Chapter 37: Will Liu Ruyi Become Tyrannical in the Future?

On the way to Zhaolin Palace, Liu Bang suddenly asked the little Liu Heng sitting on his shoulder, "Why did you want to go find Ruyi to play today?"

"Father remembers that you used to hate Ruyi the most."

Liu Bang was only asking casually. Little Liu Heng had often been bullied by Liu Ruyi, and since Ruyi acted like a little tyrant, children of similar age both inside and outside the palace were afraid of him.

"It was Ruyi's mother who asked me to come and play."

Hearing this, Liu Bang’s eyes narrowed.

Lady Qi asked Liu Heng to come play?

Why had Lady Qi never invited Liu Heng to play before?

The most painful thing about being an emperor is that one inevitably links everything to "political factors," and events within the inner palace are reflexively associated with "harem struggles." Lady Qi had indeed been harboring resentment lately. Originally, he, the Son of Heaven, had favored her greatly, mesmerized by her beauty, and had even harbored vague thoughts of replacing the heir with Liu Ruyi.

Lady Qi’s status in the harem had become no less than that of Lu Zhi. However, since he had begun to favor Lu Zhi more in recent times, Lady Qi had grown quite resentful—even he had heard of it, so how could her bitterness not be deep?

He had not taken these matters to heart, believing Lady Qi incapable of any grand schemes; as long as she did not proactively provoke Lu Zhi, no major disaster would occur.

He hoped that Lady Qi’s invitation to Liu Heng was merely for the two children to play together, and that it would not lead to any untoward thoughts or actions.

Liu Bang carried little Liu Heng slowly to Zhaolin Palace. Lady Qi had clearly received word; she was dressed in gorgeous, exquisite clothing that made her look delectable, and she took Liu Ruyi’s small hand to bow to Liu Bang.

"Ruyi, why did you bully Heng?"

"As the elder brother, you should not bully your younger brother."

Liu Bang waved his hand, ignoring Lady Qi’s beauty. He had no intention of staying the night. He told Lady Qi and Liu Ruyi to rise, then crouched down to look at Liu Ruyi. Ruyi showed no fear, looking back at Liu Bang and saying, "I am the older brother; isn't it only right for me to bully the younger one?"

Good grief.

Liu Bang was both angry and amused.

He was angry that Ruyi bullied Heng and even felt justified in doing so. What? Was an older brother supposed to bully his younger brother at will? That was too tyrannical.

He was amused because when he first learned from Lu Xuan that Liu Heng would usurp the throne in the future and cause his unborn imperial grandson to disappear, his own thoughts had been exactly like Liu Ruyi's: isn't it only right for a father to bully his son?

"You are not allowed to bully Heng again, or Father will have to deal with you."

Liu Bang gave Liu Ruyi’s cheek a firm, sharp tug. The boy’s face turned bright red, but he stubbornly held his ground without a sound.

He was certainly tough-minded.

Liu Bang shook his head, turned, and carried Liu Heng away, though a sense of worry lingered in his heart.

Judging by Liu Ruyi’s current temperament, it truly seemed to align with what Lu Xuan had said. It was not impossible for this personality to eventually evolve into one of cruelty, brutality, and the oppression of commoners.

Furthermore, he wanted to clarify whether there were other reasons for Lady Qi summoning Liu Heng to play with Liu Ruyi.

As Liu Bang slowly walked away, Lady Qi held Liu Ruyi’s hand and returned to the palace. She watched Liu Bang’s receding figure, her eyes turning cold.

She wondered if she had taken the wrong step.

The Emperor was gradually withdrawing his favor from her. If so, Liu Ying would remain the Crown Prince, and Lu Zhi would remain the Empress. Once the Emperor passed away, Lu Zhi would not make life easy for her and her son.

She would have to find a way to forge alliances with other concubines and ensure that Liu Ruyi developed some bond with the other princes. Perhaps that would give her a chance to fight for the position of Crown Prince for Ruyi in the future.

