I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 197 Father, do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you
In Liu Ju's opinion, Han Shuo's death was unjust, but it was not unjust either.

In the Witchcraft and Poisoning Incident, Jiang Chong was the undisputed culprit, while Han Shuo, Huangmen Shilang Su Wen, and Yushi Zhang Gan were assistants sent by Emperor Wu of Han to assist Jiang Chong in investigating the case.

Later, Jiang Chong teamed up with a Hu wizard to frame Liu Ju using a paulownia wood doll.

At that time, Emperor Wu of Han was recuperating in Ganquan Palace and was cut off from information. Liu Ju was unable to prove his innocence, so out of fear he sent his guests to disguise themselves as the emperor's messengers to arrest Jiang Chong.

Han Shuo realized that the envoy and the imperial edict were fake, and he refused to obey the order.

Liu Ju's guests had no choice but to follow the example of Zhu Hai, who stole the talisman to save Zhao, and killed him on the spot...

This period of history does not reveal whether Han Shuo was directly involved in the planning of the Witchcraft Disaster, but Liu Ju felt that it was highly unlikely that he was.

After all, he was an old subordinate of Wei Qing. Even if Wei Qing was no longer around at that time, they still had a friendship.

Besides, this matter itself has nothing to do with his interests.

At least on the surface, he could only be regarded as an assistant organizer appointed by Emperor Liu Che. Whether he was willing or not, he was forced to be involved.

There was actually some reason why he refused to obey the imperial edict.

Since he saw that the envoy and the imperial edict were both fake, he naturally knew that once he accepted the imperial edict, he would not be able to explain to Emperor Liu Che afterwards, and that he would most likely be sentenced to death.

Therefore, as long as Han Shuo is still a normal person, he will definitely not easily wade into this muddy water.

He was really in a difficult position being caught in the middle, so it was understandable that he made such a choice.

It was for this reason that Liu Ju felt that Han Shuo’s death was unjust.

But then again, since he was involved in the witchcraft scandal, whether he was a co-organizer or not, whether he was directly involved or not, his death was inevitable.

Su Wen and Zhang Gan, who also assisted in the event at the time, did not die at the hands of Liu Ju.

The results of it?
Not long after, Zhang Gan was executed and his entire family was exterminated by Emperor Wu of Han.

Su Wen was even burned to death on a horizontal bridge by Liu Che in the same way that Liu Ju had dealt with the Hu wizard.

In short, all those involved in the Witchcraft and Poisoning Incident did not have a good end. If Han Shuo had not died at the hands of Liu Ju, he would certainly not have escaped Liu Che's reckoning, and might even have been exterminated along with his entire family like Zhang Gan.

Therefore, Liu Ju said that Han Shuo’s death was not unjust.

His fate was already sealed the moment he assisted in the witchcraft scandal.

Han even said that he might have to thank him.

It was precisely because he died early and escaped the disaster of clan extermination that Han Shuo's second son Han Zeng survived and even inherited Han Shuo's title of marquis.

Only in this way did Han Zeng have the opportunity to be promoted to General during the reign of Emperor Zhao of Han, and even to Grand Marshal during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han. He became a famous general who led his army to attack the Huns and was listed among the eleven meritorious officials in the Kirin Pavilion.

With these in mind.

Liu Ju was not too opposed to this marriage. At least Han Shuo would not be his future enemy. His son Han Zeng might even be a great help to him in the future...

But there is another issue that Liu Ju is most concerned about:
"Father, I wonder what Han Shuo's daughter looks like?"

Liu Ju was a man with aspirations, and now that he was the crown prince, he naturally had some requirements for his women. The most important one was that they had to be beautiful. He couldn't just marry any woman into the crown prince's mansion, right?
Even if the Han Dynasty practiced monogamy and polygamy, he could choose not to touch her in the future, not make her the Crown Princess, and could marry more women.

But Liu Ju still insisted on the principle of preferring to have nothing rather than to have something of poor quality.

Otherwise, not only would I feel uncomfortable, but I would also hurt the girl...

After all, Liu Ju was not Zhou Shuren. He was not that cruel, but he also did not want to put himself in a difficult position.

"I have never seen her, but I heard that she is a lady of noble family with both excellent moral character and artistic talent, and extraordinary temperament..."

Liu Che frowned slightly when he heard this.

"Father, I am asking about your appearance."

When Liu Ju heard this, he felt that there was a big problem.

Isn’t this what people have been saying all along?

If a woman is not pretty, praise her for her temperament. If she does not even have temperament, praise her for being cute. If she is not cute, praise her for being gentle. If she is not gentle, praise her for being kind.

