Feeling uneasy, Liu Che followed his father to a relatively quiet side hall.

As soon as he entered the door, Liu Che smelled a faint smell of herbs.

Liu Che felt depressed. Things in the palace could not be hidden from outsiders, let alone such a major matter as the emperor's health.

In fact, almost everyone in the government and the public knows that the emperor has been in poor health recently.

However, it is difficult for outsiders to know whether the emperor had a cold or something else.

Even Liu Che doesn't know the true condition of his father's body.

The only one who knows all this is probably the doctor, Ling Zhou Ren.

At this moment, Liu Che thought of Liang Wang Liu Wu's instructions, and also thought of the rumors he had heard during this period. Combined with the current situation, his heart skipped a beat, and he knew that his father's health might be in trouble.

Now, Liu Che had two choices before him.

One immediately knelt down and with tears streaming down his face advised Jun's father to take good care of his health and not to overwork himself.

The benefits of doing this are obvious.

This is also the subconscious choice most princes make when encountering this situation.

but……

The emperor's health is undoubtedly a state secret.

Dad didn't even tell Chao Cuo and asked Zhou Ren to keep it a secret. Obviously, this was not a minor illness.

If Liu Che knelt down and said those routine words at this time.

There is no doubt that it will be recorded by the historian hiding behind the curtain.

Then, the whole world will know that the emperor of the Han Dynasty is ill, and the problem is serious enough to hide it from the ministers and the prince.

As a result, Wu Chu and other countries are still not happy?

What’s even more terrifying is that if this disrupts some of dad’s arrangements, it will definitely be the fault of the prince, Liu Che!

Don't think that historians are very strict?

Half of the things in the palace were spread by the talkative eunuchs, and half were leaked by the historians...

Otherwise, where do you think the idioms like "sweat profusely, like rays on the back" and "uneducated and incompetent" come from?

Liu Che remembered clearly that in his previous life, when the emperor deposed Zhou Yafu, as soon as he gave the order, various versions came out that filled the streets.

And those vivid stories that are so detailed that even the details of how the emperor became angry and how Zhou Yafu talked back are obviously not something ordinary people can tell...

At least, the current level of education of the palace eunuchs is enough for them to tell such a good story.

Liu Che's second option was to pretend not to smell the medicine.

Doing so avoids the shortcomings mentioned above.

But one thing is that the emperor is not a fool. Although the smell of the herbs in this palace is very weak, you can still smell it as long as your nose does not lose its function.

The king's father is sick. As a son, judging from the morality at this time, he should kneel down immediately. From then on, he would not take off his clothes, taste the soup and medicine himself, and serve around the clock, just like Liu Che's imperial grandfather, Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, served Empress Dowager Bo.

.

Anyone who doesn’t do that must be unfilial!

The key point is that the emperor's father will definitely feel uncomfortable in his heart.

Back then, the late emperor had gangrene on his back. Liu Che's father was just a little reluctant to suck the late emperor's juice, but he immediately gave him a scolding!

"What should we do?" Liu Che's mind was racing.

There is no doubt that no matter how Liu Che chooses these two options, there are risks.

But there is not much time, he must make a decision immediately!

Thoughts are racing in my mind. It seems that there are many things on my mind, but actually not much time is spent.

In just ten breaths, Liu Che made a decision.

He immediately knelt down and said: "My son and I are unfilial, and our father's holy body is not in good condition, but he didn't know it. It is a capital crime!"

As he spoke, Liu Che shed tears, and the expression on his face became solemn and lonely, looking like a standard filial son.

Obviously Liu Che chose the former.

In Liu Che's view, since both options have risks, choose the one that is relatively safe!

The reason is very simple. He is a son first and a prince secondly. Without the protection of his father, he is nothing!

To put it bluntly, the overall situation and politics have nothing to do with Liu Che right now.

Emperor Liu Qi looked at Liu Che's appearance and felt somewhat warm in his heart.

