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

Li Shimin raised his head, his eyes fixed on Li Yuan.

He finally understood.

So it turns out that it wasn't Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde who went to rob the Wang family manor.

Instead, it was his own father standing in front of him.

Li Yuan felt a little guilty under Li Shimin's gaze, and subconsciously took half a step back, then shouted angrily:

"What are you looking at? Can't I even leave it behind?"

Li Shimin didn't listen to what Li Yuan was saying at all.

Li Chengqian's face suddenly appeared in his mind.

My own father would never do such a thing.

Only my unfilial son could do such a thing.

This little brat actually raised an army behind my back?

"Okay...very good."

Li Shimin suddenly turned around and walked outside.

"Wang De! Prepare the carriage for the Eastern Palace."

"Hey, don't go! Explain yourself!"

Li Yuan was displeased when he saw Li Shimin turn and leave.

Having finally gotten a chance to mock this unfilial son, how could they possibly give it up?

Li Shimin quickly disappeared from Li Yuan's sight.

When Li Shimin walked out of Da'an Palace and prepared to get into his carriage.

Suddenly, a young eunuch rushed over.

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

Wang De kicked him directly.

The young eunuch hurriedly knelt down:

"Your Majesty! His Highness the Crown Prince has taken more than a dozen carts of goods to the Lizheng Hall to see the Empress."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was so angry he gritted his teeth.

This little bastard stole money from a noble family, and his first reaction was to go to the harem to find a backer.

"Go to the Hall of State Administration."

......

Lizheng Hall.

Empress Changsun was dumbfounded when she saw the exquisite Shu brocade piled up in the hall, as well as several boxes containing gold bars and gold ingots.

"Gao Ming, tell the Empress Dowager the truth: did you rob the national treasury?"

Li Chengqian stood obediently to the side, holding a cloak made of the finest Suzhou embroidery in his hands.

Hearing his mother's question, he smiled and replied:

"Mother, what are you saying? The Tang Dynasty's treasury is so vast that even a rat would come out weeping after going in. Where would we find so many treasures?"

"Where did these things come from?"

Empress Zhangsun asked, rubbing her throbbing temples.

"It was earned by my son through business."

Li Chengqian, without batting an eye, began to fabricate a story.

"Your Majesty, I feel distressed to see that you are always busy in the palace and can't even afford to make a decent new dress for yourself."

"As soon as I earned some money, I immediately sent it to Mother."

Empress Zhangsun was touched by her son's filial piety, but reason told her that he was lying.

Are you saying you can make money off so many things so easily? Do you really think business in Chang'an is that easy?

"Bang."

Just then, the door to the Rikjeong Hall was kicked open.

Li Shimin rushed in, panting heavily.

"You unfilial son! Get your ass over here!"

Li Shimin immediately noticed the mountain of money and the Shu brocade in the room, and was instantly furious.

At the same moment Li Shimin broke down the gate, Li Chengqian had already hidden behind Empress Zhangsun.

He was seen clutching his mother's phoenix robe tightly with both hands, peeking out with half his head and calling out pitifully:

"Mother, save me! Father is going to beat me again!"

Empress Zhangsun instinctively shielded her son first, then looked at Li Shimin and demanded:

"What is Your Majesty doing? You came in shouting and yelling about fighting. What did Gao Ming do to offend you?"

"What did he do to offend me?"

Li Shimin pointed to the gold bars in the room,

"Guanyinbi, ask your good son where these things came from."

Gao Ming said he earned it through business.

Empress Zhangsun, protective of her son, instinctively spoke up to defend him.

"Doing business? Bullshit."

Li Shimin cursed.

"He went to rob. Last night, he and his father ransacked the Wang family's villa in Nanshan outside the city. They even forged traces of Turks."

Wang Gui is still mourning outside the Taiji Hall.

Upon hearing this, Empress Zhangsun gasped and turned to look at Li Chengqian.

"Gao Ming, is what your father said true?"

Li Chengqian blinked, his eyes instantly reddening, tears welling up in his eyes.

