(a)

After Liu Shen abolished the status of the fourth son of the emperor and passed him on to the heir of the Cui family, the fourth son of the emperor, now he is the second generation of Lingnan King Cui Chengzhi, entered the palace to receive the decree of thanks.

In Liu Shen's bedroom, in front of his father's sickbed, he and Liu Shen faced each other.

This is the first time that their father and son have faced each other alone since the incident of plotting to usurp the throne.

It was also the last time they faced each other as father and son.

From today on, the fourth son of the emperor can no longer call Liu Shen his father, but must be reduced to the status of a courtier and call Liu Shen the emperor. The mood of the father and son is full of mixed feelings and cannot be expressed.

The father and son were relatively silent, silent for a long time.

The palace room was dimly lit, empty and quiet.

There were only countless specs of dust, rising and falling in the sunlight that shone into the palace. Only the copper leak in the corner of the interior was heard, and the slight and regular dripping sound was heard. The cigarette in the mouth of the bronze crane fills the air in the room.

The relative silence at this moment contains how many thousand words between their father and son.

(b)

I don't know how long it has been.

Liu Shen finally spoke up.

He said, "I heard that your mother talked to you deeply that day. ”

Cui Chengzhi replied, "Yes." Her Majesty has already taught the guilty ministers a lesson. ”

Liu Shen said: "You, but do you really understand? ”

He said, "You didn't act so sincerely because you were afraid of punishment, did you?" ”

Cui Chengzhi said in horror: "The criminal minister listened to Her Majesty's all-night teachings, and he truly repented of his mistakes from the bottom of his heart. The criminal ministers would never dare to deceive the emperor. ”

Liu Shen looked at his son silently for a while. Then, in a hoarse voice, he said to his son, "Do you know your father's mood at this moment? ”

Cui Chengzhi fell to the ground and wept and said: "The minister knows his mistake, the minister beats his chest, and he regrets it." ”

Liu Shen said: "Father knows that you are just a ghost and confused, fundamentally speaking, I have watched you grow up since I was a child, you are not a child with a bad nature, nor is you a wicked person who is bent on murdering your compatriots' siblings." My father knows that as long as you truly repent and know what you were wrong, you can change your ways. ”

Cui Chengzhi burst into tears and couldn't answer.

Liu Shen said: "I really don't want us to break off the relationship between father and son from now on. However, you also have to understand the father. If my father cares about the relationship between father and son and does not punish you, how can you let me face the crown prince? How will you discipline your brothers and sisters in the future? If the sons of the concubines of the two palaces will also learn from you in the future and seek to usurp the throne of our dynasty, have you ever thought about what the world would be like at that time? The achievements of your uncle's bloody life will be wiped out by you unscrupulous juniors. This peaceful situation was bought by the people of all ethnic groups who were tired of their bones and bloodshed. How can you let your father sit idly by and watch your exemplary behavior? ”

Liu Shen said: "You must not stay in the Liu family anymore." Otherwise, I will have no reason to punish those rebellious ministers and thieves who are eager to try again. Do you understand your father's last resort? ”

Cui Chengzhi said sadly: "The minister understands the emperor's distress. The ministers are self-inflicted, and cannot live. The minister willingly accepted the emperor's punishment. ”

Liu Shen said: "When we are young, we all inevitably make mistakes. There are very few people who can grow into a man who stands up to the sky without making a single mistake and not planting a single heel. When your father was young, he also made many mistakes. In this life, the most guilty and sad thing I feel is that I failed to get along with your dead uncle and avoid the tragedy of cannibalism. This matter has always been in my heart. When I die, I don't know how to explain it to your grandfather. Now, every day and every night, I am conscientious and conscientious, and I dare not slack off on the affairs of the country and the world, because I want to do more for the people of the world, and make up for the mistakes of our brothers when I meet the ancestors and ancestors in the future. ”

Liu Shen said: "Because I am well aware of the pain and unwisdom, I am also very willing to see the tragedy between your brothers repeat the tragedy between our brothers." Seeing your brothers at odds and calculating with each other is like seeing our brothers when we were young. My guilt and shame came up unstoppably, and my heart was very tormented. I deeply blame myself for not cultivating my own virtues when I was young, mishandling them, and failing to be a qualified example for your brothers. Therefore, I also look forward to doing better than me, being able to stop this erroneous cross-generational inheritance, and setting an example for the descendants of the Liu family to get along correctly. ”