"Why has a new courtyard been added to Linhua Hall in the past two days?" Lady Qi wondered. She had heard the news. There were already plenty of palaces around Changle Palace; there was no need to build a new courtyard. It looked like an eyesore and served no purpose.

Was this courtyard meant for someone to live in?

She had bribed many people, but had yet to receive accurate information. If someone were truly to move in, their status would surely be extraordinary. It might even be the person causing the Emperor to change his mind and distance himself from her.

"Whoever it is, don't think you'll have it easy!" Lady Qi thought with hatred.

At the same time, Liu Bang had returned Liu Heng to Lady Bo’s sleeping quarters. "Heng was bullied by Ruyi."

"Heng has been bullied by Ruyi before; why did you send him to Lady Qi’s again? And why did Lady Qi suddenly ask for him?" inside the palace, Liu Bang could not help but ask.

Hearing this, Lady Bo bowed tremblingly: "Your Majesty previously said that Heng-er would commit a great mistake in the future."

"I wanted to let Ruyi temper Heng-er’s character."

That was part of the reason, but more importantly, even if Lady Qi was currently out of favor, she had once been favored, and her status in the palace was still higher than hers. When Lady Qi spoke, she dared not disobey.

"You thought too much. I will not do anything to Heng-er."

"Since Heng-er possesses the talent for leading troops, I will definitely have him study military strategy under Han Xin. In the future, he will leave the Han Dynasty to establish his own fiefdom. Any territory he can conquer will belong to him."

Liu Bang had long since received the answer regarding the final resolution for Liu Heng from Lu Xuan, but because he had been too busy lately, he had not yet explained it to Lady Bo.

Upon hearing this, Lady Bo felt much more at ease.

"That is good, that is good."

"Hmm." Liu Bang nodded, set little Liu Heng down, and, furrowing his brows, walked alone toward the courtyard behind Linhua Hall.

He intended to ask about Liu Ruyi’s future disposition and actions.

At the same time, what worried him was that the time was drawing near—in a little over a month, Lu Xuan’s eyes would recover.

Yet, of the national policies and technological crafts that Zhang Liang had suggested inquiring about, almost nothing had been achieved.

Lu Xuan had indeed given him the formula for gunpowder, but the craftsmen had tried their best and ultimately failed. It was clear that this so-called gunpowder was not a product of this era and would be difficult to manufacture without Lu Xuan himself.

"With only a month or so left, I still have so many questions I want answered..."

"The matter of Liu Ruyi, which other meritorious officials I will kill in the future, how many years the Han Dynasty will last, whether there are treacherous officials in the court, and how my descendants will fare."

"Just asking about these will likely take more than a month."

"Where would there be any more time to ask about national policies or crafts?"

"It seems I can only choose one."

Liu Bang felt conflicted. Two months ago, when Lu Xuan first arrived in the Han Dynasty, he and Zhang Liang had discussed this for a long time. Zhang Liang had eventually advised that the most useful information to obtain from a person of the future would be the national policies and technological crafts that could be put to immediate use.

He had agreed with that sentiment.

But things had gradually shifted toward Lu Xuan revealing all sorts of information regarding the imperial family—the illnesses of Liu Ying and Lu Zhi, the Jingnan Campaign, Han Xin’s rebellion, the deaths of Zhang Liang and Xiao He, and so on.

None of the things that ministers like Zhang Liang deemed most useful had been clarified yet.

There was only a month left. He could use this month to ask about policies, but thoughts churned in Liu Bang’s mind. After much hesitation, he decided he still wanted to ask about his descendants, the continuation of the Han Dynasty, and the treacherous officials in court.

Different statuses and different positions led to different concerns. He still felt that these were the things he wanted to know most.

"A month, just a month..." Liu Bang shook his head and soon arrived at the courtyard behind Linhua Hall.