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

night.

Princess Gaoyang's bedroom.

Princess Gaoyang sat in front of her dressing table, dressed in her finest attire.

She was thinking of her beloved monk Bianji.

Whenever she thought about the passionate surfing experience she had shared with the monk Bianji, her ears would flush and her heart would race.

At this moment, Fang Yi'ai pushed open the door and came in.

He observed that Princess Gaoyang had a smile on her face, as if she was lost in a beautiful memory.

Fang Yi'ai asked, "Why are you dressed up so nicely?"

Upon hearing this, Princess Gaoyang rolled her eyes at him: "If you're not beautiful when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old. If I don't dress up now, am I supposed to wait until I'm old to start?"

"Even if you dress up, you don't have to dress so glamorously. Look at your outfit, it's too revealing. Why is there a slit on both sides of your skirt?"

The forks are spread all the way to the top of the thighs?

When you walk, your thighs are exposed.

So, in that case, you accidentally exposed yourself, and everyone saw everything, didn't they?

Princess Gaoyang rolled her eyes at him: "So what if you see it? You can't do anything to me."

Princess Gaoyang walked up to Fang Yi'ai and hooked her arm around his neck: "My lord, how is your health recovering lately?"

"How about we consummate our marriage tonight?"

Fang Yi'ai grinned when he heard this.

He moved Princess Gaoyang's arm away: "Princess, I'm in a complete mess right now. So much has happened, haven't you heard? I'm not in the mood for anything."

Princess Gaoyang pouted: "If you say you can't do it, then so be it, why make up so many excuses!"

What happened? Tell me about it.

And what happened to your face? It looks like a pig's head! Who hit you?

Fang Yi'ai then recounted the whole story in detail.

To everyone's surprise, Princess Gaoyang burst into a silvery laugh upon hearing this: "Who did this? It turns out it was your father!"

Serves you right, you deserved to be hit!

Fang Yi'ai had expected Princess Gaoyang to offer some words of comfort, but instead, she made sarcastic remarks. He couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean by that?"

"How dare you cause trouble for Su Wan!"

Su Wan is cunning and shrewd; even Li Tai is no match for her.

How many times has Li Tai been tricked by her?

"Songtsen Gampo of Tibet couldn't avenge his father, but wasn't it Su Wan who captured his enemy with a little trick?"

Fang Yi'ai originally thought that Princess Gaoyang would feel sorry for him, but unexpectedly she ridiculed him instead.

"Princess, no matter what, we're already married, we're family now."

You have to help me out this time.

"Go ahead and say it." Princess Gaoyang sat down at the dressing table again, looked at herself in the bronze mirror from left to right, and inserted a gold hairpin into her hair.

"I know you and Li Yuanjing have a very good relationship."

So what I mean is, you should persuade Li Yuanjing to write a letter to Li Ke.

"Let Li Ke persuade his mother, Consort Yang, to form an alliance with Prince Li Tai of Yue."

Princess Gaoyang seemed to understand after hearing this.

She stared wide-eyed at Fang Yi'ai: "You mean, you want me to persuade Li Yuanjing, and then have Li Ke persuade Consort Yang and Li Tai to form an alliance, is that right?"

"Yes, haven't you noticed how powerful the harem is these days?"

With so many gangs vying for power, going it alone is not an option.

Moreover, we discovered that the harem and the imperial court were connected.

Without the support of the court, the women in the harem would be rather weak.

On the other hand, those feudal lords or civil and military officials would also appear isolated and helpless without the support of women in their harems.

Those concubines could whisper sweet nothings in the emperor's ear, and such whispers were always very powerful.

Take, for example, Consort Qi, Liu Bang's favorite concubine. Consort Qi was deeply loved by Liu Bang and gave birth to his son, Liu Ruyi.

Lady Qi suffered a crushing defeat because her family held power in the court but lacked influence and support.

Therefore, in the end, Lady Qi was no match for Empress Lü.

Empress Lü was able to win because of the support of Fan Kuai, Zhang Liang, and the Lü brothers.

Princess Gaoyang smiled upon hearing this: "I didn't expect you to know those things."

Fang Yi'ai covered his cheek with one hand. To be honest, he was in excruciating pain. He thought to himself that his cheap father was really ruthless. Could it be that he wasn't his biological son?

