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

The speed of Tingfeng Pavilion was undeniably fast.

The results were already out that same evening after Li Chengqian gave the order.

"Your Highness, we really can't find anything wrong with this person."

The shadow stood beside Li Chengqian and reported.

"Zhang Xuansu was originally from Wu County. His family had been scholars for three generations and owned some land. They were considered a well-off family in the area, but by no means a powerful clan."

He was intelligent from a young age and studied under Gu Kaizhi, a famous scholar in Jiangnan. He was quite well-known among the scholars in Jiangnan.

During this journey to the capital for the imperial examinations, I did not make any connections with any powerful or influential figures, nor did I come into contact with any suspicious individuals.

The shadow paused, then added:

"My subordinates used all their undercover agents to investigate his past twenty years of history, and it was as clean as a blank sheet of paper."

A blank sheet of paper?

Li Chengqian chuckled softly:

"The dirtiest thing in the world is a piece of white paper that looks too clean."

He walked to the huge map of Chang'an hanging on the wall and his gaze fell on the lines marked on it with a vermilion pen.

"Where did he go after he entered Chang'an?"

"Your Highness, he first visited the Imperial Academy, and then went to several literary gatherings, where all the people he met were candidates for the imperial examinations."

Aside from that, he spent most of his time studying diligently behind closed doors in the inn.

"On what day did he go to Qujiang Pool?"

"Two weeks ago, in the afternoon."

Li Chengqian's finger lightly traced across the map, finally stopping at the location of Qujiang Pool.

"Look at the route he took from the inn in the west of the city. It doesn't look like he was going to Qujiang Pool at all. Why would he go all the way to Qujiang Pool, bypassing half of Chang'an?"

Moreover, it's a bit too much for a newcomer from out of town to be so familiar with the routes of Chang'an.

His encounter with Chang Le was too much of a coincidence.

The shadow instantly understood Li Chengqian's meaning.

This seemingly romantic encounter was, from the very beginning, a meticulously planned scam.

"Your Highness, do you need my assistance...?"

The shadow's voice carried a hint of murderous intent.

"No."

Li Chengqian waved his hand.

"A fish has just poked its head out; it's too early to reel it in. I need to see just how big the net is attached to it."

Keep an eye on him, but don't let him notice. Also, send more people to secretly protect Chang Le.

If she loses even a single hair, I will make everyone in Jiangnan pay with their lives.

"Here you go!"

The shadow flashed and retreated.

The study returned to quiet.

Li Chengqian rubbed his temples.

Although the five surnames and seven clans were aggressive and ruthless, their goals were clear.

These newly arrived Jiangnan gentry, though they don't bite, want to take the whole sheepfold.

The old methods of checks and balances seem to have lost their effectiveness in dealing with these "gentlemen".

They are not greedy for money, not lustful, do not form cliques, and do not engage in private activities; they are simply a group of moral exemplars.

But beneath this perfect facade, Li Chengqian sensed an aura even more dangerous than that of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families.

"Xiao Shunzi".

"This servant is here."

"Prepare the carriage, dress casually, and head to Prime Minister Fang's residence."

……

The night is dark.

The lights were still on in Fang Fu's study.

When the steward announced that His Highness the Crown Prince had arrived in plain clothes, Fang Xuanling, who was over fifty years old, was so startled that he almost dropped the teacup beside him.

He hurried to the door to greet him, only to see Li Chengqian, accompanied by two eunuchs, already entering the courtyard.

"This old minister was unaware of Your Highness's arrival and has failed to greet you properly; I deserve to die!"

Fang Xuanling bowed deeply, about to perform a grand salute.

"No need for such formalities, Fang Xiang."

Li Chengqian reached out and helped him up.

"I apologize for disturbing you so late at night."

The two entered the study and took their seats as host and guest, respectively.

After dismissing the servants, Fang Xuanling looked at Li Chengqian cautiously and asked:

"May I ask what brings Your Highness here so late at night?"

Li Chengqian didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point:

"I've come for the matters of the court today."

"Prime Minister Fang, what's your opinion on this group of people from Jiangnan?"

Upon hearing this question, Fang Xuanling gave a wry smile.

He let out a long sigh:

"Your Highness, this old minister is ashamed."

Fang Xuanling shook his head.

"These people are a hundred times more difficult to deal with than the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families."

"Oh?"

Li Chengqian raised an eyebrow with interest.

"The Five Surnames and Seven Clans are openly thieving bandits. They are greedy, they rob, and they wear their 'I want' written all over their faces."

To deal with them, we have the Tang Dynasty law, an army, and swords. We can cut them down with one stroke and the problem will be solved.

But this group of gentry from Jiangnan was different. They were... gentlemen.

When Fang Xuanling uttered the word "gentleman," his tone was filled with helplessness.

"They don't embezzle; the national treasury's accounts are crystal clear, and even Wei Zheng couldn't find any mistakes with a magnifying glass."

They don't form cliques or organize hometown associations, but they do have poetry gatherings and literary gatherings, and they can settle things in the midst of conversation and laughter, leaving you with no grounds for complaint.

They were very polite, quoted extensively from classical texts, and every word they said was reasonable.

Just like Chu Suiliang in the imperial court today, was he wrong to say that he was competing with the people for profit? No, he was not wrong.

But he deliberately omitted the fact that without the Royal Merchant Guild, how would the court support its troops and provide disaster relief?

This is a form of soft confrontation.

They don't confront you head-on; they use rules to confine you, morality to bind you, and Confucian classics to shut you up.

We're like a warrior wielding a sharp sword, but we've fallen into a pile of cotton; we can't use our strength.

This prime minister, who had devoted his entire life to the Tang Dynasty, revealed a deep sense of powerlessness for the first time in front of Li Chengqian.

He smiled wryly:

"Your Highness, look at this old minister's hair. Half of it has turned white from worrying about the affairs of the country, and the other half has turned white from being troubled by these gentlemen in the past month."

Li Chengqian listened quietly without interrupting.

Fang Xuanling's feelings confirmed his guess.

Li Shimin and his founding fathers were skilled in warfare and political intrigue.

But faced with this kind of slow and painstaking process, they were like tigers falling into a quagmire, with no way to use their skills.

After a long silence, Li Chengqian slowly spoke:

"Prime Minister Fang, I'm thinking..."

He paused, his gaze becoming distant.

"If Uncle Du were still alive, how would he handle this mess?"

When the name came out of Li Chengqian's mouth, Fang Xuanling's body trembled violently.

The bitter smile on his face froze instantly, replaced by a deep sense of longing and loneliness.

The candlelight in the study seemed to have dimmed a bit.

"If Kemin were still here..."

Fang Xuanling muttered to himself,

"He will surely be able to see through the underlying threads of this mess and find the thread that can untie all the knots."

pity......"

Fang Xuanling didn't say anything more, but just let out a long sigh.

Everyone knows that Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were shrewd and decisive, but what they don't know is that Du Ruhui's experience in political struggles was comparable to that of Changsun Wuji.

It's just that Du Ruhui died too early, otherwise Changsun Wuji would have wanted to rise to prominence.

hehe......