I'm really not King Jing of Zhongshan

Chapter 208 Liu Sheng: Something is wrong with Qilan Temple!
In the eastern suburbs of Chang'an City, Ershili Pavilion.

It's still the same twenty-mile pavilion, and it's still the same two young masters in crown clothes last time, and one of them is holding the Tianzi Festival Yak.

But everything has undergone earth-shaking changes.

——Last time, the envoy who was ordered to meet Liang Wang Liu Wu: Liu Rong, the eldest son of the emperor, has now become the king of Linjiang;

However, Liu Sheng, the deputy envoy at that time, turned himself into the official envoy, and was ordered to come here on behalf of the emperor to welcome Taiwei Zhou Yafu and General Dou Ying who were returning to the court.

The only thing that remains unchanged is that Liu Sheng's elder brother Liu Pengzu is still appointed as the deputy envoy just like last time.

The two brothers sat in the pavilion, just like a few months ago, the emperor's eldest son Liu Rong and his deputy envoys Liu Sheng and Liu Pengzu were waiting for Liang Wang Liu Wu in the pavilion.

But the three brothers at that time became the two brothers now.

Even these two brothers will no longer be brothers of the same mother...

"How about the elder brother's adoption?"

"My brother has been living in the Queen's Jiaofang Hall for more than half a month. Why hasn't there been any movement from the emperor's grandmother?"

The brief silence was broken by Liu Sheng's soft question, which also brought a slight smile on Liu Pengzu's face.

"how?"

"Does Ah Sheng think that I need to solemnly worship my ancestors and sue the temple from my mother's knees to my step-mother's knees?"

"Or, like a national policy, passed in the third reading in the court?"

Liu Pengzu's self-deprecating words made Liu Sheng frown again.

Seeing that his younger brother still didn't understand, Liu Pengzu could only sigh a little, then smiled and shook his head.

"I want to change my mother~"

"I don't want to change my father..."

"—Whether I am the mother's son or the queen mother's son, am I still the emperor's son?"

"Since it's not a change of father, then the adoption naturally doesn't need to be done with much fanfare."

"Just wait for the emperor's grandmother to issue an edict abolishing the queen mother's position as queen, and then I will quietly follow the mother queen to move out of the Jiaofang Palace."

Hearing his brother's interpretation, Liu Sheng nodded belatedly.

This is true.

Indeed, as Liu Pengzu said: In this era, "adoption" is almost exclusively a male vocabulary.

It's like an ordinary family where there are two brothers, and one of them fails to leave blood due to some objective factors, such as late birth + early death of the son, or infertility. Will think of adoption.

That is to say, adopt one of the brothers' sons to his knees to continue his bloodline and ancestral hall.

At this time, the man who is unable to bear children will first go to his brother to discuss: brother/brother, I have no son, and I have no way to explain to my ancestors when I go underground?
You have many sons, how about adopting one for me?
Don't worry, I will treat my adopted son as my own!

With the consent of his brother, the barren man needs to report to the ancestor's god with his brother who is willing to adopt his son to his nephew and his nephew who is willing to be his son;
——Ancestors and ancestors~
——My unfilial son, I failed to leave blood~
——Fortunately, I have an older brother/younger brother who is willing to help me continue my bloodline and adopt my son (the bastard is preferred, and there is a high probability that he will be the youngest bastard) to me~
——This can be regarded as a continuation of my blood~
——Don’t blame me~
——Those blood sacrifices, just treat them as my apology for you~
···
With such a "ancestor worship" procedure, the adoption between men (in most cases, brothers) can be regarded as officially completed.

From then on, the adopted son will call his uncle his father and his own father his uncle.

To be precise: Except for the fact that the blood relationship cannot be changed, in any other category, this youngest son has completely changed his father.

This is true among the common people, but it is even more troublesome when it comes to the clan and royal family.

——The "ancestor worship" in the folks naturally becomes a "sacrifice to the temple" in the royal family.

It is the ancestor temples such as Gaotai Temple and Gaomiao Temple, and the temple of the father of the two brothers is also added. (If Tianzi Qi and Liang Wang Liu Wu are adopted, their father, the Taizong Temple of the first emperor Liu Heng must be added)
Coupled with the fact that the adoption between the royal family is likely to involve the throne, the throne, or at least the right to inherit the position of Chehou, it makes the "adoption" between the men of the royal family extremely sensitive.

