I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 508: Gods Three and Ghosts Four
At this moment, Liu Ju saw a hint of determination on Liu Che's disappointed face, as if he had finally made some kind of decision.

"Father, this is..."

From the beginning of the Fengshan Ceremony to now, Liu Ju has not noticed anything wrong, except Liu Che's current expression, which seems a little wrong no matter how you look at it, as if he is about to do something big.

However, Liu Ju did not say much, but just followed quickly and watched what happened.

Unless it was necessary, he would try his best not to interrupt Liu Che's Fengshan Ceremony. Moreover, he only had some doubts and had not found any substantial problems.

In this way, we arrived outside the ritual temple.

Liu Che still ignored Liu Ju. He glanced at the open space in front of the ritual temple and walked straight towards Huo Shan who was waiting under the flag.

"His Majesty……"

Upon seeing this, Huo Xian quickly stood up straight and lowered his head to salute.

"Huo Xian, come with me."

Liu Che nodded to him slightly, then took his hand as he did when he went up the mountain, turned and walked towards a huge stone tablet nearly two meters high standing in the ritual temple.

The stone tablet was thick at the bottom and thin at the top, with a covering pattern engraved on the top. The stone used was yellowish-white in color, and there was not a single word on either side.

This is the inscriptionless stele that was erected on the top of Mount Tai when Emperor Liu Che was offering sacrifices to the gods, as recorded in history books. However, rather than being a stone stele, it is more like a stone tablet.

Some people in later generations did speculate that this was a stone stele, like the Huabiao, which means a symbol of hope.

As for what exactly it is.

Liu Che did not say it explicitly, and Liu Ju did not mention it in the Fengshan ritual process, so he had no way of being sure now.

But he actually prefers the stone watch.

Because based on his current understanding of Liu Che, he always felt that a proud man like Liu Che would not allow future generations to evaluate his merits and demerits, and he could not even accept people today commenting on him.

Just as I was thinking about it.

"Liu Ju, just wait here."

Liu Che suddenly turned his head and shouted at Liu Ju, who was about to follow him. His tone and eyes showed that he could not be questioned.

"promise."

Liu Ju responded and stood still to obey.

The inscriptionless stone tablet was only a hundred meters away from here. Even if he didn't follow, he could still see Liu Che's every move clearly, so it was not necessary for him to follow.

Moreover, even if Liu Che really wanted to harm Huo Shan, he would not take any action here.

After all, in addition to him, there was a group of ministers waiting on the hillside a mile away.

No matter how foolish Liu Che was, he would never do such a thing under such circumstances. He knew better than anyone the adverse consequences of doing so.

So, under Liu Ju's gaze, he left.

Liu Che and Huo Shan soon arrived under the inscriptionless stone tablet.

There is also a large incense burner in front of the inscriptionless stone tablet, and in front of the large incense burner is a wooden table covered with silk, on which are placed some utensils and incense sticks.

In front of it are two cushions for kneeling and worshiping.

This arrangement is not much different from the ceremonial temple where Liu Che performed the ascending ceremony just now.

However, Liu Ju felt somewhat confused at this moment.

"Two futons..."

If the two cushions in the ritual temple were specially set up for him and Liu Che.

Now that Liu Che didn't let him go, it meant that the two cushions in front of the stone tablet without words were specially prepared for Liu Che and Huo Shan.

Liu Ju learned the six arts of a gentleman.

The "ritual" in the six arts of a gentleman covers most etiquette including auspicious rites, inauspicious rites, military rites, guest rites, and auspicious rites.

However, in this case, Liu Ju, the legitimate son, was present, but he was excluded. Liu Che and Huo Shan, an outsider, were required to kneel and kowtow together. This etiquette was in no way in line with the etiquette of the Celestial Empire, no matter what type of etiquette it was.

For this reason, Liu Ju has quietly become more vigilant.

He may not necessarily have to save Huo Shan, but he must find out what Liu Che exactly wants to do. This is directly related to Liu Che's current state and whether it will bring him a crisis similar to the "Witchcraft Disaster".

……

Liu Che was seen pulling the confused Huo Xian to the wooden desk under the inscriptionless stone tablet.

Liu Che did not take out the sacrificial text he had written in advance and read it from his arms as he had done before in the ritual temple. Instead, he led Huo Shan to stand and bow four times to the wordless stone tablet.

Then he took four large incense sticks about two feet long from the wooden table and lit them. He walked around the table alone and came to the large incense burner under the stone tablet without any words. He bent down and watched them insert the incense.

"Four bows? Four incense sticks?"

This immediately made Liu Ju confused again.

