When Liu Zhao came back, it was already very late, almost three o'clock in the morning.
"Haven't you rested yet?"
He walked into the upper room with a chill.
Gu Jiu was sitting on the couch, reading a book, while Yu Ge'er was lying on the couch, writing and drawing with a charcoal pencil, looking very energetic.
Gu Jiu nodded in Yu Ge'er's direction, "Your son is in high spirits. Isn't he going to stay up all night to celebrate the New Year? I just let him do what he wants and didn't stop him."
Liu Zhao took off his outer robe, washed his face with hot water, and sat down next to Gu Jiu after feeling relaxed.
"Is he being naughty again?"
Gu Jiu laughed, "You know your son is very opinionated and won't listen to anyone unless they agree with him."
Fortunately, Yu Ge'er is not a naughty child. He will not mess around outside and will just keep a stern face. He won't even look at people he doesn't like.
Liu Zhao rolled up his sleeves and said, "Why don't we give him a beating before the New Year arrives?"
Since I'm free anyway, I might as well beat the kids for fun.
Yu Ge'er raised his head and looked towards Liu Zhao. Despite his young age, his eyes were filled with a hint of inquiry and doubt.
Then, he looked at Gu Jiu again, his eyes already innocent and pitiful. His dark, bright eyes looked as if they would be filled with tears in the next second.
Gu Jiu's heart softened, and he quickly comforted her: "It's New Year's Day today, no one will hit you. Be good, Yu Ge'er, and continue playing."
Yu Ge'er wiped his eyes and said, "No, I won't fight you. Be good."
"Okay, we won't fight. Brother Yu is the best."
Yu Ge'er didn't laugh, he just lowered his head and continued to scribble.
Gu Jiu lowered his voice and said to Liu Zhao, "See? Don't talk nonsense in front of him from now on."
Liu Zhao chuckled and lowered his voice as Gu Jiu said, "Such a young child, yet so cunning, needs a lesson."
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes at him and said, "You were probably similar to him when you were little, both of you weren't very obedient. I think you were even worse than Yu Ge'er."
Liu Zhao was very upset, "I was much better than him when I was a kid."
"Then why does Mother always say that you were disliked since childhood? When you were given porridge, you insisted on eating noodles. When you were given meat, you insisted on drinking soup. When you were asked to study, you ran off to wield swords and guns. When you were asked to play with your brothers, you beat them and made them cry. You drove away all the wet nurses except one..."
When Liu Zhao was a child, he must have been a very naughty, opinionated kid who would never blindly follow adults.
This kind of child is definitely not a good child in the traditional sense.
What does a good child look like in the eyes of adults?
Obedient and sensible.
When you are at the age to be enlightened, you should sit in school honestly, read and learn to read, and you can get full marks in the exams.
He does whatever his parents ask him to do and is as obedient as the most delicate doll, without his parents having to worry about him at all.
It is obvious that Liu Zhao is not a good boy in the traditional sense.
In the eyes of his elders, he is not only not a good boy, but also a bad boy who always likes to stir up trouble, anger his parents, and go against his parents.
In addition, he disdains to say nice words or soft words to make people happy, and only goes against his parents.
No wonder Empress Pei always said that Liu Zhao was disliked since childhood. This dislike continued to this day.
The relationship between people is wonderful.
If you have disliked someone since childhood, it is very likely that this dislike will accompany you as you grow up and into adulthood.
Even in old age, you may still not like this person.
If you have been particularly fond of someone since childhood, even if you grow up and realize that this person is not as good as he seemed when he was young, or even does something disgusting.
But because of this love, it is hard for you to dislike this person. At most, you just hate him.
Similarly, if an adult dislikes a child, no matter what the reason is, there is a high probability that the child will still dislike the adult when the child grows up.
The love that parents have for their children is much the same.
Even if they are biological children, if they are not liked when they are young and are not loved by their parents, there is a high probability that they will still not be loved by their parents when they grow up.
