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

Cheng Yaojin was a notorious troublemaker back in the day, and he was known for his unconventional way of speaking and acting.

At this moment, he was about to cut off the heads of Zhang Shigui's four beloved sons—Zhang Zhilong, Zhang Zhihu, Zhang Zhibiao, and Zhang Zhibao.

The four men were terrified upon hearing this.

Because they knew that Lao Cheng was no ordinary person; he could do what he said he would do.

"Dad, I haven't gotten married yet, so I can't die now. It would be such a waste if I died now," Zhang Zhilong said.

Zhang Shigui saw this and scolded, "Look at your pathetic self."

At this moment, Xue Rengui spurred his horse over and said, "Duke Lu, Duke Yue, Duke Yi, please allow me to say a few words."

At this time, Xue Rengui was just a commoner.

Old Cheng slammed his axe into the ground: "Ren Gui, just say what you have to say, no need to be polite!"

"Since it's a misunderstanding, I think we should just do as General Zhang suggested and have him compensate for the losses."

The dead and wounded servants were treated by the physician, and the deceased were buried in the ground to rest in peace.

In reality, Xue Rengui said these words out of desperation, because his family was under Zhang Shigui's control.

If pushed too far...

If Zhang Shigui turns hostile, Xue Rengui's entire family will be in danger.

After all, Zhang Shigui and Chang He were acting on imperial orders this time, and if things turned sour, it might be difficult to explain themselves.

Old Cheng, supporting his belly with both hands, said, "Rengui, since you've spoken, I, Old Cheng, think we can do as Zhang Shigui says."

However, there are a few points I, Lao Cheng, would like to reiterate here:

Firstly, you cannot blame Duke Yi for this, saying that he opposed the imperial army; that is untrue.

Secondly, Li Chengan never came here at all. Where did he go? We don't know.

Don't you think so?

Upon hearing this, Luo Cheng thought to himself, "Everyone says Cheng Yaojin is a rough man, but in reality, he considers things very thoroughly."

By saying this, he was actually absolving Qin Qiong of responsibility.

This matter has nothing to do with Qin Qiong.

Otherwise, if Zhang Shigui and Chang He were to go to Li Shimin to complain, saying that Qin Qiong was protecting Li Chengan and hindering Zhang Shigui and Chang He from handling the case, and then accuse them of disobeying imperial orders, resisting the imperial army, or even plotting rebellion, that would be troublesome.

Zhang Shigui and Chang He listened and discussed it.

They didn't want to escalate the situation too much, after all, the Duke of Lu, the Duke of Yue, and the Duke of Yi were all formidable figures, and their influence was immense, with disciples and followers throughout the court and beyond.

Zhang Shigui laughed heartily: "Duke Lu, then let's do as you say. Withdraw the troops!"

After Zhang Shigui finished speaking, he prepared to leave.

"Zhang Shigui, wait a minute, are you just going to leave like this?" Old Cheng shouted.

"What's wrong now? Is there anything else?" Zhang Shigui asked, turning around.

"Didn't you see? I, Lao Cheng, took an arrow to the leg. Did you think I would just suffer for nothing?"

"There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shigui's expression changed, and he asked, "Then what do you want?"

"You have to give me, Old Cheng, ten thousand taels of silver as medical expenses."

"What! Ten thousand taels?"

He was shot in the leg with an arrow; some wound medicine will do the trick. Why does it cost so much?

Why don't you just rob it?

Upon hearing this, Lao Cheng glared and said, "What? You call that a lot? It's not even enough to fill my teeth. Let me calculate it for you."

My legs are too sore to walk now, so I need to buy a wheelchair and two crutches.

The wheelchair and crutches cost two thousand taels of silver;

Shouldn't we hire four old women and ten strong men to take care of me, Old Cheng?

You can't blame me, Lao Cheng, it's just that I'm too fat.

With so few people, we simply can't serve Old Cheng properly, and we still have to factor in the labor costs of two thousand taels of silver.

My legs are immobile, how many things will that cause?

The lost wages should amount to at least eight thousand taels of silver;

In addition to the emotional distress, psychological trauma, and reputational damage, it will cost another eight thousand taels of silver.

If you keep nagging, even 20,000 taels won't be enough.

"Lord Lu, don't calculate it yet. Let me persuade my father," Zhang Zhilong quickly advised his father, "Just agree to him. What does money matter?"

Problems that can be solved with money are not problems.

"Our family has plenty of money; what is ten thousand taels of silver?"

