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

As they left the store, Li Zhen and the other two followed Chen Huai'an, asking, "Sir, are we just going to let Wang Bai go like this?"

"What if he causes trouble later?"

Chen Huai'an waved his hand: "Don't worry about these trivial things. Even if they do come looking for trouble, I'm still here, aren't I?"

Others might not know, but how could Chen Huai'an not know?

Prince Li Yuan of Lujiang was about to be tricked into rebellion by his son-in-law, and then killed by his son-in-law in order to claim credit with Li Shimin.

Where would they find another opportunity to cause him trouble?

However, to be fair, this was an unexpected surprise for them.

These important figures in Chang'an almost all had some kind of business, but most of them kept it a secret.

After all, putting aside the legal prohibition, the traditional Chinese social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants was so deeply ingrained that doing business was considered dishonorable, so who would dare to speak out against it?

They basically all look for front men.

Zhao Baishan from the Pei family is an example of this.

It's not surprising that Li Yuan had some business dealings.

The only thing he didn't expect was that Li Yuan was in the business of selling alcohol, and specifically the lowest-end cloudy liquor.

Judging from Wang Bai's words, the scale is quite large.

Isn't this a perfect match for my major?

I just don't know how many people are aware of this.

Chen Huai'an pondered for a while, then stopped thinking about it.

Anyway, these are not problems.

Even if many people know about Li Yuan's business, when he dies and his property is confiscated, wouldn't it be easy for him to go to Li Shimin and ask for the Wang Bai and this turbid wine business back?

It would be even better if not many people knew.

He directly took over Wang Bai's entire business and made Meiren Pass's raw material suppliers his own, so he would never have to worry about these issues again.

This time... it's like Ying Zheng touching an electric wire and winning by accident.

"..."

The next day, Chen Huai'an got up early, still feeling resentful.

He unusually put on his official robes and hat, and then went to the palace without saying a word.

There was no other reason than that Li Shimin sent someone yesterday to tell him that he had to attend court today.

How could Chen Huai'an not understand what it meant?

It's nothing more than Pei Ji's case needing a conclusion, and he needs to go over there and play along.

Add to that the fact that he had to get up very early for court, it's no wonder he was a little resentful.

When he arrived, the Taiji Hall was packed with officials who had come to attend the regular court session.

Many people were surprised to see him.

Wei Zheng, in particular, looked Chen Huai'an up and down for a while, and suddenly said, "Oh, a rare guest indeed."

"Will you still attend the morning assembly?"

Chen Huai'an looked somewhat uneasy. He now held several positions. He used to be the Vice Director of the Crown Prince's Chamberlain under Li Jiancheng. Later, when Li Shimin became the Crown Prince, he did not remove him from his post but instead gave him the title of Academician of the Hongwen Pavilion.

Logically speaking, he should attend the court assembly, but he was in a mid-to-lower rank and not considered important.

Chen Huai'an had mentioned to Li Shimin that he was going to teach at the Hongwen Academy in the morning, so Li Shimin never let him attend court again.

"Hahaha, Mr. Chen, it's been a long time!"

To everyone's surprise, Cheng Yaojin cheerfully stepped forward to greet him, his attitude incredibly enthusiastic.

Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong were both somewhat surprised to see this scene.

Don't they know what kind of person Cheng Yaojin is?

It's too early to be unprofitable.

He was as strong as an ox, yet as clever as a monkey.

Why are you being so enthusiastic towards Chen Huai'an all of a sudden?

Yuchi Gong narrowed his eyes.

There's something going on here...

"Mr. Chen, my little rascal came back yesterday with some things. I didn't want him to go out anymore, but he said he wanted to go out with you," Cheng Yaojin asked in a low voice.

"I suppose you took them to expand the scale of the Beauty Pass?"

Chen Huai'an replied, "Duke Su has misunderstood. I took them out yesterday and didn't handle this matter."

"Oh? What did they go to do?"

"Someone was hit."

Cheng Yaojin: "..."

Damn it, why is he hitting people all day long?

Of course, he couldn't say this out loud. Chen Huai'an was their family's cash cow right now. Instead, he said, "Mr. Chen, it seems that a decision needs to be made today regarding Pei Ji. The argument in the court is getting more and more heated, with the vast majority saying that Pei Ji should be killed."

"But the officials had different opinions on how to kill him. The older officials hoped to handle it discreetly and kill Pei Ji in private, without making a scene. The younger officials, on the other hand, wanted to handle it in a high-profile manner and behead Pei Ji in front of the people."

"May I ask you, sir, which side should I stand on?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Huai'an understood that Cheng Yaojin was both reminding him and trying to see if he could get some information from him.

The older officials were none other than Li Yuan's former ministers, such as Xiao Yu, while the younger ones were people like Changsun Wuji.

What appears to be a disagreement over how to deal with Pei Ji is actually the first clash between the old and new forces.

Chen Huai'an smiled and said, "Duke Su, what a question you ask. I'm not a member of the court, and I don't even attend the regular court sessions. How would I know about these things?"

"Ultimately, it all depends on Your Highness's decision, doesn't it?"

"Asking me is useless."

Cheng Yaojin understood and had gotten the answer he wanted. He said casually, "Alright, in that case, I won't bother Mr. Chen any longer."

What will His Highness decide?

Li Shimin couldn't be more ruthless than the other way around.

What decisions can he possibly make?

Afterwards, Chen Huai'an approached Wei Zheng and said in a cryptic tone, "Zheng, I think you might have to take the blame for His Highness."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zheng said quietly, "I'll take the blame? And how much better are you? Why did you come to court today?"

One sentence stumped Chen Huai'an.

Du Ruhui chimed in cheerfully, "It's alright, we'll all share the blame and the good fortune."

The implication is that no one can escape responsibility; they all have to share the blame.

But Li Shimin is not one to forget his roots, and he will not treat them unfairly in the future.

Chen Huai'an sighed, but didn't say anything.

Soon, the court assembly began.

The civil and military officials entered the hall in an orderly fashion. After everyone had arrived, Li Shimin slowly walked out from behind the hall and sat down without any hesitation in a specially arranged seat below the throne.

He is not yet the emperor, and he cannot transgress the rules of etiquette, therefore he cannot sit on the throne.

"Your Highness, we, your humble servants, pay our respects."

"No need for formalities." Li Shimin sat calmly in his seat, then suddenly sighed, "Gentlemen, recently, the matter of the Duke of Wei has caused quite a stir in the court."

"This matter can't be delayed any longer; a decision must be made today!"

"..."