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

Li Shimin remained silent for a while, then looked at Wei Zheng's stiff neck and twitched his eye: "Minister Wei...you are right. I acted impulsively."

"I hope Minister Wei will not take this to heart."

Li Shimin's attitude surprised Wei Zheng for a moment. After a while, Wei Zheng cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is too kind. Your Majesty listens to advice and is truly a wise and sagacious ruler."

"Not at all, not at all." Li Shimin's lips curled up, and his mood improved a lot.

Chen Huai'an was speechless upon seeing this.

What I'm saying is, Erfeng, are you really that easy to fool?

So they're already praising each other?

Exile to Lingnan!

However... despite thinking this way, in order to prevent Wei Zheng from being really targeted, Chen Huai'an still spoke up, since he himself was partly responsible for Wei Zheng's criticism of Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, as the saying goes, 'Use bronze as a mirror to straighten your clothes; use history as a mirror to understand the rise and fall of dynasties; use people as a mirror to understand your own gains and losses.'"

"Wei Zheng... is His Majesty's mirror image!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's eyes lit up, and he laughed heartily, "Hahaha, what Huai'an said is absolutely right! What a wonderful example of using others as a mirror!"

"The mirror does not lie; it can reflect my disheveled appearance and improper behavior."

"Even though it's not very attractive, it's the real me!"

"I am ashamed. After seeing my reflection in the mirror, my first thought was not to dress properly and correct my behavior, but to smash the mirror."

"This is my fault!"

Li Shimin pondered for a moment, then said, "Someone, write this down for me, and from now on, hang it in front of my bed so I can reflect on myself three times a day!"

"Your Majesty is wise." The courtiers bowed in congratulations.

Li Shimin stood up and pointed at Wei Zheng: "Wei Zheng, did you hear that? You are my personal mirror!"

Wei Zheng was also deeply moved and bowed deeply: "Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will certainly fulfill my duties in the future, offer frank advice, and serve as a mirror for Your Majesty."

Li Shimin's smile froze for a moment.

He recalled what he had said in the restaurant and felt the urge to slap himself again.

Why are you so annoying?

Do I really have to put on this act?

But with so many ministers in front of him, Li Shimin couldn't really say anything, so he could only change the subject and continue discussing the details of disaster relief with his ministers.

The others also breathed a sigh of relief; at least Li Shimin's anger had subsided.

Everyone knew that after this incident, Li Shimin would definitely issue an edict of self-reproach.

"..."

After finally enduring the court session, Li Shimin's feelings were very complicated.

I should have been angry, after all, so many unpleasant things had happened recently, and Wei Zheng, this country bumpkin, even came to upset me.

But these people, who started off saying increasingly harsh things, always managed to come up with insightful and perfectly helpful solutions later on.

Therefore, Li Shimin's feelings were very complicated.

Back at the Eastern Palace, Li Shimin looked at the disaster report sent by the Ministry of Revenue and felt even more distressed.

Having no interest in handling state affairs, he wandered around and unknowingly ended up at Empress Zhangsun's place.

At this time, Empress Zhangsun was recuperating; she was already pregnant.

Upon seeing Li Shimin, she immediately prepared to rise and pay her respects, but Li Shimin quickly stopped her, saying, "Guanyinbi, we are husband and wife, why be so formal in private?"

"You are pregnant, there's no need for such formalities."

After saying that, he plopped down on his seat.

Empress Zhangsun could tell at a glance that he was in a bad mood, and said with a smile, "Second Prince, is something troubling you?"

Li Shimin remained silent for a moment before replying, "Many!"

"The drought has not yet passed, and now a frost has broken out. The north and south of the Tang Dynasty are suffering from disaster, and it is unknown how many people have been affected."

"Today... Gao Shilian once again withheld a secret report from Wang Gui, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. I... have demoted him to a remote area."

"Wei Zheng, you also want me to issue an edict of self-reproach."

"More importantly, I suddenly realize that Huai'an was using you as an excuse that day to hint to me not to appoint Fuji as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. It's a pity I only understand this now!"

Hearing so much news, even Empress Zhangsun, who had experienced many storms, couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

Li Shimin spoke very briefly, but how clever was Empress Zhangsun?

These few short sentences basically clarify the political and interest considerations behind various events.

Empress Zhangsun came up behind Li Shimin and gently massaged his temples: "Second Prince, if you feel tired, take a rest. No one is made of iron, and no one will blame you."

"Wei Zheng made you issue an edict of self-reproach; you should understand the implications of that."

"This is not a shameful thing. On the contrary, the edict of self-reproach is a good proof that you, Erlang, are a wise ruler."

"If a ruler is incompetent, can he issue an edict of self-reproach?"

"As for my uncle..." Empress Zhangsun hesitated for a moment, "What my uncle did was really too much. It is right for Erlang to punish him."

"Let Uncle go out and experience some hardship first, so that he won't be blinded by his existing achievements and make even bigger mistakes."

Li Shimin was very pleased: "As expected, Guanyinbi understands me best."

"Gao Shilian's actions have seriously crossed my bottom line, and I have no choice but to punish him."

"Let him go out and experience some hardship, so he can see his own limitations."

Empress Zhangsun was relieved.

After all, he was her uncle. If he could put in a good word for her, she certainly couldn't just sit idly by.

What she just said was also to see whether Li Shimin wanted to banish Gao Shilian permanently or just temporarily.

It seems that this is only temporary.

Then there's nothing to worry about.

Empress Zhangsun then brought up another matter: "I told you before not to appoint your brother as prime minister, but you wouldn't listen."

"You're just too sentimental."

"I'm sure Mr. Chen also saw this, which is why he used me as a pretext to secretly suggest something to you."

Li Shimin remained silent.

Empress Zhangsun spoke eloquently as always, saying that he was sentimental, which was a compliment to him.

He has no reason to be angry.

Empress Zhangsun then smiled and said, "However... Mr. Chen has already given His Majesty the answer; His Majesty is blinded by his own involvement."

"Huh?" Li Shimin exclaimed in surprise, "What do you mean?"

Empress Zhangsun smiled and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you think about why Mr. Chen would use me as an excuse? I am, after all, the Empress. It is precisely because I am the Empress that Mr. Chen would not use me to persuade Your Majesty."

"His first intention was to imply to His Majesty that the power of the maternal relatives was too great and that his elder brother should not be appointed as prime minister."

"Secondly, if Your Majesty is temporarily blinded by the situation, as the Empress, I can privately offer some advice to Your Majesty and my brother, can't I?"

These words were like a wake-up call, and Li Shimin suddenly realized the truth.

After a moment, he shook his head and chuckled, "Why can't Chen Huai'an just explain himself more clearly?"

"You keep making me guess!"

"......"