[Various] The Deposed Crown Prince's Survival Story

Although Liu Rong seemed very sincere and offered very tempting terms, Liu Piao felt heartbroken when she thought about Liu Rong's mother. How could such a good nephew have such a mother?

"I understand Rong'er's good intentions, but this matter is not urgent. We need to consider it carefully. At the very least, let me go back and ask Ajiao for her opinion before we proceed."

Liu Piao decided to use a delaying tactic to stall for time.

"Marriage is a major life event, so it's normal for Aunt to ask Ajiao first," Liu Rong said calmly.

To be honest, Liu Rong wasn't worried at all that A Jiao would reject him. Although he and A Jiao weren't as close as lovers, A Jiao was his cousin, and they had often visited each other in the palace since childhood. Her brother was also his childhood study companion, so the two of them met far more often than Liu Rong and his half-siblings. Liu Rong was sure that he had always treated A Jiao kindly and politely, and when they were young, he often took her to play in the palace when they had nothing to do. It was impossible for A Jiao to dislike him.

Since you don't dislike it, the chances of you refusing are slim.

Gillian Chung may seem free, but she has been confined to the Princess's Mansion and the Imperial Palace her whole life. She has met very few men of marriageable age. Liu Rong doesn't think that among the people Gillian Chung knows, there is anyone who is better looking or of higher status than him.

As for Liu Xiaozhu, please, she's only three years old. If Ajiao really liked Liu Xiaozhu since she was little and wanted to marry him wholeheartedly, Liu Rong could only... kneel down and say "I admire you," and then let them go to Jiaodong to do whatever they want.

A weirdo who likes three-year-old babies? This prince can't handle that.

After bidding farewell to Liu Piao, Liu Rong ordered a carriage to be prepared and went to Consort Li's palace.

Upon seeing Liu Rong arrive, Consort Li immediately greeted him with a beaming smile, saying, "Rong'er, you've come."

Consort Li was a foolish woman, but she was also a loving mother. Therefore, Liu Rong had not yet figured out how to deal with Consort Li, and he just felt a bit overwhelmed.

He considered posting a request for help on the forum, but when he thought that Su Yuzhou, that scumbag, would see his post, Liu Rong decided to rely on his own strength to save Li Ji.

Having decided to reform Consort Li, Liu Rong no longer treated her with the same gentle manner as before. Instead, he spoke with a cold face, "Why did Mother make such a decision about me without my consent?"

The brothers and sisters on the forum all say, "If the crown prince isn't ruthless, the country won't be stable."

Liu Rong recalled Su Yuzhou's autobiography, "This is How I Became Qin Er Shi," written on the forum, in which Su Yuzhou used all sorts of despicable, shameless, and vile methods to bully anyone who dared to look down on him. He deeply felt that he had been too obedient and docile in the past, without any spirit of resistance, like a steamed bun, which is why he was constantly targeted by dogs who wanted to take a bite out of him from time to time.

Actually, he wasn't that well-behaved. It's just that when he came here, the forum members all said, "People from Earth should be gentle, kind, respectful, frugal, and modest; they should listen to their parents and be filial children." That's why he's been well-behaved since he was little, but then...

Looking back now, it's laughable. I was so well-behaved and sensible, yet I was ultimately ruined, while Su Yuzhou, with his capricious and unruly personality, actually became the Second Emperor of Qin.

What's even more disheartening is that in his own parallel universe, the "Fusu" that Su Yuzhou possessed also didn't become emperor. The reason was that he was too obedient to his elders and yet disobedient to them, so in the end, the number one brat in the world took the throne.

Hmph! Isn't it a little too late for this prince to change his style and become a bear prince now?

Seeing her obedient and sensible son suddenly switch to rebellious mode, Princess Li couldn't help but feel a little frightened. "Rong'er, what's wrong with you?"

As Li Ji spoke, she reached out to touch Liu Rong's forehead, but Liu Rong, looking impatient, blocked her hand.

"Rong'er, are you alright?" Princess Li asked with concern.

"No." Liu Rong shook off Li Ji's hand, sat down, and angrily said to Li Ji, "Why does Mother refuse Aunt?"

“Refuse… what do you mean, Auntie…” Li Ji’s eyes unconsciously darted to the side, not daring to look Liu Rong in the eye. “That woman Liu Piao, has she said something bad about you again? You must not believe her.”

As Li Ji spoke, she suddenly realized that it wasn't impossible. So she grabbed Liu Rong's hand and said somewhat incoherently, "Rong'er, that woman Liu Piao is the most treacherous. She said bad things about you. Don't believe her. She's really not a good person. She just wants to drive a wedge between us, mother and son."

At this point, Consort Li's eyes reddened, and two tears welled up. She took out a handkerchief and wiped her tears as she said sadly, "Back then, your father and I were so loving and affectionate... It was that Liu Piao who, despite her own discord with her husband, dragged me down with her... She offered beautiful women to your father, causing your mother..."

“Mother! Stop talking. You know perfectly well that this has nothing to do with Auntie.” Liu Rong looked at Li Ji with a helpless expression.

