Chapter 75
At the end of March, Emperor Liu Che prepared a spring hunt and went to Shanglin Garden with all his civil and military officials.
The current emperor is a martial artist, and the crown prince is particularly fond of festivities and horse racing. Therefore, these kinds of events are held annually, and everyone has become accustomed to them.
The only difference was that in the past, Liu Ju was young and Chunchun was just there to make up the numbers. Now he was older and could participate, competing with children his own age, galloping through the forest at lightning speed.
Drive, drive——
At the command, the young men on the field rode their horses like the wind and galloped across the soft grass, each of them bright and handsome, full of vigor and vitality.
Elsewhere, Wei Qing looked at Huo Qubing in surprise: "You're not going?"
Huo Qubing rolled his eyes, raised his chin slightly, and looked forward. "That guy won't let me go. He said that if I played, the championship would be mine, and no one else would have a chance. He asked me to be kind and give them a chance to survive."
Wei Qing glanced over, his expression subtle. "The Crown Prince might use the latter part to bully you, but he wouldn't say the first three words, 'You're not allowed to go.' Even if he did, given your personality, you probably wouldn't be so obedient."
Huo Qubing: ...
"Well, I'm a kindhearted person after all. The prince has said so much, so I have to give others a chance. I'll let them go this time!"
Wei Qing's eyes remained unchanged, as if he didn't quite believe it. Huo Qubing was not the kind of person who would "give in" to others.
Huo Qubing rubbed his nose awkwardly and sighed, "That guy said it well, 'It's so lonely to be invincible.' In these hunting competitions, I'm the champion every year, every time, but I don't even have an opponent. It's so boring."
His eyes rolled. "How about you, Uncle, compete with me and have a hearty match? It's really boring to play with them. Only with Uncle can I be considered my equal. It's a pity that Uncle never participates and only spectates with Your Majesty."
"Why should I interfere in your young people's competition?"
Huo Qubing curled his lips, knowing that Wei Qing was rejecting him. He paused and asked in surprise, "Why isn't my uncle with Your Majesty today?"
"I came to ask you something."
"Um?"
"I heard Cao Xiang is investigating Xiahou Po? Did he find anything wrong with him?"
Huo Qubing was puzzled and pointed to the guard in front of him, who was offering fruits and warm water to the person concerned. He said, "This is his business. Wouldn't it be better if you asked him?"
Wei Qing frowned. "Cao Xiang is clever. If I ask him, he'll be suspicious and might overthink things, leading to complications. You're more clueless and won't overthink things."
Huo Qubing: ...Uncle, I am your nephew, how dare you talk to me like that?
He was completely speechless, complaining in his mind a thousand times, but he still answered seriously, "Princess Pingyang has initially chosen the Xiahou family. Cao Xiang must conduct a routine investigation, otherwise he won't be at ease. He hasn't found anything bad so far, but there is one thing he said that seems a little strange."
"strangeness?"
"Yes. Cao Xiang found out that Xiahou Po had a house outside Anling and he went there quite often."
Wei Qing's expression was stern: "Is there something wrong with the house?"
"No. Cao Xiang originally thought he had hidden a beautiful woman in there, so he sneaked in to investigate and found that the house was normal. There was nothing illegal, and no beautiful woman was there. It was an empty house. Noble families have many properties and mansions, so it's normal for there to be an empty house like this."
It's normal to have empty houses, but most of them are unused and unused. Why would Xiahou Po go there, and what would he do there? Or what is he planning to do?
Wei Qing was lost in thought, and he turned his horse around and gave a command: "Don't tell anyone what I asked you today."
Turn around and leave.
Huo Qubing was completely bewildered, his head full of questions: What does this mean? Why is it so strange?
********
In the forest, Wei Qing and Pingyang meet.
"Meet the Princess!"
Pingyang chuckled: "What a coincidence, the general is here too."
"Nothing, just walking around."
After saying this, Wei Qing stepped forward to lead the horse, but Pingyang took the initiative to say, "General, you are now a first-rank official, ranking above the Three Dukes. It is inappropriate for you to lead my horse again."
