Chapter 1

Year Ten of the Han Dynasty

The city of Chang'an, which had been built for less than five years, looked extremely desolate. Despite being the capital of a new empire, it showed no signs of novelty. The heavy twilight hung over the city, and under the oppressive dark clouds, even the new residential areas exuded a sense of decay.

At this time, Chang'an had yet to construct its city walls. The not-so-luxurious Chang Yue Palace and Weiyang Palace stood isolated amidst a cluster of small, gray buildings. One palace occupied the southeast, the other the southwest. The small buildings spread out irregularly around them, occasionally obstructed by withered mulberry trees. The bumpy dirt roads saw few pedestrians.

Chang Yue Palace was located in the southwest corner of Chang'an, where the terrain was relatively low. It was vast, connected to Weiyang Palace, and occupied about sixty percent of the city's land. However, compared to the former Afang Palace, Weiyang Palace seemed rather insignificant. Its gray walls and the lack of vibrant colors, even the emperor's favorite red, were sparingly used.

Inside the palace, the atmosphere was no different from outside, equally desolate and pale. Occasionally, a few eunuchs would pass by with their heads lowered, moving silently. The unusual silence was almost eerie, even making one's hair stand on end.

"Master! Master!"

A sudden commotion broke the silence. A young boy burst out of the Jiaofang Hall, the most colorful building in Chang Yue Palace. The walls of the Jiaofang Hall were coated with pepper powder and mud, giving it a warm hue and a faint fragrance.

The boy was very young, almost invisible if not noticed. Behind him, six young eunuchs followed, not daring to run or shout. They looked at the small figure with worried faces, but could only trail behind him.

Despite his short legs, the boy ran quickly, dashing out of the Jiaofang Hall and heading towards the Changxin Hall on the west side of the front hall.

The eunuchs felt a chill run up their spines. The lead eunuch called out in alarm, "Master! You can't barge into the Changxin Hall!"

The boy finally stopped, panting heavily. He leaned against the wall and shouted, "I don't have to go in, but you must do one thing for me!"

"Master, your studies are determined by the prince. We dare not disobey," one of the eunuchs replied.

The boy was named Liu Chang, the seventh son of Liu Bang. He had a secret that no one knew: his small body housed the soul of a future person. Liu Chang himself did not understand how he had come to this world and taken over this body.

As an engineer, Liu Chang spent most of his time in the office and factory. His knowledge of time travel came mostly from a few TV shows, and his understanding of history was extremely limited.

He thought of it as a fusion of two souls, with his memories taking the lead, while Liu Chang's personality subtly influenced him. The first time Liu Chang realized he was being influenced was when he was beaten and cried loudly, something an adult engineer would never do.

Why was he beaten? Liu Chang himself was not sure. One day, he suddenly realized that the tall man in front of him was Liu Bang. Although he knew little about history, he recognized the name "Emperor Gaozu of Han." He exclaimed, "Emperor Gaozu!"

For some reason, Liu Bang, who had been kind and gentle, suddenly clenched his teeth, took off his shoe, and beat him.

Later, his mother told him, "Your father is still alive, so you don't need to consider his posthumous title so early. But, you did choose a good one."

Liu Chang gradually became Liu Chang, inheriting his mother's love, his brothers' disdain, and his father's fear, as well as a deep resentment towards reading.

Perhaps this wasn't influence. In his previous life, Liu Chang didn't like humanities subjects. In this world, because he showed his intelligence early, especially in mathematics, Liu Bang was delighted and found several scholars to teach him.

These scholars taught various philosophies, including Daoism, Legalism, and Confucianism. Despite his dislike for Confucianism, Liu Bang, who retained his thug-like habits from his early days, didn't favor any particular school. He only liked what he could use.

For Liu Chang, this was a great torment. He couldn't understand these profound ideas and had no interest in learning them. The only school he was interested in was Mohism, but it had already declined, moving from a prominent school to a marginalized one, eventually leading to its extinction.

The scientific spirit of Mohism no longer existed, replaced by a chivalrous spirit, which was embraced by the wandering knights. The nobles no longer considered Mohism a serious study, and only the wandering knights followed it.

Thus, Liu Chang spent his days trying to skip classes, which were both difficult and useless.

