I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 523: Blind student, I found the highlight!
Half an hour later, at the Prime Minister's Mansion.

"how?"

Shi Qing, who had already exchanged the brocade for his son, called his second son Shi De, who had just returned, into the study, and after ordering him to close the door, he asked briefly.

"Father, Liu Ju probably hasn't noticed our relationship with An Yu and Liu Hong yet. He showed no resentment towards me when he met me today. He even went through the etiquette of becoming my apprentice and gave me a badge that allows me to enter and leave Bowang Garden freely."

Shi De naturally knew what Shi Qing was asking, and answered with a humble look,
"In addition, Liu Ju also arranged a residence for his son in Bowang Garden."

"This residence is also very particular. It is exactly where Dong Zhongshu lived when he was the Prince's tutor. There is no neglect at all."

As he spoke, Shi De took out a bronze plate with a red tassel tied to it and presented it to Shi Qing for inspection. This was the waist badge that allowed free entry and exit of Bowang Garden, similar to the waist badge of the Shizhong that allowed free entry and exit of Weiyang Palace.

"So, the servant who escaped from Zhumu Garden did not involve us when he arrived at Bowang Garden?"

Shi Qing's brows did not relax, he just pondered and said.

As for the previous Nanyue wizard An Yu, he was not very worried because he had no direct contact with An Yu. Even if An Yu said something to Liu Qi before his death, it would only involve Liu Hong's prime minister Bu Shi.

The most crucial person is Liu Hong's attendant, who knows much more than An Yu.

However, rather than saying that he was worried about Liu Hong's attendants, it would be better to say that what he was really worried about was Liu Hong and Bu Shi... After all, once An Yu brought up Bu Shi, Liu Hong would be implicated, and once something went wrong with Liu Hong, it would mean that all his previous plans would be exposed, and he would naturally not be able to stay out of it.

Therefore, even if there is a one in ten thousand chance, he must not be careless.

"Do you think this could be Liu Ju's delaying tactic? He is treating you like this just to temporarily stabilize us, and then he will catch us all in one fell swoop when he is fully prepared?"

After pondering for a moment, Shi Qing asked again.

"This... my son can't say for sure."

Shi De answered uncertainly.

"What about the morning court in two days? Did Liu Ju tell you what he plans to do?"

Shi Qing continued to ask.

The morning court two days later was the first morning court held by Liu Ju after he was ordered to take charge of government affairs.

In the eyes of many people, this morning court session was of extraordinary significance. It could be seen as Liu Ju's first step towards the throne of emperor and a major step towards taking control of power.

However, it has not been confirmed whether Emperor Liu Che has passed away, nor has he officially abdicated.

Therefore, Liu Ju could only sit on the special seat under the dragon bed as he had done before as regent, and accept the worship and reports from all officials on behalf of Liu Che.

"Liu Ju only asked his son about some court etiquette and rules, and told him to prepare a notice for him to read at the morning court within two days. He did not elaborate on other matters."

Shi De said,

"By the way, Liu Ju also asked his son to tell his father that he hoped his father and Imperial Censor Zhang Gan could help out a little at this morning's court session to avoid any omissions."

"Gone?"

Until now, Shi Qing didn't hear any problems, but he still couldn't feel at ease.

"Gone."

Shi De nodded.

"I told you the most important thing. Did you forget to test Liu Ju's attitude?"

Shi Qing frowned again.

"How dare my son forget."

Shi De then hurriedly said,

"However, my son did not dare to ask too directly, and only hinted at it. Judging from Liu Ju's behavior, he probably does not know the extent of His Majesty's illness. He has not been able to see His Majesty these days, just like the rest of us. I don't know what to do now. I can only obey His Majesty's orders and make plans later."

"Um……"

Shi Qing glanced at his son who only answered one question at a time.
"These situations you have explored still cannot rule out the possibility that Liu Ju is pretending to be ignorant while knowing the truth."

"Since Liu Ju has arranged a place for you to stay and given you a badge that allows you to enter and leave Bowang Garden freely, you should go out more often in the next two days. If you can find out something, that would be great. Even if you can't, try to establish a good relationship with Liu Ju, fulfill your duties as a tutor in front of him, and increase your say in front of him."

"At this critical moment, you may be needed to add fuel to the fire and influence Liu Ju's thinking so that he will fall into the trap."

If Shi Qing knew history, he would definitely not arrange it this way.

