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

"Your Majesty... Mr. Chen has arrived."

Inside the Ganlu Hall, Zhang Anan respectfully reported to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin's eyes instantly became extremely wary. During this period, he was truly terrified by Chen Huai'an, who would torment him at the drop of a hat, yet he couldn't find a single fault with him.

Regardless of whether it was bitter or not, he would force himself to endure it.

It's made him develop a conditioned reflex.

Li Shimin asked in a deep voice, "What was his expression like?"

Zhang Anan couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, but remained outwardly calm, saying, "Mr. Chen seems very happy; he must have encountered something joyful."

"Hmm...hmm?" Li Shimin had just breathed a sigh of relief, but then suddenly realized something was wrong, and his vigilance instantly spiked.

Happy?

Why are you happy?

This kid's happiness is all built on his own suffering!

Is that bastard happy because he's here to make himself suffer?

"Let him in!" Li Shimin narrowed his eyes, determined not to listen to Chen Huai'an's attempts to persuade him.

"minister......"

Chen Huai'an entered and was about to perform the customary greeting when Li Shimin waved his hand to interrupt him: "Just say it straight, what brings you here today? After you're done, get out of here."

"Didn't you say the Yellow River had to be repaired as soon as possible? As the Minister of Works and Minister of Revenue, don't you have anything better to do all day? What do you want from me?"

Chen Huai'an: "..."

"Your Majesty, I have come today with good news."

Li Shimin was furious: "When have you ever come here without bringing good news? It's always your own good fortune, has anything good happened to me?"

Chen Huai'an's lips curved slightly, then quickly returned to normal. He roughly understood what Li Shimin was afraid of.

"Hahaha, Your Majesty, I've come today with truly good news."

"I'm going to suffer..."

"Suffering?" Li Shimin's voice suddenly rose eight octaves. "What do you want to suffer for? That damned Chen Huai'an, haven't I been too lenient with you? I advise you to be kind and not go too far!"

"Suffering...suffering for aristocratic families."

"......"

"Oh, Huai'an is here!" Li Shimin beamed. "I've missed you so much these past few days."

"By the way, you just said you were going to make things difficult for the powerful families, right?"

"This is no small matter. Come, come, sit down, let's sit down and talk about it slowly."

Li Shimin warmly invited Chen Huai'an to sit down, then immediately reprimanded Zhang Anan with a stern face: "You blind fool, didn't you see Huai'an has arrived? Don't you know to serve tea?"

Zhang Anan: "......."

Chen Huai'an sighed inexplicably, "His Majesty's change of expression..."

Li Shimin immediately glared at him, but Chen Huai'an laughed it off, not finishing his sentence.

The former's expression softened, and he smiled again: "How do you intend to torment the powerful families?"

"Your Majesty, the glassware is finished. Based on the information you gave me, I ordered the craftsmen to make it specially for them. I guarantee they'll go crazy when they see it," Chen Huai'an said cheerfully.

Li Shimin leaned back slightly, his gaze toward Chen Huai'an was extremely strange.

In just one sentence, he understood Chen Huai'an's plan.

If we're talking about being heartless, you're the most heartless of all.

Are they heading straight for all the powerful and influential families?

Aren't you afraid they'll find out and cause you trouble?

Li Shimin glanced at him: "Are you courting death?"

"This is tantamount to reaping the benefits from all the powerful families. Glass is something that is valued for its rarity. If you sell so many at once, even if it's done secretly, they will definitely find out later."

"Once they realize it, everyone will understand that they've been fooled, that what they have isn't unique, but something everyone else has."

"What do you think they'll think then?"

Chen Huai'an sneered: "Does it matter?"

"The five prominent families and seven noble clans will absolutely not turn against me over these things; they'll swallow this bitter pill. As for the other families, big and small... what can they do to me?"

"Kill me? Or poison me?"

"They might not even know it was me!"

Li Shimin asked calmly, "With such a large sum of money suddenly appearing in the national treasury, do you think they might have some reservations?"

"Then it must have been me who did it?" Chen Huai'an asked again, "Couldn't it have been Wei Zheng?"

Li Shimin: "......."

He paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

Wei Zheng?

Could Wei Zheng really do something like this?

Please let Wei Zheng go.

Li Shimin sighed helplessly, pondered for a moment, and said, "Changsun Shunde, Qiu Xinggong, and Pang Xiangshou."

"Do you know?"

Chen Huai'an didn't understand why these people were being brought up, but he still answered, "Changsun Shunde is Empress Changsun's cousin, Pang Xiangshou was a former official of the Prince of Qin's mansion, and Qiu Xinggong was a valiant general of the Prince of Qin's mansion."

These three people were all meritorious contributors to the Xuanwu Gate.

"Do you know?" Li Shimin stood up. "My order for Quan Wanji to thoroughly investigate the land encroachment case in May was just a cover-up. I... have already privately ordered Li Junxian to investigate it thoroughly."

"The result was completely unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable."

"Behind the land encroachment case are not the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, nor other powerful clans. They are indeed annexing land, but they will restrain themselves in Chang'an."

"Behind the land encroachment case are these three former officials of the Prince of Qin's court!"

Chen Huai'an remained silent; he couldn't very well get involved in this matter.

He had already had some suspicions in his mind, which is why he didn't investigate further.

Li Shimin sighed and said, "As meritorious officials, many of them have been highly valued by me, such as Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and Changsun Wuji. These people can recognize their own abilities and have not been blinded by so-called merits."

"But some people, relying on their merit in supporting the emperor, have become increasingly unscrupulous. I have been tolerant of them time and time again, but I am almost at the point of no return."

"Tell me, what should I do?"

Chen Huai'an's mind raced, and he vaguely guessed the meaning behind Li Shimin's words.

"How about... we pin the blame for selling the glass on them?"

Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said, "Guanyinbi is about to give birth. The midwife estimates it will be around June 10th."

Chen Huai'an understood that this was out of consideration for the relationship between Changsun Shunde and Empress Changsun, so he immediately said, "Selling glass requires preparation time. We need to transport the glass there, and then prepare a publicity campaign so that it can be sold on the same day."

"I think it will take at least close to a month."

"Alright!" Li Shimin decided immediately, "Let's do it this way!"

"You're getting married next month, and you have an older sister and a nephew at home. You've already offended too many people. If you continue like this, you might be fine, but it's hard to say what will happen to the people around you."

"I... will handle this myself. You have the Ministry of Works send the glass over, and I will have it transported to various places and arranged for people to sell it secretly."

"I will arrange everything else, and I guarantee that no one will be able to trace it back to you."

Chen Huai'an understood that this was an attempt to completely distance himself from this cause and effect, while also a way to purge and reprimand the former officials of the Prince of Qin's mansion.

"......"