As the saying goes, "Three gods and four ghosts"!
This rule had been clearly stated in etiquette as early as the pre-Qin period.

That is, when worshipping gods, one bows three times and burns only three incense sticks. Only when worshipping the deceased, one bows four times and burns four incense sticks.

Could it be that this stone tablet without words was erected by Liu Che for the ancestors of the Liu family?
The ancestors of the Liu family are also deceased and belong to the category of ghosts. Therefore, whenever the royal family worships their ancestors, they need to follow the etiquette of four knocks and four incense sticks. Liu Ju had participated in the ancestor worship ceremony before, and this is how he worshipped.

But this doesn't make sense.

If it was really a ancestor worship, Liu Che should have set up tablets for the Liu ancestors and should not have left the stone tablet empty. After all, the Liu ancestors were not without names. Liu Ju set up such a blank stone tablet for worship, which was somewhat disrespectful.

Just when Liu Ju was confused.

After offering incense, Liu Che had already retreated to the wooden table. He then picked up a copper pot with inlaid gold and silver dragon patterns used to hold choux from the offerings on it and poured the wine into a dragon-patterned painted jar.

What happened next was something no one expected.

After Liu Che held up the wine jar filled with fine wine with both hands, he suddenly turned around, bowed slightly, and presented the wine jar to Huo Shan.

"His Majesty?!"

Huo Xian was obviously startled and could not stand steadily. He swayed a bit and stepped back subconsciously, then quickly jumped to the side.

Liu Che is the emperor!

And what is Huo Xian?
Even without considering his official position and title, as the son of Huo Qubing, he was already a grandson in front of Liu Che.

Whether in terms of emotion or etiquette, he was not qualified to accept such a great gift from Liu Che. Not only was it extremely disrespectful, but people also often believed that accepting this gift would shorten one's life!

In panic, Huo Xian jumped away and fell to his knees.

He was completely confused by Liu Che and had no choice but to kneel down and kowtow to offset Liu Che's previous bow.

"?!"

Not only Huo Xian, but Liu Ju, who was a hundred meters away, also widened his eyes when he saw this scene.

What on earth was Liu Che doing?
First he performed the ceremony of worshipping the ghosts in front of the blank stone tablet, and now he suddenly performed such a great ceremony on Huo Shan. Every action revealed an incomprehensible weirdness. Liu Ju really felt that his CPU was about to burn out. He had no idea what Liu Che meant by this action.

Could it be because the dragon didn't come down to pick him up?

His Alzheimer's disease was stimulated, causing him to have a hysterical attack at this time, mistaking Huo Xian for someone else? !
at the same time.

"Huo Xian, I want to ask you, how do I treat you on a daily basis?"

Liu Che looked at Huo Xian who was kneeling on the ground and kowtowing, and asked, "Your Majesty and I are not grandfather and grandson, but you treat me better than grandfather and grandson. I am both terrified and grateful. I always want to serve Your Majesty like my father did, even if it means death!"

Huo Xian quickly leaned forward to answer.

Liu Che said in a commanding tone:

"That's it. I want you to do something now. You don't need to ask any more questions. Just do it. This is your chance to repay me."

"Your humble servant... obeys your order."

Huo Xian was even more confused, but he had no choice but to agree.

"I want you to stand up, accept my greeting, and take this cup of wine."

Liu Che said again.

"Wei Chen doesn't dare!"

Huo Xian's body trembled, and he quickly knelt down and kowtowed again.

Liu Che frowned and asked:

"Are you afraid to obey the order, or are you afraid to disobey the order?"

"..."

Huo Xian's heart began to skip a beat when he heard this.

How could he be a match for Liu Che?

This question immediately pushed him into a corner. No matter how he answered, there would be huge problems, and he had no idea how to respond.

"You have accepted my gift and this cup of wine, which means you are repaying me and the Han Dynasty. Your contribution is comparable to that of your father."

Liu Che slowed down his tone a little and said earnestly,

"I can't tell you the reason in detail. You just need to know that this move will be of great benefit to you, me, and the Han Dynasty. Do you understand?"

Liu Che said this and thought this in his heart.

For him, being able to extend his life by twenty years would be a benefit.

For the Han Dynasty, it would only be beneficial if a wise and powerful ruler like him could rule for another twenty years.

As for Huo Xian, although his life span was shortened by 20 years, he was still young and, if nothing unexpected happened, he would still have several decades left to live. After this incident, Liu Che decided to do his best to compensate him.

And with the emperor's full efforts to compensate, not only can Huo Xian be guaranteed a life of wealth and glory, but the Huo family will also be guaranteed to prosper for a hundred years... I don't know how many people in the world have thought of this opportunity. Isn't this necessarily a blessing in disguise?
……

So not long after.