No matter how outstanding or hard-working this child is when he grows up, if you don’t like him, you just don’t like him.
The child that parents have loved since childhood, even if he grows up to be unsuccessful, or even indulges in drinking, gambling, whoring and prostitution, will still receive the greatest tolerance and help from his parents.
As long as this child improves a little bit, makes a little progress, even if parents only need to give a hundred yuan to their parents, or even no money at all, just say a few nice words, this child will be the best child in their parents' hearts, and no other child can compare to him.
Parents would willingly give their own coffin book to help this child.
Even if the truth is, this child who indulges in drinking, gambling and whoring is the worst of all the children.
But by coaxing the child and saying a few nice words to him, without any substantial effort or filial piety from his parents, his love for the child can remain the same for decades.
This situation is common in families with many children.
After all, love is too mysterious and completely irrational.
If you like it, you like it. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. There can’t be any falsehood.
Even if the child they like is a scumbag, parents still hope for the best for him and are willing to give him the best.
Even if a child who is not loved by his parents is taken care of by his bedside, and is served food and drink, and does his best, he may not receive a sincere smile or a kind word from his parents.
Maybe the parents will take it for granted to exploit the filial child and subsidize the child they like most.
People's hearts are made of flesh and blood, not made by machines. Without a love scale, we can't treat everyone equally, and there's no way to divide love into equal parts.
"Because I'm an unpleasant person."
Liu Zhao said this easily, without any burden.
He seemed to never care about why others disliked him.
This is rare.
When you are young, you will inevitably care about who likes you and who doesn't. If that person doesn't like you, why?
But in Gu Jiu's memory, Liu Zhao had never been confused by this question for even a second.
Gu Jiu pointed at Yu Ge'er, then at Liu Zhao and asked, "Do you think Yu Ge'er cares whether we love him or not?"
Liu Zhao was silent for a moment.
After a moment of silence, he laughed, "He's still young and can't tell what's most important."
Gu Jiu shook his head and said disapprovingly: "Different ages have different needs. Yu Ge'er needs to eat and play now.
His life is perfect if he has food and fun. Eating and playing are the most important things to him, and he knows this better than anyone else. Try to see if he'll flip out if you deny him food and play.
When he grows up and starts to read, he will naturally have new needs when he compares himself with his peers. You can't deny his needs just because he is young, and think that his current needs are unimportant.
Liu Zhao nodded and said, "You are right."
This is not sincere at all, it's just perfunctory.
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes and complained, "Brother Yu looks like you. Many old people in the mansion say so. Brother Yu is so cute, how could anyone not like him? It must be because you were too naughty and disobedient when you were a child, so you are not liked."
"Haha...I was probably the bully in the mansion when I was little."
Looking at Liu Zhao's eyes, he seemed quite proud.
Gu Jiu laughed too, and then suddenly said, "I will try my best to be fair."
She would have a second child, maybe even a third.
She dared not say that she would treat every child equally, but she would try her best to treat them equally and impartially.
Of course, children have different personalities, so parents have different standards and requirements for their children.
Liu Zhao suddenly came up to Gu Jiu and asked, "Are you comforting me?"
Gu Jiu was startled and tilted his head back, "You suddenly came over and scared me. I won't comfort you, you don't need comfort."
Liu Zhao smiled and pointed at the child, "Is he okay like this?"
"That's good, free development."
"Too much is as bad as too little." Liu Zhao was definitely a strict father and never showed mercy when beating his children.
Yu Ge'er has been beaten several times.
But this child still holds a grudge.
Every time he was beaten by his father, he would ignore his father for at least three days, Liu Zhao.
But after three days, he would still throw himself into Liu Zhao's arms and act like a spoiled child. He was only occasionally obedient. Most of the time, Yu Ge'er acted on his own.
Having a child with such a unique personality requires great patience, and being tired is the norm.
