Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 83 The rest of my life

Li Xian was stunned.

At that moment, Liu Neyan stormed in, looking furious.

Then he saw Liu Jianjun, but he was not surprised at all. He then clasped his hands and said, "It's good that Chief Secretary Liu is here. What I wanted to say to His Highness happens to be related to you!"

As he spoke, Liu Nayan, to Li Xian's astonishment, suddenly knelt down before Liu Jianjun, touched his head to the ground, and shouted, "I know that you saved His Highness Prince Pei, and I am grateful to you from the bottom of my heart. I offer this kowtow in thanks!"

Having said that, he stood up angrily, looked at Li Xian, his face flushed: "Your Highness! This old minister begs the order to expel Chief Secretary Liu from the Prince of Pei's residence!"

Li Xian stared in disbelief, glanced at Liu Jianjun, and noticed that he was suppressing a laugh.

Then, Liu Neyan shouted again: "Liu Changshi has committed three crimes!"

"Firstly, his indulgence in frivolous outings has tarnished the reputation of the Prince's Mansion!"
"As the chief assistant of the prefecture, Liu Changshi should cultivate his character and set an example for everyone."

"However, since entering the manor, he has been lingering in the northern part of Pingkang Ward, indulging in revelry and dissolute behavior! He competes with those纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy families who are dissolute and dissolute) for fame, and spends thousands of dollars to win the smile of prostitutes! Such behavior is known to all the people of Chang'an, and people are gossiping about the reputation of my Prince Pei's manor! If this continues, Your Highness's good reputation will surely be ruined by such people!"
Secondly, the curtains and sheets were not properly maintained, and the inner chambers were filthy and disorderly!
"Within the Prince's mansion, there is a strict order of rank and distinction between inside and outside; this is the great principle of etiquette and law!"

"However, relying on His Highness's trust, Chief Secretary Liu has been joking and laughing inappropriately with the maids in the mansion, and engaging in frivolous and entangled behavior! Sometimes he whispers in her ear and sometimes he speaks in a frivolous manner, completely lacking the demeanor of an official of the court, and even more so the integrity of a scholar-gentleman! This is not an empty slander by me, but something I have personally witnessed several times!"
"If this continues, how will the rules of the prefecture be upheld? How will the inner palace remain quiet?!"
"Thirdly, and most unforgivably, he misled the imperial grandson and undermined the foundation of the dynasty!"
"The three young princes are of noble birth, sons of the Prince! In the future, they may become wise kings, or... all should study the classics, cultivate the virtues of gentlemen, and understand the etiquette between ruler and subject!"
"Yet Chief Secretary Liu has misled Your Highness, causing the three young princes to abandon their studies and take up hoes and shovels, to forsake classical learning and engage in farming! This has caused their delicate hands to develop calluses and their golden bodies to suffer, and they have even uttered the absurd statement that 'hoe pits are like calligraphy'! This is not teaching, but harming! It is destroying the dragon's offspring and shaking the foundation of the nation. His heart is deserving of condemnation, Your Highness!"

His words were so righteous and stern that even Liu Jianjun, who was standing next to him, was speechless.

Li Xian hadn't expected that Liu Neyan would harbor such a deep grievance against Liu Jianjun.

Liu Nayan kowtowed again, remaining prostrate on the ground, his voice hoarse yet incredibly firm:
"Although Liu Jianjun has made some minor contributions, he is in fact a treacherous and cunning man! His behavior is dissolute and his intentions are wicked! Keeping him in the Prince's residence is like nurturing a festering sore! This old minister is wholeheartedly devoted to the long-term interests of the Prince's residence! I earnestly request Your Highness to investigate this matter thoroughly and expel this scoundrel swiftly, so as to set the record straight and uphold the order of things!"

This time, Liu Jianjun walked up to Li Xian, nudged him with his shoulder, and whispered, "I'm starting to trust this old man a little now."

Before Li Xian could speak, Liu Jianjun added, "But I've decided to test him one last time."

After saying that, before Li Xian could react, he walked over to Liu Neyan and grabbed Liu Neyan's arm to support him.

"Your Highness, there's no need to try to smooth things over like last time. This old minister is here with... How come it's you?!" Liu Neyan was helped up and was startled when he saw Liu Jianjun's dark face.

