102 Chapter 102
◎Ganquan Palace.◎
The day after returning from the banquet at the Marquis of Guanjun's mansion, Liu Che ordered to go to Ganquan Palace to escape the summer heat.
In addition to the crown prince and three legitimate princesses, the emperor was also accompanied by his current favorite concubine, Lady Wang.
Wei Zifu was left in the Weiyang Palace, and the emperor's other concubines and children were left in the harem, and all matters were managed by the empress.
Liu Che no longer had the same favor for Wei Zifu as before, so Wei Zifu accepted the emperor's decision calmly. She still had the power of the queen, her son was the crown prince, her brother was the general, and her nephew was a rising star. The Wei family was very stable.
Your Majesty's favor is certainly important, but Wei Zifu is no longer young and can no longer earn it. It would be better for her to stop wasting time on useless things and instead manage everything she has.
Besides, Your Majesty is not a person who does not care about scruples. Even if he dotes on Lady Wang, when he took his son to Ganquan Palace for the first time, didn't he only bring the prince and ignore Liu Min, the son born to Lady Wang?
For Liu Ju, going to Ganquan Palace was his first long journey. Wei Zifu was a little worried, so she went to the Prince's Palace in person to watch the palace servants pack their luggage.
Seeing his mother smiling and looking relaxed and happy, Liu Ju asked in confusion, "Mom, did something good happen?"
"Hmm?" Wei Zifu smiled. "Nothing's wrong. It's just that you rarely leave the palace, so you're inevitably bored. This time you're going to Ganquan Palace to relax. Mother is happy for you."
Is that so... Liu Ju didn't quite believe it, but it didn't seem like a big deal, so he didn't ask any more questions.
Anything that a mother wants to secretly rejoice in can never be a bad thing.
Liu Ju smiled and said, "Although Grandfather won't come back until August when it's cooler, I will ask him to come back to the palace often to pay his respects to Grandmother."
Wei Zifu shook her head and said, "Zi'er, I am very happy that you are so filial. It is not good for you not to come back to see me for several months. I am afraid that people outside will gossip about it. But you should not come back too often."
The prince cannot be unfilial to his mother, but he cannot be too dependent on her either. There is a balance between the two that needs to be struck by both mother and son.
Liu Ju nodded: "Mother, I understand what you mean." After thinking for a moment, he added, "Auntie and I are together. Everything is fine. You can rest assured."
Wei Zifu rubbed his head and smiled softly, "Good boy, if there is something you can't do, tell your sister, she will write to me often."
Liu Ju nodded again.
Only after all the luggage was packed did Wei Zifu return to the Pepper Palace. She no longer had to worry about her eldest daughter, but she also had to check on her two younger daughters.
…
On the day he went to Ganquan Palace, Liu Ju met Lady Wang beside his father.
In her previous life, Madam Wang died very early. Liu Ju might have seen her, but he had long forgotten what she looked like. So in a sense, this was the first time Liu Ju met Madam Wang.
A woman who could become the emperor's favorite concubine must be good-looking. Because she was his father's concubine, Liu Ju only took a quick glance at her. However, Li Ying took a few more glances at her when no one was paying attention.
When they got into the carriage, Li Ying and Liu Ju gossiped: "Madam Wang didn't look well. No wonder she died so young."
Liu Ju said, "Oh."
Li Ying said, "Your father only has a few favored concubines. After Madam Wang, it's Madam Li's turn, right?"
Liu Ju said: "Is that so?"
Li Ying said dissatisfiedly: "Your Highness, this is also an important matter, why don't you pay attention to it?"
"The concubines in the harem can't control my father, so I don't need to worry about it." Liu Ju said, "Besides, which of them can live longer than my father?"
Li Yingtian said naively, "That's true. If you have the time, you might as well think about how to let Generals Wei and Huo live for a few more decades. While they are alive, who would dare to frame you?"
Liu Ju propped his chin up and smiled, saying, "My fate is not in the hands of the Marquis of Changping or the Marquis of Guanjun, and of course, it is not in my hands either..." He looked at the imperial carriage in the middle of the convoy from afar, "My fate has always been in the hands of Your Majesty."
Li Ying thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, you can't just accept your fate. How does the saying go, 'My fate is in my hands, not in God'?"
Liu Ju casually asked, "Will it take billions of years for the elixir to turn into gold?"
Li Ying: “…”
Li Ying said, "I don't think your father should hear this. Otherwise, he'll really have someone make him some pills, and that would be terrible."
Liu Ju: “…”
Emperor Wu of Han's journey to immortality did not include taking elixirs in his early years. He now preferred to worship gods and drink dew. In order to drink dew, he even built a dew-receiving plate more than 20 feet high.
Thinking of this, Li Ying asked, "Your Highness, have you ever drunk dew with your father? Is it delicious?"
Liu Ju: “…”
Liu Ju said, "When I get to Ganquan Palace, you should go back and plant garlic."
Li Ying hurriedly asked, "Your Highness, didn't you give me summer vacation?"
Liu Ju said ruthlessly: "You are not a student, you don't have summer vacation. Have you ever seen a worker who has summer vacation?"
Li Ying said: "I have only graduated for two years. Summer vacation is very close to me. I can reach it by just stretching my hand."
