Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 897 Return of the Kings
"Your Highness!!"

More and more people rushed to Chang'an. When the county guards from all over the country came here and found out that the prince was the one who came to greet the general, a trace of consternation flashed across their faces, and they probably had their own thoughts in their hearts. Forecast, see you in a hurry.

Liu An seemed much calmer than before, put away his irritability and sadness, and met these people one by one.

The second princes and kings who came here were King Liu Xiang of Qi and Prime Minister Dong Chi.

Liu An hurriedly led the crowd to meet him, calling him his elder brother.

Liu Xiang was actually older than Liu Chang. As Liu Fei's eldest son, he was the oldest among the three generations of clan descendants.

He met with Liu An. Although he was not close to the Queen Mother, the superficial things were still in place. He shed tears and called out to the Queen Mother.

Liu An said a few words of comfort, and then took him to pay homage to the Queen Mother.

Liu Xiang has always been afraid of Liu Chang, but facing Liu An at this moment, he is obviously relieved, and he is no longer in a tense state.

"I didn't expect King Qi to come so fast."

"When I heard the bad news, I didn't dare to delay, and rushed to it at full speed"

Liu Anchang sighed, "King Qi pays filial piety."

Liu Xiang paid homage to the Empress Dowager's spirit seat, and cried again. Liu An felt a little conflicted in his heart. He felt that this kind of crying was too hypocritical, but he did not forget his father's teaching that state affairs are the most important.

Although the state of Qi is not as good as it was before, it has already been torn apart, but in the entire eastern region, its status is still very important.

Moreover, people in Qi State generally don't like the emperor very much. Liu Chang's reputation is very good everywhere, but in Qi State it is not as good. The strange thing is that in Jiaodong State, Chengyang State, Langya County, Ji State, which belonged to the old Qi State, In areas such as Beijun, the emperor's reputation is very good.

As far as Liu An is concerned, among the princes in the east, Liu Zhang, Liu Jian and Liu An all have a good relationship, but Liu Xiang has a farther relationship with him, so he is the one to be focused on.

After worshiping the queen mother, Liu An took Liu Xiang to meet the emperor.

Liu Chang sat in Houde Hall, Liu Xiang's expression changed immediately, his behavior became restrained, and he even staggered a bit when saluting.

Liu Chang observed the change in his expression, but said coldly: "I am your Zhongfu. Why do you feel as afraid of seeing me as if you were seeing an evil ghost? Is it because I look fierce, or are you too timid?!"

Liu Xiang immediately knelt down in front of Liu Chang, her face was pale, she faltered and couldn't say anything.

Liu An stood up, bowed to Father, and said, "Your Majesty, King Qi came from a long way away, and he was deeply saddened by the Queen Mother's affairs. Therefore, if there is any impoliteness, please forgive me."

Liu Chang glanced at Liu An, but did not pursue further.

Liu Xiang gave Liu An a thankful look, and Liu An immediately helped him up and let him sit beside Liu Chang. Liu Chang asked about the situation of Qi.

Liu Xiang answered tremblingly, and Liu An helped him smooth things over from time to time.

With the crown prince's support, Liu Xiang was no longer so nervous, and successfully completed the question and answer, and then walked out of Houde Hall together with Liu An.

After the two walked out of Houde Hall, Liu Xiang hesitated to say something.

Seeing his appearance, Liu An whispered, "It's okay, I can understand you. Father is really scary sometimes, just with this body, let alone you, the bears in Shanglinyuan will be scared when they see it."

Liu Xiang almost laughed out loud, and realized that he was in the palace, so he hurriedly put on a straight face, and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, don't harm me. Laughing at the funeral and being disrespectful to the queen mother will be punished by the clan."

"Filial piety is based on behavior in life, not on these etiquettes prescribed for mediocrity."

Liu An said, then patted Liu Xiang on the shoulder, and said very affectionately: "Besides, what do you have to worry about? If you want to kill the clan, no one named Liu in Chang'an can escape."

