The weather was already approaching midsummer. Flowers in the garden beds were competing to bloom, with lush green branches. Liu Yu had been bedridden for many days and hadn’t seen such beautiful scenery for a long time, so he was quite entranced by the view.
From a distance, Liu Yilong saw that convenient younger brother staring blankly at the pool water and couldn’t help but smile knowingly. Fortunately, he had someone to accompany him these days, otherwise he would have felt too miserable. This capital really held no beautiful memories for him – his mother concubine, his childhood, his father emperor had all passed away here one after another. Now he had decided that after leaving this time, he would never return here again. Perhaps ending his days in Jingzhou would be a good decision.
But before that, Liu Yilong still wanted to ask about this young man’s future plans. During these days, he had learned that apart from him, this young man had no one else to rely on, which made him very uneasy about leaving him in the capital.
“Che’er, you’re going back to Jingzhou?” Liu Yu only glanced at his third son and guessed what he wanted to say. Though they hadn’t interacted much, these little rascals were only in their teens – they hadn’t eaten as much rice as he had eaten salt! But it hadn’t even been forty-nine days yet, so why was he in such a hurry to leave? Liu Yu was a bit angry, his tone carrying some emotion as he angrily retorted: “Now?”
Liu Yilong forced a bitter smile. He knew he was leaving too hastily, but how could he explain? Thinking of what he had seen in the palace today and the private discussions among court ministers, Liu Yilong felt his face burning with shame and really wanted to immediately leave this capital and run far away.
Liu Yu frowned. His third son was somewhat physically weak and was at the stage of growing, his frame stretched tall and thin, making him appear emaciated with little flesh on his bones. Now wearing plain white mourning clothes made his complexion even paler and extremely haggard. Liu Yu couldn’t help but feel paternal compassion and pointed to a wooden stump nearby: “Sit. Make tea.” The maid waiting nearby immediately entered the pavilion and began working quietly.
Liu Yilong had already grown accustomed to this young man’s commanding and imperious manner over these few days. Though he inevitably grumbled inwardly that the other party had no concept of seniority, he couldn’t suppress an inexplicable sense of familiarity rising from his heart. At this moment, though the other party was casually leaning against the railing and pointing about, he was full of authority, making people have to follow his commands. When Liu Yilong’s hand touched the wooden stool’s surface, he realized he had involuntarily obeyed again, showing a helpless bitter smile on his face.
“Come, drink some hot tea. Though the weather is already hot, we still can’t be careless.” Liu Yu spoke with the tone of an elder teaching, completely naturally.
“Yes.” Liu Yilong also very naturally picked up the teacup in front of him. Though he disagreed in his heart, he had actually grown accustomed to interacting with this young man this way.
This was truly strange – who exactly was the elder brother? And why did he have that trembling feeling he experienced when facing father emperor?
Liu Yilong took a sip of tea. The warm tea slid down his throat, and warmth seemed to spread throughout his entire body instantly, making him completely relax.
“Now then, speak up.” Liu Yu tapped the thin wall of his tea bowl and lightly snorted: “What exactly happened?”
Liu Yilong held the teacup in his hands, smelling the lingering tea fragrance in the bowl, knowing that even if he didn’t speak, this young man would find out.
Because probably before long, this matter would immediately spread throughout the capital…
Liu Yu squinted his eyes. Even from far away, he could hear the sounds of music and laughter coming from the imperial garden. When he saw who was being surrounded in the center, he clenched his fists in fury, wishing he could immediately rush in and give that unfilial son a good beating.
How long had he been dead? Not even a month! And that unfilial son was already openly indulging in wine, women, and song in the imperial garden! He vaguely remembered that when he was seriously ill, someone had advised him that the Crown Prince often went out carousing, taking dragon boats to move to Tianyuan Pool to play on the water with beautiful music and dance, orchestral music flowing melodiously, playing until the moon set and stars crossed the sky without returning to the palace to rest, simply spending the night on the dragon boat.
At the time, he thought someone was slandering the Crown Prince. In his impression, his eldest son was quite intelligent, had physical strength, was good at riding and archery, and understood music. Though not a very ideal heir, he could certainly become a restoration ruler.
It turned out he had been completely wrong all along!
To be so disrespectful during the mourning period was simply a laughingstock!
Look! That rascal had discovered them and showed no shame or attempt to hide, actually cheerfully waving at them, inviting them to join!
Liu Yu couldn’t control his cursing. Seeing trouble, Liu Yilong immediately embraced him to prevent him from rushing in to cause trouble.
Though his elder brother had indeed lost virtue, he was now a nation’s ruler with the power of life and death. His elder brother probably wouldn’t mind taking this opportunity to suppress his brothers. Moreover, for a young man like this with no background, he would be perfect as the chicken to scare the monkeys.
Liu Yu struggled for a long time and found that although his third son looked thin, he actually had great strength. No, it was also very possible that his current body was too young.
Gasping heavily, Liu Yu angrily shook off Liu Yilong’s hand and strode toward the palace exit, not caring at all how Liu Yilong would explain to that unfilial son behind him.
Since he couldn’t make the choice, let the ivory dice decide. The number of dots thrown plus one would be his final decision.
Silently reciting the question he needed to decide, Liu Yu threw the ivory dice to the ground.
The dice rolled for quite a while before finally stopping.
Liu Yu crouched down, looking at the dots on top, not speaking for a long time.
“Jinu? So you’re here! Eh? This ivory dice looks familiar – isn’t it the one father emperor liked most?” Liu Yilong walked over through the flowers and trees, curiously lowering his head to ask.
