Chapter 7 This Love Will Never End Six or four years
On April 24, the second year of Zhongyuan, the new emperor Liu Zhuang issued an edict saying, "I am still a child, but I have been following the holy cause. I have been in awe and have never dared to neglect my duty. The previous emperor was given the mandate to revive the country. His virtue was equal to that of the emperor. He was in harmony with all nations, trusted the upper and lower classes, won over all the gods, and was kind to widows and widowers. I have inherited the great fortune and continued to uphold the culture. I do not know the difficulties of farming and am afraid that I will fail. The holy grace and instructions have been passed down to me. I care about the world and put the people first. How can the ministers and officials not assist me? The men of the world shall be given the second rank; the three elders, the filial and the hardworking people shall be given the third rank; the rank higher than the Gongcheng can be transferred to the sons and the sons of the same birth; and the exiles who have no name and want to occupy it themselves shall be given the first rank; the widows, widows, orphans, the singles, and the seriously ill shall be given ten hu of millet each. The punishment and the imprisonment of the counties and states shall be in the first year of Zhongyuan. Those who committed crimes before the amnesty of April Ji Mao and were arrested and detained afterwards shall be exempted from punishment. Also, border people who were married to people from the inner counties during the rebellion shall be sent back to the border before the amnesty of Ji Mao to do whatever they like. Those who were demoted from the rank of two thousand stone to the yellow ribbon and were redeemed shall all be restored to their ranks and redeemed. At present, there is no emperor above and no prefects below, as if we are crossing a deep river without a boat. The most important and strong people of ten thousand chariots are not to be trifled with, and we really rely on the virtuous young men to be around. Gaomi Marquis Yu is the leader of the Yuan merits; Dongping Wang Cang is broad-minded and resourceful; both can accept the trust of six feet and remain unyielding in the face of great difficulties. He appointed Yu as Taifu and Cang as Hussar General. The Grand Commandant Xi was reported to the southern suburbs for posthumous title, and the Minister of Works Xin was buried in the coffin, and the Minister of Works and the officers were restored to their land. He appointed Xi as the Marquis of Jiexiang, Xin as the Marquis of Anxiang, and the Marquis of Yangyi.”
When Liu Xiu was in power, he never conferred any additional title of nobility on the three dukes in order to restrain them. After Liu Zhuang ascended the throne, he broke Liu Xiu's practice and conferred the title of nobility on the three dukes, but promoted a general of cavalry above the three dukes - although the methods were different, the intentions were the same.
Liu Cang tried to decline the offer several times, but was stopped by Liu Zhuang. Not only that, Liu Zhuang also issued a special decree, ordering Liu Cang to set up a separate General of Cavalry Office, which could appoint forty officials such as the Chief Clerk and the Assistant Clerk, and whose positions would be above the Three Dukes, truly making Liu Cang second only to the emperor and above ten thousand people.
As for Deng Yu, Marquis of Gaomi, who was appointed as the Grand Tutor, the emperor ordered him not to sit facing north like other ministers during court meetings. Instead, he was allowed to sit in a higher position and face east during meetings.
With the joint efforts of the new and old forces represented by Liu Cang and Deng Yu, the Han Dynasty finally regained its vitality and everything returned to peace.
However, in the autumn, riots broke out again in Longxi County, and the Qiang officers and soldiers along the border rebelled. Liu Zhuang first ordered Zhang Hong, the envoy, to mobilize troops from various counties to encircle and suppress the rebellion, but he was defeated miserably and the Han army was completely wiped out.
So this time, I was the one who went to find Ma Wu again. After Ma Yuan's death, Ma Wu had retired from the army and was idle at home. When I went to find him to lead the troops to fight again, this old man who had fought in wars all his life and was over 60 years old actually cried in front of me. According to his own words, he had been stuck at home for the past few years and felt that he was a hero with no place to use his talents and was about to rot.
In November, Liu Zhuang appointed General Dou Gu and General Ma Wu, who were in charge of capturing prisoners, to lead 40,000 troops to suppress the rebellion. As usual, it was a combination of new and old troops, and the work was not tiring.
