don't know how evil he is. In front of so many people, he argued with the master and asked the master whether what he taught was the Lu Analects, the Qi Analects or the Classical Analects? He deliberately made trouble. He didn't want to learn, but he made it so that my second and third brothers and I couldn't learn..."
Liu Yang's face flushed with anger. "The Analects was written by many people. The people who recorded it included Confucius' disciples, his disciples, and people outside of Confucius. There are three versions that have been passed down to this day - the Lu Analects contains twenty chapters; the Ancient Text Analects contains twenty-one chapters; and the Qi Analects contains twenty-two chapters... Since the teacher is teaching the Analects today, I'm curious which one he is teaching. What's wrong with asking?"
The words stunned the King Yi. After a long while, he asked in a daze: "Then... which one do you think is the best?"
"almost."
"How is it almost the same? How do you know it's almost the same?"
Liu Yang glanced at her and said nothing. I quickly interrupted, "Be more humble in your studies and don't be so self-righteous. Go, wash your hands and get ready for dinner."
Although Prince Yi was smart, she was still a child after all. Her brother's extraordinary erudition did not attract much attention from her. When she heard that there was food, she raised her hands, cheered, and ran out laughing.
"Don't get too carried away!" I tapped him on the forehead with my finger. "Sometimes showing off too much makes you look shallow and ignorant."
He was shocked, lowered his head and replied in a low voice: "I have no intention of showing off."
"I heard that you have already learned the Spring and Autumn Annals a while ago?"
"No... I have finished reading the Spring and Autumn Annals."
"Oh?" I was a little surprised, but not horrified. "So what are you learning now? Last year you learned the Book of Rites, right? I still remember that you were tinkering with the Great Dai Li and the Small Dai Li all day long... Which of the Five Classics are you teaching now? Is the progress too fast? Is it too tiring to learn?"
"Let's start learning the Book of Documents now... Marquis Liang said that the one taught at the Imperial Academy is the Book of Documents in Modern Text written in official script, which contains 28 chapters. If we can find the Book of Documents in Ancient Text, there will be 16 more chapters in the volume."
I had no interest in these ancient and modern versions, yet I could not express my feelings honestly for fear of setting a bad example for the child by not studying seriously. So I nodded in agreement in a perfunctory manner, but in my heart I was still concerned about whether he could keep up with this cramming teaching method and pace at such a young age.
"Yang'er, how do you think... you have learned more than those brothers of the Deng family?"
"Deng Zhen, the son of Marquis Liang, is better at studying than me, and Marquis Liang often praises him..."
Being honest, I nodded.
"But..." He paused, raised his head, and a proud glow appeared on his face. "There are thirteen Deng brothers, but each of them only specializes in one area, and Marquis Liang doesn't teach them much. I once asked him why, and he said it was because of his limited individual talents."
I couldn't help but frown. "What Liang Hou said makes sense. It's better to be greedy for knowledge than to be in-depth. However... you still need to spend some time to read and understand the Book of Shang."
His dark eyes flickered, and he grinned: "I understand your intentions, and I will study Shangshu carefully and not let you down."
What a clever child he is. He is so sensible and sensible, which is far beyond his age.
I dragged Liu Yang to eat, and when we were almost done, I remembered and hurriedly reminded him, "Your father asked Zhi Yun to teach the prince Han poetry in the lecture hall. You can go and listen when you have time. But there is one thing, don't be arrogant because of your talent."
He nodded obediently.
The child's studies were not in vain. He strictly followed etiquette during meals and never talked casually. His methodical manner was so much like his father.
After lunch, just as the table was cleared, Dai Ang's unique voice came from outside the palace: "Your Majesty has arrived--"
Before I could go out to greet him, Prince Yi had already run out with his two sisters, shouting, "Father! Father! When will you take us out of the city to hunt again?"
Liu Xiu, wearing a Tongtian crown, came in from the door with an elegant demeanor. Zhongli pulled at his skirt and followed him, but Hongfu simply opened his arms and stopped him, indicating that he wanted him to hug him.
Liu Xiu didn't even frown, he still squatted down with a smile. Before he could pick up Hongfu, Zhongli jumped onto his back, strangled his neck with his arms, and laughed non-stop.
