Actually, after Chen Sheng and Wu Guang’s uprising at Daze Village, the world had fallen into chaos. Liu Bang was extremely popular in Pei County, and many friends came to join him upon hearing the news. Liu Le and Liu Ying siblings also had relatives and neighbors helping to look after them. Life continued, except Liu Ying now had a small secret – from time to time he would take out that lacquered yu to look at it, and drinking a few sips of the sweet clear water would make him happy for several days.

Their father never returned home. Their mother came back a few times, then hurriedly left again. Over the following years, the two siblings heard news about their father intermittently – advancing on Xianyang, the Hongmen Banquet, being enfeoffed as King of Han in Bashu… and then came the great defeat at Pengcheng.

Pei County fell into complete chaos. Rumors spread that Overlord Xiang Yu was about to massacre Pei County, causing panic everywhere. No one knew what was really happening, with conflicting accounts everywhere. Twelve-year-old Liu Le secretly brought six-year-old Liu Ying to hide in the mountain forests. The two siblings left in such haste that they brought little dry food, let alone water. Fortunately, Liu Ying still clutched that lacquered yu, or the two siblings would have died of thirst in the forest.

Liu Ying vaguely remembered that the mountain forest where they were now was exactly where he had met that young man years ago. The two siblings supported each other and hid in the forest for several days, finally waiting for a horse carriage to arrive.

When father left home, Liu Ying was still very young and had long forgotten what father looked like. But Liu Le had some vague memory, so she joyfully pulled her brother forward to reunite with him. It turned out Liu Bang, after his great defeat at Pengcheng, had come to Pei County hoping to take his family and flee together, but his wife Lu Zhi and father had been separated in the chaos of war. He had first returned home but didn’t find his children, thinking they too had been scattered, never expecting to see them again.

The situation was urgent, leaving no time for tearful reunions. Liu Bang’s imperial coachman Xiahou Ying quickly jumped down from the horse, lifted the Liu siblings onto the carriage, and drove the horses to gallop away again.

Xiahou Ying was a good friend of Liu Bang’s. Though Liu Ying had been young back then, he had a deep impression of Xiahou Ying’s big beard and immediately sweetly called him “Big Beard Uncle.” As for his own father, Liu Ying glanced at him and found this seemingly very unfamiliar father had a gloomy expression, his whole body emanating malice with none of the joy from their reunion moments earlier.

It must be because of losing the battle… Liu Ying didn’t dare provoke his father and hid his small body in his sister’s embrace. Of course, he still firmly held the lacquered yu in his hands.

Strangely enough, though the carriage jolted so violently, not a single drop of the full yu of clear water spilled outside.

How wonderful – he could give it to father to drink later, as he must be thirsty. Liu Ying thought happily.

Liu Le didn’t notice this detail. She sensitively perceived that their father, after this long separation and reunion, wasn’t as kind and gentle as she had imagined, and since they were fleeing so urgently now, they were probably caught up in some crisis. She could faintly hear the thunderous sound of horse hooves and shouting in the distance. Liu Le somewhat regretted getting on this carriage, but she could do nothing except hold her brother tightly in her arms.

Liu Ying was unaware of his sister’s complex feelings, only paying attention to the yu bowl in his hands. After who knows how long, Liu Ying felt a great force coming, suddenly spinning around and falling from the carriage, rolling twice before confusedly supporting himself up with one hand.

His sister, who had fallen from the carriage with him, lay beside him with a large footprint on her back – clearly they had been kicked off the carriage.

By whom? Big Beard Uncle was driving in front, and there was clearly only father alone in the carriage!

Liu Ying quickly looked up at the carriage ahead and saw father sitting coldly in the carriage, his expression blurred and unclear.

“Thud!”

The yu bowl in Liu Ying’s arms finally fell to the ground, spilling some of the clear water inside, creating wet traces drop by drop on the dry sandy soil, like someone’s tears.

Liu Ying didn’t have many memories of his father, but over these years, his sister and neighbors had continuously talked about how wise and mighty his father was, how imposing and admirable a man he was. So at this moment, Liu Ying completely failed to realize what had actually happened, until he blankly picked up the yu bowl and saw only half a bowl of clear water remaining inside, that he felt something had been lost.

And it wasn’t just the clear water that had spilled from the yu bowl.

Big Beard Uncle stopped the carriage and argued with father, then lifted the Liu siblings back onto the carriage.

Then father, to lighten the carriage’s weight and escape faster, kicked them off again.

This repeated three times.

Liu Ying was completely numb, and Liu Le no longer cried, only able to tightly grasp her brother in her arms.

