Chapter 83
Since the system didn’t bother to clarify, Lu Hanzhi interpreted “deep conversation” as having a heart-to-heart talk.
But achieving this wasn’t easy. Even after pulling Yuwen Min aside several times for discussions, they never truly got to the core of the matter.
Instead, Yuwen Min took the opportunity to learn quite a bit from him—how to govern a country, how to boost the national economy, and how to win the people’s hearts.
Lu Hanzhi said to him earnestly, “Take your father, for example. Even if he had an AWM in hand, he still wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully at night, always afraid that someone would steal his throne, living in constant fear.”
Yuwen Min asked, “But if one has absolute power, wouldn’t they be secure?” Wait… what’s an AWM?
Lu Hanzhi replied, “There’s always someone stronger. And even if there isn’t, two fists can’t fight against four hands. Otherwise, there would never have been peasant uprisings in history. Worrying about these things is completely missing the point.”
Yuwen Min understood. After all, Lu Hanzhi had already said—if one wanted to stabilize the realm, they needed the people’s support.
But Lu Hanzhi added another thought, “However, your father’s concerns aren’t entirely unreasonable. If military power isn’t in his own hands, he indeed wouldn’t be able to sleep well at night.”
At some point in history, Great Zhao had established the Tiger Tally system, handing the border defenses over to the Rong family.
Historically, Emperor Zhao Kuangyin had used a banquet to strip military power from his generals, precisely to prevent rebellion from within.
Yuwen Min was fortunate—after all, the Rong family was a sharp blade in his hands.
The New Year was approaching, yet Lu Hanzhi was still at a loss about how to complete the “deep conversation” mission with Yuwen Min.
Honestly, celebrating the New Year in ancient times was rather dull.
It required making endless rounds of formal visits, and by the time the holiday was over, his knees would be bruised from all the bowing.
The rigid etiquette of ancient times gave Lu Hanzhi a headache.
But his knees weren’t made of steel, and he couldn’t argue against traditions ingrained in a feudal society. So, he had no choice but to bow obediently along with everyone else.
Finally, after enduring the days of ceremonial visits, the sixth day of the new year arrived, and Lu Hanzhi refused to get out of bed.
Meanwhile, Prince Chu, who had been spared from such duties due to his pregnancy, came over to chat with him.
Seeing Lu Hanzhi lying there, completely unwilling to move, he chuckled and said, “Han’er, you should count yourself lucky! In previous years, when Father was in good spirits, we all had to participate in the sacrificial ceremony. This year, he canceled all the grand rituals and only had the Imperial Astronomical Bureau conduct a small ceremony. Otherwise, all of us princes and Wang Fei would have had to go along and offer sacrifices.”
Lu Hanzhi sucked on his back teeth upon hearing this.
He had always been content to be lazy, but he never expected that even being a prince wouldn’t allow him to be lazy by default.
It was still better to be an ordinary working man—so long as he had enough to eat, warm clothes, and job security with benefits, he could lie around as much as he wanted.
Of course, dealing with bosses and superiors was troublesome too.
He turned over, sat cross-legged, and glanced down, noticing that his second sister-in-law’s belly had grown rounder. He reached out to touch it.
Prince Chu didn’t stop him, letting him move his hands over his stomach.
But Lu Hanzhi suddenly pulled his hand back and asked, “Ah… what is this?”
Prince Chu was amused by him and chuckled. “You child… When you were pregnant with Ah Chan, did you not know what this was? Of course, it’s fetal movement. It seems our Ah Chan was much calmer in your belly and didn’t move around like this.”
Lu Hanzhi wasn’t sure whether his past self’s pregnancy with Ah Chan had been this quiet, but the baby in his second sister-in-law’s belly was certainly lively—completely unlike how, just three months ago, they had been constantly at risk of miscarriage.
He stuck out his tongue to gloss over the moment, then reached out to touch Prince Chu’s belly again. “Oh, Second Sister-in-law, judging by these kicks and punches, the baby must take after my Second Brother.”
Prince Chu replied, “Well… not necessarily. Your Second Brother is usually quiet—he just has a natural talent for martial arts.”
That was true. His Second Brother was probably the most skilled in martial arts among all the top scholars in literature and had the best literary talent among all the martial champions.
