Liu Tan, who was taking a vacation, had no idea that someone was secretly plotting against his life.

After feeling relieved, he slept until noon the next day.

Then, as soon as he opened his eyes, he heard Fu Yu say, "Your Highness, you are finally awake."

Liu Tan glanced at the sundial and smiled, "It's a little late, but since there's nothing else to do, it's good for me to relax a bit today."

Fu Yu said helplessly, "It's okay for Your Highness to want to relax, but His Majesty has sent someone to present the reward."

Liu Tan was immediately shocked: "When?"

Cen You helped him sort out his clothes while saying, "He came here half an hour ago."

Liu Tan asked again: "What about now?"

"I'm waiting in the main hall now."

Liu Tan was filled with questions. "So you actually made me wait for half an hour? Why didn't you wake me up?"

Although he was just an errand eunuch, he was also someone close to Liu Che. How could he be ignored? If he really ignored them, these people would have been around Liu Che for a long time and occasionally say something bad about you. Dear, do you know what it means to have a bad reputation?

Seeing Liu Tan's expression was off, Cen You quickly said, "He was the one who told us not to disturb His Highness, and even said that His Majesty had personally told His Highness to wake up before accepting the reward."

Oh, that’s what Liu Che said. Then it’s okay.

However, Liu Tan still prepared a big red envelope for the eunuch who came to present the award to comfort his anxious heart after waiting for a long time.

As expected, after receiving the red envelope, the eunuch, who had some status around Liu Che, smiled much more sincerely and patted Liu Tan's horse repeatedly.

Liu Tan chatted with him perfunctorily for a while, and only then did he sigh after sending the man away: He thought that the request he made yesterday was really a reward for him, but he didn't expect that Liu Che had quietly prepared a big reward for him.

Among this reward, gold, pearls and treasures are of course included, and silks and satins are also definitely included. Although Liu Tan himself cannot use them, in fact, in those days, cloth can be used as hard currency.

In addition to these valuable things, what surprised Liu Tan the most was that Liu Che actually prepared a manor for him.

Or maybe it should not be called Zhuangzi, but a garden, just like when Liu Ju came of age, Liu Che gave him a Bowang Garden. This time, Liu Che also gave Liu Tan a garden, meaning that it was specially used for him to entertain guests. His original manor was fine for his own vacation, but it was a bit shabby for entertaining guests.

Liu Che also gave it a name - Shiheyuan.

Liu Tan looked at the name and always felt that it had a profound meaning.

"Shi He" actually means to spread one's wings and fly high. It sounds like it has no other intention and cannot be compared with the prince's Bowang Garden.

But the palace where Liu Tan lived was Sui Yu Palace. Sui Yu originally means flying, and Sui Yu is the sound of a bird flying. He thought that Chen Ajiao chose this palace for him because it was close to Jiao Fang Palace, and the other reason was probably because she hoped that he could really spread his wings and fly, and knock down the two flying in front of him.

But when it comes to Liu Che...Liu Tan thought that Liu Che might want him to fly to the sky to find the gods.

After secretly complaining about the name of the garden, Liu Tan didn't care about it anymore. As for this thing, he was excited when he got the first one, feeling that he finally had land. Although he was happy about the second one, the excitement was definitely not as high as the first one. But he still had to go and see it.

Shiheyuan is relatively close to the imperial city, and it only takes a quarter of an hour to get there. Although there are not such large-scale fertile fields, the large areas of buildings are more shocking.

In particular, although Liu Che's aesthetic taste is similar to Chen Ajiao's, it is not exactly the same. Chen Ajiao prefers a more delicate and graceful style, while Liu Che wants a luxurious and grand style.

When Liu Tan first laid eyes on the main hall of Shihe Garden, he turned to look at Miao Rui and asked, "Isn't this... beyond the rules?"

He has always been very careful in this regard, because there are too many favored ministers or meritorious officials in history books who are arrogant and overstep the boundaries if they are not careful. Then the emperor turns a blind eye when he likes them, and when he needs to deal with them, this is an obvious excuse.

He is of noble and sensitive status. There are only three people who can suppress him in terms of etiquette. If anyone breaks the rules, he will be in trouble.

Now, not to mention other places in Shiheyuan, first of all, the height of the main hall is wrong. This height is probably only used by the prince. Who built it? Are they trying to trick him?

