Chapter 57 Part 2

"Forget it, forget it. I'll just have to remind you often from now on! In the future, His Highness will have more and more concubines, and more and more children. Even though you are the son of the principal wife, you must always be vigilant, lest you end up like Shen Sheng or Chong'er of the past!"

"Yes, yes!" Liu Jin turned his head, covered his mouth, and his shoulders shook twice, afraid that he would accidentally burst out laughing and cause Song Hong to become angry from embarrassment. "Then I shall trouble Teacher Song!"

"The boy can be taught!" Song Hong waved his fan, trying hard to keep a straight face, and nodded seriously.

While Song Hong was remonstrating with his mother and lecturing his friend, on the other side, Liu Zhen was teaching her brother.

Liu Nan had matured a lot after returning from his stint in the army, but old habits die hard. Many things were not so easily changed, for example, his dislike of studying. This was innate, just like his talent for martial arts. If he were forced to abandon martial arts for literature, Liu Nan would surely accomplish nothing.

So, even though she knew her father was currently dissatisfied with his eldest son's focus on martial arts over literature, Liu Zhen didn't want to force Liu Nan to conform to Liu Yuan's preferences. What she hoped for was simply that Liu Nan could humor Liu Yuan a little, so that the relationship between father and son could improve.

Liu Nan himself was also in a difficult position. It wasn't that he didn't want to make his father happy, but he didn't know how. Every time he did something, the final result was always the complete opposite of what Liu Yuan expected.

For example, last time during the battle for Nanyang, Liu Nan was ordered by Xu Zhongfang to escort a large shipment of provisions. On the way, he encountered a small contingent of Qin troops. Liu Nan used the provisions to lure the enemy in deep and annihilated them, but most of the provisions were burned in the process. Because his merits outweighed his faults—in fact, the merits were significantly greater—Xu Zhongfang did not punish him. Instead, he promoted him to the equivalent to a mid-level commander of a thousand-man unit.

But Liu Yuan was very displeased after learning of this matter. After careful analysis, he believed that under the circumstances, there had been a better way to handle it, one that could have both preserved the provisions and eliminated the Qin troops. Liu Nan had not chosen the best strategy, but the second-best, which showed he had not completed his mission well and should not have been promoted at all. To demonstrate his own fairness, he stripped Liu Nan of his rank, demoting him back to his original position of Commander of a Hundred.

Of course, one couldn't say Liu Yuan's handling of it was wrong; he naturally had his reasons. But Liu Nan still felt extremely aggrieved. Other people's fathers were feudal lords, and their sons were the comfortable sons of feudal lords. He didn't want to rely on his father's protection, so he went to join the army himself, starting from the bottom, working diligently and cautiously. In the end, he achieved a meritorious deed, but not only did he not receive the reward he deserved, he was even suppressed. Where in the world was there such a principle?

Although he appeared carefree, he wasn't someone who couldn't keep things to himself. This matter had been bottled up in his heart for a long time, and it was truly uncomfortable. When he finally had a chance to be alone with Liu Zhen, he couldn't help but pour out his grievances to his younger sister.

After listening, Liu Zhen asked, "Brother, how is your relationship with Ziwang?"

Liu Nan let out a sound of surprise. "You two are already addressing each other by courtesy names? Then doesn't that mean he has to call you Ah Zhen or Renjing?"

Liu Zhen: "..."

Seeing his sister's unhappy expression, Liu Nan quickly returned to the topic. "We are as close as brothers!"

Liu Zhen: "Then have you told Ziwang about this matter, Brother?"

Liu Nan: "Of course I have."

Liu Zhen: "What did Ziwang have to say?"

Liu Nan said dejectedly, "Ziwang said that although Father's handling was a bit harsh, upon closer examination, I was still the one at fault. Since there was a superior strategy, one should naturally choose it. But under the circumstances at the time, who could think of so much? The fact that I could annihilate those Qin troops was already a feat in itself!"

Liu Zhen said, "What if you weren't the son of the King of Yu, Brother? If this happened, how would you have been dealt with?"

