Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 162 The old Grand Commandant, at sixty-five, is just the perfect age to have a son!

In the pavilion of Shanglin Garden, Liu Bian, dressed in military attire, sat side by side with Empress He in the main seat. Half a body length behind Empress He was Liu Qing's seat.

"Lianyi, your rouge today is too bright and too gaudy. It doesn't match your palace dress at all," Empress He said, her eyebrows slightly furrowed as she patted Liu Qing's hand.

Liu Qing stiffened slightly, then slowly lowered her head. Her fair face instantly flushed with embarrassment. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the Crown Prince, who was chatting happily with Grand Commandant Yang Ci. She bit her thin lips, leaving a faint mark on her pink lips, as if she were about to bite off something bad.

Her "rouge" had already been "applied" to the Crown Prince's body in a different way, and the Crown Prince... the Crown Prince was really too humiliating. How could he force someone to drink honey water like that!

Liu Qing rinsed her mouth with water more than a dozen times and repeatedly reapplied rouge to her lips, but she still felt that her lips were dirty. Now, whenever she drank water, the familiar taste of honey water would well up in her heart, and she could only sit there blankly, unable to eat or drink.

Empress He was puzzled. Usually, when Liu Qing came to the West Palace to pay his respects, he was always cheerful and talkative. Why was he so silent and sullen today?

Although Liu Qing is currently the only daughter-in-law who has officially entered the palace to serve the Crown Prince, Liu Qing is actually only six years younger than Empress He.

Despite their different generations, the two women have a sisterly bond.

After all these years, Empress He only had "sisters" in the palace, and these "sisters" were either her enemies or allies who had temporarily formed alliances for certain needs but were secretly wary of each other. She never had a true sister with whom she could confide her innermost thoughts, so Empress He was ultimately somewhat lonely.

No matter how filial a son is, he is still a son. There are some private things that women cannot confide in Liu Bian, but Liu Qing is different.

She could be Empress He's emotional sister, yet she had no conflict of interest with her and posed no threat to her position. She almost perfectly met Empress He's psychological and emotional needs, which is why Empress He now takes extra care of Liu Qing.

Could it be?

Empress He's beautiful eyes flickered slightly, her phoenix eyes, painted with vermilion eyeshadow, sharply glancing at Situ Yuanwei, who was seated among the Three Dukes, and Yuan Ji, who was behind Yuanwei and taking care of him because of Yuanwei's illness, while occasionally casting resentful glances at Liu Qing. Suddenly, she realized what was going on.

After all, Liu Qing was once the daughter-in-law of the Yuan family of Runan, so her fear was understandable.

"No need to be afraid. With me here, let's see who dares to gossip." Empress He held Liu Qing's hand in her palm, gently patting the back of her hand to comfort her, but her phoenix eyes shot a murderous glint at Yuan Ji.

If Yuan Ji dares to speak ill of Liu Qing, it would not only disgrace her as Empress but also insult the Crown Prince's concubine. She would like to see if Yuan Ji has the guts!
Does she really think that once her own son takes power, she will stop killing altogether?
A slight, almost imperceptible sneer appeared on her lips.

Even if she couldn't kill anyone, as the empress, she could still use countless methods to deal with Yuan Ji.

Isn't Yuan Ji about to remarry? When that happens, she'll summon Yuan Ji's new wife to the palace every day, making her run around under the guise of caring for her and being close to her. She'll also create little obstacles that outsiders see as affection but are actually just attempts to make things difficult for her. Hehe.

Yuan Ji shrank back slightly after being glared at by Empress He. He dared not look at Liu Qing again, silently lowered his head, and unconsciously clenched the hem of his clothes with both hands, secretly resenting her.

These little farces were all witnessed by the Crown Prince and Yang Ci. The old man and the young man exchanged a knowing smile.

"Your Highness has a discerning eye; you are truly fortunate to have such a sight to behold."

Yang Ci stroked his long beard and smiled faintly, a hint of mockery on his face. Liu Bian, however, did not feel embarrassed. He not only readily admitted it but also deliberately winked at Yang Ci in an exaggerated manner, laughing rather frivolously, "That's right. If the old Grand Commandant is so inclined, I remember there are two of Yuan Shao's concubines in the Inner Palace. How about we give them to the old Grand Commandant? Perhaps little Yang Xiu will have another uncle."

"Cough cough!"

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, Yang Ci choked on his saliva, coughed violently, and his face turned red.

Ten-year-old Yang Xiu's eyes widened in panic. He quickly reached out his little hand and patted his grandfather's back hard, and hurriedly brought Yang Ci a cup of warm water.

The old Grand Commandant took a while to recover, his chest heaving violently. He pointed a trembling finger at the Crown Prince, his beard bristling and eyes wide with fury: "You brat, I'm already sixty-five, what nonsense are you spouting!" Liu Bian chuckled, leaning back against the armchair, and said to Yang Ci with a smile: "Sixty-five is the prime of life! Who knows, Grand Commandant, you're still going strong, and might just add a son to the Yang family of Hongnong?"

