I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 187 Let’s fight to the death!

Wei Qing left in the morning and Wei Kang was sent over in the afternoon.

"I have met His Highness..."

When he saw Liu Ju, Wei Kang finally put away his lazy look and bowed.

It can be seen that Liu Ju, his cousin the crown prince, still has some weight in his heart.

I just don't know if it's because Liu Ju is the crown prince and will most likely become the emperor in the future, which might affect his plan of lying down and letting things go, or because Wei Qing had warned him before he came that if he didn't stand up after arriving at Bowang Garden, he would really beat him to death.

But Liu Ju immediately winked at him and said with raised eyebrows:
"Cousin, I understand you."

"I don't know...what do you mean by that, Your Highness?"

Wei Kang was stunned when he heard this and looked at Liu Ju in surprise.

"In this life, I can enjoy the rural life and sleep until the meal is ready."

Liu Ju returned this line of poetry that he had just heard from Wei Qing not long ago to Wei Kang, grinning and saying,

"Cousin, don't feel any burden. Uncle is uncle and I am me. I actually admire your attitude towards life and I raise my hands to express my approval and understanding."

"Your Highness, are you joking with me?"

Wei Kang thought he had heard it wrong and asked with some lack of confidence.

Apart from his two snot-nosed younger brothers, no one in this world has ever made such a positive comment about his lying down and playing badly.

Almost everyone around him advised him to stand up and follow the example of his father Wei Qing and his deceased cousin Huo Qubing and accomplish great things, otherwise he would bring disgrace to the family.

It’s not just the elders who are involved.

Even some of his peers were so old-fashioned. Not only did their parents impose heavy family missions on them, but they were also trying their best to persuade him to take the initiative to shoulder the mission and be someone who lived up to the family name.

There is no way around this.

Wei Qing did not keep any retainers and his family education was very strict.

Naturally, he could not associate with people of all backgrounds like Liu Ju did before. Therefore, the peers he could come into contact with on a daily basis were all children of royal nobles and officials, and they were all "other people's children" selected by Wei Qing. This was the education and ideas these people had received since childhood, so they had to pretend to be so.

Every time he was with them, Wei Kang felt out of place and couldn't find any common language with them.

He still couldn't figure it out.

I just feel that there is no point in working hard and I just want to live a peaceful life. What's wrong with that?
He didn't steal, he didn't rob, he didn't violate Han laws, and he obeyed his parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. How come he became an unforgivable rebellious son in everyone's eyes?

"Does my cousin look at me like I'm joking?"

Liu Ju still smiled.

"To be honest, I envy you. If I were not the prince, I would probably stretch my body like you, lie down and truly enjoy life. We are actually the same kind of people."

"So I support you unconditionally."

"Since you are in Bowang Garden, don't consider yourself an outsider. I have arranged accommodation for you. If you have any needs, just tell Ji Zhanshi."

"As for your uncle, you don't have to worry about it."

"Although I can't persuade him to change his mind, I will definitely cover for you. Just treat this place as a safe haven to escape pressure. We are all family, so don't feel any burden."

"..."

Liu Ju's sincere words confused Wei Kang, who even suspected that this was a trap set by Wei Qing and Liu Ju.

As long as he dared to respond without distinguishing between good and bad words, Wei Qing's shadow would immediately cover him, and then he would take out the whip and beat him to death on the spot, as if he had never been born as a son.

So Wei Kang turned his head and looked around subconsciously.

Only after he was completely sure that Wei Qing was not hiding in some corner watching all this, did he finally breathe a sigh of relief:

"Your Highness, I still want to confirm again, you are not lying to me, right?"

"What good will it do me to lie to you?"

Liu Ju asked back.

"But my father ordered me to come to Bowang Garden to teach me to be your bodyguard and help you with things."

Wei Kang still felt a little uncertain.

"And I know you've been in some trouble recently. The news has spread all over Chang'an City. You must be in a state of panic right now. Are you sure you don't need me to do anything for you?"

"There's no itching when there are too many lice. I don't care about that little thing at all. Do you think I care about it?"

Liu Ju curled his lips indifferently and said,

"That is, my uncle and my mother are always worried about gains and losses, and they worry too much, so they get anxious and jump up and down over the slightest thing. I think this is completely unnecessary."

"I just believe that things will work out when the time comes. Why make yourself live such a hard life?"

This is the confidence that comes from a hacker. In fact, before he realized the loophole of "time travel blessings", he still believed that "everything depends on human efforts", otherwise there is no point in making such a fuss.

"Yes, yes, yes, cousin, you are absolutely right, that's exactly the truth!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Kang suddenly felt like he had found a confidant. He excitedly grabbed Liu Ju's hand and shook it non-stop.

"I also know that my father and the elders all have good intentions, but they have never thought about the burden that their kindness has brought to me. I don't want to be a noble or a general like him. I just haven't found my life goal yet. When I find it, I will naturally try my best to achieve it. Just like you said, things will work out when the time comes. Why should they force me so hard?"