Therefore, unless there is a situation where it is absolutely necessary and the world is in chaos if he does not adopt his son, the emperor of the Han family will never think about adopting him;
In principle, it is also not allowed for clan members to adopt each other's children.

But there was nothing sensitive about Liu Pengzu's adoption this time.

——As Liu Pengzu himself said: Liu Pengzu's adoption this time is to change his mother, not to change his father.

Anyway, no matter how adopted, Liu Pengzu will always be the heir of Emperor Qi.

That being the case, in this patriarchal and patriarchal society, Liu Pengzu's adoption obviously doesn't need to be so solemn.

Go up to the sky, that is, the emperor set up a family banquet, and said to the clan and royal family that "the seventh son has changed his mother".

But even so, Liu Sheng still felt unspeakable guilt towards Liu Pengzu.

Even before, the two brothers had communicated many times on this matter...

"Ah Sheng, don't take it too seriously."

"Let me be adopted under my mother's knee, let my mother be the queen, let Ah Sheng be the crown prince, let me be the king of Zhao, this is what the father means."

"—This is not something we can control or change."

"Furthermore, if it wasn't for this incident, the two of us brothers would have already become kings and vassals;"

"Now that I can stay in Chang'an and spend a few more years with my mother, is it better than being parted for many years?"

As soon as Liu Sheng showed a little guilt, he heard Liu Pengzu's free and easy words, which made Liu Sheng hold back all the words he didn't say.

Grateful, but still a little guilty to look at his brother, and then force a smile, this topic is considered to be passed by the two brothers.

Then, naturally, Liu Yu, the fourth son, Liu Fei, the fifth son, and Liu Fa, the sixth son, and Liu Duan, the eighth son, were brought up by Liu Pengzu, who deliberately wanted to change the subject.

As for Liu Sheng, he used his current information channels to tell his elder brother Liu Pengzu all the inside stories he knew.

"Probably in September~"

"——Father originally planned to send several elder brothers to seal the country in July, but I forced them to stay for two months."

"I thought, at least let my brothers see with their own eyes that I sit on the position of crown prince?"

"Afterwards, as the crown prince, I promise them that I will take good care of Cheng Ji and Tang Ji, so that they can rest assured..."

Speaking frankly what he thought in his heart, Liu Sheng couldn't help but smiled miserably again.

And this smile was caught by Liu Pengzu once again, and he chuckled gleefully.

"What happened to Yuan An?"

Seeing that his elder brother saw through what he was thinking at a glance, Liu Sheng just shook his head with a wry smile, and a little helplessness appeared on his face.

"Yuan Ang, I still think that armor was sent by my fifth brother..."

"—I'm even sure that Uncle Liang sent someone to assassinate Yuan An. I've known it for a long time. Sending the armor to Yuan An is also to remind him."

"Yuan Ang also said that he will firmly remember my life-saving grace to him. No matter what happens in the future, as long as I find Yuan Ang, he will help him..."

Shaking his head and saying this with a wry smile, Liu Sheng couldn't help but let out another short sigh, and his face was filled with helplessness.

——Liu Sheng is really confused about this matter...
Hearing Liu Sheng's helpless words, Liu Pengzu became more and more gloating;
He also ridiculed Liu Sheng a few words like "Before he became the prince, Jiuqing came to serve him", and finally skipped this topic.

They were silent for a moment, raised their heads, and looked outside the pavilion;
Still seeing Zhou Yafu, Dou Ying, and the suspected 'brigade of soldiers and horses', Liu Pengzu, bored, finally took a deep breath and patted his thigh lightly.

"Ah~"

"That's it, Ah Sheng, I'm going to be the prince soon."

"Would you like to tell me, as a brother, what can I do to help Ah Sheng?"

He asked with a relaxed voice, and saw Liu Pengzu turned sideways with joy, and did not forget to tug Liu Sheng's arm.

"Is there anyone who doesn't have good eyesight and wants to be unfavorable to Ah Sheng, but needs my elder brother to take action to eliminate hidden dangers for Ah Sheng?!"

"—Ah Sheng just said it, I'm sure I'm not afraid!"

"Even if it's Chao Cuo and Zhidu, I will definitely do my best!"

