The next day, as soon as the sky was bright, a pleasant red appeared in the east, and the sun showed its face from this red. In the inner hall of Changxin Palace, Empress Lu, who was lying on the couch, had already woken up, but continued to lie motionless; Liu Bang put one hand on Lu Hou's abdomen and hugged her, one leg on Lu Hou's leg, and fell asleep with a thunderous snoring. The hall was silent, and Empress Lu saw that Liu Bang was sleeping so deeply and sleeping so soundly, so she looked at him sleeping and smiled. When I looked at him closely, his temples were already gray, his face looked a little vicissitudes, and the half-deep wrinkles on his brows were the traces carved by the years on his face. Lu Hou stretched out his hand and gently stroked the wrinkled texture on his forehead, feeling his vicissitudes, he hadn't been so warm for a long time, so he laughed intoxicatedly, as if Liu Bang belonged to her alone at this moment, as if Liu Bang had returned to her side, Lu Hou gently took Liu Bang's hand away from his abdomen, and gently moved his legs on the couch, Liu Bang muttered an incomprehensible word in a drowsy mood and turned around and continued to sleep. Empress Lu stuck out her tongue in fear, for fear of waking him up, and seeing that he was hanging his arms and legs outside, Empress Lu dragged the quilt up for Liu Bang, covered him and got out of bed. Went straight to the window, opened the window with both hands, propped it up with a stick, stretched her head out, leaned forward to breathe in the fresh air, closed her eyes and enjoyed the peace of this time, suddenly opened her eyes, the sun shone in, piercing her eyes painfully, busy covering her eyes with her hands to look through the gaps, everything fresh outside can be seen.

"Autumn is crisp, and the weather is good." Lu Hou smiled and admired, because it was almost early winter, even if the air was very good, Lu Hou could only put down the window, sat down in front of the dresser again, picked up a wooden comb to arrange his hair, and looked at his black silk in his hand like a waterfall, soft and soft.

"Knock knock—" and someone knocked on the door outside. Empress Lu put down the wooden comb in her hand and asked towards the door, "Dai Qing?" A pleasant answer came from outside: "Yes, mother, the hot water is ready, and breakfast is ready." ”

"Hot water." Lu Hou got up, opened the door to take the water from Dai Qing's hand, and instructed Dai Qing: "Your Majesty has not woken up, tell the cook to heat up breakfast for a while, and come back in half an hour." "Whew." Dai Qing withdrew.

Lv Hou put the water on the shelf, and then walked to the bed, looking at Liu Bang like a child's sleep, Lv Hou couldn't bear to wake him up, wanted to ask him to sleep for a while, he only sat quietly on the side and looked at him quietly with his cheeks, half a day, Liu Bang, who was sleeping on the couch, turned over, pinned his face inside, Lv Hou couldn't help but smile when he saw his child's appearance, and couldn't see his face before he gently called at his back: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty-"

Liu Bang moved, and said in a dull voice, "Huh? Answer, turned around after a while, the quilt was a little wrinkled by him, opened his sleepy eyes, then yawned, stretched out his hands and stretched his waist, saw Lu Hou leaning in front of the bed and looking at him with a smile, Liu Bang was stunned for a moment and then smiled, stretched out his hands from the quilt and took Lu Hou's hand and asked: "Why did you get up so early, I didn't go to court today." ”

Empress Lu's hands were clenched by him, and she felt warm and happy, and said with a smile and affection: "When it is near, isn't Your Majesty afraid that the palace people will laugh at you for being sleepy?" Liu Bang laughed and said: "They laughed, what's wrong with drowsiness?" Drinking and lust are laughed at. Come, sit beside me. Liu Bang let go of Lu Hou's hand, propped up half of his body from the quilt, and lay half-lying. Empress Lu took two pillows for him to lean on, so that he had a comfortable seat, Empress Lu still served him carefully as usual, not too tired or too bitter, Liu Bang pulled Empress Lu to sit down. Liu Bang stopped smiling, looking at his wife who had given birth to children for him, went to prison for him, and was a hostage for him for two years, and last night she was still desperate to risk provoking herself and pulled herself into her palace, but now she appeared in front of her with a hard-working and pityful face, bringing herself washing water and padding herself, Liu Bang suddenly thought of her suffering in the past few years, and he didn't see all this himself. Liu Bang suddenly felt that he really neglected his wife, he didn't come to Changxin Palace often, and when he looked at his wife carefully, he found that she was also old, and her hands were no longer smooth and tender, and there were a few subtle wrinkles on her forehead, but what remained unchanged was that she was as good to herself as before. Liu Bang sighed, stroked his black and shiny hair for Empress Lu, and said abruptly: "I'm old, and you're old." In the past few years, I have rarely come to see you, do you complain? ”