"Virtue and art" and "extraordinary temperament", these two words obviously have nothing to do with beauty.

Therefore, according to the theory of later generations, it can also be understood that the girl is not beautiful.

"What's the use of beauty? You are the crown prince, and you will need women with outstanding looks in the future. The most important thing to you right now is what this woman can bring to you and whether she can successfully give birth to a child for you!" Liu Che's words were straightforward enough, and it was no exaggeration to say that he was speaking from the heart.

He has already experienced this deeply.

The fact that he was able to become the crown prince was closely related to marrying Chen Ajiao.

However, it was precisely because Chen Ajiao was infertile that he did not have a son, Liu Ju, until he was 29 years old, and he finally managed to stabilize the court...

But never underestimate the role of offspring.

It should be noted that because he had no offspring, many court officials and Liu clan princes were ready to make moves. They contacted each other secretly and prepared to compete for the throne. If they were not careful, the world would be in chaos.

"I understand what you said, but I still beg you not to rush into the marriage proposal. Please allow me to find a chance to see her appearance. If you are satisfied, then decide whether to marry her."

After hearing what Liu Che said, Liu Ju became more certain that Han Shuo's daughter's appearance was not up to standard. He immediately resisted in his heart and spoke ambiguously.

"Rebellious son, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Liu Che immediately glared again and shouted,

"Since I have promoted Confucianism, the Three Bonds have been deeply rooted in people's hearts. Every family's children's marriages are in accordance with the orders of their parents and the words of the matchmaker. How can I allow a rebellious son like you to make decisions on your own?"

Liu Ju naturally knew what Liu Che was talking about.

The Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues was proposed by Old Dong, who is now employed in Bowang Garden. Combined with the Five Constant Virtues proposed in Mencius, it was vigorously promoted by Emperor Liu Che and formed a complete set of social programs called "Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues". It soon became the core logic and legal principle for maintaining the rule of feudal society and lasted for more than two thousand years.

Under the influence of the Three Bonds, the marriage system also underwent tremendous changes.

In this situation, young people's marriages can only be arranged by their parents and matchmakers, and getting married is like opening a blind box.

Before getting married, young men and women don’t even have the chance to meet each other, nor do they have any room for choice. Most of them can only know what the person they are marrying looks like, what his or her personality is like, and whether he or she is worthy of their attention when they enter the bridal chamber and lift the veil.

Moreover, this kind of thing cannot be resisted, and resistance is unfilial.

But Liu Ju, this idiot, didn't care about all that. He only knew that the more he disobeyed Liu Che, the more stable his position as crown prince would be. Naturally, he had to put his own wishes first when doing things.

So Liu Ju smiled, bowed and said:
"I wonder if Father has ever heard the saying, 'Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you.'"

"What do you mean?"

Liu Che's brows were instantly twisted into knots. How could he not hear that this was not a good thing to say?

Liu Ju continued to explain it on his own:
"Please put yourself in my shoes. If my mother had not been born beautiful, would Your Majesty have favored her? And your father's favored sister Li Qing'er, Li Yannian, if your father had not known that she was so beautiful, would you have summoned her into the palace?"

"Please put yourself in your shoes. If the girls you are selecting for the imperial court are all women of the right age picked from the public with their faces covered, and if you look around you see that they all have buck teeth and pockmarks, would you be able to accept that?"

"This is what it means to not do to others what you do not want others to do to you..."

"Bucktoothed pockmarked man... rebellious son, how outrageous you are!"

Liu Che finally couldn't listen any longer, and angrily slapped the armrest of the dragon bed to interrupt him, then stood up and glared at Liu Ju.

"How can I allow you to interfere in the selection of concubines in my palace?"

"Also, Wei Zifu is your queen mother, and Li Qing'er is now your concubine mother. You are bossing your queen mother and concubine mother around, and this is your filial piety?!"

"Father, please forgive me. I was just giving an example. I had no intention of disrespecting my mother or my mother, and I dare not interfere in your affairs..."

Liu Ju said helplessly.

"I don't care. You are my son. I can decide your marriage for you. Whether you are satisfied or not, you have only the obligation to accept it obediently!"

Liu Che interrupted him again, his tone becoming more unquestionable.

"..."

Seeing that he could not convince Liu Che, Liu Ju had to resort to a trick.

"In that case, please depose me, Father."

"Do you really think I can't do it?"

Liu Che instantly became furious, and his violently trembling fingers had already poked Liu Ju's nose.

(End of this chapter)