He still didn't know Liu Che well enough, and didn't know what terrible things Liu Che would do when he got angry... If he knew that people who participated in the "Witchcraft Disaster" in history, no matter if they were close to Liu Ju, opposed Liu Ju, or even those who remained neutral but had some connection with this incident, almost no one would have a good ending.

Shi Qing would never let his own son, his favorite son, get involved in this.

Doing this will definitely not only harm Shi De, even if what the Shi family did is not exposed at all, the Shi family will be doomed.

Of course, there is a prerequisite for him to dare to make such an arrangement.

It was Liu Che's unusual arrangement this time that made him tend to believe that Liu Che was terminally ill and on the verge of death.

And once Emperor Wu of Han passed away, he would be able to get rid of Liu Ju and help Liu Hong ascend to the throne smoothly. Even if Shi De was involved in some matters, he would be able to make big things small and small things disappear without any worries.

"My son understands."

Shi De nodded in agreement.

"In that case, my son will go and write the notice that Liu Ju will use in the morning court."

"Go."

Shi Qing waved his hand, and after Shi De left, he frowned again and fell into deep thought.

Although he had just reached a consensus with Liu Hong and was preparing to create a "witchcraft disaster" to kill Liu Ju.

But it takes time to arrange these things, and the dissemination of public opinion also requires a process...and the next two days gave him just the right amount of time to prepare. If he hurried, he could just attack Liu Ju at the morning court.

Political power requires legality.

The morning court, where hundreds of officials gathered, was the best opportunity to attack the legitimacy of Liu Ju's succession to the throne.

Moreover, in this situation, Liu Ju, who had no deep foundation and no experience, had to make a convincing response on the spot when faced with doubts, falling into the self-proving trap he had prepared for Liu Ju, instead of throwing tantrums and using violence to persecute dissidents.

Of course, if Liu Ju was really like this, Shi Qing would only be happier.

Anyway, the people who would take the lead in questioning Liu Ju would definitely not be him, but some young and inexperienced scholars and doctors who were led by public opinion, and he would only play the role of a prime minister and grand tutor who "took sides" for Liu Ju.

Therefore, he will definitely not be the first to bear the brunt.

Liu Ju would also fall into an even more unfavorable public opinion dilemma, and any subsequent explanation would be pale and powerless. At that time, Liu Hong only needed to stand on the commanding heights of loyalty and filial piety and raise his arms to make a call, and the matter would be half done. If Liu Ju fell into the trap of self-proof, he would also be in an absolutely passive situation.

Although Shi Qing did not know the saying of later generations, "It takes only one mouth to spread a rumor, but it takes a lot of running around to dispel it," he also knew how difficult it was to prove oneself. Those who fell into the trap of self-provenness lost from the beginning.

Moreover, under his arrangement, with witnesses and evidence, Liu Ju would never be able to explain himself even if he had a lot of mouths. He couldn't get rid of the blame even if he wanted to, and he couldn't avoid the stigma of being disloyal and unfilial...

By then, Liu Hong only needs to stand on the commanding heights of loyalty and filial piety and raise his arm to call for action, and the matter will be half done.

In short, in his plan, Liu Ju was already in a lose-lose situation, with absolutely no chance of a comeback.

And in this process.

There are only two people who need to be guarded against, one is Liu Che and the other is Wei Zifu.

If Liu Che could die soon and without leaving a clear will, it would not only provide him with some opportunities to manipulate, but the legitimacy of Liu Ju's succession would also be further questioned.

Of course, if Liu Che recovered quickly and returned to Weiyang Palace to take power.

As for how to deal with Liu Ju, whether this witchcraft case would be thoroughly investigated, or even not investigated at all and the case overturned, it all depended on Liu Che's personal thoughts.

And don't forget that the Han Dynasty was a two-palace system after all.

Even if Wei Zifu did not exercise the power of the queen on a daily basis, it did not mean that she had no power... At least in the palace, when Liu Che was not around, Wei Zifu's power was unlimited. She could order the armory to be opened to distribute weapons, mobilize the horses and carriages in the central stables, and call on the Changle Palace guards.

Shi Qing could easily imagine that if something unexpected happened, Wei Zifu would spare no effort to support her own son Liu Ju.

However, if it really came to this, Liu Che had not yet recovered and still refused to see anyone.

That would prove that Liu Che was in great danger...

At that time, he, the prime minister who had been like a decoration before, would no longer be a decoration. He could also raise the banner and mobilize the troops from the counties and prefectures in the three prefectures to fight against Liu Ju, the disloyal and unfilial son, in the name of maintaining imperial power, and even learn from Zhao Gao of the Qin Dynasty to forge an imperial edict and forcibly put Liu Hong on the throne.