Lu Hou's eyes were red, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly, and she crossed her eyes with Liu Bang's apologetic expectation, bowing her head and being silent. Liu Bang was silent, tugged at the quilt with one hand, and asked with an apologetic expression, "Marrying me must be more of a curse than a blessing, right?" ”

When Empress Lu heard Liu Bang say this without warning, she was stunned for a long time. Looking at the mature and vicissitudes of the man's face in front of him, how to answer him? If he felt happy, how could Empress Lu go to the other palace in the middle of the night to bring him back? If you are not happy, you do still have him in your heart. After a while, Lu Hou was speechless, and Liu Bang's cloudy eyes met each other, and after a long time, she turned her hand and took Liu Bang's hand, and said lightly, "The concubine has heard: there is no way for good and evil, but people invite themselves, and there is a cause for disaster, and there is a source for happiness." If Your Majesty treats your concubines well, it is the welfare of your concubines, and if Your Majesty treats your concubines badly, it will also be the source of your concubines' woes. Blessings and misfortunes depend on each other, blessings and disasters are blessings, and disasters are blessings, everything has a law and cannot be forced. Blessings and misfortunes need to be felt in a lifetime, and life has not really come to an end, how can concubines easily make up their minds? If Your Majesty likes to listen to good words, the concubine can only say that marrying Your Majesty is a blessing. As for Ying'er, His Majesty should indeed be more concerned. ”

Empress Lu's heartfelt words actually made Liu Bang feel reasonable, and nodded frequently: "The queen is always so principled, worthy of being a heroine among women, if I ask other concubines, they will say that marrying me is a blessing, and you let me figure it out." With the prince, I will take care of it. ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lu Hou remembered that there was still hot water on the side, so he suddenly said, "Speaking of this, the hot water is already cold, and the concubine asked Dai Qing to go and get some hot water again." Empress Lu set out to call Dai Qing, but Liu Bang grabbed her wrist and smiled: "Just wash it with cold water, I am not the kind of delicate emperor." Liu Bang smiled and lifted the quilt and put on his boots.

"Last night's incident, did Your Majesty blame the concubines for being reckless?" Empress Lu handed him the boots on the ground and asked tentatively. Liu Bang's hand holding the boots immediately stopped, and after a slight stunned, he put on his boots and got up and went to the basin rack, took a towel and cloth to wash his face, and said while washing, "Don't mention the past, how can husband and wife not quarrel, noisy enhances feelings." Liu Bang shook off the water on his hands, wrung out the towel to dry his face, and smiled at Lu Hou, who smiled with an embarrassed expression.

Sizheng, Lv Hou accompanied Liu Bang to have a breakfast that was almost noon, Lv Hou said that he must not be able to eat anything else at noon, and Liu Bang also laughed and said that he didn't want to eat at night. After that, the two didn't have anything in common, and Lu Hou picked a topic and said that he had recently learned a song and wanted to play it for Liu Bang, and Liu Bang nodded and allowed to sit around the table. Empress Lu knelt on the mat and puffed up elegantly, and the sound of the elegant and long sorrow, Liu Bang also thought it was good, so he clapped his hands and sang a few words, and only then did he hear a few happy laughter in the Changxin Palace. Singing and harmonizing, Liu Bang's face was worried again, remembering that Mrs. Qi was still sick, and she was quite worried in her heart, she left in a hurry last night, and she didn't know if her body was better now. Liu Bang immediately stopped singing and got up and hurried out of the hall, and Empress Lu looked at him with a sad face, and also stopped drumming and followed him out of the hall closely. As soon as he went out of the steps of Changxin Palace, he saw a messenger running in the distance, panting, and when he saw Liu Bang, he bowed to him from afar, and followed him closely, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Xiao Cheng is asking to see him in the front hall." ”

