As the youngest son of Emperor Wu, Liu Fuling was born very late. When he was born, Liu Ju was already in his thirties. Not to mention that the Liu Ju in front of him looked only in his early twenties. The most important thing was that Liu Ju committed suicide due to the witchcraft incident when Liu Fuling was three years old.
Now Liu Che and Liu Ju are obviously harmonious father and son, and there is no sign of the Witchcraft Disaster. After all, it is said that on the eve of the Witchcraft Disaster, Liu Ju no longer served Liu Che. It was precisely because of this that a rift arose between father and son, and they distrusted each other.
Of course, there are other factors involved. At that time, Liu Che would definitely not bring Liu Ju with him to discuss politics.
This only means that Liu Fuling was born earlier than historically recorded.
It was not until this time that Liu Tan realized that Chen Ajiao's rebirth affected not only herself, but the fate of many people was completely changed.
At this point, Liu Tan actually relaxed a lot.
Anyway, no matter how clearly he remembered this history, it would be useless. Liu Fuling, who was born many years earlier, could change many things.
After Liu Fuling came in, he ran to Liu Che with great energy and saluted politely: "Your son pays homage to the emperor."
Liu Che smiled and waved to Liu Fuling, saying, "Fuling, come here."
Liu Fuling happily ran over and sat directly next to Liu Che. Liu Tan could see that he was very skilled at this action and thought he did it often.
Liu Tan subconsciously glanced at Liu Ju and found that Liu Ju was just smiling and did not show any dissatisfaction or jealousy.
But come to think of it, even if she was really unhappy, she couldn't show it in front of Liu Che.
Liu Che patted Liu Fuling's head and said lovingly, "Did you run here? Are you tired?"
Liu Fuling leaned against Liu Che's arms and shook his head, saying, "Not tired at all!"
Liu Che looked up at Liu Tan and said, "Come, this is your fifth brother."
Liu Fuling seemed to have just noticed the presence of another person. He smiled at Liu Ju and called out, "Crown Prince."
Liu Ju responded, and then Liu Fuling's gaze turned to Liu Tan.
Liu Tan was still thinking about how to greet him so as not to appear so cold, at least to prevent Liu Che from thinking that he was too cold towards Liu Fuling.
Liu Fuling smiled innocently, and looked at him carefully with his round eyes for a long time before saying, "He looks like a sister."
Liu Tan's mouth twitched, but he didn't care much. He just thought of it as Liu Fuling praising his good looks.
However, if he is really an adolescent boy, he may be more sensitive to issues such as gender.
He looked at Liu Fuling and said, "I've heard that Sixth Brother is innocent and lively. Now I see that he is indeed cute and adorable."
Liu Che patted Liu Fuling on the back and said, "Fuling, stop talking nonsense."
Liu Fuling smiled sheepishly, jumped down from the throne, ran to Liu Tan, tugged at his sleeve, and said, "Fifth brother doesn't look much older than me. That's great! Finally, someone wants to play with me. The crown prince has to study every day and has no time to play with me."
Play with you? Forget it.
Liu Tan thought in his heart, but still smiled shyly and said: "Fuling is really cute, I wonder what Fuling likes."
Liu Fuling said loudly: "I like to fight the Huns!"
Well, you are indeed the biological son of Emperor Wu of Han. However, when it comes to thoughts, children are always influenced by their parents. This is a very normal thing.
Liu Tan praised him, saying, "Fuling has great ambitions."
Liu Fuling asked, "Fifth brother, you must have never seen the Xiongnu?"
Liu Tan didn't know whether the original owner had seen it or not, but since Liu Fuling said so, he nodded and said, "Yes."
Liu Fuling said proudly, "I have seen them before! I have even fought them! Don't be afraid, Fifth Brother. If we meet the Xiongnu, I will fight them for you!"
Liu Tan: Thank you so much.
He was quite amused and felt that the Huns Liu Fuling saw might be people of other nationalities, but he didn't say anything.
