A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 13 Looking for Dad
Huo Qubing went to Maoling.

He brought back a poem titled "Ode to a Beauty," in which Sima Xiangru said that he was not lustful, but that he had made a mistake that everyone makes under the influence of human nature. He insisted that he would uphold his integrity and would never mention taking a concubine again.

The moon was already high in the sky, and although it was late summer, the wind blowing across the Wei River still carried a slight chill.

Liu Ju noticed that his elder brother also had moments of melancholy, gazing blankly at the stars and the endless lights along the Wei River.

Even though his elder brother didn't speak, Liu Ju still knew what he was thinking: the matter of the illegitimate child.

Perhaps many things in this world are inherited, even illegitimate children.

Wei Ao.

She was the maternal grandmother of Liu Ju and Huo Qubing.

She first had three daughters and one son with the servants of the Marquis of Pingyang's household: the eldest daughter Wei Junru, the second daughter Wei Shao'er, the third daughter Wei Zifu, and the son Wei Changjun.

She also had an affair with Zheng Ji, a minor official in Pingyang, and fathered three sons: Wei Qing, Wei Bu, and Wei Guang, or Zheng Qing, Zheng Bu, and Zheng Guang.

Liu Ju's mother was Wei Zifu, and Huo Qubing's mother was Wei Shao'er. Wei Shao'er was originally a maid in the household of the Marquis of Pingyang. She had an affair with Huo Zhongru, a county official, and gave birth to Huo Qubing. Now she is married to Chen Zhang, the Grand Master of Ceremonies.

After completing his mission, Huo Zhongru reportedly returned home, married, and had children, losing all contact with Wei Shao'er.

It can be said that Huo Qubing had no father from infancy.

However, despite both being illegitimate children, Wei Qing's childhood was marked by a miserable life as a servant, while Huo Qubing's childhood was one of luxury and privilege, because Wei Zifu had already entered the palace by then.

Especially after Wei Zifu became empress, she even accepted Huo Qubing into the palace, enjoying a life of luxury in the court as a relative of the empress.

The uncle and nephew had completely different personalities: Wei Qing was humble and cautious, while Huo Qubing was fiery and passionate.

With the appreciation of the emperor's uncle, Huo Qubing became an attendant of the emperor at the age of eighteen. As a military officer, he participated in the Battle of the northern foothills of Yinshan Mountain. Leading only eight hundred light cavalry, he penetrated hundreds of miles into the heart of the Xiongnu territory, killing two thousand and twenty-eight Xiongnu people and capturing the Xiongnu Chanyu's uncle and many high-ranking officials, twice achieving the greatest merit in the entire army and being granted the title of Marquis of Champion.

Beneath the unparalleled glory lay Huo Qubing's loneliness.

Huo Qubing had visited his mother's house, but his submissive mother and respectful stepfather always made him feel like an outsider, so he never went back.

His Majesty built a manor for him, which was extremely luxurious, but it was devoid of any human warmth. Huo Qubing preferred to stay in the army rather than go there.

What was my father's house like?
Knowing the inside story of "The Zither Challenges Wenjun," Huo Qubing, for some reason, suddenly wanted to visit his father's house, even if he was extremely disappointed.

“Pingyang is in Hedong County. When we go on the expedition next year, my elder brother should pass through there,” Liu Ju said slowly.

The adult world is full of ugliness and absurdity, but no matter what, it's not wrong for a son to want to see his father.

In addition, there was another person waiting for Huo Qubing to bring him to Chang'an.

"Ah."

Huo Qubing solidified his thoughts and strolled back to his military tent. He was still pondering the meaning of the three-three system and trying to replicate Xiang Yu's twenty-eight cavalrymen breaking through the Han army's formation in history. He failed repeatedly and wondered how the Overlord had managed to do it. But he would keep thinking about it until he could no longer stay awake and fell into a deep sleep.

Liu Ju did not go to sleep. He summoned his personal guards. All 3,200 personal guards appointed by his father, the emperor, arrived at the Northern Army. He gave instructions to the two chief scribes and eight junior sons who were in charge of the 800 personal guards, and secretly arranged for them to take over the two guards and find out the movements of all the soldiers.

