Chapter 125, Chapter Eighteen: The Fish in the Shadow of the Tile

"The Crown Prince was attacked and even crippled. Are you pleased?" Liu Jun asked quietly, without raising his head.

Liu Qin maintained his slightly bowed head and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "From a public perspective, the Crown Prince has suffered such a great change, causing endless turmoil. From a private perspective, my brother is heartbroken and must be in unbearable pain. I really don't know what joy he can have."

"Then do you know who did it?" Liu Jun's gaze was fixed on the silk paper in his hand. He casually picked up a rabbit hair brush and added a few strokes.

Liu Qin's expression remained unchanged. "The spies I sent out have gathered some information, and I have a rough idea of ​​what they are."

"An informant? I didn't expect you to care so much about your second brother, even thinking to send someone to keep an eye on him." Liu Jun chuckled. "Do I have one by my side?"

Liu Qin shook his head, "No, I tried once, but found that I couldn't infiltrate, so I didn't dare to try again."

"At least you're frank." Liu Jun flicked his wrist, and the gazette landed at Liu Qin's feet. "Take a look."

Liu Qin bowed and took the official gazette with both hands. It was indeed about Sima Ye's secret letter and Liu Yong's assassination attempt. He remembered clearly what Liu Yong and Liu Liang had done, which spies he had planted, and how they had watched from the sidelines.

Liu Qin only read it once before immediately kneeling on the ground, saying, "I am guilty."

"I wonder if you're secretly pleased right now because the list isn't complete?" Liu Jun looked at him as he removed his hat to apologize, feeling a mix of emotions.

Liu Qin shook his head. "I don't want to say those flattering words about the Holy Emperor being omniscient and omnipotent. Your Majesty has been through countless battles and has controlled the court for twenty years. We are still young and inexperienced. Our so-called prestige is all because we are princes, and our so-called officials are all ministers of the Emperor. If Your Majesty wants to investigate, the truth will come out. The reason you left me with some leeway is that you still have expectations for me and have saved some face for me."

Liu Jun was quite surprised by his insightful and straightforward manner. After carefully observing his expression, he slowly said, "Do you think that Liu Yong is already deposed, Liu Liang is guilty of heinous crimes, and I only have you as my son, so I feel fearless?"

"I dare not," Liu Qin said, his forehead pressed against the cold floor tiles, sweat slowly rolling down his hairline. "Recently, my brothers in the clan have been given important positions, especially the younger ones, whom Father has personally mentored. In addition, Father has a very close relationship with my uncles, so it is not impossible for the throne to be passed on to them."

“It’s not entirely impossible…” Liu Jun chuckled as he pondered these words, “This shows that you really want this position.”

Liu Qin closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and said, "That is indeed my wish, but I dare not ask!"

Looking at his trembling back and his calloused, scarred hands pressed against the blue bricks, Liu Jun's heart softened suddenly. After a long while, he slowly said, "I did consider passing this throne to one of your cousins, severely punishing Liu Liang, and exiling you to a prefecture..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qin was certain—given his father's temperament, if he were truly so determined, he wouldn't waste his breath talking to him like this.

"Now it seems that Liu Liang's plot to murder the crown prince is an unforgivable crime and he cannot be allowed to live. As for you, although you watched from the sidelines without any familial affection and were just as ruthless, you never actually harmed them or planted anyone by my side. So I can trust you one more time."

"Thank you, Father." Overwhelmed with remorse, Liu Qin couldn't hold back his tears.

Liu Jun recalled the report in the official gazette about Liu Yong waking up, attempting suicide several times, and then becoming like a walking corpse. Zhang Shi was in tears and looked emaciated. He then said coldly, "I heard that you once wanted to marry a noblewoman from a northern aristocratic family, just like your cousins?"

Liu Qin hurriedly said, "My marriage is entirely up to my father. If my father is too busy, I can ask the Empress to make the decision."

"Alright," Liu Jun said with a light laugh when he saw his flustered expression. "Besides, there are two people here, one is an eunuch and the other is a personal guard. I will feel at ease with them by your side in the future."

Both men knew that Liu Qin had no room to refuse. Liu Qin thanked them with a wry smile, and then heard Liu Jun say, "There's another reason why I'm letting you go this time. What do you think?"

Liu Qin murmured, "I don't know."

“You didn’t mention that person, and that person pleaded for you,” Liu Jun stood up and walked to his side. “And I have to give that person face. If you really have that kind of luck in the future, don’t forget the favor I did for you today.”

"Your Majesty, why are you pleading for the Third Prince?" As time went on, Bi Gong stopped insisting and gradually began to refer to the Liu family members as Emperor, Prince, etc.

Sima Ye was practicing calligraphy, as if he were addressing Lady Wei. "The internal strife began with the letter you sent me. Thinking of this, I always feel guilty. Moreover, Yuan Gui most resembles His Majesty in his youth. Although his talent and strategy are not as good as yours, he is still the best among your brothers. If I do him a favor now, he will treat my Sima clan well in the future. For public and private reasons, and for the sake of morality and reason, I should help him."

Bi Gong exclaimed, "There is no one more benevolent than His Majesty."

After Sima Ye abdicated, despite the insistence of many women in the harem, he still allowed them to return to their maternal homes. Apart from Empress Suo converting to Buddhism and Du Lihua crossing the border to Jin, many of them had already remarried. Sima Ye, remembering the loneliness they had endured in the palace for so many years, gave them all money as dowry, which became a legendary tale in the court and among the people.

Sima Ye did not use ink, but only dipped a rabbit hair brush in water to write on the brick. He quietly watched the watermarks dry. "Although I have never been on the battlefield in my life, countless people have died because of me. Can this be considered benevolence?"

Seeing Bi Gong's unconvinced expression, he smiled leisurely and said, "Being no longer the emperor has made me see things more clearly. Small acts of kindness can only save a few, dozens, or at most a few hundred or a few thousand people. But great benevolence and righteousness can save tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people. That's why Liu Jun is more suitable to be the emperor than I am. I believe that under his leadership, this world will eventually be restored from chaos to order."

His smile vanished. "Bi Gong, what do you think of Liu Jun's offer to allow me to leave the capital?"

"Is Your Majesty worried that he will break his promise?"

Sima Ye shook his head, "No, ever since I met him, apart from the tricks of war, he has never uttered a single falsehood."

"Is Your Majesty worried that the next emperor will not honor his promise?"

Sima Ye remained silent. "While it's not impossible, life is unpredictable. It's still unknown whether Liu Jun or I will go first. It's too early to worry about these things."

"I do not know."

"Ordinary fish may cling to each other in their time together, but it's better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes. But what about the red-scaled fish in the palace gardens? Once they swim into the rivers, how many days can they live?" Sima Ye said softly. "Even if a hero like Liu Jun disdains and has no need for my life, what about others after him?"

Bi Gong remained silent, but what he was thinking was that the fish in the pond were used to the willows by the pond and the moon reflected in the pond. Even if they knew that the sky and sea were vast outside the pond, how could they leave so easily?

Once a person becomes obsessed with love, how can they not be trapped in a corner of their own world?

The saying "drawing a circle on the ground to imprison oneself" is roughly like this.