Dahan first prince

Chapter 261 The ceremony of respecting the micro, the difference between the ruler and the minister

"Uncle Wang, Brother Wang!"

Liu Ying didn't stop much along the way, and after only three or two days, Liu Ying felt Pengcheng and appeared in the palace of King Liu Jiao of Chu.

After crossing the high threshold of the main hall of the palace, before Liu Fei and Liu Jiao bowed to salute, Liu Ying smiled heartily and walked straight into the hall.

"My lord..."

"Uncle Wang, don't do that."

When Liu Ying walked forward with a smile on her face, seeing that Liu Jiao was still in the posture of saluting, Liu Ying only smiled warmly and helped Liu Jiao up.

Looking around pretending to be mysterious, Liu Ying took a step forward with a smile, patted the back of Liu Jiao's hand lightly, and looked at Liu Jiao and Liu Fei with full of intimacy. meaning.

"In the past, when my nephew and Uncle Wang met, there were often outsiders accompanying him. Although my nephew did not dare to accept Uncle Wang's courtesy, he also did not dare to lose courtesy in front of outsiders."

"However, there is no one else here, Uncle Wang, so don't worry about these common etiquette..."

As she spoke, Liu Ying still turned her head and winked at Liu Fei as she did when she was a child.

Seeing Liu Ying's posture, Liu Fei immediately relaxed, scratching the back of his head with his hands, giggling nonstop.

But Liu Jiao was an elder after all, and he was older, so he didn't dare to relax too much. He just smiled and bowed, and led Liu Ying to the head of the teacher, and then sat down beside Liu Ying.

As for the question of 'who should sit in the top position', Liu Jiao and Liu Ying tacitly ignored it.

——Earlier in Chang'an, Liu Ying was the prince of the country, if he went out to go somewhere, but in the case that his mother Lu Zhi and father Liu Bang were not present, Liu Ying would just sit on the head.

It's not that Liu Ying cares about these things, but because Liu Ying has to take care of her father and Liu Han Sheji even if she doesn't mean to put on airs.

As for the other people present at the meeting, it was the same reasoning: even if you don't give face to Liu Ying, the crown prince of the country, you still have to take care of the face of the emperor Liu Bang.

But the situation now is different.

In terms of location, this is no longer Chang'an, but Pengcheng, the capital of Chu.

In terms of characters, Liu Jiao is the host, while Liu Ying is the guest.

In the royal capital of the state of Chu, in the palace of the king of Chu, sitting on the couch that originally belonged to the king of Chu in front of his own uncle, the king of Chu, Liu Jiao, was obviously a big deal for Liu Ying, a nephew. Something doesn't quite fit.

To put it another way, if Liu Ying couldn't sit at the top, it would be even less likely for Liu Jiao to sit at the top.

——The current Liu Ying is still the prince of the country and the commander of counter-insurgency who fakes (the emperor) festival, receives (the emperor) edict, and grants (soldiers) talismans!
To let Liu Ying of such status sit at the guest table, but she sits at the head with a big grin, displaying the genealogy of her clan elders and uncles, let alone the emperor Liu Bang, everyone in the world can see it Liu Jiao drowned alive!
Liu Ying couldn't sit on the top because of her seniority, host and guest, and Liu Jiao didn't dare to sit on the top because of the dignity of the monarch and his subjects. This issue was naturally ignored by both uncles and nephews.

As for Liu Fei on the side, he didn't pay much attention to these 'trivial details'.

He smiled and waited for Liu Ying and Liu Jiao to take their seats, Liu Fei walked forward with a smile, and sat down beside Liu Ying without any scruples.

"His Royal Highness, is everything going well?"

"—A while ago, I heard that His Highness went to Chu Nan in person, and even fell into the siege of Yongcheng. The widows are terrified, can't sleep or eat?"

With lingering fear in his heart, Liu Fei let out a long sigh of relief without any pretense, held Liu Ying's hand tightly, and kept stroking it.

"I heard that the bandit army broke up, Yingbu was defeated, and His Highness is coming to Pengcheng, I still can't feel at ease."

"Today, I have to meet His Highness face to face, my widow, so I can feel at ease..."

Listening to her elder brother Liu Feiman saying these words sincerely, Liu Ying just smiled and lowered her head, not forgetting to say in agreement, "Brother Lao misses you."

"In this battle, although Ji can't say that everything will go smoothly, in the end, fortunately, he did not disgrace the order of the emperor..."

Seeing that Liu Ying didn't put on airs of being the "Prince of the Supervisory Kingdom" at all, but said the phrase "I miss you brother" in the same manner as usual, Liu Fei smiled silly, but secretly he couldn't help thinking about it. up.

"From this point of view, after this battle, the crown prince didn't feel proud or arrogant?"