I couldn't help but scold him, "You are so unruly! Get down here right away!"
Zhongli glanced at me secretly. Normally, she would never dare to talk back to me, of course, only when Liu Xiu was not around. When Liu Xiu was around, she relied on her father's power and did not listen to my words at all. She was only slightly stunned, and then she continued to hang on her father's neck and said coquettishly: "Mother is teaching me a lesson again, father, please issue an edict to tell mother not to scold me in the future."
Liu Hongfu was in front, Liu Zhongli was behind, and Liu Yiwang was beside them, clapping and cheering, looking like he was looking for chaos. I saw that Liu Xiu was still smiling and not angry at all, so I frowned and said angrily, "Come down quickly, you are so disrespectful." I raised my hand and glared at Zhongli, threatening him, "If you don't come down, I will beat you up!"
"Father, Father, Mother is very fierce, isn't she?"
Hongfu snuggled up to his father's chest and chuckled, "Mom is too fierce. Hongfu likes father, not mother!"
Prince Yi crossed his arms, cleared his throat in a solemn tone, squinted his eyes like Liu Xiu, and said with a smile: "The Xiaoya says: 'When I am afraid, I will be terrified, but I will be with you. When I am at peace, I will be happy. But you will abandon me.' When I was humble, I married Yin..."
Her eyes resembled her father's, and she was imitating Liu Xiu's smile. Her innocent expression was really funny. In front of these children, I was not thick-skinned enough, and my ears felt hot for a while, as if they were about to burn. I glanced at Liu Xiu, but he was like a clay Buddha, completely indifferent, letting the children tease me without any anger.
"Come down! Father has been busy in the court for the whole morning and has been very tired. You shouldn't torture him like this!" Liu Yang spoke, looking like a little adult.
Perhaps because he was the elder brother, Zhongli didn't buy my account, but gave Liu Yang face, and slid down Liu Xiu's back obediently. Not only that, he also called Hongfu and said, "Third sister, come down too. Fourth brother said that father has worked hard."
"Oh." The young Hongfu seemed to understand but listened to his second sister very much. He supported Liu Xiu's chest with his little hands and struggled to get off the ground.
Liu Xiu couldn't persuade her and had to let her go.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Liu Jing was sleeping at the moment and Liu Cang had just been taken out for a walk by his wet nurse and had not returned yet. Otherwise, if these six little guys were together, it would have definitely made my head spin.
Liu Xiu looked a little tired. It turned out that the physical strength he consumed in hunting in the suburbs yesterday had not been fully recovered. I signaled the palace maids and housewives to take the children out of the main hall. The three girls were reluctant to leave at first, and insisted that Liu Xiu kiss each of them on the face before they left contentedly.
When his sisters were pestering their father for affection, Liu Yang did not come over. Instead, he looked away with an awkward expression. He only glanced at them occasionally out of the corner of his eye, looking envious but pretending to be indifferent, to prove that he was a man.
"Yang'er." After his daughters skipped away, Liu Xiu greeted his son with a smile.
Liu Yang's face turned red as he approached reluctantly. No one knows a child better than his mother. How could I not understand his petty and awkward thoughts? This child is in the growth period of childhood and adolescence. His personality is more mature than other children of the same age, but mentally he still cannot get out of the frame of a little boy.
Boys and girls are different. Girls can nestle in their parents' arms and act like a spoiled child, but boys are half childish in nature and half adult in behavior. They are growing up, and in their young hearts, besides relying on their parents, they imitate and worship them more. I think I am not suitable to be his idol. The role model of a father is more advantageous for boys.
"Your son pays homage to the Emperor." It was a formal way of greeting, but with a touch of weirdness. He tried his best to act like an adult, but he didn't realize that this behavior made people laugh even more.
Liu Xiu's smile was filled with love. I was watching the father and son from the side, and suddenly I had a strange feeling. Liu Xiu reached out and stroked his son's head. His love seemed to be covered with a layer of sadness and regret. Before I could understand the deep meaning of this complex emotion, Liu Xiu had closed his eyes, and his long eyelashes covered all the light. His chest rose and fell, and he sighed silently, muttering to himself: "Wu Jizi..."
