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

Upon hearing that Chen Huai'an had arrived, Li Yuan immediately ordered a eunuch to summon Chen Huai'an in.

Pei Ji finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Soon after, Chen Huai'an calmly walked in: "Your subject, Chen Huai'an, greets Your Majesty and Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"No need for formalities." Li Yuan waved his hand and said directly, "Chen Huai'an, I ask you, the Duke of Wei said that he only sent someone to buy wine, but you instructed your students, namely Cheng Chumo and others, to repeatedly beat people in the Duke of Wei's mansion."

"I ask you, is this true?"

Li Shimin immediately said, "Huai'an, just tell the truth. If you have been wronged, I will stand up for you!"

Chen Huai'an was somewhat surprised. Li Shimin was a good friend; he was truly protective of his nephews.

"Your Majesty, Cheng Chumo and the others did indeed beat up the people in the Duke of Wei's mansion, but if you say that I ordered them, I would cry foul."

Pei Ji, who had been simmering with rage, could no longer contain himself upon hearing this. Pointing at Chen Huai'an's nose, he shouted sharply, "Absurd!"

"The incident occurred in the bustling West Market, in full view of countless people. It was you who personally ordered Cheng Chumo and others to take away the people I sent out to buy wine."

"Now you're claiming you're innocent, that you didn't instigate it? Do you think everyone in the world is blind?"

Li Shimin coldly said, "Duke of Wei, regardless of whether the people of the world are blind or not, are you in such a hurry to convict Huai'an? Aren't you even giving him a chance to say a few more words?"

"Are you feeling guilty?"

Pei Ji's expression shifted slightly, and he waved his sleeve, saying, "What do I have to be guilty of? The evidence is overwhelming; I just want justice."

"Alright!" Li Yuan felt exhausted. "What's the point of arguing? Since Chen Huai'an says he wants to cry out for justice, let him do it."

"Just find out the whole story, see what really happened, right?"

"What's the point of you two being so confrontational?"

Li Shimin did not hesitate and said to Chen Huai'an, "Huai'an, since you have a grievance, then speak. I will do it for you, just as I said before."

Pei Ji's lips moved, but he ultimately didn't speak.

Chen Huai'an smiled calmly: "Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, if we are to talk about this matter, we must start from the beginning."

"It's alright, we have plenty of time today, you can speak slowly," Li Shimin said firmly.

Chen Huai'an nodded: "That's right. At first, Cheng Chumo and the other two accidentally bought a wine recipe from an old Taoist priest. After they brewed it according to the recipe, they found that the wine was incredibly delicious and stronger than any wine in the Tang Dynasty."

Therefore, the three of them pooled their money and started a liquor business.

Li Yuan then interrupted, "Is it that wine called 'Beauty Pass' that recently appeared in Chang'an?"

"That's right." Chen Huai'an said frankly, "Since Your Majesty has heard of the reputation of this wine, you must know that after this wine appeared, anyone who has drunk this wine will find other wines tasteless, like drinking horse piss."

"Once it appeared, its fame spread throughout Chang'an."

"Your Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince should understand just how much benefit is involved here."

"As the saying goes, interests move people's hearts. At this time, some people want to take advantage of their power to carry out acts of extortion and plunder. In full view of everyone, they even threatened the manager invited by Cheng Chumo that if he did not hand over the wine recipe, they would not be able to survive in Chang'an City."

At this point, Chen Huai'an feigned worry: "Your Majesty should understand what happened next. Cheng Chumo, Li Zhen, and Tang Heshang are all childish and sons of military officers. It's no wonder they were angered when they heard such threats."

"I only found out about this later."

Li Shimin looked at Pei Ji, his eyes filled with undisguised sarcasm: "Lord Duke of Wei, it seems you're hiding something? What nonsense about buying wine? So you were forcing someone to sell the recipe. You wanted to do this business yourself, huh?"

"Now that they've met their match, they're coming back to take things out of context and cry foul?"

"Bullshit!" Pei Ji roared in anger. "Chen Huai'an, don't make false accusations! I was just sending someone to buy wine, how is that forcing a sale and insisting on buying that recipe?"

"Aren't you afraid of retribution for slandering loyal and virtuous people like this?"

"What's more, when I heard about this later, I had my men report it to the authorities. As a result, when the government officials went to arrest the criminals, they also fell victim to your wickedness."

"It was during this incident that you ordered Cheng Chumo and the other two to take my men away in front of everyone."

"What do you want to do?"

"Who gave you the right to kidnap someone without permission?"

Chen Huai'an turned his head and said, "Your men? Duke Wei, do you mean that He Ming and Zhao Baishan are your men?"

"Nonsense!" Pei Ji retorted angrily. "In the entire city of Chang'an, who doesn't know that He Ming is one of my men?"

"I've heard about the famous Beauty Pass, so I asked He Ming to buy some wine. What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

"Oh?" Chen Huai'an looked at Pei Ji jumping around and found it amusing. "Lord Duke of Wei, I can also explain this matter."

"Those who wanted to use their power to seize things by force, when they found that threats were useless, colluded with the government officials and went to their door to cause trouble, saying that Cheng Chumo's shop was not in compliance with regulations here, not legal there, and that the procedures were incomplete."

"But Cheng Chumo and the other two were doing legal and compliant business. When they saw that the other party was picking fights and bullying them time and time again... well, they were just kids, how could they stand it?"

Pei Ji's face turned ashen, and he angrily retorted, "What utter nonsense! I clearly instructed He Ming to report to the authorities and apprehend the criminals. How did it become bullying in your mouth?"

"Where is justice? Where is the law? This distortion of the facts is outrageous!"

"Your Majesty, you must do justice for me!"

Li Yuan opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Li Shimin immediately retorted: "In my opinion, the one distorting the facts is probably someone else."

"Anyway, it's not like this is the first time someone has done it."

"You..." Pei Ji's face turned pale and then red after being rebuked. Everyone knew that Li Shimin was referring to Liu Wenjing.

However, he was truly wronged in this matter; he was completely taking the blame for Li Yuan, but he couldn't say it out loud.

He could only say to Li Yuan, "Your Majesty, I have no choice but to admit defeat. I only ask that they return my steward."

"Your Majesty, I humbly request your permission!"

At this point, Pei Ji prostrated himself, looking utterly desolate and forlorn.

Li Yuan sighed and closed his eyes: "Second Brother, now the two of them have their own version of events, and each of them has their own reason."

"But kidnapping someone without permission is ultimately wrong. If that person has done something wrong, it should be dealt with by the government or the Ministry of Justice."

"what you think?"

Li Shimin didn't speak, but turned to look at Chen Huai'an.

He believed that Chen Huai'an would never kidnap someone in front of everyone for no reason.

Now that he's done it, there must be a reason.

So he wanted to see what Chen Huai'an thought.

To everyone's surprise, Chen Huai'an calmly replied, "Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, this person... I'm afraid I can't repay him."

"Let the government or the Ministry of Justice handle it; let's just leave it at that."

"..."

P.S.: Thank you all for your support. I promised to update quickly with a big update for the official recommendation; there will be two more chapters later.

Please give me a good review!