Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 255 Elegant and Refined Xun Jieyu
On the seventh day of the first month of the first year of the Hanxing era, at dawn...
The warm winter sun shone through the carved window lattices, casting dappled light and shadows into the bedroom.

Liu Bian's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and he groaned softly as he slowly woke from his deep sleep.

Before he even opened his eyes, Liu Bian felt a soft, warm body pressed against his side. When he opened his eyes, his gaze fell on Xun Cai's beautiful face beside him. He saw a trace of dried tears still clinging to the corner of her beautiful eyes, and a few strands of black hair were messily stuck to her cheeks. Liu Bian couldn't help but smile slightly and chuckle softly.

Whether he had been awake for a long time but was pretending to be asleep, or was awakened by Liu Bian's laughter, Xun Cai slowly opened his still sleepy, hazy eyes.

The moment she met Liu Bian's smiling gaze and felt the ambiguous smile in his eyes, her cheeks flushed instantly, and she instinctively grabbed the quilt to cover her face.

Last night, Xun Cai argued that the emperor's frequent visits to his concubines in recent days might harm his health, so although Liu Bian came to Xun Cai's palace, Xun Cai politely declined his request to engage in sexual relations.

Liu Bian became even more interested in this rather bold woman.

So Liu Bian demonstrated to Xun Cai what "dragon rice and green tiger fierce" meant.

It wasn't that Liu Bianzhen had become absurd after ascending the throne, but rather that he hadn't had enough fun these past few days.

On the second day of the month, four concubines were taken in, and Xun Cai visited them that very night.

It wasn't that Liu Bian favored Xun Cai, but rather that he favored Xun Cai first, rather than Cai Yan, based on rank and the order of betrothal.

On the night of the third day, Liu Bian favored Cai Yan; on the night of the fourth day, Fu Shou served him; on the night of the fifth day, he favored Yin Si; and on the sixth day, he returned to Xun Cai's palace.

As for the sensory experience that the four beauties brought to Liu Bian... one can only say, no wonder the prime minister was fond of married women.

The first thing Liu Bian ate was Liu Qing, a perfectly ripe delicacy, and then he enjoyed Cai Yuan, whose constitution was extraordinary and who was shameless. Liu Bian had extremely high expectations for the four newly acquired concubines in the palace who were beautiful and graceful.

The newlywed beauties, unfamiliar with many techniques and lacking coordination, even kept their lips tightly closed out of decorum due to their scholarly backgrounds. Furthermore, Liu Bian, being considerate of their newfound favor, only asked for water once before stopping.

Therefore, what appears to be nightly revelry is actually akin to adding fuel to the fire.

Last night, Xun Cai's unintentional "provocation" coincided with Liu Bian's pent-up anger, which he had been somewhat accustomed to regarding the proper conduct of men and women. She became the target of this anger.

The repeated favors she received throughout the night caused Xun Cai, who was usually dignified and graceful, to abandon her demeanor as a lady of a noble family, half sobbing and half singing joyfully.

If it weren't for the head lady-in-waiting repeatedly knocking on the door to remind the emperor to exercise restraint, Liu Bian would have been prepared to come and ask for water a fourth time.

Therefore, Xun Cai now felt quite ashamed and indignant, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, and dared not look Liu Bian, the instigator, in the eye.

Liu Bian chuckled softly, reaching out to grab the brocade quilt, preventing her from shrinking into it.

With a little effort, he pulled Xun Cai into his arms, forcing him to lie on top of him, his cheek pressed tightly against Liu Bian's chest.

Liu Bian raised his hand, his fingertips gently stroking the jet-black hair, and pinched the fair and smooth cheek that seemed to hold water. With a touch of morning laziness, he chuckled and said, "Don't provoke me again in the future."

Xun Cai pressed her snowy chin against Liu Bian's chest, tilting her head slightly to look at him. Amidst her shame and indignation, a hint of amusement welled up in her heart.

The dignified and wise emperor of the Han Dynasty, as seen by outsiders, actually had such a childlike side in private.

She suddenly felt that such an emperor might not be so bad.

Before she entered the palace, her uncles, aunts, and sisters in the clan were all worried about her going to the palace. After all, the bloody history in the Later Han court was not a secret among the top aristocratic families.

But after these few days, Xun Cai felt that the current emperor's harem was not as bad as he had imagined.

At least, even the concubines in her father Xun Shuang's household were not required to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together like the emperor's concubines, and on the surface, they all seemed to be getting along well.

Of course, Xun Cai was very perceptive and could see through her sisters' thoughts.

Unlike Liu Qing, who had no hope, and Yin Si, whose maternal family was weak, Cai Yuan, Cai Yan, and Fu Shou all coveted the only Empress's Seal.

However, everyone knew the Emperor's thoughts. The Emperor disliked discord in the harem, so no matter how much fighting there was, the women had to maintain a harmonious appearance on the surface and never do anything to kick someone when they were down, otherwise they would be cutting themselves off from the Emperor.

