Chapter 91

On the Dingmao day of April in the first year of Yuanshou, Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty appointed his seven-year-old eldest son Liu Ju as the Crown Prince.

At this time, in the Crown Prince's bedroom in Weiyang Palace, Liu Juzheng and Li Ying looked at each other in surprise.

After a while, Liu Jufang said, "Couldn't you have given me a heads-up? I was almost done with my Happy Match, but I was suddenly dragged here, and now I have to start over again."

Li Ying: “…”

Li Ying laughed: "I'm so sorry."

Liu Ju frowned and asked, "What's going on with Fusu?"

Li Ying said, "I don't know. It's only been a little over a month since the First Emperor's Fengshan ceremony. I don't know what happened, but I took a nap and ended up here. But..." As he spoke, he pulled out his phone. "My internship assignments show I'm about one-third complete."

Liu Ju leaned over to take a look: "One third? Fusu... passed."

Li Ying scratched his head and said, "Yeah, I don't know how I got through..."

Liu Ju took out his cell phone and sent a message to the group to ask Fusu, but he only received a reply from Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian: You went back too, what happened?

Liu Ju: Not sure yet

Before Liu Ju could finish his words, a maid's voice came from outside the door: "Your Highness, the Queen invites you."

Liu Ju agreed, lowered his head and typed a new sentence: "Nothing, I'll go get busy first."

Li Ying glanced at Liu Ju after reading these five brief words. He and Li Chengqian had often butted heads before, but now, this Prince Wei was surprisingly... gentle. Could it be his age? After all, he had already become a grandfather when he died.

Liu Ju found the bronze mirror, looked at his clothes, and turned back to ask, "Li Ying, will you come with me?"

Li Ying nodded quickly: "Of course I will go!"

Liu Ju said, "Fortunately, you have learned etiquette from Fusu. Although my mother is very tolerant towards servants, you should not speak carelessly."

Li Ying patted his chest and assured: "Don't worry, Your Highness, you have to trust my professionalism!"

Liu Ju nodded and walked away.

Li Ying followed him and said, "The first person the eldest son met when he returned was his father. You met your mother. This process doesn't seem to be fixed, so this should be true."

Liu Ju said: "Why don't you pinch yourself and you will know whether you are dreaming or not."

Li Ying: “…” That’s not very gentle at all.

Although the Crown Prince's Palace and the Pepper Palace where the Queen lived both belonged to the Weiyang Palace, the distance between the two was quite far because the Weiyang Palace covered a very large area.

The female official beside the queen had been waiting outside for a long time. As soon as she saw Liu Ju, she hurriedly sent someone to inform the queen. She then came forward and wanted to carry the prince up the stairs.

Liu Ju stepped aside and said, "I'll go by myself."

The female official smiled and said, "Your Highness is now the Crown Prince. You have grown up and no longer act like a child."

Including Liu Ju, Liu Che already had four sons at this time. However, as the eldest son, Liu Ju was the crown prince appointed by his father since birth. Naturally, he was different from other princes and was more pampered.

Liu Ju asked, "Mother called me, is there something wrong?"

"Your Highness is delighted. Today, your family has come to the palace to congratulate you. Her Majesty the Queen invites you to meet her." The court lady smiled, "We wouldn't want to disappoint your family."

Liu Ju knew that the person who made his mother insist on asking him to meet her in person must be his aunt, the wife of Wei Qing, Marquis of Changping.

Since they were relatives, Wei Zifu naturally would not meet the guests in the solemn main hall, but chose the more casual bedroom.

Liu Ju stepped over the high threshold and heard the voices of women talking on the other side of the screen.

After so many years, these voices were too unfamiliar to Liu Ju.

Turning the screen, Liu Ju saw the person at the head among the many female relatives of different ages.

Wei Zifu has been in the palace for nearly twenty years. She is no longer the pretty girl she used to be, and time has left some traces on her.

As beauty fades, love fades, Liu Ju thought. In fact, his father's aesthetic taste has always been very consistent, that is, he always likes young and beautiful women.

When everyone in the hall saw the prince enter, they all stood up and saluted.

Liu Ju bowed to his mother and exempted everyone else from the formalities: "We are all family, no need for extra formalities."

Wei Zifu extended her hand for Liu Ju to sit next to her, and said with a smile, "Please sit down."

The girl next to Wei Zifu had already moved aside and gave her seat to Liu Ju.

Liu Ju thought about it and recognized her as his elder sister, Liu Yuan.

Princess Wei Chang, as Liu Che's first child, has always been very favored by her father.

——Although Liu Che later married her to Luan Da, before exposing Luan Da as a complete liar, in Liu Che's eyes, marrying his beloved eldest daughter to a young, handsome and immortal man was indeed the supreme favor.

Liu Ju smiled and greeted his three sisters before sitting down next to his mother. It was only then that he could see clearly how many people were sitting in the room.

The one with three children must be my aunt. The oldest of these three children is only ten years old, but he is already a marquis of a thousand households.

There was another person with a child. As soon as Liu Ju saw the child, he knew that this person was his aunt.

It was obvious that Liu Ju called them cousins, and it was obvious that their mothers were sisters, but Gongsun Jingsheng and Huo Qubing were two completely different people.

