Da Han Yan Hua Twenty-Eight Old Oath [4700 words added and updated]

  Lu Yuan slowly woke up, the sky was already near dusk. In a daze, he saw his mother sitting beside his bed, with deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and eyebrows. He thought he had returned to the old days in Fengpei, and smiled, saying, "Mother, you're overworking again. When Father comes back..."

  She suddenly stopped talking, closed her eyes, and also shut off the thin layer of tears at the bottom of her eyes.

  "Mother and daughter, mother and daughter," Lü Cuì wailed, embracing her daughter, saying "Why are you so unfortunate to have encountered such a heartless father?"

  "Empress Dowager," Lu Yuan asked with a sorrowful smile, "I only want to know one thing, was Liu Jing's memorial and the marriage arrangement made before or after the new year?"

  Lv Wei knew her intention and said slowly, "Your brother just said it was at the end of last year."

  Lu Yuanjing was silent for a moment before responding softly, "Oh."

  "Man Hua," Lv Liu saw her face as pale as death, and was afraid in her heart, repeatedly calling out, "Don't scare Mother."

  Lu Yuan slowly turned his gaze, staring at his mother for a while like a wooden stick, and suddenly burst out laughing.

  "He really is, really is..." She laughed so hard she couldn't speak fluently, leaning against the bed screen to catch her breath, and said resentfully, "Really my good father."

  The body hair, received from parents, parents have orders, do not dare to disobey. These principles, Lu Yuan has known since childhood. If her father just planned to marry her off to the Xiongnu to defend his possession of the Great Han's ten-thousand-mile mountains and rivers, and build a long wall that doesn't need bricks or stones, Lu Yuan would resent it, hate it, cry about it, and feel indignant, but she wouldn't despair.

  Her eyes were icy cold, she wasn't a fool, and wouldn't have let things get to this point without realizing it. At the end of the year, Liu Jingxian had presented a plan to ally with the Xiongnu, and at the beginning of the year, Liu Bang had arrested Zhang Ao on charges of treason. In the past, she hadn't known about these events, and would have been worried and frightened by the conflict between her father and husband, crying and begging her father to trust her husband and spare his life. But now that she saw the two incidents together, she felt like a complete fool, being toyed with and manipulated while still having to kowtow and thank him.

  It wasn't until this point that Ruyuan realized that Liu Bang's extreme outburst at Zhang Ao in the beginning of the year hadn't been without the intention of driving Zhang Ao to death, and forcing her, now a widow, to marry into the Xiongnu. Although he had ultimately given up on the plan, thinking about the father-daughter relationship, she was shocked by the sinister calculations involved, and felt suffocated with anger, almost vomiting blood.

  Lü Cuī sighed, knowing that the person in front of her was heartbroken and that further persuasion would be useless. She silently stroked her daughter's hair, slowly using her fingers to smooth it out, until she reached the last strand. Then, she suddenly stood up and walked out of the hall without looking back.

  "Your Majesty, Your Majesty," Su Mo's heart racing, following closely behind Lü Zhi, "what are you going to do?"

  "Go and see His Majesty." Lü Zhi wore a majestic queen's attire, her footsteps quick on the palace path.

  "But Your Majesty," Su Mo said loudly, "the emperor is now in the Temple of Gods and has probably settled down, how can we disturb him?"

  Lü Cuì's expression turned cold as she sneered, "He'd better get up for me even if he's dead asleep; this time he must get up."

  In front of the Temple of Gods, a green-robed female official, Xi Zhu, emerged from behind the curtain and gently blocked the way. "Your Majesty is already inside the temple and has been settled in. If Her Majesty the Empress has any business, it would be better to come again tomorrow to request an audience."

  Lü Zhi said calmly, "You go in and inform His Majesty that I will wait for him here. If he doesn't come out after a while, I'll wait for a while; if he doesn't come out all night, I'll wait all night; if he doesn't come out all day, I'll wait all day. Unless he plans to stay in this temple for the rest of his life, he will have to see me."

  "Hey," Rui Zhu said with a raised face, "Your Majesty the Empress, why must you do this? As the empress, you naturally have the courage to speak to His Majesty like this. I, Rui Zhu, am just a small servant girl and don't have the guts to disturb His Majesty's mood at this time. Even if you really stood up all night, no one would know about it, so why not go back and rest? Speaking of which, didn't His Majesty instruct you last time to stay in the Pepper Chamber and not run around unnecessarily?"

  At this point, she actually covered her mouth and let out a yawn, looking very languid.

  "Shameless."

  Lü Zhi suddenly shouted in a stern voice, "You are just a small palace maid, how dare you speak to me like this. Summon the Yongxian Commander."

  Zhang Ze emerged from behind the empress and bowed.

  "What is the duty of an empress?" asked Lü Zhi.

  "The empress and imperial concubines are all well, as are the palace maids and servant girls." Zhang Ze replied respectfully.

  "What is the duty of Yong Xiangling?"

  "The concubine was wrongly accused and punished as a palace maid."

  "Good." Lü Zhi's face was cold as water, and she said lightly, "Arrest this palace maid who has committed a crime against the imperial family, and have her punished in court."

  "You dare." Rui Zhu's face turned pale as she shrieked, "I am the female official of Madame Qi, it's not your turn to punish me yet."

  Lü Mei laughed and said, "You have really been spoiled by Qi Yi, forgetting that even she is just a small madam under my jurisdiction? Today, not to mention you, even if it were her who came out personally, I would still dare to confront her."