To be honest, he was a little overwhelmed by Liu Fuling's enthusiasm. He was always good at dealing with such outgoing people.
In particular, Liu Fuling's enthusiasm for him made him feel very strange.
I always feel that there is invisible and intangible malice hidden beneath the other person's smile.
Liu Tan originally thought that he was feeling this way because of their respective identities, and was wondering why he thought so.
As a result, when Liu Che signaled to start the banquet and the dishes gradually came up, he realized that his intuition was correct.
There is probably no custom of not talking while eating or sleeping these days. Liu Fuling came up to him very enthusiastically and his words sounded very enthusiastic, but in fact, it was not the case.
When the first dish arrived, Liu Tan still hadn't figured it out when Liu Fuling said, "Ah, this is it! This dish is a tribute. Fifth Brother probably hasn't used it before, right? There are certain rules for how to use this dish."
If it was just that one time, it was Liu Fuling's enthusiasm. But when three or four dishes were served, although Liu Fuling's explanation changed, it was mostly the same: "This dish is only made in the palace kitchen. Fifth brother probably hasn't tasted it, right?"
Or maybe, "This vegetable doesn't grow in this season. I guess Fifth Brother has never eaten it at this time. Give it a try; it has a unique flavor."
Liu Tan couldn't help twitching his mouth as he watched Liu Fuling pretending to be innocent while introducing various dishes. Nowadays, people didn't eat around a table, but each person had his own food tray, and there was a distance between them. Liu Fuling was almost sticking to him at this moment, not to mention that his tone of voice sounded very uncomfortable.
He was mature in mind and of course would not bother with Liu Fuling about these things.
But imagine a young boy who suddenly enters the palace from outside. Facing an unfamiliar environment and unfamiliar family, he might already be feeling nervous. What's more, he had grown up in luxury and was pampered by others, but after entering the palace, he became the least valued one.
Liu Fuling's words sounded like an introduction, but in the sensitive boy's mind he might be secretly showing off.
What's more, Liu Tan might have actually enjoyed the things in here. Exceeding the rules was a common occurrence in all dynasties, not to mention that Li Xi was awarded a title for his military merits. No one would blame him for exceeding the rules in a place where no one was paying attention.
What would happen if the real Liu Tan couldn't help but refute a few things?
Even if you hold back and don't refute, I'm afraid your heart will be affected, your personality may be distorted, or you may become dark and unpleasant.
Of course, this is all the result of Liu Tan's divergent thinking.
It is also possible that Liu Fuling simply wanted to start an argument with Liu, so that he could turn the tables on Liu.
He was not sure which one it was. The only thing he wanted to know was whether this was Liu Fuling's own idea or was it taught by Lady Gouyi?
If Lady Gouyi was responsible, did she already see the crown prince position as Liu Fuling's? She had actually begun eliminating dissidents so early, as if fearing Liu Tan would become a competitor, hoping to first sour Liu Tan's impression on Emperor Wu of Han.
While Liu Tan dealt with Liu Fuling gently, he secretly glanced at Liu Che and Liu Ju.
Liu Che seemed to be focused on singing and dancing, and he didn't pay any attention to the interaction between his sons.
Liu Tan felt that if he really believed it, he would be a fool. Even if Liu Che didn't even look over here, he was probably very clear about their movements.
As for Liu Ju, his performance was much more obvious than Liu Che's. He would glance over here from time to time, but the smile on his face and the look in his eyes didn't reveal anything.
Liu Tan deeply felt that this palace was not a place for someone like him to stay. If he had the chance, he would quickly ask for a fiefdom and leave.
It is somewhat comforting to think about this. Although the Enfeoffment Order was issued during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the princes still had their own fiefdoms.
Even the prime minister has to be appointed by the court, but when he arrives in his fiefdom, he is still the dominant force. No one can control him and he lives freely. What is better than that?
