Chapter 1614: Brothers

Emperor Liu spent a full shichen receiving Liu Fang and his family, and unlike his usual practice, he did not ask about military, political, or civilian affairs in Hexi and Anxi. He only chatted about family matters and showed warm concern.

At this moment, Emperor Liu appeared reasonable and understanding, taking the initiative to let them go to Qiuhua Hall to pay respects to Worthy Consort Zhe. Emperor Liu himself knew very well that Lady Zhe was absolutely more concerned about and missed her children and grandchildren than he was.

Although Emperor Liu was occasionally moved by emotion, when facing these princes, the weight of his role as emperor still carried more significance.

Of course, compared to others, Worthy Consort was somewhat more fortunate—she had more children, and there were princes and princesses like Liu Yun, Liu Ai, Liu Xiao, and Liu Lei who frequently stayed in the capital to accompany and visit her.

Take Noble Consort Gao, for example—she had only one son and one daughter, and both had gone to the northern frontier. When they were away, she had no one by her side, and Emperor Liu was not someone she could rely on...

It was Liu Xi who was filial, thinking of his mother's loneliness. When he returned to the capital two years ago, he left his eldest son Liu Wenhai at Yaohua Hall to fulfill filial piety on his behalf.

Qiuhua Hall in the Bian Palace was like the personality of its mistress—low-key and restrained, showing no ostentation or extravagance. Leading his wife and children to pay a visit, the closer he approached the hall, the more he noticed the familiar sights, and Liu Fang could not help but feel a surge of excitement, his steps unconsciously quickening.

"Fourth Brother! Fourth Brother!" However, before he even reached the main gate, he was stopped by a joyful shout from behind.

The palace was strictly guarded, and of course, only those of imperial blood dared to shout loudly within the palace grounds. Turning around, he saw it was Duke of Qi, Liu Yun.

Over all these years, Liu Yun had reined in his wild ways somewhat and done some serious work. Whether it was his missions to Goryeo and Japan, or his inspections of the southeast, he had achieved results and fulfilled his duties.

However, Emperor Liu still had not granted him a princely title. Because of this, some could not help but speculate that for a prince to be enfeoffed as a king, he would have to guard the frontiers.

The Great Han currently had only six Princes in total. Apart from Liu Chenghsun and Liu Chengyun, the remaining three princes who were also imperial sons were all at the frontiers. And so far, there were only these three. Additionally, there was Liu Min, whom Emperor Liu had long intended to send out to the provinces as well.

As for how to arrange the many princes, Emperor Liu had never reached a final decision. The only thing that had become established practice was in the education and training of the princes, to which one clause had been added later—requiring at least two years of military service.

Over all these years, only the eleventh prince, Liu Han, had been exempted from military training due to health reasons. But among all the princes, only the three kings—Liu Xu, Liu Xi, and Liu Fang—could truly be said to have been given important positions.

As for the other princes, they had been too young back then to be assigned duties, so the matter was deferred until they grew up—it was still a policy of delay. But now, the princes had all gradually come of age, and even the twelfth prince, Duke of Yue, Liu Han, was already twenty-one years old.

However, how to arrange them was still undecided in Emperor Liu's mind. According to Emperor Liu's "simple" philosophy of ruling the realm as a family enterprise, sending them to hold positions in the localities was a preferred option, but if he did so, he felt uneasy in his heart.

First, he was worried about their abilities—not every prince possessed the quality that the three princes had developed through long tempering. On the other hand, he was concerned about planting hidden dangers. Whether it was the Seven Kingdoms of Han or the Eight Princes of Jin, both were lessons from the past.

If he raised the imperial clan like pigs as the Great Ming did, that was not something Emperor Liu was willing to see. He instinctively felt that the imperial clan still needed a certain amount of strength—such a vast empire also needed the power of the imperial clan to maintain it. If the court had only meritorious nobles and bureaucrats, it would not be balanced or stable enough.

