My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 74 Li Shimin's Suspicion
The curfew applies to the common people, not the palace.

The Taiji Palace at night was as prosperous and peaceful as usual.

Hu Ji was not only popular in Chang'an, but also in the imperial palace. There was no shortage of Hu Ji in Li Shimin's harem.

In the Yeting Palace, musicians from the Taichang Temple played dance music.

More than a dozen Hu girls danced the most popular Hu Xuan dance.

Li Shimin loved music. After drinking cup after cup of rice wine, he was already a little tipsy, with the beautiful girl beside him leaning gently in his arms.

Night is the happiest time for Li Shimin, because he cannot enjoy it during the day, otherwise the ministers headed by Wei Zheng would have to give him advice.

I have been fighting wars all my life, can't I just enjoy myself?
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Fang requests an audience."

This is inappropriate, Zhang Ananda bowed and reported.

Li Shimin frowned, and the singing and dancing in the venue suddenly stopped.

"What does he have to say at this late hour?"

Li Shimin was a little unhappy.

"I don't know. Prime Minister Fang said that we have to meet your Majesty and talk to him in person."

Li Shimin hesitated slightly, feeling a little disappointed.

However, Fang Xuanling came to the palace so late, probably because he had some important business, and it would be bad not to meet him.

"Let him in, he can enjoy the fun with me."

Li Shimin was already a little unhappy, and he hoped that Fang Xuanling was really in trouble, otherwise he would definitely make things difficult for him.

"Why are you standing there? Keep playing the music and keep dancing."

The eunuch serving beside him immediately said: "Your Majesty has ordered that the music and the dance continue."

The singing and dancing resumed.

After Fang Xuanling entered the hall, he walked around Hu Ji's side.

"Greetings to Your Majesty."

Li Shimin pointed to the seat next to him and said, "Mr. Fang is here. It's just right. Let's drink and have fun together."

Fang Xuanling looked at the Hu Ji in the room and said respectfully, "I have something important to report. Your Majesty, please ask your attendants to leave."

Li Shimin frowned and said, "If you have anything to say, just tell me. I am listening."

Fang Xuanling saw this and had no choice but to walk to His Majesty's side and whispered in his ear, "Your Majesty, it's about the Crown Prince's rebellion."

"What did you say!!!"

Li Shimin was shocked and angry. He sat up straight from his side and the wine glass fell to the ground.

The song stops abruptly.

The life of the musical boys and girls was also quite difficult.

Li Shimin was sober by this time and waved his hand, saying, "Everyone, leave."

After everyone left, only Zhang Ananda was left serving.

"Tell me, what's going on."

Li Shimin's tone became serious.

The prince's rebellion is no small matter.

Fang Xuanling pondered and said, "It's news from the King of Wei."

After hearing the whole story, Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief.

He was worried that the Eastern Palace had already prepared its troops and was ready to attack the Taiji Palace from the Xuanwu Gate at any time.

It turns out that it hasn't reached this point yet, and it's quite groundless.

You can't just let anyone come and say that the prince is plotting a rebellion and then the prince will commit a rebellion. There needs to be evidence.

Fang Xuanling naturally did not say that the King of Wei prepared evidence or anything, he just talked about Hegan Nuo. Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said, "I also know that Hegan Chengji has always been the crown prince's confidant. It is not impossible that his son Hegan Nuo said this, and he wanted to take revenge."

"Have the King of Wei bring Hegannuo into the palace tomorrow. I want to interrogate him personally."

Deep down, Li Shimin was still unwilling to believe that the prince might be plotting a rebellion.

However, I won't feel at peace until I have a thorough understanding of the matter.

Fang Xuanling said: "The prince suddenly ordered the execution of his trusted guard. There must be something fishy going on."

Li Shimin nodded: "I understand. After I have questioned Hegannuo, I will see how the prince explains it."

After Fang Xuanling left, Li Shimin no longer had the heart to continue enjoying the singing and dancing.

After thinking for a while, he asked Zhang Ananda, "What has the prince been doing in the East Palace recently? Is there any sign of mobilizing troops?"

Zhang Ananda replied, "The training in the East Palace has been quite brisk recently, but I heard that it has little to do with the Crown Prince, but is because of the Zuo Nei-shu Chen Yunchao."

"It is said that the Eastern Palace guards suffered a loss at the Wannian County Government Office, which made Chen Yunchao lose face, so the training was intensified. The prince also advised them not to work too hard."

"The Crown Prince is currently in the East Palace. The first is the ice-making matter, and the other is the paper-making matter."

Li Shimin was a little surprised: "Making paper? Why would the prince suddenly want to make paper?"

Zhang Ananda replied, "The prince ordered the papermaker to make paper from bamboo, but the paper was too brittle and broke at the touch. It was unusable, so the prince asked the papermaker to improve it."

Li Shimin nodded slightly: "If we can make paper from bamboo, the cost of paper will be low and the price of books will drop, which is a good thing for the country and the people."

"Besides this, is there anything else? Why did the Crown Prince want to kill Hegan Chengji? Are there any rumors in the East Palace?"

Zhang Ananda replied, "The day the crown prince sentenced Hegan Chengji to death was the day he was whipped by your majesty."

"No one in the Eastern Palace has heard the reason, and they are quite secretive about this matter."

Li Shimin asked again: "Do you think the prince is really preparing for a rebellion? Then can you believe what Hegannuo, the son of Hegan Chengji, said?"

Zhang Ananda was a little hesitant. This matter involved the prince's rebellion. How could an eunuch like him make inferences?

After thinking it over carefully, he replied: "I think that Hegannuo's words are not credible."

"The East Palace doesn't even know, how can he know the news when he is outside the palace?"

Li Shimin said: "It is possible that the father told the news to his son."

"Let's talk about it after we meet Hegannuo tomorrow."

Zhang Ananda's back was soaked, he really didn't want to get involved in such a thing.

I was also a little worried about the prince. Even if there was no definite evidence, if His Majesty had suspicions in his mind, this matter would not be so easy to deal with.
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The harem and the side palace.

Haruyuki came back trotting.

"Madam, I have found out that it is the minister of the imperial court, Prime Minister Fang Xuanling."

"Your Majesty was originally enjoying the singing and dancing, and I don't know what Fang Xuanling said, but Your Majesty was so shocked and angry that he even knocked over the wine glass and then sent everyone away."

"Fang Xuanling left after a short stay, about an incense stick of time."

After Wu Zhao finished listening, she pondered for a while and said, "Tomorrow morning, you should ask someone to go to the East Palace and send a message to the prince to tell him about this matter."

Chunxue asked, "Madam, why don't you tell the prince yourself? This way, you can have another chance to meet him."

Wu Zhao shook her head slightly: "Since the prince did not look for me again the first time, beauty is not that important to the prince."

"If a man is not interested, no matter how hard you seduce him, it will be useless. I don't want to just serve him with my beauty."

"If the prince is interested, he will come to me."

"Now we just need to tell the prince some news from his majesty."

Haruyuki hesitated and said, "Perhaps the prince will also get this news."

Wu Zhao shook her head slightly: "Others are others, I am me, this is completely different."

"Who wouldn't want to know more about His Majesty?"

(End of this chapter)