The mountain has trees, and the trees have seventy-four branches, welcoming relatives.

  Seven days later, Zhao Wang's chariots and horses arrived at Zhan.

  Under the light-handed management of Emperor Gao and Emperor Hui, father and son for two generations, although the national strength of the Han Dynasty was not yet prosperous, it became more and more affluent day by day. As an important gateway to enter and exit Chang'an, the capital of the Han Dynasty, Baoxie also gradually showed a scene of prosperity.

  A man in a green robe drove his horse forward and asked outside the carriage, "Is this the chariot of King Zhao?"

  "Yes." The man replied, "I don't know who you are----"

  The chubby servant smiled with a pair of small eyes, looked up and said, "Your Highness King Zhao, I was ordered by your brother to come and welcome you."

  "What's going on? What's going on?" Behind the carriage, Wei Chang got off and walked over, asking impatiently, "Your Highness Zhao Wang, it's not that I'm saying this, but we're almost at the entrance of Chang'an City. Even if you have some old friends or acquaintances to meet, can't you wait until after we've entered the palace, seen the Empress Dowager and His Majesty, and I've handed over my duties? Then you can go and meet them, all right?"

  The servant's smile hesitated for a moment, and he turned his head to size up Wei Chang.

  "Older brother?" Ruyi lifted the carriage curtain and asked in confusion, "Which older brother of mine?"

  He looked around and saw a dark-colored palace carriage parked quietly on one side of the bridge, with no flags inserted, apparently the owner did not want to reveal his identity. The carriage was spacious, all made of copper, with intricate patterns. Under the carriage were more than ten attendants, whose faces were not outstanding, but their demeanor was steady and calm, they were not ordinary people. Among them, a black-clad eunuch, he recognized him, named Chang Yu, who had always followed Liu Ying when he was still the crown prince.

  "Imperial brother." Ruyi involuntarily called out. "Your Highness, Zhao Wang," the servant was startled by him and hastily said, "You mustn't make a sound, our master doesn't want to disturb the common people, it's not a grand procession. You can just quietly pass by."

  Ru Yi nodded slightly with a hint of force, suppressing the faint tears in her eyes, jumped down from the carriage and ran towards the palace car.

  The eunuch slightly bowed. He opened the curtain of the carriage for him, "Hey," Liu Ying slightly poked his head out and saw his appearance, he was startled first, "Look at your appearance." He smiled, "If I didn't know better, I would have thought someone had bullied you."

  Ru Yi didn't say a word, staring at his brother with eager eyes, wanting to get close but hesitating. The brothers had been very close since childhood, often going out of the palace together to play when they were young. However, even the closest fraternal bond couldn't compare to the interests and benefits at stake. Since Emperor Gao first brought up the matter of changing the heir in court, they gradually drifted apart reluctantly.

  Later, he was ordered by his father to leave the capital and go to Handan in Zhao as a king. Although Handan is good, it is his alien land, Zhou Xiangguo is loyal, but old, and has some throat problems, can't get close to him, so when alone, he misses Chang'an, misses his father emperor, misses his mother empress, misses the brothers who were once together in harmony.

  Actually, he was thinking of his loved ones.

  Then he returned to Chang'an, and the first relative he met was his imperial brother.

  "What's going on?" Liu Ying's face gradually sank, and he said in a low voice, "Isn't it true that someone dares to bully you?" Zhao Wang Ruyi slightly curled her lip and complained, "Why not? The Han envoy you sent always doesn't get along with me. When I want to stop, he insists on going. When I want to go, he insists on stopping. He's been rushing along the way, as if being a day late in arriving at Chang'an would be a capital offense."

  Wei Chang shouted out "Emperor Brother" from the direction of King Zhao. His legs were shaking non-stop as he waited for a while. Then, several palace attendants came over from the Emperor's side, their faces stern, and asked, "Which one is Wei Chang?" They took him over, and he knelt down trembling. From the front of the imperial carriage, the Emperor's cold and angry voice rang out, "So you're Wei Chang? King Zhao is my brother, how dare you make things difficult for him along the way?"

  Wei Chang bowed his head repeatedly, not daring to look at Liu Ying's iron-green face, and stammered, "I guessed the meaning of Her Majesty, hoping that King Zhao would enter the capital soon, so as to reunite with family ties."

