[Various] The Deposed Crown Prince's Survival Story

After thinking for a moment, Liu Qi could only pat Liu Rong on the shoulder and say with a particularly helpless expression, "Father, do your best."

Consort Li is alright. As the king, she can do nothing if the king agrees. She can only obediently listen to the king.

But Guantao was different. She was Empress Dowager Dou's darling, and Ajiao was the darling of her darlings. If she didn't want to, there was nothing Empress Dowager Dou could do about it.

Therefore, after much deliberation, Liu Qi realized that he could only honestly tell his son the truth.

My son! Don't blame your father's abilities; it's just that your grandmother's firepower is too strong for your father to handle.

“Father, it’s not just about doing our best, it’s about succeeding.” Liu Rong stepped forward, his face stern, and said in a particularly serious tone.

Liu Qi frowned slightly and said in a slightly displeased voice, "This is my matter, you don't need to say anything more."

As if he had just noticed Liu Qi's attitude, Liu Rong took a slight step back, cupped his hands, and bowed his head to apologize, saying, "Father, please forgive my rudeness. I was just acting rashly."

"In a moment of panic, humph!" Liu Qi snorted coldly, saying somewhat impatiently, "Alright, if there's nothing else, you can go now."

"Father, I have something else to say. Please allow me to finish before I leave." Liu Rong did not leave as requested, but instead spoke calmly.

Liu Qi looked at Liu Rong suspiciously. Normally, if he said this, Liu Rong wouldn't be frightened like others, and wouldn't worry about losing favor. He would obediently listen to him. But today... Today was indeed strange. His usually honest son was resorting to underhanded tricks, disobeying his mother, threatening him, and most importantly, refusing to listen to him at all.

"Then speak up. Say what you have to say so I can hear it and see if you are right or wrong." Liu Qi had a particularly good quality: he was a good listener and could accept other people's opinions.

Of course, you could also say that Liu Qi is easily swayed. Not to mention that Liu Piao spoke ill of Consort Li to Liu Qi in the previous week, just take Chao Cuo, who died not long ago.

Chao Cuo and Yuan Ang were at odds, and the two argued every day. Their method of arguing was to slander each other in front of Liu Qi. Today you would impeach me, and tomorrow I would impeach you.

Liu Qi's method of dealing with their "slander" was very simple: whoever reported it first, he would listen to.

Initially, Chao Cuo struck first, slandering Yuan Ang to Emperor Liu Qi and getting him exiled. Unfortunately, he failed to kill the snake. As a result, a few years later, Yuan Ang returned and, before Chao Cuo could slander him again, successfully used the "Rebellion of the Seven States" as a pretext to have Liu Qi execute Chao Cuo.

Liu Qi was filled with remorse afterward, but there was nothing he could do; the dead cannot be brought back to life.

Therefore, if you want to talk to Liu Qi, you should never wait until the next day, and you should never actually go down when he tells you to. Instead, even if you have to hold onto the pillars of the Xuan Room, you should still make your point clear.

"Your Majesty, my haste was not for my marriage, but for your sake, my son's..." Liu Rong looked at Liu Qi, his eyes turned cold, and his aura changed, sweeping away his previous weak demeanor, and he said, "The throne."

Upon hearing Liu Rong mention the word "throne," Liu Qi's expression hardened. "What does this mean? Explain yourself to me."

"Yes, Father." Liu Rong cupped his hands and said loudly, "But before I speak, please forgive me, Father. Your son may say something inappropriate. Please forgive me."

"It's alright, just say what you have to say. Whether it's right or wrong, your father won't blame you," Liu Qi waved his hand and said.

"Then I will speak frankly, Father Emperor, who do you think are the people Grandmother loves the most?" Liu Rong asked.

"Of course..." Liu Qi looked somewhat displeased, but still replied, "King Liang, your aunt, Ajiao, and me."

"In Grandmother's heart, who is more important, the Prince of Liang or Aunt and Ajiao?" Liu Rong asked again.

Liu Qi pondered for a moment, then said somewhat uncertainly, “They’re about the same. The Prince of Liang is the youngest son, so it’s normal that your grandmother favors him a bit. But your aunt is your grandmother’s only daughter, and she didn’t marry well, so your grandmother is bound to feel more pity for her. As for Ajiao… she looks a lot like your grandmother when she was young.”

Liu Rong already knew what Liu Qi was saying; he just wanted Liu Qi to repeat it to confirm these things.

"According to Father Emperor, Grandmother's affection for Ajiao was probably partly due to transference, as if she saw Ajiao as herself when she was young, right?"

After thinking about it, Liu Qi nodded, indicating that what Liu Rong said made sense.

"So, if Ajiao could marry me and become the Crown Princess, or even the future Empress, then not only would Ajiao have to side with Father Emperor, but Princess Guantao would also have to side with Father Emperor. After all, no matter how close brothers are, they will become two separate families when they grow up. How can they be closer than father and son, mother and daughter? At that time, would Grandmother still insist on her own way and want the younger brother to succeed the elder brother?"

"Brilliant!" Liu Qi slapped his thigh and pointed at Liu Rong, saying, "Your idea is indeed brilliant. As long as I and Guantao form a marriage alliance, Guantao will no longer be able to remain neutral and fish in troubled waters."

