Chapter 284 Weight
Jin Midi’s smile was due to his sneering mood, and Du Xiang’s toughness was due to the tough environment.

What is the general environment of the Han Dynasty?

It is because of one’s dissatisfaction or disagreement that one will resign from office. It is the general environment in which the king chooses his ministers and the ministers also choose their king!
Unless there is great disrespect or serious crime, and the king demands that the subject must be put to death, generally speaking, a subject has the dignity of a subject.

Moreover.

Taichang was the head of the Nine Ministers, and Marquis Yangping was from a prominent family.

Du Xiang was born into the Du family of Zhuo County. Their family had been prominent since the Qin Dynasty and their influence had been passed down to this day. With his status and official position, the mere fact that he used musicians as slaves was a handle on them. If they could hold on to it and force him to resign, that would be all.

Prime Minister Du knew what was going on, so he was fearless and had nothing to say. He just accepted the defeat.

however.

His bachelor-like behavior and words of “go slow” neither moved the prince nor made him leave. Liu Ju did not move at all and sat firmly.

Prime Minister Du closed his eyes, but Liu Ju continued talking, seemingly without any meaning, or as if he was reminiscing about the past.

“It really makes me unhappy that Taichang behaves like this. If it were a few years ago, I might have done something rash. Alas, now that I think about it, it was somewhat unwise to imitate the late emperor and smash the prime minister with a chessboard when I was young.”

Liu Jushai laughed and said to himself, “It’s not accurate to say that I was young, ignorant, impulsive and easily angered. I was just not afraid of wearing shoes when I was barefoot.”

“correct.”

“An important reason is that I have no team or manpower under my command, and I have no other options, so I can only take risks.”

The cell was silent, with only Liu Ju’s voice being heard. Jin Midi stood at the back with his arms drooping and his eyes lowered, as if he were air.

Prime Minister Du, who had his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. He did not say anything, but just looked at the prince opposite him, cold and silent.

Liu Ju brushed his sleeves, sighed, looked around, and said, “When I was young, I was frivolous. I beat Li Cai and Wei Yang in the street. Sometimes I even killed one or two people when I was irritated. But now that I am older, I can’t do that anymore.”

“how?”

Prime Minister Du raised his lips and teeth, “Your Highness, have you cultivated your character and become pure and kind?”

Liu Ju curled his lips and said, “It’s fine to say this to others, but if I say this to the prejudiced Taichang, Taichang probably won’t believe it. In fact, I don’t believe it either.”

He sighed as if chatting with a good friend: “Now the Crown Prince’s Palace is strong and powerful. I am relieved, but it is also hard work.”

“Every day when I open my eyes, there are people who depend on me for food. I can no longer do whatever I want. With so many people relying on me, I have to think twice before doing anything.”

This time, Du Xiang did not respond easily.

When he spoke earlier, his words were full of sarcasm, but the prince was not angry. Instead, he continued to sigh about his life.

Even though Prime Minister Du was slow, he could sense that the atmosphere was different. After a pause, he responded, “When you are in the court, you can’t help yourself.”

“Well, that makes sense.”

Liu Ju agreed and nodded, saying, “When I sent troops to attack the Southwestern Yi at the beginning of the year, I had a dispute with the emperor in the court. Afterwards, the Marquis of Changping, the Marquis of Guanjun, and the Marquis of Wuyang all asked about it. The Shi family in Lu also sent me letters asking about it.”

“Most likely, the Grand Master doesn’t know that along with the letter came two children of the Shi family, who are very closely related to Gu Na Liang Di and are both direct descendants of the Shi family.”

“He said he came to seek refuge with me and wanted to seek an official position.”

Liu Ju said solemnly, “We are close friends and have common interests. I cannot ignore them when they come to me, so I am asking: The Water Commissioner’s Office has 1,000 shi officials, and the Ministry of Agriculture can also recommend 1,600 shi officials. They are all real vacancies and can do practical work. Is that okay?”

“But they just shook their heads.”

“I also ask: If you are worried that the official position is too high and you are not qualified for it, you can start from the local county, accumulate experience, and then be given an important position in the future. Is that feasible?”

Liu Ju smacked his lips. “But the two shook their heads again. I didn’t understand, so I asked directly: What position do you want to take? But you think the official position is too low?”

“They replied: We do not seek high office, we only seek to be a guard beside His Highness.”

“When I heard that, I suddenly realized it!” Liu Ju said solemnly, “It turns out that loyalty in one’s heart also has weight.”

Say it.

The cell remained silent and quiet; one could hear a pin drop. Jin Midi was like air, standing silently, while Du was like an ice sculpture, motionless.

Liu Ju raised his eyes and looked at the head of the nine ministers of the court. “When you are in the court, sometimes you really have no choice. The love, loyalty, and care of your relatives, retainers, and staff, no matter for what purpose, are real to me.”

“I am not a plant, I have flesh and blood, so as I grow older, I think twice before I act, for fear that a wrong step could ruin everything.”

That’s all I have to say.

Liu Ju’s expression was sullen, which was unusual for him, and his true feelings were revealed. “When I realized that I was no longer living just for myself, I became much gentler.”

“Whether you believe it or not, I have rarely used unconventional measures to resolve differences in recent years when I was diligent in government affairs, because unconventional means variables.”

“Variables bring dangers, and the accumulation of dangers can easily lead to capsizing, and the cost of capsizing is huge.”

The prince spoke very seriously, and Prime Minister Du also listened very seriously. The middle-aged man looked stern, sat upright, and said two words:
“but……”

“But I always remember it.” Liu Ju looked at him and said calmly, “Sometimes, unconventional methods must be used and must be used. Even if there are dangers, we must not be lenient.”

