Chapter 80: None of them makes people worry-free

"The prime minister actually seized the people's property for his own benefit!"

"Are you, Xiao He, such a person?"

Liu Bang asked with a smile.

Just as the retainer said, Liu Bang was not angry. Instead, he looked happy and stared at Xiao He's face with a smile on his face.

Xiao He was silent for a moment, but did not defend himself, "I have failed your majesty's grace."

"If others did this, I could understand, but why would you do such a thing, Prime Minister?"

Liu Bang questioned Xiao He several times, which made Xiao He's face turn red. He lowered his head and said nothing.

Seeing Xiao He like this, Liu Bang did not question him any more. He just threw the accusation letters to Xiao He and scolded him: "For your past merits! I will forgive your crime! You go and apologize to the people in person!"

"Return everything you have taken from the people!"

This time, Liu Bang finally put on a stern face and appeared dignified for a long time.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! I will go right away!"

Xiao He was about to leave, but suddenly he stopped and said, "Your Majesty, I have not been able to see you in the past few days. There is one thing I need to tell you."

"What's up?"

"The area around Chang'an is narrow, and there are too few places for farming. Your Shanglin Garden covers a large area, but you don't go there on weekdays, causing it to be abandoned. It would be better to distribute it to the people and let them farm there. After the harvest, the grain belongs to the people, but the straw is not allowed to be taken away, and it can be left as food for the animals in the garden..."

Liu Bang was furious. He suddenly jumped up and pointed at Xiao He in front of him, "You seized other people's land! And you come to ask for my Shanglin Garden ?!"

“How shameless!”

"Someone come! Arrest him! Hand him over to the Chief Justice!"

The soldiers rushed into the Xuanshi Hall and looked at the prime minister in front of them with some hesitation, not daring to take action.

"Don't drag it down!!"

Liu Bang roared, and the soldiers dared not hesitate any longer. They rushed forward and captured Xiao He on both sides.

Xiao He raised his head and said, "Your Majesty... There is a lot of open space in Shanglin Garden... We can't waste it..."

"Put the torture device on him! Drag him away! Drag him away!!"

After the soldiers dragged Xiao He away, Liu Bang sat angrily on the throne, gasping for breath, his face extremely ferocious. He covered his chest, stood up, and walked back and forth in the palace, "I will definitely kill you! Kill you!"

As he spoke, he walked back and forth a few times, then suddenly calmed down and looked at the empty entrance of the hall.

"Someone come!"

"His Majesty!"

Several soldiers knelt in front of him, but Liu Bang looked extremely hesitant. After hesitating for a long time, he waved his hand and asked them to leave.

The arrest of the prime minister caused an uproar in the court.

Xiao He's eldest son, Xiao Lu, hurried home, hugged his younger brother and cried loudly. After entrusting his brother to Zhao Ping and others, he hurried out of the house. He wanted to find his father's friends and ask them to plead for his father.

The first place he went was to see the Imperial Censor Zhao Yao.

Zhao Yao had a businesslike attitude, completely losing his usual amiable demeanor. "Xiao He committed a crime, and Your Majesty wants to punish him according to the laws of the Han Dynasty. Is there anything you can ask for? Can his crime be pardoned just because he is the prime minister?"

Xiao Lu was stunned, and then angrily defended himself: "My father is definitely not a person who bullies the people!"

"You can talk to His Majesty in person!"

Zhao Yao left after saying a few words.

Xiao Lu went to find Chen Ping again, but no matter how loudly he shouted, the people in Chen's mansion would not let him in and stopped him at the door.

He found Xiahou Ying again. Xiahou Ying looked a little embarrassed. He said helplessly: "I went to the palace yesterday to plead for the Prime Minister, but His Majesty refused to meet me..."

Xiao Lu suddenly burst into tears in despair.

Seeing Xiao Lu like this, Xiahou Ying felt a little reluctant, so he whispered, "If we want to rescue the Prime Minister, only one person can do it."

"who?"

"Your Majesty the Queen..."

"But how can I ask Her Majesty the Queen for help?"