The operation of the court transitioned smoothly between the old and new partners. Liu Zhuang gradually got the hang of handling daily official affairs. I wanted to let go and gradually stopped interfering in government affairs.
"You mean to give the fifth prince born by Jia Guiren to Ma Guiren for adoption?" Ma Cheng had been in the palace for five years, but she still had no children. I knew she wanted a child very much. Every time she saw the children born by other nobles in the palace, she cried many times in secret because she couldn't have children.
"Lady Jia is the niece of Lady Ma, they are all relatives, so it's no big deal to adopt a child." Liu Zhuang said it lightly, but I didn't agree. How can a woman understand the feeling of having her child taken away by someone else? Although Lady Jia has another daughter, the fifth prince Liu Xun was born after she carried her baby for ten months.
Liu Zhuang stood in front of me, looking back at Ma Cheng from time to time, with a look of pity and protection, while Ma Cheng stood behind him in fear, lowering his head and not saying a word. I wanted to object, but when I saw this, I suddenly realized that my son, who had always been a playboy, was now worrying about a noble who couldn't have children.
I could guess why they were going through so much trouble, so I smiled and said, "As long as Lady Jia is willing, it's fine."
Liu Zhuang was very happy and immediately turned to Ma Cheng and said, "My mother has agreed. What else do you have to worry about?" As he was speaking, the wet nurse outside the door brought the swaddled Liu Xun in. Liu Zhuang reached out and took the baby and put it in Ma Cheng's arms.
Ma Cheng's eyes widened, her pretty face flushed red, tears welled up in her eyes, she was both excited and grateful.
"You don't have to have your own biological son. As long as you truly love him and take care of him, that's enough! He will definitely be more filial to you than your own son in the future. If you don't believe me, look at your mother. She raised Princess Yuyang single-handedly. Princess Yuyang treats her like her own mother. How can her filial piety be inferior to that of other princesses?"
I didn't expect Liu Zhuang to compare me to her. I was stunned for a moment. Liu Jin didn't cry or make a fuss in Ma Cheng's arms. She looked at her with her big black eyes, not afraid of strangers at all. She was so excited that tears came down. She knelt down and sobbed in front of Liu Zhuang and me: "Thank you, Queen Mother! Thank you, Your Majesty... I... finally have a son... From now on, I will treat this child as my own!"
She was crying with tears streaming down her face. Liu Zhuang pulled her up from the ground, suddenly hugged her in his arms, and sighed deeply.
"Stop...pressing the child..." Ma Cheng nervously freed his hands, and the next second he realized that I was still watching the fun. His tearful face suddenly swelled as if it was about to explode, and even his ears turned blood red.
I looked at them with a smile. Liu Zhuang was shy for a moment, but then he returned to normal and thanked me, "Thank you, mother, for your help!"
I knew the real subtext behind this sentence, so I replied: "Some things will take their course, and it is not good to rush them."
Liu Zhuang smiled at me happily, his eyes and brows filled with joy, and he excitedly supported Ma Cheng, and the family of three, two adults and one child, left together.
Watching the two figures leaning on each other as they gradually walked away, I sighed and whispered to Shanan behind me: "I'm really old, am I not?"
Shanan didn't answer, but just smiled softly, with an unspeakable loneliness in her smile.
According to etiquette, the emperor mourned for one day equal to one month, so the emperor only needed to mourn for 36 days, which was equivalent to the three-year mourning period for ordinary people. But Liu Zhuang refused to do so. He did not regard his status as an emperor as a sign of respect, and insisted on mourning for the entire three years for Liu Xiu. So during these three years, he was not allowed to have concubines, was forbidden to have entertainment, and was required to eat vegetarian food. According to this logic, the position of empress, which should have been established earlier, was left vacant.
At the end of the second year of Zhongyuan, Shen Hou Liu Long passed away.
In the second year after Liu Zhuang ascended the throne, he established a new year name and changed the era name to Yongping, which was the first year of Yongping.