Lu Hanzhi asked, “The martial champion examination is coming up soon. Is my Second Brother ready?”
Prince Chu answered, “He’s quite confident in himself, though he doesn’t necessarily need to win the title.”
After all, Lu Xuzhi was taking both the literary and martial champion examinations mainly to ensure that his status was worthy of Prince Chu.
Watching the five-month belly occasionally bulging with movement, Lu Hanzhi found it quite amusing.
He asked, “Make sure the baby doesn’t come out too early, or the timing won’t match up.”
Prince Chu reassured him, “With Doctor Lin here, that won’t happen.”
At that moment, Ah Chan crawled over at lightning speed and grabbed onto the edge of the bed to stand up.
During the New Year, Ah Chan had received plenty of gifts. As the only young child among them, he was spoiled beyond measure.
Prince Chu picked Ah Chan up and held him in his arms. Ah Chan was holding a lollipop, his mouth covered in sticky sugar.
Prince Chu exclaimed, “Ah Chan has grown taller! He’s eight months old now, isn’t he? Can he call Daddy yet? He can stand on his own! How amazing!”
Lu Hanzhi said, “I was surprised too. He can make a few sounds now—he can say ‘ji ji’ and ‘neinei.’ He even says ‘jiejie.’ This child is quite bright.”
Prince Chu lifted Ah Chan up and smiled. “Our Ah Chan is very smart! Chan’er, say ‘Second Uncle.’”
Ah Chan: “Jiejie…”
Lu Hanzhi: “… It’s ‘Second Uncle,’ not ‘Daddy.’ Why do you call every man you see ‘Daddy’?”
Note: daddy is die die, which is similar to Jie jie I guess.
Ah Chan shoved the lollipop toward Lu Hanzhi’s mouth. Lu Hanzhi pretended to take a bite and said, “So sweet! Ah Chan, be good and eat it yourself.”
Ah Chan sat on the bed, sucking noisily on his lollipop.
Prince Chu remarked, “Since the Crown Prince started overseeing state affairs, he has been diligent and careful. He hasn’t achieved great accomplishments, but he also hasn’t made any mistakes. In the western frontier, General Rong Zhengwei successfully suppressed the rebellion of a small Western Region kingdom, and we received a victory report on the third day of the new year. As for Yuwen Min, perhaps to avoid suspicion, he invited an immortal scholar to his residence to receive guests and refine pills. Oh, and one more thing—do you remember Concubine Liang and Yuwen Jing?”
Lu Hanzhi nodded. “Of course, I remember. That foreign princess and our Third Prince. What happened to them?”
Prince Chu said, “I’m not sure who instructed him, but he carried three wooden rods on his back and knelt outside the palace gates, returning to seek punishment from the Emperor.”
Lu Hanzhi: ???
Wow, the plot was getting exciting!
All the factions competing for the throne were making their moves.
Lu Hanzhi suddenly became interested and asked, “Oh? What did His Majesty say?”
Prince Chu chuckled and replied, “The Emperor made him kneel in the snow for two hours until his legs turned bruised and swollen before allowing him into the palace to speak.”
Lu Hanzhi found it amusing and asked, “And what did the Emperor think of it?”
Prince Chu said, “At the time, there was no conclusive evidence regarding the incident—it was a case of ‘the dead tell no tales.’ Yuwen Jing took half a year to finally realize that he had been framed. He pleaded with the Emperor to investigate thoroughly and clear his name. He also claimed that the reason he had caused trouble in the northern frontier back then was out of sheer anger. Though he had not harmed any Great Zhao soldiers, he had hurt a few refugees. Now, he begged his father for another chance, promising to atone for his mistakes.”
Lu Hanzhi found it intriguing. “Oh? How does he plan to make up for it?”
Prince Chu said, “Yuwen Jing isn’t much of a threat—he’s just a reckless brute. In our repeated schemes, we only managed to take down the Empress. Until now, we’ve always been on the defensive, reacting to others’ moves. It’s about time we took the initiative for once.”
Lu Hanzhi knew that Prince Chu and Prince An had been secretly plotting their next move recently.
