I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 203: Liu Ju must not be allowed to succeed to the throne!

So, this rebellious son was so arrogant, but Liu Che not only did not depose him, but also paid so much attention to his marriage and even indulged him to such an extent...

Deep love for one's child?!
These four big words emerged in Wei Zifu's mind!
Apart from these four words, Wei Zifu could not think of any other answer.

She was certain and certain that, apart from Liu Ju, no one in the world had ever received such treatment from Emperor Liu Che, including her.

and so.

This must be because Liu Che had an unusual fondness for this rebellious son and placed great hopes on him, which was why he was so indulgent of his behavior and so concerned about his marriage...

Think of this.

While Wei Zifu felt unprecedented peace in her heart, she suddenly began to feel sorry for Liu Che.

Poor parents in the world.

This man is the Son of Heaven who is high above everyone in front of everyone, the emperor who has the final say, the heroic lord who is decisive in killing, and the awe-inspiring king.

But there is still a soft corner in his heart.

And this unknown corner is left to only one person - this rebellious son who doesn't know when to advance or retreat!

But this rebellious son...

Wei Zifu looked at Liu Ju's nonchalant and even complacent face at the moment, and couldn't help but feel sorry for Liu Che and felt wronged for him, and she felt a little guilty:
"Gentleman, you have been wronged. It is because of my inability to discipline him that I have raised such an ignorant and rebellious child!"

"I am ashamed of your trust. I have failed in my duty as a queen mother. I am not worthy of being the mother of the country..."

"I will try to make up for it now!"

"..."

Facing Wei Zifu's gaze, Liu Ju gradually realized that something was wrong. When he was wondering, he heard Wei Zifu's face turn cold:

"Zi'er, come here."

"Mother..."

Liu Ju subconsciously took a step back. Wei Zifu's current state was very similar to the state his mother in later life was in when she was about to take action, and also very similar to the state Wei Zifu was in when she was punishing her former master when he was a child.

"Mother asked you to come here!"

Wei Zifu's face became even colder. She turned around and took out from somewhere a whisk that the maids used to clean the Pepper Room. Seeing that she couldn't call Liu Ju, she simply walked towards him step by step.

"Mother, I'm already this old, isn't this bad?"

Liu Ju retreated several steps.

"It's only natural for a mother to teach her son a lesson. There's nothing wrong with that!"

Wei Zifu approached step by step.

"Mother, I have something important to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

Liu Ju was quick-witted and turned around and ran quickly out of the Pepper House without looking back.

"You still dare to run, stop for your mother, is this the filial piety that your mother taught you?"

Seeing this, Wei Zifu was unwilling to let him go, and immediately chased after him.

As Liu Ju ran, he turned back and shouted:
"Confucius once said: If you are beaten lightly, you should accept it; if you are beaten hard, you should run away. If I don't run away now and get beaten by you, I will put you in an unjust position. I have no choice but to run away!"

"You are just making a false argument. The whisk is just a small stick. I promise I won't beat you to death!"

"Mother, please stop chasing me. I am the crown prince now after all. It would be a loss of status if someone saw me like that!"

"Then let the world see how a mother disciplines an unfilial son!"

"Eh? Mother, I just noticed that there is a bow hanging on your door. You and my father, didn't you secretly give birth to a younger brother for me?"

"If you had a younger brother, I would beat you to death today!"

"..."

Liu Ju was chased by Wei Zifu all the way from the Jiaofang Palace to the Shiqu Pavilion.

Seeing this situation, the maids and palace servants in the Pepper Room were neither brave enough to intervene nor to ignore it. They could only follow behind Wei Zifu in fear, fearing that Wei Zifu would run too fast and fall and hurt herself.

The guards and warriors who were on guard along the way were also dumbfounded and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Some of these people have been in the palace for many years, but this is the first time they have seen such a scene. Today they have broadened their horizons.

Seeing Liu Ju running further and further away, Wei Zifu, who was getting old and gradually losing strength, finally threw her whisk at Liu Ju and cursed loudly:
"Rebellious son, today doesn't count. Come to the Pepper Room to pay your respects next time!"

"Today I see that your Majesty is in good health. I have not been here to ask how you are these days. Please take care!"

Liu Ju dodged nimbly, and after leaving behind these words, he quickly disappeared among the palaces of Weiyang Palace.

“Huff—chi—huff—chi—”

Wei Zifu panted and looked in the direction where Liu Ju disappeared. After resting for a long time, she turned around and glanced at the group of maids and palace servants behind her, as well as the nearby palace guards and warriors. In an instant, she returned to her usual dignified and noble appearance:
"Return to the palace!"

"promise……"

Everyone bowed quickly and followed carefully behind him.

No one noticed that when Wei Zifu walked to the front, the corners of her mouth immediately raised an imperceptible arc:

"Gentleman, I have already taught this rebellious son a lesson for you. You should have seen it..."

...Grand Minister of Agriculture.

"Mr. Kong, how did this happen?"

Dongguo Xianyang regained his previous frightened look and stared at Kong Jin who also had a frown on his face.