In the past, Wei Qing was a riding slave in the mansion of Pingyang Marquis, and it was natural for him to lead Pingyang's horse. But now, times have changed and his status is completely different.
But the act of leading the horse was not limited to the riding slaves and attendants. Another person who could do this was the princess's husband. The husband leading the horse was a part of the couple's romantic interests.
For example, Cao Shou and Pingyang in the past, and Cao Xiang and Wei Chang this year.
But Wei Qing's current status was unreliable. If he were just an ordinary official, the princess's "lord" would be acceptable. But he was a general, and last year he was promoted to the rank of Grand Marshal, becoming the first person in history to do so.
The real Jian is in the emperor's heart, second only to the emperor and above everyone else.
Things like leading the horses can only be done by Your Majesty.
Pingyang tugged slightly on the reins, moving the horse's head. Wei Qing raised his hand mid-air, then withdrew it.
Pingyang continued, "I'm a little tired and plan to return. General, do you want to go shopping again?"
"I am also returning."
"That's on the way."
Pingyang raised his lips slightly and rode his horse forward at a very slow pace. Wei Qing did not mount his horse; his horse followed beside him.
Wei Qing seemed to have thought for a long time before he said, "I heard that the princess is choosing a husband and has decided on the Marquis of Ruyin?"
"Not sure, but I'm definitely considering him. Why did the General suddenly ask this?"
This rhetorical question left Wei Qing standing there, unable to speak.
His lips moved, and he suddenly realized that he had no right to comment, especially since he was not sure whether there was any problem with the house or Xiahou Po. This action was too impulsive, so he quickly suppressed his thoughts and said, "No, it was my recklessness."
"It's rare to see a great general being reckless sometimes."
Pingyang didn't care. He still had a slight smile on his face and walked forward.
Another place.
A trusted attendant looked at the two figures in the distance and quietly reminded Xiahou Po, "It's Princess Pingyang and General Wei. They seem to be talking and laughing. General Wei... could it be that Princess Pingyang wants to choose him?"
Xia Hou frowned. "No. If she chooses Wei Qing, what's our business? Besides, Wei Qing is indeed different now, but that's for others."
"As for Pingyang, he was, after all, once his riding slave. As a princess, His Majesty's elder sister, Pingyang has a myriad of candidates to choose from. If you were in this situation, with so many nobles to choose from, would you choose a servant from your own household? Even if it was once."
The trusted attendant was stunned and thought about it carefully. However, because he was a servant himself, he could not empathize or imagine the situation. He said uncertainly, "No?"
If you can, you can. If you can't, you can't. Why are you so suspicious?
Xiahou Po glared at him, thinking it unlikely. At least if he were Pingyang, he couldn't do it. But looking at the two people in front of him, he couldn't help but feel annoyed.
The attendant hesitated for a long time before speaking, "Master, rather than this, you should take care of yourself first. Since you have Princess Shang's thoughts, there are some things you cannot do."
Xiahou Po: "I know. I know the importance of things. I will deal with them as soon as possible and will not delay anything."
The attendant breathed a sigh of relief.
********
Hunting ground.
Liu Ju took the lead, walking at the front. He turned around and smiled at Huo Guang and Wei Buyi, "Let's compete. We'll meet at the starting point and see who has the most prey. Don't let me off because of my status. Especially you, Wei Buyi. Letting me off would mean you don't respect me as your opponent and look down on me."
Huo Guang laughed, and Wei Buyi was speechless: "I see, Your Highness, you don't have to say this every time."
"Why do I say it every time? It's because you disobeyed me a few times."
Wei Buyi pursed his lips and said, "I haven't let anyone off the hook since last year."
Liu Ju thought for a moment and said, "It seems so. Well, not bad. Keep it up."
The three of them rode to a fork in the road. Since it was a competition, they couldn't stay in one place, otherwise how could they compete?
Liu Ju chose the middle, and Huo Guangwei went his separate ways, one on the left and one on the right.
