I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 254: Rebellious son, I will never admit old age!
The negotiation between the Han Dynasty and the State of Chen was not a negotiation at all, but more like a notification.

Although several envoys from the State of Chen raised some opinions from the perspective of their country, they also knew that the State of Chen and the King of Chen had few choices. Therefore, under the strong attitude of Liu Ju and the Han officials, they had to accept most of the conditions proposed by the Han Dynasty and drafted an agreement.

However, the matter is not yet completely settled.

Next, Liu Che needs to select an envoy to escort the envoy of Chen State back to Chen State and then meet with the King of Chen to re-establish cooperation between the two countries.

Naturally, Liu Ju didn't need to worry about the rest.

After the negotiations, he went straight back to Bowang Garden, and Dongfang Shuo and his son Dongfang Yu went to the palace to report to Liu Che.

Soon after.

Inside the greenhouse hall.

Listening to Dongfang Shuo and Dongfang Yu's descriptions, especially hearing Dongfang Shuo actually praising Liu Ju, his words did not conceal the awe and admiration for Liu Ju at all.

Liu Che felt a little unhappy and frowned slightly:

"Dongfang Shuo, you have always been arrogant and unruly. You don't take any of the civil and military officials in the court seriously. You only met Liu Ju once today, why do you respect him so much?"

The most important thing is that Liu Che met Dongfang Shuo not long after he ascended the throne. At that time, he should have been about the same age as Liu Ju is now. But after so many years, he had never heard Dongfang Shuo praise him so much. On the contrary, he gave him more advice.

With such a comparison, it seems as if this rebellious son is so outstanding that in Dongfang Shuo's heart he even surpasses himself. What's the reason for this?
"..."

Dongfang Yu was also puzzled.

Although his incompetent father was not petty, he was definitely not a magnanimous person. In most cases, he would try to get back at someone if he suffered a loss.

Even when the emperor did not listen to his advice and did not entrust him with important tasks, he still wrote poems such as "Answering the Guest's Questions" and "On Mr. Feiyou" to complain.

Of course, it was just a complaint, and he did not dare to directly express his dissatisfaction with the emperor. The insinuation was also very obscure.

If it was the prince, it wouldn't be so obscure, right?
But today was very strange. The prince did not give him any face at Zhongdu Station and even directly exposed his shortcomings. Yet, he still praised the prince so much, and there was no hint of flattery or sarcasm in his words of praise.

Dongfang Yu was even a little confused about what kind of person this useless father was. Was he just a bad person? Or had he become ashamed and braver after his shortcomings were exposed by the prince?

Dongfang Shuo bowed and said seriously:
"Your Majesty, you may not know that your Highness's performance in front of the Chen Kingdom's envoys today really opened my eyes, especially the playful and domineering words your Highness said. In my eyes, they are like lotus flowers in your mouth. I can't help but admire you."

"What did he say?"

Liu Che asked curiously.

"For example, this sentence: No one can affect the friendship between the Han Dynasty and the Chen Kingdom, not even Wei Man Joseon, and not even the Chen Kingdom."

Dongfang Shuo immediately repeated the story like a pilgrim, his face full of enjoyment.
“There’s also this: Children who cry get milk, but those who mourn get none.”

"And this: The Han Dynasty does not need you to fight for it. If you can hold on, you will join the Han Dynasty. If you can't hold on, you will also join the Han Dynasty. This is the general trend of the future..."

"Your Majesty, I thought I was eloquent enough before, but when I heard Your Majesty speak, I felt it was a rare enjoyment, even more enjoyable than marrying a new wife."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Yu could not help but rush forward and cover Dongfang Shuo's mouth. What a messed up metaphor! How can those messed up women of yours be compared with the prince?
"I see……"

Liu Che didn't care about this detail and just nodded slightly.

He had also appreciated the eloquence of this rebellious son. Although he could not say that no one could match him, his choice of words and thinking were indeed unique among the civil and military officials in the court. Even the Confucian scholars and virtuous writers were caught off guard by his refutation.

However, the style of today's words does seem to have changed slightly.

The domineering spirit in it was beyond words. Even if he was just listening to Dongfang Shuo's retelling now, he could still feel his blood boiling in his heart.

I have to say, this rebellious son is becoming more and more like me, and even has a tendency to surpass me...

The most important thing is that his methods are so dirty, unlike me who has a sense of shame. When he succeeds to the throne in the future, I am afraid that the four barbarian countries will have a hard time living a good life. I wonder if those small countries will regret being born too close to the Han Dynasty?
"Okay, this is a good job, you two should also be rewarded."

After a brief pause, Liu Che waved his hand at the father and son.

"Don't worry about Dongfang Shuo this time. Although it is Dongfang Yu's duty to support you, as a father, you should also act like a father. There are some things I have never said clearly, but the people of the world are still watching. It is said that you cultivate yourself, manage your family, govern the country and bring peace to the world. You neither cultivate yourself nor manage your family. Although you have repeatedly advocated agriculture and warfare to strengthen the country, what is the difference between you and the people in the chapter on agriculture and warfare who exchanged clever words for official titles?"

"Chen Nongzhan is a man who makes the country strong, but he is rejected by the Nongzhan chapter. He has a position, but he doesn't know how to defend it. How can he gain trust from others and the world?"

