Drunk Bamboo

"Young master, please don't cause trouble..." the follower kindly reminded with a trembling voice.

"When is it your turn to meddle in my affairs! Get out of the way! I'm just worried that I have no place to vent my anger. If you dare to say another word, I'll send you to a farm in the countryside to do hard labor when I get back!" Han Xin shouted angrily.

"I dare not, I dare not!" He quickly admitted his mistake and shook his head in panic.

"Go, bring me a plate of pastries." Han Xin looked at his followers with disdain and ordered.

The follower didn't understand and was stunned at first, then quickly nodded in agreement.

Han Xin said compassionately, "I'll show you how stupid that fool is when he eats dirt."

Soon the attendant brought a plate of exquisite pastries.

Taking the pastry, Han Xin grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and sprinkled it on the pastry, then walked towards the ignorant man with an evil smile.

"Liu Ziwang, what are you doing?"

The man called Liu Ziwang was the only son of Liu Shancai, the Minister of Revenue. He was not good at speaking and had mental disabilities.

Liu Ziwang stared at him, as if he didn't hear Han Xin's words.

"Are you hungry? Here's the cake for you." Han Xin came up to him and coaxed him, "Your father asked me to bring it to you."

Liu Ziwang finally blinked and looked at Han Xin seriously: "Do you know him?"

"I know him. Your father, Shangshu Liu, is drinking with my father in there. He asked me to take care of you. Come and eat quickly." Han Xin coaxed and deceived him and put the pastries in front of him.

She just stared at Han Xin, her clear eyes seemed puzzled. She searched through her mind but found no memory of him, so she raised her head and continued to look at the pear blossoms.

"I do not know you."

Han Xin didn't expect that this idiot was so hard to fool.

"How come you don't recognize me? You must have forgotten that we had a drink together during the Chinese New Year."

"My father won't take me with him when he drinks." He said each word in a serious tone.

Han Xin's hands were sore, but the idiot didn't even look at the pastries, he was obsessed with the pear blossoms in front of him.

"You idiot, just eat it if I tell you to. What's so good about this flower!" He plucked off the annoying white flower, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it a few times. "I'll let you see, I'll let you see!"

Even a fool dared to ignore him. Han Xin was furious and could only vent his anger at his feet.

Liu Ziwang jumped up in panic, holding his head and shouting: "You, you killed this flower, you killed it! It hasn't even grown up yet, and you killed it!"

"Hahaha, you idiot, it's just a flower, why bother to kill it, haha..."

Liu Ziwang insisted: "It's alive, it's alive! I'm not a fool, not a fool!"

He pushed Han Xin away to stop him from stepping on the flowers.

"You dare to push me?!" Han Xin glared at his followers, "What are you looking at? Fight me now!"

"Sir, he is the son of Minister Liu..." the attendant said tremblingly.

Han Xin said coldly, "Don't hit him in the face, hit him where outsiders can't see. He can't even speak clearly, do you know who hit him? Who would believe what a fool says?"

Liu Ziwang squatted on the ground with his head in his hands, staring at the crushed pear blossoms and muttering to himself sadly.

"Look at how silly he is. It's so funny."

At this moment, a childish voice came: "If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself. Your Highness has seen and heard it. Mr. Han, do you want to continue?"

Han Xin was surprised and said, "The Crown Prince... His Royal Highness!"

Hua Jinlin felt that drinking at the table was boring, so he took Zhang Hansu out for a walk. Unexpectedly, he saw this scene in the garden of the side hall.

"You bully the weak and bully the good, you are afraid of the evil. Minister Han, you are not a good parent. I will let the emperor know and punish you."

Han Xin knelt down and explained, "Your Highness, Your Highness, I was just joking with Liu Ziwang. It was just a joke."

Hua Jinlin: "Han Su, did you hear it too?"

Zhang Hansu replied: "Yes."