Hey, what's sixty-five?
She can give birth at 75!
Liu Bian turned his gaze to Zhong Yao, who was still unmarried. Yes, Zhong Yao, who was thirty-four years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning, had not only no children, but had not even taken a single wife or concubine!
Because of this matter, Zhong Di, who had no intention of serving in the government and had retired to the mountains after the disaster of the partisan purge, came to Luoyang to earnestly and patiently persuade Zhong Yao to get married. He even went to the Crown Prince to ask for his help, hoping that the Crown Prince would give him face and issue an imperial decree to grant the marriage, forcing Zhong Yao to get married and have children.

However, Liu Bian chose to stay out of such family matters. After all, Zhong Yao was able to give birth to that genius child at the age of seventy-five, so he was naturally not worried that Zhong Yao would have no descendants.

Yang Xiu, standing next to Yang Ci, stared at his grandfather and the legendary virtuous crown prince, his little mind filled with big questions.

How could the grandfather, who was always humble, polite, and serious, and the Crown Prince, who respected the virtuous and loved scholars, be discussing such frivolous topics?
However, Yang Ci glanced at Yuan Ji helping Yuan Kui to the toilet, and suddenly changed his tone, his expression becoming serious, saying, "Your Highness, Yuan Ciyang cannot be trusted. Your Highness must not be careless."

Liu Bian frowned slightly, looking at Yang Ci with a deep gaze, not because he had any objection to Yang Ci's words.

If it were Liu Hong, he might feel displeased and wonder what Yang Ci meant by those words!
I am the Son of Heaven, the supreme ruler of the nation!
Once the kingly aura was unleashed, Yuan Wei naturally bowed his head and submitted, which was perfectly reasonable!
What, am I not worthy of Yuan Ciyang's sincere admiration?
However, Liu Bian thought that although Yang Ci and Yuan Wei had parted ways, they had been close friends. Moreover, Yang Ci was honest and upright, a true gentleman, and would never slander or hurt others behind their backs, let alone Yuan Wei.

Therefore, there must have been some problems with Yuan Wei's surrender.

Liu Bian leaned forward slightly, meeting Yang Ci's gaze with a hint of inquiry, and asked softly, "What advice does the Grand Commandant have for me?"

“I have no conclusive evidence, but Yuan Ciyang is by no means the kind of person who would willingly give up so many benefits and surrender. He will not be willing to do so.”

Yang Ci shook his head slightly, and then told the Crown Prince about the brief conversation he had with Yuan Wei after the recommendation of candidates for the civil service examination.

During the conversation, Yang Ci would occasionally glance up to observe Liu Bian's expression, as if he were carefully considering his words.

Liu Bian fell silent, only reaching out to press his hand on the Yuanzhi sword at his waist, his fingers stroking the hilt, his gaze suddenly becoming deep and unfathomable.

Just half an hour earlier, Yuan Kui had complained to him that Yuan Ji's first wife had died many years ago and he was preparing to remarry. He hoped that the Crown Prince would give him face and personally attend the wedding ceremony next month to bless the newlyweds.

Of course, what Yuan Wei meant was that he had sacrificed too much of the clan's interests to bring the Runan Yuan clan under the Crown Prince's control, and had lost the hearts of many members of the Runan Yuan clan. He hoped that the Crown Prince could attend the wedding of Yuan Ji, the heir, to put on a good show for Yuan Ji.

Since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, it has been common for officials to support their subjects. However, it was not frequent for those in power to personally attend the wedding ceremony. Instead, they would usually bestow generous gifts to show their favor.

However, Liu Bian still agreed, since it was a reasonable request. Moreover, he had previously had a similar idea to support Yuan Ji, but he planned to have Yuan Ji join the ministry after his marriage and promote him to the level of two thousand shi.

Looking at it now, oh!

Liu Bian's lips curled into a cold smile.

Whether Yuan Kui's surrender was genuine or feigned, he no longer cared.

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PS: The book mentions the protagonist's age at the beginning; he was born a few years earlier than expected, being 14 years old (by Chinese reckoning) and 13 years old (by Western reckoning), meaning he was born in 171.

Empress He's birth date is not recorded in history. To make it as reasonable as possible, it was set that she was born in the same year as Liu Hong, 156.

That is, Empress He gave birth to the protagonist at the age of 15 (16 by the traditional Chinese age reckoning), which is reasonable in terms of age. In that era, it was possible to give birth at the age of 14. However, due to early pregnancy, childbirth was difficult. In addition, due to physical, hygiene and technical issues, the mortality rate was extremely high. Therefore, married women who had given birth were more popular. Liu Qing's birth year of 162 is at least reasonable in terms of data.

(End of this chapter)