"Um······"

"In the future, we should make more pilgrimages to Chang'an and walk around more with the prince."

"The queen, the widows should also be more respectful..."

While thinking about it, Liu Fei still had a smirk on his face, and quietly looked at Liu Jiao who was on the other side of Liu Ying with some doubts.

Feeling Liu Fei looking at him, Liu Jiao just lowered his head thoughtfully.

After a long while like this, Liu Fei turned his head to the side with a light smile and asked in a calm tone, "Your Highness, is there anything wrong along the way?"

Hearing Liu Jiao's question, Liu Ying maintained the previous gentleness on the surface, but secretly, Liu Ying couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed.

When Liu Jiao asked this question, Liu Ying didn't know how to answer it!
"Is there anything wrong along the way", where is this along the way?

——From Yongcheng in the south of Chu to Pengcheng in the hinterland of Chu, isn't the journey along the way within the territory of Chu?
Didn't anything unpleasant happen to my uncle's question of 'walking in my country? ' The question, as a nephew Liu Ying, what else can I say?
Just like in later generations, the owner of a certain family asked the guests, "Are you still used to living these few days?" ', what else can the guest say?
Isn't it just "Thank you for your hard work" and "excuse me", and then listen to the host say "the hospitality is not good, please bear with me"?

"This Liu Jiao..."

"What kind of medicine is sold in the gourd?"

She slandered secretly, and seriously recalled what happened on the way from Yongcheng to Pengcheng in the past few days, Liu Ying finally smiled and frowned.

"Uncle Wang's words~"

"Nephew, why don't you understand what it means?"

Expressing her doubts softly, Liu Ying couldn't help but smiled and lowered her head, speaking casually, but her eyes quietly locked on Liu Jiao's face.

"Since the seventh year of the Han Dynasty, Han Xin, king of Chu, was involved in rebellion. He took away the prince for his father and demoted Huaiyin Marquis. If we talk about the Guandong, if there is anyone who does not make Chang'an court worry, it is Qi and Chu. .”

When she said this in a warm voice, Liu Ying did not forget to cast a glance at Liu Fei, and turned her head again.

"Since the land of Wang Chu, Uncle Wang's virtuous name has been widely known in the world."

"In the past few years, every time a prince with a different surname in the Kanto harmed one side, the father and emperor were angry, and every word was consistent, and Chu's decision was made, and they all made great contributions to the country and society!"

"Father also personally said to his nephew: the eldest son of the emperor, Fat King, is safe and secure. It is thanks to the king of Chu, as the uncle, to teach by precepts and deeds to the king of Qi, thinking that it is for the sake of flaunting."

After complimenting her without hesitation, Liu Ying was a little puzzled again with a smile on her face.

"Won the respect of the world and the respect of the court, and the father of the emperor once said to all the officials: If the kings of the Guandong are the most sage, there is no one better than the emperor Ji Chu Wangjiao."

"So, why did Uncle Wang ask this question?"

Hearing that Liu Ying's remarks seemed to be full of flattery, but in fact they were impeccable official words and clichés, Liu Jiao laughed secretly, but secretly nodded repeatedly.

"However, I haven't seen each other for several months, and the prince has to make such progress..."

"In the future, I'm afraid you should treat it with caution..."

Liu Ying's answers sounded like they were all praising Liu Jiao for being so wise and respected by the world and court, but in fact, there was a very crucial point.

——For Liu Jiao's question, Liu Ying didn't give a direct answer at all!

Liu Jiao's question seemed to be a polite one, and his original intention was just to say it casually, so as to start the topic, but even if it was a polite remark, it had a deep meaning.

Nowadays, the emperor Liu Bang's body is getting worse day by day, and at some point, nine death knells will sound in Changle Palace, and the Han Dynasty will change its master.

However, Liu Ying was in her teens, and without any scruples, she howled, "My father is old, why can I trouble him?", and came out of the customs to suppress the rebellion!

The most important thing is: Liu Ying not only came, but also fought, and won!

At such a delicate time point, Liu Jiao's seemingly casual sentence of "there may be something wrong along the way", actually has a slightly tentative meaning.

——What Liu Jiao really wanted to ask was, "Does Your Highness have any comments or suggestions for our state of Chu?" '

To put it bluntly, Liu Jiao asked this question to test Liu Ying's attitude towards Chu State and himself, Wang Shuzong Bo!

However, when the emperor Liu Bang was still alive, and Liu Ying was still the prince, especially the prince of Jianguo who had just quelled a rebellion by princes and kings, Liu Jiao's temptation was actually a bit taboo.

This is also the reason why Liu Ying's answer made Liu Jiao's eyes shine.

Liu Jiaoming said, "Is everything going smoothly along the way?" ', secretly testing Liu Ying's attitude towards her; while Liu Ying was talking nonsense on the surface, and she was a virtuous king and emperor Ji who praised Liu Jiao for a while, but she didn't answer Liu Jiao's question directly.