I was stunned. If I was confused by the previous moment, then I was even more confused by these three irrelevant words. Wu Jizi? A person's name? A place name? Or...
"So stupid!" Liu Yang's clear and bright voice interrupted my thoughts. He raised his head high and looked straight into his father's eyes. The proud contempt was clearly visible on his rosy little face.
Liu Xiu was obviously shocked by his answer. His eyelids opened suddenly and his eyes were sharp. At that moment, I was standing beside him and felt suffocated.
Facing his father's sharp gaze, Liu Yang showed no fear or retreat. His thin waist was straightened, his slender shoulders supported his small head, and his face showed a stubborn determination to achieve his goal.
"Do you understand the Spring and Autumn Annals?!" It sounded like a question, but the tone was unquestionable affirmation.
I was very anxious, but I didn't dare to interrupt him. Liu Yang hesitated for a moment, glanced at me from the corner of his eyes, and finally answered with a smug look: "Yes."
"Oh? Who is the master who teaches you every day?" As soon as Liu Xiu finished speaking, Dai Ang, who was waiting at the door, immediately sent someone down to call the master.
I bit my lip feeling guilty and anxious.
Soon, Liu Yang's wet nurse and teacher came and knelt down at the steps. Liu Xiu asked the fourth prince about his usual homework with a pleasant face. The teacher was sweating profusely, and more flaws were revealed in the conversation. I lowered my head and prepared to accept Liu Xiu's questioning, but he just turned back and looked at his son steadily, and sighed for a while: "Ten years old, you are only ten years old..."
He rubbed his head with his big hands, sighed softly, and turned to walk out of the hall.
I got anxious and chased after him, shouting, "Your Majesty, actually..."
He waved his hands: "It's okay, let me think about it carefully." After a pause, he turned around and shouted, "Yang'er!"
"promise."
"Can you understand the Analects?"
"promise."
Liu Xiu chuckled and said to him, "Don't be impatient and don't be too hasty. If you are impatient, you won't achieve your goal. If you are too hasty ...."
"I will remember my father's teachings."
This father and son were comparing books to each other, and their conversation was full of learned knowledge. Not to mention that I had no intention of paying attention to it at the moment, even if I listened, I would not understand what they were talking about at all.
"Your Majesty." I wanted to chase after him to explain, but Liu Yang grabbed my arm.
"You little bastard, I'll teach you a lesson!" I was so angry that I punched him. "You always try to show off how capable you are, don't you? I wonder how capable you will be in the future!"
He jumped away in panic, retreating while preparing to take the attack: "Mother, what are you doing? Father is not angry, and...ah - Mother, you cheated, how could you attack me by surprise?"
"All's fair in war!" I caught up with him and beat him up.
I was really nervous inside. Liu Xiu's reaction at noon made me feel uncomfortable, so I couldn't wait for the lunch break and asked Chen Minxuan and Yin Xing to go to the palace quickly.
Before Yin Xing came, I had paced back and forth dozens of times in the hall. As soon as he stepped into the hall, I grabbed him anxiously. My reaction shocked him, who was always calm. He immediately realized that the matter was serious and made a gesture to Chen Min. Chen Min understood, took all the servants out of the hall, and retreated outside the hall.
"What's up?"
"Your nephew is showing off and trying to be smart..." With a sullen face, I told him what happened at noon truthfully.
"Wu Jizi?" Yin Xing's reaction was unusual. He was not anxious for Liu Xiu to find out that Liu Yang had another master. Instead, he was inexplicably concerned about the details of the side branch. "Did your majesty really say 'Wu Jizi' to the Fourth Prince?"
"Why should I care if he has lice? You should understand that this is not the point of the problem now." I have been cultivating Liu Yang for more than three years, so that he can compete with Liu Qiang one day. However, such intentions can only be kept in the depths of my heart and cannot be discussed on the table - if the women in the palace talk about state affairs and have the selfish intention of changing the government and ethics, if this matter is publicized, it will be a disaster in a blink of an eye.