Hearing that his brother was very playful, and even had a faintly excited tone, Liu Sheng was only slightly taken aback, and then couldn't help smiling and shaking his head.

Subconsciously wanted to speak, chat and laugh with elder brother, but seemed to suddenly think of something, his face tensed suddenly.

He turned sideways thoughtfully, looked around the gazebo, and said meaningfully: "On the way, brother, don't you think that someone is staring at us?"

"From the moment we left the palace to the Ershili Pavilion, there seemed to be someone staring at us from behind..."

As he said that, Liu Sheng still did not forget to turn his eyes, and tried his best to calmly explore the surroundings, where the 'eyeliner' might be hidden.

But it's a pity that around this gazebo, Liu Sheng only saw the majestic guards everywhere, the forbidden military soldiers protecting the safety of the two brothers...
"Ashin's meaning~"

"--Beauty Wang?"

As he was exploring the surroundings, his elder brother said something abruptly, which finally made Liu Sheng draw his gaze back to his eyes.

When he looked back at his elder brother Liu Pengzu next to him, Liu Sheng's face suddenly became solemn.

"In the past, we all thought that the eldest brother must be the crown prince in the end."

"The eldest brother is the crown prince, and the second and third brothers are on the sidelines. The six brothers from the Guangming Palace and the Xuanming Palace will honestly be crowned kings and vassals."

"—But ever since the elder brother, the second elder brother, and the third elder brother were all forced by the emperor to become a vassal and planned to make me the crown prince, I always feel..."

"Well... how should I put it..."

"I always feel that Qilan Palace is not as pleasing to the eye as before?"

He said this in a tone that seemed suspicious, and felt that his tone was not quite right, Liu Sheng straightened up quickly: "I don't want to imitate my father's suspicion of brothers!"

"I really feel that Wang Meiren, who used to be kind and kind, and never fight or snatch, now even looks at me, something is wrong..."

He hurriedly defended himself, and when Liu Pengzuwen nodded with a smile, expressing the meaning of "don't worry, I understand you", Liu Sheng then lowered his head a little.

"It stands to reason that the tenth brother is just under four years old and is still a baby. As an older brother, I shouldn't doubt such a young brother."

"But a few days ago, the emperor's grandmother told me that she wanted to marry Gillian to me as a wife;"

"Afterwards, I heard someone in the palace say: not long ago, the tenth brother just said in front of Aunt Guantao that he wanted to marry Gillian."

"—The tenth brother said to Aunt Guantao: I don't want to marry anyone, I just want to marry Gillian. As long as I can marry Gillian as a wife, I will build a golden house and hide Gillian in this golden house... "..."

"It is said that Aunt Guantao was so moved when she heard these words that she even accepted Tian's betrothal gift;"

"If it wasn't for the fact that the emperor's grandmother stopped and promised me A-Jiao, maybe the tenth brother would have married A-Jiao back home..."

As he spoke, Liu Sheng's calm face became more serious.

Looking at his elder brother Liu Pengzu, there was an inexplicable depth in his eyes.

"Brother should understand what it means for the tenth brother to marry Gillian."

"Besides, the tenth younger brother's age, I'm afraid this promise of 'Golden House Cangjiao' was instigated by someone..."

Hearing what Liu Sheng said earlier, Liu Pengzu didn't care at all;

He even glanced at Liu Sheng jokingly, as if to say: You haven't become a prince yet, but you have learned your father's "indiscriminate doubt"?

Hey!
When I was a child, I just watched you, kid!
But later, when Liu Sheng heard the full version of "Golden House Cangjiao" again, Liu Pengzu's complexion sank like Liu Sheng's.

After thinking for a moment with a gloomy face, he nodded thoughtfully.

"Before, when I heard this rumor, I just took it as the childish joke of the tenth brother;"

"But when Ah Sheng said this, I also recalled it."

"—Wang Meiren, I'm afraid she is not willing to be the 'Queen Dowager of Jiaodong' in the future;"

"What Wang Meiren wants to do is probably the queen, or even the empress dowager..."

Seeing that his elder brother finally understood what he meant, Liu Sheng nodded heavily.

After thinking for a long time, he let out a short sigh inexplicably.

"Although the matter of me becoming the crown prince has been decided, there are still many procedures that have not been completed."

