I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 284 The mastermind is someone else!

There is also the story about Duke Zhuang of Zheng shooting the Emperor of Zhou with an arrow.

Who is the Son of Heaven, and who is being compared to the Son of Heaven? Isn't Liu Ju's move an arrow shot at the current emperor? !

And there's also that saying "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. Muddying the water under my boat is no small matter."

How can you say that the water under your boat is the water under the emperor's boat? That is the water under the emperor's boat. The emperor's boat is steered by the emperor himself. You are just a passenger on the emperor's boat now!
These are all kinds of nonsense, combined with what Liu Ju did.

Wei Qing even suspected that Liu Ju did not even consider Liu Che as the emperor in his heart, or that he had already begun to think about rebelling and usurping the throne... If he could have such suspicions, what would happen if these things got to Liu Che's ears?
"no!"

"I have to do something, or something terrible will happen!"

Wei Qing made up his mind in an instant. He could not let the situation develop freely this time. He had to intervene with lightning speed to minimize the damage.

"You just said that you also helped the prince a lot this time. You investigated all the crimes committed by officials and noble families in Hejian State with injuries. Do you still have this ability?"

Wei Qing looked at Wei Kang again with a look of doubt on his face.

"Father, as the saying goes, everyone has different ambitions and talents. Even if I haven't been very motivated before, you don't have to look down on me like that, right?"

Wei Kang was a little unconvinced, and said with his chest puffed out,

"Did father forget that I was appointed as the Minister of the Court by the Emperor? If I were really useless, even if the Crown Prince recommended me, His Majesty would have just given me a sinecure. Why would he have appointed me as the Minister of the Court?"

"..."

Wei Qing was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and began to re-examine this useless son.

Perhaps it was because he was in the dark, and because Wei Kang remained silent about the matter last time, he really hadn't thought about this issue carefully.

So, could it be that this rebellious son is doing something similar for the emperor?

This is no small matter, and it is completely different from those cruel officials. If it is accomplished, it is possible to become the third eye and second shadow of the emperor.

But at the same time, the risk factor of this matter is extremely high.

As the saying goes, "To be with the emperor is like being with a tiger." From then on, Wei Kang could no longer have any selfishness or standpoints. In other words, his selfishness and standpoints could only be on the emperor's side. If he crossed the line, he would be doomed...

Can this silly son understand this truth and do this?

I'm afraid not, look at the situation now.

This silly son had exposed the matter to himself just to prove himself. He was really stupid to the extreme.

Thinking of this, Wei Qing became worried again and felt that it would be better to let Wei Kang return home to continue to eat and wait for death. At least he could have a good death.

But then Wei Kang shook his head and said:

"What's that expression, father?"

"I heard from my cousin the Crown Prince that what my father is worried about is not whether I will succeed, but his ability to prepare for the future."

"I'm going to say something that father may not like to hear. One day, father will leave me first. The special position of Grand Marshal and General is not hereditary. Therefore, he can protect me temporarily, but he cannot protect me forever."

"In that case, why don't you relax, father, and believe that your children and grandchildren will have their own blessings?"

"Besides, father has actually already given his son a big guarantee. As long as he doesn't commit suicide, in the future, father's title of Marquis of Changping will be his."

"The son is already very satisfied, isn't it enough for the father?"

"?"

These words hit the nail on the head, and made Wei Qing's heart skip a beat.

Nonsense, what worries me as a father is that you can’t even handle the Marquis of Changping, right?
He just didn't understand how Liu Ju, the prince's nephew, could come up with such nonsense. Although his words were not as concise as the Confucian philosophy, they could get to the heart of the problem and touch people's hearts.

Aren’t all those fathers and mothers in the world who are vying with each other to push their children the parents in the middle who are neither performing well nor performing well and whose status will slip if they are not careful?

Look at the common people below who are thankful to have enough food to eat. How many of them are anxious about it?
Look at Liu Che above...

Oh yes, Liu Che was not very anxious originally, but he has been quite anxious in the past two years.

Because this prince is always trying to poke a hole in the sky, and if the sky falls, the first person to fall on will be him, the emperor, so he can't help but be anxious...

Forget it.

I’m not sure whether we have the ability to provide a safety net for the future, but we not only have the ability to provide a safety net for the present, but it’s very strong!

This time, I will let you youngsters take a good look at my ability to provide support!
……

That night.

Wei Qing took the tiger talisman of the Hejian County Governor from Liu Ju in the name of the general and his uncle, and then found Wei Chen, who was still nominally the Hejian County Governor.

"General, your humble servant..."

Seeing Wei Qing, Wei Chen, who was still recovering from his injuries, did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly dragged his injured body out to greet him.

Speaking of which, this guy was really lucky. His wound was much bigger and deeper than Wei Kang's, but after being sutured by Yi Shuo, he showed almost no serious inflammation symptoms. It just started to swell on the second day, and he had a low fever for one day on the third day, but he got through it.

"No need to be polite, let's find a quiet place and I'll just talk to you in private."

"promise."

Wei Chen hurriedly agreed, led Wei Qing into the study of the county government office, and dismissed his attendants.