"How can I use you? How can I not regard you as an actor?"

"I have read your 'Answering the Guest's Questions' and 'On Mr. Fei You'. These words today are my answers to you. Go back and think about them carefully."

"..."

Dongfang Shuo fell silent after hearing this.

In the past, even if Liu Che reprimanded him, he always had something to say and would even show off his wit, but this time, he didn't know what to say.

Because he could feel it.

This was the only time in more than 20 years that Liu Che did not treat him as an actor, but rather as a heartfelt admonition to an old friend.

Yes, before they knew it, they had grown old and become old friends... Thinking back to the first time he met the emperor, Liu Che was the same age as the current crown prince, and he was only in his early twenties.

But now, Liu Che has some white hair on his temples, and Dongfang Shuo's hair is even more gray.

Their respective sons have grown to their original age.

The high spirits of the past are now accompanied by a hint of mutual appreciation.

"Your Majesty, I, your humble servant, obey your command."

Dongfang Shuo's heart suddenly became heavy. He bowed slightly, and there was a gleam of light in his eyes as he looked down at the ground. "Your humble servant" was quietly replaced by "Your old servant".

"..."

Dongfang Yu was grateful to Liu Che, but he also felt sorry for Dongfang Shuo who suddenly became silent.

However, his incompetent father suffered two blows today, first by Liu Ju and then by Liu Che. Is this too much for him?

Wait until Dongfang Shuo and Dongfang Yu, father and son, leave the Greenhouse Hall.

Liu Che also shook his head slightly, and murmured softly, as if thinking about something:

"What's wrong with me? Why did I suddenly become so sentimental and say these words to Dongfang Shuo?"

"Have I begun to doubt whether I am getting old?"

"Time makes people grow old..."

"No, it's the rebellious son who makes me grow old. It's because that rebellious son always surpasses me that I begin to doubt whether I am no longer capable and whether I can no longer keep up with this era..."

"But my rebellious son, remember this: I will never admit old age!"

……

The matter of Chen State was quickly settled.

General Yang Pu of the Tower Ship was ordered to lead 500 Han navy soldiers to escort the envoys of the State of Chen across the Bohai Sea back to his country. He brought the emperor's letter to the State of Chen and discussed with the King of Chen the implementation of the "Chen State's Strategy".

During this process, Liu Ju and Han Ling's marriage was still moving forward.

The auspicious day was set for the 20th day of the first lunar month, five days after the sacrifice to the Taiyi God. The Minister of Rites had been ordered to send out wedding invitations to announce it to the world and the whole country celebrated together.

As the crown prince, Liu Ju still has nothing to do, and he only needs to send someone out when the time comes.

However, the officials, servants and slaves of the Prince's Mansion had been busy for more than a month in advance, preparing various ceremonial vessels, replacing new furniture, pruning wildly growing trees, re-arranging stone benches with faded patterns, and re-painting pavilions with slightly faded paint... In short, Liu Ju felt that they were just short of tearing down Bowang Garden and rebuilding it.

Not only the people from the Prince's Mansion, but also the attendants of Liu Che and Wei Zifu have been coming to Bowang Garden frequently recently, constantly sending things in. Even the imperial chefs were sent over to familiarize themselves with the environment in advance and prepare menus for the wedding banquet.

I heard from Wei Kang that the Han family has not had an easy time recently.

The whole family spent a huge amount of money to reorganize the Longyi Marquis Mansion for this marriage. Han Ling's two elder brothers, Han Xing and Han Zeng, contributed the most. They were busy in the mansion from morning to night every day. They did things that should have been done by servants themselves, and always complained that the servants were slow and not efficient enough, and kept urging them to work harder.

Han Ling was already somewhat dissatisfied with this.

Because she had long seen through the thoughts of her two brothers, they were eager to marry her off quickly, but as this was a happy event, she couldn't get angry, so she could only go to her sisters-in-law to expose the negative materials of her two brothers as revenge.

Soon it was the day before the Taiyi God sacrifice, and there were only six days left until the wedding.

That day, Liu Ju hibernated in Qiufang as usual.

Suddenly, Guo Zhen's impatient voice came from outside the door:
"Your Highness! Your Highness! Something happened in the Long Wei Marquis's Mansion!"

"Come in and tell me, what happened?"

Liu Ju sat up from the couch. Guo Zhen's tone didn't sound like it was a trivial matter.

As he spoke, Guo Zhen had already pushed the door open and ran in, forgetting to close it. He rushed to Liu Ju with a biting cold wind:
"Your Highness, the Long Wei Marquis's Mansion just sent someone to say that the eldest lady has suddenly fallen ill. I beg Your Highness and Doctor Yi to go and treat her as soon as possible!"

"Suddenly fell ill, what are the symptoms?"

Liu Ju had already stood up and put on his clothes. As he walked out, he asked, "Have you sent someone to call Yi Shuo?"

"I have sent someone to call him."

Guo Zhen followed closely,

"I don't know the specific symptoms. The servant who reported it only said that the Madam suddenly felt a tightness in her chest. After a while, she clenched her teeth and fell unconscious."

As he spoke, he was still praying in his heart.

After all, the eldest lady is Han Ling's biological mother. If something goes wrong with her at this time, Han Ling will have to observe mourning, and the marriage that has been prepared will definitely not take place.

(End of this chapter)