No wonder Empress Pei always said that Liu Zhao was unlikable.
A disobedient child will always be unapproachable in the eyes of his parents.
However, Gu Jiu really liked Yu Ge'er's opinion.
“Children may not understand, but they must have their own ideas.”
"In your eyes, everything about Brother Yu is good."
"Don't you think Brother Yu is a bad person?" Gu Jiu asked him back.
Liu Zhao thought for a moment and said, "It's good, but he deserves a beating."
Gu Jiu burst out laughing, "How badly do you want to beat him up?"
I really want to!
Liu Zhao would never admit that it was very satisfying to spank Yu Ge'er's plump buttocks.
He really doesn't mind being a strict father.
Gu Jiu curled up in the soft couch, relaxing all over.
"What gift did you give to the Queen Mother?"
"You saw it, two screens."
Gu Jiu was surprised. "Besides this, is there nothing else? I thought you would add something in private."
Liu Zhao shook his head, "No, it's a waste of money."
Gu Jiu was speechless. "I'll go to the palace early tomorrow morning and give my mother another gift."
"You don't have to send it."
"Why shouldn't I give one? I'm your daughter-in-law, it's my duty to give you a gift."
Liu Zhao frowned.
Gu Jiu said, "I know you and the Queen Mother can't get close, but you only prepared two screens as a New Year's gift. This is wrong. You will be criticized for your etiquette."
"Hasn't this prince been criticized enough?" Liu Zhao didn't care at all.
Gu Jiu shook his head and said, "Things are different now. You're a very strange person. You obviously did your job very well, taking every aspect and every detail into consideration. But when it comes to your blood relatives, you're always perfunctory, and people don't see your sincerity at all. This is not good. In any case, you should put some thought into the gift. You can't give a gift and then have people gossip about you."
Liu Zhao laughed. "Because no matter how much effort you put into preparing a gift, it won't satisfy the other person."
"If you keep doing things half-heartedly, she'll have even more reason to find fault with you. It's hard to shut someone up, so all we have to do is have a clear conscience and do what we should do well."
Liu Zhao held her hand and said, "I'm curious, how are you able to be so comprehensive?"
"Because it doesn't take much time and you can gain a lot, why not?"
Gu Jiu rolled his eyes at him and said, "Don't think about women with your male mindset. You have to listen to me when it comes to gifts."
"Okay, I'll listen to you from now on."
Gu Jiu nodded and said, "This boy is teachable."
Liu Zhao's straight-man thinking is sometimes scary.
He had all the bad habits of the Liu family. He wanted to control everything, and he would directly hit people in the face if he didn't like it, without even a little detour.
Please!
Empress Pei is none other than my own mother.
The word "filial piety" is like a mountain pressing down on your head. How can we not treat it with caution?
No matter what each of you thinks in your heart, you must do your best to save face.
It's not like we have to fall out just because we don't like each other.
Mother and son share a common interest, so naturally they should get along well with each other.
As the saying goes, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.
Putting aside emotional factors and viewing Empress Pei as a partner with interests, all problems will be easily solved.
Therefore, when facing Queen Pei, Gu Jiu always remained calm and never got angry.
Yu Ge'er was tired from playing, so he put the building blocks into the bamboo basket one by one.
Then he curled up on the bed, climbed onto Gu Jiu's legs, lay in her arms, and prepared to sleep.
Gu Jiu smiled and held him up, "Are you tired of playing?"
Yu Ge'er nodded and said, "I want to go to sleep."
"Let's wash up before we go to bed. Look at your little hands, they're so dirty from playing with the blocks."
Yu Ge'er's eyes were half closed, and as soon as Gu Jiu let go of his hand, he fell back into her arms.
Seeing that he was too sleepy, Gu Jiu quickly asked the maid to bring him hot water.
Together with Liu Zhao, she washed Yu Ge'er inside and out, changed him into clean cashmere clothes, put him on the bed, and slept with him.
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