I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 204 Wei Kang: Your Highness, I understand!
"Trying to obstruct the reform of the state-run salt and iron industry?"

Liu Ju looked up and down at Fan Yuan, who was covered in scars and shackles.

There is no record of this person in history books, but Liu Ju had some impression of Wang Bi, the eunuch mentioned by Du Zhou.

He, the Yellow Gate Assistant Minister Su Wen, the Little Yellow Gate Chang Rong and others were all close servants who were keen on finding their own faults in secret and reporting them to Emperor Liu Che.

So Liu Ju asked:
"What about Wang Bi?"

"This man was caught red-handed by Minister Su a few days ago for stealing imperial items from the palace. He was beaten to death on the spot."

Du Zhou replied.

"What a coincidence?"

Liu Ju frowned, always feeling that this matter was not as simple as it seemed.

Du Zhou said again:

"Everyone in the palace knew about this, but at that time people's attention was on the court meeting, and Your Highness was probably preparing for the court meeting, so he didn't pay attention to it."

"Um……"

Liu Ju nodded slightly, thinking secretly in his heart.

The cause of Wang Bi's death that was publicly reported was that he was caught red-handed by Su Wen and beaten to death. Now Liu Che ordered Du Zhou to send Fan Yuan to Bowang Garden, and specifically mentioned that Wang Bi was bribed by Fan Yuan to frame him, and suspected that Fan Yuan tried to obstruct the reform of the state-run salt and iron industry.

From this it is not difficult to see that the so-called "dirty hands and feet" is most likely a cover-up statement.

As for the reason for sending Fan Yuan here...

Naturally, we hope that he will continue to follow this clue, find out who is behind Fan Yuan, and eradicate this force in one fell swoop.

But then again.

It seems that the Chief Justice is the most professional when it comes to interrogation. Couldn't Liu Che just order the Chief Justice to continue investigating?
Sending people to Bowangyuan always gives people the feeling of taking off their pants to fart.

I really don't understand what Liu Che is planning this time.

Could it be that there was some secret hidden in this matter, and Liu Che didn't want to dirty his hands, so he let his son take the blame and the infamy?

Haha, Liu Che and I are truly a loving father and a filial son.

Thinking about this, Liu Ju asked directly:

"So what exactly did my father mean by sending him here?"

"Your Majesty suspects that this person is trying to obstruct the reform of the salt and iron industry, and even more that there are more people behind him who are involved. I hope Your Majesty will investigate thoroughly."

Du Zhou said seriously,
"To be honest, before I brought this man here, the court judge had already tortured him, but he was very stubborn and refused to admit that he had any intention of obstructing the reform of the state-run salt and iron industry. He bribed Wang Bi to frame Your Highness, saying that he had misunderstood Your Highness and was stupid and heartless. For the sake of the Han Dynasty and the future of the people, I hope Your Majesty will depose Your Highness."

"Your Majesty just asked about the torture of this man, and the court judge had no choice but to present the confession obtained through torture."

"After reading the confession, His Majesty was dissatisfied. He first reprimanded the court judge for his incompetence, and then ordered me to send the man to Your Highness for your punishment."

In that case, it seems that Liu Che really has no bad intentions this time?
In fact, if Liu Che just wanted Fan Yuan's life, or the lives of Fan Yuan's three clans, the charge of bribing the emperor's attendants to frame the prince would have been enough.

But he was obviously not satisfied with this.

He believed in his suspicions and wanted to dig out all the accomplices hiding behind Fan Yuan and eradicate them completely.

But the problem is that even Liu Che is not sure who Fan Yuan's accomplices are, and the Chief Justice cannot pry Fan Yuan open his mouth, so even if he wants to take action against someone, he doesn't know who to target.

That's why Liu Che thought of his son who often did not follow the ordinary path and sent the person to him.

I just don't know whether Liu Che did this with the mentality of trying everything possible, or whether he really had full confidence in him and believed that he could accomplish this task?
Furthermore...

"I don't know how to torture, what's the point of letting me handle it?"

Liu Ju shook his head helplessly, but seeing that Du Zhou did not dare to respond casually, he also knew that it was impossible to return the person to the court. Even if he forcibly returned him, the court would not dare to accept it, so he had to say again,
"Then let's lock him up in the backyard first, and you and your people will continue to interrogate him until you get a result."

"promise."

Du Zhou responded and led his men to take Fan Yuan to the backyard.

Liu Ju gave another instruction:
"Oh, by the way, stop torturing him. Don't let him die in my Bowang Garden. It's unlucky. Dong Zhongshu, Yi Shuo and others live in the nearby courtyards. The screams will disturb their rest."

"But Your Highness..."

Du Zhou couldn't help but stop and looked at Liu Ju in embarrassment.

How can Fan Yuan's mouth be pried open without torture? If Fan Yuan's mouth cannot be pried open and the confession that the emperor wants cannot be obtained, will the emperor blame him? If the emperor blames him, will he, who is primarily responsible for this matter, take responsibility?

"Would you not try a gentler interrogation method?"

Liu Ju pondered for a moment and gave Du Zhou a suggestion.

