Chapter 2

Bowing his body, Liu De cautiously approached the central coffin in the main hall.

Numerous familiar faces from his past appeared before Liu De’s eyes.

Kneeling first before the coffin was his adoptive father, the current emperor Liu Qi, who was still in his prime. To the left of the emperor, kneeling side by side, was the current empress dowager Dou Shi. Behind these two, in a straight line, knelt the King of Liang Liu Wu, the Bo family, and the Dou family, the maternal relatives of the empress dowager. After them were the emperor’s concubines and the feudal lords from various regions.

When they saw Liu De approach, several puzzled gazes were cast upon him.

“What are you doing here?” Liu De’s adoptive mother, Su Ji, saw Liu De suddenly appear, pursed her lips, and quickly tugged at his sleeve, lowering her voice to scold, “Quickly go back and kneel outside!”

Liu De glanced at Su Ji. At this moment, Su Ji had already begun to show signs of aging. From a purely male perspective, her figure had become misshapen, and wrinkles had started to appear at the corners of her forehead. After all, she was already in her thirties, and even with the cosmetics and makeup techniques of the 21st century, it would be difficult to conceal the traces of time.

A smart person like Wang Mo, the mother of Liu Zhi, after realizing that her youth was gone, decisively offered her younger sister to the emperor, thereby winning his favor and gaining an ally in the palace.

But what about Su Ji...

She was still stuck in the past, nineteen years ago...

Looking at Su Ji, Liu De sighed deeply in his heart. Some people were already beyond saving.

He silently said sorry in his heart.

Then, Liu De resolutely knelt down, bowing deeply and saying, “Disobedient son Liu De pays respects to Father Emperor, Grandmother Empress Dowager, and all the royal uncles and granduncles!”

After speaking, Liu De pressed his forehead tightly to the ground, waiting for his adoptive father to speak.

Liu De’s voice was not loud, but it was very penetrating. Most importantly, there was no hesitation or timidity.

This made many of the feudal lords cast their gazes upon Liu De for a moment.

The current emperor had yet to establish a crown prince, so, in a broad sense, all ten of his sons had a chance.

Liu De’s sudden appearance made many people pay attention.

This was not because Liu De had the aura of a true dragon, and his presence alone made people recognize him as the emperor.

Rather, the Liu family branch to which Liu De belonged had a rather poor reputation within the Liu clan.

Back when Liu De’s adoptive father was still the crown prince, he had killed the crown prince of Wu with a chessboard on the streets of Chang’an.

More tragically, the death of the crown prince of Wu had yet to be resolved by the court...

As the saying goes, like father, like son.

What if one day, while walking on the street, one encountered a prince and was killed by a chessboard because of a lack of discernment? How unjust would that be?

Just thinking about this past event made the feudal lords pay attention. After all, it was never a bad thing to remember the appearance, personality, and preferences of each prince.

It must be admitted that the Liu family’s genetic optimization project was indeed well done. Generally speaking, the princes all had good looks.

More than a hundred years later, Ban Gu wrote in the Book of Han: “My aunt, Lady Chong, was a concubine, and she and her father and brothers served in the imperial court. She often told me that Emperor Cheng was good at maintaining his appearance and demeanor. When he got into the carriage, he stood upright, did not look back, did not speak quickly, and did not point with his hands. When he presided over the court, he was solemn and dignified like a god, truly embodying the solemn appearance of a heavenly emperor!”

Even Emperor Cheng, whose body had been weakened by wine and women, was praised for his dignified appearance.

Liu De, who had just turned fifteen, naturally wasn’t far behind.

Although he was less than 1.6 meters tall, he had a well-defined face, a slender figure, and a good demeanor. Kneeling on the ground, he looked like a statue.

“What is it?” After a while, the emperor Liu Qi, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“Your son heard that the Empress Mother has fainted and is deeply concerned. Therefore, I boldly request the Emperor’s permission to visit her and show my filial piety!” Liu De said softly.

But his words were like a bomb dropped in the palace.

The Empress Mother Liu De referred to was not his adoptive mother Su Ji.

According to the rules, the only person a prince could formally call Empress Mother was the current empress, Empress Bo.

Only the empress, who was the mother of the nation and held the imperial seal, was theoretically the common mother of all the princes.

But that was only in theory.

In reality, almost everyone knew that the current empress, Empress Bo, was not favored by the emperor. Her position as empress was only secure because of her great-aunt, the Grand Empress Dowager. Now that the old lady had passed away, Empress Bo’s position as empress was becoming precarious.

No one could understand Liu De’s actions at this moment.

However, several of the Bo family’s nobles looked at Liu De with gratitude.

Everyone knew that it was easy to add flowers to brocade but hard to send charcoal in the snow.

When the old lady was still alive, the Bo family was a royal family, and even the emperor had to show respect. But as soon as the old lady passed away, the world changed overnight, making the Bo family fully realize the coldness of human nature.

At this moment, Liu De’s decision to visit Empress Bo greatly moved the Bo family.

When the Bo family was happy, someone else was naturally unhappy.

Su Ji’s face turned almost instantly ashen, and the faces of the elder members of the Dou family were not pleasant either. The old empress dowager, however, seemed as if nothing had happened, kneeling quietly before the coffin as if it had nothing to do with her.

“This is proper. Permission granted...” The emperor said this in a flat tone, then turned and continued to kneel facing the coffin. For him, even though he did not like the empress, he had to maintain the necessary appearance during the national mourning. The fact that no prince had stepped forward to show concern when the empress fainted had already made him lose face.

Those familiar with the inside story knew that the most beloved and favored son of the late Emperor Xiaowen was not him but the deceased King of Liang, Liu Yi. To cultivate Liu Yi, the late emperor even sent Jia Yi to be his tutor.

Before Liu Yi’s death from a fall off a horse, his position as crown prince was not secure. If it weren’t for the current empress, Empress Bo, who had negotiated on his behalf with the Grand Empress Dowager, he would not have survived until the day Liu Yi died.

Therefore, Liu De’s willingness to step in and save the situation made Liu Qi very happy, but as the emperor, he could not show it.

“Understood!” Liu De bowed deeply, knowing that this was the first step on his path to self-rescue: “Your son will follow your command!”

Then, Liu De turned to Su Ji and explained softly, “Mother, please forgive my擅自行动...”

Su Ji lowered her head, her face ashen, and refused to respond.

Liu De had been prepared for this.

To embark on the path of succession, he had to give up some things. Besides, his relationship with Su Ji was not deep, so he did not feel any guilt.

He lowered his head and looked at Su Ji, saying softly, “Mother, our Han family governs the world with filial piety. As a son, I must set an example...”

Although Liu De’s voice was low, it could still be heard by the nearby concubines.

The more magnanimous ones might have smiled it off, but the more petty ones immediately gritted their teeth in hatred.

“What do you mean?” Liu De clearly heard this, and it was the voice of Wang Mo, the mother of Liu Zhi.

But Liu De ignored it, turned, and bowed, walking toward the inner chamber.

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