Sima Xiangru Had Plenty of Stories

"It was because I stabilized your rear that Zhou Yafu was able to quell the rebellion of the King of Wu and his followers. You clearly said that day... you clearly said..."

No one would dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to the Han Dynasty if they did not consider it their own country.

King Liang was no exception.

Everyone has the right to live a good life, and since he was doing well, he didn't need to be at the forefront when Emperor Jing encountered great trouble.

With the past vividly before his eyes, King Liang had a different feeling when he sobered up and recalled it again.

As a vassal king, the King of Liang could not claim that his words were law and that they would always come true. Believing an emperor's promise was a game of strategy.

In this game, he undoubtedly lost completely.

Emperor Jing set up a trap.

This scheme not only deceived the Emperor, but also the Empress Dowager, and even more so, the Prince of Liang.

This arrangement prevented the Emperor from recklessly invading the Han Dynasty, giving the Han Dynasty time to breathe and for succession.

This situation continuously weakened the Empress Dowager's control over the court, and even extinguished her hopes for further reforms to the current court system.

This situation also meant that the physically healthy Prince Liang was on the verge of death.

But it wasn't like that at first; initially, it was just Emperor Jing who suffered a severe blow.

It was clearly agreed beforehand that Emperor Jing was seriously injured and his lifespan was short, and that the Prince of Liang should then inherit the Han Dynasty.

But things took a turn that night.

"My elder brother clearly said that Liu Che would continue to be the crown prince, and that I would pass the throne to him when I got old, by which time Liu Che would have grown up and be capable of shouldering great responsibilities!"

"If the throne isn't mine, why would I shorten my lifespan just to prolong it? Am I stupid?"

The Prince of Liang eagerly awaited Emperor Jing's death to inherit the throne, but Emperor Jing stubbornly clung to his body and did not die.

The situation has reached a stalemate.

Emperor Jing could still endure it, but the Prince of Liang could not.

If he cannot inherit the throne and continue the dynasty's fortune, all his plans, his lifespan, and his cultivation will be in vain.

However, Emperor Jing promised that he could only inherit the Han Dynasty after Emperor Jing's death.

Why can you stay up so long?

King Liang stared blankly at the main hall of the Liang Palace.

The main hall of the Liangwang Palace was undoubtedly extremely luxurious, but it was merely a facade and lacked the essence of the Weiyang Palace in inheriting the dynasty's fortune.

This is not the hall where he wanted to lie down.

"Brother, why aren't you dead yet?"

King Liang murmured.

Emperor Jing loved him, but this was the first time the Prince of Liang had expressed his resentment.

His life depended on the Han Dynasty; he could have extended his own life if Emperor Jing had lived a little less.

But Emperor Jing preferred to make his five sons kings rather than die a few days earlier.

Emperor Jing loved him very much, but Emperor Jing loved himself even more.

In Emperor Jing's mind, he was far inferior to even Crown Prince Liu Che.

My brother doesn't really love me!

King Liang murmured.

He has come to understand all the things that happened in the past.

He sat on the golden throne, his mind seemingly much clearer.

I want to go to Fengxize!

He shook his head, then began to give orders.

Everyone agreed in unison. After pondering for a few seconds, King Liang pointed at Zhang Xuezhou.

"You will go with me," said King Liang.

"But I've been traveling for days, I..."

"Guards, bestow upon them a cloud-borne palanquin!"

King Liang waved his hand, indicating that this was not a problem.

"The cloud sedan chair is the most exquisite flying Law Treasure in our Liang Prince's Mansion; it is a gift from His Majesty!"

The attendant explained in a low voice, but also warned in a low voice, indicating that Zhang Xuezhou should do less things that would displease the King of Liang before his death.

He pointed to his neck at Zhang Xuezhou.

This made Zhang Xuezhou blink, feeling as if he had just escaped one tiger's den only to fall into another.

He had met many people who were about to die, all of whom were high-ranking officials with great power and influence, but none of them were normal before they died.