Thinking of this, Liu Tan felt calm. Whoever wanted the position of crown prince could have it, but he didn't want it anyway. He wasn't cut out for it.
With this thought in mind, Liu Tan actually relaxed a lot, and even felt somewhat grateful to Liu Fuling.
If Liu Fuling hadn't been chattering here, he would have been very restrained while eating. Now it was very simple. He just did whatever Liu Fuling said. He really learned a lot.
Liu Fuling probably didn't expect that Liu Tan was not angry at all. Instead, he was very indulgent towards him, and his tone when responding was almost like coaxing a child.
Liu Fuling probably didn't understand what it meant to persevere after starting something. He became much colder after realizing that he hadn't achieved his goal.
On the contrary, when Liu Tan encountered unfamiliar dishes, he would take the initiative to ask Liu Fuling.
In fact, those dishes were very common and not for the royal family, but Liu Tan didn't know that. And Liu Fuling happened to be a talkative guy, so he was the one.
Liu Fuling's purpose was very simple, which was to show his superiority and suppress Liu Tan.
Even though he was young, he could understand in this environment that the queen's son had a higher status than him, and he was just more favored.
But what if the new one is also popular?
So his instinct was to use these methods to make Liu Tan feel ashamed and thus suppress him.
As a result, Liu Tan was not suppressed and even asked him about such a simple dish.
Liu Fuling was immediately furious when he saw Liu Tan's smiling face. He felt that this man probably saw through his thoughts and was now mocking him.
Liu Fuling had never been so angry since he was old enough to understand. Just when he was about to explode, Liu Che suddenly spoke: "Fuling, are you so happy today?"
Liu Fuling was relatively honest in front of Liu Che. Perhaps it was because of the saying "there is always someone who can conquer you", his temper was immediately suppressed. He looked at Liu Che and blinked and said, "Today, the teacher praised my calligraphy and said that I learned quickly, so I am very happy."
Liu Che asked, "Oh? What did you learn today?"
Liu Fuling said loudly, "Just like my brother the Crown Prince, I also carried it until the eleventh year of Duke Xuan."
Liu Tan, who was rinsing his mouth while no one was paying attention, almost spit out a mouthful of water.
While pretending not to hear anything and eating hard, he glanced at Liu Ju who was sitting next to Liu Che out of the corner of his eye.
Sure enough, Liu Ju's signature smile, as warm as spring breeze, had become a little stiff.
Liu Che smiled and asked, "Oh? Does Fuling understand what this means?"
Liu Tan thought about it and felt that the eleventh year of Duke Xuan mentioned by Liu Fuling should be a chapter in the "Spring and Autumn Annals". If it was in later times, Liu Tan could say with certainty that a child of this age would not be able to understand the profound meaning of the "Spring and Autumn Annals".
At most, he would just recite the explanation word for word, but considering the era and Liu Fuling's background, Liu Tan couldn't say for sure whether he understood it or not.
But no matter whether he understood it or not, he had already equated his learning progress with Liu Ju. Even if Liu Ju's understanding was more profound, it would still be embarrassing.
Liu Fuling blinked and said, "The teacher asked me to memorize it first and then explain it to me."
Liu Che was not dissatisfied at all and just said: "Then you must work hard. Your brother, the crown prince, has already understood the meaning of this."
After all, Liu Che protected his eldest son, so even if he favored his younger son, Liu Che might still value Liu Ju more.
Liu Fuling smiled sweetly at Liu Ju and said, "Brother Crown Prince is amazing. It seems I still need to work harder."
Liu Ju had recovered as usual by this time. He was about to say something modest when Liu Fuling suddenly changed the subject and asked, "However, I wonder how far Fifth Brother has progressed in his studies? Will I be able to study Gongyang with him in the future?"
Liu Che and Liu Ju turned their gazes to Liu Tan.
Liu Tan, who was about to put the barbecue into his mouth, said: ...Is this kid the reincarnation of a fighting bull?
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