I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 525: Digging out the heart and lungs
Zhumu Garden.

"This……"

Upon learning that the Imperial Court was arresting sorcerers and wizards, Liu Hong also frowned.
"Minister Bu, how come things turned out so differently from what I expected?"

"My brother has learned of the conspiracy between me and Shi Qing and his gang. Even if he didn't immediately order the court officer to arrest me out of consideration for our brotherly love, he should have led his men to Zhumu Garden to confront me face to face, right?"

"When Brother Ju comes, I will first pretend to assassinate him to sever our brotherly love, then 'force' him to reveal the plan to those who oppose him, and finally commit suicide in front of Brother Ju. Brother Ju will surely be filled with grief and indignation, and he will have the reason and the heart to take action against that treacherous insect."

"Such a serious act of treason has occurred. Those treacherous insects have been labeled as disloyal together with me. Even if my brother treats those treacherous insects ruthlessly and kills as many of them as possible, he will always stand on the side of justice. He should not leave a bad reputation in the streets or in history books."

"But now, my brother clearly knows the plan, but he has not come to question me, nor has he arrested those treacherous insects. Instead, he ordered the court to arrest these sorcerers and wizards... In this case, how can the plan be implemented?"

"Tell me, what does your brother think?"

Bu Shi was also very puzzled by this, and frowned as he pondered:
"I don't quite understand it either... But the Crown Prince has indeed cut off the fire from under the cauldron with this move. If we continue to spread public opinion and accuse him of using witchcraft to curse Your Majesty, I'm afraid it will be hard to convince people."

"Your Highness, do you think it is possible that the prince actually has other plans in mind?"

"Even if the current reaction is different from what we expected, in the end, we will all end up in the same place. This treacherous insect will not have a good ending, right?"

"What's the plan?"

Liu Hong still had no idea and couldn't help but ask.

"If I could have guessed it, how could I have sat back and watched Your Highness be so troubled?"

Bu Shi shook his head helplessly and continued,
"But the prince has always acted unconventionally before, and he always managed to win in the end. This time may be the same."

"I have confidence in the Crown Prince, and Your Highness should also believe in his ability. After all, not everyone can kill people in the Western Regions and completely solve the problem of the Xiongnu. Based on this alone, no one in the Han Dynasty can match him, let alone these treacherous insects who cannot stand the light of day."

"Having said that..."

Liu Hong was not relieved by Bu Shi's words, and his frown remained unrelieved.
"It's not that I don't have confidence in my brother's ability, but I don't have confidence in myself. I'm afraid that I can't help my brother, or even make things worse."

"I just started to reflect on a question. Is it possible that when I reach the level of my father and my elder brother, my way of looking at people and things will also become different?"

"So my father always turns a blind eye to these treacherous insects."

"And my brother has seen what my father has seen and thought what my father has thought. I am the only one who cannot see through it."

"So, according to you, brother, your reaction was like this. Unlike what I expected, after receiving the secret letter, you did not wipe out me and these treacherous insects with lightning speed. Instead, you did something I had never expected?"

"This……"

After hearing what Liu Hong said, Bu Shi's expression changed quietly, as if he had opened a door that he had never entered before.

"Your Highness, you have grown up, and your thinking may have surpassed that of an old minister!"

“Indeed, people in different positions and at different heights have different ways of looking at people and things.”

"Your Majesty was able to become a rare ruler in a century, and the Crown Prince was able to surpass Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to become the third best of the Han Dynasty. They must have had a level of thinking that is difficult for us to reach. Everything they did must have its own reasons. We don't have that level of thinking, so we don't need to force it if we can't see through it."

"Your Highness has now done what should be done to the utmost."

"Why don't we just relax and wait and see what His Royal Highness does? Isn't this a form of wisdom?"

……

Ganquan Palace.

"The Imperial Court is arresting all the sorcerers and wizards living in Chang'an. Even the ones I keep in Weiyang Palace are not spared."

After hearing Su Wen's report, Liu Che was also puzzled.
"What hatred does this rebellious son have with these sorcerers and wizards? Why does he keep picking on them, and will he not stop until they are all killed?"

"I heard that Your Highness did this for the safety of the court, to prevent the incidents that happened during the Fengshan Ceremony from happening again." Su Wen bowed and added.

"Is it?"

Liu Che snorted without comment.

He always felt that Liu Ju's move was suspicious of veiled accusations. After all, the trend of seeking immortals and asking ghosts in the Han Dynasty could flourish today, and he, as the emperor who led the trend, had made an indelible contribution. It was inevitable that he felt a little guilty.

The reason why he felt guilty was also related to what happened during the Fengshan Ceremony.

Because the dragon did not come down to take him to heaven during the Fengshan ceremony, he had begun to waver in his belief in the words of these alchemists and wizards.

Even though no one reminded him of the incident between An Yu and Huo Xian, he had already suspected that the so-called longevity-borrowing ceremony was a scam.

This made him look very stupid, especially in front of Liu Ju.

Liu Che was a man who cared a lot about his reputation. How could he be willing to show weakness in front of Liu Ju?
Now Liu Ju suddenly ordered the court to arrest all the alchemists and wizards living in Chang'an. This made him feel even more like Liu Ju was exposing his shortcomings, and he naturally felt a little dissatisfied.

"In addition, there have been some minor fluctuations in public opinion in Chang'an."

Su Wen continued,

"There were rumors in some places that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had used witchcraft to curse Your Majesty, causing Your Majesty's health to deteriorate. However, this rumor was not widely spread and not many people believed it, so it soon disappeared."

"It would be strange if anyone believed it!"

Liu Che said with a smile,
"Since Liu Ju was in Donglai waiting for the gods, he has not believed in these sorcerers and wizards. He spared no effort to destroy their jobs and repeatedly contradicted me because of these things."

"Now that he has ordered the court to arrest these sorcerers and wizards, such rumors are self-defeating. Otherwise, since witchcraft curses are so effective, wouldn't he be afraid that these sorcerers and wizards would use witchcraft to retaliate?"

"Besides, I am just pretending to be sick, not really ill. Even this premise is not true. I am the first one who will never believe such rumors."

"However... I have just ordered Liu Ju to take charge of government affairs, and rumors like this have already appeared in Chang'an."

"It can be seen that there are many people in the court and the country who do not want Liu Ju to succeed to the throne. I have no choice but to pay attention to this matter. You should make a note of this matter. After I return to the capital, I will order Wei Kang to conduct a thorough investigation in secret!"

"promise."

Su Wen bowed and responded.

"Compared to this matter, I am more concerned about Liu Ju's performance in his first court session tomorrow morning."

Liu Che pondered again and said,
"Since some people don't want him to succeed to the throne, they will definitely find ways to give him some problems at the morning court. This will be one of the most important tests before he succeeds to the throne."

"I hope he will not disappoint me, and that the civil and military officials will learn from his progress in the Western Regions over the years."

"But I actually hope these people can teach him a lesson."

"We should also teach him as soon as possible how the political games in the court differ from leading troops in battle, how these old foxes kill people without shedding blood, and why the emperor follows the path of loneliness and widowhood?"

"Because I'm really going to be so open with them in the future, and they're playing with me without even realizing it."

"..."

Hearing the words "with all my heart", Su Wen's heart involuntarily tightened.

Is this what “No one knows a son better than his father” means?

Liu Ju was indeed in the habit of being open-hearted with others, and he suspected that these old foxes in Liu Che's eyes might not be able to stand it...

(End of this chapter)