After Liu An's jokes, Liu Xiang finally calmed down his original expression, and Liu An took him back to his Prince's Mansion.

Liu Xiang sat in the study with him, and they chatted for a long time.

Liu An discovered that Liu Xiang was actually a very traditional person, probably influenced by the culture of Qi State, but he was rather timid and timid, a bit like their local Confucian scholars, who liked to put on a show and talk about learning. , but dare not go directly to something.Liu An started with his hobbies, and the two chatted for a long time. Liu Xiang changed his view of Liu An greatly, and even directly regarded him as his confidant.

He said happily: "I have never discovered before that the widow and His Highness are so sympathetic. What Your Highness said is exactly what I thought!"

Liu An shook his head and said, "We are a family, blood is thicker than water, and it's normal to talk about comrades."

Liu Xiang let out a long sigh, and then expressed some of his deepest thoughts.

"I have no complaints against Zhongfu. At the beginning, Zhongfu killed my uncle. Later, I gradually discovered that it was only because my uncle deserved what he deserved. But I am a close relative of a guilty person. How would people in the world think of me? If Zhongfu Thinking of this incident, I feel that I still have complaints.”

Liu An finally understood where the fear in Liu Xiang's heart came from.

He didn't complain about his father because of his uncle's affairs. He was afraid that he would be punished for that incident. It was a bit unfounded, but Liu An could understand it. Take this matter out and say that the Queen Mother of Qi's family is not good, so he should have been dismissed. In this era, the mother family can actually affect a person's reputation. Liu Xiang has always been terrified by this incident. It is a sharp knife hanging on his head, maybe one day it will fall on his head.

When Liu Xiang talked about these things, his eyes were full of panic, as if some soldiers would rush in later and take him to prison.

Liu An looked at him calmly.

In fact, it is a very good thing for the temple to have such a shackle for the princes and kings. This person can be manipulated at any time. Once he has disrespectful thoughts, or the temple wants to get rid of him, it will directly use the matter of the mother clan. Come to the surgery, no one dared to say anything more.

However, Liu An didn't really want to do this.

Today's Liu An, most of the time, is thinking about his father's usual behavior, trying to figure out the meaning of his behavior, and correcting his past personality. The conversation with Liu Chang that day also made him wake up a lot.

Liu An stood up suddenly, "Just wait a moment."

With that said, he walked out.

After Liu An went out, Liu Xiang finally came to his senses, feeling a little guilty in his heart, how did this matter go out?Chatting with the prince was so happy that he actually said everything. These words can be completely understood as disrespect to the emperor. Wouldn't his fate be miserable if he complained about his uncle? ? ?
Just when Liu Xiang was extremely regretful, Liu An walked in. Fortunately, he did not bring in the embroidered clothes, but took paper and pen.

Liu An sat in front of Liu Xiang, picked up a pen and began to write.

Soon, he handed the written paper to Liu Xiang.

Liu Xiang took the letter blankly and looked down.

It said: "Today forgive the sins of Qi Wang Xiang's mother's family, Liu An."

Liu Xiang's eyes widened, she looked at the paper in her hand in disbelief, then raised her head to look at the prince in front of her.

Liu An said calmly: "Take it, if someone wants to accuse you of your mother's affairs in the future, you can take this thing out."

Liu Xiang got up abruptly, and was about to pay respects to Liu An, but Liu An held him firmly, with bright eyes, "We are all a family, there is no need to be like this. Brother, get up."

Liu Xiang really couldn't express what was going on in his heart at the moment, his eyes were red, he just held the paper in his hand tightly, shaking his head constantly.

Liu An continued: "Brother, you can stay in Chang'an with peace of mind this time. Don't be in a hurry to go back, stay for a while, and talk to me about the situation in Qi."

"Good. Good."

King Qi said three good words in a row, wiped his tears, and then carefully picked up the paper.