As soon as he heard that Xiao He had come to the front hall, Liu Bang suddenly lowered his face, brushed his sleeves and said unhappily, "Old Xiao is endless, Chongyang is on vacation for three days, is he still not happy?" Liu Bang originally planned to go to Mrs. Qi, but unfortunately, Xiao He came out halfway, and he suddenly felt disappointed. Lu Hou followed behind Liu Bang, realizing that Liu Bang had no intention of seeing Xiao He, but thinking that he was in a hurry to go to Qi Ji, he rushed to Liu Bang and knelt down and advised: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Xiao Cheng is a minister of the humerus, and if you come here today, there must be something important, why don't you go and see Prime Minister Xiao Cheng?" Sister Qi Ji can also go to see it later. ”

Liu Bang scratched his forehead in embarrassment, helped up Empress Lu, and thought in his heart that Xiao He should have no major events, and he didn't want to go, but he didn't expect Empress Lu to say so embarrassingly, as if he would rather give up seeing the minister and go to see a woman, and he couldn't save face. Liu Bang hesitated for a while, and simply did not go to the Yuzao Palace, so he instructed Empress Lu to accompany him to the front hall to see what was going on. Coming to the front hall, Xiao He clasped his hands and hung down on his abdomen, standing in the atrium respectfully and waiting, Xiao He and Liu Bang are the same age, but they are more mature, steady, kind and self-controlled. Liu Bang and Empress Lu entered from outside the palace, and without waiting for Xiao He to turn around, he urgently asked Xiao He what was the matter, Xiao He turned around and saw the emperor and the queen and immediately bowed and bowed: "Weichen see the emperor, see the queen's mother." ”

Liu Bang waved his hand and said, "You're polite, aren't I on leave in Chongyang?" How did you get into the palace, what did you do? Let's talk about it. Liu Bang picked up Xiao He, walked straight to the side of a few cases and sat down, supported his head with one hand, stretched out his little finger with the other hand and picked his teeth, thinking that the food went into the teeth during the meal, and listened to Xiao He leisurely. Xiao He Zhuoran arched his hand: "Your Majesty, at the beginning of October, you will put wine in Weiyang, Weiyang Palace is built by Weichen, this building is related to my Han decency, Han Sheji, the minister thinks twice, dare not slack off, I want to ask the emperor to check the Weiyang Palace again, point out the shortcomings of the ministers, and then the king of the feudal country and the princes will come to the court, and they will be happy to surrender to my court, and will not find a place that loses the prestige of the Han Dynasty." ”

Liu Bang felt that Xiao He was too worried, and sometimes felt that Xiao He was too serious about doing things, and seriously called himself a little disgusted with his practice, and the more serious he was, the more Liu Bang felt a little unhappy. Liu Bang muttered, spread his hands and said with a perfunctory smile: "Xiao Qingguo is the minister of the society, and there is a Qing who is so involved in state affairs, I have no worries. Weiyang Palace and don't have to look at it, with my understanding of the prime minister, the prime minister will not let me down. Qing, go back. ”

Xiao He's face was embarrassed, and he wanted to persuade again: "The emperor's ......" just met Liu Bang's eyes, but Liu Bang avoided it in disgust, and read the stack of bamboo slips that fell on the case casually. Xiao He was discouraged, and he saw Empress Lu's hint to him between his eyes. Empress Lu stood aside, shook his index finger in his abdomen, signaling that Xiao He didn't have to say anything, Xiao He immediately understood and bowed his head and said nothing. Lu Hou came to Liu Bang's side and sat down, smiled and continued to persuade: "Your Majesty, since the prime minister is so sincere in inviting His Majesty to observe Weiyang Palace, it is better to go and have a look, presumably Prime Minister Xiao Cheng did this, but also for the sake of the prestige of my Han Dynasty, the prime minister can invite His Majesty to check the Weiyang Palace today, not only should be rewarded, according to the concubine, but also should be issued an edict, the book says: The minister of the society should be like Xiao Qing." With just these eight words, mobilize the enthusiasm of the minister to serve the country and let Prime Minister Xiao Cheng be an example, why not? Your Majesty should be glad that there are such officials in the imperial court. ”

Liu Bang really didn't have the idea of checking Weiyang Palace, as soon as he saw Xiao He, he rejected him, and then Lu Hou gave him an army, and it seemed wrong not to go, Liu Bang glanced at Lu Hou, and was very unhappy with her in his heart, if it weren't for her, maybe his shortcomings would not be revealed. Liu Bang immediately changed his smiling face again, got up and walked to Xiao He to stroke his back, and said with a smile: "I said not to go just now, it was to test Prime Minister Xiao's sincerity, since Prime Minister Xiao Cheng is thinking about my Liu family's country, how can I not go?" ”

