My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

Empress Zhangsun looked at Li Shimin and said softly, "Your Majesty, you must trust Chenggan and not be disturbed by outside influences."

At the beginning, Emperor Wu of Han and his son Liu Ju loved and trusted each other.

Later, Emperor Wu of Han favored Jiang Chong.

Jiang Chong appeared righteous but was actually a complete scoundrel.

When he was in Zhao, he clearly knew the facts of the King of Zhao's crimes, but he dared not report them.

Later, the King of Zhao felt that he knew too many secrets and wanted to kill him to silence him.

He was being pursued by the King of Zhao, but he managed to escape and reach Chang'an.

Only then did he remember that he should report King Zhao.

From this incident, we can see that Jiang Chong has character flaws.

If we say that before the King of Zhao pursued and killed him,

He had already denounced the King of Zhao, which shows that he was a virtuous and upright man.

However, he only started thinking of overthrowing the King of Zhao after the King of Zhao had already pursued and killed him, which shows that he was a complete villain.

Unexpectedly, he directly appealed to the emperor, Emperor Wu of Han, and actually brought down the King of Zhao.

Emperor Wu of Han was also deceived by Jiang Chong's appearance, praising him as "a man of great talent from Yan and Zhao".

Crown Prince Liu Ju was upright and incorruptible, and disliked Jiang Chong.

Jiang Chong and the Crown Prince had developed a rift, and Jiang Chun worried that if the Crown Prince were to inherit the throne one day, it would be detrimental to him.

Therefore, he spent his days speaking ill of Crown Prince Liu Ju in front of Emperor Wu of Han.

Under the instigation of the treacherous Jiang Chong, Emperor Wu of Han gradually developed a negative view of Liu Ju, even believing that Liu Ju would rebel.

Ultimately, the witchcraft scandal erupted, leading to fathers and sons killing each other and tens of thousands of people dying or being injured.

Ultimately, Liu Ju was driven to suicide.

Emperor Wu of Han was deeply regretful and heartbroken over this incident. He built the Palace of Remembrance for her, but what use was it now that she was dead?

Li Shimin listened in silence.

"Cough...cough..." Empress Zhangsun was still very weak and spoke a lot in one breath, and was somewhat tired.

Li Shimin said with concern, "Let the imperial physician examine you."

"No need! Lu Zhaolin prescribed medicine for me, and I'm much better now."

"That's good. Remember to take your medicine on time," Li Shimin instructed her.

"I have remembered it."

night.

A dark and windy night is the perfect time for murder.

Li Chengqian was worried about Empress Zhangsun, wondering if his mother had recovered.

In the morning,

He wanted to visit Empress Zhangsun, but Su Wan stopped him.

He felt he had recovered almost completely and wanted to go see his mother.

So he left the East Palace and headed to the Lizheng Hall.

As he passed by Consort Yan Xian's palace in Taiji Palace, he faintly heard the sound of a woman crying inside.

Li Chengan felt strange and wondered who was crying.

He didn't usually eavesdrop, but the woman in the room was crying and talking, mentioning Empress Zhangsun's name.

Li Chengan stopped in his tracks.

He looked around and saw no one.

So he went to a window, poked a hole in the paper windowpane, and looked inside.

The palace was lit.

Consort Yan knelt on the ground, with a memorial tablet placed in front of her.

Li Chengqian had excellent eyesight. He looked closely and saw that it read "The Spirit Tablet of Li Xiao" and various fruits were offered in front of it.

Consort Yan was burning paper money in the brazier, crying as she burned it: "Xiao'er, you died so tragically. You were so clever, lively and lovely, but you died so young. My heart aches so much, I am in unbearable pain, sob sob sob..."

Consort Yan broke down in tears at this point.

She was born into a noble family.

Her grandfather, Yan Rong, followed Emperor Wu of Zhou in his campaign against the Northern Qi during the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He was awarded the title of Grand Master of the Palace and Duke of Gaoyi for his meritorious service.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui, he followed Yang Guang in pacifying the Southern Chen dynasty, capturing Xiao Huan, and achieving remarkable military exploits.

However, Yan Rong was cruel and fond of killing, and was eventually ordered to commit suicide by Emperor Wen of Sui.

Consort Yan's father was named Yan Baoshou, who was known as a child prodigy when he was young.

Because of Yan Rong's influence, Yan Baoshou never became an official.

Consort Yan's mother was the third daughter of Wang Yangxiong, a Grand Commandant during the Sui Dynasty. She was also a woman of high moral character and great learning.

Therefore, Consort Yan received a good education from a young age, and they were also cousins ​​of the Sui Dynasty's imperial family.

