Shuhan

The moonlight is like silver, quietly sprinkling on the glazed tiles, shimmering a faint luster.

The palace walls are high and the night is dark.

As the breeze blows, the palace lanterns sway, and the interweaving of light and shadow exudes a mysterious and solemn atmosphere.

In the quiet night, Cao Rui, the Crown Prince of Wei, quietly came to the Shufang Palace.

The Prince's Palace is also within the palace city, so there are not many obstacles from the Prince's Palace to Shufang Palace.

Especially the route from the Prince's Palace to Shufang Palace, which Cao Rui walked every day and was very familiar with.

just
Can we really succeed by coming here late at night?
Cao Rui's figure seemed somewhat lonely and worried in the moonlight.

He was wearing a dark robe, the hem of which fluttered gently in the wind. His face was calm and solemn, with a barely perceptible worry between his brows.

If the Queen is my mother, then no matter how ridiculous something I do, there will be someone to cover for me, right?
unfortunately
A'niang is in Chang'an, not in Luoyang.

A child with a mother is like a treasure, a child without a mother is like a weed.

Cao Rui looked up at the lights in Shufang Palace, his eyes flickering with complex light.

Call ~
He took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and slowly walked up the stairs.

Step~
Step~
Step~
The sound of footsteps echoed in the empty palace corridors, making the night even quieter.

Although she is not his biological mother, only by winning over the queen can his position as crown prince be secured.

Now, who in the Wei court doesn't know that the Queen is extremely favored and trusted by His Majesty the Emperor?
Even if his ridiculous behavior tonight were to reach the emperor's ears, as long as the queen could help him, everything would be fine.

The palace guard who was on night watch was stunned when he saw the prince visiting late at night.

"Slave, please see His Highness the Crown Prince."

Cao Rui waved his hand and said, "Is the Queen Mother in the palace?"

The palace maid who was on night watch thought for a moment, looked at Cao Rui carefully, and after a moment, nodded.

"The Queen is in the palace tonight."

In the temple?
That would be great.

Cao Rui breathed a sigh of relief.

The Queen was deeply favored by the Emperor, so naturally she slept with the Emperor most of the time. Tonight the Queen was resting in the palace. It seemed that everything was destined.

"Please ask the female official to come into the palace and report that I have an urgent matter and need to see the Queen Mother."

Urgent matter?
The palace maid nodded, gently opened the palace door, and walked into the hall.

After Mount Sumeru, the palace door was opened and the palace ladies left and returned.

"Your Highness, the Queen invites you!"

Cao Rui nodded and walked slowly into the Shufang Palace.

There are several osmanthus trees planted in the Shufang Palace. It is the time when osmanthus flowers are in bloom. As soon as Cao Rui enters the palace, he smells a strong fragrance of osmanthus.

The palace lanterns were dim, but the scenery in the Shufang Palace was quite good. It was obvious that Queen Guo had put a lot of effort into it.

But today, Cao Rui’s position as Crown Prince was in jeopardy, so he naturally had no intention of looking at the scenery.

Instead, he walked all the way into the temple.

"My son, I pay my respects to my mother!"

Queen Guo was standing by the window, apparently having just finished her bath.

In the gentle moonlight, crystal water droplets hung on her hair, sparkling with a fresh luster, as clear as morning dew.

The wet hair gently stuck to her jade-like cheeks and slender neck, adding a bit of indescribable charm and tenderness to her.

She was wearing a loose palace robe with elegant color and smooth and delicate texture, which wrapped around her graceful figure as lightly as flowing clouds.

She stood quietly in front of the window, letting the breeze blow gently. The sleeves of her palace gown fluttered in the wind, making her seem to blend into the deep night.

Cao Rui raised his head for a moment, then quickly lowered his head again.

At the same time, the kneeling posture is more standard.

"It is against protocol for the prince to visit so late at night, but since it is an urgent matter, there is no harm in making an exception."

Queen Guo Zhao's eyes were deep and bright, revealing a calm and majestic temperament, as dazzling as the brightest stars in the night sky.

After waiting for a while, Guo Zhao said, "Prince, please get up. If there is an urgent matter, please report it to me."

Although her hair was still wet, her demeanor still revealed an innate nobility and dignity, just like a blooming peony, blooming with unique brilliance under the moonlight, breathtakingly beautiful.

Gollum~
Cao Rui slowly stood up, looked up again, swallowed secretly, and lowered his head even more.

After thinking for a while, Cao Rui felt that there was no point in hiding this matter.

Since you want to ask for help, you must let her know about it.

"I came here today because I was confused and did something ridiculous. I want to apologize to you, mother."

Made a mistake and did something ridiculous?
Guo Zhao frowned.

"What foolishness have you committed, what absurdity have you done?"

Although Cao Rui was not her biological son, he came to visit her every day to greet her and was very polite.

Cao Rui tried his best to meet any requests he received on weekdays.

To be honest, Guo Zhao was still very satisfied with this prince.

Especially now that the emperor is in poor health, who knows when the prince will be able to ascend the throne.

