Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 200 Liu Hong: I don't feel bad about selling my son's land!

After Gao Wang's reminder, Liu Bian finally realized what was happening, and his thoughts flooded back like a tide.

Before his mother, Empress He, ascended to the position of empress, there was an empress in the palace named Song, who was from the Song clan of Youfufeng.

The ancestor of the Song family in Youfufeng was named Song Chang.

Song Chang had a grandfather who became a stepping stone for Xiang Yu, namely Song Yi, the Qingzi Champion who was killed and seized power by Xiang Yu.

At that time, Song Chang was not in the army and was able to escape death by chance. Later, as a family servant, he followed Emperor Taizu Gao in raising an army in Shandong and then served as the Lieutenant of the Prince of Dai.

After the rebellion of the Lü clan was quelled, Emperor Xiaowen, who was then the Prince of Dai, was deeply concerned about the invitation from his ministers to enter Chang'an to ascend the throne. He feared that there was a trap involved, and many of the ministers of Dai also opposed the invitation.

Despite opposition from many, Song Chang strongly persuaded Emperor Xiaowen to go to Chang'an, and he eventually ascended the throne smoothly.

To express his gratitude and out of trust, Emperor Xiaowen appointed Song Chang as General of the Guards and entrusted him with guarding the imperial palace.

From then on, the Song family of Youfufeng rose to prominence. During the Later Han Dynasty, two of their daughters became the eldest and youngest Consorts of Emperor Xiaozhang. The grandson of the eldest Consort of Song was Emperor Xiao'an.

However, although Empress Song of this dynasty was of noble status, she was not favored. The concubines in the harem who were favored... well, mainly led by her mother, Empress He, conspired to slander Empress Song and falsely accused her of performing curses.

In the first year of the Guanghe era (178 AD), Liu Hong issued an edict to confiscate Empress Song's imperial seal and ribbon, and depose her.

After Empress Song was deposed, she went to the violent prison on her own initiative before the emperor's edict was issued. She eventually died in grief and indignation, and her father and brothers were also executed one after another.

The palace eunuchs, from the Grand Eunuch to the Junior Eunuchs, all pitied the innocent Song family and pooled their money to bury Empress Song and her son, Song Feng, in Gaomen Pavilion.

While the death of Empress Song was indeed caused by the false accusations led by her mother, Empress He, how could an empress have been deposed so easily without Liu Hong's guidance and tacit approval?
As for Liu Hong, Empress Song's repeated admonitions annoyed him and hindered his plans for a life of leisure, which he had been preparing.

In order to break free from Empress Song's control, the subsequent events took place.

But Liu Bian felt increasingly confused.

You ruined this person, and you killed his father and brothers. What are you trying to do by suddenly promoting his uncle out of turn?
Are you trying to play the good guy and clear her name?

This matter involves palace secrets, so it's no wonder that Liang Hu hesitated and dared not say more.

Liu Bian waved his hand, looking slightly tired, and decided not to make things difficult for Liang Hu, ordering him to return to the Ministry of Personnel to handle government affairs.

Then Liu Bian ordered Jia Cai, the Crown Prince's tutor, to go to the Chongde Hall in the North Palace to announce the arrival of the emperor. He then ordered Dong Huang, the Crown Prince's stable master, to prepare the carriages, Cai Mao, the Crown Prince's tutor, to accompany and direct the ceremonial guards, and Xu Chu, the Crown Prince's guard, to protect the emperor.

He planned to talk to Liu Hong in person.

This is no longer just about Song Xiao; there are far too many people involved behind the scenes.

After passing through the covered passage connecting the North and South Palaces, Xu Chu exchanged a glance with Xu Ding, who was waiting for the Crown Prince at the South Gate of the North Palace. After confirming that it was safe, he escorted the Crown Prince into the North Palace.

Just then, Jia Cai returned on horseback after reporting from Chongde Hall and encountered the Crown Prince's carriage, which had just entered the North Palace.

Liu Bian lifted the carriage curtain and, seeing Jia Cai's strange expression, frowned slightly and asked, "Caihe, what happened?"

Jia Cai was at a loss for words, her face full of confusion. Her lips moved and then closed again, and she said with a hint of something unspeakable, "Your Highness should see for yourself. Bei Gong... Bei Gong is dressing like a merchant for pleasure."

Beigong is the current name used by both inside and outside the palace to refer to Liu Hong.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bian showed a hint of disdain on his face and chuckled softly. It wasn't unusual for Liu Hong to have a penchant for outlandish clothing in the palace. Compared to his absurd behavior of wearing open-crotch pants in a nude swimming pool to indulge his concubines and palace maids at will, wearing merchant's attire was really nothing.

