The royal family banquet was held in Chang'an Palace.
The whole family sat together and enjoyed hot pot with beef and mutton.
Liu Zhao loved eating meat and not vegetables. He ate with great relish and was sweating profusely.
Gu Jiu asked him to eat more vegetarian food, but he looked disgusted.
"You won't even let me eat meat now. You're so cruel."
The three children lowered their heads and laughed secretly.
The three siblings have seen similar scenes since they were young. They all want to complain in their hearts that their father, the emperor, and the queen mother are not tired of it after so many years.
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes. Is he acting like a drama queen?
"Eating more fruits and vegetables is good for your health. Do you listen to me or not?"
Liu Zhao admitted his mistake and said with reluctance, "I will just eat a little bit."
I ate some fruits and vegetables very reluctantly.
Gu Jiu disliked him.
It would be inappropriate to continue to embarrass him in front of the children.
I could only watch him eat heartily, and half of the beef and mutton went into his stomach.
After a good meal and a good drink, life is wonderful.
Emperor Liu Zhao sat down on the soft couch, with his belly sticking out, drinking some greasiness-relieving tea. It was so comfortable!
The three siblings each had a round stool and sat properly.
Gu Jiu began, "I called you into the palace today because of the various rumors with ulterior motives that have been circulating in the court recently."
"Are your father and mother worried that your son will have inappropriate thoughts and compete with your elder brother for the throne?" Prince Lu Liu Xun asked directly.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Third brother, do you want to compete for the throne?"
Prince Lu Liu Xun really thought about it seriously, and finally shook his head, "I don't want to fight for the throne, it's too troublesome!"
Gu Jiu looked at Prince Rong Liu Heng again.
Liu Heng said casually, "My son has long decided to settle down overseas. The right and wrong of the capital has nothing to do with him. That position belongs to my eldest brother, and he is capable of taking it. My son will not compete with him. Unless one day, my eldest brother loses the qualifications to sit in that position, perhaps my son will stand up and make his presence felt."
Gu Jiu nodded slightly. "I'm not worried that you will join the fight for the throne, nor am I afraid of you fighting for the throne! I'm only worried that the people around you are unwilling to be mediocre and will instigate you to fight and grab, using any means to achieve your goals."
Prince Rong Liu Heng said directly: "As for those who are restless around me, I will send them overseas in advance."
King Liu Xun of Lu said, "I will treat as bullshit the words of anyone whose divination skills are inferior to mine."
"What if someone is better than you in divination and wants you to compete for the throne, what will you do?" Gu Jiu asked the third brother.
King Lu Liu Xun thought for a moment and said, "My son will use a warehouse's worth of account books to shut him up."
Hearing this, the whole family laughed.
Liu Zhao said, "If the account books for one warehouse are not enough, I will provide the account books for two more warehouses!"
"Thank you, father!" Prince Lu Liu Xun smiled happily.
He really likes numerology and really likes to calculate with an abacus.
He likes to quantify everything.
Gu Jiu was relieved, but she still emphasized: "I know what you are thinking! After discussing with your father, I will not appoint a crown prince, and will not publicly designate a crown prince. However, you guessed right, if nothing unexpected happens, the eldest brother will be the crown prince, but it will not be made public!
The reason I summoned you to the palace is, firstly, to formally inform you of this matter. Secondly, I want to warn you that if you want something, you can speak directly to me. I don't want you to fight privately and ruin our brotherhood.
Even if deep down you want to compete with the boss and aspire to your father's position, don't be afraid. You can tell me privately. It's normal for people to have desires. In my place, there are no desires that shouldn't exist, only desires that are incompatible with one's abilities."
Prince Rong Liu Heng suddenly said, "If my son says he wants to compete with my elder brother, how will my father and mother deal with him?"
Gu Jiu exchanged a glance with Liu Zhao, and finally she said, "Then you have no choice but to give up the idea of establishing a vassal state, stay in the capital, and compete with your elder brother in an upright manner. If you fail in the competition, not only will you not get the throne, but you will also lose the qualification to establish a vassal state overseas. I will allocate a few cities overseas to you, that's all."
"What happens if Big Brother loses the competition?"
"He will also be sent overseas!" Gu Jiu said in a loud voice.
Princess Ruyang frowned and stared at Prince Rong Liu Heng, "Second brother, do you really want to compete with the eldest brother?"
Prince Rong smiled, shook his head and said, "I don't want to argue with him. I just want to know what my father and mother think!"
Liu Zhao raised his eyebrows, his eyes cold, "Do you think I am partial to the eldest brother and treat you three siblings harshly?"
"A little bit!" Liu Heng was honest.
Liu Zhao snorted. "I don't need to explain the situation in the Western Regions. You all know it. Sending the boss to the Western Regions is full of dangers. You insist on thinking this is biased? You're a bunch of idiots!"
Gu Jiu held Liu Zhao's hand, signaling him not to be so fierce.
When he gets angry, the children won't tell the truth.
She winked at him, telling him to stay away for the time being.
Liu Zhao snorted twice, a little dissatisfied.
Gu Jiu glared at him, and Liu Zhao immediately gave in.
Just avoid it!
As soon as he left, the atmosphere in the study became noticeably more relaxed.