She was young, beautiful, and talented, and therefore, she was deeply favored by Li Shimin.

Li Shimin and she had two sons, the eldest being Li Zhen and the second being Li Xiao.

Unfortunately, Li Xiao passed away not long ago.

Consort Yan speculated that Empress Zhangsun and Xu Hui might have been secretly practicing witchcraft, which led to Li Xiao's death.

She vented all her anger on Empress Zhangsun and Xu Hui.

She continued, "Our bond as mother and son is too shallow. You came to my side not long ago, and then you left me."

It must be that Guanyinbi and Xu Hui were using witchcraft behind your back, cursing and swearing at you, which is why you died.

Those two women are truly wicked.

Li Chengan overheard this from outside the window and wondered why this woman would think that way.

His mother was well-versed in history; how could she possibly practice witchcraft in the harem?

That's simply impossible.

"That Guanyinbi, relying on her status as Empress and the power of her Changsun family, doesn't take us concubines seriously."

On the surface, Changsun Wuji appears to be indifferent to worldly affairs and uninterested in fame and fortune, spending his time at home compiling the "Zhenguan Code." In reality, however, he is an ambitious man with an extremely strong desire for officialdom.

Do you think I can't see it?

How could he possibly be unemployed at home all this time?

They're just putting on a show.

Guanyinbi was extremely cunning. It was she and her brother who helped Li Shimin launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident, killing Li Shimin's elder brother Li Jiancheng and his younger brother Li Yuanji.

She doesn't want this or that, but in reality, she wants everything.

She became empress.

Her son, Li Chenggan, was made crown prince, and Li Tai was enfeoffed as the Prince of Yue, ruling over 23 prefectures—they were incredibly wealthy!

Therefore, Guanyinbi was a very hypocritical person.

Why can she be empress, but I can't be empress?

Why is it that her son was made crown prince, but my son can't be made crown prince?

Xu Hui is a vixen; ever since she arrived in the palace, the entire harem has been thrown into chaos.

She must have been incredibly skilled in bed, and the emperor was so infatuated with her that he sometimes even skipped the morning court sessions.

Normally, the Emperor spends at least one-third of his time with me each month.

Since Xu Hui entered the palace, she might only come once a month, or even not at all.

Because of Xu Hui's arrival, the Emperor's favor towards me plummeted.

Fortunately, the emperor spent every night with her, and she did not conceive a son.

If she gets pregnant with the dragon's child, what a disaster that would be!

She envied that I had two sons, so she used witchcraft in the palace to curse my children.

"Xiao'er, otherwise how could you have died so tragically? Waaah..."

Li Chengan heard it all clearly outside the window.

He thought to himself, "This Princess Consort of Yan looks young and beautiful, how could she have such messy thoughts in her mind?"

Your son died, and you are heartbroken; everyone understands.

But he died of illness, how can you blame it on the Empress Dowager and Xu Hui?

Isn't this just creating something out of nothing?

Consort Yan continued, "They think I'm honest and easy to bully. This time, let's play mind games with them."

So I came up with a brilliant plan: to kill two birds with one stone.

I wrote a letter in Xu Hui's name that cursed Guanyinbi.

I have secretly placed that letter in Li Shimin's study drawer.

If that letter were to fall into the Emperor's hands, they would be severely injured, if not killed.

I have a son, and I want to take back everything that belongs to me.

I heard that Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, was not the eldest son of the emperor; he was the tenth son.

Later, didn't Emperor Jing of Han depose his eldest son and crown prince Liu Rong, and make Liu Che the crown prince?

If I bring down that Guanyinbi, Li Chenggan will also suffer.

If Li Chengan is deposed, then my Zhen'er will have hope.

Let's see who has the last laugh.

Li Chengan, who was listening outside, was terrified, thinking to himself that this woman's thoughts were truly profound.

She also wanted to make her son the crown prince.

Sighing, Li Chengqian thought to himself that if he could abdicate the position of Crown Prince, he would truly want to relinquish it.

I've really had enough.

But my father won't allow it.

I never expected so many people to be eyeing the position of crown prince.

So it turns out she wrote the letter.

Su Wan thought it was written by Consort Yang and almost wronged an innocent person.

Li Chengan was about to go in and argue with her.

At this moment, two palace maids and two eunuchs walked over from not far away.

Li Chengan disappeared in a flash.

Lizheng Hall.

When Li Chenggan saw Empress Zhangsun, he thought she had recovered quite well, and her face was flushed.

Li Chenggan felt relieved.

The mother and son chatted for a while longer.

Li Chengqian poured Empress Zhangsun a cup of hot tea.

Empress Zhangsun looked at Li Chenggan with eyes full of kindness: "I have something to ask you."