"In the end, I was forced into a dilemma, and they were so angry that they became ill. What's the point of doing this?" "What a pity, they still don't understand this truth..."

Liu Ju nodded and clenched his fist in encouragement:
"So cousin, don't feel any burden. I understand what they don't understand. I support you in calming down and finding your own life goals, Cai!"

He was not sure whether the so-called "life goal" mentioned by Wei Kang was true or false. Perhaps it was just an excuse to lie down and escape. In any case, he probably did not find it in history.

But it doesn't matter.

Wei Kang was different from Gongsun Jingsheng. Not only was he not his enemy, he had never done anything to implicate him. On the contrary, he was implicated and died in the witchcraft disaster.

Therefore, Liu Ju had no grudge against his cousin.

The main reason he kept Wei Kang in Bowang Garden was to stabilize Wei Qing, to prevent this cheap uncle from getting excited and doing something to break the tacit understanding between him and Liu Che, which would only harm him.

"Cousin..."

Upon hearing this, Wei Kang's eyes misted up and he looked at Liu Ju affectionately. His eyes seemed to contain thousands of words, and he held his hand tighter.

Stop!

Liu Ju felt a chill in his heart and immediately shouted to the outside:
"Ji Ping, take my cousin to settle down first!"

……

The reform of the state-run salt and iron industries is still proceeding in an orderly manner according to the original plan.

Sang Hongyang had already selected officials to replace the salt officials and iron officials. Except for those who had been appointed as Lang officials by Sang Hongyang, there were actually many knowledgeable talents among the remaining Lang officials. It would not take them long to study the "standardized" laws and pass the assessment.

The troops sent by the Supreme Court Justice to various places have also collected evidence and started to arrest people one after another on the charge of "huge amounts of property of unknown origin".

For a time, people in the salt and iron offices across the country were in a panic.

Even the Minister of Agriculture Kong Jin and the Minister of Agriculture Dongguo Xianyang were no longer as confident as before.

"What should we do? The prince has not given in even at this point. Is he planning to lose both of us?"

Dongguo Xianyang paced back and forth in the hall, looking extremely anxious.

"He's just a kid who hasn't even grown all his hair yet. He shouldn't be so courageous..."

Although Kong Jin was much calmer than Dongguo Xianyang, he also lacked confidence in his words.

"Even if he is ignorant and fearless, Wei Qing and Wei Zifu should be afraid. In their hearts, nothing should be more important than his position as the crown prince. They should have dissuaded him from doing this long ago. Why haven't they done anything until now?"

"Don't say these useless things. Just tell me what should we do now?"

Dongguo Xianyang said impatiently.

"Now we have no way out. I'm afraid we have no choice but to fight to the death and bring him down before the prince finds out about us."

Kong Jin's eyes showed a hint of malice and resentment, and he said,

"Fortunately, this 'huge amount of property from unknown sources' and 'standardization' don't just involve us. As the saying goes, if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. Once we make things bigger, other forces will definitely add fuel to the flames in secret. They also don't want such a prince to succeed to the throne."

"When the world knows that the Crown Prince is unworthy of his position and someone openly launches an impeachment, even Your Majesty will not be able to remain silent any longer."

"If your majesty wants to stabilize the political situation, he should choose to make a big deal out of a small matter..."

"I'm afraid that's all it can do."

Dongguo Xianyang finally stopped pacing and sat down with a dejected look on his face.

"I knew I shouldn't have been so greedy..."

"Although the government-run salt and iron business has caused some damage to our interests, we still have meat to eat after all."

"But there are people who are greedy and determined to overthrow the salt and iron government and take food from the tiger's mouth. Now, we have met such a prince who doesn't know how to advance or retreat. Maybe even you and I will be buried with him!"

"What's the point of having so much money if a person dies?"

Kong Jin narrowed his eyes upon hearing this, and there was a hint of threat in his tone:
"Brother Dongguo, it's probably too late to say these things now. You agreed to it at the beginning. Weren't you coerced by those people below?"

……

Two days later.

Another incident suddenly set off a storm in Chang'an:
Empress Wei Zifu had fallen in love with Shi Wanjun, the daughter of a historian from the State of Lu, and asked Princess Pingyang Liu Zhao to go to the house of Crown Prince Liu Ju to propose marriage.

Because an elder in the Shi family passed away and Shi Wanjun was in mourning, she had no choice but to decline the marriage proposal.

Liu Ju held a grudge against Shi Jia because of this. A few months ago, when he was ordered to go to Donglai to wait for the gods, he met Shi Jia again when he passed through Lu State on the way and openly took revenge on him.

finally.

Shi Wanjun drowned.

Shi's eldest mother was forced to death.

The entire family was implicated. The head of the family was crucified, some were beheaded, and most of the rest of the family were demoted into slavery...

Once this incident was exposed, it immediately aroused public outrage in the Han Dynasty, which ruled the country with filial piety.

And the word "filial piety".

It is also the ruling foundation of the Han Dynasty and an absolute legal principle that cannot be shaken. Even Liu Che had to obey it!
(End of this chapter)