"Therefore, we also need to try to win over some of the concubines to the harem now."

Princess Gaoyang said, "Let me tell you, whether it's Li Chenggan or Li Tai, they are all my brothers. To me, they are all the same."

Moreover, Li Chengan is now wise and capable, and his leg ailment has been cured.

He was originally the elder brother, and had already been made crown prince. He had distinguished himself in battle and had made no mistakes in handling government affairs.

Therefore, I think Li Tai should no longer compete with Li Chenggan for the position of crown prince.

Wouldn't it be great to be a king?

With over 20 states under its jurisdiction, what can't it have?

What's the difference between that and being an emperor?

"No, no, no," Fang Yi'ai shook his head, "Princess, you are really wrong about that. There is not only a difference, but a very big difference."

How can a king and an emperor be compared?

Under the whole world, is it not the king's land, and the coast of leading the land is not the king's ministers.

The emperor possessed the wealth of the entire realm and held the power of life and death.

An emperor is a monarch, and even the most powerful king is merely a subject.

A monarch can depose a king with a single word.

Moreover, you don't understand, if Li Chengqian becomes the crown prince and later becomes emperor, it will be a major blow to our Fang family, and our Fang family will suffer.

Princess Gaoyang frowned slightly and asked, "Why do you say that?"

I don't think the Crown Prince is that kind of person.

"Oh, the reason is very simple. If Li Chengqian becomes emperor, he will not give important positions to our Fang family, because he still has his maternal uncle, Changsun Wuji."

"Changsun Wuji?"

"Hasn't he already resigned from his official post and is staying at home?" Princess Gaoyang asked rhetorically.

"That's just a superficial appearance. If Changsun Wuji wanted to become an official, it would only take a word."

Even though he is currently unemployed, the emperor still consults him on matters that need his attention.

His power is greater than that of the current prime minister.

It wasn't that they didn't want an official position; they simply declined it.

If Li Chengqian becomes emperor, he will definitely appoint people from the Changsun family to important positions, and then the good days for our Fang family will be over.

There's a saying, "A woman follows her husband wherever he goes, whether he's a chicken or a dog." Now that you've married into our Fang family...

Then you have to side with our family, right?

Princess Gaoyang thought for a moment and said, "Let me think about this matter some more. Let's not say anything more. You can sleep here tonight."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yi'ai quickly waved his hand: "That won't do, I have other things to do. You should think about it again."

As Fang Yi'ai spoke, he left Princess Gaoyang's palace and went to the south of the city to find his beloved Qiu Tianjiao, because he felt that only Qiu Tianjiao would comfort and love him.

He felt that he was a real man at that moment.

After Fang Yi'ai left, Princess Gaoyang applied makeup in front of the bronze mirror.

She went out, got into the sedan chair, and left.

She went to find Bianji.

They had arranged to meet at an inn in the capital.

As soon as Princess Gaoyang entered the inn's room, the monk Bianji embraced her and kissed her neck.

Princess Gaoyang's heart pounded and her breathing became rapid in the face of this sudden "attack".

Bianji carried Princess Gaoyang to the bed, tore off her clothes, and the two of them made love.

A moment later, Princess Gaoyang was covered in sweat.

She realized that this man, Bianji, was a real man.

While practicing Buddhism in the temple, Bianji also practiced martial arts, and his physique became very strong.

Princess Gaoyang nestled against Bianji's chest: "I have a question for you."

Bianji put one arm around Princess Gaoyang's shoulder and asked, "What is it?"

"Have you missed me during this time?"

"Yes, I think about it every day!"

Upon hearing this, Princess Gaoyang retorted playfully, "Then you really are a frivolous monk! Aren't you afraid that your master, Master Xuanzang, will find out and punish you?"

Bianji chuckled and said, "Isn't there a saying?"

"To die beneath the peony blossoms, even as a ghost, would be romantic. As long as I can be with you, this humble monk cares for nothing else."

Princess Gaoyang said as she dressed, "But our affair is something that can't be made public."

If my father finds out one day, we'll both be dead without a burial place.

To say that Bianji was not afraid of Li Shimin at all would be nonsense. After hearing what Princess Gaoyang said, Bianji also became worried.

He sat on the edge of the bed: "Princess, what should we do?"