Xiahou Ying quarreled loudly with Liu Bang. Liu Bang repeatedly drew his sword threatening Xiahou Ying not to worry about his children. Seeing this, the latter directly lifted the two siblings onto his own horse and galloped away.

Liu Ying was in a daze, not knowing how he reached Xingyang, only regaining his senses after a long time under his sister’s concerned gaze.

The two siblings looked at each other speechlessly, the desolation in their hearts indescribable in words. It seemed as long as no one mentioned it, that incident had never happened.

The clear water in the yu bowl was no longer as full as before, only about three-quarters. Liu Ying vaguely guessed it might be because he had dropped the yu bowl once.

But what did the clear water in this yu bowl represent? He didn’t know, only feeling that when drinking the clear water again, it no longer had the sweetness of before – it was bland and tasteless, no different from ordinary water.

Father was temporarily residing in Xingyang. Apart from Big Beard Uncle, no one knew how father had heartlessly kicked the two siblings off the carriage that day. Father had many subordinates, and when Liu Ying occasionally encountered a few during leisure time, they all respectfully called him Young Master. Liu Ying had never seen such grandeur and was somewhat unaccustomed at first, but after seeing it more, he got used to it.

So what if he was Young Master? In father’s heart, wasn’t he still a burden that could be discarded at any time?

Sister seemed to have been frightened and began staying indoors. It was said father had already begun finding her a husband’s family, to form marriage alliances with other forces – truly making the best use of everything.

Six-year-old Liu Ying heard many things, because many people didn’t really take him seriously – after all, he couldn’t understand much anyway. But Liu Ying felt he had instantly grown up, becoming reluctant to speak, his smile disappearing, spending most of his time holding that lacquered yu in silence.

Many people thought that lacquered yu was his mother’s possession, so they paid it no mind.

One day, he saw father personally leading various generals out of the city to welcome someone, surrounding and escorting back a heroic general in armor who looked so familiar.

Liu Ying stood dazedly not far away. As if sensing his gaze, when that young general passed by him, seeing the lacquered yu in his arms with only three-quarters clear water, he paused slightly then smiled faintly at him.

“Since our parting in the forest, three years have passed. Has Young Master been well?”

Liu Ying didn’t have much opportunity to say anything to that general. Father seemed very eager to talk with him, pulling him away immediately.

Looking down at the lacquered yu in his hands, the clear water surface reflected his own face. Liu Ying saw the ripples in his own eyes reflected on the swaying water surface.

He began inquiring about that general.

His name was Han Xin. Orphaned, it was said he had wandered everywhere since youth, suffering much hardship. In Huaiyin, he had even been humiliated by a group of ruffians who made him crawl between their legs for amusement. Later he had served under Xiang Yu as a halberd-bearing guard, but receiving no recognition, he turned to serve his father Liu Bang.

Naturally, he wouldn’t easily receive official position. He only became a warehouse guard, and was even falsely charged with treason and sentenced to death. If not for a self-defense statement before execution that made supervisor Xiahou Ying realize he was no ordinary person, this generation’s famous general would have perished then and there.

Though Liu Bang later didn’t value him much, he became close with Chancellor Xiao He. But still receiving no recognition in the Han army, Han Xin finally chose to leave, causing Xiao He to chase after Han Xin under moonlight – a tale that became famous throughout the Han army.

Thereafter he was appointed as Grand General.

From then on, the war god was invincible!

Liu Ying quietly listened to others chattering about Han Xin’s deeds. Some envied him, some worshipped him, some scorned him, and some were indifferent.

Liu Ying was still young, but he felt that someone who could bend and stretch like this was a real man – even if trampled into the most degrading mud, he could still stand tall again.

He very much wanted to find an opportunity to ask him what this Zhen Yang Yu was all about, but unfortunately his father would never allow his general to have contact with his own son. The next day he was made Crown Prince and sent to Guanzhong. It was said the defense of Xingyang was entirely entrusted to Han Xin, and immediately it was as if magic had been cast – victory and defeat reversed. Yongqiu, Waihuang and other places were successively recaptured by Han forces, and defensive lines were built around Xingyang, Chenggao, and Luoyang.

This defensive line – Xiang Yu never crossed it even until his death.

The blood and cruelty of war were firmly blocked outside this defensive line. Liu Ying’s days in Guanzhong passed very plainly. Mother returned, but was completely like a different person. Father also gained a concubine, Consort Qi, who bore him another son called Liu Ruyi. Father treasured him like a jewel, while mother treated him as a great threat.

Liu Ying felt no jealousy at all. That kind of person’s love was like burning flames – it looked bright and warm, but getting too close would result in merciless burning. Just like that day, clearly overjoyed when reuniting, yet the next moment kicking people into the abyss.

