133 Chapter 133
◎Disguise.◎
In August, the cotton was harvested. Those planted by the people were managed by their own officials, but those planted by the royal family were managed by the emperor, empress and crown prince. Liu Che and his son Liu Ju were responsible for picking the cotton, and Wei Zifu was responsible for the subsequent processing.
His Majesty the Emperor personally went to the cotton field and picked a basket of cotton with his own hands. The prince then also went into the cotton field. Although he was shorter, he was strong enough to pick cotton.
Although the Huns have surrendered, the border garrisons cannot be withdrawn immediately to prevent the Huns from making any unusual moves. Therefore, cotton-padded clothes will be completed as soon as possible and delivered to the border garrisons as a reward from His Majesty the Emperor.
Liu Che had very few things to worry about after that. He only needed to inspect the final results. However, Wei Zifu had a lot to do. Liu Ju originally wanted to help his mother, but was dragged to Shanglin Garden by his father.
His Majesty the Emperor was very thoughtful and wanted Liu Ju to choose a place he liked to build Bowang Garden.
Liu Ju pointed to a spot that had been his location in his previous life, and the Emperor was delighted: "I've also taken a liking to this spot."
While walking casually, Liu Ju saw a deer in Shanglin Garden. He first thought of Li Gan - the old general Li Guang was finally granted a title of nobility, and the deer lost the opportunity to be recorded in history books.
Then he thought of the White Deer Coin. The annual time for the princes to pay homage to the emperor was approaching, and the princes would have to spend money to buy white deer skins from His Majesty the Emperor, and they would surely complain at that time.
Liu Ju asked, "Ah, is the white deerskin disposable?"
"Hmm?" Liu Che quickly understood the meaning of "one-time" and nodded. "Of course. Otherwise, do you want me to return it to them?"
For the white deer in Shanglin Garden, the emperor's decision was undoubtedly very friendly, but it was not good for the princes.
After the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, the princes lost the right to govern their fiefdoms and collect taxes, but they were still relatives of the Liu clan, so they could still do some inhumane things.
Liu Ju then reminded his father: "Aunt, if the princes oppress the people for this, you, as the ruler and father of all the people in the world, must stand up for the people."
Liu Che had been nonchalant at first, but his eyes lit up when he heard this: "I'll have Zhang Tang keep an eye on him." He rubbed the prince's head and said with a smile: "My son has always been able to share his worries."
Liu Ju smiled and said, "Being a son and being a minister are what a son should do."
Liu Che smiled and nodded: "Recently, you have become more and more good at saying nice things to flatter me."
Liu Ju followed his father down a cobblestone path and said, "Grandfather, you have wronged me. These words are from the heart, not flattery."
Liu Che suddenly stopped. Liu Ju behind him was looking down at the road and bumped into his father without noticing. He subconsciously hugged his father's waist and his nose hit his back, which felt a little sore.
Liu Ju touched his nose and asked, "Ah Weng?"
There was a triumphant smile in Liu Che's voice: "I knew you didn't look up. You are always so careful when walking this road."
Liu Ju was a little confused.
Liu Che then laughed and said, "The pebbles were laid one by one, so they won't hurt your feet."
Liu Ju: “…”
Your Majesty, I was carefully choosing my words to address you! And yet, you've already started playing along... However, this proves my disguise was quite successful, and it's worth the hours of rehearsing my eyes and expressions in front of the mirror.
——After being discovered by Wei Qing, which led to subsequent events, Liu Ju learned his lesson and practiced hard on his own. Today's practice has proved that the results are remarkable.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was filled with mixed feelings of sadness and joy, but in the end it all turned into helplessness. After all, the current Emperor had not done the things that would make him suspicious in the future, and he was just a father who wanted to play with his son.
"Aunt, my nose hurts." Liu Ju said aggrievedly.
Liu Che turned his head and saw that his nose was red. He felt a little guilty: "Well... it's okay. I think he's fine."
Liu Ju raised his hand to touch it, but his father stopped him: "The more you touch it, the more it hurts. Do something else and don't think about it. It will be fine in a while."
Liu Ju had reason to believe that his father wanted to destroy the evidence, but the emperor had spoken and he had no choice but to obey, so he was dragged by the emperor to go fishing.
While Liu Che was fishing, Liu Ju watched his attendants light herbs to smoke mosquitoes, and he went over to ask the names of several herbs.
Liu Che said, "Ke'er, keep your voice down. You're scaring away my fish."
Liu Ju had no choice but to shut up, but Liu Che said again: "You try it too."
Liu Ju also took his fishing rod and sat down nearby. He asked, "Aunt, if a fish bites the bait first on my side, does that mean I win?"
Liu Che smiled and said, "You won. Do you want to ask me for any reward?"
Liu Ju said, "I haven't thought of it yet, but you can ask Aung for it first and we'll talk about it later."
"All right," the Emperor readily agreed. "As long as you take the bait first, I promise you a reward."
Then the father and son stopped talking and just stared at the water. However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was unlucky today, as there was movement from His Majesty the Emperor first.
"Ouch!" His Majesty the Emperor slapped his forehead. "I forgot to mention, what if I win?"
