Chapter 18

"Coming..."

Having said only two words, Yu Zhining could no longer continue; he discovered that no matter how he spoke, it was wrong.

If he said it was not too late, everyone knew what the Crown Prince said at the court meeting—that was unbenevolent, unrighteous, and unfilial.

If he said it was not too late, and Li Chengqian really changed, but the position of Crown Prince was still abolished, wasn't he digging a pit for himself to jump into?

If he said it was too late, then everything he had just said was just farting!

Seeing Yu Zhining silent for a long time, Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow:

"Grand Master Yu, people! One cannot easily make promises, and even less can one open one's mouth casually, especially a gentleman.

After all, you are also accepting Father's edict, so I won't make things difficult for you.

From now on, I will go to the Hongwen Hall three times every ten days to study the classics of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

As for the Turks, I will put them in Tongji Ward and only go once a month. What do you think?"

Yu Zhining let out a long breath and bowed respectfully:

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is wise; I take my leave!"

"Not so fast!"

Li Chengqian raised his head to look at Yu Zhining: "I am giving you face; shouldn't you give something in return!"

"This is for Your Highness the Crown Prince's own good; how can Your Highness..."

"Hmm?"

Li Chengqian's eyes narrowed slightly, and his expression suddenly became cold:

"Grand Master Yu, think clearly before you speak. I am not Father; my magnanimity is not that great.

Otherwise, I wouldn't mind sending you to Qingque or Zhinu."

"Is Your Highness the Crown Prince threatening me?"

"You can think so!"

Li Chengqian stared fixedly at Yu Zhining: "Regarding the Turkic matter, you knew the specific situation, yet you exaggerated it to show your face in front of Father.

I disdain to explain, but that does not mean you can be unscrupulous.

The fifth brother was forced into rebellion by Quan Wanji; I do not want another Quan Wanji to appear in the Eastern Palace, using the name of advice to seek fame for himself everywhere."

Yu Zhining was not afraid at all, looking at Li Chengqian with an open and honest gaze:

"I have no selfish motives; what I do has never violated the way of the sovereign and subject, or the way of benevolence and righteousness."

"You want me to become like Father; is this your way of being a subject?"

Li Chengqian supported the desk with both hands, his upper body leaning forward slightly:

"I can tell you clearly: I intend to stabilize the nation with martial power and govern the nation with civil virtues. Trying to reduce the military will not work with me.

You can go back and tell Father that next, I am going to clean up the Eastern Palace; anyone who is not of one mind will be cleaned out by me one by one, even if they are meritorious officials of the Lingyan Pavilion or the Eighteen Scholars."

Yu Zhining's face turned livid, and he spoke coldly:

"I will tell the Emperor everything! I take my leave!"

"Remember, if Father does not agree, I have plenty of ways to send you to Qingque and Zhinu's side."

After Yu Zhining left, Li Chengqian returned to his original state, pouring himself a cup of tea with a relaxed face:

'I wonder if Erfeng can understand; if he understands, can he help out along the way!

Only someone as thick-headed as Yu Zhining can be used; if it were Kong Yingda, he might run away again and pretend nothing happened the next day.'

Just as Li Chengqian thought, after Yu Zhining left the Eastern Palace, he went straight to the Taiji Palace to complain to Li Shimin.

Hearing Yu Zhining's account, Li Shimin pinched his temples, his face somewhat irritable:

"How is Gaoming like a child, thinking of one thing then another.

Besides these, what else did he say?"

"If the Emperor does not agree, he will transfer us to the Wei Prince Mansion and the Jin Prince Mansion."

A flash of brilliance passed through Li Shimin's eyes; he slowly put down the brush in his hand, his tone exceptionally calm:

"What do you think? Do you want to continue staying in the Eastern Palace or go to the Censorate?"

Yu Zhining was terrified, looking at Li Shimin with horror, then quickly lowered his head:

'What is going on? The Emperor is testing me; why? What on earth happened!'

If he goes to the Eastern Palace, and Li Shimin agrees with Li Chengqian's words, then he will be completely bound to Li Chengqian, and he won't be able to run if something happens to Li Chengqian in the future.

