novelAbuy Chapter 35: The First Virtuous Empress of the Han Dynasty, a knife is pressed against my neck!
Chapter 35: The First Virtuous Empress of the Han Dynasty, a knife is pressed against my neck!
At 6:45 PM, as the sun began to rise, sunlight bathed Weiyang Palace, painting Jiaofang Hall in a golden hue.
"Tap tap..."
Liu Ju, dressed in a black brocade robe with cloud patterns, walked into the palace where he had lived for more than ten years.
Painted red beams, heavy curtains hanging beside the white walls, black and red lacquered ground covered with a layer of silk and hemp felt carpet, and bronze gilded lampstands placed around it.
Wisps of smoke rose from the bronze incense burner in the very center. A dignified figure sat quietly on the couch, dressed in a simple blue-green ruqun (blue on the top and blue-white on the bottom). Her hair was adorned with only a few hairpins and other ornaments. Her face was as beautiful as jade, and her demeanor was graceful and elegant. Every gesture she made exuded the noble elegance of the mother of the nation. This was Empress Wei Zifu, the first virtuous empress of the Han Dynasty.
"Mother Empress."
Liu Ju called out softly, his eyes filled with affection for his son.
Regardless of past or present lives, Wei Zifu's love for him was unconditional. When the witchcraft plot failed, she died before him, setting a tragic and desolate tone for this farce and etching Emperor Wu of Han's senility and incompetence in his later years onto the pillar of historical shame.
"According to my son."
The moment Wei Zifu saw Liu Ju, a bright smile bloomed on her face, as radiant as moonlight, making her impossible to ignore.
"When I came, the Grand Chamberlain had already told me."
"Does Your Majesty have anything you wish to ask me?"
Liu Ju showed no domineering side as crown prince in front of Wei Zifu; he remained the obedient son he always was.
"Come."
Wei Zifu waved her hand and said gently, like a spring breeze, "I am very pleased."
"You've grown up, you've become a strong and upright man."
"Your actions have shocked even your father."
"Mother Empress."
Liu Ju sat on the other side of the table, listening to Wei Zifu's teachings.
"Wei Yong".
"Your Majesty the Empress!"
Grand Chamberlain Wei Yong immediately stepped forward.
"The palace kept the money for daily expenses, and sent the rest to the Crown Prince's Palace."
Wei Zifu's gentle voice carried the majesty of a Han Dynasty empress, and she refused to argue with anyone.
"promise."
Wei Yong immediately went to make the arrangements.
"Your Majesty, the Grand Tutor has arrived."
A female official hurriedly entered the hall to report.
Immediately, a middle-aged man wearing a scholar's cap, a black robe (single garment), an inner garment with black trim and collar, and a blue sash appeared before Liu Ju.
Chen Zhang, the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, held a rank of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain), and was in charge of the affairs of the Empress and the Crown Prince's household. He was the great-grandson of Chen Ping and married Wei Shao'er, the sister of Wei Qing and the mother of Huo Qubing.
"Greetings to the Empress and the Crown Prince."
Chen Zhang bowed respectfully.
"Chen Zhang."
Wei Zifu looked at him with her watery eyes and instructed, "From now on, the Grand Chamberlain will be in charge of matters here in my palace."
"Go to the Crown Prince's palace to receive orders. All the proceeds from my forty counties of bathing grounds will be handed over to the Crown Prince for his use."
"promise."
Chen Zhang glanced at Crown Prince Liu Ju out of the corner of his eye and answered in response.
"Thank you, Mother Empress."
Liu Ju accepted these things without any hesitation or hesitation.
He and Wei Zifu, mother and son, shared both glory and ruin; why should they be bound by conventional etiquette?
With the tax revenue from the forty counties of the Empress's estate, plus the presence of Chen Zhang as the Grand Master of Ceremonies, there was so much he could do.
"Um."
Wei Zifu noticed the changes in Liu Ju and felt very gratified.
The former crown prince had adopted the Confucian style of the Guliang school, which made him pedantic and inflexible. Now, his behavior is more like that of the Gongyang school, which truly gives him the demeanor of a great Han emperor. As the saying goes, those who achieve great things are not bound by trivialities.