Soon after they separated, Liu Ju spotted a rabbit, put an arrow on his bow, and shot it. In one go, he hit it.
He has practiced martial arts for several years and has mastered this skill with ease.
Walk a little further and hunt another one.
With two in hand, Liu Ju felt that such small prey was meaningless and wanted to hunt something else. Just as he had thought of this, he saw a white fox flash through the bushes in front of him.
Liu Ju's eyes lit up and he immediately drew his bow, but before the bowstring was fully drawn, a feather arrow came flying and hit the white fox.
Liu Ju paused, lowered his bow and arrow, and looked over. A woman, carrying a bow and arrow and a quiver on her back, came running from the front. She picked up the white fox and turned to the man behind her, laughing playfully, "Brother, this white fox has pure, bright fur. It's so cute. The arrow hit it in the leg, but the injury isn't serious. Let's go back and treat its wound and take it home to raise it, okay?"
Turning back, he suddenly spotted Liu Ju and hurriedly saluted along with the young man who had arrived a step behind him: "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Liu Ju blinked and said, "I remember you. That day in the teahouse, you said your brother was being foolish."
After hearing this, the young man looked so embarrassed that he wished he could find a hole to crawl into. Who could have thought that the person who exposed the teahouse father and daughter's tricks that day would be the current crown prince?
The girl wasn't the one who got embarrassed. Her expression was much more natural as she bowed and replied, "Yes. Your Highness the Crown Prince has a good memory."
This can't be said to be due to his good memory, after all, only a few days have passed.
"Whose family are you from?"
The young man and the young woman bowed and replied, "My father is the Marquis of Pingqu."
Liu Ju was stunned. He was unfamiliar with Zhou Jiande, Marquis of Pingqu, but now he saw him almost every day.
There is no other reason. This year, the former Prince's Tutor Shi Qing was transferred to the position of Imperial Censor, so Emperor Wu of Han appointed the post of Prince's Tutor to Zhou Jiande, Marquis of Pingqu.
Zhou Jiande was the grandson of Zhou Bo, a renowned founding general. His uncle was Zhou Yafu, who had led the suppression of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion and made significant contributions to the consolidation of the Han Dynasty's imperial power. Unfortunately, he was betrayed by his son, and his fate was not good.
As a descendant of a military family, Zhou Jiande had good martial arts skills, and more importantly, he also had solid literary foundation, otherwise how could he have become the Taifu.
It can be said that those who are better at martial arts than him are not as knowledgeable as him; those who are more knowledgeable than him are not as good at martial arts as him.
He is not particularly outstanding in either literature or martial arts, but he is not a drag on the team. He is not biased towards any subject and is a wonderful person.
Liu Ju sighed inwardly, nodding slightly. "So you're Grand Tutor Zhou's children. No wonder I didn't see you at the hunting competition. You two used to live in Pingqu County. Did you just arrive in the capital from Pingqu County that day?"
"yes."
They were unfamiliar with each other, so after a brief greeting and small talk, Liu Ju pointed ahead and said, "I'll go ahead. You two have fun. Shanglin Garden not only has hunting competitions, but the scenery in the forest is also beautiful. You can explore more."
After saying that, they whipped their horses and walked away, each leaving.
An hour and a half later, the hunt was over and everyone returned.
Piles of prey were lined up like small hills, and the boys and girls all had smiles on their faces, showing that they were very satisfied with their results.
Liu Che watched from the sidelines, then stood before Liu Ju, glanced at Huo Guang's unsuspecting prey not far away, and said mischievously, "Oh, you lost."
"It's just a small loss."
Indeed, only slightly, not a significant difference. Remarkably, Wei Buyi, three years younger than Huo Guang, achieved comparable results. Clearly, he has inherited his father's style. These two were the leaders of their age group in this hunt.
Liu Ju didn't care at all, and even secretly gave Huo Guangwei a thumbs up.
Liu Che chuckled: "You are a prince, yet you lose to a minister. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Liu Ju rolled his eyes and said, "How about a competition between Father and my uncle and cousin? Let's do it for real, regardless of the relationship between the monarch and his subjects."
