I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 232 This is not the first time we have deceived the king

The only thing to be thankful for now is that Liu Hong’s appendicitis should be chronic.

Chronic appendicitis is mainly characterized by pain, and no fatal complications have occurred yet.

However, Liu Ju knew clearly that a chronic disease could develop into an acute disease at any time, and even if the acute disease was temporarily treated with medication, it would still turn into a chronic disease and continue to switch between chronic and acute diseases, making it difficult to cure it.

Because the main cause of appendicitis is that the appendix lumen is blocked by foreign bodies, which may be fecal stones, food residues, parasites or tumors. It is impossible to eliminate these factors that cause appendicitis with drugs alone, so surgery has become the only way to cure it...

"Brother, can you tell what disease I have? Will I die?"

Seeing Liu Ju's complicated expression, Liu Hong frowned and asked with tears in his eyes,
"Brother, I don't want to die..."

"Because my brother said that if one day my brother is no longer the crown prince, he will have to rely on me to protect him. If I die now, I will not be able to compete for the crown prince position, nor can I protect my brother."

"..."

Liu Ju suddenly felt a little sad when he heard this.

This child is not very smart, at least not as precocious as Han Ling whom we met today, so he still doesn’t know that Liu Ju was just using him.

Or maybe someone mentioned it to him. After all, he also had officials around him, but he still firmly believed in Liu Ju...

Therefore, he always kept the fight for the position of crown prince in mind.

On the contrary, Liu Ju himself had already forgotten it.

Ever since he was pardoned by Emperor Wu of Han in prison last time, he had never looked for Liu Hong again. He even seldom thought of his second brother, whom he had promoted to the position of "General Tianlu", nor did he ever keep the fact that Liu Hong would die young in his heart.

It was not until now, when Han Ling brought him the news that Liu Hong was ill, that he suddenly remembered.

"Don't worry, second brother. It's just a minor illness."

Liu Ju grinned, not knowing whether his smile was natural or not. He just smiled and shook his head.

"I've seen this kind of minor illness before. It's not hard to treat, but the healing process is slow. Although it's sometimes painful, you'll get better once you get through it. How could you possibly die? Don't say such unlucky words again."

"Yes! My brother said I won't die, so I definitely won't die. My brother wouldn't lie to me."

Liu Hong tilted his head and nodded, a flawless smile showing on his pale face.
"I really hope you get better soon... I heard that my brother has been confined by the emperor recently. Did he make the emperor angry again?"

"I can't compete for the position of Crown Prince in my current state. I think my brother should give in to our father."

"I heard from Prime Minister Bu that my third and fourth brothers are also eyeing the position of crown prince, and there are still some people in the court supporting them. If the emperor wants to depose brother Ju at this time, I am afraid that brother Ju will be disappointed."

Liu Ju reached out and rubbed Liu Hong's head:

"Don't worry, I know what's going on."

After saying this, Liu Ju pondered for a moment and then spoke again:

"Although your illness is a minor one and not difficult to treat, it is not something that ordinary doctors can cure. Weren't the imperial doctors helpless before?"

"As far as I know, there is probably only one person who can cure this disease, and that person is called Yi Shuo."

"Yi... Shuo?"

Liu Hong repeated it, recalling,
"My brother, I seem to have heard this name somewhere before..."

"I remember now. Wasn't she my brother's personal physician? Recently, my father threw her into the imperial prison for the crime of destroying and insulting a corpse. She will be executed soon. Is this the person my brother mentioned?"

It can be seen that although Liu Hong has been ill recently, he is still paying attention to current affairs in Chang'an.

Of course, it is also possible that he was just paying attention to matters related to Liu Ju.

"That's the man."

Liu Ju nodded.

"But I heard that my brother was confined by our father this time because of what Yishuo did."

Liu Hong then frowned again and kept shaking his head.

"If it's this person, I'd rather endure it a little longer than have her treat me."

"Minister Bu once told me that she is an evil person who is intolerable to heaven and earth. What she did is not only against human ethics, but also has a great impact on my brother's reputation. My father's public execution of her is actually a good thing for my brother..."

Liu Ju immediately interrupted him and said sternly:

"Bu Shi only heard it from others. Could he know the truth of the matter better than me?"

"Then... according to my brother, is there another hidden story behind this matter?"

Liu Hong looked doubtful.

Liu Ju did not intend to impart his own understanding of later medical science to Liu Hong. He just nodded and said:

"You just need to remember that Yishuo is not a bad person. She is just misunderstood by the world. My reputation is not damaged because of her. It is due to the ignorance of the world. It has nothing to do with her. Do you understand?"

"My brother didn't explain it clearly, so I still don't quite understand..."

A look of confusion appeared in Liu Hong's eyes.
"But since my brother said Yishuo is not a bad person, then she is definitely not a bad person. I believe my brother."

"But even if that's the case, I'm afraid I can't let her come to treat me. It was my father's will to put Yi Shuo in prison, and it was also my father's will to punish her. My brother knows my father's temper."

"Once the emperor has made a decision, it is like a nail driven into a board. Even if it is pulled out, a hole will be left behind."

"Besides, the matter has been made public, and the court has posted a notice of execution. Father is the emperor whose word is final, and there is no way he can change it. How could he let Yishuo come out to treat me just because of a minor illness like mine?" Liu Ju raised his eyebrows and said meaningfully:
"Although it's just a minor illness, it's one that even the imperial physician can't cure, and your father doesn't know any medical skills, so it can be either a big or a small illness."

