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

As Liu Xu and Peng Zizheng were discussing Master Wuhen's five disciples, a eunuch came in to report that Consort Chen had arrived.

The emperor's expression immediately turned somewhat displeased, but he still summoned Consort Chen for an audience, as she was, in a sense, his stepmother, and it wouldn't be good to refuse her all the time.

Consort Chen, accompanied by a waft of fragrance, gracefully approached. After greeting the Emperor, she instructed the palace maids behind her to bring up a tray, and softly introduced, "Your Majesty, I have recently acquired a new chef who is an excellent cook of soups. This soup is made by simmering fish maw, fish belly, and deer tendon until thick, then adding sea cucumber and scallop eggs before steaming. It is very nourishing. I have noticed that Your Majesty has been busy with state affairs today, and with the approaching winter, your clothes have become much tighter. You should take good care of your health."

The emperor's face clearly showed impatience, but he still listened to what Consort Chen had to say. After she finished speaking, the emperor did not talk to the consort about the nourishing soup, but instead asked about Liu Shu's situation: "Has Consort Chen found a good family for Eighth Brother?"

Consort Chen was taken aback when the Emperor suddenly mentioned her son Liu Shu. She paused for a moment before replying, "Shu'er is still young, and there is no rush for him to get married."

The Emperor sneered, "The Imperial Concubine thinks that Eighth Prince is still young and is not in a hurry to find him a wife, but she thinks that I would be in a hurry?"

Consort Chen's kind smile vanished instantly. It seemed the Emperor knew about her insistence on Grand Tutor Wu's eldest daughter becoming Empress a while back, and was not pleased. She quickly knelt down, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears, adopting a sorrowful expression of unspoken grievance.

The emperor felt increasingly unlucky and was even unwilling to speak, so he simply waved his hand to signal his former favorite concubine to leave.

After Consort Chen left, Peng Zizheng looked at the Emperor with a disgusted expression and asked, "Why does she still like to curry favor with you so much?"

The emperor glanced at Peng Zizheng but didn't bother to pay him any attention.

Peng Zizheng did not back down and continued to ask the young emperor about the topic of the Imperial Concubine: "However, you should get married soon. The stability of the country depends on the succession of the emperor and the state. It would be beneficial to the stability of the country if you get married and give birth to a legitimate son as soon as possible."

The emperor sighed and said, "I don't have time to think about these things."

Peng Zizheng frowned: "Then why didn't the Duke of Cheng'en share His Majesty's burdens?"

Emperor Liu Xu lost his mother at a young age and had no elder to help him with such matters, especially the position of Empress, which required utmost seriousness. The Duke of Cheng'en was the late Empress's maternal family. Now that the old Duke of Cheng'en had passed away, the late Empress's elder brother, Zhao Zheng, was in charge. Although the Duke of Cheng'en was of average ability and held no important position in court, merely enjoying the honor of being a member of the imperial family, his children were said to be exceptionally talented, and his family's good traditions were widely known. The Emperor was busy with state affairs daily and had no time to inquire about the noble ladies of the capital, but the Duke of Cheng'en had plenty of free time. Over the years, he should have known which powerful families in the capital had eligible young women and which were from prominent families.

Peng Zizheng's question made the emperor smile helplessly: "I originally favored Zhao Wu, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Cheng'en, but when I mentioned it to the emperor's brother-in-law, he dodged the question by talking about something else. The next day, I heard the news that Zhao Wu was engaged to the second son of the Wang family."

Seeing the incredulous look on Peng Zizheng's face, the Emperor continued, "Zhao Wu is a year younger than me, but he has a fourteen-year-old younger sister. I guess the Duke of Cheng'en is afraid that I will take a liking to his second daughter, so he has been feigning illness to avoid me ever since."

Peng Zizheng was dumbfounded: His little emperor was quite good-looking, and his reign was very stable, so why did Wu Peng'en and Zhao Zheng both look down on his little emperor? They were too audacious.