Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue, entered Liu Bang's eyes at this time, this strong opponent in the south gave Liu Bang a lot of pressure, and it was indeed that there was no way to take care of the south at the beginning, and he was bent on destroying Xiang Yu and quelling the rebellion in the country, and there was no possibility of dividing the army. In the evening, Liu Bang was worried about his old father, the emperor, so he simply put his troubles aside, and took a few eunuch palace people around him to Liyang Palace without even eating dinner. When the emperor entered the door, Empress Lu saw that he was tired, and hurriedly helped him sit down, knowing that the emperor was worried about the problem of South Vietnam, and Empress Lu had no choice but to pat him lightly on the shoulder, telling him to be careful of his body, and the rest of the things should be done by the ministers. Liu Bang rubbed his temples with both hands, 'Whew-' let out a long breath, yawned and nodded to Empress Lu. Seeing that Bo Ji and Liu Heng were not there, he asked Empress Lu where they went, and Empress Lu said that she would let Bo Ji and them go back to Jinhua Palace first, because Liu Heng was only five years old, and he was still staying here, so it was better to go back. Liu Bang got up and came to the emperor's couch with an 'um' sound, and the old father had fallen asleep quietly. Liu Bang dragged the quilt to the Emperor Taishang, nested the corners of the quilt, and asked Empress Lu about his father's situation, Empress Lu said that since he left, Imperial Physician Song acupuncture for Emperor Taishang, through the meridians and active meridians, the palace people boiled the medicine prescribed by Imperial Physician Qin and fed it to the Emperor Taishang to drink, and the condition was under control, and there was no danger.

The hall was quiet for a while, and there were only a few candles dancing in the dark room, and the figures were swaying up and down, left and right. The palace eunuchs were really sleepy, so they stood with their heads down and took a nap, and when they heard the slightest movement, they opened their eyes and looked around, and found that there was still only the emperor and queen, so they bowed their heads and stood staggeringly again.

Liu Bang looked out of the hall at a glance, it was really dark, except for the two palace lights in front of the hall. Liu Bang yawned again, tears appeared in the corners of his eyes, and he felt very sleepy and entered the inner hall, and saw the prince lying on several cases and sleeping soundly at a glance. Empress Lu followed the emperor in, and saw Liu Bang standing in the same place to see the prince, Empress Lu smiled and said that he had asked the prince to go back to sleep, and the prince said that he would take care of the emperor's grandfather, but he refused to go back. The prince had just been caught in the water recently, and his body was very fragile, and he had been coughing for several days, which made Empress Lu very worried. The prince refused to go back, and Empress Lu had to let him rest in the inner hall, but he didn't go to lie on the couch, but leaned on his hands on a few cases. Seeing his son love his grandfather so much, Liu Bang felt at this time. Standing behind the prince with his tired body in tow, he stretched out his hand to touch his head, but for fear of waking him, he retracted his hand again, and untied the robe he was wearing and gently draped it over the prince. When Empress Lu saw that he was like a father caring for his son at this time, there was a small wave in his heart, and he was very moved by this picture. Unexpectedly, this father's loving behavior for his son woke up the sleeping prince, straightened up and rubbed his sleepy eyes, saw that it was his father, and wanted to get up, Liu Bang held his shoulders and told him to go to sleep on the couch. The prince sneezed and dragged the clothes on his body, only to find that it was his father's robe, and he was shocked by his father's care, his phoenix eyes did not turn at all, and he looked at his father gratefully, and said for a long time, "Thank you, father." Liu Bang was embarrassed by the prince's words, smiled stiffly, patted the prince's arm, and told him to go to sleep on the couch.

Coming out of the inner hall, Liu Bang and Empress Lu did not go to rest separately, and both of them sat down next to the mat not far from the Taishang Emperor's bed. The hall was quiet, looking at these palace people standing staggeringly, it was really an eyesore, Liu Bang simply waved his hand and told them all to go down, and only Empress Lu and Liu Bang were left in the hall. Liu Bang held his cheek in his right hand and frowned in thought, and sat without saying a word. Empress Lu knelt on the mat, sometimes taking a sip of tea on a few cases to pass the time, and to pass the moment of quiet embarrassment. After a moment, the temple was still very quiet. Lu Hou let out a long breath when he was bored, and when he saw Liu Bang yawning several times, he said, "Your Majesty, it's late, you should go back to rest, there will be more things in the morning tomorrow, Your Majesty should pay attention to your body, there are concubines here to watch." ”

