dognovel Chapter 634 The son wishes to care for his parents, but they are no longer there.
Chapter 634 The son wishes to care for his parents, but they are no longer there.
Although Liu Bei didn't know Xu Shu's purpose in coming, he had a deep bond with Xu Shu and always regretted Xu Shu's departure years ago. Now that Xu Shu had finally come, Liu Bei was determined to make up for that regret.
Zhang Bao answered irrelevantly: "The chief envoy to our Han Dynasty this time is Xu Shu, and do you know who the deputy envoy is? It's Liu Jun, the magistrate of Pingyang County."
Guan Xing was shocked again and said, "Who, who are you talking about, Liu Yuanqi's grandson Liu Jun?"
Who is Liu Yuanqi? He is Liu Bei's uncle and number one benefactor. Liu Bei's father died early. If it weren't for his uncle Liu Yuanqi's help, Liu Bei would probably still be weaving mats and selling shoes. How would he have had the opportunity to become emperor?
Liu Yuanqi's kindness to Liu Bei was immense. Now that his grandson Liu Jun has arrived, Liu Bei will surely make up for his debt to his uncle Liu Yuanqi by giving Liu Jun double the amount.
Moreover, Liu Bei is now intentionally elevating the status of the imperial clan to create a balance of power, so under these circumstances, it would not be excessive to directly appoint Liu Jun as a king.
At the same time, you sent Xu Shu and Liu Jun over. Cao Pi, what are you doing, stacking up buffs here?
Damn Cao Zihuan, what exactly are you trying to do?
Guan Xing went straight to the point: "What did Cao Pi send them here for?"
Zhang Bao shook his head and said, "I don't know, and neither does His Majesty. We can only find out when Xu Shu arrives."
Guan Xing then asked, "So what does His Majesty want us to do?"
Zhang Bao said gloatingly, "I'm letting you temporarily take over the Imperial Kitchen and be fully responsible for Xu Shu's meals during his mission. Although the Imperial Kitchen has imperial chefs, your cooking skills are better. Besides, Marquis Shence is personally in charge of cooking, which will make you look good."
Guan Xing rolled his eyes. So, I've become Liu Bei's tool for expressing his feelings to Xu Shu?
However, there was no reason to refuse. Guan Xing stood up and said, "Let's go. Let's go to the imperial kitchen first and see how to prepare the ingredients in advance. We can't wait until everyone arrives to start preparing at the last minute."
Zhang Bao got up to leave, but as he turned around, he couldn't resist touching the back of the sofa and said with a sly smile, "Do you have any extra furniture? Can you give me a few more sets?"
Guan Xing said irritably, "Didn't I already deliver some to your family? Why do you need so many?"
Guan Xing made a lot of furniture that day, and gave several sets to Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhuge Liang, and his father-in-law Sun Quan, which was equivalent to buying all the furniture for their families.
Zhang Bao said sourly, "My mother gave them all to my uncle. My family didn't keep a single one. Ever since my uncle came to the Han Dynasty, I've fallen out of favor with my mother. That wretched uncle."
"Uh..." Guan Xing was speechless for a moment, then patted Zhang Bao's shoulder and comforted him, "There's nothing we can do about it. Who told your family to owe the Xiahou family a favor? Think about it from another perspective. Without the Xiahou family, you wouldn't exist. They saved your life. What's a little bit of money? Besides, your uncle has been quite good to you, hasn't he?"
If Xiahou Yuan hadn't given his young son's food rations to Xiahou Shi back then, it would have been Xiahou Shi who starved to death. If Xiahou Shi had starved to death before even meeting Zhang Fei, she naturally wouldn't have given birth to Zhang Bao. From this perspective, it's not wrong to say that the Xiahou family saved Zhang Bao's life.
Zhang Bao scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "That's true. My mother gave my uncle money, and then my uncle secretly gave it back to me. My mother didn't even know about it."
Guan Xing snapped irritably, "Then why do you keep mooching off me every day? Alright, let's go and get down to business."
