Chapter 26

"I believe it! Since he dares to boast, what if I believe him once?"

Speaking of this, Li Shimin began to change the subject:

"What do you think Qingque will do?"

"Cooking oil with fire!"

Fang Xuanling's eyes showed contemplation: "If it were me, I would definitely use the Prince of Wei's reputation among scholars to make Doctor Chu's name spread throughout the world instantly."

"What is the benefit of this to Qingque?"

"What if Princess Gaoyang is pregnant? With my wife's personality, I'm afraid she would spread it throughout the world."

"In this way, people in the world will sacrifice to children, and those who ask Doctor Chu to write inscriptions will be endless."

"Princess pregnancy alone might not cause such a big change, but that bastard Fang Jun actually started reciting Buddha; if this also spreads, the consequences are unimaginable."

"Refuse! As a Yellow Gate Attendant, he has the ability to refuse; no one dares to offend him."

Fang Xuanling shook his head: "There are many aristocratic families in Chang'an City; can he refuse everyone? Whose family doesn't want a Spirit Child? Whose family doesn't have one or two pieces of rotten mud that can't be lifted?"

"Writing for one family offends others; writing for everyone, can he write it all?"

"If he finishes writing and no Spirit Child descends, will those aristocratic families blame him?"

"He has no choice but to find a reason to leave Chang'an; wait for the storm to stop before coming back."

"Leaving is easy, but coming back is hard!"

Li Shimin nodded in agreement: "This method is not bad; Qingque should think so. His brain is simple; he can only think of this."

"What would Gaoming do?"

"The Crown Prince might beat Doctor Chu, then earnestly persuade him to let Doctor Chu roll out of Chang'an himself."

"Maybe Doctor Chu will even treat the Crown Prince as a confidant, just like that brat Fang Jun."

Li Shimin laughed at himself: "Forget it, I can't understand Gaoming's thoughts; let's wait and see."

"Next year, I plan to go on a personal expedition to try to destroy Goguryeo in one battle; the candidate for regent must also be selected as soon as possible."

"Except for the Crown Prince, no one is suitable!"

Li Shimin looked troubled: "Gaoming is good, but if he is regent, he will definitely use this time to do his own things."

"Most importantly, he might not come out to be regent; having finally managed to withdraw from the vortex, no one will re-enter."

"At least don't worry about insufficient grain and grass, and don't worry about chaos in Chang'an City."

"As for the Crown Prince not wanting to be regent, I have the confidence to persuade him."

"I'll think about it again!"

"Yes! I take my leave."

Fang's planning and Du's decision—everything was as Fang Xuanling thought. On the second day after the inscription was carved at Qinglong Temple, people in Chang'an began to discuss it.

"Have you heard? Princess Gaoyang specifically set up a hall in Qinglong Temple to enshrine children who died prematurely."

"She also invited Doctor Chu Suiliang to write the inscription. That Doctor Chu wrote the 'Ique Buddha Niche Stele' and the 'Master Meng Stele'; even the Emperor praised him endlessly."

"Wasn't it the Emperor who issued an edict for him to write it? Why say Princess Gaoyang invited him?"

"It's all the same; anyway, he wrote it. These days, Princess Gaoyang and Fang Erlang go to worship every day; I don't know if it has any effect?"

"What effect?"

"Spirit Child! Don't you know? As long as you worship the Ique Buddha Niche Stele sincerely, you will get pregnant before long."

"They say even Buddha likes Doctor Chu's calligraphy; Princess Gaoyang invited Doctor Chu in order to give birth to a Spirit Child."

"..."

The timing was not right, so Li Tai did not start spreading it on a large scale in Chang'an City, only discussing it a little bit in the south of Chang'an.

"Uncle Su, what if Gaoyang doesn't get pregnant in a month?"

Su Xu didn't raise his head, his tone flat:

"What would the Crown Prince do if it were him?"

"With Big Brother's shamelessness, he would definitely spread the news that Gaoyang vomited while eating; as for what others think, it has nothing to do with him."