Han Xin rolled his eyes and argued, "Your Highness, you were far away and might not have seen clearly. Liu Ziwang and I are fine. I came to give him some snacks. Look, the snacks are still in my hand! What I said just now was just a joke, a joke!"

"Liu Ziwang, did you say I bullied you?"

At this moment, Liu Ziwang only had eyes for the crushed pear blossoms. Nothing else. He kept saying sadly, "It's gone. I can't live anymore..."

At this moment, Han Xin was glad that Liu Ziwang was a fool.

He took a deep breath and grovelled, "Your Highness, look, Liu Ziwang didn't say anything about bullying. Minister Liu and my father are good friends, and we were drinking in the hall. How could I bully Liu Ziwang?"

Hua Jinlin pointed his little hand at Liu Ziwang and said righteously, "Don't be afraid. Just tell me the truth. I will make the decision for you."

Liu Ziwang still said stupidly: "It's useless, he's already dead..."

"You..." Hua Jinlin just noticed the difference in Liu Ziwang and asked in a low voice, "Han Su, does he look a little suspicious?"

Zhang Hansu said calmly, "Your Highness, Minister Liu and Minister Han are both loyal ministers to your Majesty. We cannot allow them to have any grudges against each other. It is most important that they do not cooperate with each other in the future and affect your Majesty's world affairs. I will handle Liu Ziwang's matter."

After all, Hua Jinlin is only a ten-year-old child and doesn't think so thoroughly.

He trusted Zhang Hansu very much and agreed with her words.

He put on a stern face and said solemnly, "Since it is a joke, Your Highness will not ask any more questions."

Then he left the garden with the palace maids following him.

Han Xin wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "Farewell, young prince."

He was helped up by his followers with shaking legs, and saw that Zhang Hansu had not left.

Although Zhang Hansu was wearing a white female official uniform, she could not hide her icy beauty.

Han Xin was aroused and asked jokingly, "Is Concubine Zhang going to stay and enjoy the flowers?"

His eyes were cold: "All the flowers have been picked by Lord Han, what flowers are left to appreciate?"

Han Xin flattered, "If Lady Zhang likes this flower, I'll send someone to bring it to the East Palace for you tomorrow so you can enjoy it every day."

His tone was chilling: "The flowers were growing nicely on the branches, but Lord Han chose to destroy and trample them. Don't you feel any shame at all?"

"I'm afraid that Zhang Shanggong has misunderstood. Even the young prince..."

Zhang Hansu exuded a chill all over his body, which seemed to freeze the air around him.

"The young prince is considering the overall situation and will not bother with you. You lied to the young prince. Han Xin, do you really think that this court belongs to your Han family? Do you think that you can live a stable life by clinging to King Wen?"

"Don't be too extreme in what you do. You should take care of yourself."

His sharp eyes glanced at Han Xin.

Han Xin was immediately horrified and didn't dare to tease her anymore. He left in shame.

When everything was quiet, Zhang Hansu came to Liu Ziwang.

"Your name is Liu Ziwang?"

As expected, no response.

"I'm Zhang Hansu, get up."

Nothing happens.

Zhang Hansu didn't care. He looked up at the pear blossoms on the tree and said calmly:

"The flowers are already dead. It's no use squatting there and watching them. Bury them and turn them into fertilizer to nourish the land and allow other plants to grow. It's also living in another sense."

I thought there would be silence for a while.

Unexpectedly, Liu Ziwang responded:

"……Um."

As he spoke, he had already carefully held the withered flowers in his hands, gently scattered them under the pear tree, and covered them with soil.

He worked very seriously and focused.

Zhang Hansu couldn't help but ask curiously: "Why are you so obsessed with this flower? There are so many flowers in the yard, why are you only staring at one?"

"It's different. It's all different."

"You mean every flower is different, just like every person is unique?"

Suddenly Liu Ziwang raised his head, his eyes as clear as morning dew.

"Yes. You understand."