Chapter 1192: A Carefree Air Pervades the Gardens

The differences between the Western Capital and the Eastern Capital manifest in every aspect, and the palace gardens are one of the more prominent examples. In the past, when in Kaifeng, Emperor Liu found almost no good places to go on outings in the countryside; even hunting required traveling over a hundred li. As for places where he could truly relax, after much deliberation, only the Qionglin Garden satisfied him.

Luoyang was different. The Western Garden, this imperial park, was extremely vast. Since the time of Wang Yan, it had been deliberately protected and restored, with farming and grazing prohibited. Over more than a decade, vegetation had grown lush, and animal activity had become increasingly frequent.

It was only because Emperor Liu did not care for building detached palaces that the Western Garden in Luoyang was not even more impressive. Of course, though there were fewer buildings, the wild, primitive atmosphere was correspondingly thicker, and roaming through it felt more carefree.

Besides the Western Garden, the vast expanse of land stretching north to Mount Mang was also a place for Emperor Liu to gallop freely. Since moving west to Luoyang, Emperor Liu went out riding, sightseeing, and hunting at least twice every month.

This time leaving the palace, Emperor Liu seemed to be purely going out for hunting and pleasure, as there were no consorts from the harem accompanying him. Of course, Emperor Liu was never short of attendants.

This time, accompanying Emperor Liu were two sons and two daughters: the fifth son Liu Yang, the sixth son Liu Min, and the eldest and second daughters Liu Jia and Liu Jian. Among these four children accompanying him, the youngest was the sixth son Liu Min, who was already nearly fifteen years old.

As time passed, Emperor Liu's other children had gradually grown up and matured. His most beloved was his eldest daughter Liu Jia, while the one toward whom he always carried a trace of guilt and tenderness was Liu Min.

After all, Liu Min had been adopted out to his deceased eldest brother. Although over the years Liu Min had frequently been brought into the palace to pay respects to Emperor Liu and Empress Fu, due to the constraints of his upbringing environment, the bond between flesh and blood had drifted toward estrangement.

The elder Lady Fu was fine on her end, but Emperor Liu had been burdened with too many worries and affairs in the past, leaving him little leisure to attend to his own sons, let alone Liu Min who had been adopted out.

Thus, to this day, when meeting Liu Min, that sense of estrangement was especially pronounced, and Liu Min likewise found it difficult to feel close to his birth father. In earlier years, Emperor Liu had considered taking Liu Min back and finding another clansman's son to carry on his eldest brother's line, but now, that notion had faded.

Back then, to demonstrate his affection for his eldest brother Liu Chengxun, Emperor Liu had generously given away his legitimate son — a decision destined for regret. And in his early years, to cultivate his public image, he had indeed done quite a few similar things that bred guilt and remorse.

Owing to these factors, Emperor Liu could be said to dote on Liu Min, and compared with the other princes, he was less strict with him. This had once provoked the displeasure of the elder Lady Fu — Empress Fu likewise loved her own flesh-and-blood son, but disliked Emperor Liu's overindulgence. Fortunately, the elder Lady Fu's sister-in-law, the Wise Consort of the Wei Prince, was sensible and kept Liu Min under fairly strict discipline. Even so, he had still developed an air of arrogance and pride.

It must be said that even someone as brilliant and exacting as Emperor Liu had done many things less than properly. And to be fair, among all his sons, Liu Min was quite conspicuous — not only was he the legitimate son of the Emperor and Empress known throughout court and country, but he had also inherited Liu Chengxun's title and property.

One should know that among the four elder princes, aside from the Crown Prince Liu Yang, the other three had only been enfeoffed as Dukes. As for property, Liu Chengxun had not left much behind, but with Emperor Liu's continuous gifts and rewards over twenty years, small amounts had accumulated into a great sum — now a considerable fortune...

At the resting spot, a simple camp had been enclosed with long spears and yellow silk, with Imperial Guard warriors standing vigilant watch all around. The accompanying palace eunuchs and maidservants stood nervously at attention nearby, ready at any moment to receive orders.

Meanwhile, Emperor Liu and his eldest and second daughters were busily at work, personally carrying firewood, setting up the roasting rack, and preparing various seasonings. The autumn wind rustled, whipping up grass against them, yet the three of them — father and daughters — were bustling with great enthusiasm.

Liu Jia was especially eager, not minding the dirt as she did "rough work" alongside Emperor Liu. Dried leaves clung to her hair bun, and mud and ash smudged her face, all of which she remained oblivious to. Emperor Liu, acting undignified for his age, deliberately smeared her face even more, drawing playful protests from his eldest daughter.

Compared with the lively eldest daughter, the second daughter Liu Jian was far more demure. Though not yet fully grown, she was proper and elegant, every movement befitting a noble young lady. While Emperor Liu and Liu Jia were bustling about, she calmly laid out the seating mats and arranged the cups, plates, bowls, and chopsticks...

It must be said that Noble Consort Gao had given birth to only one son and one daughter, yet neither of these siblings resembled her in temperament. And while Liu Jian was not as dazzling as her elder sister, she never seemed to mind.

The two daughters were close in age, both nearly sixteen years old — in common society, they would be of marriageable age. At present, Emperor Liu had already abolished the mandatory policies on marriageable ages for men and women that had existed at the founding of the state, leaving the matter to the people's own choice.

However, among the common folk, especially in villages and rural areas, women marrying at sixteen or seventeen remained the norm. Likewise, some chose to delay, since a sixteen-year-old woman counted as half a laborer.