For example, there's the emperor who readily launches wars, Wang Jiangtao who can't bear death, and Song Xianzong who goes mad.

The King of Liang before us was clearly one of them.

As they get closer to death, in their eyes, every life is just a number.

Simply put, the Prince of Liang is currently prone to losing his temper, and Zhang Xuezhou cannot afford to provoke him.

When a sedan chair appeared in the palace, Zhang Xuezhou followed the example of the Prince of Liang and lay down.

Tell me something pleasant!

Zhang Xuezhou felt as if the sedan chair bearers below lifted him up, and he began to feel as if he were floating.

When a cloud of mist appeared on the sedan chair, the sedan chair was already flying low in the air.

Although the leaping height is only two or three meters, this is an extremely rare leaping Law Treasure by Zhang Xuezhou.

This Law Treasure wasn't just being flown by one person; it also involved four spellcasters controlling the artifact while carrying the palanquin.

Although the flight speed wasn't fast, it was smooth and comfortable.

As the sedan chair left the main hall and sped off in one direction, the neighing of spirited horses echoed from behind, and a small elite force of over a hundred men quickly assembled and followed.

King Liang didn't even glance back.

He spoke softly to Zhang Xuezhou, which made Zhang Xuezhou force a smile.

He's had nothing good happen to him lately, just a string of bad luck.

If the King of Liang wanted to hear something unfortunate, he could complain to the King of Liang for half an hour.

But it must be said that if there really isn't one, Zhang Xuezhou will have to make one up.

"When I was riding my horse, I saw a family where a calf was born..."

"Don't mention cows, I don't like cows!"

King Liang muttered something, and his eyes rolled back slightly.

"Some time ago, someone presented Your Majesty with a strange ox. The ox had four legs on the ground and four legs pointing to the sky. Your Majesty felt uneasy about it, and the next day you felt dizzy and vomited for a long time. From then on, you couldn't bear to hear of oxen!"

The attendant beside the King of Liang rode alongside, his lips moving as he continuously explained the relevant details.

"Just think of yourself as a jester and say something funny for the king," the attendant advised.

"A woman asked Sima Xiangru what kind of woman he liked," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Sima Xiangru it had to be someone he clicked with."

"What Sima Xiangru happy?"

Upon hearing Niu's displeasure, King Liang immediately perked up, his interest piqued slightly.

Regardless of whether Zhang Xuezhou was talking about his own happy events or others' happy events, as long as it made him happy, King Liang thought that was enough.

"The woman asked several times, Sima Xiangru insisted that he only liked those with whom he shared a compatible personality," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"And then?" King Liang asked.

"The woman was very heartbroken," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Did she and Sima Xiangru not get along?" King Liang asked curiously.

"No, she felt her head was flat and unworthy of Sima Xiangru," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Flat head?"

King Liang was speechless.

"It seems she needs to read more books!"

Zhang Xuezhou told a story that, while not exactly something to be overly happy about, certainly made him quite pleased.

Unlike typical actors who need to perform through deliberately provocative actions, Zhang Xuezhou achieved the same effect using only his words.

"Say one more," said King Liang.

"Then let me tell you about Sima Xiangru a horse..."

Seeing that the King of Liang was interested, Zhang Xuezhou then used a substitution method, telling a joke about Zhuo Wenjun chasing Sima Xiangru and shouting, "Are you happy?"

Through language differences and comprehension skills, this little joke made King Liang laugh very well.

But gradually, as they got closer to Fengxize, the smile on King Liang's face disappeared, and he even began to turn pale.

"My brother used such ambiguous words to fob me off, making me interpret it as something else entirely!"

Whether it's 'get along well', 'flat-headed', 'rein in your horse', or 'are you happy?', Emperor Jing's words are not much different from this kind of expression.

Emperor Jing meant one thing, but through language, they understood it to mean something else entirely.

This led to differences in understanding and ultimately caused the tragedy of King Liang.