Autumn goes and winter comes.
After thirty-eight years of glory, it finally came to an end.
The next year was the first year of Wende.
As the Spring Festival approached, Liu Zhao returned to the capital, wrapped in the cold.
He came back quietly.
He first went to the palace to see the emperor. Behind closed doors, he spoke with Emperor Wende for a long time.
Afterwards, he returned to the palace exhausted.
"Madam, His Highness has returned."
As the maid finished speaking, a tall figure rushed into the small study.
Gu Jiu blinked his eyes, pursed his lips and said, "Where did you come from, ugly freak? Beat him out."
The maids covered their lips and giggled, then retreated consciously.
Liu Zhao was already very impatient, but as soon as they met, he heard the sound of heartbreak.
He pointed at his face, "Me, ugly?"
Gu Jiu nodded repeatedly, "You are so ugly. You must not be my husband. Please give my husband back to me."
Liu Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Stop it."
Gu Jiu snorted, stretched out his hand, and pinched his cheek, "Look, look, what is this? This is black charcoal! Did you escape from that coal mine?"
Liu Zhao held Gu Jiu's hand and said seriously, "You will come back in vain."
Gu Jiu snorted, "You must come back for free. Otherwise, I don't want you anymore."
Liu Zhao was too lazy to speak and just hugged the person.
Gu Jiu chuckled, "Let me go. You stink."
Liu Zhao sniffed it and said, "It doesn't stink. I just washed it at the post station last night."
"Is there any red sleeve to add fragrance to your life?"
"No. There's only one Lin Shuping serving. Do you want to drag him over and give him a beating?"
Lin Shuping had just returned to the palace and hadn't even had time to catch his breath when he suddenly felt a chill on his back.
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "He's been serving you like this, are you willing to hit him?"
"If you say fight, your husband will never frown."
Gu Jiu was very disgusted, "Don't even think about using my name to deal with people."
Liu Zhao rested his head on the crook of her neck, "Did you miss me?"
"I do want to. But I don't know whether your son still remembers you."
"Don't worry about that brat, he's just asking for a beating. I'll give him a beating tomorrow."
Problem!
As soon as he comes back, he starts beating the kids. He really has the nerve to do that.
Later, life will tell Gu Jiu that the one who is really naughty is her son, not her husband.
After some tenderness, Liu Zhao went to wash up.
When he came out, he saw Yu Ge'er climbing and playing on the Arhat couch.
"Brother Yu, call daddy quickly."
Yu Ge'er sucked his fingers, glanced at Liu Zhao, observed him for a moment, and then continued playing on his own.
"He doesn't remember you. You've been away for too long." Gu Jiu said in a low voice.
Liu Zhao smiled and said, "It's okay."
Then he picked up Yu Ge'er.
Yu Ge'er looked at the person holding him and didn't recognize him.
So he opened his mouth decisively, "Wow..."
A howl can blow the roof off the house.
Before Gu Jiu was even in trouble, Nanny Fang was already heartbroken.
"Your Highness, put me down quickly. I'm shy, just wait a few days until he gets used to it."
Liu Zhao held Yu Ge'er tightly and refused to let go. "You don't even recognize your own father. You deserve to be beaten."
Gu Jiu held his forehead and smiled bitterly.
Then he decisively took the child from Liu Zhao's arms.
As soon as Yu Ge'er was in Gu Jiu's arms, he gradually stopped crying.
Her little face looked very aggrieved, with tears still hanging in her eyes.
He hugged Gu Jiu's neck tightly and stared at Liu Zhao vigilantly.
At this moment, in Yu Ge'er's young mind, his father Liu Zhao was definitely the devil.
"Don't cry, Yu'er. Mother is here."
While coaxing the child, Gu Jiu glared at Liu Zhao with disgust.
It's really annoying.
As soon as I come back, I make the child cry and I can't wait patiently for a few days.
Liu Zhao pinched his nose embarrassedly, "This kid is actually shy."
"It's normal to be shy, okay? If your son can be held by anyone, be careful that he gets kidnapped one day."
"Pooh, pooh, pooh!" Nanny Fang said hurriedly, "It's unlucky, it's unlucky. Madam, please don't say that again."
Gu Jiu laughed and said, "I just said it casually, don't worry, Ma'am. My brother Yu has always been surrounded by people, so he will definitely grow up safely."