She might have to rely on the prince for the rest of her life.

But now I heard that he was confused and did something ridiculous.

Guo Zhao had a bad feeling in his heart.

"Speaking of this matter, the Crown Princess should be blamed. It's her."

Although he was reluctant in his heart, Cao Rui still told everyone the embarrassing things that happened tonight.

The more Queen Guo listened, the stranger her expression became.

At the end, she looked at Cao Rui deeply, as if she had just met the prince for the first time.

Cao Rui's ears turned red with embarrassment and he didn't dare to look Queen Guo in the eye.

"Although I am also at fault in this matter, the Crown Princess is more at fault!"

"Confused!"

Seeing that Cao Rui was still shirking responsibility at this time, Queen Guo couldn't stand it anymore and shouted at him.

"You did something ridiculous, and you're afraid of being found out? And you're blaming a woman?"

"I"

Cao Rui was about to retort: ​​If this matter was not caused by the Crown Princess, who would know?
If you don't blame Sun Luban, then blame me?

But seeing how furious Queen Guo was, and thinking that he still needed her help, he could only keep these words of rebuttal in his heart and didn't dare to say them out loud.

"My son, I know I was wrong."

Seeing Cao Rui's appearance, Queen Guo Zhao understood in her heart that he did not know he was wrong at all, but was clearly forced by the situation.

"In fact, it's not a bad thing for you that something like this happened."

good thing?

Cao Rui was completely confused.

How can this be considered a good thing?
What happened tonight was simply disgraceful.

If his father knew about this, could he still be the crown prince?
"how do I say this?"

Queen Guo walked slowly to the main seat in the hall and sat down slowly.

"Do you think your father doesn't know about your love for Long Yang?"

Guo Zhao's words shocked Cao Rui, and he immediately understood the meaning of the queen's words.

The spies of the Imperial Academy are everywhere. Did Cao Rui think that since he did things secretly, no one would know about it?

But in fact, even the Crown Princess got the news about this matter, let alone the School Affairs Office?

"Mother, do you want me to take the initiative to admit my mistakes?"

"You are quite smart, but..."

Guo Zhao looked at Cao Rui deeply and said, "Admit your mistakes in private, but publicly, you should say that the Crown Princess was deceived and therefore broke into the palace, and you have no interest in Longyang."

"But so many people saw it at the time, and some even noticed that Cao Zan and I were wearing the wrong clothes." Is there such a thing?
Guo Zhao frowned and quickly thought of a solution.

"Cao Zuan was so strong that he could lift objects weighing thousands of pounds. The prince appreciated his bravery and therefore trusted him very much. He would sleep with him, so-called sleeping with feet touching each other.

The reason why we wore the wrong clothes tonight was that Cao Zuan and the prince were playing and betting with clothes, and the prince lost his clothes, so Cao Zuan wore the prince's clothes and went out. "

It sounds like it's not very reliable.

"Is this really possible?"

Guo Zhao looked at Cao Rui deeply and said, "Your Majesty, you only need to make the world believe it. Anyone who dares not to believe it is disrespecting the emperor's order."

Maybe there are rumors.

But no one dared to talk about this matter openly.

Over time, it naturally became a secret.

In short, it will not affect the prince's throne.

By this time, Cao Rui also understood the key point.

"My son, thank you very much, Queen Mother."

"Don't thank me, Crown Prince, you should cultivate yourself. The future of Wei rests on your shoulders. The Emperor of Han is ambitious and will definitely plot against Luoyang. If the Crown Prince cannot work hard to govern, how can he compete with the Emperor of Han in a time of great strife?"

When the Wei Kingdom was in power, she was the queen and the queen mother.

If the Wei Kingdom is gone, what is she?
"I will definitely live up to my mother's trust!"

Tonight, I have violated the rules and communicated with the Queen, and the relationship of interests between the two has become closer.

Cao Rui's eyes flickered.

By the time.
Maybe you can ask some questions that you can't normally ask.

such as
How is father's health?
How long can I live?

As for self-cultivation?
This is natural when you are a prince.

But if you become an emperor, why do you need to cultivate your character?
Han Dynasty?

I can't beat you, but can't I defend myself?

Some things are causally related.

If Wei and Wu were defeated repeatedly in wars, lost land and dignity, there would be no peace in the country.

This is especially true for a country like Wu. Not only is there unrest in the country, but there is also a rift between the aristocratic families and the king in the court, and now there is even a threat of a fight for the throne.

Although the State of Wei still maintained its original dignity, there were already turbulent waves beneath the calm surface.

As the aristocratic families grew more powerful, local tyrants gradually became unruly.

The state is in decline.

The Han Kingdom, which won victory after victory and restored Chang'an, formed a sharp contrast with them, and its national strength was naturally booming.

In the northern suburbs of Chang'an, on the banks of the Wei River.

Liu Chan was leading civil and military officials on an autumn hunt.

Hunting was an official activity, and its purpose was naturally to strengthen imperial power.