If Li Shimin does not agree, he will inevitably be packed up by Li Chengqian and sent to someone else; even Li Tai would help Li Chengqian. He believed Li Chengqian could handle this small matter.

In this way, he could also be considered to be gambling on his own future.

If he said he would go to the Censorate, Li Shimin would inevitably feel that he was incapable of taking on great responsibilities and would think of retreating as soon as he encountered something.

"Hehe!"

Just as Yu Zhining was deep in thought, Li Shimin chuckled:

"You can go back and think it over carefully first; I also need to ponder the Eastern Palace matter. No rush!"

"I take my leave!"

Just as he stepped outside the hall, he suddenly came to his senses, thinking of what Li Shimin had just said, and Yu Zhining stopped abruptly:

'Zhen? Not "I"? And it's not a court meeting; even at a court meeting, I have never heard the Emperor call himself "Zhen"!'

Thinking of this, Yu Zhining swallowed, wanting to turn back, but was interrupted by a sentence.

"No rush! I'll give you three days off; think it over clearly before making a decision!"

"Yes!"

After Yu Zhining left, Li Shimin's expression became exceptionally ugly:

"What the superior likes, the inferior will surely follow! They are all good subjects; Quan Wanji is like this, and even Yu Zhining is like this.

Is there only one Wei Zheng in this world?

If there were no selfish motives, why consider? If there were no selfish motives, why stand still?"

'Gaoming wants to withdraw from the court struggle; since that's the case, I'll help him, and by the way, test Zhinu's ability.

Sending people to the wilderness to teach the commoners the Thousand Character Classic and the Qieyun—why does Gaoming want to do this?

The Thousand Character Classic is easy to understand; let all the people in the world be able to read the proclamations. In the long run, more and more commoners will learn to read, which is still good for the future Imperial Examination System.

What is the Qieyun for? Does he want all the people in the world to speak the same language? Is he full and bored...'

Suddenly, a look of disbelief appeared on Li Shimin's face, and he muttered:

"Standardizing writing, standardizing wheel tracks, standardizing pronunciation? Is this Great Unification?"

Li Shimin stood up abruptly and paced back and forth in the hall:

"Not only that, he also sent people to the Lingnan Circuit; there are many barbarians there. This is to completely win the hearts of the barbarians.

Rong and Xia as one family—does he want to continue the philosophy of Emperor Wen of Sui?"

"Hoo!"

Li Shimin took a deep breath, then laughed and scolded:

"What a madman! He doesn't even know if he can keep his position as Crown Prince, and now he's starting to arrange things for after he ascends the throne.

Forget it, forget it; let the three brothers fight among themselves. With Gaoming's ability, I think keeping Qingque and Zhinu alive shouldn't be a problem."

"Father, Father..."

Just at this moment, a young girl's silver-bell-like voice rang out at the door:

"Father, I've come to see you!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Li Shimin revealed a smile from the heart:

"Gaoyang, how do you have time to enter the palace to see Father today!"

Princess Gaoyang rushed in and directly hugged Li Shimin's arm:

"Father, I just wanted to come and see how your health is.

It's all Fang Jun's fault for not telling me what happened in the court; otherwise, I would have entered the palace long ago!"

"I was the one who didn't let him say it!"

Li Shimin smiled and touched Princess Gaoyang's head:

"You are already a wife; naturally, you should manage the inner household well. What's the point of returning to your maiden home every day?"

"I don't care about that! I don't have children yet, and there's nothing to do in the Princess Mansion. Returning to the palace to see Father more often is better than staying in the Princess Mansion and staring blankly."

Li Shimin gently took Princess Gaoyang's hand, then walked to the desk and sat down:

"You've been married for two years; you should have children too. Do you want to find a physician to take a look?"

Princess Gaoyang's eyes dimmed: "I've seen one; everything is normal. I recently wanted to find a temple to enshrine those children who died prematurely and pray for them.

But Fang Jun has never liked Buddhism, and I don't know how to persuade him."