Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 322 Who is the Emperor?
The inner courtyard of the East Pavilion.

This place was originally the villa of the King of Qi. When the East Pavilion was built, King Liu Cheng of Qi gave up the villa.

After the East Pavilion was built, the villa was enclosed in the very center, and it is now Liu Xie's residence, as well as the most heavily guarded place in the entire Linzi.

Zuo Yuan, Bian Ji, Diao Chan, and the others are not here right now.

Since the deceased was the eldest princess, and it appeared to be a suicide, no one except Zuo Yuan was qualified to examine the body. Moreover, Zuo Yuan had the highest authority and would be more efficient in coordinating the work of various parties, so Zuo Yuan personally went out to investigate the case.

Bian Ji stayed at home with A Dou and A Li and did not go out. Moreover, Bian Ji seemed to have some early signs of pregnancy, but it has not been confirmed yet, and it is not appropriate to mention this matter at this time.

Diao Chan is currently leading the palace servants in preparing for the funeral, including mourning gifts such as linen and other supplies—the death of a princess is a time for the entire city to mourn.

Diao Chan's daily work involves taking care of children, and she is also the de facto manager of the inner court. However, her job is to manage royal etiquette. Now that the eldest princess has passed away, only Diao Chan in the entire Linzi can preside over the funeral.

Zhang Fei stood guard outside the inner courtyard gate, where the soldiers of the Wufeng Camp were all fully armed and heavily guarded.

"Commander Zhang, we have been ordered to come and deliver the funeral rites for the young lady."

The steward of the Fu family, accompanied by four maids and nannies, handed Zhang Fei a bamboo slip: "This is a letter from my lord..."

Zhang Fei reached out and took the bamboo slips, looking at Fu De's somewhat messy handwriting, and asked, "Why didn't Fu De come?"

After the previous cleanup of Linzi, it was discovered that there was a traitor among the palace servants. For Liu Xie's safety, Zuo Yuan did not allow too many people to enter the inner courtyard to serve Liu Xie, and even less could he arbitrarily arrange maids to serve the emperor.

After being sent to Liu Xie's side by Zuo Yuan according to the eldest princess's opinion, Fu Shou became Liu Xie's only maid.

—Guards were arranged in the inner courtyard, but there were originally no maids.

Fu De was one of the guards in the inner courtyard, and he was in charge of handling Fu Shou's expenses.

After all, Fu Shou was just a little girl, and she was a female relative serving the emperor. It was not convenient for others to take care of her. Fu De was the emperor's companion and the most suitable bodyguard.

“Ah Lang was suddenly struck by the grief of losing his mother, and he wept day and night, unable to walk.”

The steward of the Fu family sighed with a sorrowful expression: "Commander Zhang, we know that we should not disturb His Majesty with this, nor is it appropriate to bring the young lady out, but we must at least let her wear mourning clothes and perform the rites for her mother."

Zhang Fei nodded and looked at the box the steward had brought: "Are these all plain clothes? Your young lady is in the courtyard, so it's inconvenient for us to take them in. Besides, it's not appropriate to perform the ceremony at the Emperor's residence... How about we wait until Sister Zuo returns?"

"But I don't know when Madam Zuo will return... The princess's remains have been laid out for three days and must be placed in the coffin. If we don't do so today, it will be too late. If you don't follow the proper etiquette, it will be against your filial piety."

The steward of the Fu family pointed to the maids behind him: "The princess is also His Majesty's aunt, and the young lady is His Majesty's maternal sister. They are all relatives... Let the princess's maids go in and prepare the mourning gifts for the young lady. She can fulfill her filial duties in the courtyard."

In the Han Dynasty, there was a three-day ritual after a person's death. The deceased's body would be cleaned within three days, jade would be placed in the mouth, and the body would be placed in a coffin. The coffin would be sealed after three days.

Before sealing the coffin, the deceased's children and other close relatives, dressed in hemp clothing and facing north, must guide the spirit of the deceased back to its rightful place.