The two of them have already learned the result of the "debate on deposing and enthroning the crown prince". How could they not be panicked?

Especially after learning the news that the group of Confucian scholars and virtuous writers of the Imperial Academy were all thrown into prison, no matter how stupid they were, they could see that Liu Che was supporting Liu Ju this time to vent his anger. At the same time, they also felt Liu Che's support and determination for Liu Ju's current reform of the state-run salt and iron industries.

Anyone or anything that stands in the way of this will be completely crushed.

"Don't think about it any more. Let's stick to the original plan. Once the storm has died down, you and I will apologize to His Majesty and resign as soon as possible."

Kong Jin pondered for a long time, and finally said helplessly.

"I'm afraid this is the only way..."

Dongguo Xianyang nodded and said thankfully,
"Mr. Kong is far-sighted. He drew a clear line with the salt and iron officials from the beginning, and only used a few of his most trusted people who had nothing to do with the salt and iron merchants to organize the communication. Now, none of the people below can clearly say who is behind all this, so naturally they can't blame you and me."

"As for the land and mansion, Lord Kong has long persuaded me to put them in the names of people who seem to have nothing to do with me. Now even if we use the 'huge amount of property from unknown sources' that the crown prince created to investigate, it will only reveal that you and I are honest officials."

"If not, how would you and I have a chance to escape unscathed now?"

Kong Jin glanced at him and said calmly:

"Brother Dongguo, just keep these things to yourself forever and don't mention them again."

"In addition, after resigning and returning to the village, you and I must continue to keep our tails between our legs. We must not live a lavish life, indulge our clansmen, rush to use the money we have hidden, and we must not take back the land and houses we have deposited elsewhere. Otherwise, we may still get into trouble."

"Mr. Kong, you have all that property but you can't do anything. When will this life end?"

Dongguo Xianyang frowned and asked.

"If Liu Ju is not the one who succeeds the throne when Your Majesty dies, you and I may no longer be misers. We may even be able to seize the opportunity to propose the abolition of the state-run salt and iron industry and make a comeback."

Kong Jin shook his head, glanced at Dongguo Xianyang, and said seemingly unintentionally,
"If Liu Ju successfully becomes the new emperor when Your Majesty passes away... You should know that he will definitely push the so-called crime of huge amounts of property of unknown origin to the end, and the policy of state-run salt and iron will definitely continue to be implemented. Moreover, he should not forget you and me so easily, so I'm afraid that such a day will have to wait until the next dynasty..."

"The next day?"

Dongguo Xianyang's old face wrinkled into a chrysanthemum shape again in an instant.

"Mr. Kong, you and I are already this old, and we don't know if we can survive His Majesty. If we have to wait until the next dynasty, we will have already been buried."

"By then, our two families will have already passed two or three generations. How many people will still remember these hidden properties?"

"Even if someone still remembers it, without you and me to manage it, who can guarantee that these unknown properties will still belong to our two families, and ensure that they will be inherited by our descendants and ensure the stability of the family for a hundred years?"

"That's absolutely not possible, Mr. Kong!"

Kong Jin drank a sip of tea, raised his eyes slightly and asked:
"Then what should we do according to your idea?"

"This matter concerns the century-long plan of our two families. Even after resigning, we still cannot slack off. We must continue to look for opportunities and find ways to prevent Liu Ju from succeeding to the throne!"

A gambler's resolute light flashed in Dongguo Xianyang's old eyes.

"What you said does make some sense. How about we do as you say?"

Kong just hesitated.

Dongguo Xianyang immediately bowed and said:
"Mr. Kong is joking. How can I make such a decision? Mr. Kong understands the overall situation better than me and can control the timing. From now on, I will continue to follow Mr. Kong's lead and cooperate with him to the fullest extent!"

"Haha, Brother Dongguo really flatters me."

Kong Jin smiled modestly.
"But since it's a matter between you and me, Kong will do his best. How dare I refuse?"

……

Bowang Garden.

Upon learning the result of the court meeting and seeing Liu Ju return safe and sound, all the officials were overjoyed.

There was no time to celebrate the result.

Then another person came almost at the same time as Liu Ju, bringing a group of people with him.

The visitor was none other than the old acquaintance of Liu Ju, who had been sent by Emperor Wu of Han to assist him - the Chief Justice Shi Duzhou.

Du Zhouyi was accompanied by a high-ranking official.

Fan Yuan, the Jingzhao Yin, who is not one of the Nine Ministers but is better than one of them.

However, surprisingly, Fan Yuan was wearing shackles at the moment, and his body was covered with fresh scars, obviously he had just been tortured.

"This is……"

Liu Ju was naturally a little confused.

He had just seen this man in Xuanshi Hall a few hours ago.

At that time, he appeared as one of the witnesses in a murder case. He had no scars on his body, and he was not wearing shackles.

"Your Highness, it was His Majesty who ordered this man to be sent here."

Du Zhou bowed and said,
"This man bribed Xiao Huangmen Wang Bi with a large sum of money a few days ago and instigated him to frame Your Highness. Your Majesty suspects that he is trying to obstruct the reform of the salt and iron government."

(End of this chapter)