In fact, such a piece of paper may not really be able to protect the King of Qi nowadays. Unless the emperor writes it himself, the prince's writing is really not that important, but this thing is here with the King of Qi. , but like a life-saving talisman, he felt the long-lost peace of mind.

Those who arrived here after Qi State were Jiaodong King Liu Jian and Chu King Liu Yingke.

Because of the fights with merchants in the past, Liu Jian thought about it for a while in Chang'an. After he returned to Jiaodong, he kept a low profile. As the youngest of all his brothers, he finally put away himself. He escaped and became a qualified and experienced prince.Now he seems to have matured a lot, while Liu Yingke, the King of Chu, is still the same as before, dressed as a literati, with an elegant demeanor.

When they saw Liu An who came to greet him, their attitudes were excellent.

The king of Chu has always respected educated people. In the past, the old king of Chu liked Liu An very much. He thought that our family was going to produce a saint. But now Liu Yingke respects educated people very much. The new saint Liu An who was outside, Liu Yingke's attitude was not only close, but even somewhat respectful, but Liu Yingke was Liu An's elder, of course Liu An could not accept his courtesy, he could only be doubly respectful.

And Liu Jian is much better. After all, he has a close relationship with Liu Chang, so he is more casual with Liu An.

As soon as the two met, he subconsciously wanted to touch this Youzi's head.

But seeing Youzi who was much taller than him, Liu Jian gave up this plan.

Among the children of the Liu family, Liu An's stature is second only to Liu Bo's. Liu An looks short and thin, but compared to his father and second brother, Liu An is nearly eight feet tall, so he is not really short. , even compared to other people, he is already very tall and powerful, but compared to his father who is nearly one foot tall, and his younger brother who is nine feet four inches tall, Liu An is really too short. Among the brothers, Liu Ying was the second tallest, and Liu Jian was shorter and thinner. Standing in front of Liu An, the contrast was even more obvious.

Liu Heng is not tall, and belongs to the average height, but Liu Qi is much taller than his father.

Liu Jian asked directly, "Where's my brother?"

"Your Majesty is in the Houde Hall."

Liu Jian didn't say much, and walked quickly to the palace. Liu An grabbed him and said helplessly, "Father Zhong, you have to go to worship first."

"Oh yes, yes."

He took the two of them to pay homage to the queen mother, and then went to meet the emperor.

When Liu Yingke saw Liu Chang, his eyes turned red immediately, and he began to shout his condolences.

And Liu Jian didn't say much, just sat beside Liu Chang with a worried expression on his face, and said cautiously, "Seventh brother, I brought you some specialties from Dongguo Jiao, would you like to have a few bites?"

Liu Chang has stabilized his emotions. After experiencing the initial breakdown and irritability, Liu Chang successfully persuaded himself to accept this fact.

Liu Chang no longer cried, nor would he show his sadness easily.

However, he became a little afraid of being alone. When he sat alone, his heart was always empty, as if something important was missing in his heart, as if a piece of his heart had been dug out, and the feeling of emptiness from inside to outside was very It is suffocating, so Liu Chang needs to get busy, only when he is busy can he ignore this feeling in his body.

The two princes sat in front of him, Liu Chang glanced at his younger brother with some distaste, and then went up to help Liu Yingke.

After exchanging pleasantries, Liu An sent Liu Yingke away, and then Liu Chang looked at Liu Jian.

"Look at the family, and see how you can ask the emperor if he wants to eat special products when we meet. Now is the filial piety period, how can you covet the desire of the tongue? Is this what a wise king should do? If you don't tell me Li, if you don't talk about state affairs, you are ashamed of your status as a prince and king. What special product did you bring? Is it delicious?"

He was still talking about reasoning before, but later he had already put his mind on special products.

Liu Jian immediately relaxed a lot. He was very worried about Seventh Brother's state before, and he was very worried that he would collapse because of this incident. Therefore, after arriving in Chang'an, he couldn't wait to visit Brother Seven and see how he was doing.

