Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 119: Ceremony of coming of age and birth of a child?
Yong'an Palace, inside the side hall

Liu Bian, who had just finished practicing sword, was wearing a white tights suit with some water stains on it caused by dripping sweat.

Liu Bian's chest rose and fell slightly. He took the handkerchief handed to him by Gao Wang and gently wiped the beads of sweat from his neck. At the same time, he impatiently pulled at his clothes with his other hand, trying to dispel the heat from his body.

A palace maid stood beside him with her head bowed, fanning herself rhythmically with a small fan in her hand. A gentle breeze blew by, bringing a cool breeze and dispersing some of the heat from his body.

Liu Bian raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping towards Lu Zhi and Xun Shuang. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly in a delighted smile as he asked, "Teachers, one of you is the Recorder of the Secretariat, and the other is the Prefect of the Guards. You're not on holiday today, so how come you're in the mood to come visit me together?"

He was in a good mood. He had many talented people under his command, and the country was gradually turning around. He was also awarded the title of "General of Tiance". Later, he went to Hongdumen School to check on Guo Fengxiao's academic progress. However, he did not expect that Lu Zhi and Xun Shuang, the two prince tutors, would come together early in the morning.

But judging from his expression, he shouldn't be bringing him any bad news.

Seeing that the prince had fully recovered, his complexion was rosy, and he even had enough energy to practice sword skills today, Lu Zhi and Xun Shuang couldn't help but smile. They thought that his last illness was really just due to excessive thinking and fatigue from the march.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has now firmly established himself on the throne. If there are any hidden dangers, they are only the Crown Prince's health and the lack of a successor.

At present, it seems that the former should not be a problem, and the purpose of their visit is for the latter.

"Your Highness, I have discussed this with Lord Ciming, and we both agree that since Your Highness is only 27 years old, it's time for you to have your coming-of-age ceremony, and then marry a girl from a decent family to bring her into the palace to continue your family lineage."

"Performing a coming-of-age ceremony and giving birth to a child?"

Liu Bian's hand wiping sweat froze for a moment, a trace of confusion flashed across his face, his brows knitted slightly, his eyes wandering back and forth between the two teachers, he asked doubtfully: "It's still too early for me to leave my parents, as for the matter of marriage..."

Before he finished speaking, his gaze suddenly fell on Xun Shuang, and a hint of vigilance flashed in his eyes.

Could it be that Xun Shuang obtained the position of Prefect of the Guards, but was still greedy for more and wanted to become a relative of the emperor as soon as possible?

Lu Zhi keenly caught the Crown Prince's gaze, his heart tightening as he quickly explained, "Your Highness, this wasn't initiated by Lord Ciming, but rather my humble opinion. Performing the coming-of-age ceremony demonstrates Your Highness's dignity. This act serves to show the world that Your Highness has reached adulthood, and that it's legitimate for you to take charge of the court."

"As for marriage, it's not uncommon for emperors throughout history to marry at this age. Your Highness, if you can give birth to a son for the Han Dynasty sooner rather than later, it will relieve us and our ministers of our worries. Furthermore, the ministers in the court also have wives of marriageable age, so your Highness's action will also appease the people."

Liu Bian was slightly startled when he heard this. His slightly frown gradually relaxed and he lowered his head as if thinking about something.

Previously, he subconsciously considered marriage with the thinking of his previous life, forgetting that men in the Han Dynasty got married so early, and women in the Han Dynasty often got married before they reached the age of 15.

He was thirteen years old, but the Han Dynasty used the lunar calendar to count age, and one was one year old when he was born. So he should be fourteen years old, and getting married at the age of fourteen is definitely not too early.

After figuring this out, Liu Bian raised his head, his eyes no longer filled with doubt, and said calmly, "I understand Master Lu's meaning. However, I'm still a long way from being able to perform the coming-of-age ceremony. Is this feasible?"

He slowly looked at Lu Zhi and Xun Shuang. Since these two came together, they must have discussed the etiquette and laws long ago, and would not let him, the prince, do anything that violated the etiquette and laws.

Just as Liu Bian had predicted, Xun Shuang had already made preparations and told the Crown Prince, "In the spring of the third year of Yongyuan, on the first month, on the Jiazi day, Emperor Xiaohe used Cao Bao's new ritual to wear the first year's formal attire. At that time, Emperor Xiaohe was thirteen years old, one year younger than Your Highness, so he could have performed the crowning ceremony and the first year's formal attire."

After saying this, Xun Shuang couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.

Xun Shuang was reluctant to broach the subject of the Crown Prince's marriage in order to avoid suspicion, but as for the coming-of-age ceremony, not to mention that it had a basis and was in accordance with etiquette, even if it was not in accordance with etiquette, the many great scholars of their ancient literature school could, after staying up all night, compile a book in the name of ancient sages to discuss the classics for the Crown Prince.

"Cao Bao?" Liu Bian muttered the name, suddenly remembering this man's identity. He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Xun Shuang with a strange expression. Although this man was his teacher and his future father-in-law, Liu Bian also felt that Xun Shuang was somewhat...

Cao Bao was a master of Confucian classics, and the Confucian classics passed down in his family was "Qingshi Li".

