Chapter 587: Chen Yan: You Appointed Li Yuan as Taishang Huang

Inside Ganlu Hall, it was slightly quiet at this moment.

In fact, when no ministers were present in Ganlu Hall before, it was also quiet, but there were at least faint sounds of papers being leafed through or comments being written.

Today, however, there was nothing at all.

The palace maids and eunuchs inside the hall bowed their heads, daring not to breathe a single breath.

Only because the emperor seated above, after returning from the morning audience, sat there with his eyes closed, saying nothing.

Anyone could see that Li Shimin was in a bad mood at this moment, seeming tangled and hesitant about something.

At this point, Wushe slowed his steps gently, came to Li Shimin's ear, and whispered two sentences.

Li Shimin, appearing a bit weary, opened his eyes and waved casually, "Let him come in."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

In no time, Chen Yan stuck his head out from outside the hall, "Your Majesty, I'm coming in."

Seeing this, Li Shimin's eyes twitched, as if recalling something.

No matter how he looked at it, he thought Chen Yan had harmed his little Sizi.

He had made his previously obedient, sensible daughter, who once evoked pity, now become sullen and irritable.

"If you want to come in, come in; if not, get out. Why the hell so much nonsense?"

Chen Yan sheepishly nodded, "I'll go in, I'll go in."

He jogged in, went straight to Li Shimin's side, and quietly pulled a wine bottle from his bosom, "Your Majesty, I brought today a fine wine brewed at home."

"It's one of the first batches I made back then, buried for two years; the taste is superb, would you like a try?"

Li Shimin was about to nod when he suddenly snapped awake, becoming alert.

When did this kid Chen Yan become so attentive?

Something's off!

It's a hundred percent off!

"What? You intend to poison me?"

Chen Yan: "......"

He had considered many possibilities, but never imagined Li Shimin would blurt out such a line.

"…Will you drink it or not?"

Li Shimin glanced sideways, "Don't worry about whether I drink; first tell me whether you came to release a good fart or a stinky one. After you finish, I'll decide whether to drink."

"Seeing how you phrase that, when have I ever let go of a stinky fart?" Chen Yan said awkwardly to a nearby eunuch, "Sir, could you please bring two wine cups over?"

The eunuch hesitated, because Li Shimin's earlier words had frightened them; what if Chen Yan truly poisoned him?

They didn't dare take the wine cups either.

Undecided, he could only cast a pleading glance at Wushe.

Wushe found it funny; if Chen Yan wanted to poison Li Shimin, why use such a clumsy method?

Moreover, it raises suspicion.

Wushe whispered, "Your Majesty, shall I bring two wine cups?"

"Go, go, go, go."

Li Shimin was also speechless; this kid Chen Yan really was impolite.

He paused, then said bluntly, "Fine, you kid, stop babbling; just tell me why you came today."

"Ahem, actually there's nothing major…"

Chen Yan cleared his throat and tentatively asked, "Yesterday, Your Majesty should have started the investigation, right? I just want to know whether this matter is connected to Prince Wei… after all, he's on good terms with me and even lives in my house."

After speaking, he added, "Going forward, we'll still need Prince Wei to forge the Divine Might Cannon."

Li Shimin gave him a cool glance, "What do you mean by that last sentence? What, are you worried that my investigation will reveal this is indeed related to Prince Wei, so you're afraid I'll kill Prince Wei?"

"A bit!"

Chen Yan nodded honestly.

Li Shimin:???

He glared, "Damn it, in your mind, am I such a person? Even a tiger's venom won't eat its cubs, yet you worry I'd kill my own son?"

"…Hard to say… the Taishang Huang always nags me, saying he originally appointed you as Celestial Strategy General, you always call him stingy, and in the end you made him Taishang Huang."

Li Shimin: "......."

"Hehe… Hahaha!"

He laughed!

He laughed!

Purely out of anger.

"Get out!"

"You get out for me!"

"Now get out quickly, you little brat!"

Li Shimin pointed at the hall door and roared, his guard shattered.

What makes him think Li Yuan is stingy, appointing Li Yuan as Taishang Huang?

When did Li Yuan ever say that, how could he not know?

Damn it!

He always thought this was fabricated by Chen Yan himself, after all the increasingly sullen little Sizi often does this.

If it's not learned from Chen Yan, he'd never believe it even if beaten to death.

"Your Majesty, calm down, calm down." Chen Yan hurriedly leaned in, patting his back to soothe him, "See, this is our Emperor—whether angry or happy, showing some emotion on his face, that's truly you."

Don't wear a sour face, I tell you, I've already made arrangements with the aristocratic families; that ten‑thousand‑guan is deposited for a three‑year term, and within those three years we can draw it at any time. We're not short of money, we can vigorously develop the Tang Dynasty.

Also, the Imperial Examination results are about to be released; this year we can still pacify foreign enemies, intimidate the interior, enough to carry out sweeping reforms.

Cheer up a bit~

Li Shimin: "......"

No kidding, Chen Yan's words actually had some effect.

After that, Li Shimin's expression softened considerably.

Indeed, there was bad news, but the good news was evidently a bit more.

He glared fiercely at Chen Yan.

So, is this why you deliberately provoked me?

Damn you, I will sooner or later send you back to the Dali Temple to stay a few days!

Let go, let go, let go, once you're done, scram!

He waved his hand impatiently.

Chen Yan hesitated briefly, intending to postpone the other matters a bit and first use Du Ruhui's younger brother to test Li Shimin's attitude.

His Majesty, when I just arrived, I ran into Cai Duke; his younger brother and his whole family were taken away. I wanted to ask... could we leave a successor for them?

There is a child inside... the child knows nothing.

Li Shimin paused, his expression returned to calm, and mused, "Is this your own suggestion, or did Ke Ming send you?"

"All count, I guess." Chen Yan said calmly, "The Court in Chang'an is that small a circle; aren't they all about personal connections?"

"Cai Duke wants to rescue himself; I let him go back, and I'll see if I can lend a hand."

"You are indeed sincere!" Li Shimin reached out and tapped Chen Yan; with his magnanimity, he naturally wouldn't quibble with Chen Yan over this.

"Rest assured, I instructed Li Junxian before the arrests to say a word: the general situation has already been understood, and the interrogation methods revealed nothing. Du Chu Ke and his family were detained for two days and then released."

"As for the others... hehe!"

"You look at it yourself."

Saying that, Li Shimin picked up a secret report on the desk and tossed it toward Chen Yan.

"......"