In the early spring, Gu Jiu took Liu Zhao to Xiaozhu for recuperation.
Liu Zhao was still trying to show off his ability and didn't want to go.
"My health has improved, so I will stay in the palace. I have to keep an eye on the boss and the court!"
"Shut up!"
Gu Jiu roared and Liu Zhao immediately gave in.
After packing up her things, she took Liu Zhao out of the palace and moved into Xiaozhu.
King Liu Yu of Qi would go to Xiaozhu every three to five days to report on the situation in the court.
Liu Zhao couldn't sit still and wanted to be in charge of everything.
Gu Jiu glared at him, and Liu Zhao decisively and consciously put it down.
In order to let Gu Jiu let it go, he even issued a decree, ordering King Qi Liu Yu to govern the country.
After the decree was issued, the court officials felt complicated.
"This decree confirms His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi's status as the crown prince."
"As long as there is no crown prince, everything is uncertain."
"Your Majesty is in poor health, and everyone can see that. If anything were to happen to His Majesty, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi would, with the Empress's support, ascend the throne and become Emperor."
"You're talking about an extraordinary situation! His Majesty is still alive and well. As long as people are alive, anything is possible!"
"Stop harboring these delusions! Prince Rong is single-mindedly pursuing his career overseas, having clearly given up on the fight for the throne. Prince Lu spends his days at the Polytechnic Institute, following the charlatan Ren, refusing to leave. No matter how many people try to persuade him, he ignores them. It can only be said that the Empress has taught the three princes too well. Princes Rong and Lu voluntarily gave up their positions before the competition even began."
"This is so infuriating! Are we really going to watch the King of Qi ascend to the throne?"
"The King of Qi doesn't like us. If he ascends the throne, we will have no future."
"Your Majesty has already issued an edict ordering the Prince of Qi to serve as regent, indirectly confirming his position as crown prince. At the moment, it seems there's no way around it."
"As long as His Majesty doesn't officially decree the Prince of Qi as Crown Prince, we still have a chance. Even if he does, as long as he doesn't ascend the throne, we still have a chance."
"Why not take advantage of the fact that the Prince of Qi is regent and write an article?"
"What article?"
"Let me explain it to you in detail."
…
Liu ordered his men to cultivate themselves in the morning, and the people in the court were anxious.
Yang Ji used tough measures to suppress the court and ordered all government offices to follow their procedures and not to cause trouble.
But it can't stop some people from becoming ambitious and making small moves in private.
Yang Ji also privately reminded His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi, "Your Highness, please be careful when you go out and come in recently. Keep your doors and windows closed and don't let anyone take advantage of you."
"Thank you, Lord Yang, for your advice. I will be careful."
Sure enough, the Prince of Qi's mansion was closed.
Princess Sun Qinniang of Qi declined all invitations to banquets and kept her child confined in her house.
Servants could only go out of the house to make purchases with orders.
The King of Qi went to court and performed his duties according to the routine every day, and everything was stable.
He is young but very steady.
I go to the same place every day, and apart from going to Xiaozhu, I have no other arrangements.
Liu Zhao asked him, "Do you need me to come forward and clean up this for you?"
King Liu Yu of Qi shook his head. "I can handle it! They're just some clowns. I'm waiting for them to show up and catch them all in one fell swoop."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! If necessary, we may need to borrow the Jinwu Guards."
"I will give Qian Xiang an order, and he will cooperate with you when necessary."
"Thank you, Father!"
…
The storm is coming!
Prince Duan Liu Yi simply took sick leave and did not go to the government office to avoid being implicated.
Xiao Qin'er asked him, "Are you so scared?"
"The older I get, the more timid I become! Who knows if those lunatics will take advantage of me? It's always better to be cautious. Stay home for now, and turn down all invitations. Let's live our simple lives behind closed doors."
Xiao Qin'er shook her head. "My second sister-in-law asked me to support her, and I agreed. I have to go out a few times recently."
Liu Yi frowned, "What second sister-in-law? They've been divorced for several years, and you're still associating with her? Everyone avoids her, but you insist on associating with her."
"I just want to interact with her. I'm not as materialistic as you." Xiao Qin'er retorted directly.
She felt that Ouyang Fu was a good person and she couldn't cut off contact with her just because she and Liu Ping were divorced.
Liu Yi chuckled twice, "Whatever you say! In short, don't fall into other people's traps."
Xiao Qin'er complained, "These people are really something! Prince Rong and Prince Lu clearly have no interest in that position. Prince Qi's position is as solid as a rock. What are those court officials still doing? Do they really think they can pull Prince Qi down?"
