Tang Dynasty: Taking the Empress Dowager to a brothel, Father Emperor, what a coincidence!

In Changsun Wuji's heart.

Wang Gui is currently the leader of the aristocratic family alliance. As long as the aristocratic family alliance stands by his side, Changsun Wuji still has a chance to turn the tide.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped in front of the Prince's mansion.

After getting out of the carriage, Changsun Wuji found that the main gate of the Prince's Mansion was tightly closed, and even the side gate was locked.

Changsun Wuji wouldn't even let Changsun Fu knock on the door; he went up himself and pounded on the door knocker.

"Open the door! Wang Gui. I know you're inside."

After knocking for a long time, the door still wouldn't open.

However, a piece of paper was slipped under the door.

Changsun Wuji frowned and picked it up.

There were only a few words on the paper:

Lord Wang has suddenly fallen seriously ill and is now bedridden, refusing to see any guests. Duke of Qi, please return home and avoid catching the illness.

Changsun Wuji stared at the note in his hand, his mind going blank.

A serious illness?

He was jumping higher than anyone else in the Taiji Hall during the morning court session, and now he's suddenly fallen seriously ill?

This is clearly because that old scoundrel Wang Gui saw the wind was blowing in the wrong direction and abandoned him directly.

"Wang Gui! You old scoundrel!"

Changsun Wuji crumpled the note into a ball and slammed it against the gate of the Prince's mansion.

"You were all brother to me when you needed my help, but now that things have gone wrong, you're playing dead? Do you think you can get away with this?"

There was no response from the Prince's residence.

Meanwhile, at the Cui family mansion in Qinghe.

Several servants were using hammers and nails to seal the gate shut.

"Hurry up. Nail all these boards shut, don't leave any gaps."

The steward of the Cui residence pointed to the golden plaque above their heads.

"You two go get a ladder and take down the plaque."

The servants hurriedly began to remove the plaque from the door.

"Housekeeper, what are we doing? We've even sealed off the door. How are we going to go out to buy groceries now?"

"A servant asked, puzzled."

"Why bother buying vegetables? Let's just eat pickled vegetables for a few days."

The butler slapped the servant on the back of the head.

"The head of the family has ordered that from today onwards, everyone in the Cui family must pretend to be dead."

Anyone who dares to cause trouble at this critical juncture will have their legs broken and be thrown out.

Choi Mingan was really scared this time.

Even Changsun Wuji was wiped out by the Empress, so what is the Cui family compared to that?

If they didn't play dead now, were they just waiting to be punished by the Empress?

Fangfu.

Fang Xuanling sat in his study, listening to his subordinates' reports on the situation in Chang'an, and his lips twitched involuntarily.

"Master, Changsun Wuji cursed in front of Wang Gui's door for half an hour before the steward forcibly dragged him home. The Cui family went even further, removing the plaque from their doorway."

Should we also close our doors to visitors?

The butler asked from the side.

"No need. We haven't provoked the Crown Prince, so what are we afraid of? Changsun Wuji has brought this upon himself, he deserves to die."

"But Her Majesty the Empress has made a huge fuss this time, even wearing her grand court robes. Changsun Wuji is, after all, Her Majesty's own brother; this is too ruthless."

"ruthless?"

Fang Xuanling shook his head.

"What do you know? Her Majesty isn't being ruthless; she's protecting the Changsun family's lives."

The steward didn't understand and looked at Fang Xuanling with a puzzled expression.

Fang Xuanling stood up, walked to the window, and continued speaking:

"Changsun Wuji is too greedy. He thinks he can control the court, but he forgets that His Highness the Crown Prince now commands 100,000 elite and fierce soldiers. Didn't you see the battle report from Liaodong? The Crown Prince has won the victory of destroying a country. When the army returns to the capital, the Crown Prince will be the undisputed number one military figure in the Tang Dynasty."

The Empress's swift and decisive action this time, stripping Changsun Wuji of his position as clan leader, was a show for the world.

Anyone who dares to stab the Crown Prince in the back will face her wrath. The Changsun family has truly crossed the Empress's line this time. From now on, the fate of Chang'an will belong to both the Li and the Changsun families.

But it's definitely not the same Changsun Wuji's eldest grandson.

Ganlu Temple.

"Your Majesty, this is the situation in the city. Lord Changsun is now in dire need of help. Those officials who originally joined him in impeaching the Crown Prince are now all hiding at home, feigning illness."

Not a single official in the entire court dares to see him now.

"Who are they afraid of?"

Li Shimin asked with a gloomy expression.

Li Junxian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and dared not reply.

"I'm telling you to speak."

"Back to Your Majesty..."

Li Junxian hesitated for a moment.

"The officials are all talking about how the Empress is ruthless, and how the Crown Prince is a killing machine in Liaodong. They... they are now more afraid of the Empress and the Crown Prince than..."

Li Junxian didn't dare to say what came next, but Li Shimin understood.

They were even more afraid of the emperor than of him.

Li Shimin grabbed a Jian kiln teacup from the imperial desk and smashed it on the ground.

"Great! Very good."

Li Shimin pointed outside the palace, his anger turning into a laugh.

"These opportunistic fair-weather friends. I'm not even dead yet, and they're already kowtowing to the Hall of State Affairs and the Eastern Palace?"

Li Shimin is filled with hatred now.

He hated Changsun Wuji for being so useless, and he hated the reaction of the entire court.

The Crown Prince was winning battle after battle on the front lines, and his prestige was at its zenith. Even proud and fierce generals like Li Jing and Cheng Yaojin were completely devoted to him.

When the Empress unleashed her power from behind, all the civil and military officials immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.

Then what was he, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty? Just a figurehead?

"Li Junxian".

"Your subject is here."

"Select three hundred elite cavalrymen, change them into civilian clothes, and set off immediately for Liaodong."

Ostensibly, he was there to reward the troops and protect the Crown Prince. In reality, he was there to keep an eye on the army's movements.

I want to know who the Crown Prince meets each day, what he says, and what decisions he makes.

Write everything down and send it back to Chang'an via the fastest courier service.

"Here you go!"

Li Junxian accepted the order and quickly withdrew.

Li Shimin leaned back on the dragon throne, rubbing his throbbing temples.

This father-son conflict is getting harder and harder to resolve.

Just then, a eunuch from Da'an Palace rushed in.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

"What's wrong now?"

Li Shimin roared in annoyance.

"Has the Emperor Emeritus started gambling again in the palace?"

"No, Your Majesty! The Emperor Emeritus just sent someone out of the palace."

Li Shimin frowned.

What's this old man doing getting involved in this mess?

"Where did you send people?"

"They went to the Lizheng Hall. The Emperor Emeritus sent a painting or calligraphy to the Empress."

A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in Li Shimin's heart.

"What did you write?"

"The eight large characters were written by the Emperor Emeritus himself, and... and it was also stamped with the Emperor Emeritus's seal."

"I order you to read it!"

"It says... 'A good daughter-in-law of the Tang Dynasty, well done!'"

Li Shimin was so angry that the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

"Father!!!"