In this situation, the key to winning favor lies in their bellies.

If anyone's womb is the first to produce a son for the emperor...

Liu Bian was unaware of Xun Cai's thoughts, or rather, he knew all along which of these concubines harbored ambitions for the position of empress.

He only asked that the concubines in the harem not cause any unrest and maintain a facade of harmony. After a quick wash, he let Xun Cai, who was too overwhelmed by pleasure to get up, continue to rest, while he returned to the Lingtai Palace.

Morning exercise remained Liu Bian's habit, but in winter, he was dressed too warmly and couldn't practice swordsmanship or other weapons freely, so he simply started practicing archery.

Among the generals and officers of the central army, there were many skilled archers.

General Huang Zhong, the valiant general Lü Bu, and other colonels and military commanders such as Xiahou Yuan, Cao Ren, Zhang Liao, Yan Xing, Han Sui, and Cao Xing were all skilled archers.

However, among them, Huang Zhong and Lü Bu were the most skilled archers.

The archery skills of these two were truly evenly matched. Huang Zhong's arm strength was inferior to Lü Bu's, and he could not shoot as far as Lü Bu. Moreover, Lü Bu's shooting range was not only long but also very accurate.

Huang Zhong's archery skills were more technical; his incredible archery skills, such as the Three-Star Strike Arrow, even impressed Lü Bu.

According to Lü Bu, if he were to engage in a duel with Huang Zhong on the battlefield, he would be no match for Huang Zhong.

Even if you dodge the first two arrows, it's almost impossible to dodge the third one.

Even if a person can avoid it, their warhorse cannot.

Moreover, although the Three-Star Strike Arrow is extremely taxing on a person's energy and physical strength, Huang Zhong can fire at least three Three-Star Strike Arrows in a short period of time.

You might get away with it once or twice, but can you get away with it a third time?
Although Huang Zhong enjoyed the young man Lü Bu's flattery, he still smiled and said that if it were really on the battlefield, Lü Bu riding the Red Rabbit would not give him three chances to shoot in succession; at most, he would only get one three-star arrow.

Moreover, no matter how accurate his arrows were, he could block them with just a wooden shield. Listening to Huang Zhong and Lü Bu's mutual flattery, Liu Bian couldn't help but roll his eyes. He was holding a bow with a stone weight, yet he was only trying to hit the target 35 paces away with each arrow.

35 steps, which is equivalent to 50 meters in later times, is already quite difficult.

However, Liu Bian was surrounded by several archers who could hit a target from a hundred paces away. Even Cao Xing and Zhang Liao, who claimed to be "not good at archery," were both incredibly talented archers who could hit the target almost every time within seventy paces. Liu Bian almost became depressed from training them.

At breakfast time, since it was a day off, all the officials from the Attendant-in-Ordinary were at home with their families. Therefore, Liu Bian ate with the officers and soldiers of the Central Army who had taught him archery and accompanied him in archery practice.

Seeing the generals and officers of the central army wolfing down their food, Liu Bian smiled and told the imperial kitchen manager to add more flatbread, soup dumplings, and other food.

Liu Bian was not fond of following the rule of "not speaking while eating or sleeping." On the contrary, he enjoyed discussing matters at the dinner table and drinking table.

For example, the widely publicized "simple burial order".

Today is the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, but because of this "simple funeral order," he didn't have a good time during the holiday.

Although Zhang Zhao was the Vice Censor-in-Chief, he could not completely control the censors of the Imperial Archives from submitting memorials. Many censors submitted memorials during the New Year to impeach Tian Fen, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department. Grand Tutor Lu Zhi, Minister of Works Liu Yan, and Minister of Ceremonies Zheng Xuan were not much better off. Some even advised the emperor not to go further and further down the wrong path.

According to the "Law on Theft": Those who steal from tombs shall be executed in the marketplace.

According to the law, anyone who digs up someone else's grave is subject to the death penalty.

Most court officials did not plead for leniency for the Confucian scholar who attempted to dig up the tombs of Tian Fen's parents, but quite a few requested leniency because the attempt had not been successful.

Liu Bian was still willing to consider this, but then some court officials submitted a memorial, trying to use the methods of the Spring and Autumn Annals to decide cases, saying that the Confucian scholars who dug up the tombs of Tian Fen's parents were doing this to confirm whether Tian Fen was a treacherous minister who said one thing and did another.

His intentions were good, and he failed to achieve his goal, so he should not be severely punished.

Over time, this matter came to be interpreted by these people as being for Tian Fen's good!
I dug up your ancestral graves for your own good, don't be ungrateful.

This was so abstract that even Liu Bian couldn't hold back. If he hadn't instructed Qi State Chancellor Liu Wan to send sixty people to guard the graves in three shifts, Tian Fen's ancestral graves would have been dug up. How dare she ask for his forgiveness for such a reason?

