Chapter 359: Tricky

The next day, afternoon.

Li Shimin was rather at ease, taking his little daughter and teasing a group of not‑very‑old sons and daughters.

Watching the scene of his children playing before him, his recent tension from the tangled state affairs eased considerably.

He took the little daughter from Empress Changsun, prodded her cheek with a finger, and said gravely, "Guanyin Maid, regarding Qing'er's title, my decision is made; you need not persuade me any longer."

Beside him, Empress Changsun, upon hearing this, was not disappointed; she simply smiled and nodded, "All according to His Majesty."

"Since that's the case, let's formally confer the title on the Lantern Festival day," Empress Changsun's relaxed words made a faint smile appear on Li Shimin's face.

A glance at the side caught Wushe hurrying over, reluctantly placing the little daughter back into the cradle.

"His Majesty, it has already been uncovered!"

Wushe held a secret report in both hands and bowed respectfully.

"Oh?" Li Shimin was somewhat surprised, but joy followed immediately.

The fire at the Weinan County workshop, the perpetrator indeed dealt with it very cleanly; when he previously said three days, it was only an ideal timeframe.

He had thought it would take a day or two, but it was uncovered this quickly.

It seems his cultivation of the unruly has borne fruit; it wasn't in vain that he poured so much money into it.

Li Shimin took the secret report, opened it, and read it word by word.

When he saw the final name, he immediately closed the report, stood up instinctively, and fixed his gaze on a figure not far away.

Empress Changsun, seeing this, instantly realized the force behind the workshop attack was not simple, gave Wushe a glance to step back, and gently tugged Li Shimin's arm.

"As previously agreed, whoever it is, leave it to Zi An to handle!"

"That's too dangerous!" Li Shimin squinted, "It's merely a case of killing a chicken to scare the monkey; if I act, it's the same!"

"From now on Weinan County will likely become increasingly unsettled; there will be many more chances for Zi An to act, this one is no exception."

Empress Changsun frowned, "A noble family?"

"No!" Li Shimin said gravely, "But it doesn't matter much either!"

"This family is special; Zi An might not dare to act!"

Might not dare to act?

Empress Changsun was startled.

Chen Yan has repeatedly dared to trap the noble families, even confronting the heads of those families before the civil and military officials.

Aside from the noble families, how many households in this Tang Dynasty could make Chen Yan hesitant to act?

After pondering carefully, Empress Changsun's mind conjured a hypothesis, her face turning pale instantly, "Is… is it the Changsun family?"

If it is the Changsun family, then it's normal for Chen Yan to be so wary as to not act.

After all, the Changsun family includes her; Li Lizhi is still the niece of Changsun Wuji.

It makes sense from every angle.

Li Shimin was taken aback; turning his head to see Empress Changsun's expression, he realized his wife had misread the situation.

He said with a helpless laugh, "It's not the Changsun family; the chancellor knows clearly Zi An's place in my heart and would not do such a foolish thing."

No…

Upon hearing that, Empress Changsun's anxious heart instantly relaxed, though her expression became slightly uneasy.

"Then I shall say no more, but… I still want to say that Zi An is indeed too young; if he wishes…"

"Zi An was pampered by his parents and uncles in childhood; even after they passed away, he still received constant guidance from Zhijie and me, so one could say he grew up with a golden key in his mouth."

"His heart is too soft; he dispersed most of his amassed family wealth for a group of refugees. That's commendable, yet also problematic."

"Now Zi An is about to become a father and has entered the Court; it's time for him to understand that without ruthlessness one cannot stand firm."

Empress Changsun pulled Li Shimin's hand and said warmly, "At least now we have a safety net for him; even if he crashes headfirst and bleeds, we can still lift him up again, can't we?"

Her words caused Li Shimin's stance to waver once more.

The resolve he had originally made to act himself was shattered by his wife's words.

"Alas~"

Li Shimin sighed deeply, summoned Wushe, "Copy the secret report again and send one to Cheng Qian and one to Zi An."

"Yes, His Majesty!"

"Wait!" Empress Changsun suddenly recalled something, leaned toward Li Shimin's ear and whispered a few words.

Li Shimin was quite surprised; after pondering for a moment, he nodded in agreement.

"Then we'll go as you say!"

"......"

In Weinan County, at the Xianlya, Chen Yan sent Wushe, who was to forward the secret report, out the door.

He then returned to the side chamber, sat in the chief seat, and fell into contemplation while gazing at the report in his hand.

At that moment, Du Gou and Fang Yizhi entered; the former said bluntly, "Wushe's attitude is off. Given Zi An's relationship with him, he would have leaked some other information before; today he unusually said nothing at all."

Fang Yizhi asserted, "That must mean the force behind the attack is rather formidable; Wushe is unwilling to speak more and hasn't yet presented any oral decree to His Majesty."

"This matter is hard to handle!"

"Brother Chen!" Du Gou called out, and Chen Yan lifted his head.

"Open it and take a look; whatever the force is, with the few of us together, I don't believe we can't get a glimpse!"

That is the confidence of a second‑generation elite Meritorious Noble of the Tang Dynasty!

Fang Yizhi spoke up, "I recall Brother Chen once said, 'Strike with one punch to prevent a hundred punches!'"

"Open it and see; after all we're all youths, even if it escalates, what does it matter?"

"We must speak up now, otherwise we'll never have a peaceful day ahead!"

Chen Yan's eyes flickered slightly, as if he wanted to laugh.

Fang Yizhi's point was clear: they are young, and even if things get out of hand they'd simply call in elders to take responsibility, then brush it off with a remark that the youngsters don't understand.

If you can't brush it off, then they'll be locked up for a few days!

"Fine, then let's see what kind of holy figure this is!"

Chen Yan didn't hesitate, opened the secret report, and after reading it, instinctively looked up at Du Gou.

That glance made Du Gou feel a little uneasy.

"Brother Chen, don't look at me like that; I can assure you I'm not from the Du Family!"

"I never said it was your Du Family… just look and you'll see." Chen Yan cleared his throat and handed over the secret report.

Du Gou took the secret report, and Fang Yizhi immediately leaned in.

When they saw the various clues below pointing to the names of factions, the two exclaimed together.

"Wei family!!"

"Whoa, why is it the Wei family!!!"

Afterwards, both of their expressions turned completely solemn.

In Chang'an City there is a famous saying that goes

— In the southern city, Wei and Du are a foot and a half from the throne.

It means the Wei clan of Jingzhao and the Du clan are only a foot and a half away from the emperor, emphasizing their towering power.

They are century‑old aristocratic families rooted in the core of Guanzhong, with deep‑seated influence in Chang'an and the surrounding areas.

Du Ruhui indeed comes from this Du Family!

"This is trouble now!"

Du Gou let out a light sigh.

Chen Yan also found it tricky.

If the Wei family is merely powerful, there's nothing to discuss—just act and it's settled.

But the problem is, the Wei family has a heavyweight figure inside the harem.

It is precisely the person whose rank is second only to Empress Changsun, the head of the Four Consorts, the undisputed second‑most important figure in the harem—Consort Wei.

"......"