Or whether to support Liu Hong at that time will be up to him.

Compared with Liu Hong, he still hopes to support Li's Liu Bo to take the power. After all, Liu Bo is still young, and Li is a weak and incompetent rat. Comparatively speaking, he is easier to control than Liu Hong... If Li had not dared to cooperate before, he would not have considered cooperating with Liu Hong.

Most importantly, he is not alone.

Behind him is a huge powerful interest group that occupies half of the government and the opposition. When necessary, these people will lend a helping hand...but these people each have their own thoughts. Except for some people who are too deeply involved and have to advance and retreat with him, the rest of them will only choose to wait and see who is about to win before they see the situation clearly, and then help whoever is about to win.

This plan is not without the risk of failure.

Just like the birthday ceremony and the defection of Liu Hong's attendants, no one could have expected that there would be unexpected events that were completely out of the plan, which caught him off guard.

But now his situation may be even more dangerous.

The defection of Liu Hong's attendant has left him with no way out. If he does not take the initiative, he will most likely just sit and wait for death. He is even more unwilling to take this risk, so he might as well give it a try and take his fate into his own hands!

……

That night.

"Your Highness, someone threw in another secret letter..."

Guo Zhen held a stone wrapped in white silk in his hand. This time the silk was not opened. Prince Zhongdun and Guo Zhen, who received the secret letter, did not check it without permission.

The person who delivered the secret letter was also not caught.

"Is this the method again?"

Liu Ju laughed, took it, opened it, and carefully read the contents.

The content of this secret letter was even more shocking, as it revealed the secret that Liu Hong had colluded with Shi Qing and other court officials to throw the dirty water of witchcraft on Liu Ju.

It even spells out every specific step and operation, no matter how small.

"Is this coming back to me?"

After reading it, Liu Ju was speechless.

The secret letter a few days ago exposed the fact that Liu Hong, Shi Qing and other court officials practiced witchcraft to curse Liu Che. Only a few days later, the dirty water was thrown on him again, intending to make him the protagonist and the biggest victim of the witchcraft disaster again as in history.

But the difference is.

In history, Liu Ju probably did not receive such a secret letter before the Witchcraft Incident, and did not make any preparations in advance. It was not until Jiang Chong inexplicably dug out the witchcraft puppet from his mansion that he realized he had fallen into a trap. In panic, he was unable to defend himself, and could not see Liu Che who was recuperating in Ganquan Palace. In the end, he took the risk because he was unwilling to sit and wait for death.

But this time, there is always a mysterious person secretly sending a message to remind...

And the identity of this mysterious man is by no means simple.

After all, this is a serious matter that could lead to the execution of an entire clan. Anyone who is plotting such a thing will be on high alert. Even personal attendants will have to retreat more than ten feet away to ensure that they cannot hear even a single word.

Therefore, the person who could explain the contents of the conspiracy so clearly must be a core figure involved in the conspiracy.

"So……"

Liu Ju suddenly thought of the attendant who defected from Zhumuyuan.

The list he wrote on the lining was extremely detailed, and it was obvious that he was not qualified to access this list. Even if he had occasionally heard some content or met some people, it should not be so detailed.

Moreover, although Liu Hong was a little immature when he was still young a few years ago, it can still be seen that he is not a stupid person, and is even smarter than most people.

Liu Hong is now over 10 years old, so he must have made some progress.

Faced with such an important matter, how could he be so careless, not only allowing a servant to know so many secrets, but also letting him escape from Zhumu Garden to Bowang Garden?

It doesn't make sense...

The most important thing is that Liu Ju couldn’t figure it out either.

He had clearly ordered Guo Zhen to report the fact that the attendant had escaped to Bowang Garden. Regardless of whether these things were related to Liu Hong, he should not have been so patient.

What on earth is this kid thinking about?
"Wait a minute!"

While thinking about this, Liu Ju suddenly noticed something and stood up immediately.

"Guo Zhen, Liu Hong is not young anymore, has he married and had children?"

"This……"

Guo Zhen didn't know why Liu Ju asked this question for a moment, and after a pause he said,
"In reply to your Highness, I have recently conducted a thorough investigation of the King of Qi. He has never married in all these years."

"Moreover, three years ago, the Queen had arranged a marriage for him. She had already asked for a name, but when she proposed, the King of Qi declined. It was said that the King of Qi had someone read his face, and the fortune teller said that he should not get married before the age of 25, otherwise he might die early, so his marriage was put on hold."

(End of this chapter)