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

Li Gang stared at Li Chengqian, completely dumbfounded.

That little bastard is definitely a weasel paying respects to a chicken.

He pointed outside the door and shouted:

"Get out! I have already resigned from my official post and am unworthy of being addressed as Grand Tutor by His Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian wasn't angry. He sat down on a small round stool beside the bed and sighed.

"Grand Tutor, please calm down. I've come today not to upset you, but to apologize."

He waved to the door.

Xiao Shunzi immediately came in carrying two sandalwood brocade boxes and respectfully placed them on the table.

Li Chengqian walked over and personally opened the first brocade box.

"Grand Tutor, these are the famous Duanxi inkstone and Huizhou tribute ink treasured by Grand Tutor Kong Yingda. I specially requested them to present to you."

Li Gang glanced at it and snorted coldly.

Kong Yingda's stuff? Who doesn't know that old bastard is now in cahoots with you?

Seeing that he remained unmoved, Li Chengqian opened the second brocade box.

Inside lay the rare copy of the Spring and Autumn Annals from the previous dynasty.

Li Gang saw the cover of the book and sat up straight abruptly.

Wasn't this book a gift from Changsun Wuji?

"Does the Grand Tutor recognize this book?"

Li Chengqian presented the book to Li Gang and asked him a question.

Li Gang shrank back warily: "Why are you in this book?"

Li Chengqian put the book back into the brocade box and closed the lid.

"Grand Tutor, I have come today not only to apologize, but also to address a matter of great importance concerning the fate of the Tang Dynasty, and I would like to ask you to come out of seclusion."

Li Gang sneered:

"You want me to come out of seclusion? Didn't Your Highness complain that I was not a good teacher? My old bones can't take any more of your torment."

"The old tutor has misunderstood!"

Li Chengqian stood up and said sincerely,

"I wish to ask you to instruct King Li Tai of Yue."

Li Gang grabbed the medicine bowl next to the pillow and smashed it.

"This is outrageous! You wretched creature, this is outrageous!"

Li Chengqian dodged the bowl of medicine by sidestepping it.

Li Gang pointed at Li Chengqian and began to curse:

"I taught you, and you made me so angry I almost vomited blood. Now you want me to teach the King of Yue? What are you up to?"

Do you take me for a mere object in your royal brothers' power struggles?

"I'd rather die by smashing my head against this pillar than suffer humiliation at the Yue King's mansion."

Li Chengqian quickly stepped forward and grabbed Li Gang, who was about to commit suicide:

"Grand Tutor! Please let me finish speaking."

"Qingque's talent in literature far surpasses that of Gu. He was intelligent from a young age and had a photographic memory, but he was spoiled by his mother and father and his personality was somewhat unruly."

Looking across the entire Tang Dynasty, besides you, the leader of all scholars, who else could keep him in check?

Li Gang, however, was not buying it at all.

"Don't try to fool me with these nice words. What did you say in court? You said I was a jinx to the Crown Prince."

"Now you want me to teach the King of Yue? Are you hoping I'll kill him too, so you can keep your position as crown prince?"

Li Chengqian said with a bitter expression:

"Grand Tutor, do you really believe that what I said in the Taiji Hall was my true intention?"

Li Gang frowned and asked:

"What do you mean?"

Li Chengqian sighed:

"Although I am unruly, I still know how to respect my teacher. You have taught me for so long, don't you know what kind of person I am?"

Li Gang looked him over suspiciously and asked:

"Those words..."

"Someone forced me to say it."

Li Chengqian suddenly raised his head.

"Someone is forcing me to drive you out of the court."

Li Gang asked in shock:

"Ridiculous! You are the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Dynasty, who dares to force you?"

Li Chengqian gave a wry smile and pointed to the brocade box on the table:

"Grand Tutor, think carefully. Why did you have to use the ruler to beat me? Who exaggerated to you, saying that I took the Empress Dowager to a brothel, and that I contradicted the Emperor at court?"

The image of Changsun Wuji's heartbroken face flashed through Li Gang's mind in an instant.

Changsun Wuji visited him with this rare copy of the Spring and Autumn Annals, every word of which denounced the Crown Prince's evil deeds, arousing his anger and leading to the scene later where he was about to use family discipline during the morning class.

Seeing Li Gang's changing expressions, Li Chengqian knew that the time was almost right.

"Grand Tutor, don't you understand? This whole thing has been a setup from beginning to end. A setup aimed at you, and at me as well."

Li Gang's breathing quickened: "Explain yourself clearly."

Li Chengqian walked to the window, looked outside, and lowered his voice:

"My maternal uncle, Changsun Wuji, has secretly colluded with the heads of the Cui, Lu, Wang, and Zheng families. They think I am disobedient and want to remove me from the position of crown prince and replace me with someone more obedient."

"And you, upright and incorruptible, cannot tolerate any injustice. As long as you remain in the Eastern Palace, their people will not be able to intrude, and their hands will not be able to reach my side."

"So my uncle deliberately went to the Eastern Palace to provoke me, and then went to your residence to present this rare copy of the Spring and Autumn Annals, which he bought at great expense, in an attempt to sow discord between you and me."

Li Chengqian became more and more agitated as he spoke, and even managed to squeeze out two tears from the corners of his eyes.

"They anticipated your temper and knew you would cause trouble during the morning class. They even planted people in the Eastern Palace, so that if I dared to resist, they would make a big scene."