News from the front lines kept coming. Over three years, Han Xin successively destroyed Wei, conquered Zhao, intimidated Yan, and pacified Qi… all the way to the decisive battle with Xiang Yu at Gaixia.

Chu was destroyed!

After Han Xin took to the battlefield, he actually never suffered a single defeat! This was truly winning every battle! A peerless national scholar!

Guanzhong erupted in celebration, but some discordant voices also emerged, spreading rumors that Han Xin wanted to maintain his own army and establish himself as king or emperor.

Liu Ying didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. Father’s foundation could be said to have been built single-handedly by Han Xin – what had father himself done? After the great defeat at Pengcheng, he had taken Han Xin’s military command and made him Chancellor, having him recruit troops to attack Qi. And just before the decisive battle at Gaixia, Liu Bang had been greatly defeated by Chu forces again – if not for Han Xin turning the tide, father would have long died without a burial place.

News came again that Han Xin’s military authority had once more been taken away, and he was enfeoffed as King of Chu.

Liu Ying was completely puzzled – why did he listen to father so obediently? Why didn’t he become emperor himself?

On the night father ascended the throne, he held that lacquered yu with its three-quarters bowl of clear water and murmured the question aloud. Sister had long since married away, and he had developed the habit of talking to himself with the lacquered yu.

“What’s so good about being emperor?” A voice came from the window, with familiar hoarseness.

Liu Ying started up and immediately pushed open the window. Under the clear, cold moonlight, that world-famous general stood outside his window in plain clothes, hand on sword hilt, heroically handsome.

“General… General! How are you here?” Liu Ying was quite frightened. Though he was only nine years old, he knew that if others discovered he had returned to Guanzhong, it would definitely cause a huge uproar.

“I came specially to see Young Master one last time.” The young general gracefully bowed, then stood up looking at Liu Ying, those phoenix eyes revealing complex emotions.

Liu Ying looked down at himself. Thanks to his mother’s and Zhang Liang’s efforts, even inviting the Four Whitebeards of Mount Shang, father had not changed the succession to make Liu Ruyi Crown Prince. He was still the Crown Prince of Great Han, wearing the most noble dark ceremonial robes. Liu Ying raised his head, feeling this young general was looking through him, remembering someone else.

“General, Ying doesn’t deserve such treatment.” Liu Ying said dejectedly. He was just an ordinary child, slow and dull, not even as clever and quick-witted as his six-year-old brother Liu Ruyi.

“What’s so good about being emperor?” The young general repeated what he had just said, this time with faint mockery. “His father no longer treats him as a son, his wife no longer treats him as a husband, his son doesn’t treat him as a father. He will suspect everyone around him, trust no one, and die alone in the end.”

“For him, this is a punishment.”

Though it was already summer, Liu Ying suddenly felt a chill. These words were like a curse, lingering in his heart, yet he had to admit the other party was probably right. He knew something about previous events – when the two armies faced off at Guangwu Ravine, Xiang Yu had threatened his father emperor with the lives of grandfather and mother, but his father emperor had said “If you make them into soup, please share a bowl with me.”

“Then… General… why do you still… help my father?” Liu Ying asked haltingly. He suddenly realized that although six or seven years had passed, this person still looked exactly as young as when he had met him in the forest years ago, completely unchanged.

“I must go now.” The young general slightly curved his lips, preparing to turn and leave. Liu Ying became anxious – he had many things he wanted to ask, and vaguely knew that after this meeting, they would probably never see each other again.

“General, you repaid that drifting mother who helped you with a thousand gold for one meal, which is beyond reproach. But why didn’t you punish the person who humiliated you, instead letting him become a lieutenant?”

The young general stopped, saying calmly: “That kind of humiliation wasn’t bad at all – it let me see clearly my own position.”

He turned back, looking at the lacquered yu in Liu Ying’s hands, saying lightly: “Do you know what lacquerware is?”

Liu Ying shook his head. He had been asked this question years ago, but still didn’t know the answer today.

“Exquisite and gorgeous on the surface, lacquered to make vessels that won’t decay, but in essence, still wooden underneath.” The young general sighed and stepped into the darkness, his intermittent voice carried slowly by the wind.

“Don’t hold onto the past too tightly – how else can you grasp the present?”

Hearing this, Liu Ying loosened his grip on the lacquered yu slightly, but then hugged it tightly again.

Liu Ying still didn’t get the chance to ask why clear water existed in this Zhen Yang Yu. He also had a premonition that even if he asked, he wouldn’t get an answer.