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

Chu Suiliang quickly knelt on the ground and said, "Your humble servant thanks you for your great kindness."

Li Shimin helped him up with both hands and said, "If I say anything I shouldn't have in court, don't record it."

To everyone's surprise, Chu Suiliang said seriously, "Your Majesty, that won't do. Since Your Majesty has appointed me to this position, I will record whatever Your Majesty says."

It neither embellishes nor distorts the truth, but records events fairly, impartially, and objectively.

Li Shimin was displeased upon hearing this and asked, "If I'm ever in a bad mood and swear, will you record that too?"

"Of course, not a single word was missed."

Li Shimin thought to himself, "Why did this have to happen? We just got rid of one plague god, and now an even more stubborn one has arrived."

"Very well, issue my decree appointing Li Ji as the deputy commander-in-chief of the army, assisting Li Tai in leading the army to support Silla in resisting the combined forces of Goguryeo and Baekje."

"promise!"

……

Li Tai left the Zichen Palace and walked back, his hand covering his cheek, lost in thought.

"King of Yue, please wait!"

At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind Li Tai.

He turned around and saw a beautiful girl standing in front of him.

Li Tai rubbed his narrow eyes and looked carefully. If this girl wasn't Xue'er, then who was she?

Upon seeing Xue'er, Li Tai felt a mixture of love and hate. He thought to himself, "Last time you made me have diarrhea for many days and I almost became dehydrated. How dare you mess with me again?"

Li Tai deliberately darkened his face: "Miss Xue'er, were you calling me?"

Xue'er gracefully bowed and smiled sweetly: "King Yue, it's just the two of us here. Who else could it be if I didn't call you?"

Li Tai looked around and, finding no one there, asked, "What business do you have with me?"

"I think there might be some misunderstanding between us, let me explain."

"Oh, what misunderstanding?"

"I heard that you had an upset stomach during the last written exam. Some people say that I gave you a cup of tea before the exam, and your stomach started hurting after you drank it. Is that true?"

"Yes, did you tamper with the tea?" Li Tai recalled the incident, his teeth itching with hatred. "That bout of diarrhea affected my performance; otherwise, I would have definitely become the top scholar in the imperial examination."

"Oh dear, Your Majesty, that's a terrible injustice! I love you so much, how could I possibly harm you?"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai blinked, somewhat incredulous: "What? You'll dote on me?"

"Oh, Your Majesty, you should know that you are the noble King of Yue, while I am but a lowly person. How could I be worthy of you?"

I'm not like that maid in your household who's willing to go to such lengths.

Upon hearing this, Li Tai blushed.

He knew that Xue'er was alluding to the last time he took the wrong medicine, which aroused his lust and led him to forcibly take the maid without realizing it.

"You mean you didn't put any laxatives in the tea?"

"No, absolutely not!"

"That's strange. If you didn't put anything in my tea, why would I have an upset stomach?"

"I was perfectly fine when I went to the examination hall." Li Tai was half-believing and half-doubting.

"This servant doesn't know. Did you eat something unsanitary that morning? Or did you kick off the covers while sleeping the night before? Think again."

"That's possible," Li Tai waved his hand. "That incident is nothing, it's all in the past. I even lost about 20 pounds from that bout of diarrhea, so you could say I lost weight."

Hearing this, Xue'er chuckled: "Your Majesty, if that's what you think, you're really quite magnanimous. But wait, you seem to have gotten even fatter than before?"

"I lost weight that time, but I gained it all back later, and even gained 20 or 30 pounds more."

"There's nothing I can do, I'm just naturally prone to weight gain, even drinking cold water makes me gain weight." Li Tai looked at Xue'er and found that the girl's smile was truly captivating.

"I think, how about this: a chance encounter is worse than a planned meeting. We just happened to meet here today, which is fate, isn't it?"

"Uh, it's fate, it's fate," Li Tai said with an embarrassed smile.