Liu Chang and the eunuchs faced off. When he realized they were determined to take him back to class, he grabbed the sash at his waist and threatened, "If you try to catch me, I'll urinate in the Changxin Hall! If anyone asks, I'll say you made me do it!"

The eunuchs were stunned, unsure how to respond to the prince's threat.

The standoff continued. Liu Chang reluctantly released the sash and said, "I won't make it hard for you, and you won't try to catch me. Just go back and tell my mother you didn't see me, okay?"

The eunuchs looked at each other. Among all the princes, this young prince was the most troublesome. Unlike his older brothers, who were all gentlemen, he was a wild and unruly troublemaker.

He was exceptionally intelligent, speaking before he was a year old, which amazed everyone in the palace. By the age of two, he could read and write. The emperor was overjoyed and focused on cultivating this intelligent prince.

However, after two months of studying classics with several scholars, the prince couldn't bear it anymore and started finding ways to skip classes, refusing to read any more.

To avoid reading, he had tried countless methods, including pretending to be sick, foolish, asleep, and even dead. When these ruses no longer worked, he resorted to pulling beards, spitting on faces, and almost urinating in hats.

Liu Chang felt frustrated. If he had known this would happen, he would have kept a low profile and not shown his intelligence so early. Now, he had overdone it. The sound of the scholars reciting classics made his head buzz.

Did I travel through a thousand years just to listen to you recite classics?

He felt that studying classics was a form of torture. They would analyze a single sentence repeatedly, with dozens of interpretations, each different. Sometimes, the scholars would even argue with each other.

While Liu Chang was lost in thought, the eunuchs slowly approached. He quickly noticed and started to run. "Bang!" He collided with something and fell to the ground.

Grimacing, he looked up and saw a tall, dark-faced man. The man looked intimidating, with a square face, messy beard, and furrowed brows, exuding a serious and fearsome presence. The eunuchs, already cowering, bowed and greeted him.

But Liu Chang was not afraid. "Father is Emperor Gaozu, who am I afraid of?"

"Ouch! I'm hurt! It hurts so much! I can't read anymore! Someone, take me back to the Jiaofang Hall!"

Liu Chang sat on the ground, legs spread like a basket, and clutched his leg, shouting.

The man carefully examined Liu Chang, said nothing, and walked past him.

The eunuchs sighed, picked up Liu Chang, and carried him back to the Jiaofang Hall.

...

The man walked to the Xuan Room Hall. Without any eunuch announcing his arrival, he hesitated for a moment but then firmly entered the hall.

Inside, an older man was embracing a woman, laughing and chatting.

The man had a high nose, prominent cheekbones, and a thick beard that trembled as he spoke. He wore a crooked headdress and disheveled clothes. As they chatted, the man grew bolder and was about to make a move when someone burst into the Xuan Room Hall.

The bearded man looked flustered, quickly pulling up his trousers and tying his sash. The woman hurriedly hid behind him.

The serious man, seeing this embarrassing scene, became furious, huffed loudly, and stormed out of the hall.

"Hey! Hey!"

The bearded man, holding his sash, chased after the man, finally catching him before he reached the door. He jumped and tackled the man, pinning him down. Straddling him, he continued to tie his sash and then laughed, "Why did you run when you saw me? Do you think I'm a tyrant?"

"You are a tyrant like Jie and Zhou!"

"Ha ha ha~"

Liu Bang laughed, stood up, and proudly stroked his beard. The minister, now dressed, glared at Liu Bang angrily. Liu Bang, realizing his mistake, nervously smiled and said, "Minister Zhou, please don't be angry. I won't do it again."

Zhou Chang huffed and ignored him.

"Ah, your clothes are dirty. It's my fault! I'll give you ten new sets, how about that?"

"My clothes were not dirtied by you, but by the prince."

"The prince?"

Liu Bang was confused.

Zhou Chang then recounted the incident with Liu Chang and sternly concluded, "If a father's behavior is improper, the child will imitate it!"

Clearly, he was using this to advise Liu Bang.

Liu Bang angrily cursed, "That brat! Among my children, Fei is the most gentle, Ying the most wise, Ruyi is like me, Heng the most kind, and Hui the most trustworthy. Only this Chang is wild and unruly, the least like me!"

He was clearly retaliating, implying that if children imitate their fathers, why were his other children so excellent?

"Oh..."

Zhou Chang narrowed his eyes, thoughtfully observing the emperor of the Han Empire.