Inside the Deyang Palace, Liu Hong's eyes darted around as he looked at Xi Zhicai, who was shamelessly staying to freeload off the meal. A strange smile crept onto his lips.
Liu Hong put down his chopsticks and looked meaningfully at Xi Zhicai, who was busy eating with his head down.
Noticing the emperor's movement, Xi Zhicai stopped eating and looked up at Liu Hong with a curious expression.
"Your Majesty, why aren't you eating?"
Xi Zhicai asked while eating.
Liu Hong smiled and shook his head. "Oh, it's nothing. I'm full. Zhicai, you can continue eating..."
"Oh, then I won't stand on ceremony..."
Seeing that the emperor's rice bowl was empty, Xi Zhicai didn't think much of it, picked up a piece of shredded chicken, and continued to eat.
Seeing Xi Zhicai's expression, Liu Hong's smile widened, a sly glint in his eyes.
Liu Hong put on a serious expression, looked at Xi Zhicai, and said in a deep voice:
"Zhicai, you don't have a woman you like. What do you think, I'll have them bring you a few women from the slave kingdom...?"
"Pfft~, cough cough~!"
As soon as Liu Honggang finished speaking, Xi Zhicai, who was busy eating, couldn't help but spit out the food he was eating halfway through.
Fortunately, Liu Hong was prepared and hid to the side in time, thus avoiding being caught in the crossfire.
"Your Majesty... what... what did you just say??"
After coughing, Xi Zhicai disregarded his rudeness and apologized. Instead, he looked up at Liu Hong with a shocked expression, wondering if he had misheard something.
"I was just saying, since you don't have a woman you like anyway, how about we have them bring you a few women from the slave countries...?"
Liu Hong's expression remained unchanged, still looking at Xi Zhicai with a serious expression.
"Your Majesty, as the Emperor of the Han Dynasty and the ruler of the country, how could you utter such vulgar words as 'woman'?"
Furthermore... please don't joke like that with me, Your Majesty!
Seeing Liu Hong's serious expression, Xi Zhicai thought the emperor was joking with him, so he looked at Liu Hong with a resentful gaze.
The name "Slave Kingdom" itself sounds like a bad place, and coupled with Liu Hong's words just now, Xi Zhicai naturally felt very resistant to it.
"Ahem~, then let's not talk about women, let's talk about women!"
Liu Hong coughed and quickly corrected his slip of the tongue.
Xiao Hong and several palace maids standing to the side also lowered their heads, covering their mouths and trying their best not to laugh out loud.
After the awkward moment, Liu Hong turned to Xi Zhicai with a stern face and said in a deep voice:
"A ruler's word is law; I wasn't joking when I said that!"
"Your Majesty, what...what do you mean by this?"
Xi Zhicai stared blankly at Liu Hong, sensing that the emperor was not joking, and immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.
Liu Hong looked at Xi Zhicai and said in a deep voice:
"It is said that what the superiors do, the subordinates will follow. Zhi Cai is now the head of the Military and Political Affairs Department, and is in charge of the ideological education of the soldiers."
Since we just mentioned giving women from the slave country to the soldiers as wives, we should naturally set an example.
Only in this way can we effectively persuade the soldiers to accept those women from the slave country!
"Ah...this...!"
Xi Zhicai opened his mouth, wanting to refuse, but he didn't know how to answer, since what the emperor said seemed to make some sense.
Seeing Xi Zhicai's sullen expression, Liu Hong, who was sitting there with a straight face, couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
"Ahem, so I think, since you don't have a woman you like anyway, why not sacrifice yourself for the soldiers of our Great Han? After all, the women of the Slave Kingdom are not bad either!"
Liu Hong coughed lightly, then looked at Xi Zhicai with a serious expression, his lips trembling involuntarily.
"Hmm? The woman you admire...?"
Upon hearing the emperor repeatedly mention this phrase, Xi Zhicai suddenly came to his senses.
Realizing the crux of the problem, Xi Zhicai quickly looked at Liu Hong and said urgently:
"Your Majesty, although I am willing to make a sacrifice, I... I already have a woman I love, so I cannot marry a woman from the slave country. I hope Your Majesty will understand!"
"Oh? Zhicai just said he didn't have it, but now he says he does? Is he trying to deceive me...?"
Liu Hong looked at Xi Zhicai with a stern face, clearly determined to make things difficult.
Seeing that the emperor looked somewhat angry, Xi Zhicai quickly explained:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me! I would not dare to deceive you! However... I do not yet know the woman's feelings, which is why I wish to wait and see..."
"Hmm... Could the girl Zhicai likes really be Madam Song's eldest niece...?"
Seeing Xi Zhicai's terrified expression, Liu Hong couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, looking at Xi Zhicai with curiosity.
Upon hearing this, Xi Zhicai said somewhat embarrassedly, "Uh...it's...it's this woman..."
After saying that, Xi Zhicai lowered his head, not daring to look at Liu Hong's expression.
"Haha~, Zhicai, Zhicai, tell me... what's wrong with a grown man liking a woman? If you like someone, what's wrong with admitting it? Why make me go through all that trouble..."
Upon seeing Xi Zhicai finally admit it, Liu Hong couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Your Majesty...were you really joking with me just now?"
Upon hearing the emperor's laughter, Xi Zhicai suddenly looked up and saw the emperor's expression change abruptly. He was speechless, not expecting the emperor's tactics to be so sophisticated.
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