It didn't even take three seconds.

"Mother, I am innocent!"

"Your Majesty, I am doing this all for the sake of the Emperor and for the Tang Dynasty."

Li Shimin was so angry at Li Chengqian's words that he laughed.

"For my sake? You led men to rob the noble families of their money, leaving me with this mess, and you say it was for my sake?"

"Isn't that right?"

Li Chengqian stepped out from behind Empress Zhangsun and retorted confidently,

"My father complains all day long in court that the national treasury is empty and that he can't even afford to repair the Da'an Palace."

What about those powerful and aristocratic families? They're all rolling in money, yet they don't spend a single penny. They're all just watching their father make a fool of himself.

Your Majesty, I could no longer bear to see it any longer, so I resorted to this desperate measure: borrowing some money from them to replenish the Imperial Treasury.

"You call this a loan?"

Li Shimin pointed outside the door,

"You beat the guard half to death and didn't even leave him a sack to put his money in. You call that a loan?"

"Father, great things are not concerned with trifles."

Li Chengqian continued speaking with an air of righteousness.

"Besides, most of the money I borrowed was given to my grandfather to build palaces, fulfilling my filial duty to my father."

"I've given all the remaining money to Mother. I didn't keep a single penny for myself."

At this point, Li Chengqian moved closer to Empress Zhangsun, tugged at her sleeve, and said in a coquettish tone:

"Mother, look at Father. I risked my life to raise money for the family, and instead of praising me, he beat me. I am so heartbroken."

Empress Zhangsun was initially shocked and frightened when she heard that her son had committed robbery.

But when he heard his son say that he hadn't kept a single penny and had given it all to him and the Emperor Emeritus, the peace in his heart instantly crumbled.

Seeing Li Shimin's stern and glaring expression, Empress Zhangsun's face instantly darkened.

"Your Majesty, although Gao Ming acted rashly, his intentions were for the sake of the Tang Dynasty and to share your burdens."

Putting aside the facts, you not only fail to acknowledge his good qualities, but you also come in shouting for violence. Isn't that going too far?

Li Shimin was completely dumbfounded, looking at Empress Zhangsun with disbelief.

This pampering is just too unreasonable!

"Guanyinbi, can't you be reasonable? This is robbery, a serious crime."

If the Wang family finds out it's Crown Prince Qian's son, the court will be in turmoil.

"Then let them not know."

Empress Zhangsun interrupted Li Shimin with an air of authority.

"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, can't you even suppress such a small matter?"

"Do you really want to force your own son to apologize to those powerful families before you're satisfied?"

Li Shimin was speechless, pointing at the mother and son, unable to utter a word for a long time.

He finally understood that as long as Empress Zhangsun was alive, even if Li Chengqian were to repeat the Xuanwu Gate Incident, it would still be Li Shimin's fault.

"Okay, okay, okay."

Li Shimin was so angry that he said "good" three times in a row.

"So you two are teaming up to provoke me, are you? I'm not going to deal with this mess anymore."

If Wang Gui causes any more trouble, I will have him come directly to the Lizheng Hall to find you.

After saying that, Li Shimin turned around and wanted to leave.

"Father, please wait."

Li Chengqian suddenly called out to him.

Li Shimin stopped and turned back, looking annoyed, to ask:

"What? What other twisted logic do you have to spout?"

Li Chengqian took out a piece of paper from his pocket and slowly unfolded it.

"Father, have you forgotten this?"

Li Chengqian waved the note in his hand.

Upon closer inspection, Li Shimin's expression instantly became incredibly complex.

That was a confession written by Changsun Wuji.

How did this thing end up in this little brat's hands?

"What are you going to do with this?"

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

Li Chengqian looked at Li Shimin with a smile and said:

"Father, my uncle made such a big mistake, and Mother only confined him to his quarters. That's too lenient."

"I think that if this confession were to be seen by the officials of the Censorate, my uncle's title of Duke of Qi would be in jeopardy."

Li Shimin felt a chill run down his spine.

That little brat really dared to do something like that.