134 Chapter 134
◎Children.◎
As soon as Wei Zifu, her mother and daughter came back, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince went up to complain, but this did not win him any sympathy. The three of them burst into laughter after hearing it.
Her Majesty the Queen disregarded her manners, and even the usually reserved Liu Qi couldn't help herself, not to mention Liu Xiang. If she hadn't been clinging to her second sister, she would have laughed herself to the ground.
The most hateful one is Liu Yuan. Her son was in the wrong first, yet she was still laughing so loudly!
Liu Ju said dissatisfiedly: "Sister! Why are you laughing too?"
Liu Yuan held his stomach and laughed, "What can I do? Will beating him up help you vent your anger?"
Han'er was nibbling on a piece of dessert while holding Liu Ju's legs, and the crumbs got on the clothes of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, making his new clothes, which he had just changed not long ago, almost unwearable.
Liu Ju patted the child's back gently and said, "Forget it. I'll teach him a lesson when he's a few years older."
Wei Zifu smiled and said, "Zi'er loves children. When you have your own children in the future, I wonder how you will love them."
"Mother, how old am I? You're already a grandmother. There's no need to be so anxious to become a grandmother yourself." Liu Ju said helplessly.
"Why not?" Wei Zifu held Liu Qi's hand as she spoke. "But if Mother isn't worried about you first, then there's also your sister. Mother has to worry about both of them."
Liu Qi's face immediately turned red, and she stopped smiling. She only whispered, "Mother, I'm not in a hurry."
Liu Qi's marriage had already been arranged. In the Western Han Dynasty, only a marquis could marry a princess, so her fiancé's family background was certainly not bad. It was just that she and that man were not childhood sweethearts.
Wei Zifu knew that she was thin-skinned, so she didn't say much, but just looked at Liu Xiang again. She was only two years older than Liu Ju, and was twelve years old now.
The royal family has always married early, but because of the precedent of the eldest princess, the marriage age of the younger sisters was pushed back, so Liu Xiang could wait two years before considering marriage.
Liu Xiang was not as shy as her sister. Seeing her mother looking at her, she said, "Mom, can I choose someone myself when the time comes?"
Without waiting for Wei Zifu to speak, Liu Ju said, "Sure, sister, tell me what your conditions are and I can help you screen the candidates first."
Liu Xiang was about to start counting on his fingers when his mother interrupted him: "You're so anxious! If you decide on someone now and they choose someone else in two years, what will you do then?"
Liu Xiang said: "Then I will go and get it back."
Wei Zifu laughed: "You are a princess, not a robber. How can a gentleman take away someone's love?"
"Then I'll find another one. The Han Dynasty doesn't have only one marquis." Liu Xiang was very open-minded. "Isn't Wei Kang also a marquis? If it really doesn't work out, I'll just marry him."
"Wei Kang..." Liu Ju asked in surprise, "Why did you think of him?"
Liu Xiang said as a matter of course: "Among the marquises, I am most familiar with him. Otherwise, I would marry my uncle or my cousin Qubing. They both have wives."
Liu Ju opened his mouth, as if it made some sense, but...
"Why not Wei Buyi and Wei Deng?" Liu Ju asked again.
Liu Xiang said, "They are both too young. I don't like people younger than me."
Liu Ju thought to himself, I think you don’t know what love is at all.
The other three people also noticed Liu Xiang's childish mentality. She said these things without any distractions, and it had nothing to do with love. She was just... talking.
Wei Zifu sent Liu Qi and Liu Xiang to bathe and change clothes, and then said to Liu Yuan, "You should also wash up so that you can take Han'er to pay your respects to His Majesty."
Liu Yuan did not get up immediately. After her two sisters left, she said to her mother, "If it's Wei Kang, that wouldn't be bad either."
Liu Ju said first: "Sister, how could you take it seriously? Third sister was just joking!"
Wei Zifu asked in surprise, "It's fun, but this marriage is not bad. Wei Kang knows everything about me. Zi'er, why don't you agree?"
Liu Ju just wanted to minimize the risks brought by close-kin marriage as much as possible. As for Liu Yuan, he had experience from his previous life and knew that it would be fine. As for Liu Xiang and Wei Kang, there was no need to take risks.
He thought for a moment and explained, "Xiang'er was just joking. If we take it seriously, and she doesn't want to do it in the future, it will be difficult to explain to her uncle, and our relatives will become enemies."
"What's more..." Liu Ju continued, "Xiang'er's marriage still needs the approval of His Majesty. I don't think His Majesty has any intention of choosing Wei Kang."
After hearing these words, Wei Zifu and Liu Yuan were speechless. Who Liu Xiang would marry in the future really depended on the Emperor's wishes.
Liu Ju said, "I am here with Your Majesty and will keep an eye on things for Mother and Sister."
Wei Zifu patted his hands.
…
The next morning, Liu Ju went to pay his respects to his father as usual. At a glance, he saw that Huo Guang was one of the ministers on duty that day.
"How is your brother these days?" Liu Ju walked over and asked.
Huo Guang replied respectfully, "Your Highness, my brother is doing well. Thank you for your concern."
Liu Ju nodded and asked, "Does he eat on time?"
Huo Guang couldn't eat with his brother every day, so he didn't understand. He could only say, "When I eat with my brother, he always eats on time."
After a pause, he added, "Brother has been eating His Highness's medicinal food."