And now seeing that his elder brother was still as inappropriate as usual, without any change, Liu Jian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"This thing is called Beauty Tongue Brother. Don't look at me like this. I don't eat people. This is Zhenbei. You can eat it at ease. There is another rumor. I will tell you. It is said that the past Xishi and Fan Li, Prime Minister of the State of Yue, was originally a couple, but later she was presented by Gou Jian as a gift to King Fuchai of Wu."

"No, I understand the truth, but what does this Yue people commit suicide by throwing himself into the river, what does it have to do with your Jiaodong country???"

"Well, I don't know, anyway, that's what the locals say."

"It's not easy to transport this thing, brother, eat more."

Liu Jian asked curiously again: "The third brother always runs to Chang'an on weekdays, why didn't he come this time?"

"Oh, he was in a very remote place in Zhao State before, and he probably wants to come back with King Dai at this moment."

There are more and more princes, county guards, and state ministers who come here. Except for the princes and kings, such as the state ministers and county guards can go back after worshiping. Chang'an took too long, Liu An handled the reception well this time, whether it was the specifications of the reception or the matter of offering sacrifices, he made proper arrangements, and most of the county guards and state ministers probably also After guessing something, he took the initiative to get closer to Liu An.

The princes and kings gathered together. The brothers hadn't seen each other for a long time. When they met now, they had a lot to say.

Liu Chang sat on top, and the kings of Chu, Wu, Qi, Chengyang, Liang, Jiaodong, Nanyue, and Donghai sat on both sides.

The brothers talked about the situation in various places, and also talked about the future expectations and progress of the temple.

"Everyone, don't rush to leave and wait for all the princes and kings to arrive. We can discuss it carefully. Now that the transportation is convenient, it is not difficult for the princes and kings from all over the world to come back."

Everyone says yes.

After another period of time, the most eye-catching King Zhao and King Dai returned to Chang'an together.

Liu An went to greet him again.

Seeing Liu An, Liu Ruyi's complexion was extremely complicated. If the relationship with Empress Lu was the worst, it must be King Zhao. I do not know what to say.

State Prime Minister Yuan An was standing beside him, ready to gag at any time.

He was really scared.

The great king of his family has always been lawless, if he said something on such a serious occasion, the nine clans would ascend to heaven together, which made Yuan Ang very frightened.

And Liu Bo is very sad.

Seeing his elder brother, he cried and hugged him together.

The relationship between Liu Bo and the Queen Mother is also very close. As a well-behaved child, adults like him very much. However, this former child now has a child of his own, a boy, and Liu Bo named him Hu.

When he heard the news from Liu Bo, Liu An wiped away his tears and said with emotion: "Birth, old age, sickness and death are probably the same."

But soon, he realized his slip of the tongue, and hurriedly said: "I must be as strong as you."

Liu Ruyi shook her head, "The doll is very cute, just like his father, but it's just this name, so it's not good to choose anything, I have to choose a mustache, and I have to say something: My eyebrows will live forever, and I will always be blessed by Hu Fu. This name sounds like Xiaren."

Liu An didn't say much, and took them to worship.

Yuan An has been closely following Liu Ruyi to prevent this person from doing any outrageous actions. Fortunately, until the end of the worship, Liu Ruyi was not rude. After the worship, he stood up and said with emotion: : "When I was young, I blamed the queen mother and thought she was a bad person, but when I really started to govern Zhao, I could understand a little bit how difficult it is for her. It is not easy to govern the country, and the queen mother's talent is definitely not average. comparable."

Liu Bo just cried and couldn't say anything.

Liu An brought them to visit the emperor again, the moment he saw Liu Chang, Liu Bo cried again, rubbing his eyes, like a nine-foot-tall child, walked to Father's side in aggrieved manner .

Liu Ruyi just let out a long sigh and remained silent.

He has always wanted to see his brother, but he didn't want to see him because of something like this.

(End of this chapter)