"As the governor of a county, you should know how serious a sin it is to lose the tiger talisman, right?" As Wei Qing showed the tiger talisman, his face instantly turned cold, and his eyes were more stern than ever before.
"For committing such a heinous crime, I can kill you with my own hands right now, and all your people will be enslaved and will never be allowed to enter my house again!"

"General, please forgive me!"

Wei Chen was so frightened that his face turned pale and he fell to his knees with a plop.

With just this one sentence, he understood what Wei Qing meant. He had accidentally "lost" the tiger talisman and it could not be associated with Liu Ju in any way. If he did not admit the crime, he might not survive the night.

In addition to being terrified, Wei Chen took all the blame on himself and fell to the ground to confess his crime to Wei Qing:
"I was negligent and deserve death. If the general hadn't brought the tiger talisman today, I wouldn't have known that the tiger talisman was lost. If a big mistake is made because of this, I will be punished by death!"

"That's all."

Seeing Wei Chen's behavior, Wei Qing finally softened his tone and threw the tiger talisman back to Wei Chen.
"We are both officials in the same court. Since you have sacrificed your life to protect the crown prince, I do not want to make things difficult for you. From now on, you must keep the tiger talisman well. Do not make such a serious mistake again."

"Thank you very much, General. I will never forget your kindness!"

Only at this moment did Wei Chen finally dare to continue breathing, and quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude to Wei Qing.

"No need to thank me. The prince was assassinated in Hejian this time. As the governor of a county, you are to blame, but you were able to save him at the critical moment. You also always took charge of the troops and took strict precautions, so that the traitors dared not act rashly. Hejian did not cause any chaos, which can be regarded as a performance of redemption."

Wei Qing said again,

"I have seen this matter with my own eyes. Your Majesty has also made some calculations in his mind. He will take all the circumstances into consideration when dealing with it. If you want to thank someone, you should thank yourself for still having a loyal heart."

"Thank you for your advice, General. I will keep it in mind."

Wei Chen's heart was finally at ease. With Wei Qing's words, he was saved...

The two words "reminder" were his response to Wei Qing, and the four words "remember in heart" were his promise to Wei Qing.

He had completely understood Wei Qing's meaning, and knew how to deal with and respond to this matter next, and he had a solid idea in his mind.

This is definitely the most appropriate way of dealing with the situation for him, for the prince, and for everyone.

You are worthy of being a great general. I will definitely repay you for saving my life in the future!
……

An hour later, in the county prison.

"I never thought you were Guo Jie's sister."

Looking at Guo Xuanzi sitting in prison with disheveled hair, Wei Qing didn't understand why Liu Ju still kept her.

But Wei Qing knew that Liu Ju had brought Gongsun Qing, the rumormonger and alchemist, all the way back to Chang'an from Donglai last time.

At that time, Liu Che was very angry and thought that Liu Ju was deliberately targeting him. In the end, he simply sent Gongsun Qing to Bowang Garden and let Liu Ju deal with him on his own.

Therefore, Wei Qing had reason to suspect that Liu Ju had similar thoughts. Even if he didn't, Liu Che would probably still think so...

"..."

Guo Xuanzi raised his heart-pounding eyes and looked at Wei Qing without saying a word.

"Since you are Guo Jie's sister, you should know that when His Majesty wanted to move Guo Jie to Maoling, I pleaded for him in front of His Majesty."

Wei Qing said again,

"Now you have teamed up with others to plot against my nephew. Is this your way of repaying me?"

Guo Xuanzi finally responded, and said in a hoarse voice:

"What does the General want me to do?"

"I want you to write a confession in your own hand."

Wei Qing pondered and said,
"You need to state in your confession that the Crown Prince's assassination was indeed a conspiracy, but it was not just aimed at the Crown Prince, but at the Han royal family. However, Guan Changqing and Wang Ding cannot be the masterminds, and neither can you. The Prince of Hejian cannot be the mastermind either. All of you are just pawns on the stage, and the mastermind is someone else."

"Why?"

Guo Xuanzi was slightly moved and asked subconsciously.

"you do not need to know."

Wei Qing took out a small porcelain bottle, reached into the fence and placed it on the ground:

"This is poison. You will be relieved soon after drinking it. It won't be too painful."

"After you die, someone will bury you, and a baby boy will be saved among your clan members, allowing the ancestral family to continue."

Guo Xuanzi was silent for a moment, and finally moved over and held the small porcelain bottle in his hand:
"I don't know who is the mastermind. Whose name does the general want me to write?"

"empty."

Wei Qing said calmly.

Only the empty mastermind is the one who can truly influence Liu Che.

Given Liu Che's personality, he would definitely take this matter very seriously after learning about it. After all, the power of someone who could mobilize Guo Xuanzi and the people of Hejian State at the same time was enough to make Liu Che feel uneasy.

Then for the next period of time, Liu Che's attention will be focused on this matter.

As Liu Ju was the victim of this incident, even though he had done something slightly out of line, Emperor Liu Che was too lazy to pursue the matter.

(End of this chapter)