Liu Bang looked at Empress Lu, and said to Empress Lu with drooping eyes, "It is you who should go back to sleep, guarding the Emperor Taishang all day long, without complaint as before, diligent, everything you have done for me and the family, I have seen it in my eyes and remembered it in my heart." Empress Lu smiled indifferently, got up and sat down beside Liu Bang, and put her hand on his arm. Liu Bang was moved, looked at his wife beside him, she was indeed much older, no longer ice muscle and jade skin, but more mature and stable, stretched out his hand and wrapped her into his arms and hugged her. Lu Hou leaned on Liu Bang's chest and was quietly intoxicated, quietly enjoying the tranquility of the moment, quietly leaning on her husband's chest and looking out of the dark hall, a gust of wind blew, causing the palace lamps in front of the hall to shake around. Empress Lu could hear the emperor's chest beating one after another, and she could hear the long and short exhalation of nasal breath, and she could feel the emperor's worries at this time. Liu Bang surrounded Lu Hou and sat quietly.

After a while, Empress Lu asked, "Is Your Majesty thinking about the fact that Zhao Tuo, the king of Nanyue, led his troops to attack Changsha County?" ”

Liu Bang said 'um', "It is necessary to subdue the heart of the king of Nanyue, and the reason why he did not divide troops to conquer Nanyue in the past was because he went all out to kill Xiang Ji, but today Zhao Tuo has become a border trouble of the Han Dynasty." Chen Ping and Xiao He said that they wanted to befriend South Vietnam, and now that the south is strong and the north is strong, they have no choice but to do so. ”

Empress Lu raised his head and said to Liu Bang, "What Chen Ping and Prime Minister said is reasonable, Zhao Tuo must be a capable general, otherwise how could he annex Xiang County, Guilin County, and Nanhai County to unify South Vietnam." Nanyue also has a natural barrier, the capital Panyu bears the mountain risk, blocking the South China Sea, Zhao Tuo established the Nanyue country after the seal of the five mountains and four passes, the east and west are respectively in Minyue, Yelang and Changsha junction, both politically and militarily can not be underestimated, I heard that he implemented the policy of 'and Ji Baiyue', subdued a lot of barbarian small countries, it is enough to see that this person is not idle. Your Majesty can ask the Changsha State to send envoys to have a good talk with Zhao Tuo, and send some iron silk, pottery and musical instruments, rice wine and some good Han culture from the Central Plains to South Vietnam, so as to make good friends with South Vietnam than a military attack. If it fails, he can secretly provoke the king of Ouyue and Minyue to exert political and military pressure on South Vietnam, so that Zhao Tuo will have no energy to fight against the Central Plains border. ”

Liu Bang has always known that Empress Lu is smart, and when he saw her say this, he knew that Empress Lu's plan coincided with Chen Ping's ideas, so he was not surprised, but nodded happily and accepted, "With you, I know that I must be worry-free." And tomorrow send an envoy to Changsha and South Vietnam to mediate relations between the two countries. ”

Empress Lu smiled. At this time, there was another thing floating in her heart, she didn't know the emperor's intentions, so she didn't dare to say it casually, and after hesitating for a while, she took advantage of Liu Bang's happiness and said cautiously, "Meng Yao's matter, I hope Your Majesty understands, the concubine can't condone Meng Yao to the concubines, the concubine checked her, it is indeed a person from Han Xin's mansion, and the pregnancy is unknown, and the concubine has to be cautious." ”

Liu Bang was stunned, and listened to Lu Hou's tone, it seemed that she knew that she was watching outside the courtyard at that time, but she connived at Mrs. Guan to force Meng Yao and the child to death. Anyway, if it wasn't for the fact that he wanted to save face and refused to bear the name of an adulterer, how could Meng Yao die? Speaking of which, I mainly blame myself. Liu Bang lost his face and said indifferently, "The deceased is gone." After pondering for a long time, he said silently, "It's all over." ”

Empress Lu was worried in her heart, and it was difficult to accept Liu Bang's words. Just as the Emperor Taishang woke up dimly, and asked for water in his mouth, Empress Lu got up and poured water for the Emperor Taishang to drink.