Chapter 29: The Flower is Too Fragrant

Li Shimin nodded slightly: "Zhinu, you must listen carefully. Your uncle has profound learning; if you have matters, ask him often."

"I am going to handle state affairs now. Do not neglect your studies, understand?"

"Yes!"

"Wuji, Zhinu is a child spoiled by me. You, as his uncle, must offer him more guidance."

Zhangsun Wuji bowed: "The Prince of Jin is naturally intelligent; I fear the little knowledge I have in my belly will not be enough to support him for long."

"He is still far from it, but what you say is also correct. I still need to find more teachers for Zhinu. You are busy on weekdays; how would you have time to come over every day?"

Having said this, without waiting for Zhangsun Wuji and the others to speak, Li Shimin left directly.

After Li Shimin left, Zhangsun Wuji then spoke of Chu Suiliang's current predicament:

"Prince of Jin, since the Prince of Wei is praying for the Empress's blessings, why does Your Highness not also pray for the Empress's blessings?"

"No!"

Li Zhi refused decisively: "Mother has already passed. I will not allow anyone to use Mother. Uncle, do not speak of this again.

Besides, this matter was initiated by the Fourth Brother; he must have a follow-up plan."

?????

Zhangsun Wuji and the other were full of question marks. It was not that they had not sent people to monitor every move of Li Tai, but they had not discovered him taking any action.

"Your Highness, you say this matter was done by the Prince of Wei? How is this possible? How can one calculate a pregnancy?"

Li Zhi sighed lightly: "Originally, I did not know either. Yesterday, the Fourth Brother told me that Chu Daifu was about to request to leave Chang'an himself, and that is when I deduced it was the Fourth Brother's doing.

I also do not know how he accomplished it, but just seeing his confident appearance, it should be true."

Zhangsun Wuji hurriedly asked: "Was the matter of the Spirit Child proposed by the Prince of Wei to the Gaoyang Princess?"

"Yes!"

Li Zhi touched the back of his head, pretending to be confused:

"No, it cannot be considered the Fourth Brother's proposal; it was the Fourth Sister-in-law who told Gaoyang."

Suddenly, Li Zhi widened his eyes: "Uncle, do you mean to say that the Fourth Brother used Gaoyang?"

"It must be! No wonder it could spread so rapidly. No wonder, no wonder!"

Chu Suiliang was a bit bewildered: "Minister Zhangsun, have you thought wrong? Can a pregnancy really be calculated?"

"Is it important?"

Zhangsun Wuji sneered: "Whether she is pregnant or not is decided by what the doctor says. A real pregnancy is icing on the cake; a fake pregnancy does not affect the plan either."

"Then what should we do now? Do I really have to request to leave Chang'an?"

Once these words were spoken, the three fell silent. Zhangsun Wuji lowered his head in deep thought, wanting to find a retreat for Chu Suiliang.

Yet in Li Zhi's heart, monstrous waves were stirred up:

'Big Brother, how on earth did you do it? Why would the Fourth Brother listen to you so much?

After Chu Suiliang leaves Chang'an, what exactly is he going to do? You reminded me twice? Which two times?

Since the Qi Prince's rebellion, you and I have only met twice.

Twice?'

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Li Zhi, and he faintly grasped a clue:

'Buddhism? The day Big Brother was beaten, he mentioned that Father had used Buddhism and Taoism to win over the hearts of the people.

Last time we met, he also reminded me that I need to control some grassroots power to contend with the scholars on the Fourth Brother's side.

Chu Suiliang's reputation has soared this time using the Buddha stele; with this reputation, it should be easier to win over Buddhism.

As long as he leaves Chang'an, the Fourth Brother's attention will not be focused on him. In this way, Chu Suiliang can act in secret to accumulate power for me.

However, doing this is certainly what Big Brother wants to see; if I don't do this, I will be giving up this excellent opportunity.'

Thinking of this, a fierce look flashed across Li Zhi's eyes:

'Big Brother, you said you would help Zhinu; Zhinu will go ask you in a moment.

I am not the Fourth Brother. Since you proposed compiling books, then Zhinu will push you out; don't think about hiding.'

"Sigh..."

Zhangsun Wuji sighed: "I cannot think of a good solution. Now we can only leave Chang'an and return to the capital after this storm passes.

It just so happens that the Emperor is preparing to campaign against Goguryeo and needs to inspect the grain warehouses in various places. The candidate has not been decided yet. As long as your position in the court remains, returning to Chang'an will be very easy."

