Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 59: What a ridiculous person! He mourns for his father and comes out in a brocade shroud!

"I, the Crown Prince of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bian, come to pay my respects to Lord Yuan Fang!"

Liu Bian raised the corners of his mouth slightly, with a meaningful smile, and spoke slowly.

Although the sound was not loud, it echoed in the street like a huge bell, just like a bucket of cold water suddenly poured into a hot oil pan, instantly making the whole street noisy and boiling.

Everyone was whispering to each other. Some stared with eyes wide open, faces filled with disbelief, muttering, "The Crown Prince actually came to visit us in person! Lord Yuan Fang's reputation is far and wide, could it be that even the Crown Prince has condescended to come?"

However, the prince was wearing a shining golden helmet and golden armor, and the cavalrymen under his command all exuded a murderous aura. It seemed more like they were coming to confiscate property and punish people rather than to pay a visit.

However, everyone just laughed it off, and those who made the joke laughed and shook their heads. After all, no one believed that the prince would do such a thing.

I heard that the Crown Prince had won victory after victory in the battles against the Yellow Turban Army in Yuzhou recently. I guess he had just found some free time, so he couldn't wait to come and visit Lord Yuan Fang.

On the contrary, some scholars had a mocking look on their faces, with a hint of sneer on their lips. They deliberately parked the carriage near Chen's mansion, sat leisurely in the carriage and lifted the curtain, as if they were watching the fun.

The Yellow Turban Army in the west and south of Yingchuan County had been basically pacified, and the information transmission network between the aristocratic families was once again unobstructed.

The most eye-catching piece of news in this news network was that Chen Ji refused to go to Changsha to meet the prince three times.

On the surface, the wealthy and powerful families followed the rule of mutual support and praise for Chen Ji's three rejections of the prince's offer, saying that he was not interested in wealth and honor, but privately they argued endlessly about the matter.

Yingchuan is very close to Sanhe, so the people of Yingchuan have heard a lot about the prince's deeds, such as the story of the prince personally going to the city gate to welcome Duke Ciming and Duke Bojie, but they also know the comment that "his plans are similar to those of Emperor Xiaowen, and his hegemony is similar to that of Emperor Shizong."

Using such a powerful prince to cultivate the emperor's influence was undoubtedly a risk. After all, no one knew whether the prince would cooperate with the scholars' methods of cultivating the emperor's influence. What if the prince turned around and turned the table?

No one knew whether the prince would be willing to cooperate with the scholars to build up his reputation, or whether the top scholar circles of the Han Dynasty were closely watching the final outcome of Chen Ji's three rejections of the prince.

"The person who came here is not a good person."

In the Chen family mansion, Chen Ji heard that the prince came to visit in golden armor and led cavalrymen. A trace of panic flashed across his originally calm face, and he immediately realized that the prince's visit was definitely not to show goodwill.

"Father, I have said it before, what's wrong with visiting the crown prince who personally led the army to quell the rebellion for the people?" Chen Qun, who had his hair combed in a bun, sighed helplessly, and said helplessly to his father who was already a little panicked.

Chen Qun was only eighteen years old and had not yet entered the official career, but he understood that the prince, a monarch with great talent and strategy, who was commented by the Grand Marshal Yang Ci as "as capable as Emperor Xiaowen and as hegemonic as Emperor Shizong", would naturally not allow anyone to step on his reputation.

If his father went to see the prince in mourning, perhaps the prince would give him the name of "filial piety", just like his grandfather's condolences for Zhang Rang's father in exchange for the safety of the Yingchuan Chen family, an exchange of interests in exchange for tangible benefits.

Moreover, my father could have gone to pay a visit to the prince on the pretext that the people of Yingchuan were grateful to him for saving his life. This would not have appeared as a form of currying favor, but would have further enhanced his reputation.

But his father refused to listen, and now the Crown Prince had come to "visit" him personally, a move that had completely ensnared him. If he didn't want to see him, he had no good reason to do so, and it was truly rude to close the door to the Crown Prince's presence.

And if he was going to meet a guest, why did he refuse the prince three times? It would have been better for him to meet the prince for the third time, and perhaps a good story of "inviting Yuan Fang three times" would have been left behind.

Chen Ji was at a loss for words. His eyes were filled with confusion. He looked anxiously at his intelligent son and said, "Why don't you just pretend to be sick?"

Chen Qun looked at him helplessly. It was obvious that his old father was desperate and had tried every possible means to cure his illness, even coming up with the excuse of "claiming to be sick".

If the prince invites a doctor to treat his father, it would be a crime of deceiving the emperor!
"Father, we never had the option of turning the Crown Prince away." Chen Qun smiled wryly and shook his head. He arranged for his servants to light incense and prepare to open the central gate to welcome the Crown Prince. Seeing that Chen Ji was still hesitant, as if still pondering his final strategy, he stepped forward and gently reminded him, "The whole world belongs to the king. The cavalry behind the Crown Prince is not for show."

"Forget it, let's see what the prince really wants to do." Chen Ji sighed, slowly lowered his head, and looked lonely. He regretted more and more that he had used the three rejections of the prince to keep Wang in good stead, but there is no medicine for regret in the world.

Not long after, the middle door of Chen's mansion slowly opened. Although there was no ceremony or music, everyone in the mansion, including Chen Ji's mother, gathered outside the middle door to welcome the prince, which fully demonstrated their respect for the prince.

"Chen Yuanfang of Yingchuan pays his respects to Your Highness."

Chen Ji bowed, but Liu Bian feigned surprise, his eyes widening. He stepped aside to avoid the salute from Chen Ji and his family members behind him, and waved his hand, saying, "How dare I accept such a great gift from Lord Yuan Fang?"

Seeing the sarcasm in the prince's words, and seeing that he did so outside the gate of the Chen mansion in front of many wealthy families and ordinary people on the street, Chen Ji's face instantly became extremely ugly and turned red, as if he had been humiliated.

However, Chen Qun remained calm and spoke loudly before Chen Ji could, "My father is a citizen of the Han Dynasty, and the Crown Prince is the heir apparent to the throne. When a citizen sees the emperor, he should pay his respects, and the Crown Prince should accept this courtesy."

"So Lord Yuan Fang is a Han citizen?" Liu Bian raised his eyebrows, an expression of "sudden enlightenment" appeared on his face. He turned to look at the people on his left and right, deliberately raised his voice, and said in surprise.

Before Chen Ji and Chen Qun could speak, Liu Bian's face darkened visibly, and he glared at them, "Since you are a citizen of the Han Dynasty, why don't you obey your majesty's summons?"

"I thought you, Chen Yuanfang, had already joined Zhang Jiao, and therefore no longer recognized me as the Crown Prince of the Han Dynasty!"

Ever since Guo Tu asked Changsha and other Yingchuan counties to "voluntarily" donate military funds to the court in the name of "collaborating with bandits", Liu Bian has become more and more skilled in the tactic of accusing others. He was thus accused of treason and collusion with rebels.

If this accusation is confirmed, the reputation that the Yingchuan Chen family has built up over the past century will be wasted, and they may even be infamous for eternity.

But Liu Bian did not give the Chen father and son a chance to speak. In front of everyone's surprised gaze, he pointed at Chen Ji and angrily shouted, "What a wicked man you are! You are in mourning for your father, yet you leave in a brocade veil!"

"To be in mourning attire is unfilial, to refuse an audience with the monarch is disloyal!"

"How can you stand in this world with dignity?"

(End of this chapter)