Liu Ju smiled and said, "You have graduated for two years."
Li Ying was about to cry, "Your Highness, can I apply for a job that doesn't involve being in the sun?"
Liu Ju stroked his chin and said, "If you can talk less, I can consider it."
Li Ying immediately shut up and didn't speak again the entire way.
When Liu Ju arrived at Ganquan Palace and went to pay his respects to his father, he unexpectedly met Lady Wang again. This was a rare thing. Liu Ju visited his father twice a day, but he had never met his concubines before.
Liu Che was talking softly to Lady Wang with his eyes lowered. The expression on his face was very rare. At least, Liu Ju had never seen him talk to his mother like this.
Perhaps Wei Zifu, who had just entered the palace, had seen it before, but her beauty had faded and the emperor's favor only existed for women with beautiful faces.
Liu Ju thought about it and felt that his father seemed to be a very lustful man, but... his father certainly loved beautiful women, that was beyond doubt, but it was not as exaggerated as later rumors.
Judging from the number of his father's offspring, he did not have many concubines. It was just that the stories of his father and his concubines were so famous that when many people mentioned Emperor Wu of Han later, they thought of the stories of him and his concubines rather than his great achievements.
There is no way around it. The Han Wu Dynasty was simply too exciting. From the former dynasty to the harem, from civil officials to military generals, any one of them could be made into a TV series with dozens of episodes.
Liu Ju sighed and stepped forward to pay his respects. When Liu Che saw his son coming, he asked Mrs. Wang to leave.
Liu Che leaned back casually, a smile on his face: "Ju'er, you must be tired from the journey, just take a good rest."
Liu Ju smiled and said, "I'm not tired, but is Grandpa tired?"
"I'm fine." Liu Che extended his hand, "Come and sit down."
Liu Ju followed his father's instructions and sat down next to him, deliberately avoiding the spot where Lady Wang had just sat. Liu Che noticed his caution, raised his hand and tapped his son's forehead, saying with a smile, "You are such a little boy, but you always act so appropriately. Now that you are here, you should relax for a moment."
Liu Ju smiled and said, "As you command. Grandfather, my cousin said you would go hunting in Shanglin Garden again. Now that we're at Ganquan Palace, when will you take me to Shanglin Garden again?"
Liu Che laughed: "You just sat down in Ganquan Palace, and now you want to go to Shanglin Garden? You are really a child, you just do whatever you want."
"I'm curious." Liu Ju said with a smile.
Liu Che lazily said, "If I want to hunt, Shanglin Garden is better than Ganquan Palace, but I don't want to move now." At this point, he looked at Liu Ju with feigned anger, "I have a lot of things on my hands, and most of them are caused by you. You little brat, you're just thinking about having fun!"
Liu Ju was hit on the head by his father, but the smile on his face became more relaxed: "Ah, you are the Son of Heaven, the ruler and father of all the people in the world. Everyone in the world is counting on you, so of course you have the most things to do."
Emperors are used to hearing all kinds of flattery, but this was the first time Liu Che had heard his son flatter him. It was so refreshing that he forgot he was still pretending to be angry and just laughed: "My son is very good at talking. I don't feel tired even if I do more things."
Liu Ju widened his eyes innocently and naively: "Really? Uncle, I still have..."
Liu Che quickly covered his son's mouth and refused, "You don't have anything. You have nothing."
Liu Ju blinked, his clear eyes filled with smiles. Since he came back, he had never joked with his father so recklessly.
When facing his father, Liu Ju was accustomed to considering every word and weighing every action, because he had suffered a lot for this in his previous life and had developed a subconscious habit.
Liu Che felt inexplicably guilty when he was looked at by these eyes, although he didn't know why he felt guilty.
After a pause, Liu Che loosened his hand and finally asked, "Ju'er, is there anything serious?"
Alas. His Majesty the Emperor sighed in his heart, I am indeed a good emperor.
"It's not a big deal." Liu Ju smiled. "It's just... Uncle, did you know that my cousin grows grapes? I want to eat his grapes."
Liu Che: “…”
Liu Che said expressionlessly: "Do you know that your uncle's family grows grapes? I want to eat his grapes."
Liu Ju was surprised and said, "So my uncle's family also grows it. I want to too...hahahaha!"
Suddenly, a loud and clear laugh was heard in the hall. The palace maids and eunuchs serving outside the door were startled. After listening carefully, they found that it was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who was laughing.
In the hall, Liu Ju was struggling to avoid his father's tickling hand, but he was small and weaker, so he could not do anything to the emperor. He could only laugh until he could not breathe, and the emperor mercifully let him go.
Liu Ju lay on the side, rubbing his belly which hurt from laughing, and complained: "Aunt, you are bullying a child."
Liu Che pinched his cheek and said with a righteous smile: "We adults are supposed to bully you children."
Liu Ju hummed a few times in dissatisfaction, then smiled faintly.
Maybe tomorrow when he faces his father, he still can't help but speculate and calculate, but at least, at this moment, they are just like the most ordinary father and son in the world, laughing and playing.
【Author’s words】
In the "Baopuzi Neipian·Huangbai", the tortoise shell inscription reads: "My life is in my own hands, not in heaven. The elixir will turn into gold in aeons."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