  Suizhu struggled like a madman, but was firmly pinned down by two strong and sturdy women on the ground in the courtyard. Immediately, there were palace slaves with rods who came forward, and as soon as the rods fell, Suizhu loudly cried out to Empress Lü. However, Empress Lü acted as if she hadn't heard anything, looking up at the swaying candles in the Temple of the Gods and the panicked palace attendants rushing about.

  She thought, it's been a long time since I've been so unrestrained. The honor of the empress, although glorious, is also oppressive. Where is the sharp spirit of Lv San Niangzi between the abundance and prosperity of those years?

  Liu Ji, Liu Ji.

  I have tolerated you in every way, you have pressed me step by step, I can no longer tolerate it.

  Rui Zhu's back was already a bloody mess, the former beauty and pride, the majestic and powerful one who even made the female officials beside the empress yield to her, had no strength left to cry out in pain.

  "Magistrate Zhang," the eunuch in charge of punishment asked secretly, "since the Empress did not specify the number of strokes, how many strokes would be enough?"

  "Good-for-nothing." Zhang Ze was fed up and said, "You're dead meat."

  Gong Nu's face turned red with rage, and he slapped her twice more. Rui Zhu let out a blood-curdling scream and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. Her eyes closed lifelessly.

  "Ji Zhu." Qi Yi threw off her cloak and rushed down from the palace, a look of shock on her beautiful face. It was unthinkable that in just a short moment, her personal maid had lost her life. Gnashing her teeth, she turned around to glare at Lü Zhi, "Lü Zhi, you're too cruel." The beautiful woman's anger even added a different charm, but Lü Zhi didn't spare her half a glance, instead gazing at Liu Bang who was walking out wearing his monk's robe. In a soft voice, she said, "Your Majesty, you've finally come out."

  Under the moonlight, her face was both gentle and stern, two completely contradictory expressions, eerily yet harmoniously displayed on the same countenance. "If you don't come out, I'll beat one to death; if you still refuse to come out, I'll grab another and beat them too, until the last one, you will have to come out."

  Qie Yi's legs went soft, her teeth chattered, and she stared at Lü Zhi with a look of shock and fear. Only then did she realize that this empress, whom she had always looked down on, was actually such a ruthless and merciless person.

  Liu Bang didn't get angry either, and calmly said, "Since I've already come out, what does the Empress want to say to me?"

  "Your Majesty," Lü Zhi smiled slightly, "do you really want me to discuss this with you in front of so many people?"

  Liu Bang waved his hand, and immediately all the palace maids and attendants behind Empress Lu retreated far away like a tide, their faces pale.

  Lü Zhi looked at Qi Yi.

  "Yi'er," Liu Bang smiled and patted Yi's hand, "you go in first and rest, I'll come in later to accompany you."

  "I won't, Your Majesty." Qi Yi shook off his hand and glared at him, "She killed my lady-in-waiting indiscriminately, if you can't avenge Rui Zhu for me, then I, as the empress, will have no face in the palace from now on?"

  Lü Zhi smiled faintly.

  "Yi'er," Liu Bang said calmly, "we'll talk about this later, you can withdraw for now."

  "I won't, I won't, I won't," Ji Yi clung to Liu Bang's hand, refusing to let go even in death. Liu Bang was slightly impatient and tried to shake her off, but saw Ji Yi lift her head, with a red tear on her snowy cheek.

  "If Empress Qi really wants to listen, I can also compromise." Lü Zhi turned sideways and took a few steps, asking Liu Bang calmly, "Your Majesty, do you remember the promise you made to me in the third year of Han?"

  It was another promise of Han San, Qi Yi felt a suffocating sensation. What exactly did Your Majesty agree to with Lü Zhi back then? Every time Your Majesty had an outburst at Lü Zhi, as long as Lü Zhi brought up this armed force, Your Majesty would have a guilty and soft expression.

  "Your Majesty," Lv Liu smiled sweetly, the moonlight was icy and clear, as if it had shed off her ten years of being a peasant woman, ten years of hardships, and returned to being a fresh and lively girl in the countryside of Fengyang. "You promised me, when the pursuing soldiers were about to catch up, you promised me that as long as I was willing to wear your clothes and ride your warhorse to lead away the pursuers, you would swear to make Lv Ying'er the crown prince, take good care of Manhua for a lifetime, and never go back on this promise."

  Qī Yì let out a cold breath.

  "Yes, I promised you." Liu Bang said calmly, "So I made you the emperor, appointed Ying'er as the crown prince, and married Manhua to Zhang Yi, I have fulfilled my promise."

  "But now you're going to send Manhua to the Xiongnu." Lü Yu scolded, "Is this what you meant by taking good care of her for a lifetime?"

  "What's wrong with going to the Xiongnu?" Liu Bang smiled, "She will be the Yanzhi of the Chanyu, Modun will not dare to neglect her because of the face of the Great Han. Are you not worried that Zhang Ao's current status is too low and not matching up to Manhua? Look at this new son-in-law I've chosen for you, his position is so prestigious! Besides myself, no one can compare with him, what else are you not satisfied with?"

  "Shameless." Lü Zhi's body trembled with rage.

  I heard that tonight at 10 o'clock will be the roundest moon in decades.

  Wishing everyone a happy Lantern Festival, on the last day of Chinese New Year, splashing some dog blood for excitement.

  Remember to take a look at the moon, and remember to cast a pink vote.

  Certain River wishes everyone a great and auspicious Year of the Ox, may all your wishes come true.