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

"Look, look!"

Pei Ji was trembling with anger. Pointing at Chen Huai'an, he said to Li Yuan, "Your Majesty, look at him! Now that things have come to this, I'm not even going to pursue the matter of them hitting people anymore. I just want them to return the person, but he still won't agree."

"Your Majesty, what more does he want from me?!"

"Could it be...could it be that I should kneel down and beg him?"

Li Yuan was also somewhat annoyed: "Why haven't they returned the person?"

Li Shimin looked at Chen Huai'an carefully, and a premonition inexplicably arose in his heart.

There might be a surprise today.

Chen Huai'an smiled and said, "Reporting to Duke Wei, the reason why the people cannot be returned is very simple. When your people tried to engage in forced buying and selling, there were quite a few common people among the onlookers who were persecuted by your people using their power."

"Many people have been driven to the brink of ruin and death, which is why I took them away to try and find out the truth..."

"Slander! This is blatant slander!" Pei Ji panicked for a moment and immediately interrupted Chen Huai'an.

Before he could say anything, Li Shimin shouted, "Whether it's slander or not, my father and I will decide for ourselves. But why are you so eager to interrupt him?"

"Feeling guilty?"

"Trying to cover it up?"

After saying this, Li Shimin said to Chen Huai'an, "Huai'an, speak freely. Today, I want to see whether the Duke of Wei is as pure and virtuous as he appears!"

Li Yuan paused, his eyes filled with melancholy.

Seeing his expression, Pei Ji knew that the matter could no longer be kept secret, and that he would probably have no choice but to cut off his arm to survive today.

Chen Huai'an smiled and said, "In order to clarify this matter, and also so that the shops opened by my students can do business well in the future."

"Therefore, I had Cheng Chumo and his men take the person away and interrogate him privately."

"It would have been better if there hadn't been a trial at all; the trial itself was quite a shock."

"What did they find out?" Li Shimin's lips curled up slightly. He knew that Chen Huai'an wouldn't arrest people without reason, and he was completely at ease.

Even Li Yuan couldn't help but become curious, and didn't bother to interrogate the matter privately.

"Your Majesty, I have discovered that Zhao Baishan... well, he is the nephew of the steward in the household of the pure and virtuous Duke of Wei. He is the one who tries to force people to buy and sell. This is not the first time he has done such a thing."

"Because of his connection with the pure and virtuous Duke of Wei, whatever business he takes a fancy to, he can come directly to him and try to buy it at an extremely low price."

"If someone refuses to sell, countless thugs and ruffians will come knocking on their door the next day to harass them, making it impossible for them to do business normally. If they still refuse, the government will intervene and cause all sorts of trouble."

"Through this method, Zhao Baishan continuously swallowed up other people's businesses, forcing countless families to be ruined and dead, while he himself accumulated a huge fortune."

"The accumulated cash alone amounts to seventy or eighty thousand strings of cash, but that should still be considered a small portion."

"Hahahaha!" Li Shimin couldn't help but burst into laughter. "So that's how it is! Well done, what a pure and virtuous Duke of Wei!"

"Although I am pure and innocent, the people under my command are almost no different from robbers, doing nothing but petty theft and thievery."

"Now look what's happened, we've kicked a hornet's nest. Cheng Chumo's three little brats aren't going to listen to anything else."

"If you ask me, they fought well!"

Li Shimin looked at Pei Ji sarcastically: "Lord Pei, what do you say?"

Pei Ji swallowed hard, then asked blankly, "Who is Zhao Baishan?"

"It seems our pure and virtuous Duke of Wei is unaware of this matter." Li Shimin was not surprised at all.

Shifting blame is a normal practice.

Li Yuan fell silent.

Pei Ji cried out, "Your Majesty, Your Highness the Crown Prince, I truly know nothing about this matter!"

"It must be...it must be someone using my name to commit robbery. I...I am guilty!"

The situation was now clear: Li Shimin was preparing to press the matter relentlessly, while Li Yuan was figuring out how to protect Pei Ji.

Chen Huai'an spoke up: "Lord Duke of Wei, don't be in such a hurry to confess. The things your men did were far more than just this."

"Using power to forcibly seize other people's business is nothing compared to other things."

"How can you confess now?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's eyes suddenly lit up, while Pei Ji was completely stunned.

An unbelievable thought emerged in him.

Could it be... that He Ming betrayed him?

impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

Smart people know that the most stable relationship in the world is not that of friends, brothers, or even blood relatives.

It's about interests!

His interests were deeply intertwined with He Ming's, and He Ming would never betray him.

Otherwise, he would be the first to die.

Over the years, He Ming has helped me handle too many things that I shouldn't have done in public, and has learned too many of my secrets.

If He Ming wasn't stupid, he would know very well that he would never give up on him. How could he possibly betray him?

Pei Ji panicked.

He couldn't believe it.

But I can't help thinking about it.

"Oh? There are other experts?" Li Shimin became interested and urged, "Huai'an, tell me quickly, I want to hear what kind of monsters and demons this pure and noble Duke of Wei has under his command."

Pei Ji forced himself to remain calm and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to mock me. I may not be considered pure and innocent, but I believe I have a clear conscience."

"If Chen Huai'an did not slander me, and his subordinates did indeed do such a thing, then I am willing to personally clean house and accept punishment."

"Is that so?" Li Shimin smiled, though it was unclear whether it was mockery or something else.

"Huai'an, you speak."

Chen Huai'an sighed: "I had a friendly conversation with He Ming. He believes he is deeply guilty. Although he didn't tell me about his crimes, he did give me a location."

"When I arrived at that location, I witnessed the most shocking scene of my life. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I truly wouldn't have believed it."

Li Shimin's excitement intensified, while Pei Ji's face turned pale, and Li Yuan's expression remained inscrutable.

"What did you see?"

Facing the various gazes of the three men, Chen Huai'an didn't keep them in suspense and said in a deep voice, "Mountains of gold! Mountains of silver! And countless copper coins."

"Various porcelains, glasswares, and famous paintings were piled up together, filling an entire cellar. The quantity was so great that I even doubted whether I was dreaming."

"Even at a cursory glance, its value is no less than a million strings of cash."

Compared to these, Zhao Baishan's little bit of stuff seems insignificant.

Chen Huai'an lamented with anguish: "Duke of Wei, I know you are pure and upright, but your men, through some unknown means, have amassed such astonishing wealth, and you haven't noticed a thing, not even a tiny bit!"

"Lord Duke of Wei, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but you have a poor eye for talent!"

"..."