Miao Rui paused and said, "It was agreed by His Majesty himself."

Liu Tan's first reaction was: "How tall is Bowang Garden?"

Miao Rui said, "The heights are almost the same, but Bowang Garden is a bit bigger."

After hearing this, Liu Tan felt a little relieved. This... Liu Che agreed. It wasn't that someone was smuggling contraband, and it wasn't the same as Bowang Garden. There shouldn't be any problem, right?

As for whether Liu Ju would take it to heart, there is no need to worry too much. At present, Liu Ju is still a generous person. The only person who needs to be worried is probably Liu Fuling.

Liu Tan was thinking about this while observing his new garden. As soon as he entered, Bi Gao came out and asked, "Your Highness, would you like to see the gift list first?"

"Gift list?" Liu Tan paused. "What gift list?"

Bigao said, "These are all gifts from people who want to meet His Highness."

"See me? What do you want to see me for? Bring it to me first." Liu Tan felt a little puzzled. He was such a homebody, either staying in the palace or on the farm. Why would anyone want to see him?

Anyone who would come specially to send gifts and ask for an audience must be someone he doesn't know. If he knew someone, he could just send the visiting card directly to the palace to ask him out.

Liu Tan took the gift list handed over by Bigo. He originally thought it was just a piece of paper at most, but when he took it and took a look, he was surprised that it was almost folded into a booklet!

He opened it with a look of shock and found that it was covered with dense Chinese calligraphy. The words on it were either gold or jade. Liu Tan was dizzy and simply threw the gift list to Bigao and said, "Why are there so many people giving gifts?"

Bigao smiled and said, "Your Highness is intelligent, so naturally there will be people who want to become your disciples."

Liu Tan understood a little, and he said directly: "Please make a list for me and I will take a look at it later."

He was not so resistant to this kind of thing. Anyway, he would be a vassal sooner or later. Now he would see if there were any good seedlings he knew of. If there were any, he would recruit them quickly. Although Liu Che was very strict about the appointment of officials in counties and kingdoms, and the prime minister and some important officials must be appointed by the court, he should not be so strict with his son. As long as Liu Tan did not intend to poach the pillars of the country, Liu Che should not mind letting him take one or two people away.

Yes, he only wanted one or two. If it was too many, it would be difficult for Liu Che to agree, and Liu Ju would definitely not agree.

After walking around his yard, Liu Tan found that although it was New Year's Day, the weather was still a bit cold. The garden was bare, the water was frozen, and there was nothing to see. It would surely look beautiful in the summer.

After he returned to the house, Bigo presented the list he had compiled. This time, he was smarter and wrote the value of the gifts after each person's name, and arranged them from high to low in order of value.

After Liu Tan opened it, he saw the first name on it and felt it looked very familiar - Jiang Chong.

When he saw the name, his face changed, and four bloody words flashed through his mind: Witchcraft Disaster.

This guy is the initiator of the witchcraft disaster, he is a disaster!

Liu Tan quickly turned around and asked Bi Gao, "What official position does Jiang Chong hold now?"

Only then did Bi Gao realize that he seemed to have neglected his work and forgot to mark the official titles of these people. After all, his prince did not seem to care about state affairs, and he did not know who many people were.

Bi Gao replied cautiously, "Your Highness, half a year ago, His Majesty appointed Jiang Chong as the Imperial Court Official."

A messenger... is basically a position that conveys orders for the emperor, and there is no fixed number of people.

However, Liu Che appointed Jiang Chong personally, which probably shows that he was impressed by him.

Liu Tan fell into deep thought. Jiang Chong was a real villain and had certain abilities. He first falsely accused the Crown Prince of Zhao, Liu Dan, which led to Liu Dan's dethronement. Then he caused the Witchcraft Incident, which led to the death of Liu Ju. It was acceptable that he had killed two crown princes in his lifetime.

As for his ability, even if many people have a low opinion of him and say that he is a liar who deceived Liu Che, Liu Tan believes that Liu Che is not someone who is easily deceived, or that those who can deceive Liu Che must have certain abilities.

Even if Liu Tan had made up so many stories before, he would not dare to say that Liu Che really believed them. Jiang Chong was able to make Liu Che believe them, which is also one of his abilities.

But...hadn't Jiang Chong previously favored Liu Fuling? Why did he come to him to give him a gift?