“Because the cost of capsizing is huge.”

The prison cell should have been stuffy in the summer, but at this moment there was a chilly air creeping up Du Xiang’s lower back, as if there was a thorn in his back!

The cell is no longer spacious and dry, and people in it are no longer at ease. Its true nature begins to show: a cell is just a cell.

Confinement, claustrophobia, malice, and coldness.

Appearance is determined by the heart… After listening to the prince’s speech, Prime Minister Du was moved. After a few breaths of silence, he said, “So Your Highness is going to take risks again?”

“It is a necessary measure.” Liu Ju would rather say so.

“What means?”

“I want to borrow something from the Minister of Rites.”

“what?”

“Life.”

Liu Ju wants to borrow the life of the head of the nine ministers of the dynasty to use!
Du Xiang closed his lips and teeth again, his face showing absurdity, fear, coldness, awe, horror, disbelief, deep disbelief!

When the prince was halfway through his long speech, Prime Minister Du had already sensed something was wrong. When the truth was revealed, Prime Minister Du was finally sure.

The prince wanted to kill!
The words of the murderer were not concealed at all. Is Prime Minister Du scared?
Very little, but most of the time it was unbelievable and unbelievable. He didn’t believe that the prince would dare to kill him on his own initiative!

The prince is not the emperor, the difference of one word makes a world of difference.

To a certain extent, among the people who can do whatever they want in the Han Dynasty, the prince is far from being ranked, because the emperor is above him!

As the crown prince, if he has improper etiquette, lacks talent, moral integrity, a bad reputation, etc., and is impeached by the censors for any of these, he will be in trouble.

How can you do whatever you want?

Moreover, the person he wanted to do whatever he wanted to was the Minister of State Affairs, so Prime Minister Du asked sneerly: “Your Highness, are you joking? Don’t you know that I am the head of the Nine Ministers?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Ju, who was standing opposite him, immediately asked back: “Hasn’t the Minister of Rites heard that he is the head of all officials?”

“Where do you think this place is, Your Highness?!”

“How did Taichang think he was sent to the Imperial Court?!”

“You–” Prime Minister Du’s expression changed three times in an instant, and he stared at the prince’s eyes closely. Unfortunately, there was no fluctuation in the other’s eyes, only calmness and indifference.

“I said I would lend you my life, and I must lend it to you.”

Du Xiang clenched his fists on his knees. As the chill filled the air, panic flashed across his eyes for the first time, but it was only fleeting. He then asked:

“I did participate in praising the General of the Cavalry, but the General of the Cavalry was victorious in every battle. Even if the matter was spread to the sky and reported to His Majesty, no one would find fault with me.”

“Your Highness wants to put me to death just for the crime of using musicians as slaves.”

“Is it difficult?”

Du Xiang had spoken very little before, but this time he spoke a lot, and it seemed as if he was trying to bring up the topic deliberately.

Liu Ju smiled when he saw this.

He knew that Prime Minister Du was trying to delay time. It just so happened that Liu Ju also had something he wanted to test. It had nothing to do with the fourth son or the fight for the throne, but was about another more secret matter…

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s difficult or not. What matters is that I want to kill you.”

“Why is your highness so obsessed with killing me?”

“As you said yourself, you are the head of the Nine Ministers. Your status is high enough and conspicuous enough. It is very appropriate to use you to shock the tiger and kill the chicken to scare the monkey!”

“…”

Prime Minister Du wanted to respond, but when the words came to his lips, he didn’t know what to say. Surprise and embarrassment alternated, but in a moment, they all turned into astonishment. It seemed really appropriate for him to use himself to establish his authority.

He came from a prominent family. After he was promoted to the position of Taichang, the gentry in various places tacitly respected Prime Minister Du and had close contacts with him.

In the early years of Yuanfeng, he was connected with the fourth prince and was in a position to compete for the throne.

Killing Prime Minister Du would not only intimidate Li Guangli, Marquis of Pingnan, and the various forces vying for the throne, but would also serve as a warning to the local gentry who were ready to make some moves, killing three birds with one stone.

It seems to be really suitable…

Knowing how important his life was to the prince and how strong the prince’s desire was to borrow his life, Du Xiang’s wildly fluctuating mood calmed down, as quiet as death.

He looked at Liu Ju with a gloomy look and indifference, “Your Highness has talked so much with me. Do you want to find out more about the movements of the noble families and the princes?”

Liu Ju raised his eyebrows when he heard this. “It is always disturbing when powerful families collude with my brothers.”

“Your Highness may have misunderstood.”

Prime Minister Du corrected him, “It’s not that the noble families want to collude with anyone, but that Your Highness wants to make things difficult for the noble families. If Your Highness didn’t have deep malice, why would we be hostile to them?”

“Your Highness is the crown prince of the Han Dynasty, and we are the people of the Han Dynasty. If the crown prince is virtuous, why would others assist him?”

“is it?”

Liu Ju sneered, leaned back, and said casually: “What a Han citizen. To fight for power and profit, he secretly communicated with the Xiongnu. He is still a Han citizen?”

“I don’t dare to accept this kind of people!”

At this moment, Jin Midi, who had been standing at the door of the cell pretending to be air from beginning to end, raised his eyelids slightly without knowing when, with a faint light flickering in his eyes, staring closely at Du Xiang’s emotional changes, not missing a single detail.

this moment.

But the expression on Taichang Qing’s face was full of surprise and doubt, “Huh!?”

(End of this chapter)