The Crown Prince is the heir to the throne, and it is related to the future prosperity and decline of the country. As the saying goes, mother and son are one body. Guo Shengtong and Liu Qiang have been in high positions for more than ten years. Apart from their own followers, the inherent conservative forces in the court are not something we can shake in a short time.
"I think this is the key point." Yin Xing's eyes were like torches. "Since the purpose is to make the Fourth Prince a young talent, how can we hide his brilliance? It doesn't make much difference if this happens a day earlier or later." He suddenly laughed, and his laughter was so abrupt that I felt a chill on my back and my hair stood on end. "Your Excellency does not understand the Spring and Autumn Annals, so it's no wonder that you don't understand the intention of His Majesty. In my opinion, what happened today is a good omen."
"What?"
"Where does this 'Jizi of Wu' come from? There is a brief mention in the Gongyang Commentary of the Spring and Autumn Annals that this person is named Zha, the fourth child in the family, so he is called Jizi. He was a prince of Wu State six hundred years ago. Jizi's father Shoumeng was the king of Wu State. He had four legitimate sons, namely Ye, Yuji, Yimei, and Zha. Jizi was the youngest, but the most intelligent and talented. His brothers all wanted the youngest to inherit the throne, so they made a promise that the throne would be passed down from elder brother to younger brother. The throne of Wu State was inherited by Ye, and after Ye's death, Yuji succeeded to the throne, and after Yuji's death, Yimei succeeded to the throne..."
"The younger brother succeeds the elder brother...So after Yimei died, Ji Zha became the King of Wu?"
"No. When Yimei died, Ji Zha happened to be on a diplomatic mission to the State of Lu, so Ji Zha's half-brother Chang Liao seized the throne and became the King of Wu."
"ah?"
"After Ji Zha returned to the country, he did not start a fight for the throne. Instead, he accepted Liao as the king and considered himself a minister. At that time, Ye's son, Gongzi Guang, was very dissatisfied. He believed that if the previous king's promise of the younger brother succeeding the elder brother was followed, Ji Zha should succeed to the throne. If not, then he should have succeeded to the throne. So Guang sent someone to assassinate Liao and wanted to give the throne to his uncle Ji Zha..."
I held my breath. Yin Xing was not a good storyteller, so the language used to describe this story was not very expressive at all. But for some reason, I was deeply attracted to it.
"How does Ji Zha do it?"
"Give up the country to the glory!" Yin Xing sneered: "Wu Jizi is recorded in books and highly praised by the world, which is nothing more than praising his virtue. He should have been the legitimate heir of Wu, but in the end he repeatedly gave up the throne that belonged to him... If it were you, how would you evaluate him?"
At that moment, Liu Yang's answer flashed through my mind, and my heart sank. I couldn't help but blurt out those four words: "Stupid!"
"You are truly worthy of being my nephew. You are so talented and arrogant at such a young age, and you even dare to ridicule the saints and sages praised by the world!"
I stepped back disappointedly, feeling confused.
Wu Jizi was the legitimate monarch of Wu and eventually gave up the throne. When Liu Xiu called Liu Yang "Wu Jizi", was he subconsciously comparing his son to Ji Zha?
If this comparison was made unintentionally, then Yang'er's answer was tantamount to revealing all the "ambitions" buried deep in his young heart to his father, the Emperor of Han.
Liu Yang knew who Wu Jizi was, but he looked down on his wise deeds from the bottom of his heart.
Give up the country?
So stupid——"...Mother, why did you give in? Why? If you were the queen, my sisters and I wouldn't be bullied..."
"...If mother were the queen...I could be as majestic as my brother the crown prince. No...No! There is no brother the crown prince at all! If mother were the queen, how could he, born out of wedlock, become the crown prince? I should be the crown prince of this country..."
I already knew the answer three years ago, didn't I?
When the six-year-old boy stood in front of my bed and vented his grievances, I already knew the answer hidden in his heart.
My Yang'er can never become Wu Jizi. Even if his fate is forced to stand in the same predicament as Wu Jizi because of my fault, his final decision will never be the same as Wu Jizi's.
Give up the country? Saint?
Bullshit!
Therefore, Wu Jizi is extremely stupid!
