Chapter 1889: The Night of the Lantern Festival

The twenty-sixth year of Kaibao, spring.

Luoyang, Ziwei City.

The night had grown deep, and the Lantern Festival imperial banquet had only just ended. Not all the honored guests in attendance had yet dispersed, and the mess in Qianyuan Hall was still being cleared. Over at Chuigong Hall, Emperor Liu had specially gathered the entire imperial family together.

The early spring wind was still cold, and the night air was even chillier. Rows of candles and torches in the hall cast a bright glow throughout the chamber. Perhaps owing to the Lantern Festival, the place carried a bit more festive cheer inside and out.

Within the hall, Emperor Liu sat behind the imperial desk in a solemn posture, while his sons and grandsons of the dragon bloodline knelt quietly in the hall—even Crown Prince Liu Yang was no exception.

Besides the imperial princes and grandsons who resided permanently in the capital, there were also several new faces, especially the Prince of Qin, Liu Xu, and his son. Perhaps because they had spent so long in Andong, Liu Xu and his son were clearly different from the other members of the imperial family. This difference had not been very noticeable in the past, but today it was visible to the naked eye.

That aura of sole command over a region, of great power firmly in hand—apart from Liu Yang, Liu Xi, and Liu Fang, no one else could contend with it at all. Father and son sat there with an imposing bearing. Though they said nothing, it was enough to make people dare not glance sideways at them.

Of course, the attention of those present was not on the Prince of Qin and his son at the moment. All were observing Emperor Liu with curious yet cautious looks. At a time when the banquet had just ended and the guests had departed in high spirits, Emperor Liu had singled out his sons and grandsons to summon them together—this was clearly out of the ordinary.

Among the princes, all were present except the Prince of Wei, Liu Min, who could not get away from Anxi. This included the Duke of Liang, Liu Ye, who had been sent back to the capital to personally report on the situation in Anxi to Emperor Liu, as well as Emperor Liu's youngest son, Liu Yao.

Liu Yao was born of Consort Zhou Yi and had been born in the nineteenth year of Kaibao. He was not yet eight years old. Like his mother, he was usually much beloved by Emperor Liu. Though young in age, under the influence of court etiquette, his every move was proper and measured. He sat properly on the soft mat like everyone else—though his eyes also stole glances at Emperor Liu.

Another year had passed, and Emperor Liu had visibly aged somewhat. His beard and hair were still that same grizzled white, but his back had become more stooped. That spine which could no longer straighten silently told of his declining years.

Of course, at this stage Emperor Liu could no longer afford to dwell on such things—at least for the past half year and more, he had not mentioned his own old age again. Maintaining a stern expression, his gaze swept over his sons with a somewhat indifferent look. After a long while, he finally sighed: "Rare indeed for you brothers to gather together like this. Rare indeed..."

When Emperor Liu said this, his gaze fell mainly on the Prince of Qin, Liu Xu, and the Duke of Liang, Liu Ye. In recent years, among the princes present, they were the ones who had been away from the capital year-round, hard to meet. The other princes had not been away from the capital for overly long stretches and could still see each other and converse from time to time.

Hearing Emperor Liu's lament, Liu Xu seemed moved as well, his emotions rising at once. He rose and bowed to Emperor Liu, then choked up and said: "To have failed to attend at Your Majesty's side—this is your subject's unfilial conduct!"

Anyone could see that Liu Xu's display was somewhat put on. Yet Emperor Liu actually showed a moved expression as well. Looking at Liu Xu, he said in a wistful tone: "You guard Andong from afar, defending the border for the state. That you occasionally think of me is enough to comfort my heart. As for the rest—let it follow fate!"

As he said this, Emperor Liu also unconsciously widened his eyes, staring hard at Liu Xu, as if this could let him see this eldest son more clearly. After all, there was a time when Emperor Liu had held extremely high hopes for this eldest son—it was just that fortune had taken its own course.

No matter how many little schemes Liu Xu harbored, Emperor Liu had always carried a sense of guilt toward this eldest son, and also held no small expectations. He had once been angered by some of his small maneuvers, but at the same time had given him Andong as a place to prove himself—and the results had not disappointed him. Liu Xu had never crossed Emperor Liu's bottom line either.

Having thoughts about the throne—wasn't that only natural? Think back to how he himself had acted back then! To Emperor Liu, contending for the succession was by no means a fault; the key was how one contended.

However, given Emperor Liu's current state, he no longer wished to stir things up on this matter, nor did he dare harbor any other hesitant thoughts. More than that, what he wanted to do was to settle the matter once and for all, to snuff out all improper thoughts with the clearest possible stance, and to ensure the proper succession of the throne.

Such considerations were something the Emperor Liu of the past would never have made. Now, he had no choice but to do so. And for Liu Xu, this might well be another heavy blow—after all, there was still some difference between hope being slim and hope being utterly lost.

Thinking of all this, Emperor Liu looked at his eldest son, and a measure of pity could not help but appear in his cloudy old eyes. His emotions were especially complicated.

Liu Xu was not yet forty years old, but there was no shortage of white in his hair at the temples, and the wrinkles on his face had multiplied. The Prince of Qi, Liu Yun, was only three years younger than Liu Xu, yet if the two were compared face to face at this moment, some would likely believe they were father and son. The conditions in Andong were harsh after all, and more than a decade of worry and toil day after day had indeed caused some irreversible damage to Liu Xu's body. Of this, Emperor Liu himself had deep understanding.

Meeting his old father's gaze and sensing the complexity within it, Liu Xu raised his head and was just about to speak when Emperor Liu turned to Liu Wenyuan beside him. Liu Wenyuan was already twenty-two years old, with a thick beard grown around his chin. Thanks to his performance over the past decade in Andong, as the eldest legitimate son of the Prince of Qin, Liu Wenyuan had thoroughly established his position as the heir of Liu Xu's line.

Because Liu Xu's health was failing, Liu Wenyuan was now assisting Liu Xu in handling administrative affairs in the Andong prefectural government. Liu Xu had placed him within the Commander-in-Chief's Office's pacification system, specifically to train his ability in dealing with the native barbarian tribes of Andong.

Not only that—Liu Wenyuan had already married, taking as his wife, as Liu Xu had wished, the young lady of the Marquis of Haining, Liu Guangyi. Moreover, last year he had even produced Emperor Liu's first great-grandson.

Looking at this eldest grandson, a slight smile appeared on Emperor Liu's grave countenance. He said: "My thousand-li steed has grown up. He does resemble his father when he was young!"

Having said this, he looked at the other grandsons present. There were not many imperial grandsons in attendance—apart from Liu Wenyuan, there were two from the Crown Prince's household, Liu Wenhai from Liu Xi's family, and Liu Wengong from Liu Fang's family. The other imperial grandsons were not qualified to participate.

After a round of sighs and a sweep of his gaze, Emperor Liu lowered his head and mulled for a moment. Then, with a calm expression and a slow tone, he said: "The reason I kept you brothers here tonight is very simple—dividing the family!"

The moment these words fell, even those who had guessed something could not help but be stunned, staring at Emperor Liu in astonishment.

The several princes in the front row were mostly frowning deeply. Crown Prince Liu Yang, by contrast, appeared very calm. After a moment of silence, he cupped his hands and asked: "May I request Your Majesty's instruction!"