The Fierce Teacher of Zhenguan: Starting with Teaching the Crown Prince to Make a Comeback

Chapter 42 Anger gives others a handle to use against you.

The urge to punch Liu Shi in the face suddenly surged into Li Chengqian's mind.

The Crown Prince's Palace was purchasing rare and precious items?

Or was it at a time when the migrants from Xizhou desperately needed supplies?
This is clearly an insinuation that he is two-faced and hypocritical!
He almost slammed his fist on the table and stood up immediately, sternly rebuking Liu Shi for daring to spy on the internal affairs of the Eastern Palace and make unwarranted comments!
However, just as his anger was about to overwhelm his reason, Li Yichen's calm, even slightly cold eyes suddenly appeared in his mind.

"Your Highness, anger gives your opponent a handle to use against you. Suspicion throws you into disarray. No matter how astonishing the words uttered, the most important thing is to remain calm and observe the situation before making a decisive move."

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger.

The clenched fist slowly relaxed under the table.

He tried to maintain an almost stiff calm on his face, but his eyes were fixed sharply on Liu Shi.

“Imperial Censor Liu,” Li Chengqian began, his voice more steady than he had expected, though slightly strained.

"The records of the Ministry of Agriculture are so detailed that they even include items purchased for the Crown Prince's palace? I hadn't noticed that before. I need to summon the Director of the Imperial Kitchen and the head of the Imperial Household Department to check the accounts and find out the reason. I've noted down Censor Liu's question."

He neither denied nor defended himself, but simply accepted the question and passed it on to "verification" and "inquiry," thus buying himself some breathing room.

The faint smile on Liu Shi's face deepened, as if he had expected this to happen.

He was not in a hurry to force them; instead, he bowed slightly, his tone even more concerned about the country.

“Your Highness is wise. I did not deliberately spy on you. I only happened to see it when I was checking the expenses of the relocated people. I had doubts and was afraid that it would damage Your Highness’s reputation. Therefore, I did not avoid suspicion and spoke frankly to you.”

His tone shifted subtly, becoming more somber.

"However, this matter is still minor. After checking the procurement list, I also took the opportunity to carefully review the accounts of the Imperial Kitchen and the Imperial Household Department for the past six months—and only then did I discover that there may be even bigger parasites hiding around Your Highness!"

The atmosphere inside the hall instantly became extremely tense.

Li Baiyao subconsciously straightened his back, and Xu Jingzong's smile completely disappeared, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

The officials in the back row even held their breath, exchanging surprised and uncertain glances.

Liu Shi's voice was not loud, but every word was clear.

“Wang Shun, the Assistant Director of the Imperial Kitchen, used the pretext that ‘the Crown Prince needs to nourish his body’ to apply for the purchase of ten catties of the finest ginseng last month. However, according to my investigation, this batch of ginseng did not enter the Eastern Palace’s medicine storehouse. In fact, it was resold to foreign merchants in the Western Market, and he made a profit of no less than three hundred strings of cash.”

He paused briefly, his gaze sweeping over the Crown Prince's instantly grim face, before continuing, "Wang Da, the Director of the Inner Palace Bureau, is even worse. He abused his position to secretly intercept twenty loads of cotton donated by merchants to the Eastern Palace, intended to be sent to Xizhou with the relocated migrant caravan, and used the money for the renovation of his private residence. I have already recorded the testimonies of the foreign merchants who received the goods in the Western Market and the craftsmen hired to participate in the renovation of his residence as evidence. The discrepancy in the accounts matches perfectly with the recent surge in their private wealth."

Evidence, witnesses, whereabouts of the stolen money... Liu Shi was clearly well-prepared, and extremely well-prepared, almost eliminating any possibility of last-minute excuses.

Li Chengqian felt a chill creep up from the soles of his feet.

Wang Shun and Wang Da were former servants of the Crown Prince and were generally considered diligent.

Anger surged again, but this time it was mixed with a sense of shame at being betrayed and a panic that the situation was completely out of control.

He subconsciously wanted to look in Li Yichen's direction for support, but he forcibly restrained himself.

Liu Shi did not urge him, but instead took a half step back, his tone changing from his previous straightforwardness to a sorrowful lament.

"I recently reread the records of the former Sui Dynasty and found that during the Daye era, the Imperial Censor Pei Yun reported that Wang Shichong, the Prefect of Jiangdu, and Yu Shiji, the Imperial Censor, were suspected of embezzling large sums of money and deceiving the Emperor. However, Emperor Yang did not punish them severely because 'Shiji understands my intentions well and Shichong is good at handling miscellaneous affairs,' and instead tolerated them."