  He really couldn't have imagined that the new emperor in Weiyang Palace would be such a person. Zhao Wang Liu Ruyi had a grudge against him for seizing the throne, but not only did he not hold it against him, he even came to greet him personally at the riverbank, with an affectionate expression, completely unlike pretending.

  There is no need to pretend, he is already the new emperor, and King Zhao is a vassal king. The positions of ruler and subject are already established. Empress Lü is a heroic woman who helped him ascend to the throne. The various regional kings and marquises are lying in wait, even if they have dissatisfaction in their hearts, they will not show it on their faces.

  "A joke." Liu Ying's face turned red with rage, and he scolded, "Even if the Empress Dowager wants to summon King Zhao back to the capital, she wouldn't let you humiliate King Zhao. How can I tolerate you splashing dirty water on the Empress Dowager?" He turned around and ordered, "Take him to the Ministry of Justice, hand him over to Wang Tan for handling. Prosecute him under the crime of disrespecting the imperial family."

  Wei Chang's body shook, and he immediately collapsed to the ground. The imperial prison was different from ordinary prisons, it was a place where the emperor personally handed down sentences, without regard for guilt or evidence, everything was based on the emperor's will. During the previous emperor's reign, the case of Zhao Wang Zhang Yi's rebellion was also an imperial prison sentence. Since Qin times, the imperial prison had always been notorious for its cruelty, people who entered usually never came out, and those like Zhao Wang Zhang Yi, who only had their royal title stripped away, were already extremely fortunate.

  With a final glance, he saw Zhao Wang standing behind His Majesty, next to the Emperor's brother. He finally looked a bit more relaxed, glared at himself for a moment, his eyebrows flying high, with a hint of childish pride.

  The estrangement between Emperor Hui and King Zhao of Zhao, caused by the distance in time and space, also gradually dissipated in this small episode.

  The nobleman let out a sigh, and the carriage sped across the Ba Bridge, heading towards the Xuanping City Gate. Inside the carriage, 18-year-old Emperor Hui wore dark attire, no longer bearing the elegant and refined demeanor of his days as the crown prince, but instead exuding a subtle imperial aura.

  "Third brother, how have you been in Handan all these years?" Liu Ying asked aloud as the carriage wheels rumbled over the bluestone road. She casually cut open some melons and fruits in the carriage and handed half to Ruyi.

  "It's still the same, but somehow I miss Chang'an." Ruyi lifted the curtain of the carriage and gazed at the familiar yet somewhat different scenery of Chang'an. "Huh, the city wall has been built up here?"

  "Hmm." Liu Ying also looked out of the carriage, and on both sides of Xuanping Gate was a wide stretch of the eastern city wall, with fresh earth color. "It was just this spring that the people were mobilized to repair it. Only this section has been repaired, if you come back to Chang'an in a few more years, the city walls of Chang'an will be fully built."

  Ru Yi was taken aback for a moment and put down the curtain of the carriage.

  "Can I still come at that time?" He smiled weakly and asked Liu Ying, "How is my mother now?"

  "This..." Liu Ying hesitated.

  "Imperial brother," Ruyi looked him straight in the eye, stubbornly saying, "Ruyi has always been grateful for your protection. Imperial brother, you have never deceived Ruyi before, please tell Ruyi the truth."

  Liu Ying let out a sigh and finally said, "Madam Qi, she is in Yong Xiang."

  "What?" Ruyi exclaimed, her voice trembling as tears the size of beans rolled down her face. Her delicate and beautiful mother, who had never even touched cold water with her fingers, was actually being sent to such a coarse and humiliating place by the Empress Dowager?

  He had always guessed that after the Emperor's death, his mother would not be treated well by Empress Lü in Chang'an, but he never thought that Empress Lü would go to such extremes, sending the Emperor's most beloved concubine to a place where only palace maids who had committed wrongdoings would be sent.

  "Is the Empress Dowager really going to leave no way out for us mother and son?" Yu Yi exclaimed in anger.

  "As you wish." Liu Ying's voice was cold and stern, "I won't let you speak of my mother in such a manner."