Liu Yi leaned over to the couch and said with the air of a seasoned veteran, "You don't understand! Once something happens to the Prince of Qi, the Princes of Rong and Lu will naturally become interested in that position. Those court officials are just anxious for chaos, and they're bent on stirring up conflict among the princes so they can fish in troubled waters. The Prince of Qi is so stable, they have no loopholes to exploit, and since they don't enjoy his appreciation, they're naturally unwilling to accept this. They'll definitely want to take a chance before the overall situation is settled!"
"Be careful not to lose your life!"
"Everything has risks. It's either win or die. People always think they'll win. As the saying goes, you won't turn back until you hit the wall. Besides, if I don't take a chance, my career will basically be over. I can't accept that! If I take a chance, maybe I can even make a contribution to the succession and reach the highest position in the government. Everyone wants to get a piece of Yang Xianggong's job."
Xiao Qin'er sneered, her expression full of sarcasm. "If they want to replace Yang Xianggong, they should see if they have Yang Xianggong's ability. They really overestimate their own abilities!"
Liu Yi, with an air of watching a play, casually said, "All officials who can stand in the court are Jinshi graduates. No one will admit that they are inferior to others in knowledge. As far as I know, many court officials are privately dissatisfied with Yang Ji, the Yang Xianggong. He is so young. If he didn't have the Empress as a backer, how could he have taken on such important responsibilities time and time again and achieved such a high position?"
I guess many court officials want to copy Yang Xianggong's path and find a powerful backer. Maybe with luck, they can become the second Yang Ji. If the King of Qi doesn't give them a chance, they will take the initiative to look for opportunities themselves. The King of Rong and the King of Lu are their opportunities.
Xiao Qin'er was stunned at the sight of blood. "They're not looking for an opportunity, they're clearly seeking death! Have these people forgotten about His Majesty and the Empress? We've been through so much blood and gore all these years, how can we tolerate them stirring up trouble? His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi isn't as weak as they think. He went south to suppress the aristocratic families. He went to the Western Regions to fight the foreign races, and he's quite formidable."
Liu Yi said cheerfully, "Unfortunately, my brother and sister-in-law are so dazzling that the court officials have ignored the Prince of Qi. They always think that the Prince of Qi is a gentle and noble man who is easy to bully."
"There will be a time when they will suffer. Don't you want to help the King of Qi? Just consider it a good relationship!"
"No!" Liu Yi refused repeatedly. "This kind of thing requires me to stay away from it. If I help him, I'm afraid people will suspect me of having bad intentions. It's better to stay out of it. Although I won't make any good friends, I won't get into trouble either. I'm warning you, you are not allowed to interfere in this matter, and you are not allowed to make decisions on your own. This involves the struggle in the court, and it is not your place to get involved."
"I know! I just said it casually. Look how nervous you are, as if I would hold you back."
Liu Yi thought to himself, you have been holding me back a lot.
…
Xiao Qin'er wants to support Ouyang Fu.
Just as Ouyang Fu had guessed when they divorced, Liu Ping mortgaged his house and borrowed money from the Shaofu to make a living, and his money was very scarce.
He did acquire some property.
However, whether it is a shop or a farm, the annual profit is limited and cannot meet Liu Ping's expenses.
Another thing is that he has a group of women and illegitimate sons and daughters in his backyard.
Children need betrothal gifts and dowries to get married.
In addition to food, clothing, housing and other necessities, women have to make new clothes, buy new head ornaments and jewelry every year, and go out to visit relatives and friends.
Ultimately, money is required everywhere.
Liu Ping could only borrow money from the Shaofu again and again.
If you just borrow money without paying it back, the interest will keep increasing. Shaofu Money House is not a charity, so it will definitely not continue to lend money.
Since last year, debt collectors from Shaofu Money House have been coming to collect debts every month.
Remind Liu Ping again and again to pay back the money quickly.
Even if it's just paying some interest first, it's fine.
Otherwise, the Shaofu Bank would take away the collateral, the mansion where they currently lived.
Liu Ping initially insulted the debt collectors from Shaofu Money House, but later, realizing the seriousness of the situation, he began to look for ways to borrow money to pay off his debts.
However, he was just an idle member of the royal family, with no job, no status, and he also offended Emperor Liu Zhao.
Few people in the royal family were willing to lend him money, and they all avoided him.
Civil officials and nobles would not have anything to do with him.