"Let me tell you this. From now on, you order your men to take turns guarding him. Place oil lamps in front of him and don't let him sleep until he confesses."

"Your Highness, is this interrogation method okay? Is it too gentle?"

Du Zhou was stunned when he heard this.

He had seen countless cruel torture methods in the court, and he had even invented several powerful methods of torturing people himself. He was just planning to try them one by one on Fan Yuan, and he didn't believe that he couldn't pry open this man's mouth.

As a result, Liu Ju not only did not allow him to use these torture methods, but also assigned him an interrogation method that was a real pleasure for the criminal.

It would be strange if this worked...

"You will know in a few days. Just do as I say."

Facing Du Zhou's questioning, Liu Ju just grinned. It seems that no one in the Han Dynasty has done the "sleeplessness experiment" yet. I don't know what it means to be sleepless for a long time for a person's spirit and body.

……

That night.

At the request of a number of his officials, Liu Ju held a private banquet in Bowang Garden to celebrate the turn of events.

While drinking and exchanging cups.

Wei Kang came to Liu Ju with the wine jar in his hand, bowed and said respectfully:
"Your Highness, congratulations..."

"Cousin, come and sit down. Are you feeling comfortable living in my Bowang Garden these days?"

Liu Ju warmly invited Wei Kang to sit next to him, then he picked up the teacup on the table and clinked it with the cup in Wei Kang's hand.
"I can't hold my liquor, so I'll use tea instead. Don't mind, cousin."

"How dare you..."

Wei Kang tilted his head back and drank the wine from the jar. When he looked at Liu Ju again, his eyes were indescribably complicated. He hesitated for a moment before speaking as if he had made up his mind.

"Your Highness, I am really ashamed to say that I have been here for many days under my father's order. I have been eating, sleeping, and wandering around doing nothing all day. Even if Your Highness doesn't say anything, I still feel bad about it."

"I wonder if there is anything else I can do for you, Your Highness? Please feel free to assign it to me."

"No matter how hard or difficult it is, I will never complain and will do my best!"

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Ju looked at Wei Kang in surprise.

The cousin didn't seem to be joking at the moment, but Liu Ju didn't quite understand what was wrong with him. Why did he suddenly stand up and ask for help from him?
"Cousin, could it be that my uncle is putting pressure on you again?"

Surprised, Liu Ju put his arm around Wei Kang's shoulders, raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"Don't take it to heart. I said I will support you without hesitation. If my uncle asks about it in the future, I will definitely cover up for you and make sure that my uncle can't say anything. We are brothers."

"Your Highness, this matter has nothing to do with my father."

Wei Kang lowered his eyes.

"So what happened to my cousin? Is he uncomfortable living here? Is the people below treating him badly? Or is someone gossiping about him?"

Liu Ju asked again.

"neither……"

Wei Kang's voice gradually became low, but he raised his eyes and looked at Liu Ju, and said,

"I have been living in Bowang Garden these days, observing His Highness's daily life and understanding His Highness's style of doing things. After this discussion on 'deposing and enthroning the Crown Prince', I have learned from His Highness the ultimate meaning of lying down."

"Oh? Could you please tell me in detail, cousin?"

Liu Ju immediately became interested and moved closer to ask.

Wei Kang took a deep breath and said very solemnly:
"A capable person like Your Highness who does nothing deserves to be called the Great Dao of Inaction."

"People like me who have no ability but don't want to do anything are just looking for excuses to escape. I am a waste and a cripple!"

"Your Highness does nothing on weekdays, but when he is attacked and impeached, he can debate with the scholars in the court."

"But if it were me, I would not be able to say a word and would just have to endure this injustice."

"Your Highness is a crown prince, and you have the emperor protecting you, yet you still have to face this disaster."

"I have been deposed as a marquis, and my father is only a general. How can I sleep soundly and take it lightly? I am not worthy of this!"

"..."

"so……"

Liu Ju never expected that this incident would have such a great impact on Wei Kang.

"So I have to stand up. Only when I have the same ability as Your Highness, can I sleep peacefully until the meal is ready. Only then will no one regard me as a waste. They will just think that I am doing nothing!"

A completely different light flashed in Wei Kang's eyes.

But the essence is a psychological change from "lying down" to "struggling to lie down", and ultimately lying down is still indispensable.

After saying this, he bowed to Liu Ju again:
"Your Highness, please assign me something to do. The more strenuous and difficult the better."

"I need to experience and grow as a person. I need to become like Your Highness as soon as possible. Only in this way can I achieve my life goals as soon as possible!"

Liu Ju looked at Wei Kang. Although he did not agree with him, he also expressed his understanding. Then he pondered for a moment:

"Speaking of which, I do have something to say..."

"Your Highness, just tell me directly. I will never refuse!"

Wei Kang expressed his position immediately.

Liu Ju smiled and said:

"Well, then, please ask my cousin to find someone for me. This person is the daughter of the current Longwei Marquis Han Shuo..."

Before he finished speaking, Wei Kang took over the conversation:

"As far as I know, Long Wei Hou Han Shuo has only one daughter, named Han Ling, who is now seventeen years old. Could she be the one Your Highness wants to investigate?"

(End of this chapter)