Liu Tan pondered for a while before asking, "What would His Royal Highness the Crown Prince do?"

Bi Gao and Miao Rui were a little surprised. They didn't expect Liu Tan to ask them. But Liu Tan was very calm. He didn't understand. Besides, these two people were sent by Liu Che. Even if they were not carefully selected, they must have been assessed. They must have strong business capabilities to do the job, otherwise it would not be their turn.

Bigao said thoughtfully, "Generally, those who bring gifts to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will receive a token of trust. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince holds a meeting every two weeks, and those who hold the token of trust can enter."

"Inquiry? Is this the inquiry I understand?" Liu Tan was a little curious.

Miao Rui explained, "It's just about letting these people talk freely, regardless of their background or status. Those with talent will be applauded."

Liu Tan asked, "What are you discussing? State affairs?"

“Everything is possible.”

Liu Tan: ...

In fact, he had already expected that the cold relationship between Liu Che and Liu Ju in the later period was definitely not Liu Che's fault alone.

It can be said that the Bowang Garden given to him by Liu Che and the permission for him to make friends with various "heroes" caused Liu Ju's ideas to go in the opposite direction from Liu Che's, which was harmful to him.

Liu Tan pondered for a moment and then said, "You don't have to accept gifts from others in the future."

Miao Rui and Bigo were both very surprised: "Huh?"

Liu Tan said calmly: "I don't need these."

Putting aside other things, he really wants money. Isn't the white wine, white sugar and rock sugar in his hand money?

Things that are served at state banquets are a sign of the times. Nobles will be willing to buy them, and ordinary people will also want to buy them.

Why would he take the risk of accepting a bribe?

But this time, Liu Tan accepted the gifts and simply asked someone to give a jar of wine to each of those who gave gifts.

After the state banquet, this wine became very popular even if it was not a household name. When he was distilling it before, he asked someone to build a cellar, but later it was all taken away by Emperor Wu of Han, leaving only a few jars. The ones now are all newly made.

Not long after Liu Tan returned to the palace, he was called over by Chen Ajiao. Chen Ajiao looked him up and down and said, "I heard that you rejected all those who gave you gifts?"

Liu Tan quickly said, "It's not a rejection, it's just that it's not needed. The Crown Prince has obtained the approval of his father, the Emperor, so I dare not follow suit."

Chen Ajiao said, "You don't have to be too careful. These people don't give you gifts just for those little things."

Liu Tan looked at Chen Ajiao with some curiosity.

Chen Ajiao continued, "Those people just want to get an appointment with you. They will do it even if you don't let them."

Liu Tan was bewildered: "Why?"

Chen Ajiao said, "Silly child, who doesn't make mistakes sometimes? What happened to Li Xi is very common, but having someone to save him is something you can only encounter once in a while."

Liu Tan understood instantly. It turned out that these people treated him as a Bodhisattva. They gave him tributes during festivals and came to worship him to pray for a turnaround when they encountered problems.

This is even more unacceptable. In order to save Li Xi, he exhausted himself by getting a grape. If another one comes, will he be able to survive?

Liu Tan decided not to take on this kind of thing, and then asked about opening a store. He thought that alcohol was banned in the country, but sugar could be sold.

Yes, during this period, wine was a state-owned material and could not be sold at will. It was probably because they were worried that the profit of wine would be too high, which would cause everyone to use grain to make wine. The lower-class people were already unable to eat enough, and if the rich continued to buy up grain in large quantities to make wine, it would definitely cause trouble!

But sugar is different. Before it became popular, it was a luxury. If possible, Liu Tan even wanted to set aside a piece of land to grow sugarcane!

Chen Ajiao said nonchalantly, "If you want to do it, do it. I have a few shops selling rouge and lead powder, but they don't make much money. You can use them to play with them."

Liu Tan found that his ability to endure seemed to have improved a lot. Whenever Chen Ajiao casually offered to give him something, he would smile and act cute to express his gratitude.

After maintaining a close relationship with Chen Ajiao, Liu Tan prepared to go back to focus on his career. Although his parents are rich, his own money is the money that gives him peace of mind!

As soon as he returned to Sui Yu Palace, he saw Fu Yu holding up a visiting card and said, "Your Highness, this is from Little Kunmi."

Liu Tan opened it and took a quick look. He discovered that the entire thing was about one thing: Lu Xuan was going back.