Liu Qi was unaware that in order to enter and remain in the capital, Liu Wu had sent Guantao a great deal of rare treasures, pearls, and valuables, hoping to win her support in becoming the Crown Prince.

Now things are much better. As long as his son marries Ajiao, even if he doesn't give her rare treasures, pearls, or other valuables, Guantao will have no choice but to stand on his side.

Guantao was greedy, and the only weakness he had that was Ajiao was the one he could easily exploit.

“However…” Liu Qi suddenly thought of something, and his face immediately showed some hesitation.

"But what? Father, please speak frankly, perhaps I have a solution," Liu Rong replied immediately.

"Even if we manage to persuade Princess Guantao about this marriage, if Ajiao is unwilling, Princess Guantao certainly won't agree either. So what should we do?" Liu Qi looked his eldest son up and down and asked, "What is your relationship with Ajiao?"

"Father, it's not that I'm being arrogant, but I really can't think of anything that Ajiao dislikes about me," Liu Rong said confidently.

Although Liu Rong felt that Gillian definitely didn't love him, the problem was that he didn't love Gillian either. Since they didn't dislike each other, they shouldn't be too concerned about the royal marriage.

As for whether Ah Jiao has a sweetheart, Liu Rong doesn't know the answer. But since Ah Jiao married a three-year-old child last week, it's either because she doesn't have a sweetheart or because her sweetheart can't resist the Empress's temptation. He can handle her without any problem.

After listening to Liu Rong's words, Liu Qi looked at his handsome eldest son, nodded with satisfaction, and said with a smile, "Then you should work hard."

After leaving Liu Qi's place, Liu Rong left the palace again, but of course, he wasn't going to find A Jiao to talk about love.

Having just rejected Guantao's marriage proposal in the morning, Liu Rong contradicted himself at noon by proposing a new marriage with Guantao, and then took the initiative to visit Ajiao in the afternoon. Liu Rong felt that if he were Guantao, he would think that he was too unreliable, impatient, and unlikely to achieve great things.

Liu Rong's trip out of the palace was to find several people, all of whom were ministers useful during Liu Xiaozhu's reign. Liu Rong wanted to bring these people into his own household ahead of time.

For example, Zhang Tang, Ji An, Sang Hongyang, and that poor Zhu Fu Yan.

Zhu Fuyan was a pitiful man. In later terms, he was a poor student who chose the wrong major in college—in the era of a unified dynasty, he chose to be a strategist. Who was he going to strategize against?

There's a saying that goes, "The tears you shed after graduation are the result of the foolishness you had when choosing your major."

Zhu Fuyan is such a pitiful child now, hiding in some corner crying, so Liu Rong rarely goes to see him anymore.

As for Sang Hongyang, he will enter the palace on his own in a year or two. At that time, Liu Rong will just need to inquire about him. As for which family he belonged to before entering the palace, Liu Rong really doesn't know—after all, he will already be "dead" by then.

As for Zhang Tang and Ji An, these two people have names, surnames, parents' workplaces, and addresses, so finding them is not too difficult.

Ji An's family had been officials for generations, and he was the seventh generation. The family's history of serving as officials was longer than the history of the Han Dynasty, and each generation held the positions of minister or high official in the court.

In a few years, Ji An will become the Crown Prince's tutor due to his father's recommendation.

The term "Crown Prince's Horse Washer" did not refer to a groom who washed the Crown Prince's horse, but rather to the Crown Prince's attendants and the advance guard before his travels. It was a highly trusted and important position.

To put it bluntly, without the Crown Prince's tutor, the Crown Prince wouldn't even be able to leave his house.

According to the rules, if the Crown Prince encounters ministers or nobles while traveling, he cannot speak to them directly; only the Crown Prince's tutor can answer.

Therefore, the Crown Prince's tutor must be proficient in all the royal etiquette and rules, know what to say to whom, and ensure that he does not embarrass the Crown Prince in his interactions.

Besides the objective conditions mentioned above, the Crown Prince's tutor, who is the face of the Crown Prince, also has to be handsome, tall, and have a pleasant and loud voice, otherwise it would be too embarrassing to take him out.

Based on the above conditions, it is conceivable that Ji An was a powerful seventh-generation official who possessed both great looks and talent.

Compared to Ji An, a powerful figure from a seventh generation, Zhang Tang's resume was quite lackluster.

Although he was also born into an official family, officials are always better than officials. Zhang Tang's father was just a minor official, not even an official.

Zhang Tang himself is now merely a lowly official in Chang'an, having inherited his father's position.

However, Zhang Tang has one advantage: he's easy to exploit.

To recruit Ji An, given his large stature, powerful connections, and influential background, one would have to think things through carefully. However, recruiting Zhang Tang only requires a little temptation; after all, even if serving the Crown Prince is bad, it won't be worse than being a lowly official in Chang'an.

Liu Rong refused to believe that Zhang Tang was content with an ordinary and unremarkable life.

Zhang Tang was a Legalist, the Legalist with the strongest spirit of pragmatism. If you go back a few years, weren't Li Si, Shang Yang, and Han Fei all Legalists?

How can a prince maintain his power without one or two Legalist advisors by his side?

With Zhang Tang's help, his subsequent plans could be executed more perfectly.