Liu Ju gave a particularly stern warning: any unusual information could only be reported to him alone, or else he would be executed without mercy!

After the assignments were completed, Chief Scribe Zhao Chongguo immediately distributed the soldiers and ordered the junior clerks to take them back to their tents.

With everything settled, Liu Ju breathed a sigh of relief. The soldiers his father and Li Guang had selected for him were all of good quality. After all, only those who could eat well could be trained. Even if there were spies among them, people are made of flesh and blood. If they couldn't be reformed, they could be found out and dealt with secretly.

Liu Ju found a military craftsman and obtained a shuttle with two pointed ends, grooves, and small wheels. This item was called a flying shuttle. It wasn't a particularly ingenious tool, but it could greatly widen the surface area of ​​the woven cloth.

Weaving cloth with a regular shuttle requires two people working together, but with a flying shuttle, one person can complete the weaving work, and can weave wider cloth and at a faster speed.

It saves manpower and increases efficiency; it's such an inconspicuous thing.

But Liu Ju didn't intend to double the annual production of cloth in the weaving workshop he bought for tens of millions of dollars. Instead, he wanted to increase the variety of silk patterns. The price difference between precious silk and ordinary silk is huge, and luxury goods are far more profitable than ordinary ones.

……

The sky and earth were vast and the drizzle was fine; the city of Chang'an was as cold as autumn in the early morning.

The Grand Master of Ceremonies was in charge of everything within the palace, with numerous subordinate officials and a large organization, whose officials also held very high ranks.

In addition to having an assistant minister like the other nine ministers, the Guanglu Xun (光禄勋) had subordinate officials such as Dafu (大夫), Lang (郎), Yezhe (谛者), and even Qimen (期门) and Yulin (羽林) under his jurisdiction.

Zhongdafu is one of them.

However, after His Majesty divided the Inner Court and Outer Court, the Grand Master of the Palace, who was responsible for both advising and responding to the Emperor, suddenly became different. Although they were in the same government office, the Grand Master of Ceremonies could not control the Grand Master of the Palace, but the Grand Master of the Palace could interfere in the affairs of the Grand Master of Ceremonies.

One government office with two masters—that's exactly what it means.

Two notorious cruel officials of the Han Dynasty, Su Zhong and Jian Xuan, were summoned and arrived here early.

Suo Zhong and Jian Xuan were invited into the hall, and when they sat down on the chairs, they were filled with surprise and doubt.

Zhongdafu Zhuangzhu, however, seemed oblivious, continuing to draft government decrees.

The impatient Suo Zhong couldn't help but speak in a muffled voice, "Doctor Zhong, what's the urgent matter that you need to see both of us at the same time?"

"It's not that I want to see you, it's that His Majesty needs you," Zhuang Zhu said, putting down his pen.

Upon hearing this, Suo Zhong and Jian Xuan stood up and respectfully said, "We dare not disobey your command."

"Recently, corruption has become rampant in the Northern Army, and there have been frequent reports of it. His Majesty is worried about this, so he wants to send you to investigate."

"Send us to investigate the Northern Army?"

Suo Zhong and Jian Xuan exclaimed in shock, "How dare the two of them investigate the army?"
"It's just appearance."

Zhuang Zhu shook his head and smiled at the two of them, "Our Han army is invincible. There is no such thing as embezzlement. But if the wind rises, we must stop it."

Jian Xuan hesitated for a moment, "Why us?"

He and Suo Zhong were both recommended to the court by Grand Marshal Wei Qing. Weren't they afraid of being protected when they were sent to the army for investigation?

"Only you can prevent hostility from arising within the military."

Zhuang Zhu continued, "His Majesty's intention is also to protect the Grand Marshal, so that if any problems arise in the army and get out, the first person to be held accountable will be the Grand Marshal."

Suo Zhong and Jian Xuan were thinking rapidly there.

Zhuang Zhu watched them quietly.

"Let's do it!"

(End of this chapter)