Chapter 7: This matter cannot be rushed.
"Prince of Liang's Crown Prince?"
Changle Palace, Changxin Hall.
Seated on the imperial couch at the head of the room, Empress Dowager Dou instinctively frowned upon hearing her daughter casually reveal her thoughts.
"Are you willing to let A Jiao marry far away to Changling?"
Though she asked the question, Empress Dowager Dou had already rejected the suggestion in her heart.
—Are you kidding?
Empress Dowager Dou wasn't so idle as to humor her daughter Liu Piao's whim of wanting her precious granddaughter A Jiao to be the Crown Prince's consort.
Wasn't it precisely so that by becoming the Crown Prince's consort, her precious granddaughter could surely remain in Chang'an and stay by her side?
But now, with a mere flick of Liu Piao's tongue, she wanted her precious granddaughter to marry far away to Changling, to Liang, a thousand miles away?
"What's your hurry?"
"I said A Jiao would be the Crown Prince's consort, and I will certainly make it happen!"
"How can you not even trust your own mother now?!"
As she spoke, Empress Dowager Dou showed signs of growing anger. If this suggestion hadn't come from her daughter Liu Piao, Empress Dowager Dou would surely have cursed the speaker to no end.
Anyone else, seeing Empress Dowager Dou's veiled look of displeasure, would have wisely shut their mouths;
But Liu Piao seemed not to hear, and even inexplicably grew more animated.
"Oh, Mother~~~"
"No matter how foolish your daughter is, she wouldn't fail to understand such a simple principle, or see it clearly?"
"Even if I were willing to let A Jiao marry far away, your daughter would never be willing to let the Crown Prince become another family's son-in-law..."
Upon hearing this, the anger on Empress Dowager Dou's face slightly eased, but she blurted out, "That's true."
"If you weren't concerned with appearances, you'd probably want to marry one of your nephews yourself, just to be the Han's Crown Prince's consort, wouldn't you?"
Teased so directly by her mother, Liu Piao merely grinned indifferently;
Supporting Empress Dowager Dou's arm, she strolled towards the hall entrance, speaking with an excited expression as they walked.
"Mother, think about it;"
"When Emperor Qi was still the Crown Prince, he was already too busy to pay attention to us;"
"Now that he's Emperor, even coming to visit Mother occasionally requires him to steal time from his busy schedule."
"—But A Wu, even though he's far away in Changling, he always thinks of Mother and wishes he could serve her day and night."
"Yet, Emperor Gaozu long ago established a rule: without an imperial summons, vassal kings must pay respects in Chang'an once every three years, and each visit can only last one month..."
·
"In the past, whenever A Wu visited Chang'an, barely twenty days would pass before everyone in the Court began clamoring for him to return to his domain;"
"This can't go on indefinitely, can it?" ·
"—Emperor Qi has no choice, after all, having become Emperor and taken charge of the State, he must prioritize the Ancestral Temple."
"But A Wu, surely he can find some way to stay by Mother's side?"
"If there were some way for A Wu to legitimately remain in Chang'an..."
Perhaps knowing her own thoughts were too shocking, Liu Piao ultimately didn't dare to explicitly voice what was on her mind.
But what kind of person was Empress Dowager Dou?
—As early as Emperor Xiaohui's reign, she served as a maid by Empress Lu's side, having witnessed countless upheavals, and was eventually bestowed upon the late Emperor, who was then King of Dai, as a concubine, only to be elevated to empress, serving as empress for over twenty years during the late Emperor's reign!
Could Empress Dowager Dou not understand Liu Piao's intentions, which were practically written on her face?
Let alone Liu Piao being her own daughter, the flesh of her flesh;
Even if Liu Piao's recent words were written on paper by someone else, Empress Dowager Dou could instantly discern the implications.
"But..."
Empress Dowager Dou's first reaction was hesitation.
"Let alone the Ancestral Temple and the State—even among common farmers, it has always been 'father dies, son succeeds,' a continuous lineage."
