Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 104 Lu Zhi, you country bumpkin!
After the imperial edict was read, the Northern Army, Yulin Cavalry, and Huben Guards temporarily returned to the palace to camp, while Liu Bian led two thousand guards from the Prince's Palace to return to the East Palace to rest.

Just as he was about to turn around and get on the prince's carriage, Liu Hong suddenly stretched out his hand.

"Come aboard my carriage and tell me what you've seen and heard these past few days." Despite his recent argument with his rebellious son, Liu Hong still wanted to know what his son had been up to. Pointing to Empress He, he said, "Your mother also rode in my carriage with me today. Even if you don't want to tell me, wouldn't you tell your mother?"

Liu Bian frowned slightly, feeling that this tyrant seemed to have some ulterior motive, and looked at Queen He with a questioning look.

Empress He nodded slightly, a strange look quietly appearing in her phoenix eyes. She looked at Liu Hong unhappily and said, "I really want to hear it, and I also have something to tell you. Your father knows a lot about this matter!"

Liu Bian didn't understand what they meant and looked bewildered. He really didn't understand what mystery was hidden in the couple's words.

Just at this moment, he turned his head inadvertently, and suddenly saw his teacher Lu Zhi's eyes flickering not far behind him. He looked at him guiltily and hurriedly urged the coachman to set off.

Liu Bian couldn't help but wonder in his heart, how could his teacher, who had always been upright, be so guilty?

Thinking of Empress He's meaningful words and the meaningful look in her eyes when she looked at Liu Hong, Liu Bian felt a tightness in his heart for no reason.

But it was obvious that with Queen He around, he had no power to refuse.

Seeing the prince, the emperor and the empress get on the emperor's carriage, Dian Wei and Xu Chu looked at each other and decided to lead the prince's guards to follow closely.

The emperor's chariot was drawn by six horses, six snow-white steeds, their heads held high and their hooves stamped, their manes braided with gold thread, and red jade necklaces dangling from their foreheads, which clashed as the chariot moved. The spacious carriage was gilded from head to toe, its shafts and walls carved with dragons, and a vermilion lacquered canopy with tassels drooping.

If he remembered correctly, the original emperor's chariot did not seem to be so luxurious. So he was fighting on the front line, and this foolish emperor took advantage of his absence to build a new chariot?
Thinking of this, Liu Bian took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slightly, trying to calm the waves in his heart and enlighten himself.

At worst, he could just consider it as protection money. At least this tyrant didn't make trouble for him when he was fighting. It was just a million dollars.

However, the moment he got on the bus, this self-enlightened idea was instantly shattered like a bubble.

The interior of the carriage was as spacious as a small room, with its walls inlaid with pearls, which shone brightly in the morning light like the Milky Way.

Twelve strings of round, egg-like Dongzhu quilts were made into curtains, the carpets on the ground were all top-quality Xiangyi brocade, and the exotic fragrance bought from the Western Regions emitted wisps of smoke from the incense burner.

"Father, this carriage... is quite magnificent."

The corners of Liu Bian's mouth twitched slightly, and he squeezed out these words very reluctantly, with the smile on his face as stiff as a mask.

Liu Hong seemed completely oblivious to his son's insincerity. Instead, he beamed with pride. He excitedly extended his hand, pointing at the Dongzhu and Xiangyi brocade in the carriage, and said with a beaming expression, "These are accessories I carefully crafted myself, costing a full 13 million yuan!"

Faced with such words that were almost directed at him, Liu Bian almost couldn't maintain his facial expression.

If you weren't my father, I would really make you understand today why you have to wear a helmet when riding in a car!

Empress He saw all this, shook her head slightly, reached out her hand helplessly, and gently squeezed Liu Bian's hand, as if to comfort him, and then calmly changed the subject.

But those phoenix eyes looked at Liu Bian with a rare sharpness, with a bit of scrutiny and another inexplicable meaning in their eyes, as if... they were angry at him for not fighting back?

"Does my son yearn for women?"

When Liu Bian heard this, his mind was instantly tangled up in a mess.

Although he had made an engagement with Xun Shuang's daughter in order to win over his, it wouldn't be so bad as to make Empress He suddenly think of his lust for women, right?
If you say you don’t think about it, that’s definitely a lie. Which man doesn’t like women?

But no matter how I think about it, I always feel that there is something unfriendly in my mother's eyes.