"What is it, Mother?"

"I heard you were unconscious. What happened?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chenggan felt his face flush slightly: "It's nothing, it's probably because I drank a couple too many cups last night."

"You've been drinking?"

"I had a little."

"Then you must not overindulge in alcohol. As the Buddhists say, one should abstain from wine, women, wealth, and anger, with wine being the most important."

Why is alcohol listed first?

That's because alcohol can make people act recklessly, leading them to do things they wouldn't normally do.

There was once a story where Buddha gave a man the choice between murder, arson, and robbery. He had to choose one of the three.

The person said, "I can't choose."

Another option is to let him choose to drink.

Then, the man drank alcohol, and after he finished drinking, he did all three of the above things.

"Do you think this wine is utterly heinous?"

Li Chengan found it amusing, but he also began to grasp the underlying principles.

As Empress Zhangsun said, wine is truly a bad thing.

"Drinking leads to trouble," Empress Zhangsun said again. "Some people say that Liu Bei was able to establish the Shu Kingdom because Sun Quan had a drink."

At that time, Liu Bei was in Eastern Wu and had just married Sun Shangxiang.

Liu Bei then considered escaping back to Jingzhou.

He and Sun Shangxiang used the pretext of worshipping their ancestors to take the opportunity to escape.

When Sun Quan's generals came to consult him, Sun Quan was completely drunk and unconscious.

Sun Quan also loved to drink, and no matter how you called him, you couldn't wake him up.

By the time Sun Quan woke up, Liu Bei had already fled far away.

Sun Quan missed a golden opportunity to kill Liu Bei.

Li Chenggan sighed inwardly, "Mother, don't worry, I will definitely drink less alcohol in the future."

"It's best not to drink alcohol. Whether you're a prince or an emperor, you must always keep a clear head."

"Mother, you're right. I'd like to ask you, how is your relationship with Consort Yan usually?"

Empress Zhangsun was somewhat surprised to hear this and asked, "Why did you bring her up?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I was just asking."

"She's very nice; she comes from a noble family and is young and beautiful."

When she first arrived at the palace, she felt completely unfamiliar with it.

Consort Wei was a very senior concubine, and she often found fault with her.

One winter, because she had just arrived at the palace and her walking was not in accordance with the palace rules, Consort Wei used this as a pretext to throw her into the pond.

Just then, her mother learned of this and rushed over to rescue her.

Since she was new to the palace, she needed to take care of everyone from top to bottom, and money was needed everywhere.

At that time, she had not yet been conferred the title of Consort Xian, and she did not have enough money, so her mother sent her a lot of valuables.

Whenever the Western Regions had any good tributes, I would take her to share them.

When her two sons were born, their mother made several sets of clothes for each child and gave her a lot of silver, not to mention countless other gold and silver jewelry.

Upon hearing this, Li Chenggan thought to himself, "Yan Xianfei is cursing you behind your back, trying to harm you, and you don't even know it."

Li Chengan thought for a moment, but felt it was inconvenient to say it directly, so he said indirectly, "Your subject thinks that some of the women in the palace are probably not as good as you think. You should also be careful and not fall into their trap."

Upon hearing this, Empress Zhangsun's face darkened: "You child, why can't you think of others in a good light instead of thinking so badly of them?"

As a mother, I believe that truth, goodness, and beauty still prevail in this world.

There are relatively few instances of falsehood, evil, and ugliness.

"But, Mother..."

Li Chenggan wanted to continue speaking.

Empress Zhangsun waved her hand, interrupting him: "From now on, you are not allowed to speak ill of others behind their backs."

Sit quietly and reflect on your own faults; refrain from gossiping about others in idle conversation.

When you have free time, reflect on yourself more often, think about whether you've done anything wrong or weren't perfect.

Upon hearing this, Li Chengan thought to himself, "This is good. I originally wanted to tell my mother about the letter written by the Princess of Yan, but it seems that my mother doesn't want to hear it."

Li Chengan couldn't help but ask, "Do you know who wrote that letter?"

Empress Zhangsun paced back and forth in the room, slowly saying, "I don't know, and I don't want to know."

However, I don't think it was written by Xu Hui.

Xu Hui is actually quite good; she doesn't need to be so evil.

Li Chenggan thought to himself, "Your assessment of Xu Hui is fairly accurate, but you've misjudged Consort Yan."

She's not as simple as you think; she's incredibly cunning.

She still dreamed of becoming empress, and that her son could become the crown prince.

Empress Zhangsun sighed: "Consort Yan was also a woman with a tragic fate. Her youngest son, Li Xiao, died. She must have been very sad."

For a woman, the loss of a child is a devastating blow.