"I have no choice, Grand Tutor. If I don't go along with their wishes and drive you away, they will take the opportunity to make trouble in court and depose me on charges of disobeying the Grand Tutor."

Li Gang gripped the blankets tightly with both hands:

"The Duke of Qi... how dare he? He's your own uncle."

"So what if he's my own uncle?"

Li Chengqian sneered.

"When it comes to family interests, kinship is nothing."

He had already met Qingque in private and told him that the Crown Prince was often ill and that he should encourage him—words that were meant to be hurtful.

He didn't care which nephew became emperor; he only wanted a puppet controlled by the Changsun family and other powerful clans.

Li Gang was completely stunned.

Changsun Wuji actually said such a thing to the King of Yue?

He connected the events that happened before and after.

A complete chain of conspiracy clearly emerged in Li Gang's mind.

All of them are correct.

It turns out that the crown prince was also a victim.

It turns out that he, the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, was actually used as a pawn by that old fox Changsun Wuji to eliminate dissidents.

Li Gang slammed his hand on the bed in anger:

"Changsun Wuji! Wang Gui! Cui Mingan! These treacherous officials! How dare they insult this old man like this? How dare they fool the court like this?"

Seeing this, Li Chengqian quickly advised:

"Grand Tutor, please calm down. I drove you away in order to protect you."

If you had stayed in the Eastern Palace, they would have plotted against you sooner or later. Now that you have resigned and escaped this quagmire, they can no longer do anything to you.

Li Gang looked at Li Chengqian with some heartache and said:

"I am well-versed in literature and poetry; how can I stand by and watch these treacherous officials wreak havoc on the court? Your Highness, you have been wronged."

"Your Highness, rest assured, my bones are still strong enough to withstand this."

Li Gang gritted his teeth, threw back the covers, and was about to get out of bed.

"I will go to the palace to meet the Emperor right now! I will expose the ugly faces of Changsun Wuji and those heads of aristocratic families."

Li Chengqian quickly stopped him.

"Grand Tutor, absolutely not!"

Li Gang's eyes widened in anger:

"Why not? Should we just let them run rampant?"

Li Chengqian earnestly advised:

"Grand Tutor, if you go to file a complaint with the Emperor now, do you have any evidence? They could easily turn the tables and accuse you of acting on my orders to deliberately frame a high-ranking official. Who will Father Emperor believe then?"

Li Gang was stunned.

Yes, words are meaningless; Changsun Wuji's mouth can turn black into white.

"Then, in Your Highness's opinion, what should be done?"

Li Gang is now completely following Li Chengqian's line of thinking.

Li Chengqian lowered his voice and said:

"Go teach Bluebird."

Li Gang frowned, about to retort, when Li Chengqian immediately interrupted him.

"Grand Tutor, think about it. Don't your uncle and the aristocratic families want to put Qingque in power? Qingque is currently their prized possession. If you become Qingque's teacher, it's equivalent to infiltrating their ranks."

"Given Qingque's temperament, if you discipline him with the same strictness you showed me, he definitely won't be able to handle it. When Qingque makes a scene, your uncle and the aristocratic family will have to clean up his mess."

"You are in the Prince of Yue's residence, where you have a legitimate reason to keep an eye on them. If they dare to make any unusual moves, you can report to the Emperor in secret at any time. This is called striking the snake at its vital point, removing the fuel from under the cauldron."

Li Gang's eyes grew brighter as he listened.

Wonderful!

That move was absolutely brilliant.

Changsun Wuji wanted to use him to deal with the Crown Prince, so he turned the tables and went to the Yue Prince's mansion to become a guardian deity.

Let's see if those treacherous officials dare to make any rash moves.

"good!"

Li Gang nodded, a flush appearing on his gaunt face.

"I'll go and meet the King of Yue. I want to see just how far Changsun Wuji can extend his reach."

Li Chengqian was overjoyed inside, but his face showed a look of deep gratitude:

"Grand Tutor, your righteousness is truly admirable! On behalf of the Tang Dynasty and my father, I thank you, Grand Tutor."

Li Chengqian bowed deeply.

Li Gang accepted it calmly, then shouted towards the door:

"Steward! Prepare the carriage. Bring me my court robes."

The old butler rushed in and said:

"Sir, you're still not well, where are you going?"

"To the Taiji Hall!"

Li Gang roared with great force.

"I retract my resignation. I am going to instruct the King of Wei."

Li Chengqian stood to the side, desperately trying to suppress his laughter.

Uncle, didn't you want to join forces with the powerful families to bring me down in the court?

I'll send you the first generation of trolls in the Tang Dynasty right now, let's see if you can handle it.

Half an hour later.

Inside the Taiji Hall.

Li Shimin was discussing with Changsun Wuji the matter of the aristocratic families being robbed.

A report suddenly came from outside the hall.

"Former Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, Lord Li Gang, requests an audience."

Changsun Wuji's heart skipped a beat.

Wasn't this old man supposed to have resigned and gone home to wait for death? Why is he back here again?

Li Shimin also looked surprised: "Summon them."

A moment later, Li Gang entered the main hall.

He didn't look at Li Shimin, but walked straight to Changsun Wuji and stared at him intently.

Changsun Wuji felt a chill run down his spine from the stare and gave two dry laughs.

"Lord Li, what's wrong...?"

Li Gang suddenly turned around and knelt down in front of the imperial desk with a thud:

"Your Majesty! This old minister wishes to withdraw his resignation and go to instruct Prince Li Tai of Yue."