  A mother may not be perfect everywhere, but for those who are someone's child, once their own mother is attacked and hurt, the first reaction is instinctively to defend.

  "Isn't this the truth?" Ruyi refused to back down, "If Imperial Brother didn't know it was true, why would he go to such great lengths to come and meet me in person?"

  Because he also knew that if he didn't stick close by to protect him and let the King of Zhao meet with Empress Lü alone, it was likely that he wouldn't come out alive.

  "You always blame the Empress Dowager, have you ever thought that Madame Qi herself is not entirely innocent? If she hadn't been causing trouble in the palace every day, I would naturally advise her to release Madame Qi. Insulting the current Empress Dowager," Liu Ying said coldly, "she really has a big temper and courage. Even someone with my temperament would feel angry after hearing this, let alone the Empress Dowager?"

  Two people stood in opposition like fighting cocks, but after a while, they both softened their tone. "Ruyi," Liu Ying said with a hint of fatigue on his brow, "don't worry. Since you've returned to Chang'an, I will naturally do my best to keep you safe. But if you see Empress Dowager Qi, try to persuade her to show some respect to the empress dowager. After all, Father Emperor is already gone... Otherwise," he said sternly. "Why should I go and rescue someone who insulted my mother?"

  Yu Yi was taken aback for a moment, and the carriage moved forward with a slight jolt. The curtains fluttered in, and the sunlight that came in also flickered on his face. After a long while, he replied softly, "Yes."

  Outside the carriage, everyone was walking with reverence, not even daring to make a sound. After a long time, they heard that it had become quiet inside the carriage, and only then did they let out a breath. Zhang Yu bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, we have arrived at the Armory. Are you going to Changle Palace or returning to Weiyang Palace?"

  "Zhaowang is tired from the long journey, let's first return to Weiyang Palace and rest for a night, we can go pay our respects to the empress dowager tomorrow." A faint voice came from within the carriage.

  "Yes." Chang Quan replied.

  "Imperial brother," Ru Yi pulled on his sleeve and whispered, "The Empress Dowager said that if I return to Chang'an, I must immediately go to pay my respects to her. She wants to host a banquet for me at the Changle Palace."

  He said, his eyelashes flickering slightly, revealing a hint of unease.

  After all, he was still a child, and now he had returned to Chang'an City, where he had already formed a life-and-death bond with the place closest to the palace. He finally began to feel some trepidation.

  "Is it?" Liu Ying hesitated for a moment and ordered outside the carriage, "Head to Changle Palace."

  Cen Cheng nodded slightly and replied, "Yes." Then the charioteer let out a shout, reined in the horses, and drove off to one side.

  "As you wish." Liu Ying grasped his brother's hand and comforted him with a smile, "Since Mother Empress has such a beautiful intention, you shouldn't decline. I'll accompany you there myself."

  The Changle Palace gate was lit up one by one with candles, and the night slowly enveloped.

  After the death of Emperor Gao, Emperor Hui moved to Weiyang Palace, and Changle Palace became the world of Empress Lü. With the new emperor on the throne, the reason for moving to the west of the palace was that the main hall of the imperial harem was not suitable for herself who was no longer an empress, so she moved to Changxin Hall.

  Today, the Changxin Huacai is full of joy, like a cloud of palace ladies holding food plates and wine dishes entering in an endless stream. In the next hall, the thick-armed candles are bright, and Empress Lü is hosting a family banquet to entertain Zhao Wang, who has rushed back to Chang'an to pay respects to the new emperor after traveling through the wind and dust.

  When Liu Ying, dressed in the heavy attire of the Son of Heaven, entered the palace with Zhao Wang Ruyi, Empress Lü's expression changed slightly as she forced a warm smile and said, "Your Majesty is busy with government affairs every day, how do you have time to come to Chang Le Palace to see me?"

  "Even if I'm busy, it won't delay the time to pay respects to Mother Empress." Liu Ying naturally said with a smile, leading Ruyi to her seat. "Just in time, Ruyi returned to Chang'an today, and my brothers haven't seen each other for a long time. I heard that Mother Empress is hosting a banquet for him, so I'll come over to join the fun."

  He raised the cup that had been poured on the table and said, "My son wishes his mother good health." He touched his lips to the rim of the cup as if to drink.