"Yes, yes, my boy will grow up safely and live a prosperous life." Nanny Fang clasped her hands together and prayed to all the gods and Buddhas in the sky to bless my boy with a smooth life.
With Liu Zhao's return, the East Courtyard also gained a lot of popularity.
After a few days of leisure, the Spring Festival came in a blink of an eye.
At the age of twenty-nine, the government office closed down.
After a year of hard work, I can finally take a half-month break.
There was no New Year atmosphere in the palace.
Today is the New Year, and everyone is entering the palace.
As for the palace, they just hung a few red lanterns and gave some reward money to the servants.
The elders all lived in the palace, so naturally no one had the time to worry about how the palace would celebrate the New Year.
Although no one has ever said it, everyone knows in their hearts that one day they will move out of the palace and move into their own mansion.
For everyone, the palace is just a temporary shelter.
On New Year’s Eve, everyone went to the palace for a banquet.
First go to the Cining Palace to pay respects to Empress Dowager Xiao.
Princess Pingyang Liu Huan was sitting on Empress Dowager Xiao's lap, talking with her.
Emperor Wende was very stingy with his sons, but he was quite generous with his daughters, bestowing titles on them early on.
Gu Jiu speculated on Emperor Wende's thoughts and whispered to Liu Zhao, "Father must have felt that granting titles to princesses is economical, while granting titles to princes is too expensive. That's why the princesses all have titles, while you princes are nowhere near getting them."
Liu Zhao coughed lightly and said, "Father is becoming more and more stingy." He is not willing to spend a penny.
Gu Jiu lowered his head and smiled, "I wonder if the national treasury is very abundant this year."
Liu Zhao whispered, "Even with the additional commerce tax, the Ministry of Revenue still has no surplus. This is because there are so many areas to spend money. The border troops are clamoring to upgrade their equipment, and the Ministry of War has been arguing with the Ministry of Revenue several times, demanding an increase in its allocation for next year. Naturally, the Ministry of Revenue refused. They even had a fight when I was wrapping up yesterday."
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "The court is really lively. The Shaofu must have a lot of money surplus this year."
Liu Zhao said, "The Shaofu has money, but the emperor won't give it out easily."
That’s true.
The Shaofu was the emperor's private treasury.
The emperor would only use his private treasury to subsidize the Ministry of Revenue in emergencies, such as disaster relief or war.
Normally, wanting to pull out a hair from the Shaofu is just wishful thinking.
Mr. Zhao, the Minister of Revenue, it’s also very difficult!
Two consecutive emperors were stingy, and he was very frustrated as the Minister of Revenue.
"Come, come, come and congratulate Pingyang. Pingyang's marriage is finally settled." Princess Huyang greeted everyone.
Just a few days ago, Emperor Wende issued an edict to grant Princess Pingyang Liu Huan a marriage. The man was Huang Qubing, the youngest son of Princess Fuya.
This marriage was proposed last year.
I didn’t expect that after a year, it would finally happen.
Princess Pingyang Liu Huan lowered her head and smiled shyly.
It seems that she is very satisfied with this marriage.
The Third Prince, Liu Yan, was very jealous. He wondered how long it would take for his marriage to be settled.
"Thanks to the Empress Dowager, my grandson's health has improved a lot." The Third Prince Liu Yan came close to Empress Dowager Xiao and was very obedient.
When it comes to filial piety, I'm afraid none of the princes present can compare to the Third Prince Liu Yan.
He had no errands and plenty of time, so he spent all his time being filial to Empress Dowager Xiao.
If it were at the beginning, Empress Dowager Xiao would have been indifferent to him.
Now, when Empress Dowager Xiao looked at Liu Yan, she felt very fond of him.
The favor she showed to Liu Yan was almost catching up with the favor she showed to Liu Yi.
Liu Yi was not jealous.
He had already realized that his future was entirely in the hands of Emperor Wende.
So in front of Empress Dowager Xiao, he behaved magnanimously enough.
He even helped Third Prince Liu Yan, "Third brother's health has indeed improved. Since the new year has begun, please give him some work to do. And as for Third brother's wedding, I'm looking forward to eating his wedding candy soon."
Third Prince Liu Yan was momentarily surprised, but he reacted quickly, "Fourth brother, you are so thoughtful. Whether it is a good job or not is entirely up to our father. As for the marriage, I may need to take some more time to recover. If you want to attend the wedding, I'm afraid you will have to wait a little longer."