Liu Yu looked up and gave him a meaningful smile.
“Want to be emperor?”
Liu Yilong stared blankly at the young man in front of him playing with the ivory dice, hardly able to believe what he had just heard. He instinctively looked around. Though they had returned to his royal residence and dismissed attendants, if what this young man had just said were to leak out, he would probably be thrown into prison the next moment and die without a burial place.
“Don’t worry, no one will hear.” Liu Yu propped his chin and pursed his lips, looking somewhat critically at his third son. Though the ivory dice had chosen the child before him to be his successor, Liu Yu was still a bit dissatisfied. But thinking of that Crown Prince he had been satisfied with, he sighed in defeat. Actually, besides Crown Prince Liu Yifu, he preferred his second son Liu Yizhen, but the latter seemed to prefer music, chess, calligraphy, and painting… Well, the ivory dice had never been wrong… Liu Yu fidgeted with the ivory dice with his other hand and said lazily: “That boy Liu Yifu’s behavior will definitely cause dissatisfaction among ministers. His throne won’t last long. Can you just coldly watch others take the opportunity to usurp the throne?”
Liu Yu felt he had indeed reached the age of sixty where he listened to all views, and his temper had mellowed considerably. If it were his young temperament, he would have long ago taken up a blade to hack down that unfilial son. But he also had to consider the foundation he had built with his own hands. That Xie Hui was originally someone he had carefully selected, intending to leave him as prime minister for his Crown Prince, but Liu Yifu was too useless to suppress him, so Xie Hui would become an extremely dangerous person.
To control a fierce tiger, one must have authority superior to that tiger, otherwise the tiger would bite back, especially in this chaotic world that had only been pacified for a few years.
Liu Yilong could naturally hear the unspoken implications in this young man’s words. He had encountered Xie Hui once during these days and saw that the latter’s handsome face no longer bore the obedient and peaceful expression of the past, replaced instead by an indescribable air of high spirits.
Liu Yilong pondered for a long while before hesitating: “The situation isn’t that bad, is it?”
The two great families Wang and Xie held sway over the court. Famous princes and ministers like Xie An and Wang Dao all came from these families, but they strictly observed aristocratic codes and never attempted to usurp the throne, though in some ways they already possessed greater power and prestige than the emperor.
This was one reason Liu Yu felt comfortable entrusting military power to Xie Hui – prestigious family clan rules were strict, even more compelling than the temptation of the throne. But Liu Yu felt that someone as proud and ambitious as Xie Hui, with great aspirations, was definitely not someone content with a corner and would absolutely not allow a pleasure-seeking emperor to suppress him. If he didn’t usurp the throne himself, he could completely support another.
Seeing Liu Yilong’s hesitation, Liu Yu smiled slightly and said very patiently: “This is a gamble. You’re betting your latter half of life for a chance to reach the summit. Will you bet or not?” Liu Yu smiled very confidently, because for a gambler like him, this was absolutely an irresistible temptation.
But he saw Liu Yilong slowly shake his head: “No, I won’t bet.”
“What?” Liu Yu shot up, his fiery temper causing him to slam the table, making the tea bowls ring with clanging sounds. Liu Yu suppressed the urge to scold this third boy and said rapid-fire: “I… no, father emperor’s secret agents – I can give you control of all of them! You should know what a terrifying force that is! It would definitely increase your chips!”
“No, I don’t need them.” Liu Yilong continued to voice his refusal, this time with an even more firm tone.
“Why? If you become emperor, your elder and second brothers can both continue to live!” Liu Yu wanted to smash the entire table. If everything went according to his plan, through various arrangements, Liu Yilong could completely ascend to the throne safely, while deposed emperor Liu Yifu and Liu Yizhen could also safely live out their remaining years.
“What does that have to do with me?” Liu Yilong glanced coolly at the emotionally agitated young man before him, not understanding why he was reacting so strongly. His brothers? Ridiculous – he had never considered those two as his brothers, and he believed they felt the same way. Liu Yilong felt he had stayed in the capital far too long, so long that some things were developing in abnormal directions. He stood up and calmly announced: “I depart for Jingzhou tomorrow. If you’re willing to come with me, then come.”
Liu Yu stared dazedly at Liu Yilong’s thin figure leaving the room, unable to believe it as he slumped back down.
He had never considered that such a situation could occur. He was a gambler, so he had never imagined that perhaps some people were different from him and simply didn’t want to gamble.
The ivory dice lay quietly on the table surface, emanating a soft glow under the oil lamp’s illumination.
It was so captivating, even capable of controlling many people’s fates.
But… what if someone refused to roll it…
Liu Yu didn’t remain in the capital but returned to Jingzhou with Liu Yilong. He kept reflecting – had he really done wrong?
The secret agents only recognized hand orders and tokens, so Liu Yu could still maintain control. Through the secret agents, even from distant Jingzhou, he could timely learn what he wanted to know.
Because of his death, the four towns of Henan were stirring restlessly. After a period of suppression, Xie Hui and others finally finished military and state affairs and could spare time to deal with this pleasure-seeking incompetent ruler. From analyzing various intelligence reports, Liu Yu could see that Xie Hui and others had the same vision as him, also favoring Liu Yilong, while his second prince Liu Yizhen was the first cannon fodder to be pushed out.
It was said that one day when Liu Yizhen was drinking with his staff, he had promised that when he ascended to the throne, he would appoint Xie Lingyun and Yan Yanzhi as prime ministers, and release Monk Huilin as Governor of Western Yuzhou.