Chapter 842 Jealousy
Because of his status as the younger brother of the Duke of Yu, and his own considerable talent, Liu Qi was directly appointed as a Doctor at the Imperial Academy. His daily work consisted of managing the classics and occasionally giving a few lessons to the students of the Imperial Academy.
Duan is a good place with high status and few troubles. If it weren't for his brother who has the title of Duke and his sister-in-law who is a princess with a title, it would be difficult for Liu Qi to reach such a high position at his age with his limited talent.
After all, Liu Qi is only thirty-five or thirty-six years old. He is the youngest son of the previous Duke of Yu, and is more than ten years younger than the current Duke of Yu, Liu Xuanyi.
Because Liu Qi's elder brother, Duke Liu Xuanyi of Yu, was currently serving as an envoy in Lihong (present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi) with Princess Nanping, he left Liu Xuanyi's eldest son, Liu Tong, and his youngest son, Liu Chao, with Princess Nanping in the Duke's mansion in Chang'an, entrusting them to Liu Qi's care.
Princess Nanping remarried Liu Xuanyi halfway through her journey, so she inevitably spoiled her only son who was by her side.
It was also because of Princess Nanping's pampering that Liu Chao became arrogant and domineering at a young age, and was a complete playboy.
In contrast, Liu Tong, the eldest son of Liu Xuanyi's first wife, was a refined gentleman, and everyone who saw him addressed him respectfully as "Heir Apparent".
Therefore, this only makes Liu Chao seem even more annoying.
This comparison makes it all the more apparent that Liu Tong truly deserves to be the heir apparent.
However, even though Liu Xuanyi didn't like his youngest son Liu Chao, he was still his and Princess Nanping's offspring. For Liu Chao's future, three years ago Liu Xuanyi sent the fifteen-year-old Liu Chao back to Chang'an and entrusted him to Liu Qi's care.
Liu Qi then arranged for Liu Chao to study at the Imperial Academy, as requested by Liu Xuanyi.
If that's the case, it's actually not so bad.
However, whether it was fate or the vicissitudes of life, Liu Chao received a lot of attention as soon as he entered the Imperial Academy because of his identity and his elder brother Liu Tong.
It wasn't really a big deal. If Liu Chao ignored it, after a while, people probably wouldn't treat it as gossip or something to talk about over tea.
Chang'an is so big, and the Imperial Academy is also quite large. There are many new things to talk about every day, so no one will just focus on the affairs of one person or family and gossip about them.
However, the blame lies with Princess Nanping for spoiling Liu Chao too much. The servants who accompanied Liu Chao were all Princess Nanping's people, and they were quite arrogant, thinking that since they were princesses, Liu Chao, although not the crown prince, was still the princess's son and of noble status.
Thus, instead of directly addressing the rumors circulating about Liu Chao within the Imperial Academy, these servants even encouraged Liu Chao to become hostile towards Liu Tong.
Of course, Liu Tong did not take the bait. Not only did he not take the bait, he also earnestly advised Liu Chao: "Although we do not share the same mother and did not grow up together, we are still brothers with the same father."
Don't listen to outsiders. The most important thing is for us brothers to maintain a good relationship and manage the family business well.
To Liu Qi, all those kind words sounded like Liu Chao looking down on him and despising him.
Therefore, Liu Chao, who neither studied properly at the Imperial Academy, also looked for opportunities to cause trouble for Liu Tong.
Once or twice, three or five times, Liu Tong could tolerate it, but as time went on, he became somewhat annoyed.
So what if Liu Chao is the son of a princess?
He was born to the first wife and had long been granted the title of heir to the Duke's mansion. The title of Duke of Yu would be his in the future, so he naturally had some pride.
Faced with Liu Chao's repeated provocations, how could one not feel annoyed?
Therefore, Liu Tong discussed with his second uncle Liu Qi that he would leave the Imperial Academy to study in other places for two years before returning to Chang'an, thus separating from Liu Chao. This way, the brothers would not quarrel, which would be a good thing for the Liu family.
After Liu Qi wrote to Liu Xuanyi to inquire about his opinion and received permission, he agreed to Liu Tong's request and arranged for a servant to escort Liu Tong out of Chang'an to study.
And so, three more years passed peacefully.
Three years later, just as Li San Niang had finished the experiment on smallpox inoculation that she had discussed with the Bad People, Liu Tong returned from his studies in the Western Regions.
Although Li San Niang was busy establishing a maternity ward after being granted an official position, she did not forget to promote the smallpox vaccination program.
Mr. Bu Ke pushed the Bad Guys step by step to the forefront. One of his great achievements in turning the tables was to use the report written by Li San Niang to spend several years searching for cows with smallpox and experimenting with the feasibility of cowpox according to Li San Niang's instructions.
Expanding the investigation from death row inmates to the Bad People themselves, and only after obtaining a sufficient number of experimental samples, did they join forces with Li Sanniang to report the matter to Emperor Wu and the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Therefore, the time when Liu Tong returned from his studies in the Western Regions coincided with the peak of the Imperial Medical Bureau's promotion of smallpox vaccination in Chang'an.
Li San Niang was the first person to have smallpox inoculated on her arm in full view of everyone at a grand court assembly by an official from the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Once the first person dared to try something new, the boldest officials in the Imperial Medical Bureau also stepped forward.
Therefore, the smallpox vaccination program was gradually rolled out from top to bottom.
From the Imperial Medical Bureau to Emperor Wu, and then to the court officials and their families, it gradually expanded to the entire city of Chang'an.
Even with considerable prior preparation, there were still quite a few people in Chang'an who volunteered for vaccination. Thus, apart from the young Wulang and Liulang, all the other members of the Li family went to get vaccinated against smallpox.
This is a good thing, as it directly prevents the death of smallpox.
Even the most useful thing can become a tool for evil in the hands of a malicious person.
Having spent his leisurely and happy days at the Imperial Academy without having to be compared to his elder brother Liu Tong, Liu Chao felt extremely upset on the first day Liu Tong returned, and went straight to Pingkangfang to have some fun.
As for Liu Qi, over the past few years, he had long been tired of worrying about disciplining Liu Chao.
Now, as long as Liu Chao is neither dead nor crippled, he has no patience to care about Liu Chao's affairs anymore.
Therefore, Liu Chao's absence from the family banquet and his direct involvement in Ping Kangfang's affairs went unnoticed.
Inside the brothel, Liu Chao, who was drinking directly from a wine jug, was quite drunk. He watched the dancers on the stage, his ears filled with the sounds of string and wind instruments, but he was still extremely agitated.
"Hey, what brings Liu Lang here to drown his sorrows in wine?"
Wang Jiasanlang, another dissolute fellow in the Imperial College who shared the same bad taste as Liu Chao and always played polo, gambled, and frequented brothels with him, also walked up drunkenly, plopped down next to Liu Chao, and said this as an opening remark.
Liu Chao was in a bad mood and didn't want to pay attention to Wang Sanlang's words, so he just drank by himself.
Seeing this, Wang Sanlang felt even more eager to talk to Liu Chao.
Wang Sanlang pulled Liu Chao into a tight hug and whispered to him, "Hehe, I know even if you don't say it. Is it because your young master is back that you're so upset that you're drowning your sorrows in alcohol?"
"Get out of my way and leave me alone!"
Liu Chao shoved Wang Sanlang away. He had finally managed to numb his worries with alcohol, but now Wang Sanlang had brought them up directly, and he couldn't suppress his anger at all.
"Haha, haha, I knew I was right."
After being pushed away, Wang Sanlang wasn't angry at all. He pulled Liu Chao over again and whispered in his ear.
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