Chapter 1

As the dew on the garlic sprouts, when will it dry? The dew dries and falls again tomorrow, but when will a dead person return?

Suddenly, a low, mournful chorus of dirges echoed in his ears, and as he looked around, the entire world was draped in white.

The guards, wearing mourning caps and draped in silk and hemp, stood silently on either side, holding long halberds.

Sobs could be heard everywhere.

Wailing, thousands and tens of thousands of people sobbed together. The atmosphere of sorrow required no buildup; it spontaneously enveloped everyone in a wave of grief. Inside and outside the grand palace, no one was not crying.

Liu De knelt on the cold brick floor, tears plopping down in large drops.

But he was not crying out of sorrow; he was shedding tears of excitement.

"Who would have thought I would live a third life!" His low sigh was drowned out by the countless sobs. In this unnoticed corner, a hint of a strange smile appeared at the corner of Liu De's mouth.

Living a mundane life for twenty-seven years in the 21st century, two thousand and one hundred years later, was his first life;

Traversing two thousand and one hundred years of time to arrive in the Western Han Dynasty of 141 BC, becoming the third son of Emperor Jing of Han, Liu De, as recorded in history, was his second life;

Dying and coming back to life, returning to the beginning of his穿越, this should be considered his third life.

"Three times is the limit. I shouldn't be so lucky to have a fourth life to squander!" Liu De thought, his eyes inadvertently glancing at a figure kneeling not far in front of him.

A frail body, as if a gust of wind could blow it away, and a slightly hoarse and mournful cry, indicating that he was indeed very sad.

Liu De sighed softly.

That was his elder brother, the eldest prince Liu Rong, who had ruined his entire previous life...

Looking at that familiar back, Liu De's mouth twitched, and he silently lowered his head.

This year was the second year of the reign of Emperor Jing of Han, as recorded in history. Of course, no one dared to say it this way, not even the imperial historians dared to record it on paper.

The division of Emperor Jing's reign into the early, middle, and late periods was only done after the death of his father.

Generally, people used the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to record the years.

It was the year Bingwu.

In the fourth month of summer of the year Bingwu, Empress Dowager Bo passed away, and the nation was in mourning.

In his previous life, Liu De had possessed the body at this time, but he was completely unprepared for the穿越. Before the穿越, he was just an ordinary commoner, and the sudden change in status left him unable to adapt. As a result, he made several blunders in etiquette during the funeral, and was criticized by some as "disobedient."

This was an extremely severe political accusation!

The Han dynasty prided itself on governing the world through filial piety, and filial piety was highly promoted. In this era, a well-known filial son would not only be commended by the local authorities and respected by neighbors, but also had the opportunity to serve as an official.

In the imperial court, the emperor set an example.

The late Emperor Xiaowen, Liu De's grandfather Liu Heng, was a model of filial piety.

Therefore, at this time, filial piety was not just a personal moral issue but also a matter of political correctness.

In his previous life, Liu De was accused of improper etiquette during the funeral, labeled as "disobedient" and "disrespectful," and found it difficult to defend himself.

One mistake led to a series of mistakes.

After that, he struggled for over a decade, but unfortunately, he could not escape the fate of being forced to drink a cup of poison.

Thinking about this, Liu De sighed.

As a穿越er, he felt somewhat embarrassed and flustered—his previous life had truly disgraced all穿越ers!

"It's coming..." Recalling his previous life, Liu De covered his head with his sleeve and muttered a sentence.

Before he finished speaking, a commotion arose from the front.

Several maidservants quietly escorted a woman in full mourning attire, who had fainted, out of the memorial hall.

People around them whispered, "The empress has fainted!"

"Indeed..."

"With the old lady gone, the empress's days will be hard..."

"Hush... hush..."

Listening to their whispers, Liu De quietly got up, bent over, and tried to move as inconspicuously as possible, slowly edging forward.

Even though Liu De was being very low-key, his actions still drew the attention of many people.

For a moment, countless eyes focused on Liu De.

During the national mourning, let alone a prince, even a minor eunuch would not dare to move easily.

Liu De did not care about the gazes of others. In the last few years of his previous life, Liu De often reflected on the events and choices he encountered today and afterward.

He realized that his situation and status were very awkward. Even without being labeled as "disobedient," his situation would not have changed.

Who could blame him for being Liu Rong's younger brother, the natural heir to Liu Rong's political legacy?

After Liu Rong was deposed and committed suicide, he became like a torch in the dark, attracting the attention of countless people, with every move scrutinized and interpreted under a microscope.

Even if he imitated Liu Sheng, drinking and eating and indulging in women every day, or Liu Duan, giving up on himself, it would be useless.

That would just hand Liu Che a knife, and he wouldn't even need to gather evidence to take his life.

Who could blame him for being Liu Rong's younger brother and plotting for Liu Rong in the struggle for the crown, almost securing Liu Rong's position as crown prince?

This hatred was too deep, impossible to resolve!

As for helping Liu Rong to secure the crown again in this life?

"Ha ha..." Liu De's lips curled into a light smile.

In his previous life, after being labeled as "disobedient," he struggled to survive, using all his efforts to plot for Liu Rong to secure a stable life.

Unfortunately, a rotten tree cannot be carved, and a weak foundation cannot be built upon.

In his previous life, Liu Rong was the crown prince for two years.

Liu De spent two years cleaning up after his crown prince brother.

And that was not all.

Besides his indecisive and hesitant brother, Liu De also had to clean up after his untroubled uncles and his loose-tongued stepmother.

But all his efforts were shattered by his stepmother's single word: "Old dog."

Then Liu Rong was deposed, his stepmother was sent to the cold palace, and Liu De was sent back to his fief.

Seven years after the death of his father, in the first year of Yuanguang, a cup of poison ended Liu De's life.

This was Liu De's previous life.

Living again, Liu De no longer wanted to live such a life.

As for betting on Liu Che, who was still called Liu Zhi at the time...

Thinking about the face of Liu Che's mother and the character of his uncle, Liu De sneered.

Moreover...

"Year after year, sewing golden threads for others, how disgusting!" Liu De said to himself, "In this life... I want to be the emperor!"

Thinking about the lowly and struggling years of his previous life, Liu De's resolve became even stronger.

Emperor, the supreme ruler.

As long as he sat on that throne, it meant...

"I am the state..."

These four short words made the blood in Liu De's chest boil.

If given the chance, who could resist the allure of the imperial throne?

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The formatting on起点is really bad.

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