Xiao He nodded slightly, and when he thanked Lord Longen, he felt that Empress Lu was smart enough, and a few words could make the emperor change his mind, which was really powerful. Liu Bang turned back to Empress Lu and said, "It's okay to be idle, so the queen will go with me and Prime Minister Xiao Cheng." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Liu Bang, Empress Lu, Xiao He, and a large number of palace people all drove to Weiyang Palace. Along the way, the red Luo umbrella cover, the frame is leisurely, Liu Bang, Lu Hou and Xiao He sat together in the golden chariot and slowly went to Weiyang Palace. Weiyang Palace is located in the southwest of Chang'an City, located in the highest terrain of Chang'an City, in the west of Changle Palace, built on the basis of Qin Zhangtai, presided over by Xiao He. Its main buildings have the front hall, the Xuanroom Palace, the Qingliang Palace, the Chengming Palace, the Jiaofang Palace, the Tianlu Pavilion, the Shiqu Pavilion, etc., the front hall is in the middle of the whole palace. The front hall of Weiyang Palace is fifty zhang, fifteen zhang deep, thirty-five zhang high, very majestic; The main hall is partial hall, pavilions and pavilions, the floor que flower pond, each building is connected with the compound road again, like the horizontal bridge of the air paving, the palace stands in a forest, the bird and beast pattern is embedded in the eaves of the high pavilion, majestic and magnificent, standing under the steps is very much to feel the magnificent majesty of the palace. Between Changle Palace and Weiyang Palace is an arsenal. When he arrived at Weiyang Palace, Xiao He first took over Liu Bang and Empress Lu, and Empress Lu also came to mix Liu Bang. Liu Bang stopped and looked up at the front door of Weiyang Palace and the buildings left and right next to it, the dragon-shaped stone statue in front of the que stood majestically, solemn, from the foot to the main entrance steps on the 100 meters away and dozens of meters high, full of royal style. Liu Bang felt a sense of inviolability in his heart, he was stunned for a moment, felt like a dream, and muttered in disbelief, "Are these all my Liu Ji's?" Empress Lu and Xiao He looked at each other. Then Liu Bang looked up to the sky and laughed: "Look, this is the majestic Weiyang Palace built by Prime Minister Xiao Cheng, who would have thought that the Qin Dynasty jailer back then is now my Han Dynasty pillar?" ”

Liu Bang is happy, Xiao He is happy, in the past few years, he has seen Liu Bang's 'awesome', he is happy, Xiao He is also happy, and said again and again: "The minister is entrusted with the blessing of the Han Dynasty, thanks to the blessing of His Majesty, but the Changle Palace and Weiyang Palace have been built, but the Chang'an city wall has not been repaired." ”

"Yes, yes, there is also an old prime minister about the wall of Chang'an City." Liu Bang smiled and looked at Weiyang Palace with his back hand. Xiao He looked at the Weiyang Palace built with the blood and sweat of the people, and he knew that the people had worked hard and made great achievements, so he solemnly bowed to Liu Bang and said, "It's just that now the people of Guanzhong are living in hardship, encountering the war at the end of Qin and the Chu and Han Dynasty for hegemony, the population has decreased sharply, and in recent years, by the edict of the Han court, the Changle and Weiyang palaces have been built continuously, and the agricultural affairs have been delayed a lot, and I am afraid that the Han court treasury is insufficient, and there is no money to build the city wall, so the emperor asked the emperor to postpone the construction of the city wall." ”

Liu Bang's smiling face changed with a hint of shame, and he nodded again and again, "Everything is handed over to the prime minister, and the prime minister is fully responsible. "Obey." Xiao He surrendered his order.