If the emperor lives in the deep palace for a long time, how can people outside know you?

How can the people respect the emperor if they have never seen him?
How could the officials, who had never seen the emperor and had never received his favor, be willing to die for him?
Why did Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong of later generations go to the south of the Yangtze River and why did they continue the hunting habit of Mulan?
The purpose of going south of the Yangtze River was to intimidate the Han people in the south of the Yangtze River, and the purpose of Mulan's hunting was to let the tribes on the grassland see the power of the Qing Dynasty.

They were all for the purpose of shocking people and consolidating imperial power.

Whenever Liu Chan had free time, he would participate in it at least once a year with civil and military officials, as well as Chinese and foreign envoys, tribal chiefs, and foreign leaders or their descendants.

The purpose, of course, is to shock people.

There is only one sun in the world, and that sun is naturally the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Gongsi.

"Swish swish~"

Liu Chan shot three arrows in a row, and all three arrows hit the elk.

When Deng Ai and Jiang Wei saw the golden arrow hit the elk, they shouted, "Your Majesty, you shot the elk!"

When all the officials and nobles around the enclosure heard this, they all shouted, "Long live, long live, long live!"

The shouts of "Long live the emperor" resounded through the sky, and Liu Chan was filled with emotion as he listened.

I think there was a hunting event outside Xuchang more than ten years ago, and Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were also there.

At that time a large deer was driven out from among the thorns.

Emperor Xian of Han shot three arrows in a row but missed. He turned to Cao and said, "You shoot it."

Cao then asked for the emperor's precious carved bow and golden arrows, pulled the bowstring fully and shot once, hitting the deer right on the back, causing it to fall into the grass.

When the ministers and officers saw the golden arrow, they thought that the emperor had shot it, and they all shouted "Long live the emperor" to him enthusiastically.

Cao Cao rode his horse straight out and stood in front of the emperor to welcome him.

Everyone was shocked.

Emperor Xian missed the target with three arrows - he lost power; Cao Cao hit the target with one arrow - he gained power.

Now, more than ten years have passed, and the Han Dynasty no longer has such powerful ministers.

This became even more true a few years later, after the destruction of the Wei and Wu states.

It's really true that the world changes so dramatically and things are unpredictable!
After sighing, Liu Chan said to his left and right: "Handle the elk so that I can reward the meritorious officials!"

"promise!"

Huang Hao immediately took the order and called people to deal with the emperor's prey.

After hunting for a while, Liu Chan felt a little tired.

Immediately, surrounded by everyone, he returned to the dragon tent.

Inside the dragon tent, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang looked at the reward list with a frown on his face.

After reading the list of rewards, Zhang Fei started to clamor.

"If you invent something, you will be rewarded with an official title. This title is too worthless. You must know that the soldiers were awarded titles at the cost of their lives. If these people can get titles without fighting in the battlefield, who will be willing to fight for the Han Dynasty in the long run? They will just focus on these strange and ingenious things."

"Yeah! We worked so hard to fight the enemy, but in the end we were ranked with the craftsmen. Sigh~"

Liu Chan had just returned to the big tent and heard these words, frowning slightly.

"Then according to the general, killing the enemy in battle is merit, but these people inventing things is not merit?"

After Guan Yu's death, Zhang Fei was promoted from General of Chariots and Cavalry to General.

Now only Zhang is left among the Liu, Guan and Zhang clans, and since he is also the emperor's father-in-law, he naturally receives extraordinary courtesy from Liu Chan.

"I'll wait to see your Majesty!"

As soon as Liu Chan entered the dragon tent, Zhang Fei and others bowed down and saluted.

"No need to be polite."

Liu Chan walked straight to the main seat, slowly knelt down, his eyes were extremely sharp as he glanced at the officials in the tent.

"If you have any problem, just tell me face to face. Why complain behind my back?"

After Liu Chan said this, the others naturally lowered their heads and dared not speak. Liu Chan had been emperor for more than two years and had accumulated enough prestige. When these people saw him, if they had something to hide, they didn't even dare to look at him.

"His Majesty!"

There might be someone in the dragon tent who had something to hide, but Zhang Fei's heart was clear.

He was not afraid of Liu Chan's punishment.

Even when Liu Bei was alive, he looked like a tough guy, not to mention Liu Chan, whom he had seen grow up.

When the late emperor was alive, he would correct anyone who made a mistake in person.

Now that the eldest brother is gone, if His Majesty is about to make any mistakes, he, Zhang Fei, will speak out what is in his mind even if it means causing displeasure.

"I was not in Chang'an on the day of the court meeting, so no one dared to object. However, after the court meeting, they were discussing it privately and were very excited. If this plan and this reward were really implemented, it would definitely cause unrest in the world. Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Liu Chan's face was very calm, without the slightest sign of anger.

Zhang Fei’s problem is also the problem of the ministers.

Through this incident, Liu Chan wanted to make his attitude clear to the world.

Simultaneously
This is also a big move by Liu Chan to weaken the aristocratic families! (End of this chapter)