Liu Jianjun ignored Liu Neyan's surprise and forcibly pulled him up.

Liu Nayan, an old minister, was no match for the strength of Liu Jianjun, a young man. He was forcibly pulled up, still protesting, and shouted to Li Xian, "Your Highness! This old minister has a heart full of sincerity..."

"Old Liu! Stop being so sincere!"

Liu Jianjun interrupted him earnestly, then said seriously, "Something big has happened!"

"Don't try to act all friendly with me... What's the big deal?" Liu Nayan stared blankly at Liu Jianjun, then subconsciously looked at Li Xian for confirmation.

Although Li Xian didn't know what Liu Jianjun was going to do, he still nodded.

Then he put on a somber expression.

Liu Nayan's expression changed, and as if she had thought of something, she suddenly looked at Liu Jianjun with a stern gaze: "You harmed His Highness?!"

"If I had harmed His Highness, would I still be here?" Liu Jianjun pressed Liu Neyan down onto the stone chair without further ado, saying, "This concerns the lifelong happiness of His Highness Prince Pei and me!"

Liu Neyan was taken aback: "What important matter..."

"Don't interrupt!"

Liu Jianjun interrupted him, saying, "Old Liu, I don't blame you for being naive, but now I need to give you an extremely important task!" Liu Nayan stammered, "Chief Secretary Liu... please speak!"

Liu Jianjun didn't say anything. He went back to his room, took out paper and pen, thought for a moment, tore the paper into a small strip, and wrote down the four characters "My Second Half of Life".

Then he handed it to Liu Nayan and solemnly said, "Please, Mr. Liu...deliver this letter to the residence of Minister Liu Rengui!"

Liu Neyan was puzzled.

Liu Jianjun shook his head and said, "It's of utmost importance!"

"But... it's already curfew..."

"A lifelong commitment!"

This time, Liu Nayan gritted his teeth, tucked the note into his robes, faced Li Xian, and solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Your Highness, this old minister will certainly not fail in his mission!"

After saying that, he ran out of the courtyard.

Once only Liu Jianjun and Li Xian remained in the courtyard, Li Xian looked at Liu Jianjun with annoyance and said, "What do you mean by this?"

Liu Jianjun grinned and said, "If this old man is really one of Empress Wu's men, the first thing he would do after leaving this door is not to try to send a message, but to immediately find an opportunity to secretly report the contents of this note, or even our conversation, to Empress Wu."

Li Xian frowned: "Then...wouldn't that expose our relationship with Liu Rengui?"

"What did I reveal? Did I just say something to Liu Neyan?" Liu Jianjun asked with a smile.

Li Xian thought about it and realized that Liu Jianjun hadn't really said anything, only that something big had happened.

"Then what do you mean by those four words?" Li Xian asked.

Liu Jianjun didn't speak, but cleared his throat, looked at Li Xian, and sang with deep emotion in a weathered voice: "For the rest of my life, through wind and snow, through ordinary days, through poverty, it will all be you~"
"You are my glory, you are the tenderness in my heart, and you are everything my eyes see~①"

"A song, and I'll dedicate the rest of my life to it!"
"Liu Rengui has an unmarried granddaughter, a beautiful and virtuous lady, which is a gentleman's ideal. Isn't that normal? It also fits my current persona."

Li Xian rolled his eyes in annoyance and said, "So you're just going to have Liu Neyan send over this meaningless letter?"

Liu Jianjun scoffed and said, "With that old man's old arms and legs, how could he possibly evade the Imperial Guards' patrols and make his way all the way to Liu Rengui's residence? I bet he'll be questioned about his identity halfway there and sent back!"
“Even if he wasn’t deported, the letter still got delivered. Don’t you think the song ‘My Later Life’ sounds like something?”

"What does it look like?" Li Xian frowned.

"The life of Empress Wu is a mystery."

Liu Jianjun smiled confidently and said, "Liu Rengui can guess the answer to the riddle."

……

　①: The song "The Rest of My Life"

　　Guess the answer! Important hint: The "Hou" in "Houbansheng" is "Hou," and the "Hou" in "Wuhou" is "Hou."

　　By the way, let's guess whether Liu Neyan will come back, and what methods Liu Rengui will use to prevent Li Xian from exonerating Xianzi.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)