As for his own daughters, Emperor Liu was naturally quite lenient — the longer they delayed, the better — but inwardly he was rather displeased. He felt that those meritorious nobles and honored families were surely already coveting his daughters, seemingly more concerned about their ages...

Though Emperor Liu was not opposed to marriage alliances — otherwise he would not have hinted at such intentions to Guo Rong back then. Zhao Kuangyin's son was also within consideration.

After finishing their work, Yan Tuo brought hot water for Emperor Liu and his daughters to wash up. From outside the camp came the rumbling sound of horse hooves — not many riders by the sound of it, but with considerable momentum, they rode right up to the barricades before stopping.

Hearing the commotion, Liu Jian perked up, took her younger sister by the hand, and rushed forward excitedly to greet them.

Returning were some thirty to forty riders, led by two youths: the fifth prince Liu Yang and the Wei Prince Liu Min. Both were fully armed and looked quite capable, with Liu Min carrying a bow slung across his back.

"Fifth Brother, Sixth Brother, Father and we have prepared the roasting racks, seasonings, and seating — we're just waiting for your game! Quick, let me see what you've caught!" Liu Jian said with a bright smile, her face beaming with youthful vitality.

Liu Yang, being of a lively disposition, let out a chuckle. Seeing his sister, he couldn't resist reaching out to tousle her hair, but Liu Jian nimbly dodged. Liu Yang was not annoyed; he patted his chest and replied, "Don't worry, we certainly wouldn't come back empty-handed — Sixth Brother and I have returned laden with game!"

Then, together with Liu Min, he unstrapped the game hanging from their horses. Liu Yang had bagged a pheasant, while Liu Min had two rabbits and three pheasants. Behind them, guards carried over a sika deer.

The contrast in their catches was stark, drawing the sisters' sidelong glances. Meeting Liu Jian's expressive eyes, Liu Yang was uncharacteristically embarrassed and said, "I saw that Sixth Brother had caught too much, so I held back — we couldn't eat more than that anyway!"

Giving the two brothers a few appraising looks, Liu Jian blinked and said, "Fifth Brother, that pheasant in your hand — it wasn't shot by Sixth Brother too, was it?"

"How could that be! Though your brother here isn't skilled in martial arts, catching a pheasant is still easy!" Liu Yang said, hopping about indignantly as he denied it, though he deliberately winked and gestured at Liu Min.

Liu Min stood there like a flagpole, exuding an air of pride, with what seemed to be "keep away from strangers" written on his forehead. But seeing the playful banter between his siblings, he gave a reserved smile and said to Liu Jian, "Eldest Sister, that pheasant was indeed caught by Fifth Brother."

The four siblings entered the camp together, and upon seeing Emperor Liu, the atmosphere did not change much — on this outing, the relationship between father and children outweighed that of sovereign and subjects.

Liu Min was as usual — proper and formal before Emperor Liu. Looking at this somewhat aloof and proud son, Emperor Liu felt a momentary daze. In his long memory, there was a scene of this son as a small child, shyly saying he needed to pee... Now, the boy's height was nearly matching his own.

"The verdict came out? How was he sentenced?" Inside the camp, a bonfire had already been lit, with a large piece of dressed venison on the roasting rack. Emperor Liu was brushing on cooking oil and seasonings while asking in a casual tone.

Though not yet cooked through, the aroma was already beginning to waft. Emperor Liu had learned quite a few things during his time in the army — skinning and deboning, campfire roasting — and though his technique had grown rusty, he could still manage.

Zhang Dejun, hunched over, assisted at his side. Hearing Emperor Liu's question, he answered respectfully, "The litigator hired by the Han family argued vigorously, but the fact of the killing was difficult to change. After deliberation, the Duke of Luan ultimately sentenced Han Qingxiong to death in open court!"

"Oh!" Emperor Liu's reaction was indifferent. "Killing someone — a death sentence is only natural! How did the various parties react?"

"The Han family refused to accept it, while the Chang family cheered and applauded. The two sides argued before the government office and nearly came to blows before being stopped by the prefectural authorities. Many who watched the trial felt the sentence was somewhat excessive..." Zhang Dejun replied.

"Oh?" Emperor Liu asked. "Why?"

Zhang Dejun said, "Chang Kan was a man who talked too much without knowing when to stop, and he had a poor reputation. Moreover, the late Marquis of Hanwuning had only this one son left — sentencing him directly to death would cut off his ancestral line, which drew sympathy."

Emperor Liu smiled faintly and said, "If judgments were based entirely on personal feelings and impressions, where would fairness be?"

"Have Zhao Kuangyin and the Duke Consort's father made any moves?" Emperor Liu asked again.

"The Duke of Rong visited the Duke of Xing's residence today — presumably also regarding this case!" Zhang Dejun replied.

This evidently piqued Emperor Liu's interest: "What did they talk about?"

"Reportedly, he hoped the Duke Consort's father would step forward to mediate between the Han and Chang families, to avoid causing an even greater dispute!"

"How did the Duke Consort's father respond?"

"The Duke Consort's father replied that he would try!"

Emperor Liu smiled again, pointed at the roasting rack, and suddenly said, "Flip it!"

Zhang Dejun dared not delay, turning the meat over a full one hundred and eighty degrees, while Emperor Liu continued his barbecue enterprise. After quite a while, a guard reported that Zhao Kuangyin was requesting an audience.

At this, Emperor Liu merely sighed inwardly — in the end, he had come after all. However, when receiving Zhao Kuangyin, the smile on Emperor Liu's face was like a warm spring breeze as he invited him to eat meat.

Game hunted by the princes, meat roasted personally by the Emperor — just ask, will you eat it or not? Whatever business there is, speak of it after eating and drinking your fill...