Gu Jiu held up the teacup and said, "The situation has changed over the past few days. Your father's old injuries have started to flare up again, causing him to be a little irritable."
"Son, I understand!" said King Liu Xun of Lu.
"Is the emperor in serious condition?" Ruyang was worried.
Gu Jiu pondered, "It can be controlled, but it can't be cured. As you get older, the pain from old injuries will become more severe, and your temper will become more irritable."
"Is there no way to alleviate it?" Ruyang asked again.
"You need to go to a warm place and rest for a long time! In the current situation, your father can't rest for a long time."
Ruyang said, "Father is too tired, toiling away on state affairs all day. Why not call my eldest brother back and let him share his worries?"
Liu Zhao, who was eavesdropping from the next room, looked relieved. It must be that his daughter cared about her.
His daughter is well-behaved and caring. Of course, he has to dote on her even more.
Gu Jiu said, "We'll discuss this again when the eldest brother returns to Beijing. Today, let's be frank and open, and feel free to speak out whatever you have to say. Second brother, I know you have a lot of ideas, so why not share them?"
Prince Rong Liu Heng said, "My son's idea of settling down overseas will not change. What I said before about wanting to compete with my eldest brother was also true. The reason why my son went overseas was, firstly, to avoid competition with my eldest brother, and secondly, to prove that he was no worse than my eldest brother! My son will be a prince overseas, making his own decisions, not subject to the control of the court, and not having to serve under my eldest brother. My son will be free!"
"I don't want to face my eldest brother one day and call myself his younger brother. I am me, he is him, he is always the eldest brother, I am always the second brother. There is no distinction between king and subject between us. Only the territory is the distinction."
Ruyang teased him, "Second brother, what do you mean, listen to orders but not announcements?"
Prince Liu Xun of Lu added, "Second brother is clearly dissatisfied with eldest brother, so he doesn't want to call himself a minister. I don't have such thoughts. Whether it's eldest brother or royal brother, it's just a title."
"The change of title represents a change in identity. Third brother, don't study numerology until you become stupid!" Prince Rong Liu Heng complained back.
Prince Lu Liu Xun rolled his eyes. "You're clearly just trying to save face. You just don't want to be inferior to Big Brother. You just won't accept it. You even think you're better than Big Brother."
"I'm definitely not as good as Big Brother when it comes to writing articles," Liu Heng said seriously, "but when it comes to expanding territory and managing land, I think I'm just as good as him."
hehe!
Liu Xun continued to roll his eyes.
Gu Jiu laughed heartily. "It's a good thing that the second brother is confident! You've grown from nothing overseas to the scale you have today, so you do have reason to be proud. But when it comes to overall vision and understanding of people's livelihoods, you're still one step behind the eldest brother."
Liu Heng was obviously dissatisfied.
Gu Jiu clapped his hands and ordered the palace servants: "Find out the articles and investigation reports of the King of Qi in recent years. Also find the King of Qi's work diary."
"Brother, you still keep a work diary?" Ruyang was secretly amazed. "You are so busy every day, but you still have time to keep a work diary. Brother is really amazing."
Ruyang was full of admiration, while Liu Heng was full of curiosity.
Soon, a palace servant walked into the study carrying a basket of information.
Gu Jiu pointed at the basket and said to the second son, Liu Heng, "Take it back and read it carefully. You will understand that you have never slacked off during these years overseas, and neither has the eldest son. The eldest son is not in the capital, so I want to personally vindicate him. He has made many achievements in these years.
I'm not living the life you think I do, just working errands every day and spending the rest of my time figuring out how to get to the top. Boss is a very thoughtful person. Second brother, I hope you can take a serious look at the contents here; it will be enlightening to you!"
…
The children have left!
Liu Zhao emerged from the inner room. "Do you think the children can understand our good intentions? Was this conversation today any use?"
"It will definitely work!" Gu Jiu said firmly, "I know my children! They are thriving trees, not crooked. One day, they will all grow into towering trees."
Liu Zhao was moved and said, "The boss is also pitiful. When he was in the capital, he was criticized by the court officials every day. When he was not in the capital, he was still criticized. In my opinion, they are all idle and should all be sent outside the city to dig ditches."
"Don't underestimate the boss. His resilience isn't as weak as you think. He's endured more pressure and burdens than others since he was a child. He knows how to adjust himself!"
Gu Jiu has great confidence in his eldest son Liu Yu.
The children she personally taught can withstand any pressure and face any doubts calmly.
Even if the second brother Liu Heng wanted to compete with him, he was not afraid.
"What do you think the second brother thinks?" Liu Zhao had been thinking about this matter.
Gu Jiu laughed. "What else could it be? It's just like when two brothers were fighting over the same piece of cake. The two brothers are not much different in age, and they grew up together. They are used to fighting over each other. If they don't fight over it and show their presence, they will feel uncomfortable."
"You mean, he doesn't really want to compete with the boss for the position of crown prince?"
"Of course he doesn't really want to compete with the boss for the throne! He's just acting out of habit and wants to cause trouble for the boss! Just wait and see, after he finishes reading all that paperwork, he'll have no more ideas."
Gu Jiu knew the tempers of the children very well.
The second one just wants to show his presence, it’s that simple!
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