I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 212 Father is not a five-zhu coin
It has been some time since the incident of Donglai Waiting for the God.

Liu Ju didn't expect that Liu Che actually remembered this little thing. After all, he had ordered Li Guang to detonate most of the "immortal arts" through "countryside tours".

Although the secrets of the "immortal arts" have not been completely made public, it has at least made it clear that the so-called "immortal arts" are nothing more than a trick.

In addition, after returning, Liu Che summoned Li Guangli, so he must have understood the truth of the matter.

But then again.

It seems that the only thing that has not been revealed in the whole incident is the matter of exorcising the evil spirit for Gongsun Qing. Except for Liu Ju himself, no one knows how he did it... No wonder Liu Che has always been thinking about it.

Fortunately, Liu Ju did not want Liu Che to continue wasting money and manpower on seeking immortals and ghosts, so he had no intention of playing tricks in front of him.

So when faced with this question, Liu Ju did not answer but asked:
"Father, how many people do you think hate you in this world?"

"..."

Hearing this, Liu Che immediately felt uncomfortable again and looked at this rebellious son with empty eyes.

"No one is a five-zhu coin, so it's impossible for everyone to like it."

Liu Ju then continued to talk to himself,
"Furthermore, the emperor is the emperor who is the focus of everyone's attention. He is a great ruler who has created new laws and has made great achievements in civil and military affairs. An imperial decree from the emperor can benefit millions of people, but it can also harm the interests of some people. It is impossible for everyone to be grateful to him."

"So Father must be the most admired person in the world, and also the most hated person in the world."

"Then, Father must be the person who has been cursed the most by witchcraft in this world."

Hearing this, Liu Che felt seriously offended and even felt a chill on his back. Then a trace of anger appeared on his face, and he coldly rebuked:
"Rebellious son, what do you want to say?"

"I just want to tell you, Father, that I don't believe in witchcraft curses. If witchcraft curses really work, why do we need the strong crossbows in the hands of the Han army, why do we spend a lot of money to raise horses, why do we dig mines, smelt iron and cast weapons? Is it because we don't have wood and can't carve puppets, or is it because we don't have words and can't write vicious curses?"

Liu Ju said seriously,

"Father, in fact, understands this principle better than I do. Otherwise, why didn't you employ a group of sorcerers and wizards but never put them to important positions in the court, ordering them to participate in government and military affairs, and ordering them to cast spells and kill the enemy?"

"..."

Liu Che couldn't help but fall into silence.

He did know that it was rumored that Hu wizards were best at witchcraft and curses, and that the Huns were also Hu people.

Before this, he had sent troops to attack the Huns many times, and countless Huns died at the hands of the Han army. The number of Huns who hated him must have been incalculable, and the Huns' wizards must have used witchcraft to curse him every day.

But so what?
Now, many years have passed since the Battle of Mobei, and he is still healthy and living well, isn't he?

"That is why Father asked me just now if I could see the witchcraft curse and if I could dispel it myself."

Liu Ju continued,

"My son's answer is that I don't believe in the so-called witchcraft curse at all."

"How can we see it, and how can we drive it away?"

These words could be regarded as planting seeds for Liu Che in advance. If he no longer believed in witchcraft curses, then there might not be any more witchcraft disasters in his later years.

Of course, we still need to guard against people and things that need to be guarded against.

After all, even if Liu Che didn't believe that witchcraft curses really had any effect, being found out about cursing would be a crime of disrespect, which was no small matter.

"What about exorcising the evil spirits in Gongsun Qing's ancestral home..."

Liu Che was silent for a moment, then looked at Liu Ju and asked.

"It is also fake. It is just a trick played by your son. There is no evil at all."

Liu Ju smiled faintly:
"Your Majesty, do you still remember the Baoding incense presented by the Nanyue Kingdom? All you need to do is boil the Baoding incense into water, then soak the white silk in brine. When the two meet, they will turn red, and that's how the bloody handprint was created."

"And the hemp rope that never burns is also soaked in brine and then dried."

"If your Majesty is interested, you can try it yourself."

"What is the reason for this?"

Liu Che obviously could not understand this problem.

However, the memorial that Huo Guang had sent back to him mentioned many details, such as the fact that Liu Ju had indeed soaked his palm with the yellow liquid in the water bag before leaving the bloody handprint...it was completely consistent.

"Just as the stone of mercy has two polarities, yin and yang, there are many unknown things in this world, but they are just the nature of things."

Liu Ju's knowledge of chemistry was limited, and he was unable to explain the principle to Liu Che.

However, even if he could explain it, Liu Che might not understand it. After all, there is a generation gap of more than 2,000 years. It would definitely be more difficult to explain than to talk about the history of human development from the beginning of the world by Pangu.

"..."

Liu Che did not dwell on this, but just looked into Liu Ju's eyes. After a moment, he suddenly frowned and asked a question with a clear idea:
"I am very curious. Since the Baoding incense was presented to me by the Kingdom of Nanyue, why do you have it?"

"what?"

Liu Ju was stunned and his mind was spinning rapidly while he felt guilty.

If he didn't answer this question well, Su Wen, who helped him steal the Baoding incense, might be exposed, which could be fatal...

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and came up with an impeccable excuse in just two breaths:
"When I was pacifying the Kingdom of Nanyue, I saw this incense and liked it very much, so I brought some back. I discovered the characteristics of this thing by accident on the way back."

"Really?"

