[Various] The Deposed Crown Prince's Survival Story

Gillian's marriage was practically settled thanks to Liu Rong's swift and decisive action.

Liu Qi agreed, Liu Piao agreed, Chen Wu... had no say, Consort Li... had a say, but no one listened to her. However, the key to this marriage was actually whether Empress Dowager Dou would agree.

Fearing that Empress Dowager Dou would disagree, Liu Piao did not send Liu Qi into battle. Instead, she patted her chest and, with A Jiao by her side, went into battle empty-handed.

The Empress Dowager of the Western Han Dynasty resided in Changle Palace, named for its meaning of "long-lasting happiness." Because it was located east of Weiyang Palace, it was also known as the "Eastern Palace."

Although Gillian Chung was not a princess of the Liu royal family, she was the most beloved granddaughter of Empress Dowager Dou. She grew up under Empress Dowager Dou's care, so Chang Le Palace was the place she was most familiar with.

As soon as she entered Chang Le Palace, A Jiao let go of Liu Piao's hand and ran forward with a giggle, ignoring her mother's calls from behind.

"This child, really, she's about to get married and she's still so wild." Although Liu Piao complained, her smile didn't fade at all. Looking at Ajiao's cheerful figure, her eyes were full of love. "Running so fast, what if she falls?"

"Princess, you're rushing here so eager to see the Empress Dowager. Your filial piety is truly admirable," said the palace maid sent by Empress Dowager Dou to fetch Liu Piao, flatteringly.

"Yes, that girl, Ah Jiao, if she doesn't come home every day, fine, but as soon as she does, she keeps talking about wanting to see her grandma. Really... no matter how close your parents are, they're not as close as your grandma." Liu Piao complained with a smile on her face.

Just as Liu Piao was feigning concern and complaining about A Jiao, A Jiao, lifting her skirt and running all the way, had already run into Empress Dowager Dou's palace.

Ajiao opened her mouth, about to call for someone, when Empress Dowager Dou, who was being served by a group of palace servants, reached out her hand towards Ajiao and said with a smile, "Ajiao, come here quickly, come to your grandmother."

"Oh? Grandma, how did you know it was Ajiao?" Ajiao ran over happily, nestled in Empress Dowager Dou's arms, and said with a silly smile.

"Grandma, my eyesight isn't good." Empress Dowager Dou pointed to her eyes. "But Grandma's hearing is good." Empress Dowager Dou pointed to her ears again. "Grandma can tell it's Ajiao as soon as she hears her voice."

Upon hearing this, Ajiao nestled in Empress Dowager Dou's arms and said with a coquettish smile, "Grandma, you are so good to Ajiao. You are the best person in the world to treat Ajiao."

Hearing her granddaughter's innocent words in her arms, Empress Dowager Dou immediately hugged Ajiao and called her "darling" and "baby" for a long time. Ajiao also sweetly coaxed Empress Dowager Dou.

If we had to find an explanation for Gillian Chung's low intelligence, it would only be that she misplaced her talent points, putting all her high intelligence points into coaxing her grandmother.

Gillian Chung's manner when coaxing Empress Dowager Dou was truly clever and adorable, completely different from her usual naive and somewhat clumsy self.

Or perhaps, loving you means being willing to let you coax me.

Just as Empress Dowager Dou and her granddaughter were laughing and joking, Liu Piao's voice came from outside, "Mother, don't always praise Ajiao. This girl... you've spoiled her so much that she's becoming harder and harder to manage."

"Difficult to manage? Who dares to manage my Jiaojiao?" Empress Dowager Dou said unsurprised.

"Grandma, you're wrong," Ajiao said seriously, her little face stern.

"Where did Grandma go wrong?" Empress Dowager Dou asked curiously.

“It should be… Ah Jiao is so well-behaved, how could she need anyone to discipline her?” Ah Jiao nestled in Empress Dowager Dou’s arms and said sweetly, “If Grandma says that, others will think Ah Jiao is too spoiled.”

"Hahaha! Ajiao is so clever!" Empress Dowager Dou said with a smile, touching Ajiao's little face.

“Mother, don’t always spoil her. She’s a ten-year-old girl now. It’s fine at home now, but if she gets married one day, who will protect her like we do?” Liu Piao said, reaching out and gently tapping Ajiao’s forehead, pretending to be fierce, “I’ll find you a wicked mother-in-law and see how she torments you.”

"No, no... Grandma..." Ajiao snuggled closer to Empress Dowager Dou and said in a small voice, "Ajiao doesn't want to get married. Ajiao wants to stay with Grandma forever."

"Very well! Ajiao won't marry. Ajiao will stay with her grandmother forever." Empress Dowager Dou patted Ajiao's shoulder, then scolded Liu Piaowei, "You! Don't talk nonsense in the future. You're a grown woman now, and you're still scaring the child like this. What if you frighten my Ajiao?"

“Mother, you keep spoiling Ajiao. Can you spoil her forever? She'll still get married eventually, unless…”

At this point, Liu Piao deliberately let out a heavy sigh to attract Empress Dowager Dou's attention.

“Unless what? Tell me,” Empress Dowager Dou interjected.

“Unless she can remarry into our Liu family, we’ll be even closer relatives. With your protection and His Majesty’s protection, no one will be able to bully Ajiao,” Liu Piao said.

Actually, she was trying to confuse the concept of "cousins" by saying that.

In ancient times, cousin relationships were encouraged, but this did not mean that the aunt's daughter would remarry back into the family. This would be called "blood kinship reversal," and unless there was a special reason, most people would not be willing to do it.

