Chapter 2

"Is it something important that you, Lord Fen Yin, are so eager to see me?"

Liu Bang was the first to change the subject.

"Yes."

Zhou Chang finally remembered the main reason for his visit and said seriously, "Your Majesty, it is wrong to depose the Crown Prince and establish Prince Ruyi as the new Crown Prince!"

"Oh? Although the Crown Prince is wise, his actions are overly cautious and lack decisiveness. Ruyi, on the other hand, is free-spirited, martial, and has the same qualities as me. He is more suitable to be the emperor. Why is it wrong for me to establish Ruyi as the Crown Prince?"

Liu Bang slowly sat down, not even glancing at Zhou Chang, and fiddled with the decorations on his robe.

"The Crown Prince is inherently kind, benevolent, and respectful. He has never failed to pay his respects to Your Majesty, and he gets along well with his brothers. Moreover, he is wise and studious, embodying the virtues of benevolence and righteousness. Why should such a Crown Prince be deposed?"

"Let's not talk about other things. I'll give you the simplest reason..."

Liu Bang said calmly.

"He is my eldest legitimate son! Yet he is always bullied by that scoundrel! Can such a person be an emperor?!"

Liu Bang's tone suddenly became intense, his voice rising higher than usual. At that moment, there was no trace of the old, carefree rogue. He was a formidable and bloodthirsty emperor, seasoned by many battles.

But Zhou Chang was not afraid of him.

His face turned red with anger, and he shouted even louder, "The Crown Prince is not afraid of Prince Chang; he merely tolerates and endures because of his youth and affection! Is this a crime?!"

"Do you want to choose a Crown Prince who is not bullied and can directly kill his own brothers?"

"Do you want to become a second First Emperor and have a second Huhai?"

"My eloquence is poor, but I absolutely, absolutely cannot agree to deposing the Crown Prince!"

Seeing Zhou Chang get agitated, Liu Bang was no longer as angry. He reined in his气势, and smiled at Zhou Chang again.

Zhou Chang was not the first to come and advise Liu Bang. Almost all the ministers had come to advise him before. Liu Bang's idea of changing the Crown Prince had already caused a huge wave in the imperial court. Countless ministers were debating and advising, but most of them spoke in veiled terms. Zhou Chang was the first to advise directly and openly.

In the end, Liu Bang only said a slow "good" word, which seemed like a敷衍, lacking sincerity.

But Zhou Chang could not say more.

When Zhou Chang walked out of the Xuan Room Palace, he "happened" to meet Empress Lü, who was coming to see the emperor. Lü was much younger than Liu Bang. She wore a bright red ceremonial robe. As the emperor and empress of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang and Lü had almost opposite styles of dress.

Liu Bang always wore his old clothes. After becoming emperor, he still wore his old hat and only dressed luxuriously when on tour. In the palace, he often dressed very simply when drinking and chatting with ministers.

Lü, on the other hand, always wore the most vibrant and luxurious clothes, with several palace maids following her, heads bowed.

Liu Bang was casual and drank with the ministers, often getting so drunk that he would put his arm around them and even fight. Lü, however, was always cold and dignified, a beauty like an iceberg.

Zhou Chang hurriedly bowed to greet her, and Lü also began to bow, loudly thanking him, "If it weren't for you, the Crown Prince would have been deposed."

Hearing this, the always bold Zhou Chang was startled.

The issue of the heir was always sensitive, especially between the emperor and the empress. The Crown Prince to be deposed was Lü's son, while the new Crown Prince would be Lady Qi's son.

He did not expect the empress to be so open about her thoughts at the door of the Xuan Room Palace. Whatever was said here, Liu Bang could not possibly not know. Zhou Chang's face rarely showed a smile, but this smile looked somewhat eerie. He nodded and turned to leave.

Lü lowered her head and waited until Zhou Chang left before entering the Xuan Room Palace. Throughout the process, her expression remained cold.

When Lü entered, Liu Bang was kneeling by the table, looking much more serious.

Over the years, their relationship had not been stable. Liu Bang was madly infatuated with Lady Qi and spent almost every day with her. It was not that Lü was no longer beautiful, but they had been together for too long, and Liu Bang might have grown tired of her.

However, Lü did not cry or make a scene like a common wife. She calmly accepted the reality.

