Chapter 73: Getting Used to It

Li Chengqian's face was full of disdain; how could he not know Li Tai's thoughts? Wasn't it just to tell others through these things that his, Li Chengqian's, heart for rebellion had never changed?

Li Chengqian did not care at all; it was the same statement as before: as long as he did not truly raise an army, no one could depose him at will.

Li Chengqian not caring did not mean others did not care, especially that last sentence about sending the gentlemen to reincarnation, which made their necks feel cold.

"This Buddhism wouldn't really rebel, would it! They have grain when they need grain, and people when they need people; it is not impossible for them to create a Buddhist kingdom."

Today was only the first day of overseeing the state; Zhangsun Wuji and the others were not in a hurry to make a move, and Li Chengqian could only wait.

After finishing the government affairs, it was already the Hour of the Boar when Li Chengqian returned to the Eastern Palace, and Yuwen Ding had been waiting for a long time.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Li Chengqian returned the salute, then picked up the tea and drank it in one gulp:

"Was the witness on the side of the Prince of Bohai arranged by you?"

"Yes! They are all people from the Brocade Guard."

"From now on, all intelligence from Pingkang Fang will be handed over to the Prince of Bohai."

"The Prince of Bohai does not want to handle intelligence; he only wants to open Fengyue Lou all over the Great Tang, and he does not need the Eastern Palace to provide the money."

Li Chengqian blinked, somewhat bewildered: "He is that rich? Last time he gave the Eastern Palace one hundred thousand strings of cash, where did he get so much money?"

"He also has his gambling dens and Fengyue Lou in Wannian County, and there are gold and silver jewelry shops, rouge shops, and so on in the East Market of Chang'an."

"What a hateful rich man! Forget it, let him be; if he doesn't want to, let the Brocade Guard control it."

"Yes!"

Li Chengqian beckoned to Wang Qi: "Wang Qi, bring the things over!"

Wang Qi stepped forward quickly, took a scroll of paper from his sleeve, and handed it to Yuwen Ding.

Yuwen Ding looked at Li Chengqian with a puzzled expression, and then, under Li Chengqian's signal, opened it; his breathing became rapid after just a glance:

"C-Crown Prince, is this true?"

"I know the Yuwen Family genealogy only records up to the generation of Yuwen Hu's son; go back and bring those clansmen of yours to Chang'an.

I will send people to re-compile the genealogy for you, teach you the clan rites, and arrange for things like the family temple.

In the future, everyone in the Brocade Guard, as long as they work for me, will get this opportunity.

Of course, for those who betray me, I will also make them regret ever coming into this world."

Yuwen Ding knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily:

"Please rest assured, Your Highness; everyone in the Brocade Guard only obeys Your Highness's orders."

"Go! Send someone to contact Du He, record the Taoist's actions, and then wait for my orders."

"Yes!"

Li Chengqian knew that Li Shimin would not let him control the public notice after the reform, and he did not want to control it right now either.

His goal was still Sun Simiao and Li Chunfeng; as long as Sun Simiao could return to Chang'an in time, he could make Li Shimin rethink who was suitable for the position of Crown Prince.

And bringing Dou Dan here at this time was all just for Li Shimin, Li Tai, and the others to see—one open, one hidden, constantly shifting between truth and falsehood.

The next morning, Dou Dan brought the Prince of Bohai and others to the Lizheng Hall of the Eastern Palace.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Everyone, no need for formalities!"

Li Chengqian's voice was flat: "Speak, when did the Prince of Bohai have intimate relations with that young lady, and where?

Don't tell me you saw it with your own eyes; that would only get you chopped up and used as fish bait."

Under Dou Dan's signal, a woman in her thirties lowered her head and spoke:

"It was the first ten days of September the year before last; we all saw the Prince of Bohai bring people to force his way into Cuizhu's home, and we all heard the cries.

Around the end of the year, Physician Zheng Xi from Hui Chun Tang went to see Cuizhu, and we learned from him that Cuizhu was three months pregnant."