"You may all leave now. No one is permitted to enter the Jiaofang Palace without my order."
Empress Wei Zifu looked around and issued an imperial decree.
"promise."
All the female officials, palace maids, eunuchs, and even the Chamberlain Chen Zhang left together.
Although Wei Zifu always presented a gentle and kind side, she had been in charge of Jiaofang Palace and Changle Palace for so many years, using both kindness and severity, and no one dared to underestimate her.
After everyone had left Jiaofang Palace, leaving only Wei Zifu and her son Liu Ju inside, Wei Zifu looked at Liu Ju and solemnly asked, "Ju'er, what are you going to do?"
"Mother Empress."
Liu Ju remained calm and composed throughout, neither flustered nor hurried.
"Reorganize the Crown Prince's Palace and recruit eight hundred guards."
"They only employ the sons of disgraced marquises and the descendants of criminals, instead of sons from respectable families."
"You're training suicide squads!"
"What are you worried about?"
"I'm worried that the Crown Prince's guards, whom you personally trained, will be loyal to His Majesty, not to you."
"You shall send Zong'er and Shan'er to the Crown Prince's Palace for education."
"The former generals of the Wei and Huo families in the army will unconsciously gravitate towards you."
"You are willing to anger His Majesty to settle more than 500,000 refugees from Guandong in Shanglin Garden."
"Once this is accomplished, the whole world will praise the Crown Prince for his wisdom."
"Training troops, recruiting soldiers, building prestige—what exactly are you trying to achieve?"
Wei Zifu stood up and looked down at Liu Ju, her expression no longer gentle, but rather full of worry.
"Mother Empress."
"It's not about what I want to do, but what he wants to do."
Liu Ju, without flinching, replied magnanimously: "Fathers begin to doubt their sons, sons begin to be wary of their fathers, wives begin to distance themselves from their husbands, and ministers begin to fear their emperor. How can this continue?"
"I think the arrow is on the bowstring now, and we have no choice but to release it."
"I've made up my mind. There will only be one emperor in the Han Dynasty."
What?
Wei Zifu was struck dumb, her face changed drastically, and she was still in shock.
She never imagined that Crown Prince Liu Ju would actually rebel; it was like dancing on the edge of a knife.
"Mother Empress."
Liu Ju promptly helped Wei Zifu up and helped her sit back on the couch.
"Liu Ju".
Wei Zifu's voice became serious: "You are His Majesty's eldest son."
"The crown prince recognized by all the people, the heir apparent of the Han Dynasty."
"I know His Majesty disliked you before because you listened to the words of the Confucian scholars of Guliang and disliked military affairs."
"But now, you've changed, and everything has changed."
"Your father is 46 years old. How many more days does he have left to remain on the throne?"
Why would you do something so risky?
"Mother Empress."
Liu Ju stood up, his eyes filled with an unprecedented determination: "Who is Father Emperor?"
"He ascended the throne at the age of sixteen and took power at the age of twenty-two, experiencing the puppet life of two empress dowagers, Dou and Wang."
"The Emperor implemented the policy of granting favors to the emperor, weakened the feudal lords, dismissed all other schools of thought and exclusively honored Confucianism, drove the Xiongnu north, pacified the Baiyue in the south, opened up the borders west of the Yellow River, and looked eastward to Korea."
"In terms of ruthlessness, he was no less than his grandfather (Emperor Jing of Han, Liu Qi); in terms of cunning and hypocrisy, he surpassed Emperor Gaozu."
"How many people did he kill? How much blood is on his hands?"
"Do you expect someone like that to hand over power to his son?"
"In the Empress's chambers, the son is no longer like his father; his words still ring in my ears!"
"Was I not ignorant and naive that day?"
"The knife was always at my neck."
The resounding words echoed throughout the Jiaofang Palace, making Wei Zifu tremble with fear and feel a chill run down her spine.
It was only at this moment that she truly realized the change in Crown Prince Liu Ju, or rather, that this was no longer a struggle between father and son, but a struggle for imperial power.
The game can only end when one side is completely defeated!