"Oh!" Liu Ju didn't care about anything else. He dropped his fishing rod and ran over. "Aunt, pick up the rod! Don't let the fish get away!"
“Yes, yes, yes!”
The father and son of the royal family hurriedly pulled up the fishing line, and the attendants watched nervously, fearing that the two most noble people in the world would fall into the water because of a fish.
His Majesty the Emperor was extremely lucky. What he caught was not just a small fish, but one that looked to be around three pounds.
The Emperor was delighted and said, "We'll have this fish for dinner tonight!"
The people around him hurriedly took the fish and helped Liu Che wash his hands and change the bait.
"Ju'er, where is your fishing rod?" Liu Che wiped his hands and asked.
Liu Ju also washed his hands and was wiping them when his father reminded him to go and check. However, it was too late; his bait had already been eaten.
"It's okay." Liu Che comforted him, "Just try again."
It’s just that His Majesty the Emperor had a smile on his face, so the consolation didn’t seem very sincere.
Liu Ju didn't really care. He just wanted to relax and have some fun, not really participate in any competition.
As for his father's reward, at least at this stage, His Majesty the Emperor can almost give him whatever he asks for, and he doesn't need to ask for it specifically.
After all, Liu Ju was just trying to appease his father.
Liu Che still regretted: "What a mistake, what a mistake. I forgot to tell you in advance."
Liu Ju laughed: "It's not too late to tell me now. What does Aung want?"
Liu Che said seriously: "That won't work. Let's compete again."
The idea was good, but someone disturbed His Majesty the Emperor. A foreign envoy entered the territory of the Han Dynasty, but had not yet entered Chang'an. The Grand Herald came to report and asked His Majesty's opinion.
This was the first diplomatic mission to pay a return visit to the Han Dynasty since the mission of Zhang Qian, Marquis of Bowang. Liu Che was very concerned about this mission to promote the prestige of the Han Dynasty. When he heard about this, he immediately lost his mind to play and called the Grand Herald to ask him about it in detail.
The country they came to this time was just a small country in the Western Regions, but its geographical location was right on the Silk Road, so it was still very important. Liu Ju was drawing a map in his mind.
The Han Dynasty had regulations for receiving foreign envoys. Liu Che ordered the Grand Herald to follow the old rules, but he himself had no plans to return to the Weiyang Palace for the time being.
Since the emperor would not return, Liu Ju had no choice but to stay here with him. He calculated the days and planned to apply for permission to return to the palace to pay his respects to his mother in five days. However, before the fifth day had passed, Liu Che decided to return to the palace.
The most important affairs of a country are sacrifices and war. The fifteenth day of the eighth month was the day for sacrifice, but Liu Ju actually forgot about it.
It was a bit of a dereliction of duty. Liu Ju was still reflecting on himself on the way to the Pepper Room. He shouldn't always be entangled in the past life's past events, causing them to repeatedly affect this new life. Otherwise, this trip to the underworld would really be nothing but a toss.
Liu Ju rubbed his face and stepped into the main gate of the Pepper Room. Wei Zifu was not there. She was busy spinning cotton. It was difficult to find her in the palace during the day recently.
So Liu Ju usually chose to come in the evening, but today he was probably delayed by something, and the queen still had not returned to the palace at this hour.
Liu Qi and Liu Xiang would always follow their mother, and the married Liu Yuan was not left behind and would go to the palace every day. Little Han'er would be left in the princess's mansion by her mother.
But today, for some reason, Liu Yuan brought the child to the Pepper Room. When Liu Ju arrived, the child was just learning to walk with his short legs, and several wet nurses were carefully guarding him.
"Han'er, come to your uncle." Liu Ju squatted down and clapped his hands gently, smiling and teasing the child.
Han'er blinked his big eyes at him, not knowing whether he recognized him or not. He stumbled a few steps and threw himself into Liu Ju's arms.
Liu Ju exempted himself from all formalities, picked up the child, and asked, "Sister, why did you bring Han'er into the palace?"
The nurse was surprised to see the prince holding the child in his arms. She replied, "Your Highness, the princess said that the young master hasn't been to the palace for many days and may have become estranged from his grandparents, uncles, and aunts. The princess brought the young master in for him to see."
Liu Ju nodded and asked, "Has Han'er gone to see His Majesty?"
The nurse replied, "Your Highness, the princess went to work with the Queen as soon as she arrived, and has not had time to pay her respects to His Majesty."
"Oh." Liu Ju touched the child's forehead and said with a smile, "Then uncle will take Han'er to pay his respects to grandfather, okay?"
Han'er didn't understand what he said, but she suddenly moved her chubby little body. Then Liu Ju found that her arms and clothes were wet, hot and accompanied by an unpleasant smell.
Liu Ju: “…”
This guy peed on him!
The wet nurses hurriedly took the person away, and two timid ones immediately knelt down, fearing that the prince would be angry.
"My son has never peed on me..." Liu Ju didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Go change his clothes quickly, and then go to my palace."
Seeing that the prince was not angry, the wet nurse and the palace maids breathed a sigh of relief and went about their business in an orderly manner. As for the prince's first words to his son, no one dared to remember them in the panic.
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