After saying this, he led Zhang Bao to the imperial kitchen to take stock of the ingredients. If there was not enough, they should be prepared immediately. Beef, mutton, chicken, duck and fish were indispensable, as were seasonings such as scallions, ginger, garlic and peppercorns. After the inventory was completed, Guan Xing ordered people to go and get more ingredients. Fish and shrimp from the river and birds and beasts from the mountains, as long as they were edible, should be brought over.
Finally, Guan Xing sent someone to the pharmacy to buy a lot of medicinal herbs to brew Thirteen Spices, preparing to create the largest state banquet in the history of the Han Dynasty.
After seven or eight days of preparation, Xu Shu arrived.
That morning, Liu Bei, dressed in his imperial robes, led all his civil and military officials out of the city for ten miles to welcome him.
After waiting by the roadside for about half an hour, Xu Shu's caravan arrived.
Upon seeing Liu Bei's imperial procession from afar, Xu Shu immediately dismounted and ordered the delegation to wait where they were. He then led his deputy, Liu Jun, forward at a trot and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant Xu Shu (Liu Jun) pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor of Southern Han."
Liu Bei quickly helped him up, then grabbed his wrist and said emotionally, "Yuanzhi, there's no need for such formalities. I am so happy to see you again in my lifetime."
Xu Shu, equally moved, had tears welling up in his eyes and said in a choked voice, "Yes, fourteen years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Your Majesty has grown old."
Fourteen years has changed so much. The long time has left them both feeling wistful, and when they met again, they had so much to say to each other.
But this was clearly not the place to talk. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Xu Shu, Liu Bei looked at Liu Jun and smiled with tears in his eyes, saying, "De'an (Liu Jun's courtesy name), I can't believe you've reached middle age in the blink of an eye. How are your father and grandfather?"
This is his cousin, whom he used to hold when he was a child. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the other party would be approaching forty and would be old enough to be a grandfather.
Liu Jun was thirty-nine years old this year, old enough to be his cousin Liu Shan's father. Upon hearing this, he bowed and said, "Uncle, my grandfather passed away six years ago, and my father followed him last year."
Liu Bei's vision blurred, his body trembled uncontrollably, and he said with a heart full of pain, "I never thought they would not be able to wait for my return in the end."
Liu Bei's memory of his father, Liu Hong, had long been blurred. In his heart, he always regarded his uncle, Liu Yuanqi, who had taken care of him and his mother, as his father. He had originally dreamed of returning to his hometown of Zhuojun to show off to his uncle after the success of the Northern Expedition, but alas, time was running out.
The regret of wanting to care for one's parents but finding them gone is the most heartbreaking. Liu Bei was saddened for a long time before he calmed down and asked again, "In what month last year did your father pass away?"
He wanted to ask whether Liu Jun's father, Liu Deran, died before or after he became emperor, but he was too embarrassed to ask too directly, so he could only ask in a more tactful way.
He and Liu Deran were not only cousins, but also classmates who studied together under Lu Zhi, and their relationship was exceptionally deep.
In this situation, if one were to become emperor, it would be natural to boast to one's good brothers and share the good fortune with them. Since one cannot share the good fortune with one's good brothers now, it is still good to let them know the good news of becoming emperor.
Liu Jun knew what Liu Bei was going to ask, but he smiled wryly and said, "Last March."
Liu Bei's face turned pale. He ascended the throne last November, meaning Liu Deran had passed away before receiving the good news of his ascension.
Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh, tears streaming down his face, "Brother Deran, why didn't you wait for me?"
Zhuge Liang advised, "Your Majesty, this is not the place to talk. Besides, a banquet has already been prepared in the city. Please invite Brother Yuanzhi and De'an into the city so we can eat and chat."
Liu Bei nodded emphatically, grasped Xu Shu's hand and said, "Yuanzhi, come into the city with me. We'll drink until we drop tonight. Adou, take good care of your brother De'an. You cousins should get closer to each other."
The meaning behind these words is quite clear: he is getting old, and the throne will eventually be handed over to Liu Shan. Liu Shan and Liu Jun have never met before and have no feelings for each other. After ascending the throne, he may not treat Liu Jun's family well.
Therefore, Liu Bei instructed Liu Shan to establish a relationship with Liu Jun now, so that the two would not be unfamiliar with each other after his death.
This shows that Liu Bei genuinely wanted to repay his uncle's family.