Instead of answering, Liu Ying said a lot of flattering words, and finally threw the question back to Liu Jiao: Why did Uncle Wang ask such a question?

As for the deep meaning implied by Liu Ying's answer, Liu Jiao, who is the younger brother of Liu Bang, the disciple of Xunzi, and the direct disciple of Uncle Fuqiu, can clearly see it at a glance.

——Uncle Wang~
——In the past, people all over the world said that Uncle Wang was good, and my father always praised "Liu Jiao is the most reassuring prince and king", my nephew, I also firmly believe in this~
——But the father is still there, and Uncle Wang just spies on his nephew like this, maybe it's a bit inappropriate~
——If this spreads out, it will be a small matter for my nephew to be infamous, but if Uncle Wang loses his reputation, then it will not be so good~
It was easy to see through Liu Ying's unspoken intentions, and Liu Jiao's next move was a matter of course.

"minister······"

"The minister is old, faint and slips of the tongue..."

"Your Highness, please forgive me..."

Seeing Liu Jiaozhen stand up solemnly, and bowed deeply to Liu Ying with a bitter face, Qi Wang Liu Fei, who was beside him, jumped up from Liu Ying's side in fright!

Turning his head slightly in horror, seeing that Liu Ying did not stand up and support him as usual, Liu Fei hurriedly walked behind Liu Jiao, bowed his waist and bowed his head like Liu Jiao, but secretly scratched his head.

——Here, what's the situation? !

We chatted well, and didn't say anything that shouldn't be said?
How could this Uncle Chu be 'faint and slipped'?

The prince is the same, Uncle Wang is dozens of years old, and he has bowed and pleaded guilty, and he doesn't know how to help him...

Liu Ying knew nothing about what was going on in Liu Fei's mind.

Even if she knew, Liu Ying would not tell Liu Fei kindly: Just now, what kind of charade did she and Liu Jiao, her uncle and nephew, play.

Under Liu Jiao's miserable gaze, Liu Ying resisted the urge to get up and help her, and sat upright for three full breaths with no sadness or joy on her face, before slowly standing up from her seat.

After getting up, Liu Ying did not respectfully step forward to help Liu Jiao up as usual, but came to the position two steps in front of Liu Jiao, arranged her clothes very seriously, and immediately bowed deeply to Liu Jiao .

"The crime of speaking falsely about my uncle, nephew, is an unforgivable crime."

"However, the nephew's life is in the body, and the importance of being in the ancestral temple and the community is really inappropriate, but I have to say it."

"Nephew's absurd act, Uncle Wangwang don't blame..."

After saying these words in a very serious tone, Liu Ying bowed deeply, unwilling to get up for a long time.

But at the side of the uncle and nephew, Liu Fei, who jumped away from Liu Ying when he saw Liu Ying bowing to salute, made a discovery that shocked him.

——Brother Liu Ying, in front of Uncle Wang Liujiao, when he bowed to Liu Jiaojiao, he performed a "respect salute" unprecedentedly!
Zunli, as the name suggests, is the salute performed by the party with the more prominent status among the two parties.

Correspondingly, it is "micro ceremony".

In Zhou Dynasty, the distinction between respectful etiquette and minor etiquette can be described as extremely meticulous.

There are very strict and clear respects between the emperor and his ministers, between ministers and officials, between officers and soldiers, between masters and apprentices, between elders and juniors, even between husband and wife, and between father and son. Provisions.

But the Zhou Dynasty has been dead for a long time, and the Warring States period has been over for decades. The Han Dynasty stood on the ruins of the Qin Dynasty. Most of them dissipated.

But in today's Han Dynasty, the only way to distinguish respectful courtesy from slight courtesy is to look directly at how far the two sides bend!
If one party's bent head almost touches his knees, while the other party only slightly tilts his upper body, or even just nods his head without bending over, this is an obvious courtesy of respect and insignificance.

At this moment, although at first glance, it seems that the uncle and nephew in front of Liu Fei are doing a "normal ceremony", but Liu Fei clearly saw his younger brother Liu Ying bowing in front of him. Keep the bow at a slightly smaller level than Liu Jiao...
"Prince..."

It wasn't until this moment that Liu Fei finally reacted belatedly: Although Liu Ying is still the younger brother who respects him, the day when Liu Ying 'is no longer just a younger brother' is not far away... ···

"I'm here alone. One, I want to go to Fengyi with Uncle Chu and King Qi to welcome my father and emperor."

"Both, in the past, the Shaofu allocated grain to solve the grain shortage in Qi and Chu. It seems that there are still some matters that have not been explained to Uncle Wang and Brother Wang?"

(End of this chapter)