The other one has some similarities in her eyes and eyebrows with my mother and my eldest aunt, so she must be my second aunt.

There were also two older women and a younger woman with her hair in a bun.

Liu Ju thought for a while before realizing that he had two aunts, and his cousin Huo Qubing had already married at that time.

Only a marquis could marry a princess. When Huo Qubing got married, he had not yet been granted the title of Marquis of Guanjun, so unfortunately, his wife was not a princess.

——The regret here refers to Liu Che’s deep regret about this. After all, he really wanted to be Huo Qubing’s father-in-law.

While matching everyone to their numbers, Liu Ju had already heard a lot of compliments. He just gave a polite smile and didn't say much.

Wei Zifu looked at her son in surprise. Although she didn't understand why he was so quiet today, she still tactfully changed the subject and stopped letting her son deal with it.

In terms of interests, these people and Liu Ju are considered to be a community of interests.

After all, they are all relatives by marriage, and their future depends mainly on whether Liu Ju can successfully ascend the throne in the future.

——Of course, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing did not think so. They were both eternal emperors.

It’s a pity that no one in the room except Liu Ju has realized this.

It must be boring to listen to adults talking. Liu Ju held his chin and looked at the three Wei Kang brothers beside him, some of whom were yawning, some were dozing off, and they were all very sleepy.

On the other hand, Gongsun Jingsheng next to him had his eyes rolling around, looking very energetic, but no one knew what he was thinking about.

So, Liu Ju wondered, Gongsun Jingsheng later dared to do something big in silence, was there a sign of this since he was a child?

After the adults finished their pleasantries, Wei Zifu invited them to have a meal before ordering them to be escorted out of the Pepper Room.

When only the mother and daughter and the son were left, Wei Zifu stroked Liu Ju's face and asked, "Ju'er, why are you unhappy today?"

Liu Ju said: "Mother, I am not unhappy, I am just a little tired."

Liu Yuan smiled and said, "I've been busy these past two days. I can still spend a day or two studying. I'd better take some rest."

"I know." Liu Ju smiled.

Wei Zifu believed it to be true and did not ask any more questions. Instead, she called the palace maids and eunuchs who came with Liu Ju and gave them careful instructions.

Liu Ju's third sister, Liu Xiang, tilted her head and looked at him: "Hey, you're younger than me, and you're about to move out and live alone. Ju'er, were you scared last night?"

Compared to Liu Yuan, who had the mentality of having an older sister who was like a mother, the younger Liu Xiang and Liu Ju had a sibling relationship with only quarrels and fights in their daily lives. The second sister, Liu Qi, was responsible and friendly, and her temperament was the gentlest among the three sisters.

But it is now difficult for Liu Ju, who has changed his heart, to play around with Liu Xiang, especially when he knows clearly that the five members of their family did not have a good ending in their previous lives.

Liu Ju said, "The house there is indeed a bit empty, but it's spacious enough for me to live alone. Do you want to go over and spend a few days there?"

Liu Xiang looked at him in surprise, then suddenly turned to Wei Zifu and asked in panic, "Mother, is my brother sick?"

Liu Ju laughed: "I'm fine."

Liu Xiang shook his head repeatedly: "You don't even argue with me anymore, which shows that it's not very nice."

Wei Zifu rubbed her little girl's head and said, "Since your brother is already the crown prince, he should behave himself. Go out and play with your sister. Mother has something to say to your brother."

"Okay." Liu Xiang took her second sister's hand, and the two of them followed Liu Yuan out obediently.

When Wei Zifu turned to look at her son, there was some worry in her eyes: "Zi'er, what are you worried about?"

Liu Ju was stunned. Mother...

She is always so sensitive to children's emotions.

Liu Ju still shook his head: "No, mother, I'm fine."

Wei Zifu sighed. Her son had only been away from her for one day, so why did he already have such a heavy heart?

"Don't be afraid." Wei Zifu kneaded her son's hand and said softly, "Although the Crown Prince has a heavy responsibility, you still have your father to teach you. You just need to listen to your father, read more, and learn more about the truth. You don't need to worry about other things for the time being."

"Even in the future..." Wei Zifu's voice became even lower. She lowered her eyes to the ground and said quietly, "You still have your uncle and your cousin."

Liu Ju understood what his mother meant. His grandfather lived to be forty-seven years old, his great-grandfather lived to be forty-six years old, and his father was already thirty-four years old this year. Perhaps in another ten years or so it would be his turn to ascend the throne.

My uncle and cousin are younger than my father, and they will definitely be able to help me in the future.

To put it another way, even if there is no uncle, there is still a cousin.

His mother doesn't know yet, but his father could live to be seventy years old. Thirty-four is less than half of his father's life.

And my uncle and cousin, their exit...

It's too early.

For Liu Ju, he could wait until thirty years to consider the issue of succession, which was not too late.

Liu Ju paused and calculated with his fingers. It was almost the time of the Witchcraft and Poisoning Incident, so he had to consider it.

Tsk.

【Author’s words】

The ages in this chapter are calculated based on the lunar calendar age, and all ages that appear later will be calculated based on the lunar calendar age.

The wives of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were created by the author himself.