Over the years, she had been alone, while Liu Bang enjoyed going out, always taking Lady Qi with him. Lady Qi constantly pouted in front of him, trying to get her son, Liu Ruyi, to be the Crown Prince. The position of the Crown Prince was precarious, but Lü remained calm, even becoming more cold and ruthless.

Liu Bang looked at his wife, not at all surprised by her appearance, as if he had known she was outside the door all along.

Lü calmly sat opposite him. They looked at each other, but there was no trace of affection in their eyes, only a sense of estrangement. The vast Xuan Room Palace seemed to be split in two, like a confrontation between a volcano and an iceberg, one side burning with fierce flames, the other radiating chilling cold. They calmly looked at each other.

"I am preparing to enfeoff Ruyi as the King of Zhao."

Liu Bang suddenly said.

"It's about time."

Liu Bang wanted to say something but stopped, complaining, "Perhaps I should listen to the Confucians' suggestions. There is no etiquette in the court. This Zhou Chang even dared to call me Jie and Zhou! I think I should find an opportunity to dismiss him as the Grand Censor and make him the Chancellor of Zhao."

Lü looked at him, sneering, "Mm."

The couple knew each other very well and understood each other's thoughts without much need for words.

After saying these few words, they fell silent again. They seemed to have nothing more to say. Liu Bang had nothing, and Lü had even less. After a long time, Lü finally stood up, glanced at the fleeting figure outside the side door, said nothing, and coldly turned to leave the Xuan Room Palace.

"Oh, by the way, send Liu Chang to me when you get back!"

"Mm."

After Lü left, Lady Qi quickly entered the palace. Her eyes were red, and she rushed into Liu Bang's arms, sobbing.

Liu Bang, of course, hurriedly wiped her tears and asked the reason. Lady Qi said pitifully, "Please grant us mother and son a death. If the Crown Prince ascends the throne, we will be worse off than dead."

Liu Bang laughed loudly, picked her up, kissed her cheek, and said loudly, "Don't worry, Ruyi will be fine. I have already found the best person to protect him. With him, Ruyi will be safe. After all, he owes him a great favor."

When Lü was about to go to the Pepper Room Palace, she met the young Crown Prince, Liu Ying, who was preparing to pay his respects to the empress.

Liu Ying was followed by four elderly men, but their attitude towards Liu Ying was very respectful. They followed him at a distance, heads bowed, showing great respect. The sight of several elderly men being so respectful to a young man was somewhat incongruous.

The Crown Prince knelt and bowed to Lü with great respect.

Liu Ying was the kind of child that all parents would want. From a young age, he was very well-behaved, never disobeying his parents. He started reading books at a young age, was filial to his parents, and friendly to others, even patiently dealing with Liu Chang, the troublemaker.

He treated the ministers with great courtesy and was very friendly to scholars, often inviting them to debate academic ideas.

This earned Liu Ying many good reputations. In the imperial court, almost no minister disliked him, and his prestige was very high. Even Liu Bang's arbitrary actions could not depose him. He was a very good child.

Lü walked ahead, and Liu Ying carefully followed by her side.

"Mother, please don't anger Father because of me. I don't want to cause discord in the family because of me. I've heard the scholars say that if the royal family is harmonious, the people will be harmonious... If Mother and Father have discord because of me, I will feel very guilty."

"Mm."

Lü coldly nodded, her demeanor terrifying, and almost no one dared to look up at her, including her own son, Liu Ying. From a young age, Liu Ying was very afraid of his mother, speaking cautiously, afraid of offending her.

"Your position is already determined, and no one can change it. Although your father has sent someone to protect his life, he can no longer compete with you."

"Mother, I am not greedy for power. If Ruyi can govern with benevolence and spread goodness to the world, I am willing to give up this position. I believe that harmony among brothers is..."

"Mm."

Lü coldly interrupted Liu Ying's long speech. Liu Ying did not say anything more and continued to follow Lü.

"I hope Mother takes good care of yourself..."

Liu Ying then said a lot of words about taking care of her health and gave a long speech about various issues within the royal family before bidding farewell to Lü and leaving.

Over the years, Liu Ying visited the emperor and empress every day, always saying the same words about taking care of their health and giving long, well-cited speeches, respectfully and obediently.

Under the embellishment of these words, his seemingly sincere face seemed to become somewhat false.