Chapter 850: Inside the Qiongming Garden

Inside the Qiongming Garden, paper kites soared high, each higher than the last, and those holding the strings in the grassy fields were none other than the princes and princesses of the Great Han.

"Brother Fang, higher! Higher!" From the side, a light and cheerful laugh rang out. It was the Great Han's eldest princess, Liu Jia, clutching the clothes of the fourth prince, Liu Fang, hopping and jumping in an excited manner.

Despite his clearly youthful face, Liu Fang's expression showed obvious helplessness. While pulling the string, he replied, "If I go any higher, even if the kite doesn't break, the string will snap!"

"I don't care, let me do it!" Liu Jia's bright eyes were full of eager anticipation.

"You? Can you do it?" Liu Fang raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat doubtful.

As the Emperor's most beloved daughter, a favored child of heaven, though young in age, her brother's condescending gaze displeased her greatly. She raised her little head, tugged at Liu Fang's sleeve, and said bluntly, "I'll do it!"

Seeing this, Liu Fang immediately placed the wooden handle in his hand into Liu Jia's grasp, saying, "Hold on tight!"

"Okay!" Liu Jia responded with a joyful chirp.

Then Liu Fang let go of his hand. Amidst a startled cry, the little girl of only a few years old clearly couldn't withstand the force. Pulled forward involuntarily by the wind, her little legs hurried along, stumbling unsteadily, and she soon tumbled to the ground.

With a "Waa—" sound, the little princess burst into loud sobs, clearly hurt from the fall. Behind her, Liu Fang, who had been wearing a mischievous smile, immediately panicked and rushed forward.

On the other side, Liu Xu, who was closer and the eldest brother, saw what happened. He casually tossed aside his own kite, helped Liu Jia up first, and asked with concern, "Where did you hurt yourself?"

He also shot Liu Fang a glare, and Liu Fang shrank his neck and gave an awkward smile. Hearing her elder brother's gentle, caring voice, Liu Jia cried even harder, her voice quite loud.

Liu Xi also came over, helping the little girl pick the grass bits from her hair and clothes, while Liu Xu blew on her scraped little hands. Liu Fang scratched his head and ears, thought for a moment, then made funny faces at Liu Jia to amuse his little sister.

Thanks to her brothers' efforts, Liu Jia finally stopped crying, and under Liu Fang's antics, she broke into a smile through her tears. On her delicate little face, tearful eyes were still misty and watery, carrying a kind of bedraggled cuteness.

"The kite fell!" Pointing at the kite that had dropped into the Jinming Pool, Liu Jia said with a pitiful tone.

"I'll go fish it out for you!" Liu Fang said.

"Take mine!" Liu Yang, the second brother, also walked over and gave his kite to Liu Jia. He thoughtfully thrust the wooden handle into the ground, and Liu Xi casually picked up a stone and hammered it deeper and firmer.

"Fourth brother!"

Liu Xu suddenly shouted, but Liu Fang had already run to the muddy shore of the Jinming Pool. There he was treading in the water, removing his outer robe, seemingly really about to go into the water.

Of course, he couldn't succeed. He was caught by Murong Chengtai and, like a chick being grabbed, carried to stand before the Emperor as punishment. After returning to the Eastern Capital, because he had been tempered in the southwest, had military merits to his name, and was also a royal relative, Murong Chengtai was transferred to the Emperor's personal guard, laying the foundation for his next promotion.

By the shore of the Jinming Pool, several carpets were spread over the flat grass, with tents set up above, banquet tables arranged, and fine wine, fruits, and meats laid out. Emperor Liu's harem gathered together in a scattered fashion, chatting and playing games.

The late-spring sun was gentle and warm, shining on the body with a cozy warmth, extremely comfortable. Liu Chengyou was surrounded by a host of Ladies of Beauty, lazily reclining on his side, looking very much at ease.

The amusing antics of the children drew laughter. The sturdy-looking Liu Fang stood there properly, listening to the scolding admonishment of Worthy Consort Zhe, and the scene only brought knowing smiles to everyone's faces.

"Your Majesty, the affection between the brothers and sister is so warm — truly rare!" The elder Lady Fu said to Liu Chengyou, her beautiful eyes filled with gentle tenderness.