Liu Ju saw Huo Xian tremblingly climb up from the ground, and then obediently returned to Liu Ju. While accepting Liu Che's great gift, he took the wine jar that Liu Che offered to him with trembling hands.

Although he could see Liu Che's mouth moving, he could not hear what he said to Huo Shan.

However, it was obvious that Liu Che had persuaded Huo Shan to bear the psychological burden of disrespect and do as Liu Che wished.

the most important is.

Liu Ju also had no idea why Liu Che did this, and what kind of rhetoric he used to make Huo Shan submit.

However, there is no time to think about it.

Liu Ju saw another shocking scene.

Liu Che then took out a dagger about three or four inches long from his bosom. After it was unsheathed, the sharp blade dazzled Liu Ju's eyes under the refraction of the sunlight.

What is this going to do?
Could it be that Liu Che was going to kill Huo Shan suddenly with his own hands?
When Liu Ju and Huo Shan accompanied Emperor Liu Che to ascend Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, they were naturally not allowed to carry any sharp weapons. Even though Liu Ju was the crown prince, he still had to be searched by the attendants.

Since Liu Che was the emperor, naturally no one dared to restrict him.

But...Liu Ju immediately ruled out this possibility.

Liu Che would never let Huo Shan die suddenly with his own hands, at least not under such circumstances.

Just as he had thought before, if Liu Che wanted someone dead, he could easily find thousands of plausible reasons, so there was no need for him to do so.

Moreover, now it is not only Liu Ju who can see his every move. Once Huo Shan is stabbed to death on the top of Mount Tai, those ministers who are still waiting on the mountainside a mile away will soon know. Huo Shan is the son of a meritorious official after all, and Liu Che also needs to give them a reasonable explanation for doing this, otherwise he will definitely become alienated from the people of the world.

Furthermore, Liu Che was a man who was very careful about his reputation, otherwise those princes and dukes with the surname Liu who had committed crimes or even rebelled would not have all committed suicide out of fear of punishment.

"His Majesty?!"

Huo Xian was so frightened when he saw this that he took another step back.

But a moment later, Liu Ju saw him standing in front of Liu Che again, and then he took the dagger with great trepidation, lightly scratched his fingers, and squeezed his fingers a few times into the wine jar filled with choux.

"Why are you drinking blood again?"

Liu Ju became more and more confused.

But after squeezing the blood into the wine jar, Liu Che spoke a few words to Huo Shan.

Huo Xian finally lifted the wine bottle and brought it to his lips, looking like he was taking a sip.

After taking a sip, he immediately bowed and offered the wine cup to Liu Che with both hands, just as Liu Che had just toasted him.

Liu Che nodded slightly, took the wine jar on the spot, tilted his head back and drank the remaining wine mixed with Huo Xian's blood in the jar...

"What on earth are you doing?"

Liu Ju was completely confused. Even a full-level human can be completely confused sometimes.

How could he know that there was a folk legend circulating in some remote areas of Nanyue:
Rumor has it that if an old person eats the food that young people have eaten and drinks the wine that young people have drunk, and with the help of a wizard with profound magical powers to perform a mysterious sacrificial ritual, the young person's life span can be transferred to the old person's body, thereby extending the old person's life.

What Liu Che was doing at this moment was what he was taught by the Nanyue wizard named An Yu.

People can't make money beyond their awareness.

Even humans at the highest level cannot understand behaviors beyond cognition.

Now he could only be sure of one thing, that is, the wine that Huo Xian had just drunk was definitely not poisonous, otherwise if Liu Che knew about it, he would definitely not drink it with him.

And now.

The sacrificial ceremony in front of the wordless stone tablet, which was not included in the Fengshan ceremony process, was finally coming to an end. Liu Che finally led Huo Shan to kowtow to the wordless stone tablet four times, then turned and walked towards Liu Ju.

Liu Che seemed to be in a slightly better mood at the moment, and his tone of voice was no longer so stiff:

"You must be tired, come and rest in the Li Temple first."

"Huo Xian, go beat the Ying drum over there. When Su Wen and the others hear the drum, they will come up and prepare. We will spend the night on the mountain today."

"promise."

Huo Xian responded and ran to beat the drum.

Liu Ju took the opportunity to make an indirect comment:
"Father, I just saw you and Huo Xian performing the ritual of four bows and four incense offerings to the stone tablet without words. Does this have any unusual meaning in the Fengshan ritual?"

"?!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Che's expression immediately turned cold again.

(End of this chapter)