Lu Bu drank the mutton soup in the bowl, took out the handkerchief his wife had prepared for him from his bosom, carefully wiped his mouth, and clasped his hands in a fist and said to Liu Bian: "Your Majesty, I believe that the country's 'simple burial edict' is a good policy. My father and mother died from the plunder of the Xianbei. If we really have to give them a lavish burial to show our filial piety, then Wuyuan County would not have been repeatedly plundered by the Xianbei."

"Why is that?" Liu Bianlue asked, somewhat puzzled.

Lü Bu laughed and said, "If that's the case, then the people of Wuyuan County will have no money or food left. Even the Xianbei might not be able to resist giving them some before they leave."

Liu Bian couldn't help but laugh out loud, but he couldn't laugh anymore.

Yes, this is one of the reasons for the suffering of the most vulnerable people.

When ordinary people can't even afford to live, let alone die, how can they not rebel?
Seeing the emperor's slightly saddened expression, Zhang Liao interjected, "My country, although I am young, I have heard my parents say that they buried a great deal of money with my grandfather to give him a proper burial. My family is a powerful clan in Yanmen, but because of my grandfather's death, we did not have enough money to settle accounts with the horse herders, let alone the common people."

Liu Bian nodded slightly. Even a powerful clan like Zhang Liao in the border region could hardly afford the expenses of a lavish funeral, which shows how much harm it caused to the common people.

Don't assume that the Zhang family of Yanmen, being a powerful clan in a border region, is inferior to the powerful clans of the Central Plains. They may not have as much political influence, but in terms of wealth, the Zhang family of Yanmen, who run a horse trade, is actually more extravagant than many powerful clans in the Central Plains.

After pondering for a long time, Liu Bian asked Gao Wang to bring out the pile of memorials that he had kept hidden, and took out one of them.

That was a few days earlier, thanks to the influence of Zheng Xuan, the Minister of Ceremonies, who finally accepted the memorial from Han Rong, a scholar of the Five Classics who had been recruited by the court.

Han Rong was from the Han clan of Yingchuan. He was famous for his study of the "Xiaodai Liji" (Book of Rites by Dai the Elder) and his moral character. However, although the "Xiaodai Liji" is a modern text classic, it also contains a lot of ancient text classic content.

The "Da Dai Li Ji" is almost entirely composed of ancient texts, which was once rejected by the modern school of thought, which only accepted a small portion of the "Xiao Dai Li Ji" which mixed ancient texts.

Therefore, the ancient literature school did not reject Han Rong, a famous scholar, and summoned him to continue teaching the "Xiaodai Liji" at the Imperial Academy, temporarily maintaining the situation of the Imperial Academy transmitting both the modern and ancient texts of the classics.

Yes, the courtier who said that digging up Tian Fen's ancestral graves was well-intentioned and should not be severely punished was Han Rong, a scholar of the Five Classics.

He couldn't conveniently criticize the Confucian scholars of the Old Text School for the time being, but he couldn't care less about Liu Bian of the New Text School.

So Liu Bian immediately wrote a reply, the words of which were very impolite, even somewhat reminiscent of the "literary style" of Emperor Taizu Gao.

"Old dog, in a few days I will have the tombs of the Han family of Yingchuan dug up to prove to the world that you Han family of Yingchuan were truly filial children who gave your families a grand burial!"

Liu Bian's meaning was very clear: Han Rong, aren't you talking about your true intentions?

To help you, Han Rong, prove the filial piety of your Yingchuan Han clan, I have also exhumed your ancestral graves and displayed the burial goods inside to the world, proving how filial your Yingchuan Han clan were when lavish burials were fashionable.

I meant well; I never maliciously desecrated your ancestral graves!

You, the Han family of Yingchuan, must not fail to live up to my good intentions!
The fact that the emperor would uncharacteristically lash out in his reply to a memorial startled the court officials, but that was all they were surprised about.

If this matter is handled lightly, will the mausoleums of the emperors of the Han Dynasty be able to rest in peace in the future?

Even court officials who opposed the practice of simple burials and the abolition of the culture of elaborate burials abhorred the act of digging up ancestral graves.

Whose ancestors weren't buried with great care? Whose ancestral graves didn't contain some valuable burial goods? If this scholar who dug up someone's ancestral grave were easily forgiven, the powerful and wealthy families everywhere would probably not be able to sleep soundly, fearing that they would wake up the next day to find out that their ancestral graves had been dug up.

Therefore, the original punishment for attempted theft was to be tattooed on the face and sentenced to hard labor to repair the city wall.

However, in the end, he was still sentenced to be executed in the marketplace as a warning to the world.

(4063 words)
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P.S.: I'm speechless at the censorship.

Dear readers, it's not that I didn't update, it's just that I got a 404 error in a row and had to repost three times... I didn't even write many details before it was blocked.

(End of this chapter)