Summer came in a flash. People in and outside the palace were busy avoiding the heat and preventing insects. Suddenly, news came that Liu Qiang, the Prince of Donghai, was ill. I didn't take it seriously at first, but soon there was news that Liu Qiang was seriously ill and seemed incurable. I became alert and secretly sent people to find out the truth. The report I got was hard to tell. While I was confused, Liu Zhuang sent his close eunuchs and shield commanders to escort the imperial physician commander and the prime minister to the Lingguang Palace in Lucheng by post carriage. At the same time, he issued an edict ordering Liu Fu, the Prince of Pei, Liu Kang, the Prince of Jinan, and Liu Yan, the Prince of Huaiyang, to go to Lucheng together.
The intention of such a scene was to conclude that Liu Qiang was dead and to let his brothers rush to see him for the last time. I was still doubting the truth of Liu Qiang's illness, but Liu Zhuang was very confident and didn't worry at all whether these half-brothers would cause trouble when they got together. His confidence made me suspicious and chilled at the same time.
I wanted to find out the whole story, but Deng Yu also fell ill at this time. Because of his advanced age, the Deng family had even prepared for his funeral. Su He came to the palace every day to report to me about her father-in-law's condition. I was concerned about Deng Yu and had no time to pay attention to Liu Qiang.
Su He went to the palace again that day. Unexpectedly, she was accompanied by Deng Yu's wife, Li Yuelong. I was wondering when Li started crying and begging, "My husband is dying. He held on for a breath but insisted on seeing the Queen Mother. Otherwise, he would die with regret. I really have no other choice but to ask the Queen Mother to move. Considering that my husband has worked for the court for decades and has worked hard , please fulfill his wish!"
I felt like I was struck by lightning. Although I had prepared myself mentally, when it really came to this, I found that I still couldn't bear it.
When we arrived at Gaomi Marquis's Mansion, the solemn atmosphere was so strong that I couldn't breathe. Li led me into the main room, and I found that Deng Yu had been carried to the outer room. The coffin was even ready in the main hall, and the descendants in the room were all in tears.
Deng Yu had not yet died. Just as Li had described, he was lying straight on the bed, breathing out more than breathing in, but his eyes were still wide open, staring blankly at the curtain above his head.
When I entered the room, I almost stumbled to the bed, completely losing the proper manners of a queen mother. Deng Yu seemed to sense my arrival, turned his head and glanced at me, and suddenly smiled foolishly.
I was about to cry, with tears already in my eyes, but I was still infected by his smile. I started laughing as tears burst out, but the next second, I couldn't help but burst into tears.
Deng Yu glanced behind me, and then the door creaked shut. The room was quiet, and the only sound was my sobbing.
"Hi..." He greeted gently, with a faint smile still on his weathered face, "I'm very happy now... I'm very happy that you can come... I thought... I thought it was another futile wait..."
I choked with tears, "What else do you wish for ... Tell me... do you want me to reward your children?"
He looked at me tenderly, smiled and shook his head.
"If you don't want to be a noble or a general, then you want to be rich?"
He still shook his head.
I cried, “What else can I do?”
"Lihua..." He sighed softly, "I just want... don't blame me... I've said before that in this life, fame, wealth, or being a traitor, it's all for you... So, I just ask you not to blame me in the end..."
I stared at him blankly. In his eyes, besides apology, there was more determination. I suddenly came to my senses and collapsed on the bed like a deflated ball. I murmured in disbelief: "It's you...it's you..."
"Even if I don't confess now, I believe... you will understand in the future. I have never lied to you, and I don't want to see you in trouble... Liu Qiang, I have to get rid of him..."
I was shocked.
Liu Qiang must be eliminated!
I know better than anyone that he is telling the truth! The absolute truth!