He sighed heavily, his gaze sweeping across the room before finally settling on Li Chengqian's face, his eyes filled with deep worry. "What happened next? Wang Shichong amassed power and carved out his own territory; Yu Shiji blocked dissent and misled the Emperor. The Sui Dynasty perished, to a large extent, because of this mentality of 'tolerating filth and corruption' and 'sacrificing public duty for private gain'! Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, you have taken the fall of the Sui Dynasty as a daily lesson, ordering us to compile the 'Essentials of Governance in the Zhenguan Era' to constantly remind yourself of this, for what you fear most is repeating the same mistakes!"

This strike was extremely ruthless.

The actions of the two corrupt officials in the Eastern Palace were directly compared to the heinous villains who led to the downfall of the previous dynasty. The question of whether or not to punish them was elevated to a political level concerning whether the current emperor's governance strategy was being followed and whether the lessons of the Sui dynasty's demise were being remembered.

Finally, Liu Shi stepped forward, bowed again, his posture extremely respectful, but his words pushed this "open conspiracy" to an unavoidable climax.

"Your Highness is the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty, the future monarch appointed by His Majesty. Today, the Eastern Palace has seen the emergence of corrupt officials like Wang Shun and Wang Da. If Your Highness, out of consideration for past relationships or to save face, were to tolerate and condone them, how would that differ from Emperor Yang's indulgence of Wang Shichong and Yu Shiji in the past? If Your Highness is determined to deal with them, how should it be done? Should it be merely dismissal as a minor punishment, or should it be carried out in accordance with the Tang Code, thoroughly investigated and severely punished, imprisoned and brought to justice, to set an example and deter others, so that the Eastern Palace and all officials throughout the land may know Your Highness's determination to fight corruption and eliminate graft?"

Li Chengqian wanted to sternly rebuke Liu Shi for his sinister intentions and use this as an excuse to make a fuss.

That familiar urge to destroy everything churned in his chest.

“Anger gives others a handle to use against you.” Li Yichen’s words pierced my mind like an ice pick once again.

Li Chengqian took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the burning anger in his heart.

The brain, however, began to operate coldly at an unprecedented speed.

Liu Shi?

He is not a core member of the Wei King's inner circle, yet he dares to launch such an attack today. He must be acting under someone's orders and has solid evidence.

To confront its sharp edge head-on is exactly what they wanted.

I cannot be angry right now; I must... see through his strategy.

"The matter reported by Imperial Censor Liu concerns the integrity of officials and the reputation of the Crown Prince." He paused. "I need time to sort out the details and also need to summon the relevant officials of the Crown Prince to find out the truth."

Liu Shi carefully observed the Crown Prince's every reaction.

Seeing that he not only did not fly into a rage and lose his composure, but instead showed unusual calmness, and even said that he wanted to "clarify the details" and "summon officials", I was slightly surprised at first, and then a deeper sense of pride welled up in my heart.

Trying to appear calm?

Delaying time?

Exactly what I want!

What he wanted was for the Crown Prince to be unable to make a perfect response immediately, and for the impact of this matter to continue to ferment.

A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on Liu Shi's face, a smile that conveyed a sense of complete control and composure.

He bowed slightly, his tone still respectful as a subject, but the pressure in his words remained undiminished.

"Your Highness is being cautious, and I understand."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shi's "gratified" expression reappeared on his face, as if he was genuinely pleased that the Crown Prince was "acting in accordance with the rules."

He bowed and said, "Since Your Highness is willing to follow the rules, I will await the outcome." However, his next sentence completely sealed off the last possibility for Li Chengqian to resolve the matter internally.

"However, to avoid any suspicion of 'blind spots' in the Crown Prince's self-investigation, I copied down some of the clues and witness testimonies I obtained regarding Wang Shun and Wang Da's embezzlement this morning and submitted them to the Dali Temple for record-keeping. I believe that a joint investigation by the three judicial departments will better ensure that this case is brought to light and demonstrate the fairness and impartiality of the laws of our Great Tang Dynasty. What does Your Highness think?"

　Normal update schedule: one chapter at 10 AM and two chapters at 4 PM. I might update more frequently recently because I need to repay my readers for their monthly votes!!! Thank you so much for your monthly votes and recommendations!!! I bow deeply to you all! Please accept my deepest gratitude!!!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)