Empress Dowager Xiao couldn't help but smile when she saw her two grandsons getting along so harmoniously.
She said cheerfully, "It's time to hurry up and arrange the third son's marriage. The eldest son is not young anymore, it's time to consider the issue of offspring. Don't worry, I'll talk to your father when I see him later. Anything can be delayed, but the children's marriages cannot be delayed."
Third Prince Liu Yan was overjoyed, "Thank you, Grandmother."
Empress Dowager Xiao waved to Liu Zhao and asked him to come over and talk.
Both the grandfather and the grandson had dull expressions, without any sign of New Year's joy.
Liu Zhao has always been cold-hearted and cold-faced, so no one takes him seriously.
It was Empress Dowager Xiao who was so indifferent to the eldest grandson, yet she insisted on calling him to her presence to talk.
Inside the hall, everyone had different expressions.
Some people can't help but wonder whether Empress Dowager Xiao's attitude represents the attitude of Emperor Wende?
As a result, when the Second Prince Liu Ping stepped forward to speak, Empress Dowager Xiao's attitude could be described as dissatisfied.
Empress Dowager Xiao said earnestly, "Even though you're in the imperial family, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children must be respected. You can't treat your wife with contempt just because she's the eldest son of a concubine. Do you understand?"
Liu Ping lowered his head, a little embarrassed, "Grandson will remember the teachings of the Imperial Grandmother."
Empress Dowager Xiao nodded and told Ouyang Fu to relax.
"You are a double body now, so take things easy."
Ouyang Fu pursed her lips and smiled, "It's my granddaughter's fault that I've caused Grandmother to worry. For the past six months, I've been concentrating on taking care of the baby and haven't asked about other matters."
"That's great."
Somehow, Empress Dowager Xiao spotted Gu Jiu in the crowd at a glance.
"Big brother's wife, come forward."
Gu Jiu took a few steps forward and bowed to greet him.
Empress Dowager Xiao got straight to the point. "Yu Ge'er is already two years old. When are you planning to give Liu Zhao another child? If you find it tiring, I have several suitable candidates here. Why not take them back for Liu Zhao tonight? They can also help you with some of the burden."
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Princess Huyang smiled awkwardly, "Mother, it's New Year's Day today, why bring up something that will spoil the fun?"
Empress Dowager Xiao snorted, "This is about offspring, and you say it's a spoiler? Ridiculous!"
Princess Huyang pouted in dissatisfaction, "It's already a disappointment."
"Shut up!" Empress Dowager Xiao gently scolded Hu Yang, "I will settle your account with you later. Don't speak now."
Princess Huyang felt extremely aggrieved. She glanced at Gu Jiu again, but she was helpless and could not help.
Gu Jiu was calm and collected. "Thank you, Grandmother, for your thoughtful consideration. But how can I make the decision on whether to bring people back? Grandmother, why don't you ask the eldest prince? If he agrees, I promise I will have no objection. Let alone two or three women, even if it's ten or eight women, I can support them for the eldest prince. After all, it doesn't cost much to support one person."
Gu Jiu would never take the responsibility on himself and directly passed the buck to Liu Zhao.
The trouble was caused by Liu Zhao, so naturally he should solve it.
Liu Zhao walked out of the crowd and bowed slightly. "Thank you for your kindness, Grandmother. Xiaojiu is enough for me. I don't need another woman."
Empress Dowager Xiao had a stern face and was obviously unhappy.
"As the eldest prince, how can you not have a concubine? You are already an adult, but you only have one eldest son. Is that right? For the sake of having children, you should also favor a few more women so that you can have more children. Don't worry, the women I have prepared for you have been examined by the imperial physicians, and they are all easy to bear. If you take them back, you will have more children next year."
What Empress Dowager Xiao said was reasonable.
Having many children and having many descendants is the political correctness of this era.
Gu Jiu looked at Liu Zhao with a half-smile, not panicking at all.
Xiao Qin'er wanted to make a joke, but was stopped by Liu Yi.
Liu Yi looked at Liu Zhao, then at Gu Jiu. He thought his sister-in-law's Qi cultivation skills were getting better and better. He just didn't know what his brother would choose.
If his elder brother accepted those women, Liu Yi suddenly felt that his elder brother would have let down his elder sister-in-law and would even be unworthy of her.
He didn't know why he had such an idea.
I feel weird.
He stared at Liu Zhao. Would his elder brother insist on not taking a concubine?
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