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

Under the escort of the Imperial Guards, Li Chengqian obediently returned to the Eastern Palace.

But as soon as he entered the territory of the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian suddenly stopped.

He turned to look at the sword at the waist of the Imperial Guard captain beside him.

The captain felt a chill run down his spine from his gaze and quickly took a step back, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Your Highness, what's wrong...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Chengqian drew the sword from his waist.

This sudden turn of events terrified the surrounding Imperial Guards, who all drew their weapons.

"Get out of here!"

Li Chengqian roared and charged towards the precious flowerbed in the courtyard, sword in hand.

Those were Yao Huang and Wei Zi cypress trees that Empress Zhangsun specially ordered to be transplanted from Luoyang; each one was priceless.

Li Chengqian, like a madman, hacked and chopped at the branches and leaves.

As he chopped, he looked up and wept bitterly.

"Grandfather! Your grandson is unfilial. It is your grandson's fault for being incompetent, unable even to find out the real culprit. Your grandson's life as Crown Prince is too frustrating."

The palace maids and eunuchs in the courtyard were so frightened that they all knelt on the ground.

Qiuyue, who had come along, mustered her courage and offered words of comfort:

"Your Highness, please put down the knife and be careful not to hurt yourself. Her Majesty the Empress said you should calm down..."

"Shut up!"

Li Chengqian suddenly turned around, his eyes bloodshot, and pointed his knife at Qiuyue.

The tip of the knife was probably only an inch away from Qiuyue's nose.

Qiuyue was so frightened that she dared not utter another sound.

"Get out of here, all of you."

Li Chengqian roared.

"I don't want to see anyone right now. Anyone who dares to utter another word will be killed by me."

Qiuyue dared not linger any longer and hurriedly left the courtyard.

Upon seeing this, the captain of the Imperial Guard quickly waved his hand and led his men out.

The moment the door closed, the grief and rage on Li Chengqian's face vanished.

He casually tossed the sword into the yard.

I walked to the stone table in the courtyard, sat down, and poured myself a glass of cold tea.

After drinking it, he looked clear-headed.

Where is there even a trace of irrationality left?

At this moment, Xiao Shunzi suddenly appeared from somewhere and whispered to Li Chengqian:

"Your Highness, your acting was absolutely superb. I almost pounced on you and hugged your leg just now."

Li Chengqian glanced at him, then pointed to a half-person-high blue-and-white porcelain vase on the steps and said:

"Those are tribute items from Goguryeo, worth a lot of money, quickly put them away."

Go to the warehouse and find a few of the cheapest broken pottery jars to smash. Just make a noise, don't waste them.

Xiao Shunzi understood immediately: "This servant understands."

He deftly moved the celadon vase away, and soon brought out a stack of cheap earthenware jars for storing coarse tea.

"Bang."

Xiao Shunzi smashed a clay pot on the ground.

Then Xiao Shunzi immediately shouted towards the door:

"Your Highness, please calm down. Don't smash it! That was a jade ruyi bestowed upon you by the Empress. Oh dear, it's all broken."

Li Chengqian sat on the stone bench watching Xiao Shunzi's performance, occasionally offering a few pointers:

"The voice isn't pitiful enough; add a touch of crying."

"Bang!"

Another pottery jar shattered.

"Oh dear! Your Highness, you mustn't smash this. It's an antique from the previous dynasty."

"Please, I beg you, put down that sword."

Xiao Shunzi's cries grew increasingly pitiful.

The guards outside the door looked at each other in bewilderment upon hearing the commotion.

The captain shook his head:

"His Highness the Crown Prince has suffered too much shock and has gone completely insane."

Meanwhile, at the Duke of Lu's residence.

"Old Hei, we didn't manage to gamble at the funeral hall earlier, let's try again now."

Cheng Yaojin wiped the wine stains from his lips.

"I bet the Crown Prince will be playing the fool in the Eastern Palace for at least five days this time."

Yuchi Jingde stared with his bull-like eyes and said:

"Pretending to be crazy? The way the Crown Prince acted in the mourning hall didn't seem like he was faking it. I saw his eyes were so red they were almost bleeding, and he even said he wanted to become a monk."