Liu Shen said: "At this point, son, can you, not make your father sad and disappointed? ”

Cui Chengzhi said with tears in his eyes: "The minister must remember the profound lesson of this time, and he must pay attention to his words and deeds everywhere from now on, and the minister must not let the emperor be sad and disappointed, and the minister must not let the subjects be sad and disappointed by the atmosphere of the new dynasty." Please believe in the minister's determination, and the minister's words are all from the bottom of his heart. ”

Liu Shen nodded. He said, "If only you were sincere." As the so-called prodigal son turns back, the money does not change. If a person takes the happiness of the people of the world as his pursuit and happiness, then whether he is a king or a minister, whether he is in the court or in the opposition, he will always be a bright and upright person, an upright person. He doesn't need power, he doesn't need status, he can naturally win people's respect and love. He doesn't need the brilliance of the crown. He has an inner brilliance in himself. Not only does he have brilliance, but he can also illuminate his country, his time, and even the future. ”

Liu Shen said: "If you understand this, you will understand that although your father punished you and took away your dignity, however, your father did not take anything. A person's true dignity cannot be taken away by others. Those who can take away are not truly honorable. Father took away the kind of honor that you can give and take away from others today, and I hope that you will see the true honor that others can't give and can't take. ”

Liu Shen looked at his son and stretched out his hand to him.

The hands of their father and son were clasped tightly with each other.

Liu Shen said: "In Daddy's mind, you, no matter what your identity, will always be my good son." ”

Liu Shen said: "You, from now on, will make Daddy proud of you and proud of you, right?" ”

Cui Chengzhi nodded firmly: "The emperor can rest assured. Minister, I vow to do it for you, for myself, and for the people of the world. ”

Liu Shen nodded and said, "It's also for your mother, you must do it." ”

(c)

While Liu Shen's father and son were talking to each other in his dormitory, I stayed alone in the warm pavilion of Zhaoyang Palace, once again facing the blank space left by your eternal departure.

I felt guilty and sad.

You gave everything you had, and in this world, only this empty chair was left, leaving this blank, but the world peace you got in exchange was still so fragile.

It is too easy for people to maliciously turn against each other, it is too easy to harm each other, it is too easy to turn against each other, and it is too easy to make waves.

Even my son has become a destroyer of a peaceful and prosperous world, almost provoking a new round of turbulence in the world.

Unexpectedly, even my own son, the son I watched grow up, is most like my son, I have always made up my mind to pass him on to the Cui family, to be your son, to make up for my mistakes to the Cui family, and to entrust my deep affection for you, this son, he was also the enemy of Taiping.

I can't help but think of the conversation between you and Fu Tianliang when you returned to Yunjing. You have known for a long time that the peace you have bought with your life will be fragile, and it will be lost. Yet, you still don't hesitate. You said to Fu Tianliang that because people are eager to live a peaceful life, even if it is to fulfill their wishes for a short time, you are willing to live such a hard life, with such an unbearable ending.

I now have a deeper understanding of the teachings of Zen Master Guangji, that if people do not get rid of their selfishness and self-discipline, if they do not exercise self-discipline and greed, peace in the world will always be unstable like a castle built on the sand. The slightest wind and waves will fall apart.

If we want to build a truly long-term peaceful and prosperous world, we can only start from the hearts of the people. To be greedy and to seek personal gain, this is the true foundation of Taiping.

However, if I can't get rid of my greed and possession, and if I can't get rid of my own selfishness and selfishness, how can I expect the hearts of the people in the world to change?

So, is this deep love for you that I am greedy and possessive? Is it selfishness?

Do I need to give up this deep affection with you before in order to finally free myself from the turmoil in the world?

Do I need to give up my selfish feelings for the sake of ultimate peace?

A person must be selfless, so that he can bring peace to the world.

That's what you've demonstrated to me all your life. (To be continued.) )