When Liu Che saw Liu Ju's confused expression, he immediately felt relieved. Well, he couldn't be the only one feeling depressed.

Of course, what made him most comfortable was that Liu Tan did not mention this matter to Liu Ju. The little bastard finally knew that he had to tell his father first.

Liu Ju came to his senses and replied, "Yes, I will give the order right away."

After he finished speaking, he asked very naturally, "Father, is there something wrong with the Prince of Yan?"

Liu Che snorted coldly: "This rebellious son!"

Liu Ju's ears jumped. Liu Che rarely got angry with his sons. If he didn't like them, he would just ignore them. He had many sons anyway, not to mention that Liu Dan was far away in Yan State. Even if they did something inappropriate, Liu Che would basically turn a blind eye and not be annoyed.

He hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether he should continue asking.

As he hesitated, Liu Che opened his mouth and said, "Yan State is now harboring evil. Not only are there many bandits selling people, but they even dare to smuggle ironware to the Xiongnu!"

Liu Ju's expression turned grim after hearing this. "What is the King of Yan doing? Ironware is so important, and he didn't even get a whiff of it being secretly shipped to the Xiongnu?"

Liu Che thought of his previous time in the Northern Border Kingdom. Liu Tan was under strict supervision in his capital. Ordinary people were not allowed to possess sharp weapons, let alone iron weapons. Even if there were special reasons, he had to ascend the throne. Once damaged, it had to be registered. If lost, it had to be found. The punishment for not finding it was very severe.

At that time, everyone said that the King of the Northern Territory did this for the sake of public security in the capital, but Liu Che felt that Liu Tan wanted to use this incident to strictly control ironware to prevent anyone from taking risks for huge profits.

If we cut it off at the source, smuggling will be very difficult.

After Liu Che recounted the story, Liu Ju's attention shifted. "My brother encountered the Lumai? And even fought? These... these were desperate criminals. How did he escape all by himself?"

Liu Che was about to say something when he suddenly realized that something was wrong. Liu Tan's narration in this regard was quite brief, saying that the Wuhou Guards arrived in time and captured the two thieves.

But there were four thieves in total, where did the other two go?

Liu Che frowned and turned to Bu Fan and said, "Go get some news from the King of the Northern Territory."

Bu Fan breathed a sigh of relief and sent someone there immediately.

Compared to the embroidered robe envoy in charge of Yan State who had been trying hard to make himself invisible, the embroidered robe envoy in charge of the Northern Border State was obviously much more calm. After calmly saluting, he also handed over a scroll.

Liu Che took out the other documents and glanced at them. The contents were similar to those in Liu Tan's letter. The only thing missing was probably the situation between him and Lu Xuan.

This... Liu Che now turned a blind eye to it. With the Prince of Yan as a comparison, he even felt that Liu Tan, who was determined to be with the King of Wusun, was much less troublesome.

After finding the records of that night, Liu Che said dissatisfiedly: "They have grown so independent that they only report good news and not bad news."

Liu Ju immediately asked, "Father?"

Liu Che put down the scroll and said, "He was injured that night. The thieves hit him in the shoulder with a wooden club."

Liu Ju gasped: "This... How could he have suffered such a hardship since he was a child?"

Liu Che's expression was somewhat indescribable: "He killed two thieves."

Liu Ju: ???

If the person who spoke was not his biological father, he would almost suspect that the other party was lying to him. But what about his gentle younger brother?

At this moment, Liu Ju had already forgotten how Liu Tan had killed him, and he killed the prefect of Xi'an Yang County without saying a word.

Liu Che took another closer look and squinted his eyes: "Tan'er... throw the dagger away. It was the thief who approached him on his own initiative."

Liu Ju finally breathed a sigh of relief: "I said, brother..."

Having said this, he paused, secretly glanced at Liu Che's expression, and then abruptly changed his tone: "My brother must have been tempered by the previous war."

He originally wanted to ask how Liu Tan could possibly kill someone, but when he was about to say it, he felt that saying so might be a bit derogatory to Liu Tan, so he changed his words.

Liu Che said meaningfully: "That may not be the case."

The scroll clearly records what Liu Tan said at the time: Why not compete with me in luck instead of anything else?

When Liu Tan said this, it was to scare the other party and to boost his own morale. After all, it didn't cost any money to say it.

But in Liu Che's eyes, it was basically equivalent to Liu Tan being certain that the other party would definitely come forward and seek death.

If it were someone else, Liu Che would definitely be wary. Luck is a mysterious thing, and the idea of ​​borrowing luck is not groundless.

But if it were Liu Tan... and looking at the later records of his injuries, Liu Che decided in his heart that Liu Tan was probably not much better than an ordinary person now.

Liu Che did not feel threatened, so when he saw such records, he naturally felt only heartache.

He said casually, "I still have some medicinal herbs in my warehouse. Remember to send them to Tan'er later."

Liu Ju smiled and said, "That's perfect. Sister also wants to give something to brother."

Liu Che asked in surprise: "Dangli? What does she want to give?"

Liu said, "Sister said my brother gave her a recipe, and she didn't have anything to give him, so she decided to give him some salt."

Only then did Liu Che remember that Liu Tan had once come up with an extremely simple salt-producing recipe. At that time, he said he would give him a profit, but Liu Che didn't take it seriously and didn't ask about it. The recipe belonged to Liu Tan, so he naturally had the right to dispose of it.