"Fan..."

Xiao Lu did not dare to stay. He thanked Xiahou Ying with a profound greeting and left in a hurry.

Lü Shi looked helplessly at Xiao Lu who was kneeling in front of her. She pondered for a moment and said, "Please stand up, sir. I will tell the queen about this matter. The prime minister has worked hard and made great contributions. We cannot let a meritorious official feel disappointed..."

"I will repay your kindness with a sword in my heart, and I will repay you with a sword in my heart!"

Xiao Lu kowtowed excitedly.

But Xiao Lu didn't know that long before he went to find Lu Shi, someone had already pleaded for Xiao He in front of Empress Lu.

"Mother! What kind of person is the Prime Minister? Don't you know yet?"

"If it weren't for him, could we sit here with peace of mind?"

"Even if he was at fault, how could a man of that age be put in shackles?! Does Father want to kill him?!"

Liu Chang stood in front of Empress Lu excitedly, with a furious look, gritting his teeth, and roaring loudly.

The only person in the world who could roar at Empress Lü was Liu Chang.

Empress Lu was very calm. She still treated Liu Chang in front of her as a piece of air, completely ignored him, and calmly read the bamboo slips in her hand.

"Mother! Why don't you say something? Father won't even see me now! I just yelled at him and he had me thrown out!"

Hearing this, Empress Lü glared at Liu Chang. Who told you to rush in and shout "King Jie and King Zhou"? Just throwing him out was already very polite.

Liu Chang was pacing back and forth, feeling angry in his heart. Although he had not met Xiao He many times and did not read many books on weekdays, he knew that Xiao He was definitely a good prime minister. You see, after Xiao He was arrested, Gai Gong was furious and resigned and went home. He never went to class again and even did not want to stay in the palace.

He didn't understand what his father was thinking. Even a kid like him understood the Prime Minister's character, so shouldn't he understand?

Just when Liu Chang was complaining to Empress Lu about his father's behavior, a guest suddenly arrived.

The person who came was Liu Chang's aunt, Lu Shi. Liu Chang was angry, and when he saw his aunt, he just saluted sullenly without saying a word.

The two sisters sat together and chatted casually for a while, and then Lu Shi talked about the real purpose of her coming here.

"Sister, the Prime Minister has always been fully supportive of Ying and has a very close relationship with him... No matter what, we should save the Prime Minister's life."

When Empress Lu heard this, she looked very displeased.

"I thought you had made a lot of progress in these days... I didn't expect you to say such things!"

Faced with the scolding from her elder sister, Lu Shi did not dare to refute and just lowered her head to accept the training.

"What do you mean, sister?"

"Do you really think His Majesty will execute Xiao He?"

"He couldn't even bear to kill Han Xin... Is Xiao He more terrifying than Han Xin? Is he more powerful than Peng Yue?"

"The Prime Minister is friends with the ministers, but never wins them over. He supports the Crown Prince, but is not close to him... Your Majesty will never kill him. You don't have to care about this matter..."

As the mother of the child, Lu Shi just lowered her head and dared not say a word when scolded by her elder sister.

Empress Lü talked for a long time before she said, "By the way, you have to keep an eye on those two fools in your family, don't let Liu Chang take them out to cause trouble again... Especially during this period of time, Chang, you also have to remember this..."

Empress Lu looked to the side, but it was empty. Liu Chang had disappeared long ago.

"Where are the others?"

"Wasn't it still there when I came in?"

Empress Lü rubbed her forehead and said, "This guy... is really a cause of worry..."

"Your Majesty!"

"The prince is kneeling in front of the Xuanshi Hall, saying that he will not stand up unless Your Majesty pardons the Prime Minister..."

The attendant hurried into the hall and reported to Empress Lu.

Empress Lü stood up suddenly and cursed, "None of them give me peace of mind!"

"Someone, come and capture Liu Ying for me! If he refuses, tie him up and bring him here!"

…

"Don't cry, leave this matter to us. We all know who the Prime Minister is!"

Liu Chang patted Xiao Yan's shoulder gently, then looked at his brothers.