Liu Ju corrected him, "It's a recipe. Your brother doesn't like the word 'medicine'."
Huo Guang thought to himself, it’s not that my brother doesn’t like the word, it’s that he doesn’t like the medicine in his mouth.
"Yes." Huo Guang said solemnly.
Before Liu Ju could speak again, a eunuch from the inner chamber came to invite him in: "Your Highness, His Majesty invites you in."
Liu Ju nodded and finally asked Huo Guang, "Are you taking a day off today?"
Huo Guang replied, "I still have three days to rest."
Liu Ju said, "Then I will go with you to see Huo Xian."
After saying this, he stepped inside without waiting for Huo Guang's consent.
Huo Guang could only say dryly, "Yes."
Every family that can serve as the Emperor's Minister of the Court has a powerful person, but no matter how powerful he is, he cannot compare to the Marquis of Guanjun, let alone having a close relationship with the Crown Prince.
For a while, Huo Guang received many envious and jealous looks, but he was used to it and was not moved at all.
Liu Ju was ridiculed as soon as he saw his father: "Ju'er, your sister said that Han'er peed on you, hahahaha..."
Liu Ju put his arm forward and said, "Yes, Uncle, can you smell it? Is there any smell?"
Liu Che knocked his head and said with a smile: "Don't bother me. Can you still endure not bathing for a whole night?"
"It's not disgusting." Liu Ju said innocently, "Aren't all children like this? I was like this when I was a child, and my grandfather must have been like this when he was a child."
The Emperor's eyes widened, clearly shocked by the Crown Prince's description of the scene where he couldn't control himself. He said angrily, "How dare you slander me in front of me!"
Liu Ju raised his eyebrows and smiled smugly, "Aunt, I'm just telling the truth. How can you call it arranging? Isn't this how everyone grows up?"
Having said that, His Majesty the Emperor was not quite able to accept it. He waved his hand and decided to skip the topic.
"What did you say to Huo Guang outside just now?"
Liu Ju answered truthfully. Although Liu Che also liked Huo Shan, he couldn't bear to hear the child's name at the moment, so he said, "Go, go. You are the only one who likes these children."
Liu Ju smiled, and after the father and son had their meal, they went to the front hall of Weiyang Palace.
Three days later, Huo Guang came to the Prince's Palace to pay a visit to Liu Ju, and happened to catch the Prince listening to the Junior Tutor's historical lectures.
Liu Ju didn't mind learning it again, perhaps he could gain something new from it. He always listened very carefully, and when he saw Huo Guang coming, he pulled people over to listen to the rest with him.
Huo Guang was already accustomed to the prince's unexpected actions. After listening to the lesson and waiting for the prince to change his clothes, they left the palace together.
It was still a bit hot in the autumn afternoon, so Liu Ju ordered someone to put an ice basin on the carriage.
Given the nature of Huo Guang's work, Liu Ju could not talk to him about official business, as this would involve spying on the emperor, so they could only talk about private matters.
For example, has Huo Guang been running recently? Is Huo Xian speaking fluently now? How often does Huo Qubing go home?
By the time he arrived at the Marquis of Guanjun's Mansion, Liu Ju had already figured out the basic situation of the Huo family recently.
The Huns' submission meant that the threat from the Huns had been resolved, and Huo Qubing could not always refuse the emperor's kindness, so he now moved into the luxurious mansion bestowed by the emperor.
The advantage is that Huo Xian has a lot of space to move around. For a child who is good at walking and loves to run around, this new home is very much to his liking.
Therefore, Liu Ju and Huo Guang were unable to see Huo Shan for the time being, because even his mother didn't know where the child had gone.
It took the group of people half an hour to finally catch little Huo Xian, who was hiding under a grape trellis and eating grapes until his belly was full.
The grape juice had dyed his face, hands and clothes purple. When he saw his mother, he smiled and asked someone to hold him.
The servants didn't dare to persuade the young master, but when they saw the mistress coming over, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Little Huo Xian was carried away by his mother to wash his face and hands and change his clothes, while Liu Ju asked someone to pick some grapes for him to eat.
Huo Guang: “…”
Your Highness, why are you acting like a three-year-old child?
But the grapes were indeed very sweet, so Huo Guang ate some. These were the first ripe grapes of the year, so he had to pick some and put them in the ice cellar so that he could have some when his brother returned home.
By the time the clean little Huo Xian was brought out again, Liu Ju and Huo Guang had already finished eating two bunches of grapes.
"Uncle..." Huo Xian shouted and threw himself on Huo Guang's legs. He could basically pronounce the words clearly now, but he was not very proficient in some of the curved sounds.
Liu Ju waved at him and said with a smile: "There is another one here!"
Seeing that Liu Ju was quite a man, Huo Xian tilted his head to look at him, called him uncle obediently, and tried to climb onto Huo Guang again.
Liu Ju watched the future Marquis of Bolu skillfully pick up the child, and couldn't stand his noise anymore, so he walked to the corridor. Huo Xian finally calmed down for a moment, and then he wanted to get down again. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he started to run out.
Huo Guang wanted to stop him, but Liu Ju said, "It's okay, just follow his lead."
Huo Guang loosened his grip, and someone followed the child away. Huo Guang then said to Liu Ju, "Your Highness, Shan'er has always been like this."
"Yeah." Liu Ju smiled, "That's good. I like Shan'er like this."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com