"You don't know anything!"

Cheng Yaojin rolled his eyes.

"Do you think the Crown Prince is one of those pedantic scholars? This kid's got a cunning mind."

By putting on this show in front of the entire court, he was clearly putting it on display for the world, and even more so for those who were secretly poisoning him.

Yuchi Jingde asked in confusion:

"What are you showing this to the person who poisoned them?"

"He's a mad dog who's lost his mind; anyone who gets involved with him is doomed!"

Cheng Yaojin sneered.

"The Crown Prince is holding back a big move, preparing to ambush someone. I'll bet five strings of cash that he won't leave his house for five days."

Yuchi Jingde snorted defiantly:

"Then I'll bet three days. With the Crown Prince's volatile temper, if he doesn't execute someone in three days, that's already a testament to his patience. Ten strings of cash."

"make a deal!"

Cheng Yaojin laughed heartily, raised his wine bowl, and clinked it against Yuchi Jingde's.

"I'll gladly accept your ten strings of cash."

After nightfall, the Eastern Palace, which had been filled with performances all day, finally quieted down.

Li Chengqian sat in his study, with Tingfengge's shadow standing below him.

"Has the matter been clarified?"

"Your Highness, I have already investigated and confirmed the matter."

In the month before the Emperor Emeritus was poisoned, the meals at Da'an Palace were all prepared by two old eunuchs from the Imperial Food Bureau.

However, on the very night the Emperor Emeritus died, both of them accidentally fell into the Taiye Pond and drowned.

Li Chengqian sneered.

That was a quick way to kill someone and cover it up.

"What's the latest news from Consort De and the Wang family of Taiyuan?"

"The Wang family of Taiyuan's spies in Chang'an seem to be transferring assets and destroying accounts these past few days. As for Consort De..."

The shadow paused.

"explain."

"Consort De has been claiming illness and staying indoors these past few days, with the palace gates tightly shut. However, I have discovered that the palace's defenses have undergone a significant change."

Shadow took out a map of the palace's defenses and spread it on the table in the moonlight streaming in from the window.

"His Majesty ordered His Highness to stay at home. On the surface, it was the Imperial Guards who sealed off the Eastern Palace, but after investigation, I found that these Imperial Guards were not only preventing His Highness from going out, but also preventing outsiders from sneaking in."

Moreover, there are 100 cavalrymen secretly patrolling around the Eastern Palace every twelve hours.

Li Chengqian looked at the defense map and drew a circle around the location of the Eastern Palace with his finger.

Father is protecting him.

The retired emperor was murdered, and the murderer managed to poison him secretly within the palace.

Li Shimin was afraid that the murderer would be cornered and take action against Li Chengqian.

Or perhaps they feared that someone might take advantage of the chaos to frame the Crown Prince for plotting against the retired emperor.

"Father, you've really played a big game."

Li Chengqian leaned back in his chair and sighed.

He now sees things completely clearly.

Li Yuan faked his death, and Li Shimin went along with it, turning the tables on him.

The father and son were fishing, catching a big fish hidden in the deep water.

Li Chengqian was the bait who was kept in the dark.

"Since you want to put on an act, then I'll play along and put on a good one."

Li Chengqian tapped the table.

"Pass down the order: all the spies in Tingfeng Pavilion must keep a close watch on Consort De and Lady Wang of Taiyuan. In particular, anyone entering or leaving Consort De's palace, even someone who empties the chamber pot, must be thoroughly investigated for me."

"yes!"

Just as the shadow was about to retreat, it suddenly remembered something and took out a bamboo tube from its bosom.

"Your Highness, this is an urgent secret report that just came from the inner palace. I haven't had time to open it yet."

Li Chengqian took the bamboo tube, removed the stopper, and poured out a piece of parchment rolled into a small roll.

Let's take a look.

There was only one line of text on the paper.

"Strange phenomena occurred in Consort De's palace late at night, with a fire suddenly breaking out in the backyard, suspected to be the destruction of physical evidence."