Tang Dynasty: Starting at Xuanwu Gate, this prince is better off not being one.

Seemingly feeling that calling Li Yu and Li Tai dogs was inappropriate, Li Er changed his tune again, saying, "You three have quite the nerve, coming to a place like this at such a young age? Do you really think you're playing with the dignity of the imperial family?"

After saying that, he went up to Cheng Chumo and looked down at him, saying, "And you, don't think that I won't punish you because of your father. Luring a prince to a brothel, what kind of crime is that? Do I need to explain?"

Li Er's words were extremely oppressive, and even the audacious Cheng Chumo was so frightened that his legs went weak.

Just as Cheng Chumo was about to give up, Li Yu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the three of us are indeed not here to solicit prostitutes..."

"You're not here to solicit prostitutes?"

Li Er seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world: "Could it be that I have wronged you all?"

"I wouldn't dare..."

Seeing that Li Er didn't give him a chance to explain, Li Yu knew he was definitely going to get a beating today. He only hoped that Li Er wouldn't pursue the charges against Cheng Chumo any further.

"Father, I really didn't come here to solicit prostitutes, but rather..."

Li Tai stepped forward somewhat impatiently, but was interrupted by his father before he could finish speaking.

Li Er looked around and found that everyone around him had knelt down, especially the madam, whose eyes had rolled back and she had fainted.

Smelling the strange odor in the air, Li Er frowned, glanced at the three who dared not utter a sound, and coldly snorted, "Let's depart and return to the palace."

After walking a few steps, he turned back to Li Yu and the others and said, "The three of you, come back to the palace with me."

.........

Li Yu didn't know how he managed to leave the palace safely; it was already past midnight when he came out.

The crowing of roosters rang out one after another. He looked at Cheng Chumo and Li Tai beside him and asked, "Are we leaving the palace like this?"

The two nodded blankly, their hearts filled with disbelief.

Emperor Li Er did not punish the three of them, but simply made them wait in Xiande Hall all night. It wasn't until the gong sounded at dawn that the chief eunuch came to the three of them with Emperor Li Er's edict, telling them that they could leave the palace.

This should have been a good thing for them, but Li Yu was always uneasy, thinking that something was amiss.

Filled with questions, the three of them arrived at the palace gate. Just as they were about to greet the gatekeeper and tell him that they wanted to leave the palace, they heard several old voices coming from outside.

Confucius said: "Governing with virtue is like the North Star, which remains in its place while all the other stars revolve around it."

Confucius said: “If you govern the people by laws and regulate them by punishments, they will avoid punishment but have no sense of shame. If you govern them by virtue and regulate them by rites, they will have a sense of shame and moreover become good.”

Confucius said: "At fifteen, I set my heart on learning; at thirty, I stood firm; at forty, I had no more doubts; at fifty, I knew the will of Heaven; at sixty, my ear was attuned to the truth; at seventy, I could follow my heart's desire without transgressing the rules."

Confucius said: ……

"Um?"

The three looked in the direction of the sound and saw several old men in official robes standing at the palace gate, their backs ramrod straight, loudly reciting passages from the Analects. These were the same group of pedantic scholars who had made the bet with Li Yu earlier.

When the group of scholars saw Li Yu appear there, they assumed he was there to make a fool of them, so they all fell silent and stared intently at Li Yu.

Only Quan Wanji, upon seeing Li Yu's figure appear, coldly snorted and then continued reading aloud as if no one else was around.

Upon seeing this, Li Yu immediately forgot all his previous worries.

What a pity! If there were a recording, Li Yu would definitely have captured the humiliation of those old men, and if there were a social media platform, he would have posted the video first.

As dawn broke, it was time for the morning court session, and officials began to enter the palace. Upon seeing the Confucian scholars reciting the Analects, they all wore strange expressions.

This made the pedantic scholars blush with embarrassment, and they couldn't help but stare fiercely at Li Yu, hating him so much that their teeth itched.

"hey-hey!"

Li Yu merely chuckled twice, then swaggered out of the palace in front of those pedantic scholars...

After Li Yu left, the reading aloud of those pedantic scholars gradually stopped, and was replaced by vicious curses.

"This brat dares to kick us when we're down and humiliate us like this. I will certainly report him to His Majesty at the morning court!"

"Alright, Brother Ziyi, that boy is still a prince, no matter what. You have a grudge against him, do you think His Majesty would side with you and punish his own nephew?"

The speaker was named Cui Renshi, a member of the Cui clan of Boling. He held the official position of Palace Attendant Censor, a low rank, but his words carried great weight among these people.

This was because he also held another identity: the Grand Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, and a prized student of Kong Yingda, a highly respected Confucian scholar of the Tang Dynasty.

That's why no one ever dared to underestimate this minor official who only managed to reach the eighth rank in his forties.

Everyone knows that Cui Renshi, who comes from the Cui family, one of the five noble families and seven prominent clans, could easily become a fifth-rank official if he wanted to make a proper career in the imperial court.

Moreover, what official of the eighth rank attends the morning court every day? That alone is enough to make some people envious.

Upon hearing his words, everyone began to bombard him with questions: "Brother Cui, please tell us, what is your plan to deal with Li Yu?"

"Hmm? Why should we deal with him?"

Faced with the crowd's questions, Cui Renshi first raised an eyebrow, then said calmly, "We were blind before and failed to see His Highness Prince Wu's abilities, which is why we lost face here. How can we blame others?"

Hearing Cui Renshi's explanation, everyone was stunned. They couldn't understand how he, who had been the most vocal opponent of Li Yu besides Quan Wanji, could have changed so drastically after only reading the Analects for a little over an hour.

Does this mean that reading the Analects has reached the point where one can achieve profound enlightenment?

Although everyone was puzzled and dissatisfied with Cui Renshi's words, they dared not say anything more.

Moreover, Quan Wanji, who was always rigid, simply flicked his sleeves and went into the palace alone after hearing Cui Renshi's words. How could they dare to inquire about the meaning behind Cui Renshi's words?

"Alright, alright."

Seeing that everyone wisely refrained from demanding an explanation, Cui Renshi was quite satisfied. However, he feigned helplessness and waved his hand, saying, "Gentlemen, take my advice: do not pursue this matter any further. If anyone suffers misfortune as a result, don't blame me for not warning you..."

Having said that, he flicked his sleeves and followed Kong Yingda into the palace...

.........