However, Empress He did not embarrass her son. She gently held Liu Bian's hand, leaned forward slightly, and said earnestly: "Even if you are attracted to women, you must not have affairs with those dancers outside."

When he heard the word "dancer" son, Liu Bian suddenly felt that he understood the reason of the matter and why his good teacher hurried home.

So he thought Lu Zhi missed his family, but he didn't expect this old man to tell on them? No, I just took advantage of the drunkenness to do it. After all, I am the regent of the Han Dynasty, and you, an old man, actually told on me?
He's already the crown prince, why are there still people reporting his parents?
"We must kill this peasant!"

Liu Bian really couldn't hold it in anymore and couldn't help but curse at his good teacher.

Nothing really happened between him and those dancers, so why would he report the matter directly to his mother?

Empress He saw this and frowned slightly. She glared at Liu Bian with a look of reproach. Her expression grew serious, and she sat up straight and said seriously, "Lu Zigan means well. He simply hopes you won't have affairs with dancers outside. He says you're no longer a child, and he hopes I can find you some decent women. I also want to congratulate my son on finding such a good tutor for the Crown Prince."

Liu Bian's eyes lit up slightly, and his originally frowned brows instantly relaxed.

Oh, you’re not telling me to stay away from women, you’re just telling me not to look for them outside?
Empress He kept staring at Liu Bian's face, taking in every change in his expression. She was both angry and amused.

After all, he is a descendant of the Liu family, and the blood of the Liu family flows in his body. The expressions of this father and son when they are thinking about women are exactly the same.

After sleeping in the same bed for more than ten years, Empress He knew Liu Hong's temper very well, and this understanding unconsciously extended to his son.

Apart from the fact that Liu Bian looks more like her, the father and son are almost cut from the same mold in many of their habits.

However, Empress He showed completely opposite attitudes towards Liu Hong and Liu Bian's desire for women.

The former is her husband, so she naturally doesn't want to find another woman for him, and the latter is her son, so she wishes her son could have more women and have children sooner.

After all, even if the relationship between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was not harmonious, Liu Hong had to treat Empress Dowager Dong with respect. And she knew her son's character very well, and he would not forget his mother after getting married.

Rather than having some wild women who are ignorant of the general situation and etiquette appear in the future, it is better to personally select some beautiful women for your son, so as to avoid experiencing the discord between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the future.

"I heard that Cai Bojie's eldest daughter is beautiful, fond of poetry and literature, and skilled in the zither. In a few days, the Japanese palace will summon Cai Bojie's wife and daughter to the palace to test their feelings. This will help my son win over Cai Bojie's heart."

"There is another daughter, very graceful and elegant. She is a descendant of Yin Min of the Nanyang Yin clan. Her family has studied ancient texts for generations and is also a close friend of the He clan. I think my son would have no objection to this."

As she spoke, Empress He turned to look at Liu Bian with a questioning look in her eyes.

Liu Bian nodded slightly, a thoughtful look on his face.

He had some impression of the identities of these two people. The former must be extraordinarily beautiful, otherwise Liu Bao would not favor her so much, and the latter... was even certified by a prime minister who did not want to reveal his name, so he thought she would not disappoint him.

Besides, as a mother, how could Empress He choose women who were not beautiful enough for her son?

He was just thinking about one question. Even Empress He understood that she had to choose a woman from an aristocratic family of ancient literature to enter the Eastern Palace for him. What about the people in the world?

Yin Min started out by studying Ouyang Shangshu, and then learned ancient classics. He was famous for his proficiency in Mao Shi, Guliang and Zuo Zhuan.

"Ouyang Shangshu", "Maoshi" and "Guliang" are all modern text classics, but "Zuo Zhuan" is an ancient text classic. Although Yin Min seems to be better at modern text classics, he is actually a scholar of the ancient literature school who has abandoned darkness and turned to light.

Previously, the School of Modern Literature was so troubled by Jia Xu for impeaching Lu Zhi that they dared not take any further action. It was in a state of decline, while the School of Ancient Literature was at its peak.

If he were to successively make marriage contracts with two aristocratic families of the ancient literature school... then one family would become the only one in power, which would definitely not be a good thing.

As a referee, it's time for him to step in and balance the struggle between the two factions.

(2608 words)
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PS: I haven’t forgotten to update the four updates I owe, and I haven’t forgotten the second update I owed yesterday, so everyone can rest assured.

(End of this chapter)