"Then isn't that it? At that time, ask a physician to go to the Princess Mansion, and then let the physician spread ambiguous news."

"This isn't good, is it!"

Li Tai always felt awkward; making him do such a shameless thing, he was still a bit unaccustomed:

"I think it's better to use Fang Jun's matter directly; this effect should also be quite good."

"No! How can Fang Jun compare to a Spirit Child? That is a child under the Buddha's seat?"

Li Tai sighed: "Fine! It can only be like this; I hope Big Brother can be even more shameless, so I can still be a gentleman."

"It's already shameless enough! No one can stand it if it's any more shameless."

For Li Chengqian, this was nothing; he was a person without any bottom line; Jia Xu was far worse than him.

At this time, Li Chengqian was angry to the extreme, cursing Du He:

"Where is your brain? Where is your brain? I told you to find low-ranking officials, not to force others. Forcing is forcing, and you accidentally killed his family."

"Killing low-ranking officials in Chang'an City, do you think the Jingzhao Du family is very amazing? Do you think you can kill anyone you want?"

"Why recruit in Chang'an City? Chang'an City learns official language; which of the people around Chang'an City can't speak official language?"

"Speak! Are you a mute!"

Du He shrank his head like a quail, arguing in a low voice:

"It wasn't my idea; it was my clan brother Du Yan who acted on his own. He thought officials in Chang'an City were more talented than those in other places."

"Yang Jing refused Du Yan, so he thought he had no face. In order to get his face back, he accidentally killed someone."

"Yang Jing? Where is he from?"

"Hongnong!"

"Hongnong!"

Li Chengqian exclaimed: "Hongnong Yang Clan! You are truly amazing; you didn't do anything, and you caused me such a big trouble."

"You think low-ranking is low-class official; those are officials not yet in the nine ranks of the court. There are many great talents among them, and many children of aristocratic families."

"I tell you, Du Yan is dead; even if the Emperor doesn't kill him, I have to kill him."

"What should we do now? Many of the scholars from humble backgrounds who were just recruited quit after hearing this news!"

"Or just do it once and for all..."

Before the words were finished, Wang Qi's voice rang out outside the hall:

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, the Sage sent someone to ask you to go to the Liangyi Hall; the ministers are also waiting."

"Got it!"

Li Chengqian glared at Du He: "If it weren't for Chengyang, I would definitely make you wish you were dead.

When you see Father, just admit your guilt and say I wanted to learn from Qingque to write books, so I asked you to recruit talent."

"Remember, don't argue, don't beg for mercy; leave the rest to me."

"Yes!"

Li Chengqian walked toward the Taiji Palace with a frown:

'Damn it, I still have to ask my father-in-law to recommend someone; there is no one in the Eastern Palace who can be used.'

'There is no way this time; I can only not act like a human, and by the way, use the Du family to test the water and see their bottom line.'

'Truly ghostly, a perfectly good plan, and it went wrong before it even started.'

The more Li Chengqian thought about it, the angrier he got; he stopped and slapped Du He on the head:

"Meeting you is truly my blessing; if you dare to argue after going in, I will make you lose face in all of Chang'an."

"Crown Prince, I know; don't hit me anymore!"

"Hmph!"

After walking into the Taiji Palace, Li Chengqian immediately changed his expression, a smile hanging on the corners of his mouth, pretending that nothing had happened.

Looking at the heavy ministers like Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji gathered in front of him, a look of doubt appeared on Li Chengqian's face:

"The sun is almost setting; what happened?"

"You have the nerve to ask?"

Li Shimin snorted coldly: "Du Yan killed the family of a court official; how do you think it should be judged!"

"Handle it according to the Tang Law; what? Is Du Yan very amazing? Does Father want to let him go?"

"Hmm?"

Now it was Li Shimin's turn to be suspicious; he felt that Du Yan was Li Chengqian's person, and he wouldn't admit it openly no matter what.

"Du He, why did you recruit low-ranking officials, and why did you kill Yang Jing's family?"