In ancient times, cousins ​​were often the daughters of the groom's mother's brothers who married into the family.

This is because, in ancient times, "marrying" and "marrying" were a matter of perspective. Whether from the perspective of the husband's family or the bride's family, "a niece following her aunt" meant either marrying into the same family or marrying into the same family. Therefore, from the same perspective, the back-and-forth behavior of both marrying and being married would be chaotic, which involves the traditional Chinese dress code.

This means that it is reasonable for the Chen family to marry another princess, but for the Chen family's daughter to marry into the Liu family, it would be a "return marriage," which most people would not be willing to do. Therefore, some people have used this as an argument to explain why many people in "Dream of the Red Chamber" do not support the preordained love between the wood and stone.

Of course, it's also possible if you encounter a special case like Gillian Chung.

"Marry into the Liu family? Marry whom?" Empress Dowager Dou thought to herself, recalling her grandsons. There were only a few of them around the same age as Ajiao, but none of them seemed quite right. "No good, no good! To become a princess, one must go to her fiefdom!" Empress Dowager Dou shook her head, patted Ajiao's shoulder, and said with a look of disdain, "Those fiefdoms are all remote and impoverished places. How can they compare to Chang'an? Ajiao will not marry outside the capital; she will stay in Chang'an and not go anywhere else."

“Yes! I’m not going anywhere! I’ll stay in Chang’an, where I can see Grandma every day.” Ajiao said sweetly and adorably, hugging Empress Dowager Dou’s neck.

With just a few sweet words from a child, Empress Dowager Dou was easily charmed and smiled broadly, calling out, "My dear Ajiao."

“Mother, marrying into the Liu family doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go to your fief. There’s one right here in the palace,” Liu Piao said meaningfully.

"You mean..." Empress Dowager Dou uttered two words almost without thinking, "Rong'er."

Liu Piao nodded at first, then, remembering that Empress Dowager Dou's eyesight was poor, she quickly added, "That's right!"

"This..." Empress Dowager Dou hesitated. She recalled the last time she saw Liu Rong before she went blind. "Rong'er is indeed good-looking. He was a handsome boy when he was young. His reputation has been good over the years. He hasn't had many scandals. Dou Ying often speaks well of Rong'er to me, but... Rong'er seems a bit old, doesn't he?"

“Mother, Rong’er is the Crown Prince, the future Emperor. You love A’jiao so much, don’t you want her to be like you, the most envied woman in the world? And finally… become the mistress of this Chang’le Palace?” Liu Piao said, “At that time, A’jiao can also be like you, living happily in this Chang’le Palace, the place where her beloved grandmother lives.”

Upon hearing Liu Piao's statement, Empress Dowager Dou became even more hesitant.

She didn't want Liu Rong to ascend the throne at all; what she wanted was for Liu Wu to succeed his brother and become the emperor of the Han Dynasty. But now her daughter's thoughts were completely different from hers.

“Mother, I know what you’re thinking. You’re happy that your brother passed the throne to his younger brother, but have you ever thought about your daughter?” Liu Piao said, taking out a handkerchief and rubbing it hard on her eyes until they were red before squeezing out two tears. “Back then, Father didn’t like you, Mother, nor did he like me, and there were also my brothers Qi and Liang… Qi and Liang were both men, so it didn’t matter if they suffered a little loss back then… But what about me, a princess of the Han Dynasty, who was married off so casually? Not only was my dowry as meager as those of other princesses, but the man I married was also not very good.”

Although Liu Piao was favored during Emperor Jing's reign, she was not favored during Emperor Wen's reign. After all, even Liu Qi's position as crown prince was unstable, let alone that of Princess Liu Piao.

Upon hearing Liu Piao recount her past, Empress Dowager Dou was inevitably reminded of her own memories and felt deeply guilty towards her daughter.

"Mother, don't cry, Ajiao is here." Ajiao climbed out of Empress Dowager Dou's arms, snuggled into Liu Piao's arms, gently patted her back, and said obediently.

"Ah Jiao, your mother's life has been so hard. When you grow up, you must never have a life as hard as your mother's." Liu Piao hugged Ah Jiao and cried again, glancing at Empress Dowager Dou from time to time while crying.

"Alright, alright, stop crying. I know about Ajiao's matter..." Empress Dowager Dou waved her hand and said wearily.

Empress Dowager Dou wanted to discuss it later, but Liu Piao had no intention of letting her off the hook. She wanted to settle the matter today and avoid any unforeseen complications, so she insisted on getting Empress Dowager Dou's approval for the marriage.

Empress Dowager Dou was Liu Qi's mother, and both she and her son shared a common trait—they were easily influenced and would listen to whoever came first.

If we don't settle things today, what if Liu Wu gets wind of it and comes to the palace to slander us? Who knows what kind of trouble Empress Dowager Dou will cause then?

“Mother! Didn’t you say that you loved Ajiao the most?” Liu Piao held Ajiao’s little face in her hands, leaned close to Empress Dowager Dou, and said sadly, “It’s a pity that you can’t see her now, Mother. Ajiao looks so much like you when you were young. The same face, the same eyebrows and eyes, even the same number of cowlicks on the top of her head… If you don’t believe me, you can touch them and see.”

As Liu Piao spoke, she grabbed Empress Dowager Dou's two hands and pressed them onto A Jiao's head, while slowly guiding her hands to move across A Jiao's face.