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

The next morning.

Da'an Palace, the mourning hall.

Funeral music resounded through the sky, and paper money burned everywhere.

The officials knelt on prayer mats, each one feigning more grief than the last.

Just then.

"The Emperor Emeritus!!!"

A powerful, piercing cry instantly drowned out all the other cries in the room.

Everyone turned to look.

Pei Ji stumbled in from outside.

He lunged directly at the coffin, gripping the edge of the coffin tightly with both hands, and made as if to bang his head against it.

"Your Majesty the Emperor! How could you leave us like this? This old minister cannot live any longer; this old minister wants to go with you."

The eunuchs nearby were terrified and rushed forward to grab Pei Ji's arms and waist.

"Lord Pei, you mustn't do that."

Please accept my condolences.

Pei Ji struggled while tightly covering his face with his wide sleeves.

He appeared to be crying his heart out.

He was actually peeking through his fingers at the expressions of Cui Minqian and the others behind him.

The veteran actors unleashed their full potential at this moment.

This was a task personally assigned by the Emperor Emeritus last night.

Pei Ji howled incessantly and began to utter inappropriate remarks:

"Your Majesty, you died unjustly. That noon you were holding my hand and saying you wanted to eat peony cakes from Luoyang."

You're so healthy you can eat three big bowls of mutton soup in one meal, how come you're all gone by evening?

Could it be that you ate something unclean? Or perhaps you were betrayed by some wicked villain?

"Your Majesty the Retired Emperor! Open your eyes and see what kind of demons and monsters are lurking in the court of this Great Tang Dynasty!"

The words had barely left his lips.

The entire mourning hall fell silent instantly.

Even the monks' hands, which were striking the wooden fish, froze in mid-air.

Everyone was stunned.

Cui Mingan and Wang Gui were so shocked they broke out in a cold sweat.

What nonsense is this old scoundrel spouting?

If this gets out, what will happen?

Just yesterday, the emperor issued an edict stating that the retired emperor had died of natural causes and strictly forbidding anyone from discussing the cause of death.

Pei Ji is courting death, daring to defy the imperial decree in public?

Cui Mingan instinctively wanted to stand up and refute.

But he barely moved before he forced himself to stop.

Wouldn't stepping forward now make me look guilty?

If that old mad dog bites me, that would be troublesome.

The officials from the powerful families knelt on the spot, heads bowed, not daring to even breathe.

The front.

Li Shimin watched all of this with a cold eye.

He knew perfectly well what was going on.

That old bastard Pei Ji must have been instructed by that old man in Da'an Palace to deliberately come out and disgust people.

But he didn't say a word.

They didn't even try to stop it.

They just let Pei Ji ramble on in the mourning hall.

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze subtly sweeping over the faces of Cui Mingan, Wang Gui, and the others.

He wanted to see who would react the most strongly to Pei Ji's probing.

Anyone who feels guilty has something to hide.

at the same time.

Behind the wall directly behind the mourning hall.

Li Yuan was comfortably lying in a rocking chair.

On the small square table next to it were freshly peeled tangerines, warm rice wine, and several plates of exquisite pastries.

Li Yuan, with his legs crossed and a segment of orange in his hand, was watching the farce unfolding outside through a pre-drilled hole with great interest.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Li Yuan popped an orange into his mouth and mumbled a complaint.

"This old man's acting is still so exaggerated."

He wasn't this enthusiastic when he urged me to raise an army in Taiyuan back then. Now he's crying more bitterly than if his own father had died.

The old eunuch serving nearby chimed in:

"Lord Pei has gone to great lengths to cooperate with your plan."

Li Yuan snorted coldly:

"He's so bored he's practically itching for a fight. He finally got a chance to make a scene in the court, so how could he not put in the effort?"

"Go pour me a cup of wine. This play has reached a crucial point; we can't let those old foxes from the aristocratic families get away."

Outside the mourning hall.

Pei Ji was still putting on a great performance:

"Your Majesty! Even if it costs me my life, I will find that treacherous villain who secretly poisoned you and have him executed."

These words are getting increasingly outrageous.

Cui Mingan couldn't hold back any longer.

He couldn't let Pei Ji continue making such a fuss.

If this continues, the stable situation that the aristocratic families have worked so hard to maintain will be ruined.

Cui Mingan stood up and walked to Pei Ji's side to dissuade him:

"Lord Pei, what are you doing?"

His Majesty issued an imperial edict yesterday, declaring that the Emperor Emeritus has passed away peacefully at the age of 18.

Your outrageous remarks about poisoning and assassination are tantamount to disobeying imperial orders.

Moreover, how could the spirit of the Emperor Emeritus rest in peace if he saw you in such a state of disarray?

Cui Mingan thought that by bringing up the emperor's decree, Pei Ji would have to back down.

But to his utter surprise, Pei Ji didn't play by the rules at all.

Pei Ji shoved aside the eunuch who was blocking his way and jumped up from the ground.

"I lost my temper? Who do you think you are to lecture me?"

Pei Ji grabbed Cui Minqian by the collar.

"Pei Ji! What are you doing? Let go!"

Cui Mingan was terrified and struggled desperately.

But Pei Ji wouldn't let go.

"What are you feeling guilty about? I'm crying for the retired emperor, what's it to you!"

Is it you? Is it someone from the Cui family of Qinghe?

You bunch of hypocrites, spouting righteousness and morality all day long, but behind my back you do all sorts of despicable things that make your children born without an anus.

"I will beat you to death today, you traitorous scoundrel!"

As he spoke, Pei Ji actually raised his fist and punched Cui Minqian in the face.

The area is closed.

"Ouch!"

Cui Mingan, having taken a punch, roared in a disheveled state.

"This is utterly disgraceful. Quickly pull Lord Pei away."

Wang Gui and others rushed forward to break up the fight.

Li Shimin almost burst out laughing.

He quickly covered his face with his sleeve and pretended to cough twice.

Pei Ji is quite the character.

Li Yuan looked at the crowd wrestling outside and happily drank another cup of wine.

"Good! Well done. Pull his beard. Yes, that's it, kick him in the groin."

"That old man's skills haven't declined at all."

At the funeral hall.

Just as Pei Ji grabbed Cui Minqian by the collar, preparing to deliver a few more punches,

A young eunuch rushed into the mourning hall in a panic.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

Li Shimin abandoned his interest in watching the show, frowned, and asked:

"What's the panic? What kind of behavior is this!"

The young eunuch leaned close to Li Shimin's ear and whispered a few words quickly.

In that very instant.

Li Shimin's expression suddenly changed drastically.

He stood up and shouted angrily:

"Someone come here!"

By imperial decree! The Imperial Guards shall immediately impose a complete lockdown on Da'an Palace.

Anyone who dares to step out of the Da'an Palace without my order will be executed without mercy!

The officials were in uproar.

What happened?

They're actually going to seal off Da'an Palace?

Cui Mingan, not bothering to straighten his disheveled clothes, suddenly felt a sense of foreboding.

Could it be that the plan has been exposed?