118 Chapter 118

◎ Worry. ◎

Cao Xiang's face was also full of joy when he came to the Pepper Palace. What surprised him was that his brother-in-law, the crown prince, was particularly nice to him today.

Cao Xiang, unaware of the situation, remained trembling with fear for a long time until Liu Ju quietly pulled him aside and said, "Cousin, can you please have a moment with me?"

Cao Xiang, on the other hand, felt calmer. He thought to himself, it's finally here.

The mother and daughter over there were in their own little world and were not paying attention to this place for the time being, so Liu Ju pulled Cao Xiang to the corridor outside to talk.

Liu Ju whispered, "My sister absolutely needs to be in a good mood right now. You absolutely cannot make her unhappy. Do you understand?"

Cao Xiang nodded. "Don't worry, Your Highness. We've called the Imperial Physician. I've taken note of everything you need to be aware of."

Liu Ju nodded and said, "If you have another woman at this time, I will pick out some handsome young men to send to my sister. She will need them sooner or later anyway."

Cao Xiang said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I..." He finally realized what Liu Qi had said, "Young Master?"

"What's so strange about that?" Liu Ju said matter-of-factly. "If you can have other women, why can't my sister have other men? Is the Princess of the Han Dynasty not as good as the Marquis of Pingyang?"

That’s not what I said…

Cao Xiang opened his mouth. This doesn't make sense...

Liu Ju narrowed his eyes. "So, Cousin Cao Xiang, you do have second thoughts about my sister, don't you?"

Cao Xiang's scalp tightened, and he quickly denied: "No! I..."

Liu Ju frowned and said, "Keep your voice down."

Cao Xiang had no choice but to lower his voice and explain again, "Your Highness, I have no one else in my life. I am devoted to the princess."

He and Liu Yuan were newly married and in love, so there was no room for a third person.

Besides, his reaction to the prince's words was too unusual. Although it was common for a Han princess to keep a handsome young man, she had to wait until her husband died. How could a princess keep a male lover while her husband was still alive?

Although, it's not impossible for the princess to raise him. As long as His Majesty protects him, no one would dare to say anything, but...

It's not the same thing for a princess to keep a male lover and for a prince consort to take a concubine.

Cao Xiang was thinking about this and was about to talk to the Crown Prince about the reasoning behind it when he heard the Crown Prince say again: "Remember what you said. You are devoted to my sister."

Cao Xiang nodded immediately: "Of course, Your Highness, this is my sincere opinion."

Liu Ju said, "I remember that too."

Liu Ju knew that the definition of being devoted to men in feudal society was different from that of later people, so Cao Xiang could say this sincerely, because even if he had other women in the future, he would still think that he was devoted to Liu Yuan. After all, a concubine was nothing.

Liu Ju had no way to really control Cao Xiang. After all, Cao Xiang was a living person. He could only remind and threaten him as much as possible, and ask him not to do anything to make Liu Yuan sad, at least during the period when Liu Yuan was pregnant and giving birth.

Cao Xiang wanted to explain further, but Liu Ju had already turned around and went back. He couldn't help but sigh. It was really difficult to have a prince as a brother-in-law.

…

The eldest princess's pregnancy brought more joy to the Weiyang Palace. After all, His Majesty did not have many children. Although the new child in the future would be of a different surname, he would be His Majesty's grandchild.

——Regardless of the old emperor’s murderous attitude during the Witchcraft Incident, His Majesty the Emperor is now sincerely looking forward to his grandson.

When Liu Yuan and Cao Xiang left Weiyang Palace, they took away several carts of rewards. For the next three days, rewards were delivered to the princess's mansion.

Liu Ju knew his father's temperament and knew that love must be expressed, but he still tried to dissuade his father, saying that no matter how much love one has to have a limit, even if it doesn't consider the national treasury, one must consider the impact on adults and children.

Sometimes I think, there is a reason why his father always tries to make money.

In addition to spending a lot on government and military affairs, his father was also very generous to the people he loved.

Alas. Liu Ju thought, this is what happens when children who have never suffered grow up.

Since the opening of foreign trade routes, His Majesty the Emperor's treasury has become much richer and he has become more confident. Fortunately, he is a man who listens to advice - that means he listens to what people say he wants to hear, so after Liu Ju's advice, he stopped.

His daughter's top priority now is to take care of the baby and not let other things disturb her.

Then, in order to help his daughter take care of her pregnancy, the Emperor decided to let the Queen select two women and send them to the Marquis of Pingyang's Mansion to serve her son-in-law.

Liu Ju: “???”

Even if you have to be on guard against everything, you still have to be on guard against your own father, right? The way you, a feudal father, dote on your daughter is really...

Very feudal!

Liu Ju gritted his teeth and said in a friendly manner, "Grandfather, Mother has already mentioned this matter to Cousin Cao Xiang in person, but Cousin Cao Xiang said that he only wants to take care of my sister and has no room for anyone else. He also said that even if Mother punishes him, he will still refuse her proposal."

"Oh? There is such a thing?" Liu Che was a little surprised.

Liu Ju smiled and nodded: "Are you suspicious that I'm lying? Then call my mother, my sister, and my cousin Cao Xiang..."

Before he could say anything, Liu Che couldn't help laughing and said, "Why call him here? I'm not trying a thief!"

Liu Ju pursed his lips: "Oh."

"Are you still unhappy? I was just surprised, how could I not trust you?" Liu Che said helplessly, "You may not be very old, but you have a big temper!"

