Big man: I am the Champion Marquis!

Chapter 3: The Palace's Mouthpiece

Others try every possible means to enter the palace and get close to the emperor, which will give them the opportunity to soar to the sky.

But Huo Xian wanted to leave the palace, which would be safer and freer.

It's a pity that he can't do what he wants now. The emperor will never allow him to leave. This is Liu Che's disciple, a little follower who is always with him wherever he goes.

Liu Che was quite pleased that his little disciple knew how to make progress and learn military tactics.

Liu Che mentioned something and said, "Go to the queen. If you leave the palace, you will be most worried about them mother and son."

Huo Xian stood up and asked, "Your Majesty, I can't talk nonsense, can I?"

Liu Che was in a good mood and said to Huo Xian, "As long as it doesn't reach my ears, you can talk nonsense as you like."

At the age of ten, he was able to be brought up by a powerful ruler like Liu Che and participate in the most glorious and sacred Fengshan ceremony. This little follower, Huo Shan, was definitely Liu Che's close minister and true confidant.

'Long live the emperor', this is the title that Liu Che likes to use.

The custom of shouting "Long live the emperor" existed in the Han Dynasty. When Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang entered the palace, all the ministers in the hall shouted "Long live the emperor".

But this was not exclusive to the emperor. When he visited Songshan Mountain before, Liu Che insisted that three "Long live" should be heard in the mountains. And the title of "Long live" also began to be sacred.

The three cheers of "Long live the emperor" also evolved into "Songhu, Long live the emperor" and "Shanhu, Long live the emperor", becoming a ritual to praise the emperor.

When he was in a better mood, Liu Che was more generous and said, "Ask for a sedan chair."

Huo Xian quickly declined, saying, "Your Majesty, I am in the palace. How can I ride in a sedan chair?"

"You have just recovered from a serious illness, and I don't want you to travel all the way to worship the sick." Liu Che said directly, "It's a bit far to the Pepper Room, so you can use the sedan chair."

A eunuch hurried to pass on the sedan chair. Others were not surprised by this, they were just envious.

Huo Xian rode in a sedan chair more than once or twice. As the commander of the imperial carriage, he was nominally in charge of the imperial carriage. But in most cases, he rode in the same carriage with Liu Che, and he often conveyed the emperor's orders on behalf of the emperor.

Seeing Huo Xian leave, Liu Che also smiled dotingly and joked, "This little thing is playing tricks on me again."

The walls of the Pepper Room Palace are coated with pepper powder and mud. This not only gives the walls of the palace a warm color, creating a warm feeling inside the room, but also makes the palace fragrant. This is the Queen's bedroom.

After being summoned, Huo Xian entered the palace and bowed politely, "I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Queen."

Wei Zifu, who was almost fifty, no longer looked like the favored queen. But the queen still had a high status and was at peace with herself.

Wei Zifu said kindly, "We are all family, get up quickly."

As soon as he finished speaking, a little carrot head ran over and said, "Cousin."

Three-year-old Liu Jin, the eldest son of Crown Prince Liu Ju. In history, after he had a son, the witchcraft disaster occurred, and that child was named Liu Bingyi.

Twenty years, twenty years later there will be the disaster of witchcraft!
Wei Zifu looked at the two children lovingly and said, "He happened to come here with the prince, so he stayed. I thought you should come over too, so that the family can have a meal together."

Liu Jin hugged Huo Xian's legs and asked in a baby voice, "Cousin, where is the gift you said you would give me?"

Huo Xian was dumbfounded and asked quickly, "When did I say I would give you a gift?"

"Huo Xian!" A handsome young man walked out from the inner room, smiling and joking, "Before you accompanied the emperor on the tour, you said you would give Jin'er a gift, and Jin'er has been talking about it every day for the past year. What's wrong? Do you deny it now that you're back?"

"Uncle Crown Prince!" Huo Xian cried out in injustice, "My cousin was only a child before I accompanied the emperor on his tour. How could he remember so many things? It must have been the Crown Prince who said that!"

Wei Zifu smiled and came to Huo Xian's rescue, "Okay, stop making a fuss. He has just recovered from a serious illness, so he must have prepared a gift for Jin'er. I'll have someone send it to the East Palace later."

Liu Ju immediately said, "Mother, I was just joking with my nephew. How could I really be asking for a gift?"

Kind, generous, gentle and cautious, this is Liu Ju. Putting aside his miserable end in the witchcraft disaster, some relationships are innate. In formal occasions, Huo Xian addressed Liu Ju as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. In private, they all called him cousin and Wei Zifu as aunt.

Huo Qubing, who was ridiculed as one of the strongest dowries in history, was Liu Ju's cousin. In the year before Huo Qubing's death, he took the lead in submitting a memorial to the emperor, requesting the emperor to make the three princes Liu Hong, Liu Dan and Liu Xu princes.