"According to my brother,..."

Liu Hong was stunned.

Liu Ju immediately lowered his voice and whispered in her ear:

"You just need to pretend to be terminally ill. Father loves you very much and will naturally not sit idly by. By then, let alone the death row prisoners in the imperial prison, even if it is a Hun witch doctor thousands of miles away, father will find him for you at all costs..."

According to historical records, although Liu Hong's biological mother, Lady Wang, died early, she was deeply loved by Emperor Liu Che during her lifetime, so she also loved Liu Hong very much.

This has been confirmed.

After all, when Liu Ju's position as crown prince was unstable because of the "destroying dikes and flooding fields" incident, Liu Hong, the third prince Liu Dan, and the fourth prince Liu Xu sent envoys to Beijing to express their loyalty and filial piety. Liu Che only met Liu Hong's envoys.

The envoys of Liu Dan and Liu Xu were not only reprimanded, but also directly stripped of three counties of their fiefdoms as a warning by Emperor Liu Che.

This difference in treatment is enough to show how partial Emperor Liu Che was to Liu Hong.

In addition, Liu Hong later presented the "Tianlu Box" with the secret help of Liu Ju, and was therefore named "Tianlu General".

Just for the sake of the word "Tianlu", Liu Che certainly would not want to see such an outstanding son die so early, and he would try his best to save him no matter how great the cost.

Therefore, as long as Liu Hong was "seriously ill" and Yi Shuo was the only person who could save Liu Hong, there was a great possibility that he would be able to walk out of the imperial prison and delay the execution!

At that time, Liu Hong will cooperate again and pretend that Yi Shuo's medicine has cured her illness.

Liu Che was so delighted that he pardoned him without a second thought.

As for Liu Hong's appendicitis.

Liu Ju would continue to think of ways to help him cure the disease afterwards, and with the assistance of Yi Shuo, a famous doctor who likes to study, and his careful guidance, he would be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort. Perhaps it would be possible to solve the difficulties of "surgery" before Liu Hong died young... Even if it is difficult, he cannot extinguish hope.

This results in a happy outcome for everyone:
Yi Shuo would not have to die, Liu Hong would not have to die young, and the development of medical skills in the Celestial Empire was also promoted. It was a three-pronged approach!
"According to my brother, this seems to be another act of deceiving the emperor..."

Upon hearing this, Liu Hong couldn't help but recall the scene when he presented the "Tianlu Box" and was exposed by Emperor Liu Che and scolded as a "rebellious son" in Zhumu Garden. He still felt a lingering fear in his heart.

The most important thing is that he was afraid that he could not deceive Liu Che. After all, his father was not an ordinary person.

"What are you afraid of? It's not the first time that the two of us brothers have deceived the emperor. We were fine before and were never discovered by the emperor, right?"

Liu Ju smiled indifferently.

"..."

Liu Hong felt guilty and did not respond. He also avoided Liu Ju's gaze calmly.

Liu Ju thought Liu Hong was just timid, so he patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him:
"Believe me, I'm right!"

"Besides, although this may be considered deceiving the emperor, it is also a white lie. You don't want to wait until the only person who can cure your disease is hanged. Your father and I will feel heartbroken when we see you in pain and suffering, right?"

……

Liu Ju was serious about curing Liu Hong.

Although surgery was not possible to cure the disease, after reaching a consensus with Liu Hong on deceiving the emperor, he was also trying his best to suppress the progression of appendicitis.

Liu Ju, who came from later generations, knew well that the most direct and effective medicine to deal with inflammation is antibiotics.

He certainly could not extract antibiotics as he had neither the relevant theoretical knowledge nor the relevant chemical formulas.

However, he knew a folk remedy that was verified by later generations and appeared in a TV series.

——Braised aged mustard greens.

At that time, mustard greens were called "葑菜", a very common edible vegetable that was mentioned in the "Book of Songs".

The method of making aged mustard greens stew is also very simple.

Put the mustard greens into a large vat, expose them to the sun and dew at night to make them moldy and grow green mold hairs three or four inches long. Then seal the vat and bury it underground for ten years. When the vat is opened again ten years later, the mustard greens in the vat have completely turned into water, and even the long mold hairs have disappeared. This kind of brine is called "aged mustard brine."

This aged mustard pickle can cure many inflammations and relieve high fever symptoms, and its efficacy is far better than many ancient prescriptions.

And through later research and verification, it is not difficult to find that the therapeutic nature of "aged mustard brine" is actually the green mold hairs produced by the moldy mustard, which makes such brine contain a large amount of one of the antibiotics - penicillin.

Liu Ju knew that Liu Hong could not wait ten years, but this was at least a way to get antibiotics.

When Liu Hong really couldn't hold on any longer, he had to try his best, even if it was a last-ditch effort, even if the "penicillin" obtained in the short term might contain other adverse ingredients and might even worsen his condition.

After all, Liu Hong's early death was a certainty, and his attempt was not meant to harm anyone; it was just a last resort.

at the same time.

Xuanshi Hall.

"Su Wen, get ready immediately. I want to go to Zhumu Garden!"

Liu Che finally received the news that Liu Hong was "critically ill". His expression instantly became solemn and he shouted to Su Wen in a deep voice,
"Notify the Imperial Medical Bureau and order all the imperial doctors on duty to go to Zhumu Garden!"

This son is well-behaved and sensible. Although he was led astray by Liu Ju once before, it does not affect Liu Che's love for him and he must not be allowed to lose!

(End of this chapter)