Why are women on Earth always like this? When men don't like them, women only blame everything and everyone else, blaming that other woman, but they never consider that the problem might actually lie with the man himself.

"You know perfectly well that even without your aunt offering you beautiful women, Father would still change his mind and you would still fall out of favor, so why do you always blame your aunt for everything?"

As soon as Liu Rong spoke, Consort Li's expression changed immediately. She said sternly, "Rong'er, where have you learned all this nonsense? Is that woman Liu Piao talking nonsense again? How many times have I told you, that woman is not a good woman, she loves to slander..."

"Mother, since you know that Aunt is the most prone to slander, why do you give her the opportunity to speak ill of others?" Liu Rong looked at Li Ji with a cold face. He really didn't understand whether this woman was clever or foolish.

Since he knew Liu Piao would try to sabotage him, why did he go and fight with her for no reason? One was a concubine and the other a princess, what was there to fight about? There was no conflict of interest between them.

Seeing Li Ji's face change color, Liu Rong didn't give her a chance to refute, but instead continued, "What does Mother think is closer: the bond between mother and son or the bond between husband and wife?"

"Of course, it's the bond between mother and child!" Princess Kuri answered without hesitation.

Liu Rong, with a stern face and without even blinking, continued coldly, "Then, Mother, do you think are closer to Father or to Grandmother?"

"Of course..." Consort Li's expression changed several times, her anger rising. She suddenly raised her head, slammed her hand on the long table, and said, "So what if your father and your grandmother are the same? Your father listens to your grandmother, so you should listen to me."

"So Mother wanted to be a second grandmother?" Liu Rong turned his head and looked at Li Ji with a sneer.

"So what...so what? Becoming the mistress of Chang Le Palace is the biggest dream in the heart of every woman in this palace," Consort Li said, her face flushed.

"Just the mistress of Chang Le Palace? I think... more than that." Liu Rong said, half-closing his eyes and slightly raising his chin.

Liu Rong was intelligent from a young age. He studied classics, history, philosophy, and literature under Dou Ying from childhood, and naturally he also studied the history of the current dynasty.

Since the founding of this dynasty, there has been the Lü Empress Rebellion. As a result, subsequent emperors have always been exceptionally vigilant against the maternal relatives of the empress dowager. The empress dowager's interference in politics was the number one major issue in the hearts of the emperors of this dynasty, and its seriousness far exceeded that of the rebellion of the ministers.

After all, a minister with the guts to rebel only appears once every few decades, and once he does, he will be attacked by the masses; but an empress dowager with the ability to interfere in politics is like leeks, one crop after another grows, unless you learn from Liu Xiaozhu and kill your mother.

The cheap father certainly didn't have the guts to kill his mother, so he could only watch as Empress Dowager Dou went against him in every way. You love Confucianism, I love Taoism; you want your son to succeed you, I want your brother to succeed you.

On the surface, the mother and son still seemed very affectionate, but behind the scenes, they had already fought countless battles.

For example, the father wanted to give an important position to a Confucian scholar, but Empress Dowager Dou, who was a believer in Taoism, found out about this and, in front of the father, ordered someone to throw the Confucian scholar into a lion and tiger cage. The father did not dare to order anyone to rescue him and could only throw his sword down, leaving the Confucian scholar to fend for himself.

Fortunately, these days calligraphy is not considered useless. Most students have studied the Six Arts of a Gentleman. Regardless of their swordsmanship, their physical fitness is still good. They managed to fight their way out of a group of ferocious beasts while holding a sword.

At first glance, the differences between the mother and son over this matter seem quite significant, don't they?

But compared to what follows, this is nothing at all.

His adoptive father also had a younger brother, who was his uncle, Liu Wu, the Prince of Liang.

The old saying goes, "The emperor loves his eldest son, but the common people love their youngest."

Empress Dowager Dou's favorite son was her youngest son, Liu Wu.

People with many siblings in their families probably have this experience: many elderly people are biased, and what's worse, they are not aware of their bias and even think they are doing it for everyone's good... Well, in modern terms, they like to "equalize wealth".

It means transferring the wealth of the successful child to the unsuccessful child, under the guise of "everyone's doing well."

Empress Dowager Dou was such an old lady; her favorite thing to do was to transfer the family fortune from her adoptive father's pocket to Liu Wu.

Liu Wu's adoptive father was wealthy and powerful. Although he was a little bothered by Empress Dowager Dou's small request, he tried his best to fulfill it. Therefore, the fiefdom he granted Liu Wu was the best and richest place.

However, her desires were insatiable. After her demands were met time and time again, Empress Dowager Dou even set her sights on the throne, wanting her adopted father and brother to succeed her.

This was something that not only her adoptive father found hard to accept, but even her grandsons, including Liu Rong, developed a dislike for their grandmother, Empress Dowager Dou.

Liu Rong thought back for a moment. The current time was right after the Rebellion of the Seven States had ended. Liu Wu had fought hard against the rebels for months to protect Chang'an and made great contributions. Meanwhile, Empress Dowager Dou began to fight for Liu Wu's title as the Crown Prince.

Liu Rong sneered. He seemed to understand why his cheap father had crippled him in his previous life.