According to the rules of the Han Dynasty, the princes had to "return to their states" and could not stay in Chang'an. Everyone knew that his request to confer the title of the Three Princes was to protect the status of the Crown Prince.

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were Liu Ju's greatest helpers in the outer court. Before Wei Qing's death, no one in the court dared to frame Liu Ju.

While eating steamed meat from Guopu, Huo Xian said, "Aunt, I was ill for a long time before, so I don't know some things. If I really knew, I would definitely stop you."

Although Wei Zifu is no longer the most favored, Liu Che still trusts this queen very much.

The emperor, who loved to travel, would always hand over the palace affairs handled by the Shaofu to Wei Zifu for decision when he went on tour. When he returned, Wei Zifu would report the important decisions to the emperor, who never objected and sometimes even exempted her from reporting.

Although the emperor trusted them so much, the empress and the prince often felt uneasy at times.

Wei Zifu said with some embarrassment, "The prince has a kind character and is always forgiving. It is not good to disobey Your Majesty like this."

Emperor Liu Che was strict in his law enforcement and mostly employed harsh and cruel officials; whereas the crown prince was kind-hearted but also had a stubborn side, and often redressed cases where he thought the punishment was too severe.

From Wei Zifu's point of view, it was natural for her to persuade Liu Ju to obey the emperor. After all, the emperor once expressed his concern that the prince was "not like himself".

"My cousin is a calm and steady person, and he will definitely bring peace to the country. Your Majesty has always said so." Huo Xian said carelessly, "There is only one bad thing. My cousin always advises us to stop fighting, which is not good."

Liu Ju took over and said seriously, "Shan'er, our dynasty has deployed too many troops and disturbed the people too much. This is not good."

This is also the point that many people criticize Liu Che for, believing that he is warmongering.

Huo Xian immediately said, "Prince, this shouldn't be the case. The Xiongnu hasn't been destroyed yet. Will there be another siege of Baideng? Your Highness should also know that there are many foreign tribes around the Han Dynasty. If we don't go out to conquer them, the world will not be stable. Therefore, we have to let the people suffer. If our generation fights, our descendants will enjoy happiness!"

Seeing that Liu Ju was about to speak, Huo Xian quickly said, "Your Majesty likes the prince, but your uncle is calm and loves the people. If your uncle's personality is the same as your Majesty's, there will be a danger of repeating the mistakes of the tyrannical Qin Dynasty. The country is strong now, and the time is ripe. Your uncle should pacify the people and recuperate in the future, but now is the time to conquer the rebels."

After saying this, Huo Xian quickly stood up and said, "That's not what I said, Your Majesty. I was just delivering a message. Please don't embarrass me!"

After her beauty faded, Wei Zifu rarely saw the emperor.

As for his sons, Liu Che saw them even less.

Wei Zifu smiled and said to Huo Xian, "Xian'er is really thoughtful. She always helps to mediate and pass on messages."

Liu Ju also recognized this point. Although this little cousin was of noble status, he never took advantage of his favor to become arrogant. Although he was young, he was very sensible in doing things, which was why the emperor always took him with him wherever he went.

As for the queen and the crown prince, Huo Xian was naturally very attentive, as everyone had the same interests. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were both Liu Ju's biggest supporters, and they never concealed their support for the crown prince.

"I was raised by my aunt, so I naturally side with her and my cousin." Huo Xian said confidently, "But if my cousin is really willing to help me, please help me persuade His Majesty. I want to leave the palace."

Wei Zifu immediately looked serious and said, "No!"

Liu Ju also hurriedly advised, "This is absolutely not allowed. It is best for Shan'er to stay in the palace."

On the surface, they were worried that Huo Shan was too young and would have no one to take care of him after leaving the palace, but Wei Zifu and Liu Ju also needed this "little spy" to blatantly pass messages between the emperor and the prince. This was one of the most important channels for Wei Zifu and Liu Ju to know the emperor's mind.

Huo Xian also knew that Wei Zifu and Liu Ju would not help him to plead for mercy, so he could only say, "Then cousin, next time you go back to Bowang Garden, you must let me know first, and I will see if you can go."

Bowang Garden, which means "to have a broad view", was built by Emperor Liu Che for Liu Ju. Although Emperor Liu Che did not like his subjects to make friends with guests, he built this garden for Liu Ju to use as a place for him to socialize with guests and allowed Liu Ju to act according to his own interests.

Liu Ju immediately smiled and said, "If the Champion Marquis can come, there will definitely be a lot of guests!"

Although more people went to seek refuge with the prince and wanted to become his disciples, the appeal of this young man Huo Xian should not be underestimated, because his father was the Grand Marshal Huo Qubing, and this reason was enough!

(End of this chapter)