Chapter 566: Is There Such Courage?

"This…"

Li Chengqian's expression was odd, "I can't describe it precisely, but I think if it were the late First Emperor, seeing Fu Su dare to raise troops in rebellion, he'd feel both anger and satisfaction."

"Right." Chen Yan patted his shoulder, "Brother Cheng Qian, as Crown Prince you must show the spirit a Crown Prince should have, you cowardly wimp!"

"When others build a team and recruit people, that's called forming cliques for personal gain. As Crown Prince, building your own team is called what? That's called reasonable groundwork!"

"In the past the King of Wei dared to rally so many people; how can a Crown Prince be so cowardly and still get away with it?"

Li Tai: "......"

"...... Zi Anxiong, I've reformed, so let's not bring this up again, okay."

Chen Yan waved his hand, "Figuratively, figuratively, can you not mind these details?"

Li Chengqian said silently, "Just now you said I missed many opportunities—what does that mean?"

"The Wei family!" Chen Yan said irritably, "When the Wei family was on the brink of collapse, about to be crushed by the tide, many predators wanted to tear a piece of meat from them, and even His Majesty was fanning the flames behind the scenes."

"They were already on the edge of desperation; at that time, if you could step forward and save some people, wouldn't those people be devoted to you forever?"

"Unfortunately you didn't; you only thought about the benefits of wiping out the Wei family."

"Little did you know, if you had saved a group from the Wei family, you'd have gained even more; after all, how does the saying go?"

"A starved camel is larger than a horse."

"You've already missed that chance; now the Imperial Examination is imminent, you must not give up again."

Li Chengqian pondered for a long while, then chose to trust Chen Yan, nodding, "Alright, Zi Anxiong, what are the names of those two people you mentioned?"

"Lai Heng, Lai Ji!"

"......"

Yet Li Chengqian and the others didn't know that that night the three's conversation was clearly recorded and handed to Li Shimin, who was about to rest with Empress Changsun.

But don't misunderstand; Li Shimin truly had no intention of probing what they said. Previously saying that the unsavory ones should first investigate Chen Yan for any leverage was mostly a joke.

He sent people over simply because he wanted to protect Li Chengqian and the imperial grandson.

It was just Chen Yan's conversation… hmm, it was a bit unusual, so the people protecting them in secret recorded it and handed it to Li Shimin.

On the couch, after Li Shimin finished reading the three's conversation, he raised an eyebrow, "Guanyin Maid, look at your good child—what kind of things are they talking about!"

"This is the Crown Prince teaching me about rebellion."

Empress Changsun's heart leapt at the words; the statement was too heavy.

Yet according to her understanding of Li Shimin, his expression at that moment didn't seem angry.

Empress Changsun, puzzled, took the secret report, read it word for word, and smiled, "Cheng Qian indeed lacks in this regard; without the spirit a Crown Prince should have, Zi An would surely find it intolerable, otherwise he wouldn't say that."

"Moreover, the Crown Prince took the Crown Princess out of the palace; with Zi An's mind, he wouldn't fail to realize that someone is certainly protecting them in secret, yet he still said it, showing he isn't afraid of you knowing."

"Cheng Qian…" Li Shimin sighed, "Fortunately I'm not old yet; he still has a long time to grow, and with Zi An this youngster offering guidance… I can only say the future looks promising."

With Empress Changsun beside him, his words were still relatively gentle.

Then he smiled, "However, if Cheng Qian truly has that courage, dares to confront me and fight for one or two talents, I might look upon him more favorably."

"Zi An said it correctly: even the original Qingque dared to recruit ministers, yet he had little say in court; that's truly undeserved."

"Regarding this matter, I have something to say," Empress Changsun whispered, "In the past, who didn't know His Majesty favored Qingque and had some criticism of the Crown Prince, often hearing His Majesty scold the Crown Prince."

"It concerns internal royal power struggles; ministers naturally don't want to intervene, and Qingque, being highly favored, with many fiefs and a wealthy background, thus attracted many."

"Thus Qingque's power grew ever larger, while the Crown Prince's faction gradually weakened. Later, hardly anyone was willing to side with the Crown Prince; those hoping to gain merit for the Dragon's support all turned to Qingque."

"Your Majesty, you say, is this all Cheng Qian's fault?"

"…Ahem." Li Shimin cleared his throat, "Guanyin Maid, I know Cheng Qian's past wasn't easy; isn't this me realizing the mistake and setting things right?"

"Moreover, Qingque now has no desire for the throne; Cheng Qian's position is already unshakable."

The couple, in private, speak more casually; now Empress Changsun calls him Your Majesty instead of Er Lang, so Li Shimin knows she also harbors some resentment.

He truly isn't a good father.

Clearly the Xuanwu Gate Incident was imminent, yet he turned a blind eye; had someone not reminded him in time, it could have caused a disaster.

Empress Changsun smiled again, "Then Er Lang, why not give Cheng Qian some compensation?"

"The two people Zi An mentioned, I have never heard of before; how about we wait until after the Imperial Examination, see if Cheng Qian dares to vie for them, and if he does, we can conveniently give them to him."

Li Shimin was startled, then fell silent, "Alright, alright, good job, Guanyin Maid, so that's the idea?"

"I actually also…"

Empress Changsun smiled without replying.

She has never been one to cling to past incidents; the matters are over, and the situation is also moving in a positive direction.

What's the point of holding onto that lingering resentment?

She is a mother who dotes on children, especially understanding that Li Chengqian had indeed been under great pressure before, so she hopes to secure a chance for the child.

"Hmm......"

Li Shimin stroked his chin, "If someone else had raised it, I'd have no problem giving it to Cheng Qian."

"But Guanyin Maid, haven't you…"

"The people Chen Zian is after—when will they be lacking?"

"Lai Heng and Lai Ji, you might not know these two, but I have paid some attention to them."

"Because these two are the sons of Lai Hu'er, recruited together with Li Yifu's group by Chen Yan, yet they have ambition and wish to wait for the Imperial Examination."

"Thus, Chen Yan personally sought ways to train them, and only returned to his hometown last year to take the first round of exams."

"More importantly, the two brothers performed exceptionally in the previous exam rounds; barring any mishap, passing the jinshi exam shouldn't be an issue."

"Moreover, they are still quite young, just over twenty years old…"

"I…"

Mid‑sentence, Li Shimin felt a bit uneasy under Empress Changsun's lingering gaze, "Fine, let's just see whether Cheng Qian has that courage."

When the time comes, I will decide.