Chapter 68: Words That Cannot Be Spoken

Wang Apo did not even think about it before changing the version and telling the other women:

"You don't know! This Prince of Bohai is truly not a man; I heard that young lady was only ten years old."

"Can someone that young even get pregnant?"

"Yes! Otherwise, why would she die in difficult labor? Look at that baby, it couldn't even cry loudly; it must be because the mother didn't have enough to eat."

"That is truly a beast!"

"More than just a beast! You don't know, he even sent people to set fire to an entire household. Out of more than thirty people in the family, only this one person was left."

"What! Worse than a beast! No, I cannot swallow this anger; I am going to go curse this bastard to death."

"Don't! That person has a thick skin, why would he be afraid of your cursing? Besides, he is still the Emperor's cousin; we cannot afford to provoke him."

"Even if we can't afford to provoke him, we must curse him. At worst, we run after we finish cursing. How could he possibly know who did the cursing?"

Following the propaganda of Wang Apo and the others, in just a few short days, the entire Chang'an City knew that the Prince of Bohai was a beast.

Some young ladies would hurriedly flee upon encountering the Prince of Bohai on the road.

Slightly younger scholars would even point at the Prince of Bohai and curse him roundly:

"You thing worse than a beast, what face do you have to live in this world?

Being a subject of the Great Tang alongside you is truly my shame!

If one day I become a Censor, I will certainly impeach you, you thing worse than a beast.

Hmph!"

"Brother Yang, let's go! Do you not feel dirty talking to this kind of person?"

"..."

The Prince of Bohai was stunned by the cursing, unable to react for a long while:

"Did someone just curse me? Cursed me on the street?"

"This lowly one will go capture them right now."

"No!"

The Prince of Bohai had a dazed look in his eyes: "Tell me first, is this a dream? I, this Prince, was actually cursed on the street?"

"Slap!"

Suddenly, a weed was thrown from somewhere unknown, hitting the Prince of Bohai squarely on the head.

"Slap, slap..."

Following closely behind were one after another weeds, clods of dirt, and dog feces!

"Who! Who! Do you not know who this Prince is? Attempting to assassinate this Prince, are you trying to rebel?

Men, capture all these farm slaves!"

Hearing the roar of Li Fengci, the guards did not move, because they had not seen clearly who was throwing things, only seeing items being thrown from all directions.

In order to protect Li Fengci, they could only hoist Li Fengci into the carriage.

"Let go of this Prince! Today, this Prince will certainly make them wish they were dead."

"Master, let us return to the mansion first. This lowly one has already sent people to investigate; we will certainly not let them escape."

The news soon reached the ears of Li Shimin, which made him fly into a rage:

"Why is this kind of rumor spreading throughout Chang'an? Has it not already been investigated clearly? What about the public notice?"

Fang Xuanling lowered his head, his face calm:

"The Commoners are ignorant; they only believe what they are willing to believe. Furthermore, the Commoners cannot read, and they would not go out of their way to look at a public notice.

Now the rumors are becoming more and more outrageous; there are even people who believe the rumor that a husband and wife serve the Prince of Bohai together, and they even say the Prince of Bohai is a lecherous ghost who has even had relations with the mare in his house."

"..."

Li Shimin had black lines all over his head, not knowing what to say for a moment, and only sighed after a long while:

"What is all this? Has it been found out who started spreading it first?"

"Wang Apo!"

Hearing this, Li Shimin's anger flared up:

"It's her again! It's her again! Why is she so incorrigible? Does she really think I dare not kill her?"

"This subject has already asked Wang Apo, and she said it was the personal maid of the Wei Wang Mansion's Imperial Concubine who told her.

However, after searching the Wei Wang Mansion, we did not see this woman."

???

Li Shimin suddenly calmed down, a look of suspicion flashing in his eyes:

"Xuanling, do you think there is some conspiracy in this? The Prince of Bohai has no use whatsoever; he can be disposed of at any time."

"There are too few clues; this subject cannot figure it out."

