The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

Upon hearing this, Chen Huai'an slowly put down the chicken leg in his hand and casually wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

He glanced at Changsun Wuji, then at Du Ruhui, and suddenly smiled.

There was no mockery or anger in that smile; instead, it carried a strange seriousness.

"Lord Du is mistaken."

"What's wrong?" Du Ruhui asked.

"As a member of the Crown Prince's household, I receive his salary and favors. It is only right that I share his burdens, isn't it?"

Du Ruhui nodded: "That's how it should be."

"That's true, you can participate in national affairs and the internal affairs of the Crown Prince's palace, but it's wrong of you to participate in the affairs of the royal family."

The Zuo Zhuan quotes a gentleman as saying: After the exchange of hostages between Zhou and Zheng, a gentleman commented: "If trust is not based on the heart, hostages are useless... Moreover, a gentleman forges trust between two states and acts with propriety; what need is there for hostages?"

"The underlying logic of this matter is that subjects should not use power tactics to interfere in the relationships within the monarch's family, otherwise the social order will collapse."

"Lord Du is wrong again," Chen Huai'an said to himself. "Logically speaking, I shouldn't interfere too much in matters involving His Majesty, the Crown Prince, or His Highness Prince Qin. That's not something I should do."

"However, there is a premise here..." Chen Huai'an said with a smile, "that is, His Highness Prince Qin is not the source of His Highness Crown Prince's worries."

Li Shimin and the other two men's eyes narrowed.

Chen Huai'an said slowly, "You say I'm wrong, that I'm guilty, hehe... what your purpose is, we'll leave that aside for now."

"Returning to the original topic, I should not get involved in royal family affairs, because our duty is to assist the Crown Prince and teach him etiquette, not to act as an accomplice in the struggle between the Crown Prince and his royal brothers."

"This is the most ideal choice."

However, reality is not the ideal, and reality often runs counter to the ideal!

"When the struggle begins and the game is set in motion, what is right? What is wrong?"

Chen Huai'an raised his eyebrows slightly: "You say my loyalty is narrow-minded, that I'm biased, but let me ask you, when I was working for the Crown Prince, whose salary did I receive? Whose duties did I perform?"

"As for loyalty to the emperor, who is the emperor? To me, the emperor is His Highness the Crown Prince. I receive the Crown Prince's salary and enjoy his favor, so it is my duty to plan for the Crown Prince."

"And my duty is to tell him everything I know, think of, and calculate."

Whether the Crown Prince listens or not is his choice; if he doesn't, he will bear the consequences himself.

"If I don't speak up, it would be my dereliction of duty."

"Finally..." Chen Huai'an said meaningfully, "If you were in my position, I'd like to see what choice you would make."

Du Ruhui remained silent.

Because they have almost achieved their goal.

In fact, this topic is completely meaningless.

It is not wrong to be loyal to the emperor when you receive his salary.

Li Shimin simply wanted to see if these two could still stick to their own ideas when they were at the mercy of others.

That's why this happened.

"Wei Zheng, Chen Huai'an!"

Li Shimin finally spoke; it was his turn to speak: "I have understood everything you have to say."

"I understand and acknowledge that you believe you have done nothing wrong and that you have fulfilled your duty as subjects."

"But I have a question for you."

"Your Highness, please speak." Chen Huai'an gestured for him to speak.

Wei Zheng sat upright and solemnly.

"You speak of loyalty to the emperor. So, what exactly is this 'matter'?"

Li Shimin stood up, hands behind his back: "The 'matter' you're talking about is obeying orders; whatever the ruler tells his subjects to do, the subjects will do."

"If the ruler wants to kill someone, the subject hands him the knife. If the ruler wants to set a fire, the subject adds fuel to the fire. Is this loyalty? This is obedience."

True loyalty is not about obedience, but about daring to stand up and say, "You are wrong!" when your ruler does something wrong.

Chen Huai'an: ?

A glint suddenly appeared in Wei Zheng's eyes.

Li Shimin continued, "Wei Zheng, you have been by the Crown Prince's side for many years. Can you count how many mistakes the Crown Prince has made?"

"He befriended Yang Wengan and privately raised an army; is this what a subject should do? He repeatedly spread rumors in the palace to frame me; is this the virtue a crown prince should possess? He repeatedly slandered me before the Emperor, trying to put me to death; is this the benevolence a brother should have?"

"He had affairs with the concubines in the harem and had illicit relationships with Zhang Jieyu and others. Is this the conduct a son should have?"

"How many of these things have you advised against?"

Wei Zheng's expression changed slightly.

"You advised him to kill me, but did you advise him against secretly amassing weapons? Did you advise him against colluding with the harem? Did you advise him against framing his own brother before the Emperor?" Li Shimin asked himself, answering his own questions.

"You don't!"

"You're just advising him not to leave any evidence when he kills me, advising him to feign illness to buy time, and advising him on how to win."

"As for whether he is right or wrong, you never care."

Li Shimin's gaze shifted to Chen Huai'an: "And you!"

"You can predict every step of my plan. You're smart, you're capable, but when you predicted the Crown Prince would lose, did you ever consider why he would lose?"

Chen Huai'an remained expressionless, secretly thinking: "Because he met you."

"Because he was wrong from the very beginning," Li Shimin said coldly.

"His mistake was not that he didn't listen to your advice, but that he didn't see himself as a crown prince, but as a politician vying for power."

"He only cares about winning and losing, not right or wrong. He only wants to beat me and never thinks about whether he deserves to win."

"You helped him plan, you helped him scheme, you did everything perfectly for him, except for the most important thing... to be a qualified crown prince."

Li Shimin slightly raised his chin: "As a ruler, one should naturally possess the magnanimity of a ruler and shoulder the responsibilities of that position!"

"Virtue, benevolence, magnanimity, knowledge, and insight—none of these are lacking!"

"But do you see Li Jiancheng with one?"

"He wouldn't even listen to the advice of his subordinates. If he had, he wouldn't have died at Xuanwu Gate!"

The restaurant was extremely quiet.

The only faint sounds coming from the streets outside could be heard.

Wei Zheng was slightly taken aback.

After a long silence, he said in a hoarse voice, "Your Highness is right."

"Wei Zheng has learned a lot."

Chen Huai'an watched this scene with great interest, neither offering any opinion nor stopping it.

He thought that many years later, Li Shimin would probably regret what he said today so much that he would beat his chest and stamp his feet in remorse.

This was probably the only time in many years that Li Shimin would win a debate against Wei Zheng.

"..."

P.S.: Hey my friend, today is May 20th, 2026, which is what everyone calls 520.

Although we may not have found love this year, we have gained freedom, haven't we?

Happy Singles, friends!

cheers!