Liu Ju defended himself, "Aunt, I'm not angry."

Liu Che held his forehead and smiled, "I just said you were unhappy, but you got angry when I said it? Okay, I misunderstood you, okay?"

Liu Ju tilted his head, and he was the one who was surprised. It turned out that people's bottom line could really be lowered. After admitting that he was wrong last time, his father was now willing to lower himself to coax the child!

Wasn't his father's love for him at its peak in his previous life? Could there still be room for appreciation?

"Isn't that enough?" Liu Che saw that he didn't say anything, raised his hand and pinched his cheek lightly, "You still need me..."

"Aunt!" Liu Ju hurriedly held his father's hand and said coquettishly, "I'm really not angry. Don't pinch my face. I've gained weight."

"Wow," Liu Che exclaimed in amazement, "Our Crown Prince is already paying attention to his figure? He's really grown up. How about I assign a few people to serve you?"

Liu Ju: “…”

Liu Ju was speechless and said, "Aunt, I'm only nine years old."

"Nine years old..." Liu Che rubbed the top of his head and laughed, "You act like an adult all day long. I thought you were about to reach adulthood. But I don't blame you. Children always like to act like adults. When I was your age..."

As he spoke, the Emperor noticed his son's piercing eyes and quickly changed the subject: "I never act like an adult. Children are children. Look at my son, you have to learn from me, understand?"

Liu Ju laughed out loud, but he gave his father face by saying, "Yeah, learn from Grandpa, Grandpa is the best!"

Having accidentally revealed his immature youthful past in front of his son, and his son being so perfunctory, Liu Che felt a little embarrassed. He patted his son's forehead and said unhappily, "Stinky boy."

But he still had a smile on his face, not looking angry.

Liu Ju was in a very good mood because of this.

…

Spring has gone and summer has come, and it is time to go to Ganquan Palace for the annual summer vacation. Last year, His Majesty the Emperor was worried about the war on the front line and did not go for the time being. This year, the war against the Huns is in the preparation stage, so he has the leisure to go to Ganquan Palace.

His Majesty the Emperor was still thinking about the fact that he failed to hunt a bear in Shanglin Garden two years ago. Before going to Ganquan Palace, he told Liu Ju that he would go to Shanglin Garden again this year. This time he would hunt a bear, and then the bear paws would only be given to Liu Ju to eat.

Marquis of Changping and Marquis of Guanjun are both accompanying the emperor this time. They will be the commanders of next year's battle. His Majesty the Emperor has many details to discuss with them, and of course there are also military affairs that require their coordination. Fortunately, they do not have to run back and forth in person all the time, as many big and small matters will be handled by their subordinates.

His Majesty the Emperor also took the opportunity to teach Liu Ju a lesson, the gist of which was that a qualified leader must be able to use people and delegate power, otherwise he would not be able to accomplish much even if he worked until his death.

When Liu Ju was listening to his father's teachings, he accidentally saw Huo Guang riding a horse outside, and his thoughts suddenly went astray.

His father would indeed delegate power, but it had to be someone who belonged to him, and he would only be happy and trust him if the person had the power given to him by his father.

Otherwise, the opposite is true.

For example, he was very dissatisfied with the position of prime minister, which was inherited from the position of chancellor and had the greatest power among all officials since ancient times. Therefore, the prime ministers of the Han Wu Dynasty were often trembling with fear and walking on thin ice, but he also created the position of Grand Marshal and General.

Later, Huo Guang became the Grand Marshal and General, and deposed and enthroned emperors. Wang Mang became the Grand Marshal and General, and usurped the Han Dynasty.

But when he was with the Marquis of Changping, he could not realize how dangerous the Grand Marshal General was.

Of course, that was because Wei Qing was a pure member of the imperial party, and His Majesty the Emperor was not a cowardly emperor and would not give his subjects the opportunity to surpass him in merit.

Also, His Majesty the Emperor is very confident in his own vision.

But we cannot blame His Majesty the Emperor for being so confident, because his vision is indeed very good and he always uses people correctly. Even Huo Guang, who deposed and enthroned emperors, was absolutely loyal to the Han Dynasty throughout his life.

As for Wang Mang, that is a problem of the perspective of later generations. We cannot blame everything on Emperor Xiaowu who was buried in Maoling for almost a hundred years.

Noticing his son's distraction, Liu Che followed his gaze and raised an eyebrow: "You seem to like this brother Qu Bing quite a bit. His name is Huo... Huo what?"

He is your trusted minister, and you don't even remember his name? Liu Ju complained silently.

"Huo Guang," Liu Ju said, "when he and his cousin are together, they really are like brothers."

"Are they similar?" Liu Che looked carefully. "No, they don't look alike."

Huo Guang, like Huo Qubing, took more of his mother's appearance, so from their appearance, they did not really look like brothers.

Liu Ju said: "Aweng, it's not the face, it's the feeling. Huo Guang and my cousin have some small movements that are very similar."

Liu Che did not go to see Huo Guang again. He looked at Liu Ju and said, "When we get to Ganquan Palace, I will order your cousin to accompany you for two days."

Liu Ju: “…”

"Aunt, I really don't do this for this. My cousin has a brother who can help him in the future. I'm very happy, really!" Liu Ju tried hard to prove himself.

"Hmm," the Emperor replied perfunctorily, suggesting again, "Let Huo... let him go to your side?"

"Huo Guang," Liu Ju said, "thank you for your kindness, old man. I think it would be great if he follows you. You don't have to give him up."