Unexpectedly, Liu Tan really gave it to Dangli. What’s the difference between this and giving Dangli an inexhaustible mountain of gold?

It is reasonable for Dangli to send something to Liu Tan.

When Liu Che thought of Liu Tan who often sent things to Chang'an in the northern border country, either gems, refined steel, or ceramics, each of which was priceless, he looked at Liu Dan, who not only did not produce anything in Yan State, but also had to cry poor to him every year.

What’s the point of this son coming here!

Liu Che was so angry that he wrote an edict to scold the Prince of Yan. Not only that, he also ordered him to investigate the smuggling issue thoroughly. If he failed to find out, he would be punished!

King Yan Liu Dan was still immersed in the afterglow of the New Year and was thinking about where to find some fun. It was still a bit cold in Yan State, which restricted the King Yan's performance.

But before he could have any fun, he was stunned by Liu Che's edict.

He didn't care about being accused of extravagance and debauchery. It wasn't the first time he was scolded like that. But when it came to trafficking and smuggling, even he broke out in a cold sweat.

Liu Dan’s first reaction at that time was: How could my father know something that I don’t even know?

When Liu Che wrote the edict, he did not mention Liu Tan's story. So when Liu Dan anxiously summoned the prime minister of Yan, he kept repeating, "How did the emperor know this?"

The Yan State Prime Minister was also shocked when he heard this. He glanced at Liu Dan and frowned, saying, "Your Highness, don't panic."

Liu Dan immediately quieted down, and finally couldn't help asking, "The Prime Minister doesn't know either?"

The Yan State Prime Minister calmed himself down and said, "Perhaps the Embroidered Robe Envoy discovered this and informed Your Majesty. These people are hiding deep, so it is naturally difficult to find them."

Liu Dan took a deep breath and said, "Then please, Prime Minister, please work harder and catch the thief as soon as possible so that we can report to our father."

The Yan State Prime Minister said expressionlessly, "Your Highness, we must not rush into this matter. Otherwise, we will alert the enemy and lose the initiative."

Liu Dan was a little annoyed: "But my father is blaming me and even wants to reduce my fiefdom. If that happens, it won't just be me who will be in trouble!"

The prime minister of Yan heard the threat and understood that it was not the time to cause trouble for Liu Dan. As Yan State became smaller, his power as prime minister would naturally become smaller as well.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down: "Don't panic, Your Highness. I'm aware of this matter and will get to the bottom of it."

Liu Dan's eyes turned and he said, "This kind of situation is inevitable on the border. We are far away from the Xiongnu and we have such problems here. Isn't it the same in the Northern Border Country..."

"Your Highness!" the Yan State Prime Minister said, "I have just learned that Your Majesty has sent a batch of rewards to the King of the Northern Territory. The King of the Northern Territory's favor remains undiminished. You must restrain your thoughts!"

After hearing this, Liu Dan's face twisted with jealousy. Since he arrived in Yan State, he was lucky not to be scolded, and he was even rewarded... The kind that everyone had every Chinese New Year was nothing at all!

What was Liu Tan's reason? If he had any achievements, it was because of the talents of his subordinates.

Thinking of this, Liu Dan couldn't help but glance at the Prime Minister of Yan State. He secretly resented the central government for not equipping him with an all-powerful prime minister like Huo Guang, and instead sent someone with average ability who didn't even notice such a big thing as smuggling.

At this time, the prime minister of Yan State noticed Liu Dan's dissatisfaction and was cursing him in his heart for being a hopeless case.

He also wanted to be his immediate superior, a favored vassal king like the King of the North. He even envied Huo Guang very much. He heard that the King of the North would handle many things personally to help Huo Guang reduce his burden. Most of the time, Huo Guang only had to complete the King of the North's orders.

Of course, what he envied most was that Huo Guang did not have to clean up the mess for the King of the Northern Territory.

The energy he spent on state affairs during the years he was the prime minister of Yan State was not as much as the energy he spent on cleaning up the mess made by the King of Yan!

King Yan Liu Dan had a decadent private life and was extremely irritable. It was normal for him to beat people to death at any time. He even beat an imperial official to death at a grand court meeting!

After cleaning up Liu Dan's mess for so many years, he was already tired and even considered resigning. Anyway, he would rather be a small official than to be here to check and fill the gaps for the King of Yan!

It's not uncommon for princes and prime ministers to become alienated from each other. Liu Dan had noticed this as well. After the prime minister left, he paced back and forth and suddenly said, "Send someone to inform that alchemist from earlier. Doesn't he command ghosts? Tell him to send his men to find evidence of the King of the Northern Territory committing a crime and investigate the Xiongnu! Wu Shilu came here with a large army, but he drove him away. Others believe it, but I don't! That's Wu Shilu!"

The eunuch beside him said anxiously, "Your Highness, this... is not appropriate. What if the King of the North turns the tables?"

Liu Dan said irritably, "There's nothing wrong with that! He's trying to shift the blame? He'd have to be that capable! Father is already angry, and I don't have much time left. If his beloved gets into trouble during this time, he'll naturally be too busy to care about me. It would be even better if Liu Tan fell out of favor."

The eunuch asked, "What if... we can't find it?"

Liu Dan sneered: "I don't believe he can really be innocent! If we really can't find it..." At this point, his expression gradually became sinister: "Can't we create it? What immortal descending to earth, bah!"