Lu Hou stood behind Liu Bang, casually listening to Liu Bang's enthusiastic chat, and did not doubt Xiao He's talent in his heart, so he also smiled and said, "The prime minister is worthy of being one of the three heroes appointed by His Majesty, with outstanding talent and high achievements, I hope that the prime minister will continue to serve my great man in the future." ”

Xiao He was praised by the emperor and queen in a row, and felt a little flattered, so he hurriedly bowed down and swore an oath: "The minister He has eaten Hanlu all his life, and he will be the Hanchen on behalf of him, and he will definitely serve the power of dogs and horses for my dynasty, and he will never give up." Liu Bang stroked his back and smiled: "Okay, okay." ”

Xiao He led Liu Bang and Lv Hou to visit some palaces such as Xuanshu Palace, Jiaofang Palace, Greenhouse Palace, Chengming Palace, Qilin Palace, Qingliang Palace, etc., every time they entered a palace, Liu Bang and Lv Hou felt grandiose, bright and peaceful, solemn, gorgeous and elegant, which made people excited. After Liu Bang saw the Jiaofang Palace, he felt that this hall was full of the smell of peppercorns, cool and refreshing, bright and elegant, so he happily pulled Lu Hou and said, "After moving to Weiyang Palace, I see that you will live in Jiaofang Palace, this palace is very good, and it should be a good place for your mother to live in the world." Empress Lu's heart warmed for a while, grateful to Liu Bang for still thinking about her and giving her the best place to live, Empress Lu attached her hand and refused with a smile on her hand, "Your Majesty." Jiaofang Palace is indeed good, but I am used to living in Changxin Palace, but a place to live, everywhere is the same, Your Majesty don't worry about my residence. ”

Liu Bang saw that Empress Lu didn't like it, so he didn't force it anymore and allowed him to continue to live in Changxin Palace. Continue to the front hall, the front hall is bright and spacious, a ray of sunlight shines on the plaque of 'to the void and keep quiet' in the hall, a piece of gold. Liu Bang couldn't help but be excited, and said impassionedly in the hall, "Is this the palace that is about to meet in the court?" Great! My descendants should think of me in this palace to rule the Han family. Liu Bang has these wonderful halls in his heart, opening his arms and intoxicating himself to enjoy the joy brought to him by the empty and solemn hall, Liu Bang closed his eyes and looked up intoxicated, Xiao He bowed his hand to compliment: "The emperor is the son of the Red Emperor, and he will definitely make my dynasty dominate the world for thousands of years." Empress Lu was pleased, and smiled on Liu Bang's shoulder: "God bless the great man, God bless Your Majesty." Your Majesty was ordered by the heavens, beheaded the White Snake Uprising, cut down the tyrannical Qin, destroyed Xiang Yu, obeyed the people's hearts, and had morality, and then called the emperor to dominate the world. ”

Liu Bang smiled unabated, patted Lu on the shoulder, and had already recalled the year in his heart, so he said calmly and deeply to Xiao He, "Old Xiao Tou, I seem to have returned to Pei County back then. I remember that Liu Ji asked the second cousin of Xiahou in Lixiang to borrow two buckets of rice, but he didn't pay him back for three years, he raised his interest hard, and went to my door to block me, and when he saw that I always didn't return, he went into the house and took my basket, and pointed at my wife with a black face and said, 'If Liu Ji doesn't return, I will take your things to pay off the debt the next day', the second cousin is so persecuted, telling Liu Ji how can I repay him. After winning the world, I was busy with state affairs, until now, I still haven't given their two buckets of rice, thinking when I can go back to Pei County, and personally hand it over to him, I know that he has been scolding behind his back, always saying that when you become a monarch, you can not return our two buckets of rice? Liu Bang's things flashed in his mind, talking about the second cousin of the Xiahou family, remembering that he always chased after him to urge the two buckets of rice, Liu Bang laughed, and Lu Hou also laughed when he remembered the interesting things of the year, "Then Uncle Xiahou took advantage of your absence to take away our family's bacon." When Liu Bang was stunned, he burst into laughter again. Speaking of all the things in Pei County, Xiao He also recalled them back then, it was really exciting at that time, Liu Bang made a mistake in the county, and he Xiao He always wanted to protect him Liu Ji a little bit in his own identity and let him avoid difficulties. Afterwards, Liu Ji always said empty words to invite him to the wine shop to eat a meal, when he arrived at the wine shop, after eating and drinking, Liu Bang first pretended to be drunk and lay on the case and snored, or Xiao He paid for himself, but invited him to eat a meal, Xiao He also showed a rare smile when he thought about their interesting things. Liu Bang stroked his back and said, "I remember that when I went to Xianyang to serve in the conscription, it was Xiao He who gave me two more coins, and I remember the kindness of the two coins in my heart. ”

"It's a trivial matter." Xiao He raised his hand and smiled, but he didn't expect Liu Bang to still remember the extra two coins he gave him back then. Liu Bang smiled and spread his hands.