Liu Nan was stunned for a moment, then said honestly, "If I weren't the son of the King of Yu, it wouldn't have been my turn to escort the provisions. I had originally volunteered to go into battle, but my injuries hadn't healed at the time. Third Uncle was afraid something might happen to me, so he had me escort the provisions instead."

Liu Zhen: "Isn't that it, then? If you weren't the son of the King of Yu, how would Third Uncle have shown you any pity? You benefited from this, so what if you suffer a little grievance because of it? Think about Ziwang. If he were in your position, what would he do?"

She actually didn't know much about Chen Su, only what she had observed during those few days of interaction. But from his words and conduct, he seemed to be a very down-to-earth person. Since Liu Nan could become good friends with him, it must be because there was something about him that Liu Nan admired.

Liu Nan thought for a moment. "If it were Ziwang, he would definitely accept the appointment, then achieve an even greater meritorious deed, leaving everyone speechless and utterly convinced."

He paused, then sighed. "But Ziwang is different from me. His childhood experiences were even more difficult than yours or mine, so his temperament is resilient and a hundred times stronger than mine."

This was the first time Liu Zhen had heard Liu Nan talk about Chen Su's past. She had always felt that Chen Su was a very complex person, with too many things hidden beneath his gentle and refined exterior that were hard to see through. Hearing this, she asked, "What did he experience in his childhood?"

Liu Nan said, "He was originally from a prominent clan in Nanyang. Both his parents died when he was young. Because his mother and father were united without a matchmaker, his father's clan did not recognize him and even drove him out of the family. In his youth, Ziwang was once displaced and homeless, living as a beggar and surviving on the charity of others."

Liu Zhen's eyes widened. She never would have imagined that Chen Su had such a miserable past. A union without a matchmaker was not uncommon in those times—Confucius's parents were one example—so if the paternal clan refused to acknowledge him, others wouldn't say much. It was just that Chen Ziwang's fate was a bit too pitiful. No matter how difficult things had been for the Liu family in the past, at least their family was intact and they could barely feed and clothe themselves. Compared to Chen Su, it was a world of difference.

Recovering from the shock of Chen Su's life story, Liu Zhen did not forget their original topic. "In my opinion, Brother, you are not inferior to Chen Ziwang."

Liu Nan gave a bitter smile. "You don't have to comfort me. Father is very dissatisfied with me. His appreciation for Song Hong is even greater than for me and Ah Jin..."

This sort of demoralizing comparison—"so-and-so's child is so good, and you are so bad"—was an educational model that parents throughout the ages never tired of, though its effects were often lackluster.

Liu Zhen had no choice but to rebuild her brother's confidence. "Ordinary people often know their mistakes but don't correct them, or they refuse to admit their faults at all. Not only can you see your own faults, but you can also acknowledge the strengths of others. This level of broad-mindedness is already far superior to that of others. Father's demanding perfection from you and Ah Jin is nothing more than a parent's earnest love, hoping his sons will succeed. I hope you won't be discouraged, Brother. One day, Father will surely see your good qualities."

These words finally cheered Liu Nan up considerably. He felt his sister's words were not wrong, so Liu Nan decided to use practical actions to prove his ability to his father.

After escorting Madam Zhang and the others to Xianyang City, Xu Zhongfang immediately returned to his post in Nanyang. Liu Nan, however, was kept behind by Liu Yuan to stay a while longer. In truth, they hadn't seen each other in a long time, and Liu Yuan planned to personally observe whether his son had improved.

Liu Nan took the initiative to ask Liu Yuan for an assignment, hoping to find something to do. Liu Yuan didn't want to let him return to Xu Zhongfang's side so quickly, so he had him follow An Zheng and take charge of the garrison of the Qin palace.

Liu Yuan had only just taken over Xianyang, and there were many things to do. The cooperation of Ziying, the Emperor of Qin, had saved them a lot of trouble, but reappointing officials, taking inventory of provisions, and the daily administration of Xianyang—Liu Yuan couldn't possibly handle everything personally. As he was deeply trusted, almost all of these matters were piled onto An Zheng.

An Zheng knew that Liu Yuan intended to cultivate his eldest son, so he handed over the entire garrison of the Qin palace to Liu Nan, offering guidance from the side so that he himself could have more energy to deal with other matters.