Only after the coffin is sealed is the deceased truly considered dead.

This differs from the later seven-day mourning period that incorporated Buddhist concepts. In the Han Dynasty, the emphasis was on summoning the soul—neither Buddhist nor Taoist, but based on the logic of the ancestral spirits. It was not about "sending off" the person, but about "summoning back" the soul, a filial ritual to express grief.

It is now the third day since Liu Hua died, and the coffin will soon be sealed. Fu Shou should indeed wear mourning clothes and return to the proper rites.

The emperor's residence was not prepared with mourning clothes for little girls, so it was only right for the Fu family to send over mourning clothes. After all, the princess's daughter and Liu Xie were not outsiders; they were cousins, and Fu Shou was two years older than him.

Fu Shou's current status is quite special—she has been sent to Liu Xie's side, but she has not 'entered the palace' because there is no inner palace in Linzi.

This was both a way for the older cousin to accompany her younger cousin and an arrangement for Liu Xie to become a concubine. However, Liu Xie could neither treat her as an older cousin nor was he at the point where he needed a concubine to warm his bed.

However, Fu Shou could not leave the emperor's residence, which meant she was essentially confined to the inner courtyard.

Zhang Fei carefully inspected the area and confirmed that no one was carrying weapons. The official document was indeed written by Fu De and bore Fu De's seal. He then sent a message to the courtyard.

Someone quickly opened the door inside the courtyard.

Several guards came out, whispered a few words to Zhang Fei, and then led the maids inside.

The steward of the Fu family also bowed and left.

Zhang Fei summoned a small squad of soldiers and pointed to the steward of the Fu family: "Follow him... but don't let him spot you."

……

Inside the courtyard, Liu Xie was comforting Fu Shou: "Sister, please accept my condolences..."

Liu Xie is nine years old. He has recently seen some of the world, seen battles with Liu Bei, and experienced his father's funeral, so he has empathy.

He just didn't know how to comfort others and was somewhat at a loss.

"Your Majesty, I will never see the Lord again..."

Fu Shou was indeed a lady of noble birth. Although she was grieving and weeping, she still maintained her composure and dignity, speaking softly and pitifully.

"Perhaps it can summon the spirit..."

Liu Xie knew what death was, sighed, and turned to look at his side.

"If I want to see them, I can see them by closing my eyes and meditating. I've always been able to see them. I can see my parents as soon as I close my eyes..."

The children of Liu Xie's age were quite good at comforting people.

This is Zhuge Liang, who was the same age as Liu Bei.

Zhuge Liang didn't actually live here; he shared a room with Chen Feng, as he was now also Liu Bei's disciple. However, Zhuge Liang frequently came to Liu Xie's place to audit lessons.

Zhuge Liang had already formally studied under two masters... Liu Bei and Zhao Yun.

In addition, there was a part-time teacher named Jia Xu who taught military strategy but did not accept apprentices. Jia Xu was unwilling to formally accept disciples because he found it troublesome, but he was willing to give guidance.

In fact, Liu Bei knew that Jia Xu did not accept formal disciples mostly to avoid being implicated... especially since Zhuge Liang was Liu Bei's disciple, so Jia Xu would certainly not accept him.

Zhuge Liang's three teachers... could teach him everything from military strategy and martial arts to moral character and astronomy and geography, but none of them taught him classical studies.

The senior disciple in charge of transmitting the scriptures, Qian Zhao, went to Youzhou again.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang often went to Liu Xie's place to audit classes, because it was convenient since they lived nearby, and the pace of teaching in Linzi was too slow for Zhuge Liang.

For Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei was a true 'mentor'; he was always treated like royalty by Liu Bei. This is the logic of a true elder.

Liu Xie was Liu Bei's junior brother, so Zhuge Liang was essentially Liu Xie's junior nephew, a generation apart. He couldn't be the emperor's study companion, but he could attend classes with his junior uncle.

In reality, Zhuge Liang was the true companion in the study.