Chu Suiliang really did not want to leave Chang'an and began to speak without thinking:

"How about spreading the news that the Gaoyang Princess is faking her pregnancy, and then find someone to provoke Fang Jun!"

"Are you crazy? Do you want to listen to what you are saying?"

Zhangsun Wuji widened his eyes and shouted sternly:

"If Lady Liang is found out, the Liang State Duke and the Fanyang Lu Clan will stop at nothing to kill you.

Lady Liang is Fang Xuanling's reverse scale; if you scheme against Fang Jun, you are scheming against Lady Liang. If you want to die, don't drag me into it."

Li Zhi spoke softly: "Uncle, is Lady Liang that terrifying? Why are you so wary of her?"

"She is a true noble person. Wei Zheng remonstrates with the Emperor, but she dares to point at the Emperor and curse him.

She is the model for all women of the Fanyang Lu Clan; offending her is equivalent to offending the entire Fanyang Lu Clan."

Li Zhi turned his gaze toward Chu Suiliang and comforted him softly:

"Chu Daifu, don't be anxious yet. Uncle will definitely have a way. If it really doesn't work, I can also go beg Father."

"There is a way!"

Zhangsun Wuji said in a deep voice: "Directly refuse all the noble clans, then be impeached, and finally be dismissed from the position of Vice Minister of the Yellow Gate. This way, you can also stay in Chang'an.

Rather than that, it is better to leave Chang'an to earn merit. As long as the position of Vice Minister of the Yellow Gate remains, you can return to the capital in a year or so."

Hearing that the position of Vice Minister was to be dismissed, Chu Suiliang spoke hurriedly:

"I am leaving Chang'an and will stop by Qianzhou to take a look; a debt must be repaid."

"Rest assured, Chu Daifu; once the storm passes, I will go ask Emperor to transfer you back to Chang'an."

With these words from Li Zhi, Chu Suiliang felt at ease; he trusted Li Zhi's words, as Li Zhi had always treated him with great respect.

"Yes, this subject will go to recommend himself to Emperor tomorrow morning."

To Li Zhi, one failure was nothing, and failing every time did not matter either, as long as he could be victorious in the end.

After Zhangsun Wuji and the other left, Li Zhi also stood up and left Taiji Palace; he needed to go act in front of Li Chengqian to see if Li Chengqian's goal matched his own guess.

Before he even saw Li Chengqian, Li Zhi began to act, his words filled with anxiety:

"Big Brother, Big Brother, you must help Zhinu!"

"Big Brother, Big Brother!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Li Chengqian, who was fishing, could not help but be stunned for a moment:

"Wang Qi, who is this? Is it Qingque or Zhinu?"

"Replying to Crown Prince, it is the voice of His Highness the Prince of Jin! He has already arrived!"

Li Chengqian looked in the direction Wang Qi pointed and gently set down the fishing rod in his hand:

"No wonder I couldn't catch any fish today; it turns out the big fish is here."

Wang Qi, standing to the side, twitched the corner of his mouth slightly; catching only two fish in a month and being so shameless—he was probably talking about himself when he said he was bad at the game but addicted to it.

By the time Li Zhi ran to Li Chengqian's side, he was already panting, his right hand propped against a pavilion pillar as he gasped for air.

Seeing this, Wang Qi silently stepped forward and poured a bowl of water for Li Zhi.

Li Zhi did not stand on ceremony, taking the tea bowl and drinking it down in big gulps: "Glug, glug, glug."

"The Eastern Palace is right next to Taiji Palace, why are you in such a rush? Is there a female ghost chasing you?"

"It is, it is..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Li Chengqian let out a loud cry:

"Where? Where is it? Where is the female ghost? How can you waste a gift bestowed by Heaven? Quickly, take me to find the female ghost!"

Li Zhi was instantly struck dumb, staring at Li Chengqian in shock:

"Big Brother, why are you looking for a female ghost?"

"Female ghosts are beautiful! The storybooks say that every female ghost is a 'Rhapsody on the Goddess of the Luo River'."

"Aren't you afraid of the female ghost draining your vital essence?"

"What is there to fear? As the saying goes, to die under the peony flower, one is still romantic even as a ghost!"

"The flowers are too fragrant; to be romantic under the flowers, flowers die and flowers are impermanent—how well said!"

Li Zhi was covered in black lines: "Big Brother, read fewer storybooks; that Taichang Doctor Li Chunfeng was led astray by you."