It should be noted that although "Qingshi Li" is not an official textbook, it is a modern text classic.

Xun Shuang noticed the prince's complicated gaze and couldn't help but blush. He coughed lightly and said, "Ahem, this is using their own spear to attack their shield. It's the best strategy to defeat the enemy without fighting!"

After saying this, Xun Shuang turned slightly to avoid the prince's gaze.

Liu Bian looked at Xun Shuang, who looked a little embarrassed, and a smile flashed in his eyes. He pointed at him and said to Lu Zhi, "Master Lu, can you say that Lord Ciming is well-versed in both the ancient and the modern?" Lu Zhi stroked his beard, looked at the prince and smiled, "If I am not a great scholar, I cannot deserve such praise."

Seeing the Crown Prince and Lu Zhi teasing him, Xun Shuang did not get angry. Instead, he joined in their jokes and said, "Zheng Kangcheng is now the one who truly knows the past and the present. I am just a small-time scholar."

After the joke, Xun Shuang had to leave first as he had official business as the Prefect of the Guards, but Lu Zhi was left alone by Liu Bian.

Although they were both teachers, Liu Bian's attitude and degree of trust towards the two were very different, just like the difference between a master and a teacher.

Although Xun Shuang was regarded as a "great scholar" and a man of noble morals by scholars, he was also filled with selfish desires to seek benefits for himself and his family. However, Lu Zhi was different.

He also had his own selfish desires. He wanted to train a qualified successor to the Han Empire, to work with the prince to save the country from collapse, and to leave his name in history. These selfish desires did not conflict with Liu Bian's selfish desires.

Moreover, Lu Zhi is a gentleman who can suppress his selfish desires for the sake of public interest. He is a truly moral person. If personal interests conflict with national interests, he will definitely be the one who is willing to sacrifice his own interests to serve the country.

"Master Lu, have you chosen a courtesy name for me?"

When the teacher and student were alone together, Liu Bian became more and more relaxed. He no longer sat upright as before, but crossed his legs, drank the tea brought by Gao Wang, and took out a piece of beef with ivory chopsticks, chewed it and swallowed it.

"Xu Zizhi's Shuowen Jiezi says: 'Bian' means governance; 'yuan' means beginning."

There was also a cup of tea in front of Lu Zhi, but Liu Bian remembered Lu Zhi's preference and that he did not like to eat meat in the morning, so the cup was mostly filled with tea leaves and vegetables, with a layer of egg flowers and a light layer of oil floating on the surface.

No words are spoken when eating, and no words are spoken when sleeping.

Lu Zhi looked at the tea, which was brewed according to his dietary preferences, and felt a sense of inexplicable emotion in his heart. However, he still did not drink the tea while talking with the prince. He slowly said, "I have given Your Highness the name Yuanzhi. Yuanzhi means that the rule of the world begins with Your Highness!"

"Since Master Lu has already chosen a courtesy name for me, Awang!" Liu Bian drank the last sip of tea and called out, "Another cup, then go find the Minister of Rites and the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs and tell them that Master Lu has already chosen a courtesy name for me, so they don't have to worry about it anymore."

Liu Bian was very satisfied with the courtesy name Lu Zhi chose for him. Just as he remembered Lu Zhi's food preferences, Lu Zhi also understood his preferences.

He had read ancient books before and found many courtesy names that were suitable for the name "Bian", such as "Ming Zhang", "Bo Shen", "De Zhao" and other courtesy names related to character. He preferred courtesy names that were more majestic and could show his ambitions.

Seeing the Crown Prince choose his courtesy name, Lu Zhi subconsciously took a sip of the tea on the table. Looking at the Crown Prince who once again lowered his head to drink tea, his smile became even gentler and kinder. He said with a smile, "This is originally for the positions of the Minister of Rites and the Minister of Imperial Clan Affairs. Your Highness, are you not worried that Liu Junlang and Liu Bo'an will be dissatisfied?"

After saying this, Lu Zhi raised his eyebrows slightly, with a playful smile on his face.

Liu Bian raised his head slightly, looking at Lu Zhi, who was taking advantage of him and acting like a spoiled brat. He curled his lips and said, "Then let them go and settle the score with Master Lu. I haven't even come of age yet, I'm still a child. Why are you adults bothering with a child? You really have no shame!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Lu Zhi was choked by the prince's words, but he spat out the tea in his mouth that he had not yet swallowed. He coughed and laughed loudly, causing the palace maid behind him to pat his back hurriedly.

Liu Bian couldn't help laughing when he saw Lu Zhi being so rude.

Gao Wang was serving the two of them on the side, and couldn't help but feel secretly moved by the teacher-student relationship between the prince and Lu Zhi.

Has there ever been such a sincere relationship between teachers and students since ancient times?

He seemed to realize his disrespectful behavior belatedly, and he really didn't know why. He had always been a polite person, but every time he was alone with the prince, he would unconsciously become an unruly person like the prince.

However, Lu Zhi never tried to advise the prince against his behavior. The prince's sincere love for him as his own father always made it difficult for him to speak up.

Well, the prince is still young after all, and he has just recovered from a serious illness, so let's just do as he wishes this time.

Next time, next time I will definitely advise the prince to observe etiquette!

(2754 words)
(End of this chapter)