His heart softened, and he waved his hand and said: "I'm fine. Doctor Zhongling has prescribed a prescription. Just take a few doses of medicine and you'll be fine. Prince, don't worry too much!"

"Look at you like this..." Emperor Liu Qi shook his head, asked a eunuch to help Liu Che up, and said softly: "The reason why I kept it from the prince is because I was afraid that the prince would think nonsense. Don't worry, I'm fine!"

Liu Che then wiped away his tears, tried his best to look like a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, and asked happily: "Really?"

Seeing the serious and concerned look on Liu Che's face, Emperor Liu Qi couldn't help but sneered and cursed: "Why did I lie to you?"

"My son, I'm relieved..." Liu Che immediately nodded happily and even jumped a little.

This cheerful and warm scene immediately brought the relationship between father and son closer.

The atmosphere has also become much more relaxed and no longer dull.

When Liu Che sat down, the emperor Liu Qi chose his words a little and asked: "What exactly is going on? Why are the Cheng Zheng family and the Zhuo family in Linqiong willing to spend 100,000 yuan to repair the Baoxian Road? The prince followed

Let me tell you carefully..."

Although he has many sources of information.

However, the spy he placed on the prince* would only pay attention to who the prince met and could not grasp anything too detailed.

As for the report by Yan Yi and others, since it was a formal occasion and recorded by the historian, it was naturally impossible to give a detailed report.

What he knows now is that the prince used some tricks to get the big businessman in Linqiong to relent and be willing to contribute one hundred thousand yuan.

But there is so much mystery surrounding these matters that even he, the emperor, can't figure it out.

When did businessmen in the world become so easy to talk to?

The emperor Liu Qi remembered clearly that when he was still the prince, Chao Cuo would spend most of his energy going to Chang'an to get money for the prince* every year, and he could only make an income of thousands of dollars a year.

What kind of magic did Liu Che cast to make the two big businessmen in Shu County so obedient?

Liu Che was slightly startled.

This is troublesome to talk about.

However, Liu Che knew very clearly that this matter could not be concealed. If his prince wanted to continue his work safely, he could not hide anything from his father.

So, he bowed slightly, typed a draft, and replied: "This is what I want to report to my father..."

After listening to Liu Che's narration, Emperor Liu Qi's eyes widened, and the anger on his face could not go away.

"Shameless!" Emperor Liu Qi immediately slapped the armrest of the imperial couch with murderous intent.

The local officials of Shu County and the eunuchs he sent to Shu County actually joined forces with businessmen to trick the emperor. Deng Tong's assets that should have been confiscated and put into the treasury were actually turned into the business's property by those guys.

Emperor Liu Qi felt that he absolutely couldn't bear this kind of thing!

Must be thoroughly investigated!

but……

Suddenly, Emperor Liu Qi thought of a question.

Where did the prince know these things?

Why did the prince let the Cheng Zheng family and the Zhuo family go?

So Emperor Liu Qi asked: "How did the prince know this?"

Liu Che lowered his head and replied: "Reporting to my father, a few days ago, didn't I ask my father to give me the details of the Shaofu's accounts over the years for me to read and study? It was from the accounts that I discovered..."

Liu Che had naturally thought about how to answer this question for a long time.

In fact, such a possibility does exist in theory.

Probably because the entire civil affairs system of the Han Dynasty was completely copied from the civil affairs system of the Qin Dynasty!

It is completely different from the later Song and Ming systems!

Under the policy of establishing households to equalize the people, the Han Dynasty could even proudly shout to the later Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties: There are no hidden houses here!

You have to ask why?

Probably because the land tax and corvee policies of the Western Han Dynasty government were quite sharp, almost rivaling the household registration policy of the later Great Celestial Dynasty.

Businessmen have city registration, farmers have household registration, soldiers have military registration, slaves have slave registration, and even the palace has palace registration!

The powerful civil administration system inherited from the Qin Dynasty enabled the entire Han Dynasty to control almost the entire registered population.

As for what you said about hiding?
To be continued...