"When has there ever been a principle of a collateral branch replacing the main line, or a younger brother succeeding an elder brother, when the direct line has not ended?"
However, upon hearing this, Liu Piao's face brightened even more, and a peculiar cunning gleam appeared in her already shrewd eyes.
"Mother, why not think of the late Emperor..."
"Wasn't the late Emperor also a descendant of Emperor Gaozu?"
"Didn't he also ascend to the Han's throne after his elder brother—Emperor Xiaohui?"
"If the late Emperor could take the great position left by Emperor Xiaohui, why couldn't A Wu take the imperial throne left by Emperor Qi...?"
At this, Empress Dowager Dou's brows furrowed completely, and she fell into a long period of contemplation.
The late Emperor Liu Heng was indeed the fourth son of Emperor Gaozu, Liu Bang;
And after the Lü rebellion that year, the young Emperors—Liu Gong and Liu Hong—had long been branded by the Court as 'false emperors' born of 'Lü's debauchery in the imperial harem,' their imperial lineage and even their bloodline unrecognized.
Thus, the late Emperor's throne was indeed inherited from his legitimate elder brother, Emperor Xiaohui Liu Ying.
But as a direct participant in that upheaval, Empress Dowager Dou knew very well: the late Emperor could 'take' the throne from his brother Liu Ying only on the precondition that Emperor Xiaohui had 'no heirs' and his 'direct line had ended.'
Yet, the current Emperor Qi, from the Crown Prince Liu Rong downwards, including Liu Zhi, who was born not long ago, already had a full ten sons...
"The Emperor has not died without heirs. A Wu, a collateral branch, replacing the direct line, is inappropriate."
"Even if A Wu were to become the Crown Prince and ascend the throne after the Emperor, upon his death, the State would still have to be returned to the Emperor's descendants."
"Otherwise, in the future, every time an Emperor of Han dies and a new ruler ascends, Chang'an will be stained with blood..."
"If that were truly the case, I would have no face to meet Tai Zong Emperor Xiaowen in the afterlife..."
Hearing the meaning in Empress Dowager Dou's words, Liu Piao couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
—Even if King of Liang, Liu Wu, truly ascended the throne after Emperor Qi, he would still have to return the throne to Emperor Qi's descendants in the future;
In this way, the Prince of Liang's Crown Prince could never truly become the imperial Crown Prince, and Liu Piao's indirect plan to save the State would have no chance of success.
But compared to disappointment, Liu Piao was even more excited by the tendency Empress Dowager Dou had shown!
"So, Mother is truly willing to let A Wu become Emperor Qi's Crown Prince Consort?!"
Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Dou did not answer, but quietly tensed her face;
After much thought, she gently shook her head.
"It's difficult..."
"Even if I had this intention, the Emperor would never easily agree."
"Moreover, I am not entirely in charge of Changle;
"In the deep palace, there is still the Grand Empress Dowager, pressing down on me..."
Although she said this, Empress Dowager Dou did not explicitly State 'this cannot happen,' merely displaying a look of deep thought.
Seeing this, Liu Piao immediately understood: she had done what she could, and the rest was for her mother to consider.
"When A Wu arrives, I must have a good talk with him..."
"Hmm, I'll say this is Mother's intention, and the Emperor also has this intention..."
"—Where is A Wu now?"
Liu Piao was in the midst of her own calculations when Empress Dowager Dou's deep voice startled her, making her quickly force a smile.
"He arrived in Liyang last night, and the Crown Prince went out of the city to welcome him early this morning."
"Presumably, the Crown Prince has already met him by now?"
Hearing the news that her youngest son had likely arrived in Chang'an, Empress Dowager Dou unusually showed no joy.
Still frowning deeply, she sat on the couch, pondering for a long time before taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling it.
"Presumably, A Wu will go to Ba Ling first."
"And then, he should go to see the Emperor."
·
"You go back first."
When A Wu has seen the Emperor and comes to Changle...
"Hmm..."
"This matter cannot be rushed..."
Cannot be rushed..."