"Yes! We all heard it!"

"..."

The Prince of Bohai tilted his head slightly, looking very proud; seeing this, Li Chengqian mocked him:

"You are very proud? Forcibly seizing a common woman, causing her to become pregnant and then die in childbirth—I suggest you stop being a human; the position of 'turtle bastard' suits you very well."

"Your Highness the Crown Prince! No matter what, I am still your clan uncle; can you give me some face?"

"I want to give it, too! But look at the things you've done; are you willing to give yourself any face?"

"Hmph hmph!"

The Prince of Bohai snorted: "I won't argue with you; I've been scolded a lot lately anyway, I'm used to it!

Can this child be entered into the Zushu now?"

"Enough! You take these people back first; I will discuss it with Official Dou!"

"Fine! You decide as soon as possible; the child doesn't even have a name yet."

"Get out!"

Watching the backs of Li Fengci and the others as they left, Dou Dan spoke softly:

"Your Highness the Crown Prince! Do you really want to enter it into the Zushu?"

"No need to enter it into the Zushu; just let him have the surname Li. Find someone among the Li Clan members who lacks a son and send him there; raise this child until he is sixteen."

"No! But they spoke with such certainty; it doesn't look fake."

Li Chengqian grinned: "Of course it doesn't look fake; I arranged it specifically. Every expression and action of theirs, as well as what they said, was specifically arranged by me.

And the Prince of Bohai, I also specifically asked him to help."

？？？？？

Dou Dan was full of question marks and was stunned on the spot for a moment.

After a long while, he finally reacted: "Your Highness the Crown Prince, why are you doing this?"

"To see you!"

Li Chengqian's expression was solemn: "Father has already placed me under surveillance, and Uncle and Qingque have also been keeping a close watch on me.

In order for the plan to proceed smoothly, I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure, inviting you here in a way that would not arouse suspicion."

"This subject has other matters to attend to, I shall take my leave first!"

Dou Dan dared not listen any further; the previous struggle for the position of Crown Prince had nearly cost him his life and soul, and he truly dared not get involved again.

Just as he reached the doorway, Li Chengqian's voice made him stop in his tracks:

"Clan Court Official Dou, why did Grand Ancestor appoint you as National University Libationer back then? Did you participate in the Debate of the Three Teachings?

Father used the enfeoffment of the Li Clan members to seize local power and stabilize the Great Tang empire; this was proposed by Special Advance Xiao.

If I am not mistaken, this was something Grand Ancestor had Special Advance Xiao do, right!"

"That is correct!"

Dou Dan turned around and sat back down in his original seat:

"At that time, the influence of Buddhism and Taoism was immense, especially Buddhism, which had taken in a large number of Commoners and land during the chaos of war, while the newly founded dynasty lacked people most of all.

To follow Emperor Wu of Zhou in suppressing Buddhism would likely have caused the imperial court and the state to collapse in an instant; therefore, Gaozu Huangdi chose to win over the waning Confucianism and Taoism to counter Buddhism.

Fortunately, the strife between the Three Teachings had begun as early as the Jin Dynasty, and with the emergence of the Great Confucian Wenzhongzi Wang Tong, the plan went very smoothly at first, and no one discovered Gaozu's scheme.

By the time they realized it, it was already too late, and they had no choice but to hold their noses and let Gaozu Huangdi carry out reforms on Buddhism.

However, before the reforms were fully completed, the incident at Xuanwu Gate erupted, and for the sake of the stability of the realm, the Emperor had to temporarily abandon the reform of Buddhism.

Now, tracing these things back has no meaning; since the passing of the Empress, the Emperor has become increasingly devout in Buddhism, and consequently, the Prince of Wei and the Prince of Jin have also begun to believe in Buddhism."

"I do not believe it!"

Li Chengqian looked at Dou Dan with a smile in his eyes: "I have always been a person who wins people over with virtue and governs the country with the Dao.

Now that the opportunity to fulfill Grand Ancestor's wish is right before us, is Uncle not prepared to help your nephew?"