Deyang Palace.
"Hiss~" After finishing replying to a memorial on the desk, Liu Hong felt a soreness in his neck and shoulders, which made him frown.
"Your Majesty! You must be overworked!"
Upon seeing this, Zhang Rang, who was standing nearby, quickly came over and gently massaged Liu Hong's slightly stiff shoulders, his words and actions revealing a hint of concern.
Liu Hong shook his head slightly and laughed, "Hehe~ It's alright, I just sat for a bit too long!"
Zhang Rang's massage technique was very skillful. Feeling the comfort coming from his neck and shoulders, Liu Hong couldn't help but temporarily put down his official duties, close his eyes and enjoy Zhang Rang's massage.
"Your Majesty! You have been working too hard lately. If you lose any more weight, I'm afraid the Empress Dowager will punish me again!"
Although there was a cotton coat between them, Zhang Rang could still feel the stiffness coming from the Emperor's neck and shoulders. His eyes were slightly red, and his expression was full of worry.
Zhang Rang wasn't really afraid of being punished by the Empress Dowager, but he was worried that the Emperor was working so hard at such a young age. What if he really collapsed from exhaustion? He wanted to follow the Emperor to create a great career and leave behind a good name for all time.
"What? Have I lost weight recently?"
Zhang Rang nodded. "Yes! You've lost a lot of weight since you entered the palace!"
Liu Hong opened his eyes, turned his head to look at Zhang Rang, and couldn't help but laugh, "Heh~ You really know how to compare! It's been so long, how did you figure that out?"
Zhang Rang chuckled softly, "From the very first moment I saw Your Majesty, everything about Your Majesty has been deeply imprinted in my mind, and I remember it all clearly!"
"Hmph~ Flattery!! As long as the people can live a better life, what does it matter if I lose a little weight?"
Liu Hong hummed softly, closed his eyes, and continued to enjoy the comfortable feeling coming from his neck and shoulders.
Upon hearing the emperor's words, Zhang Rang smiled knowingly, his hands never ceasing their movements.
After a short while, once the soreness in his neck and shoulders disappeared, Liu Hong waved his hand, and Zhang Rang stopped what he was doing, bowed, and stepped aside.
Liu Hong then stretched his neck and yawned before picking up a secret letter delivered by Jia Xu.
In his letter, Jia Xu not only gave Liu Hong a detailed account of the Lu family's situation, but also requested that Liu Hong send Wu Lian to assist him.
"Heh~ It seems the Lu family is truly extraordinary!"
After reading the secret letter, Liu Hong couldn't help but chuckle. This was the first time Jia Xu had asked him for help since leaving Luoyang for Jizhou. It seemed that the Lu family's caution was giving Jia Xu quite a headache.
Then Liu Hong looked at Zhang Rang beside him and said, "Zhang Rang, send someone to inform Yang Qiu that Wu Lian has been promoted to the position of Attendant-in-Ordinary in the Sili Office, and at the same time, he has been transferred to Jia Wenhe's office!"
"promise!"
Zhang Rang accepted the order and quickly went to the outside of Deyang Palace. He found a young eunuch standing outside, gave him a few instructions, and the young eunuch nodded before running out of the palace.
Although Yangqiu no longer targets Zhang Rang as much as before, Zhang Rang is still reluctant to go to Yangqiu's territory unless absolutely necessary.
Liu Hong didn't care much about the Lu family, but the people from Bohai mentioned in Jia Xu's letter caught his attention.
Just as Jia Xu had guessed, Liu Hong immediately thought of Liu Kui, the King of Bohai.
This Liu Kui was the younger brother of the deceased Emperor Huan, Liu Zhi. He was licentious and immoral, and disregarded the law. During Emperor Huan's reign, many ministers impeached him, but Liu Zhi ignored them all.
Later, because he participated in a rebellion, but since Liu Zhi and Liu Kui were brothers, Liu Zhi could not bear to kill him. Therefore, Liu Kui was only demoted to the title of King of Yintao.
Before his death, perhaps out of consideration for his brotherhood, Liu Zhi issued an edict to once again enfeoff Liu Kui as the Prince of Bohai. However, Liu Zhi did not specify who would succeed him to the throne.
Because of Liu Kui's past misdeeds, and because he was ambitious and seemed difficult to control, he was the first person Dou Wu, Wang Fu, and others excluded when they discussed establishing a new emperor.
Liu Hong murmured softly, enunciating each word clearly: "King of Bohai..."
"Heh~ It seems he really isn't willing to give up! After hiding for so long, he's finally come out!"
Then Liu Hong chuckled, his lips curled up, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
Zhang Rang, who had just returned to the palace, couldn't help but shudder when he saw Liu Hong's expression. He remembered very clearly that the emperor had the same expression when he executed Wang Fu and others last time.
Zhang Rang kept the name of the King of Bohai, as mentioned by the emperor, firmly in his mind.
Zhang Rang knew of Liu Kui, the Prince of Bohai, and had learned some things about him. Now, seeing the emperor in such a state, he couldn't help but recall the rumor, which might actually be true.
After Liu Zhi passed away and Liu Hong was established as the new emperor, news spread that Liu Kui was dissatisfied with the decision of Empress Dowager Dou and others, saying that he felt that as the younger brother of the late emperor, he was the most qualified to inherit the throne, and that he had already sent people to ambush him on the way, trying to seize the imperial edict.
Perhaps it was a frame-up, or perhaps something was discovered that made Liu Kui wary, because the incident of seizing the imperial edict did not happen, and Liu Hong was able to smoothly arrive in Luoyang and ascend the throne as emperor.
In fact, the main reason Liu Hong sent Jia Xu to Ji Province, besides Liu Yan, was because of Liu Kui, the Prince of Bohai.
Jia Xu never relaxed his surveillance of Liu Kui, but since Liu Hong ascended the throne, Liu Kui has become much more restrained, unlike his previous flamboyant self. He rarely steps out of the palace and spends his days playing with his queen and a group of concubines, behaving like a carefree prince.
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