Chapter 625: The Crying Child, the Angry Grandfather, the Headache Mother, and the Incompetent Father

"Grandpa, you are bad! Mom is also bad, they want to kill my brother, I don't want my brother to die, you help me scold them!"

Sizi, upon seeing Li Shimin and Empress Changsun, pointed at them and cried out a complaint to Li Yuan.

Gao Yang's words were so devastating to her that she still hasn't recovered, tears streaming down.

"Alright, alright, good granddaughter, don't cry, don't cry," Li Yuan stretched out his hand to wipe Sizi's tears, then glared at Li Shimin: "What else do you have to say?"

"My grandson-in-law, the illustrious Duke of Wei, Minister of Revenue, you say if we send him to Dali Temple Prison, then he goes to Dali Temple Prison?"

"And you want forty lashes; even a man of iron can't endure it. Aren't you trying to take the lives of my granddaughters?"

"Father Emperor..." Li Shimin, with a toothache, hurriedly explained: "This matter is complicated; even if your son does whatever, he would never truly intend Zi An's death."

"Just as you said, if you can agree, can your children agree? Can the Guanyin Maid agree?"

"It's a misunderstanding; Sizi is still young, doesn't understand, please let me explain carefully..."

"It's not a misunderstanding!" Sizi, eyes reddened, shouted loudly: "Brother already said, after he's gone, let me take good care of myself, hoping I grow up healthy and happy."

"In the future you also can't marry behind my back; let Fourth Imperial Brother replace him and carry me!"

"Wow!"

As she kept speaking, Sizi's crying grew louder: "Brother also said... also said..."

"Hey, don't cry, don't cry, okay." Li Yuan, heart aching, hurriedly lifted Sizi and sat down, gently patting her back, coaxing, "What else did your brother say?"

"Brother also said, in Weinan County he left a manor for me, filled with peach trees he planted himself; when I grow up, the peach trees will have grown too."

"If I encounter something sad, I should go to Weinan County, stand before the central peach tree in the orchard and speak loudly; if... if at that moment a petal falls on my shoulder, or a breeze lifts my hair, then brother must have heard my words..."

"Wow~ sob sob sob, Grandpa, I don't want brother to die, they are all bad, Sizi will never like them again."

"Grandpa, could you take Sizi back to Weinan County? I don't want to stay in Chang'an. I want to live in the manor brother left for me, watching the peach trees grow day by day, and let brother watch Sizi grow day by day as well."

Hearing this, Li Shimin and Empress Changsun both turned green-faced.

Damn it...

What a massive black pot!

Bullshit about petals falling, breeze blowing.

Chen Yan!

You're a ruthless person!

You damn it, playing like this?

Li Yuan also turned a dark face, listening to his granddaughter's words, his heart was about to break.

"Li Er!!!"

He forced down his anger: "Weren't you going to explain? Now I give you a chance to explain; speak to me properly, is what Sizi said true?"

"If so, you can just give us all forty lashes: Cheng Qian, Qingque, Lìzhì, Zhao Tang, Cheng Yang, Sizi! We'll all go down, that way you won't be bothered later, and you'll be clean!!"

Wushe, hearing this, quietly stepped back a few paces.

Now, in this scene, better keep oneself at a distance.

The crying child, the angry grandfather, the headache mother, and the incompetent father.

Who can I reason with?

"Father Emperor, it's really not as you think." Li Shimin, forced to the brink, on the verge of tears, said: "Zi An... you still don't understand what that brat's conduct is?"

"He's just a huge pit!"

"That kid never tells the truth, and is always up to no good; he's using Sizi and you to try to kill me."

"How could I possibly kill him?!"

"It's absolutely impossible!"

"Father Emperor, regarding this matter, I think it's necessary to explain properly; please don't be angry first." Empress Changsun, unable to stand it, stepped forward and said: "I just went to Dali Temple Prison to visit Zi An, he..."

At this point, Empress Changsun was so angry her teeth ached: "That kid is still eating roast chicken, completely at ease."

"Moreover, this story is long, it's definitely not as Sizi said, about giving him forty lashes."

Regarding Changsun Wugou, this daughter-in-law, Li Yuan still trusted her, and upon hearing her words, gradually calmed down.

"Alright, Guanyin Maid, you speak, what exactly happened?"

"Why was everything fine yesterday, and today it turned into this?"

"It's like this..."

Empress Changsun, not daring to delay, explained all the causes and consequences to Li Yuan clearly, including Chen Yan leading a brawl with many officials, causing chaos in the Court, and his firm resolve to eradicate Buddhism.

"Father Emperor, the Guanyin Maid and Er Lang absolutely have no intention to kill Zi An, but... Zi An this time truly overstepped, leading the entire Ministry of Revenue into a fight inside Tai Chi Palace, involving many officials."

"Xiao Yu... Xiao Yu's forehead was smashed into two big bruises, his eyes all black and blue."

Li Shimin, beside them, nodded frantically: "Yes, yes, that's right, Father Emperor, this kid is a bit lawless, can I not give him a little lesson?"

"If today's incident spreads, people will think the Court isn't a place for discussing state affairs, but a venue for fighting and brawling."

Hearing this, Li Yuan gradually began to understand.

He glanced at Sizi in his arms, then gave Li Shimin a sidelong look, how could he not see the twists inside.

But this was still a good thing; Li Yuan didn't want to intervene, and only one question remained in his mind: "What is this forty lashes about?"

Li Shimin's forehead bulged with blue veins: "Isn't it because Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong, those two scoundrels, insisted that your son beat Zi An with forty slaps, and I didn't agree either."

Li Yuan recalled when Chen Yan became Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and after his first audience, the things he did, curled his lips, too lazy to talk about those people.

He lowered his head and gently coaxed: "Good granddaughter, did you hear? Your grandpa didn't intend to kill your brother, don't cry, okay."

"In a few days, your brother will return."

"......"

Sizi twitched her nose, and also understood the course of events.

Although she didn't grasp the inner workings, she at least knew Chen Yan would definitely not die.

She pouted: "Your Majesty, have I been tricked by my older brother again? He clearly knows he won't die, so why is he saying these things to me?"

"...... This...... Your Majesty doesn't know; wait for your older brother to come back, then you go ask him yourself."

Li Yuan couldn't help but laugh.

"Sizi, your older brother just knows how to trick people all day; don't believe his words." Empress Changsun couldn't help but say.

She was speechless, and they just pulled this stunt out of nowhere.

Sizi fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said: "Why don't you just give him forty heavy strokes? I feel this older brother of mine isn't that great either."

"He just keeps tricking me."

Everyone: "......"

"......"