Zhang Shigui thought to himself that he was really unlucky. He was ordered to handle a case and originally wanted to make a great contribution, but he never expected that he would have to spend so much money in the end.

Can we ask Li Shimin for reimbursement for this money? That's impossible.

Oh, you have casualties on your side, but we don't have any casualties on our side?

He really wanted to turn against Cheng Yaojin on the spot, but after thinking it over, he decided to hold back.

"Alright, alright, ten thousand taels it is. I'll have Zhilong deliver it to your residence later."

"Alright, General Zhang is very generous. Don't forget, I, Old Cheng, am waiting at home."

Zhang Shigui and Chang He withdrew their troops.

……

Qin Ying and Cheng Tieniu took turns carrying Li Chenggan out of the tunnel.

at this time,

The sky was already beginning to brighten.

Qin Ying gently placed Li Chenggan on the grass to rest.

Li Chengan slowly regained consciousness.

He opened his eyes and found himself in a mountain forest, with a winding stream flowing through it.

The stream water is very clear.

Li Chengan struggled to his feet and went to the stream.

He cupped his hands and washed his face. After washing his face...

He felt much more energetic, refreshed, and in high spirits.

Li Chengan asked Qin Ying, "How did I end up here?"

Qin Ying then recounted the whole story.

Li Chengan understood that Cheng Yaojin's punch that knocked him unconscious was for his own good.

Therefore, he didn't blame Cheng Yaojin, but he felt very bad thinking about how his father could be so cruel to him.

Qin Ying said indignantly, "Your Highness, you are too kind. Even I can't stand it anymore."

Seeing you reminds me of Fusu.

It is said that

Back then, Fusu received a forged imperial edict from Zhao Gao and Li Si, ordering him to commit suicide, which he did.

Wasn't Fusu's death justified?

He committed suicide without even figuring out whether the imperial edict was real or fake.

You're the same now, being far too blindly filial.

Last time, you just lifted the siege of Chang'an, and your father imprisoned you in the Dali Temple jail.

Not long ago, your father issued another decree to arrest you, but fortunately Master Xuanzang helped you.

You managed to escape from Chang'an City; otherwise, you would probably have been captured by others long ago.

Is he dead or alive? It's hard to say.

Today it's even more outrageous; your father, the emperor, actually issued an edict to kill you.

You two are no longer father and son, you're clearly enemies!

Why don't we rebel? We don't care about princes or anything like that.

With your current strength, we can take Chang'an and Luoyang within a day with just one order. This is called taking them by surprise and catching them off guard.

I'm not exaggerating when I say this; let me explain.

Ashina Simo had 100,000 Turkic troops under his command, who were currently stationed outside Chang'an.

Besides them, there were 20,000 troops from Tibet, and 10,000 troops each from the Tuyuhun, Dangxiang, and Yamabe no Dai-xiong of the Wa people.

With Ashina She'er's 10,000 cavalry and the Silla army, who are we afraid of?

"We'll just overthrow your father and you can become the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. What's wrong with that?"

When Zhang Shigui heard Qin Ying say such things, he quickly stopped her: "Qin Ying, you must never say such treasonous things again. I will pretend you never said them and that I didn't hear anything."

"Your Highness, please don't be so stubborn! You're about to die. What are you still worried about?"

Qin Ying wanted to continue speaking.

Li Chengan waved his hand, interrupting him: "No matter what, I will never rebel. Even if Father Emperor really wants to kill me, I cannot do it."

Qin Ying saw that Li Chenggan wouldn't listen to what he was saying, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Li Chengan looked around at the jagged rocks and dense trees, and asked, "Where are we?"

Qin Ying pointed with her hand: "We're not far from the Great Ci'en Temple."

"The Great Ci'en Temple? Isn't that where Master Xuanzang stayed?"

"Yes."

Li Chengan thought to himself that he was very grateful to Master Xuanzang. If Master Xuanzang had not given him a package beforehand, how would he have known that there was a tunnel in Qin Qiong's mansion leading to the outside of Chang'an?

But then another question arises: how did Master Xuanzang know about such a secret matter?

After much thought, Li Chengan concluded that Master Xuanzang was a thoughtful person; he must have discovered the passage beforehand, but simply hadn't mentioned it.

"Now that we're here, let's go take a look."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ying laughed and said, "That's great! I'm hungry too."

Qin Ying, Cheng Tieniu, and Li Chengan climbed over several hills and got closer and closer to the Great Ci'en Temple.

Suddenly, Li Chengan seemed to hear shouts and the neighing of horses.

He asked Qin Ying and Cheng Tieniu, "Did you hear that? It sounds like there are troops operating here."