Fang Xuanling smiled bitterly in his heart: Crown Prince, this is your doing, right! I am truly playing dumb now; please don't be so shameless as to go back on your word.

"Is that so?"

Li Shimin slowly rolled up the Memorial, his tone becoming unusually calm:

"Xuanling, you and I have been monarch and subject for decades; what else is there that cannot be said?

I have already guessed some of it; how could you not have guessed it?"

"Everything is mere speculation; speaking of it only adds to the trouble."

"I want you to say it!"

Fang Xuanling sighed: "The reputation of the Imperial family—regardless of whether the Prince of Bohai lives or dies, as long as the Commoners believe the rumors, the reputation of the Imperial family is ruined.

As for the purpose of the other party doing this, this subject does not yet know."

"What reputation does the Longxi Li Clan even have left? Killing brothers and slaughtering kin, rebelling—who in the world does not know?"

"Commoners do not know! And commoners do not care about these things."

Fang Xuanling explained softly: "What commoners worry about is whether they can eat their fill, and whether accidents will occur.

Once the Prince of Bohai's brutalization of commoners is confirmed, one can imagine the reputation of imperial clan members among the commoners.

If no one believes what imperial clan members say, this will affect local power."

Li Shimin's expression turned serious; after a quarter of an hour of silence, he shouted toward the door:

"Go and call the Crown Prince to see Us!"

"Yes!"

"This matter is certainly the work of that rebellious son; only he would be so shameless, and only he has always wanted to control the discourse."

Fang Xuanling acted as if he had not heard, lowering his head to count his breaths, waiting quietly for Li Chengqian to arrive.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Chengqian walked into Ganlu Hall with a smile on his face:

"Father, you were looking for me?"

Li Shimin took a deep breath, calmed his mood, and then spoke indifferently:

"Was the rumor about the Prince of Bohai your doing?"

"Yes!"

Li Shimin laughed in extreme anger: "You really don't cover it up at all. Speak, what do you intend to do next?"

"Nothing! Next, Uncle will take action for me, and Qingque will help too.

Speaking of this, Li Chengqian revealed a cheeky expression:

"Oh right! And Father, you might even help me too..."

"You had better state your plan right now, otherwise do not blame me for being heartless!"

Li Chengqian sighed: "Father, do you think I look like a fool?

I only want to match wits with you; why are you thinking of flipping the table? Can't we sit down and talk about this properly?

When facing various barbarians, one can directly send troops to destroy their kingdoms, but one should still be gentler when treating one's own people."

"Gentle?"

Li Shimin scoffed: "Is your so-called gentleness using your father's hard work as a bargaining chip?

The Feudal System is something I racked my brains to devise, yet you want to destroy it."

"Look at how you put it; isn't there still Uncle? He will help you; you must believe in Uncle's ability!

Besides, this Feudal System of yours really isn't that great; aren't you afraid of a 'Nine Princes Rebellion' in the Great Tang in the future?

Even if Fifth Brother is a fool, if he were to make preparations and contact other brothers, it would not be impossible for this Great Tang to recreate the glory of the Jin Dynasty.

Of course, I am just saying this casually; under Father's governance, the commoners of the world would not think of rebelling."

Li Shimin did not care about the mocking words in Li Chengqian's mouth; he knew this was Li Chengqian's way of reminding him.

But at the thought that he might be used by Li Chengqian in the future, anger welled up, and he began to speak without thinking:

"I will ignore it entirely and see how you make me help you."

"Father, is there a possibility that I just don't want you to take action?

I told you these things just to make you give up?"

Li Shimin was completely broken; his face flushed red:

"Li Chengqian! What exactly do you want to do? Must you always oppose me?"

"Father, don't get excited! Anger harms the body!"

The corners of Li Chengqian's mouth lifted slightly: "Starting today, your son will stay in the Eastern Palace to recite the *Laozi* until you go on the Eastern Expedition.

How is that! Your son is filial enough, right!"