There were only a few brothers who, out of courtesy, had to give him some money to send him away.
For example, Prince Duan Liu Yi gave him three thousand taels for emergency use. He didn't ask him to pay it back, but only asked him not to come to his house again.
The other brothers basically use the same operating routine.
The one who contributed the least was the ninth brother Liu Zhun, who only gave eight hundred taels of silver.
When giving the silver, he kept crying poor in front of Liu Ping.
It was said that his mother had passed away and he had no one to rely on. The eight hundred taels were all the private money he had saved with great difficulty.
The implication was to remind Liu Ping to take the money and leave quickly, and not to come to him to borrow money in the future.
Giving eight hundred taels is enough to show our brotherhood.
Otherwise you won’t get a penny.
With the help of his brothers, Liu Ping temporarily overcame the difficulties.
As a result, just after the Chinese New Year, the Shaofu Money House started to come to collect debts again.
And the frequency of debt collection is increasing.
In the past, they would come to collect the debt once a month, but now they come every few days to collect the debt.
Because Liu Ping owed too much money, the principal alone was more than 100,000 taels.
Including interest, it has reached over 200,000 taels.
This is not usury, it is just normal lending with normal interest.
If it is usury, with interest compounded, it would probably be over one million taels.
With Liu Ping's income, he has no ability to repay.
The Shaofu Money House gave him an ultimatum: if he didn't pay back the money within a month, their house would be forcibly taken away.
Liu Ping was so angry that he cursed loudly.
He tries to smooth things over with connections everywhere, and everyone tries to avoid him.
At this time, Ouyang Fu quietly found the Shaofu.
She discussed with the Shaofu that she would buy the house as soon as the Shaofu took it back. She asked the Shaofu not to hold a public auction.
Deng Cunli gave Ouyang Fu some face and agreed to her request for the sake of Empress Gu Jiu.
Who would have thought that Liu Ping would find out about this?
That’s too much!
There must be some fuss!
For this matter, Xiao Qin'er took the initiative to support Ouyang Fu.
Liu Ping is a scoundrel.
The couple have already divorced and have no relationship, but Liu Ping still wants to rely on Ouyang Fu.
He said he wanted to remarry Ouyang Fu and asked Ouyang Fu to pay off his debts.
"Bitch!" Xiao Qin'er cursed Liu Ping as a piece of shit.
Liu Yi also felt that the second brother Liu Ping was a good-for-nothing.
"Ouyang Fu is the second son's lifeline. Even though they're divorced, they've been married for 20 or 30 years and raised a child together. He's desperate and can't think of any other solution, so he can only pin all his hopes on Ouyang Fu. Remarrying is his last resort. Otherwise, he'll be driven out of the capital by the Shaofu Bank."
Xiao Qin'er was furious. "I've never seen such a shameless person! He was the one who wanted a divorce, and now he's the one who wants to remarry. It turns out that Second Sister-in-law is a piece of shit, who can be summoned and dismissed at will. Who does he think he is! Second Sister-in-law wants to remarry him, is it because he is old and needs someone to take care of him, or because he is an old bastard who is always looking for trouble, or because he spends money like water to support a bunch of women? Second Sister-in-law is not stupid, she will never agree to it!"
Liu Yi had nothing to say.
If you think about it carefully, Liu Ping is really useless.
No one in their right mind would continue to live with him.
He rubbed his brows, "But the second brother has entangled with Ouyang Fu, and it's not easy to get rid of him."
Xiao Qin'er said in a resounding voice, "So I want to support my second sister-in-law! Do you want to help?"
Liu Yi waved his hands repeatedly, "Don't ask me for this kind of family matters."
"Don't forget, Liu Xun is your nephew. If he gets implicated by that old bastard, the Second Brother, his career won't be smooth."
"He's my nephew, not my son. If you want to help, I won't stop you. But I won't interfere in this matter. If you can't handle it, go to Xiaozhu and ask the Empress. A single word from the Empress is more effective than a hundred or a thousand words from us."
Xiao Qin'er shook her head repeatedly, "How can we alarm the Empress with such a small matter? Besides, His Majesty is in poor health, and we can't let such a distressing matter distract the Empress. If the Empress gets angry, the second son's life will be in danger."
"It's good that you know the serious consequences of this matter. Try your best. If you really can't help, don't force yourself. It's not appropriate for you, an outsider, to interfere in the affairs of a couple." Liu Yi advised earnestly.
Xiao Qin'er sneered, despising Liu Yi for being a coward!
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