There were no classes in the East Pavilion these past few days. Zhuge Liang came to Liu Xie's place, ostensibly because he had lost his father at a young age and was seeking companionship from peers—he had only recently learned of his father Zhuge Gui's death.

A nine-year-old child needs the company of peers. Liu Xie's companions are all fifteen or sixteen years old and have their own thoughts, making it difficult for Liu Xie to get close to them.

Only Zhuge Liang could chat with Liu Xie without any reservations, after all, they were true fellow disciples.

But in reality... Zhuge Liang came on Zuo Yuan's orders.

Zuo Yuan needs a child who won't be suspected to be watching over this place.

At this moment, several maids had already followed the guards into the courtyard.

Fu Shou seemed to recognize the maids. She wiped away her tears and went to greet them.

After the guards led the person into the courtyard, several maids prostrated themselves on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, gentlemen, I need to change my clothes and return to my proper place. You gentlemen are all in a state of high spirits and your souls are about to depart... Could you please leave for the time being so that I can guide the princess's soul back to her home?"

There was always a team of guards on duty in the inner court, all of whom were reliable people selected from Liu Bei's army. The emperor's study companions also took turns on duty—the emperor's study companions were also close attendants, with the responsibility of protecting the emperor's safety.

This was also the awkward situation Fu Shou faced after entering Liu Xie's residence.

The inner courtyard wasn't small, and Liu Xie had no problem living here before. However, it wasn't the imperial palace, unlike the forbidden palaces which had strict rules separating the inside from the outside. After Fu Shou moved in, it was sometimes inconvenient to have the guards avoid the women.

These maids were very eloquent. Instead of saying anything about avoiding women, they said that the guards' vital energy was too strong, which would prevent the souls from approaching and make it impossible to summon them.

Only Liu Xie has no need to avoid it.

Zhuge Liang pulled Liu Xie back a few steps and whispered, "Your Majesty, please step aside. I had Commandant Zhang let them in."

Liu Xie was taken aback: "They have a problem?"

"I don't know... but the eldest princess just passed away, and they, as her maids, failed to protect her properly, yet they were still sent by Fu De to handle this matter..."

Zhuge Liang walked to the middle of the courtyard, waved his hand, and the guards all retreated to the outer corridor to avoid him.

Liu Xie also went out with the guards.

But Zhuge Liang did not leave.

Just after the guards withdrew, several burly women suddenly rushed towards Zhuge Liang.

Clearly, they couldn't tell who the emperor was—Zhuge Liang was directing the imperial guards, and he was even standing in front of Liu Xie…

The two children were the same age, and Liu Xie was not wearing a crown in his own courtyard, but only dressed in black casual clothes.

Zhuge Liang was also dressed in black brocade robes, and looked much like Liu Xie, even a bit more upright, after all, he had been learning martial arts from Zhao Yun for a year.

These brocade robes were all made by Diao Chan. They were all the same style and looked almost identical at first glance, with the only difference being the material and the subtle patterns.

"Men! Seize them!"

As soon as the women made a move, Zhuge Liang immediately shouted for them to retreat.

Fu Shou hadn't even reacted yet: "What are you going to do!"

Upon hearing the noise, the guards in the outer corridor rushed from the flowerbed into the courtyard. The corridor was actually only separated by flowers and trees, so although there was a visual barrier, it did not actually block people.

Liu Xie turned and ran towards the corridor door without hesitation.

But Zhuge Liang may have underestimated those women.

They ran too fast...

Zhuge Liang glanced back and saw that the woman who was rushing the fastest was only two steps behind him and had already reached out to grab him. He simply turned around and stopped, then raised his leg to kick her in the shin.

The nine-year-old child was not strong enough. Although the woman stumbled, she did not fall and rushed forward to hug Zhuge Liang.

Four women arrived one after another, rushed forward, and lifted him up.

The two women pulled hairpins from their hair and held them up to Zhuge Liang's throat.

(End of this chapter)