Meanwhile, Ah Chan wiggled his little butt and climbed off the bed, holding onto the edge to reach for some pastries.
Prince Chu continued, “A woman of unparalleled beauty has recently arrived in the capital. Her name is Lu Fu.”
Lu Hanzhi: …Excuse me, is she related to Hong Fu*?
(*A reference to Hong Fu, a famous courtesan in history.)
Prince Chu added, “It is said that she entered the capital alongside Yuwen Jing.”
Lu Hanzhi listened quietly.
“We suspect that this woman is actually Yuwen Jing’s strategist,” Prince Chu continued.
Lu Hanzhi nodded. This plot made sense—after all, it wasn’t uncommon for a prince to run a brothel outside the palace as a hub for gathering intelligence.
Plenty of stories had been written like this before.
Prince Chu went on, “That woman has been singing from a flower carriage in the streets for three days in a row. They say her voice is mesmerizing, yet she refuses to show her face.”
And just like that, the mysterious beauty Lu Fu, like a floating water lily in a hidden pond, had become the talk of the capital.
Lu Hanzhi’s interest was piqued. He smirked and said, “Interesting. Second Sister-in-law, how about we go see this Lady Lu Fu someday?”
Prince Chu replied, “Hold on! I haven’t finished yet.”
Lu Hanzhi raised a brow. “Oh? More plot twists?”
Prince Chu smiled and continued, “Prince Min, who has not stepped out of his residence in days, spent an enormous sum to buy the flower courtesan’s first night. This happened on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, and the entire capital is buzzing about it.”
Lu Hanzhi was utterly stunned. He opened his mouth slightly and said, “They… the two of them… ended up together?”
Prince Chu looked at Lu Hanzhi with great approval, nodded lightly, and said, “My third brother and little imperial uncle have finally joined forces.”
After a brief pause, Lu Hanzhi nodded and replied, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That makes sense.”
Prince Chu continued, “Father’s health… I fear it’s not doing well.”
This was something Lu Hanzhi had already expected. Some people might appear strong and youthful on the surface, but in reality, they had little life force left.
It was all due to excessive overthinking and a narrow mind.
On an ordinary day, this might not be noticeable. However, ever since he had fallen into Su Wan’ning’s trap last time, his body had suffered a severe mental blow.
By the time he slowly recovered from the mental attack, his physical ailments had already begun to manifest.
If only he could rest and recuperate like Old Madam Lu, he might have recovered in no time.
Unfortunately, the Emperor was burdened with too many thoughts, and state affairs were overwhelming. As a result, he became frail and constantly ill.
Illnesses of the body could be treated, but the Emperor’s mental illness was beyond any ordinary doctor’s ability to cure.
If only he wasn’t so paranoid, the Rong family—who had been loyal for generations—would have continued to protect the empire of Great Zhao with all their might.
Yet, precisely because of his suspicions, the Rong family became disheartened, creating an opportunity for others to exploit.
As for Lu Furong, there was no way to go there anymore. With Yuwen Mingji and Yuwen Jing guarding the place, Lu Hanzhi could do nothing but sigh in frustration.
Seeing Lu Hanzhi’s embarrassed expression, Prince Chu chuckled and said, “No need to worry. Your husband—my fourth brother—has already planted an informant there. Right now, one of Lady Lu Fu’s personal maids, Miss Dongping, is ready to report back to us at any time.”
Wow!
Lu Hanzhi was once again taken aback. They even managed to install surveillance next to Lu Furong.
As expected, Yuwen Min was truly cunning.
Just as Yuwen Min stepped through the door, he sneezed, sensing that someone must be speaking ill of him.
At that moment, someone suddenly rushed in—it was none other than Wet Nurse Liu, the trusted servant of County Princess Zhaoyun.
She was so flustered that she didn’t even bother with formalities. She ran straight to Prince Chu and cried out anxiously, “Quick! Summon Doctor Lin immediately! The County Princess has gone into premature labor—she’s bleeding!”
Your favorite BL chaos wouldn’t be possible without coffee… lots of coffee….
Support Ciacia’s translation temple on Kofi—and if the cliffhanger demons are haunting you, join the Han’er Tier to purge them with advanced chapter access (up to 5!) before the masses even blink.