Liu Che: ...his smile froze.
Liu Ju shrugged. "Everyone has their specialties. I'm the Crown Prince, so I just need to be a good Crown Prince. Who says that emperors and Crown Princes need to be strong in everything? Is there anyone in this world who is strong in everything? Moreover, it's only natural that I lost because I'm the Crown Prince."
Liu Che: ???
"As the saying goes, those who learn the arts of civil and military are destined for the imperial family. They need to strive their best and become the best in order to be valued and realize their ambitions. And I am a member of the imperial family, someone they need to serve.
"They defend against external enemies, quell internal strife, and protect their masters. For them, riding and archery are the foundation of their lives, so naturally they must strive to be the best and become stronger. But for me, being adequate is enough.
"If I become the best in the world, what do I need them for?"
Liu Che: ...That makes sense.
He glanced at Liu Ju and said, "You're becoming more and more talkative. You can make sense of anything."
Liu Ju chuckled, "That's because I have my reasons. This is called seeking truth from facts."
Liu Che chuckled twice and was too lazy to argue with him.
Liu Ju affectionately took his hand and pointed to the other side: "Leaving aside Huo Guang and Buyi, at least among these people left, I am the most capable. Among them, there are quite a few descendants of military families, and some are two or three years older than me. So, my results are quite good."
Contented and proud.
Liu Che shook his head helplessly, but his eyes were full of doting smiles.
Liu Ju blinked. "Father, the brother and sister from Grand Tutor Zhou's family also performed very well. Excluding Huo Guang and I, they can squeeze into the top three. And there's my second brother."
Liu Ju pulled him over to Liu Hong and looked at the five prey in front of him with his mouth wide open: "Did you hunt all of them?"
"Father, Crown Prince, yes. We agreed to a competition, so naturally we can't ask the guards for help. However..." Liu Hong lowered his head, a little embarrassed, "Except for this fox, the others were caught in traps."
Liu Ju paused, then laughed, "No one says you have to use arrows when hunting. Taking it by force or by wit is both winning, so why not?"
Liu Che nodded: "Indeed. Even if it is a trap, it was set by you, so naturally it is your credit."
When his father and brother said this, Liu Hong's mouth corners turned up and his face was bright.
Liu Che laughed heartily. He took Liu Ju by the hand and called to Liu Hong, "Come here and tell your father and your brother, the Crown Prince, how we set the trap and how we lured them."
"Yes, Father."
Liu Hong agreed promptly and ran over happily.
After the game, the royal father and son went to talk by themselves, and the others gradually dispersed.
Huo Guang looked at the three people laughing and joking in the distance, and frowned slightly: "Your Majesty is becoming more and more close to the Second Prince."
Wei Buyi said, "That's natural. Even if Your Majesty initially had some resentment because of Madam Wang's incident, he is ultimately your own son. As time passes, the resentment will naturally fade and dissipate like the wind.
"Besides, parents always show more love and tolerance for their intelligent children. In recent years, the Second Prince has performed exceptionally well. He excels in literature and martial arts."
In front, Liu Ju and Liu Hong were chatting and laughing, having a great time, while Liu Che sat and watched with a satisfied look on his face.
"The harmony among the descendants, the friendship between brothers, and the respect between brothers should be the scene that Your Majesty would like to see most. However..."
Huo Guang's throat moved slightly, and he seemed to want to say something but stopped.
Wei Buyi was a little suspicious: "Just what?"
After pondering for a moment, Huo Guang said, "Don't you think the Second Prince is too precocious, too wise, almost like a demon, and sometimes doesn't behave like a child?"
Wei Buyi disagreed: "Then do you think His Royal Highness sometimes behaves like a child?"
Huo Guang paused.
Wei Buyi: "If we say that being too smart is close to being a demon, then isn't Your Highness more intelligent and closer to being a demon? Compared to Your Highness, the Second Prince is nothing."
Huo Guang: ...cannot be refuted.
So this is the "gene" His Highness mentioned? Are all royal children this strong?
unbelievable!
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