Traveling through an ancient military camp: Bao'er's survival song

Dong Qimou and Sun Ao were quickly apprehended. Kneeling before the emperor, they wept bitterly, explaining why they had let Zhou Fusen and the others escape. Lord Wang Mang, standing beside Dong Qimou, angrily berated him for his foolishness in coming up with such a stupid idea. Grand Tutor Wu Peng'en, who had returned to court, advised the emperor that the case needed careful investigation to rule out any possible manipulation behind it. He demanded a thorough investigation into how Dong and Sun came up with this terrible plan and how they chose Zhou Fusen as a scapegoat.

Because the case involved officials from both the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice, the emperor was even more reluctant to have these two departments handle the case. Therefore, the emperor asked Wu Peng'en, "Grand Tutor, have you recommended any capable judges?"

Wu Peng'en: "Shi Liujie, the Prefect of Jingzhao".

Emperor: "Oh?"

Wu Peng'en: "I will recommend worthy people regardless of their kinship. Although Lord Shi is my wife's nephew, he is a meticulous and reliable person. During his ten years as the Prefect of the Capital, he was always rated as first-class and excellent in the assessment. Therefore, I recommend Prefect Shi Liujie of the Capital to handle this case."

Emperor: "Granted!"

The emperor thought for a moment and asked Ruifu beside him, "Is the Prince of Donglai still ill?"

Ruifu hurriedly stepped forward and replied softly, "Your Majesty, yesterday the Prince's Palace invited another group of Taoist priests to perform a blessing ceremony, saying that the Old Man Under the Moon is still dissatisfied and will not forgive the Prince of Donglai."

The emperor couldn't help but laugh. His beloved myna bird had fallen ill and become haggard after returning to the capital from Menglian Mountain. He had been taking the medicinal soup for a month, but his condition had not improved. Later, a wandering Taoist priest knocked on the door and claimed that the Prince of Donglai had accidentally trampled on a peach sapling planted by the Old Man Under the Moon, causing the Old Man Under the Moon to take away the Prince of Donglai's essence as a man in a fit of anger, which was why the Prince of Donglai was now so weak and incurable.

Leaving aside the story full of loopholes, the emperor questioned the imperial physicians who came out of the Donglai Prince's residence repeatedly. Although the physicians' reports were all vague, the emperor understood that they meant his beloved myna bird was perfectly healthy, and apart from being bedridden, it had no other ailments.

Liu Xu didn't believe that Liu Shu was really that stupid, unable to even make up a believable lie, and probably just wanted Liu Xu to come and investigate.

Emperor Liu Xu didn't indulge his good little brother either, and ignored him for more than two months. Liu Shu wasn't his brother Luo, so he didn't have time to play along with Liu Shu.

Thinking that the Prince of Donglai had been lying in bed for two months, holding the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review without doing any work, Emperor Liu Xu decided to visit him at the Prince's residence and, incidentally, resign from his post.

"Ruifu, prepare yourself, I'm going to visit my brother."

"The slave obeys the order."

……

Liu Shu was indeed getting restless in his palace. He had thought that after his antics, even if his emperor brother didn't show any brotherly respect, he would at least reprimand him for his superstitious nonsense. Who knew the emperor would act as if he couldn't see or hear anything, letting him run wild in the palace for two months. Were there really so many things to do in the imperial court? Was his good brother so busy that he didn't even bother with formalities and left him hanging for two months? Liu Shu couldn't help but recall Li Bao'er's description of the emperor's role: a tool for governing the country who rarely left the palace.

However, if the emperor doesn't take the initiative to come to him, Liu Shu's next step in his marriage plan can't proceed!

So, during these two months, Liu Shu spent his days like any other concubine in the inner palace, wondering "Will the emperor come to see me today?" and writing letters to Li Bao'er about trivial daily matters.

Today, Liu Shu, the Prince of Donglai, who had been longing for his emperor every day but could not see him, finally heard the news: his younger brother, the emperor, had come to see him in person.