Qin Ying and Cheng Tieniu listened intently, and then both said, "Your Highness, that's right, there is indeed an army operating here."

Li Chengan, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, said, "That's strange. Da Ci'en Temple is a sacred Buddhist site, so how could there be an army here?"

"Your Highness, there's a hillside ahead. Let's go up and take a look."

"Okay." Li Chenggan nodded in agreement.

The three of them climbed the hillside again.

They first found a place to hide.

Li Chengan looked down and saw about two thousand men surrounding the Da Ci'en Temple. The leader was a young general.

Qin Ying immediately recognized the young general as none other than Su Gui: "Your Highness, look, that's Su Gui."

Li Chengan also noticed this and was puzzled.

Just as Li Chenggan was about to go down and find out the details, Qin Ying tightened the bandage on her arm: "Your Highness, you don't need to rush down. I'll go and find out the situation first."

Li Chengan thought Qin Ying's words made sense and nodded: "Then be careful."

"Don't worry, don't you know what I'm capable of?"

Li Chengan and Cheng Tieniu hid on the hillside and peered down.

Qin Ying was walking down the hillside when two soldiers stopped him: "What are you doing? Stop!"

"I didn't do anything!" Qin Ying pointed at Su Gui. "I'm looking for your leader!"

Su Gui was fully armed and riding a tall horse.

At that moment, he heard a sound behind him, turned around and saw Qin Ying.

He quickly dismounted, dismissed the two soldiers, and went to Qin Ying, grabbing his arm and asking, "Qin Ying, weren't you perfectly fine yesterday?"

"How did you get your arm injured?"

"Ouch, be gentle! It hurts like hell!"

Qin Ying then recounted the entire battle with Qibi Heli.

Upon hearing this, Su Gui laughed: "Aren't you invincible and want to be a general or vanguard?"

Why is he no match for Chibi Heli?

"Oh my, you don't know, that kid is too strange. That punch can pierce through a thousand-year-old pine tree. That's no joke!"

I'm lucky I only injured my arm a little.

Su Gui chuckled inwardly, thinking to herself, "You're just making excuses for yourself. You really know how to comfort yourself."

Qin Ying glanced around and asked, "What are you doing?"

Why is the Great Ci'en Temple surrounded?

Could it be that some monks in this temple have broken the law?

"I don't know the specifics either; this was an order from Chang He."

Not only has the Great Ci'en Temple been surrounded, but all the temples inside and outside Chang'an City have been surrounded as well.

"Why?" Qin Ying was very surprised.

"Because Yin Hongzhi attempted to assassinate the emperor, he was imprisoned in the Dali Temple jail, but was rescued."

Among those who rescued him were four bald monks, which enraged the emperor, who ordered all the temples to be surrounded.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ying understood and said, "That kid Yin Hongzhi is quite bold; he even dared to assassinate the Emperor."

"That's right! Our Emperor has never been assassinated before; this is the first time!"

Why did Yin Hongzhi want to assassinate the Emperor?

"I don't know the specific reason either, but it's probably because the emperor killed his father, Yin Shishi, so he has always held a grudge," Su Gui explained.

"So that's how it is. Isn't his sister Consort Yin?"

"Exactly."

"Logically speaking, Consort Yin should have disciplined her brother and stopped him from causing trouble."

Because the emperor could have killed both of them.

"What you say makes sense, but Yin Hongzhi doesn't think that way."

Qin Ying glanced at the Great Ci'en Temple and said, "With you making such a big fuss to surround the Great Ci'en Temple, how could Master Xuanzang not have any objections?"

You must know that Master Xuanzang was the Emperor's younger brother. But I can't worry about that now; I'll do whatever my superiors tell me to do.

"So, do you know which monks did it?"

"The details are still unclear; all we know are that there were four monks."

Qin Ying frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "This is like looking for a needle in a haystack. We have no clue whatsoever. Where are we supposed to find the real culprit?"

"We can't just arrest all the thousands of monks in the temple, can we?"

"The investigation and evidence collection are the responsibility of the Dali Temple; that's none of my business."

At this moment, Qin Ying pulled Su Gui aside and whispered, "Do you know what? Tonight, the Emperor acted like he'd taken the wrong medicine. He actually issued an edict to execute the Crown Prince. Don't you think he's gone mad?"

Upon hearing this, Su Gui was greatly surprised: "Oh, is that so? I was only ordered to surround the Great Ci'en Temple; I hadn't heard anything about this. What about the Crown Prince's men? Have they been captured?"