"Of course it is true. Do you think that I have the guts to steal something presented to you by another country?"

"Others don't have the courage, but you, the rebellious son, not only have it, but it's a big one."

"Your Majesty, I am innocent!"

Liu Ju could only cry out loudly to cover up his guilty conscience.

"Okay, stop making noise."

Liu Che waved his hand impatiently, "You can leave first. I am a little tired."

"My son, please retire..."

Liu Ju knew that he had gotten away with it, so he stopped pretending and bowed before leaving.

But when he turned around, he accidentally saw Liu Che's feet under the table, shaking restlessly...

After Liu Ju left, Liu Che's mouth curled up instantly.

Feel at ease!
Completely relieved!

I knew it was all fake. How could this rebellious son master the magic? They are just some weird and tricky tricks to deceive people. They are not worthy of being shown in public!

But this rebellious son is indeed quite clever, and his tricks are even more professional than those sorcerers and wizards...

With these in mind.

"Su Wen!"

Liu Che suddenly shouted outside the hall.

"The servant is here."

Su Wen trotted up to Liu Che and bowed, waiting for orders.

"Go and fetch the precious incense that the Nanyue Kingdom presented to me, as well as the white silk and the brine. Go quickly!"

……

A few hours later, in the Pepper Room.

"Welcome Your Majesty."

Liu Che arrived suddenly without even saying hello, which caught Wei Zifu off guard. She came out to greet him without even putting on all her accessories.

"No need to be polite."

Liu Che waved his hand casually, but said with a deep gaze and a low voice,
"Zi Fu, have you felt that things have not been going well for the past year or so? Especially Liu Ju's change is so surprising. Do you know why?"

"Uh... Your Majesty, did Juer do something wrong again?"

Wei Zifu was stunned for a moment, then she gritted her teeth and cursed,

"Your Majesty, calm down. I will summon this rebellious son to the Pepper Room and teach him a lesson. I will teach him to kneel down and apologize to Your Majesty!"

"No, then tell me whether what I just said is true or not?"

"It's accurate..."

"That's right, do you want to know why?"

"Please... Your Majesty, please explain."

Wei Zifu was beginning to feel confused. She felt that Liu Che was not normal today, but she couldn't tell what was wrong...

Yes, that's his condition!
It feels a little less majestic than usual, and a little more mysterious.

Then she heard Liu Che say:
"That's because your Pepper Room is not clean. There is an evil spirit in the room that is absorbing the fortunes of you and Liu Ju. I will come personally to exorcise the evil spirit for you..."

……

Bowang Garden.

"Your Highness, everyone is here."

Prime Minister Zhao Zhou personally sent a few people named Zhao Guo to Liu Ju, who stood aside waiting for Liu Ju's inspection.

In the past half month, he and the officials of the Civil Affairs Department have sent in no less than dozens of people. Unfortunately, after Liu Ju's inspection, they were all ruled out and none of them was the Zhao Guo he was looking for.

"Thank you for your hard work, Prime Minister Zhao."

After Liu Ju thanked Zhao Zhou, he glanced at these people.

One of the old men is already quite old. Even if he can barely live to see the end of twenty-three years, he will not be able to jump around anymore, let alone preside over the development of agriculture. He is directly ruled out.

There is another woman who can also be ruled out directly.

The remaining ones were a middle-aged man in his thirties, a handsome young man in his twenties, and a little boy with snot bubbles running down his nose who looked only seven or eight years old.

Liu Ju first looked at the middle-aged man: "Brave man, what do you do?"

"My family has been butchers selling dog meat for generations."

exclude!

"What about you?"

Liu Ju looked at the young man again.

The young man's manners were very considerate, and he was obviously from a wealthy family, but his voice lacked masculinity:
"In reply to your Highness, I have been a companion to Master Zhao of the Zhao Mansion in Ganting since I was young..."

Pedophile, even this surname was probably given by the master's family, exclude it!
Liu Ju finally looked at the little boy.

Before he could speak, the little boy had already shrunk into the arms of the woman who had been excluded by Liu Ju. The woman also hurriedly whispered in panic:

"Your Highness, please forgive me. I am an ignorant boy. I am just a bamboo weaving vendor..."

It can basically be ruled out.

This kind of peddler rarely owns land, and he is too young. Even if he is really the Zhao Guo he is looking for, he will never be of any use now. He can't start training him now, right?

All right.

All checks have been completed, and it's another day of wasted work.

Liu Ju shook his head helplessly, asked Ji Ping to give them some money to send them away, and then came to Zhao Zhou again:
"Prime Minister Zhao, have you almost finished searching the capital area?"

"We have almost finished our search. Your Highness, do you want to continue searching in the Sanfu area?"

Zhao Zhou bowed slightly and did not mention the rebellious son in his family who had been excluded by Liu Ju first, so as to avoid exposing the family disgrace.

While talking.

Wei Kang, who had been going out early and coming back late recently, just came back from outside. When he saw Zhao Zhou, he hesitated for a moment, but still came to Liu Ju and said:
"Isn't Your Highness looking for a man named Zhao Guo these days?"

"I was lucky enough to find out a piece of information. Prime Minister Zhao's second son is also called Zhao Guo. He is now twenty-three years old. Because he did not read the Five Classics and did not learn the Six Arts, Prime Minister Zhao did not recommend him as a Lang in order to punish him."

"As far as I know, Your Highness has not met this person yet, right?"

(End of this chapter)