What kind of situation haven't I seen?

But when Liu Bian arrived near Chongde Hall, he stood there motionless and said nothing.

I've never seen anything like this before!
Outside Chongde Hall, a bustling street had appeared out of nowhere. The bluestone pavement was covered with dust and turned into a muddy dirt road. Colorful cloth banners hung between the carved beams and painted rafters, and the crooked characters for "wine," "grain," and "silk" trembled in the breeze.

On the streets, countless vendors and shopkeepers shuttled back and forth, their cries of selling and bargaining rising and falling in an endless stream.

Inside the tavern, people drank and made merry, creating a great commotion. Some street thugs even fought in the street, making the scene extremely chaotic.

The palace maids, with their hair disheveled and wearing coarse linen bodices, dressed as women selling wine and hawked their wares in high-pitched voices to please the emperor: "Newly brewed apricot blossom dew, three zhu a dou!"

As the palace maids shouted orders, they swayed their bodies and kept glancing toward where Liu Hong was.

The concubines dressed as wealthy ladies, their faces hidden behind round fans, their fingertips lightly touching their pearl hairpins and jade ornaments, and their sweet voices bargaining with Liu Hong, who was dressed as a merchant. There were also entertainers dressed in colorful feathered costumes playing the zither and singing, and street performers performing on the streets. It was a lively scene, just like a real Luoyang market.

Dressed in coarse linen clothes, with disheveled hair, and carrying a jar of wine, Zhang Rang seemed to be waiting for the Crown Prince outside the street. He bowed and said, "This servant greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Liu Bian squinted, sighed heavily, and questioned, "Attendant Zhang, what is His Majesty doing?"

Zhang Rang was also a little nervous; his smile became stiff, his eyes darted away, and he dared not meet the Crown Prince's gaze.

He had already sensed the immense rage burning within the Crown Prince's heart.

Although the relationship between the crown prince and the emperor is not like that of a typical ruler and subject or father and son, the emperor would usually address the crown prince as "Father Emperor," but the crown prince would directly call him "Your Majesty."

Hmm... The last time the Crown Prince addressed himself as "Your Majesty" was when he asked the Emperor to appoint him as Crown Prince and to give him control over the five schools of the Northern Army.

Zhang Rang shrank his neck and answered tremblingly, "As Your Highness can see, Bei Gong... Bei Gong is playing the role of a merchant."

He originally thought that as long as the emperor was immersed in pleasure all day long and had no time to attend to other matters, he would not interfere with the crown prince's handling of state affairs. Moreover, the emperor would soon pass the throne to the crown prince, and the relationship between father and son should be much more harmonious. However, he did not expect that things would exceed his expectations.

"I'm not blind. I'm asking you, Your Majesty, what are you trying to do?" Liu Bian's forehead veins bulged as he pointed at Liu Hong, who was selling jewelry outside a shop, and demanded an answer in a stern voice.

At this moment, Liu Hong was wearing gold-embroidered shoes and a loose ochre linen robe, with the collar deliberately torn open to reveal the jade pendant dangling around his neck. He looked exactly like a nouveau riche merchant.

Moreover, Liu Bian clearly saw that Liu Hong, disguised as a merchant, sold many rare treasures in the palace to eunuchs and palace maids at a low price of only a few hundred or even a few dozen coins.

These things are worth far more than a few hundred coins; some of them would cost millions of coins to buy, yet Liu Hong sold them off so cheaply.
Liu Hong, however, was all smiles as he put handfuls of five-zhu coins into the wooden box, clearly immersed in this absurd game and thoroughly enjoying himself.

The eunuchs and palace maids were delighted to have acquired rare treasures at low prices. Some even secretly stole the treasures and hid them in their robes when Liu Hong was too busy to pay attention.

He doesn't look like a king!
"Zhongkang, surround them all! Don't let a single one escape!"

Liu Bian waved his hand, signaling Xu Chu to lead five hundred guards from the Crown Prince's residence to take control of all the eunuchs, palace maids, and even concubines.

He could accept Liu Hong spending his time idly, wearing strange clothes and playing house, but he absolutely could not stand by and watch Liu Hong squander the priceless treasures in the palace.

A subsidy of tens of billions, right?
He got his hands on East China Sea coral that could fetch 100 million coins on the market, but sold it for a paltry 50,000 coins. What a spendthrift!
You don't feel bad about selling your land, do you?
(2450 words)
PS: The Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Volume 8, Annals of Emperor Ling: "(In the fourth year of Guanghe)... In that year, the emperor set up stalls in the inner palace and made the concubines sell their wares, which led to theft and fighting among them. The emperor wore merchant clothes and enjoyed drinking and feasting."

(End of this chapter)