In reality, this job was not arduous, because the garrison only needed to protect Liu Yuan and his family. But right now, this group of people was small and only occupied a corner of the Qin palace. The guards' main daily duty was to patrol the vast Xianyang Palace. As for Ganquan Palace and Xin Palace, since no one from the Liu family was living there, they were temporarily ignored.

But Liu Nan's luck was really a bit bad.

On just the third day after he took over the palace garrison, a major incident occurred.

An assassin attacked Liu Yuan.

In this era, wandering swordsmen were rampant, and being attacked by assassins was practically a daily occurrence. "Swordsmen violate prohibitions with force." Even Qin Shi Huang was frequently targeted by assassins—four times that were recorded in the annals of history, not to mention those that were not.

It was late at night. Liu Yuan had just finished reviewing a batch of official documents and was preparing to spend the night with a certain concubine.

This concubine was originally a palace maid in the Qin palace. Liu Yuan had sent a batch of them to the Emperor of Chu and the other feudal lords, but also kept a few for himself. These women were housed together in the western chambers of Xianyang Palace, some distance from where Liu Yuan lived.

On the way, Liu Yuan was attacked.

The course of the attack was thrilling and will not be detailed here. Liu Yuan's arm was even slashed in the process. Fortunately, Liu Yuan himself was not some weak scholar who couldn't even truss a chicken. His attendants at the time also acted heroically and killed the assassin on the spot.

Everyone was quite frightened by this incident. Liu Zhen only learned that her father had been attacked the next day, and Madam Zhang was so scared her face turned pale. In contrast, Liu Yuan himself was quite calm.

Upon subsequent investigation, the assassin was found to be a man of Qin, who had been moved to assassinate Liu Yuan out of indignation over the fall of the Qin State.

Normally, the matter would have ended there. But, as ill luck would have it, when Liu Yuan ordered a follow-up investigation on the assassin, he discovered that the place he had passed through that night should have been patrolled by guards. However, because Liu Nan had just made a redeployment two days prior, temporarily moving the guards from that area to the east, it had resulted in a temporary gap in security.

Liu Yuan was furious. Believing that Liu Nan had committed a grave error in this matter and needed to be held responsible, he had Liu Nan severely beaten, then stripped him of his post and sent him packing back to Xu Zhongfang.

After the luckless Liu Nan left, Liu Yuan began to feel that the Qin palace was not very safe. After all, back then, even with Qin Shi Huang being so powerful and the Qin palace having so many guards, they couldn't stop wave after wave of assassins. Needless to say, the situation was even worse now.

But before he could find a safer place, Xiang Yu sent a messenger to announce a piece of news to him.

The Emperor of Chu was preparing to enfeoff Zhang Han with the large swathe of land east of Xianyang and west of Nanyang, bestowing upon him the title of King of Yong.

One wave had yet to settle before another rose. When Liu Yuan heard this news, he was so angry he could jump three feet in the air, practically wishing he could rush to Pengcheng, strangle Xiang Yu to death, then chop off his head and kick it around like a ball.

And at this moment, Liu Zhen was carefully examining a map she had requested from Liu Yuan.

Seeing her holding onto a map for several days straight, Gui Xiang asked strangely, "Young Mistress, what are you doing?"

Liu Zhen didn't even raise her head. "I'm preparing to go to battle in my father's place to kill enemies and expand our territory!"

The matter of Liu Nan being beaten had greatly distressed Liu Zhen, and Gui Xiang knew this. She didn't know Liu Zhen was joking and thought she was so angry about her brother's situation that she really intended to do it. She was startled and quickly said, "Young Mistress, don't joke. You're so young and can't even ride a horse well. How could you go to battle and kill enemies?"

Liu Zhen raised her head, and seeing Gui Xiang's face pale with fright, she burst out laughing, "I'm just kidding!"

Gui Xiang finally breathed a sigh of relief, clutching her chest with a wry smile. "Then why has the Young Mistress been staring at the map all this time?"

Liu Zhen smiled. "I am looking for a new capital for my father."

Gui Xiang: "Ah?"