Chapter 69: The Zhangsun Family Bloodline is Poisonous

Li Shimin's teeth itched with hatred, and he kept muttering in his heart, "He's my own flesh and blood, my own flesh and blood..."

He had never been so frustrated; even when he was being utterly suppressed by Li Jiancheng in the past, he had not been as angry as he was at this moment.

"Gaoming, you are not allowed to drag Chu Suiliang into this, do you understand?"

"Very well!"

Li Chengqian agreed readily: "I believe in winning people over with virtue! Shouldn't you also give me something in return, Father?

It was no easy task for your son to make Chu Suiliang a friend to the Buddhism of the world."

"What do you want?"

"My father-in-law has always had an outstanding record in government, and he is upright in character; he is very well-suited for the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

Li Shimin fell silent. Arranging Cui Zhiwen in the Ministry of Rites, with Su Dan also there—there must be a scheme in this.

'Could it be Tibet? No! The most important thing for him right now is to secure his position as Crown Prince.

Ritual and law? That's not it either; he already knows my thoughts and wouldn't be naive enough to think he can secure the position of Crown Prince relying solely on ritual and law.'

Not having figured out Li Chengqian's goal, Li Shimin simply stopped thinking about it and said indifferently:

"Fine! Remember what you said; you are not allowed to drag Chu Suiliang into this."

"Magnanimous! You are truly the Heavenly Khan! Your son's breadth of mind is not even one ten-thousandth of yours."

"Get out!"

"Don't be in such a rush! Look, isn't Uncle here? You might have to ask me something later; wouldn't it be troublesome to go back and forth?"

Hearing this, Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling both looked outside the hall, only to see a palace attendant walking in with his head bowed:

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Zhao requests an audience!"

"Let him in."

Li Shimin's expression turned exceptionally ugly: "Looking at it this way, you knew long ago that I would look for you?"

"Of course! Your son is not a fool, am I right?"

"Greetings, Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"No need for formalities!"

Li Shimin's tone was somewhat sharp: "You had better think clearly before you speak, and don't let me vent my anger on you."

Zhangsun Wuji was slightly stunned; he glanced at Li Chengqian, then quickly took a memorial out of his sleeve:

"Your Majesty, rumors regarding the Prince of Bohai have been spreading everywhere recently. I feel that if this continues, it will affect the reputation of the Imperial Clan.

Therefore, I have come up with an idea: to use the imperial public notices to let all of Chang'an know the whole story and quell the rumors as soon as possible."

Li Shimin took the memorial and glanced at it curiously; just that one look made his expression change drastically.

Immediately after, his eyes stared fixedly at Li Chengqian:

"What a Crown Prince! Truly a fine son of the Li family! All that talk of compiling books, protecting Qingque, and vying for the throne—it was all a facade.

I originally thought you were doing it for the imperial court and to let your Grand Ancestor's spirit rest in peace.

Now it seems you were doing it all for your own ambitions, without the slightest regard for the Great Tang or the people of the world.

Those people like Du He were just preparing to enlighten the people, were they not!"

Li Chengqian suddenly raised his head. He had never mentioned the term "enlighten the people" to anyone before; even when he discussed keeping the people ignorant with Cui Zhiwen, he hadn't brought it up.

Thinking of this, Li Chengqian laughed in spite of himself:

"Father! Entering someone's study at will is not the behavior of a gentleman, and I was only acting according to your ideas.

Didn't you tell me through Qingque last time to speed things up?"

"You scoundrel!"

Li Shimin simply stopped pretending and sneered:

"Heh! Do you think I would use the welfare of the Great Tang and the people of the world as a wager for you to gamble with?"

After speaking, Li Shimin turned his gaze to Zhangsun Wuji:

"I do not approve of this memorial. Think of another way, even if it means mobilizing the garrison troops to go door-to-door to explain it; I will not hesitate."

"Father, are you sure?"

Li Chengqian smiled slightly: "Du He's students happen to be garrison troops!"

"..."

Li Shimin glared fiercely at Li Chengqian; he really wanted to open Li Chengqian's brain to see what other plans were inside.

"Ahem!"