It's not that I haven't had such thoughts before, especially when the frame-up letter was exposed last year, I really wanted to kill Liu Qiang and put an end to it. Liu Jing was certainly wrong in that matter, but Liu Qiang's reaction after receiving the letter was beyond common sense. He immediately arrested the messenger and handed the letter over. If he hadn't known in advance that the letter was not written by his uncle, but was just a fake letter to kill someone with a borrowed knife, how could he dare to hand over such evidence to the emperor? How could he dare to selflessly hand over the lives of his uncle's family to the emperor? I don't believe he is so stupid that he would not hesitate to inform on his own uncle in order to prove his innocence to the emperor.
Liu Qiang was never a heartless child. He was honest and timid since childhood. He didn't have many opinions and was good at listening to others' advice. If such a child really received a conspiracy letter claiming to be from his uncle, his first reaction would be fear and he would not dare to take it seriously. His second reaction would be to burn the letter... But Liu Qiang 's reaction at that time was obviously beyond his character, just like when he implemented the land measurement, he let Liu Zhuang deliberately steal the limelight. Behind the accusation of the frame-up letter, weren't they accusing Liu Jing?
Such a person, even if he is not a wicked person, even if he is honest, but because he is the eldest son of the previous emperor and has the dazzling halo of the former crown prince, he can be taken advantage of by many people simply based on his identity, and Liu Jing is just one of them.
Liu Qiang is not the culprit, but he is the source of the trouble! Only by getting rid of him can the hidden dangers be truly eliminated, otherwise, more "Liu Jing" will continue to emerge in the future.
I thought about getting rid of Liu Qiang, and this idea had been on my mind for countless days, but as long as I thought of Liu Xiu's last words, my heart could no longer be hardened. In the end, I let Liu Qiang go and let him return to his own country like his brothers.
"Does the Emperor know?"
Deng Yu did not answer, and his breathing became increasingly rapid.
"Does the emperor know?" I continued to ask.
"Don't ask..." He panted and looked at me helplessly, "It doesn't matter whether you know or not..."
"I..." I was choking on my breath and felt so painful that I could hardly breathe.
"I just... don't want you to worry anymore... You are still so stupid, why... why can't you be a little more confused? Try to let go... You have to believe in the emperor, he is... the son of you and Emperor Guangwu..."
My mind went blank and I looked at him helplessly and confused.
Deng Yu gave me a weak smile: "You...you..." He suddenly became speechless, his voice stuck in his throat, his lips moved, but no sound came out.
I was shocked and anxious, and quickly half climbed onto the bed, put my ear close to his mouth, and cried nervously: "What do you want to say... I'm listening..."
After waiting for a while, I still couldn't hear a single word except for the heavy breathing. I was so anxious that I was sweating. Suddenly, I felt a chill on the right side of my cheek, and soft but slightly cold lips slid across my temple.
I was startled and turned around in astonishment. He opened his eyes and smiled contentedly, but after a short while, his eyes dimmed again.
"Lihua..." he called me in a low voice.
I didn't answer.
"Lihua..." There was a pleading tone in the voice.
My heart softened and I said "hmm" softly.
"Lihua..." He seemed not to hear me and continued to call my name over and over again, "Lihua... Lihua... Lihua..."
His voice got lower and lower, and my heart suddenly rose to my throat. He suddenly smiled and closed his eyes: "When I was young, I thought it was four years, but now I know that it was actually a lifetime..."
I stood quietly by his bed, crying silently.
The room was very quiet; I could hear the chirping of summer cicadas. I seemed to have returned to that hot and dull afternoon. When I rubbed my sleepy eyes and woke up from a nap, that handsome young man with his hair tied up in a turban was standing outside my window, looking stupidly, holding a net bag for catching cicadas. He was sweating profusely, but his smile was still as bright as the stars under the scorching sun.
"Deng Yu..." I whispered his name, "Why are you so stupid?"
He lay quietly on the bed, soundless as if he was asleep.
"You are... the real fool..." I held his cheek, tears rolling down his face drop by drop, one drop fell on his pale lips, and quickly slid into his mouth. I trembled and kissed him on the forehead, then on the cheek, and finally on the cold lips...
When we were young, we thought it was four years, but we didn’t know that it was actually a lifetime.