However, no matter how many ideas he had, there was still no final established system. It was only on matters like this that Emperor Liu would hesitate so much, and after deliberating for so long, he still found it difficult to make up his mind.

Over the years, Emperor Liu had made arrangements for the grown princes, and basically all of them had been placed in the various ministries and bureaus of the court to gain experience, each holding concurrent posts. But this arrangement was very conservative—he did not even lightly assign them to local circuits or prefectures.

Hesitation aside, life still had to go on.

As for Liu Yun, regardless of what others speculated or discussed, he remained as carefree as ever, not taking it to heart at all. People always matured with age and experience, and Liu Yun was no exception. Although he was still serving as the "Carefree Duke," he looked much more steady overall. After all, he was already twenty-eight years old and had grown a beard.

"Fifth Brother!" Seeing Liu Yun, Liu Fang, as his elder brother, also laughed heartily and strode forward to meet him. The two brothers embraced each other firmly.

"Another two or three years without seeing each other! A few days ago, I was still saying that Fourth Brother would surely return to the capital this time. Sure enough, my muttering worked..." Facing Liu Fang, Liu Yun was very enthusiastic, speaking with a chuckle.

Liu Fang seemed to be infected by his mood as well, a smile spreading across his face as he said: "Father's fiftieth birthday—how could I not come back!"

The last time the two brothers met was at the celebration of Emperor Liu's thirty years of governance. Liu Yun said: "That's only right. Mother misses you very much too. She must have received word by now—hurry into the hall!"

"Alright!"

With that, Liu Yun took the initiative to lead the way.

Walking along and chatting, Liu Fang took a couple of looks at Liu Yun, his gaze carrying an elder brother's warmth and approval as he said: "Fifth Brother, not bad—you've become more and more steady!"

"That 'steady' assessment has nothing to do with me!" Liu Yun chuckled and said: "Just two days ago, I was called into the palace by Father and given a scolding!"

"Oh?" Interacting and conversing with Liu Yun always put one in a good mood, and since they were blood brothers, Liu Fang was infected by his spirit and could not help asking: "What did you do this time to make Father angry?"

"Nothing major!" Liu Yun said with a relaxed expression: "Father ordered the construction of relief carvings in the Hall of Supreme Harmony to record the thirty years of the Great Han's history. I couldn't contain my curiosity, so I ran to the Hall of Supreme Harmony and asked the craftsmen about chiseling. I currently serve in the Ministry of Works, so doing it with my own hands is also being in my position and doing my duty. Who would have thought Father would be displeased when he heard about it...

Just now I was at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, carving my own figure from the banquet at Qianyuan Hall. When I heard that Fourth Brother had returned, I put down my chisel and rushed over. I knew that after you finished seeing Father, you would definitely come to Qiuhua Hall..."

Liu Yun described it lightly, and Liu Fang could not help but smile knowingly, saying to him: "It seems I was wrong just now—Fifth Brother, you haven't changed at all. Still so free and unrestrained. Admirable!"

"I'll take that as Fourth Brother praising me!" Liu Yun chuckled: "I'm not as accomplished as my brothers—I can't bear heavy responsibilities, so I can only make myself more comfortable..."

"Not at all!" Liu Fang gently shook his head and said: "Although I'm in the northwest, I've still heard some things about you. I heard that when you went to Japan on a mission, you displayed the nation's might greatly, and after returning to court, you toured on behalf of the emperor, inspecting Jiangnan and correcting current malpractices. These were all fulfilling your duty to the country!"

When this was mentioned, Liu Yun still wore a cheerful expression, waving his hand and saying: "Japan is a small eastern barbarian state. When I went there, they naturally treated me as an honored guest, extremely reverent and fearful. I didn't even need to say much—they offered humble words and lavish gifts. As for inspecting Jiangnan, I suspect Father was thinking of the hardship of my voyage across the seas and wanted to reward me by letting me go sightseeing..."

. wap.