Fang Xuanling could no longer bear to watch; after a light cough, he looked at Li Chengqian:

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, you only need to summon the neighborhood heads of each ward into the palace, or the elders of each clan would also suffice."

"Great idea!"

Li Chengqian praised: "As expected of Master Fang; no matter what desperate situation you encounter, you can always find a way.

Don't forget that this rumor involves the Imperial Concubine of the Prince of Wei. With Qingque's personality, how could he let others talk about the Imperial Concubine of the Prince of Wei at will, even if it's just saying the news came from her personal maid?

Bamboo Paper, public notices, plus the intelligence of Su Xu, Xiao Yu, and the others, and the scholars of the Literature Pavilion—it is a convergence of favorable timing, geographical advantages, and human harmony!"

Having said this, Li Chengqian paused and looked at Li Shimin with a smile in his eyes:

"Father, do you want to help? After all, once the public notice system is reformed, Qingque can delay the book compilation at will.

Today, the construction of the Library Building is not going smoothly, broadcast it to the world! Tomorrow, selecting talent, broadcast it to the world! The day after, the Prince of Wei is seriously ill and insists on compiling books, broadcast it to the world!"

"The public notices are controlled by the imperial court; you cannot use them at all,..."

Before he could finish, Li Shimin saw Li Chengqian's half-smiling expression and stopped instantly, the image of Du He teaching in various villages flashing through his mind.

An expression of disbelief appeared on his face: "You don't care at all who controls the public notices; you only care if the public notices have been reformed.

Are you not afraid that I will issue an edict to send Du He and those low-ranking officials all back?"

"The merchants from all over have finally gotten this opportunity; can Father truly bear to stop it? The exchange of goods must absolutely not be halted."

Li Chengqian slowly stood up and looked at Li Shimin with an expressionless face:

"Father, you cannot stop me; what I mentioned above is not everything."

"Do not forget, I still have the Brocade Guard in my hands. If Uncle and Qingque both fail, they will take action to force you to reform the public notices."

"There are also those people sent by the Duke of Chen; they can also carry out public notice reforms in other countries at any time. When that time comes, will you reform or not?"

"Since I can tell you, I am not afraid of you sabotaging it."

"Oh right! It does not matter if you truly destroy everything; your son still has one final move, though I cannot tell you what that is."

After speaking, ignoring the shocked expressions of the three men, Li Chengqian slowly walked toward the outside of the hall.

"Gulp!"

The three men swallowed their saliva in unison and looked at each other; it was Zhangsun Wuji who spoke first to break the silence:

"Emperor! How has the Crown Prince become increasingly intelligent? This subject is somewhat afraid!"

"Afraid of what! So what if he is intelligent? If I were to disregard everything, what could he possibly do!"

Hearing this, Zhangsun Wuji could not help but complain in his heart:

'If you were a foolish ruler, that would be one thing, but you are an enlightened ruler; do you even believe yourself when you say that?'

'A gentleman can be deceived by what is right; the ancients truly did not deceive me!'

"Fang Xuanling, what is your take? What do you think the Crown Prince's final move is?"

Fang Xuanling's gaze was blank: "Emperor, what do you mean by this? Are you truly prepared to sabotage the Crown Prince's plan?"

"Otherwise what?"

Fang Xuanling let out a bitter laugh: "Emperor, let alone what would happen to the merchants of the world, the Prince of Wei alone would have grievances against you."

"Furthermore, whether the Crown Prince even has a final move is another matter entirely. Even if he does, who could possibly guess it?"

"Before the Crown Prince spoke, who could have imagined that even the Duke of Zhao would be utilized? And the Duke of Zhao had not a single suspicion; this was still the most superficial move."

Zhangsun Wuji also chimed in: "Although it is very shameful, this subject truly had not a single suspicion."

"Emperor, you should just approve this Memorial!"

"Approve! Approve! Approve!"

Li Shimin spoke bitterly: "Can I do anything but approve? Not only can I not stop him, I even have to help him; I have never felt so stifled."

"I am handing the Memorial to you today; I am going to find Gao Gong to ask, to ask if the bloodline of the Zhangsun family is poisonous."