"Being husband and wife is impossible; Fang Yi'ai and I are already married."

"Have you consummated your marriage?"

"Not yet, he's just a good-for-nothing," Princess Gaoyang said irritably.

"That can't be right. Didn't I hear that Fang Yi'ai was keeping a beautiful young woman named Qiu Tianjiao in the south of the city?"

If he were a good-for-nothing, how could he possibly support someone else?

Bianji expressed his doubts. Although his relationship with Princess Gaoyang was not proper, he was still somewhat jealous.

In his heart, he wanted Princess Gaoyang to belong to him alone.

How am I supposed to explain this?

That Qiu Tianjiao is really something. I had no idea she would marry Fang Yi'ai. If I had known he was useless, I would never have married him.

If I marry him, I'll have to live a life of widowhood.

However, he told me something.

"What is it?"

Princess Gaoyang then repeated what Fang Yi'ai had said to the monk Bianji.

Upon hearing this, Bianji thought to himself that if Li Chengan found out about his affair with Princess Gaoyang, it would be a very serious matter.

He knew that Li Chenggan and Master Xuanzang had a very good relationship and that Li was an upright person.

Li Chenggan could not tolerate being with Princess Gaoyang.

At that point, I would be doomed.

However, if Li Tai becomes the crown prince and emperor in the future, he probably won't care too much.

Wasn't Li Tai's suggestion to Li Shimin to marry Princess Gaoyang to Fang Yi'ai also to consolidate his own position?

Li Tai wanted to use this opportunity to win over the Fang family.

Upon thinking of this, Bianji said, "I think you could consider talking to your uncle, Li Yuanjing, about this matter."

If Li Ke listens to Li Yuanjing, it means that Consort Yang will form an alliance with Li Tai.

"If Li Tai becomes emperor in the future, you should ask him; perhaps he can grant you to this humble monk."

Is that even possible?

Princess Gaoyang styled her hair into a bun and coiled it on top of her head.

She looked at Bianji; to be honest, she really liked this monk.

She truly hoped to be able to be with him openly every day, and to stay together forever.

Fang Yi'ai had no sense of romance whatsoever, yet Bianji could make him so happy, bringing him to the brink of ecstasy.

Princess Gaoyang sighed: "Why don't you take me with you? I'm very wealthy. We can find a place to stay, have a bunch of kids, and we'll never run out of money in a lifetime."

Upon hearing this, Bianji shook his head: "Princess, you are wrong. This world may be vast, but it is all under the control of the Tang Dynasty. Even if we hide, where can we hide to?"

That's not a long-term solution.

Why don't you go find Li Yuanjing and have a good talk with him? You two are like father and daughter.

What's so hard to say?

Princess Gaoyang gently stroked Bianji's chest: "Alright, then I'll listen to you."

"But you're so careless! How could you lose the gold pillow I gave you last time?"

"Oh dear, I never expected that my fellow disciples would actually try to steal our pillows."

"From now on, you'd better be careful. You can't come looking for me without my permission."

If the Crown Prince or Father Emperor finds out about what's between us, it'll be disastrous.

My father was a man who cared a great deal about his reputation. How could he tolerate his daughter already having a husband and being with a monk?

Bianji nodded: "I understand."

Princess Gaoyang carefully examined Bianji and found him to be handsome with a face like jade, resembling Pan An in appearance.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that any monk could be so handsome.

Princess Gaoyang asked, "How did you rest?"

"good!"

"How about we go for another round?" Princess Gaoyang said with a smile.

Bianji quickly waved his hand: "I surrender, I admit that I am your defeated opponent."

Princess Gaoyang blushed: "Our meeting today is a rare opportunity, a moment of passion is worth a thousand pieces of gold."

"You've found that golden pillow, haven't you?"

"Yes, I got it back from Li Chenggan."

Upon hearing this, Bianji's heart skipped a beat, wondering how the golden pillow had ended up with Li Chengan.

If Li Chenggan saw that golden pillow, wouldn't that mean he already knew about his affair with Princess Gaoyang?

However, there was no response from Li Chenggan's side; perhaps they didn't think that much about it.

Bianji had met Li Chengan before, and he knew that Li Chengan was no ordinary person; he was more shrewd and different from his peers.

"Then, did Li Chenggan mention this humble monk?" Bianji asked.