"——First of all, we must first abolish the position of the empress of the queen mother;"

"Afterwards, even if it is to control public opinion, we have to let the Jiaofang Palace be empty for a while, and then find another opportunity to make my mother the queen."

"After my mother becomes a queen, I can be registered as the crown prince as the queen's son and only son."

"After these procedures are completed, at the earliest, I am afraid that it will take several months before I can be officially registered as the crown prince."

"But now, I'm still just 'Gongzi Sheng', the beauty Wang of the Qilan Palace, I can't sit still..."

"——The incident of Cangjiao in the Golden House sounded a wake-up call for me."

"Recently, the eyeliner that suddenly appeared around me was probably Wang Meiren's younger brother Tian Fu, who was sent to me in order to help his nephew into the reserve position, and wanted to find flaws in me... "

When it came to the end, the faces of the two brothers sank again.

Just like this, each of them sat in the pavilion with dark faces, and remained silent for half a stick of incense before Liu Pengzu took a deep breath with a serious expression.

"I see."

"Ah Sheng, don't meddle in this matter anymore."

"—Anyway, the tenth brother is also the youngest among our brothers, and he is ten years younger than Ah Sheng."

"If this matter is not handled properly, it is likely that Ah Sheng will be tainted with the stigma of 'treating younger brothers harshly', which will shake the foundation."

"So, we can't take the initiative, we can only be careful."

Hearing this, Liu Sheng also nodded lightly with a calm face, expressing that he agrees with his brother's opinion.

"Yes."

"The tenth brother is too young, we can't take the initiative to attack, we can only passively defend."

"The most important thing is not to be caught by Tian Fu, and the beauty Wang behind Tian Fu."

Having said that, Liu Sheng raised his head seriously, and looked at Liu Pengzu with seriousness and candor.

"I guess, Tian Fu may start from two aspects."

"——One, I am younger than my brother, but I became the heir apparent."

"Tian Fu may start from this aspect and try to drive a wedge between the two of us brothers."

Said this calmly, before Liu Pengzu could shake his head, Liu Sheng added: "But I'm not worried about this."

"What I'm really worried about is that my mother may be designed by the beauty Wang in the palace..."

"—My brother is not ignorant of mother's temper;"

"My brother should be aware of Wang Meiren's wrist."

"I'm worried that when my mother moves out of the pepper house and my mother becomes a queen, Beauty Wang will probably get in the way and make my mother make some mistakes..."

After saying something worried, Liu Sheng took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly.

Then, full of sincerity, he turned sideways and held his elder brother Liu Pengzu's wrist.

"Mother, I will remind and take care;"

"If it's possible, brother will also share more of the burden for me, don't let my mother be harmed by Wang Meiren..."

Hearing this, Liu Pengzu nodded his head deeply;
Even if they didn't open their mouths to say something like "I'm sure about that", the two brothers both knew: In this matter, the two brothers will never have different ideas.

Only a moment later, Liu Pengzu, who was puzzled, finally frowned and expressed his last confusion.

"Tian Fu sent someone to keep an eye on Ah Sheng, didn't Father know about it?"

"—Father must know!"

"Since you know, why don't you take action to remove these obstacles for Ah Sheng?"

"Isn't it the father's will to let Ah Sheng be the crown prince?"

Hearing that his elder brother was feeling unhappy for him, a warm current quietly flowed in Liu Sheng's heart.

But on the surface, Liu Sheng just shook his head with a wry smile, stood up from the pavilion again, and looked into the distance, the flying dust that was gradually rising in the sky.

"Father once said: After becoming a prince, father will teach me, but he will never help me."

"Thinking about Tian Fu's actions, the emperor turned a blind eye to him, and he also wanted to use this to train me..."

"—want to see how I would respond, and how I would react?"

"After all, the crown prince will become the emperor in the future."

"If a Tian Fu makes me restless and flustered, then I'm afraid I'm too cowardly as the crown prince?"

As he said that, Liu Sheng did not forget to laugh at himself, and forced out a smile pretending to be calm;

After taking another long breath, he grabbed the Tianzi Yak beside him, patted his brother on the shoulder, and signaled his brother to go outside the pavilion with him.

——Taiwei Zhou Yafu and General Dou Ying have appeared not far from the pavilion...
　The third one, and one more

　　
　
(End of this chapter)