Liu Chengyou held Liu Jia in his arms, took her little hand that had been rubbed red, and asked with loving concern, "Did your brothers bully you? Tell Father, and I'll discipline them and get even for you!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jia blinked a few times, looked at Liu Fang — who had also heard their father's words and was making faces at the little girl — then bit her finger, shook her head, and replied, "Brother Fang plays with me and treats me very well!"

Liu Chengyou took in the interaction between the two children with a smile, unable to suppress a chuckle. He summoned Liu Fang over and gave him a pat on the backside, saying, "You dared to go into the water?"

Liu Fang grinned and said, "Your son has heard that the guards by Father's side are all warriors who can subdue tigers on the mountains and capture dragons in the seas. I'll be such a warrior in the future — what's a little pond to fear?"

Hearing this, Liu Chengyou couldn't help but admonish him: "Your ambition is commendable, but you're speaking big words. At such a young age, don't reach for the stars..."

"Your Majesty!" The palace eunuch Sun Yanxi came to report: "Chancellor Li and Chancellor Chai of the Bureau of Military Affairs request an audience!"

Upon hearing the report, Liu Chengyou immediately waved his hand: "Ask the two chancellors to wait a moment!"

After giving a few instructions to the Empress and the others, Liu Chengyou mounted his imperial horse and rode swiftly toward the garden hall. During this period, Liu Chengyou had handed all state affairs and government matters over to the chancellors, while he stayed with his family in the Qiongming Garden enjoying leisure — reading, practicing martial arts, tuning his moods, drinking wine, and hunting, carefree and at ease.

"Your Majesty!" Seeing Liu Chengyou enter in form-fitting attire, Li Gu and Guo Rong hurriedly rose to pay their respects.

"No need for that! Sit!" Liu Chengyou's demeanor was relaxed and genial as he said, "Here it's just the three of us, ruler and ministers — no need for such formalities!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"May we ask what instructions Your Majesty has for us two?" Li Gu asked respectfully.

Guo Rong held a higher rank and title, but in terms of seniority and prestige, Li Gu still surpassed him.

Looking at the two men, Liu Chengyou smiled slightly, reached into the memorials on the table, rifled through them, and took out one to hand to them: "Wang Quanbin sent me a memorial — it's rather interesting. Take a look, both of you!"

Observing the Emperor's expression, Li Gu took it first and opened it to read. The memorial was from Wang Quanbin, requesting permission to lead an army to attack Dali and recover the southwestern territories!

In the previous round of merit rewards, all generals had received honors and titles — except for Wang Quanbin and Wang Renshan. Of course, they both knew the reasons well enough themselves.

Wang Quanbin was a seasoned battlefield veteran, long renowned for loyalty and integrity. When it came to his past deeds, they were mostly of a positive image.

In this campaign to pacify Shu, Wang Quanbin's military contributions were hardly insignificant — being promoted to Commandery Duke should have been no problem at all. Yet in the end, his title wasn't elevated, and he even received disciplinary action. After fighting hard in Chuanshu for over half a year, all things considered, he'd actually come out at a loss.

What was fortunate was that he'd escaped imprisonment, and his gains in Shu were still substantial — the Emperor hadn't pursued further reckoning. That was that, after all; he'd crossed a taboo line and had to accept it.

Originally, Wang Quanbin had learned his lesson and planned to lie low and bide his time, waiting for the next opportunity to earn merit, since he wasn't that old yet and could still don his armor and win glory for the state.

At first, the Bureau of Military Affairs had planned to appoint Wang Quanbin as Chief Commander of the Jiannan Circuit, stationed in Chengdu to patrol and inspect the southwest. But after the incident in the Eastern Capital, the situation had changed, and it seemed they intended to appoint someone else instead.

Upon learning of this, Wang Quanbin could no longer sit still. After much agonizing thought, he concocted this memorial requesting to "attack Dali."

First, it showed the Emperor his ambition to render meritorious service; second, if the Emperor agreed and he led the army south, it would be his chance to atone for his faults through achievement. As for the gains and losses, pros and cons, and difficulty of attacking Dali — those weren't his concern, or rather, he deliberately chose not to think too much about them.