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

Changsun Wuji was completely devastated.

His hand holding the note began to tremble violently.

Two streams of tears slid down Changsun Wuji's cheeks.

"Sir! Don't scare me!"

When the steward saw that Changsun Wuji was crying, he was so frightened that he quickly grabbed Changsun Wuji's arm.

Changsun Wuji closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"move......"

"What did you say, sir?"

"I'm telling you to move all of these things into the mansion."

Changsun Wuji opened his eyes and roared angrily.

"Send men to keep a close watch on them. If you're short a single penny, I'll take your lives."

The housekeeper hurriedly ordered people to move the things.

Xiao Shunzi nodded in satisfaction after hearing Changsun Wuji's instructions.

"The Duke of Qi is indeed a good uncle to His Highness."

His Highness said he'll come to his uncle for a loan when he's short of cash. This servant takes her leave.

After Xiao Shunzi finished speaking, he led his men away.

Changsun Wuji then kicked Changsun Chong back into the room and locked him up.

If it weren't for this rebellious son, would he have gotten himself into the Crown Prince's trap without even realizing it?

......

Ganlu Temple.

Li Shimin looked at the intelligence sent by Li Junxian and felt a throbbing headache.

He rubbed his slightly swollen temples and glared at Li Junxian with annoyance.

"Laugh if you want to. You'll die of holding it in."

Li Junxian quickly coughed twice, forcibly suppressing his laughter.

"Your Majesty, I dare not."

"Dare not? I saw you almost laughing to tears when you were reporting this just now."

Listen to the rubbish you just recited.

Li Shimin slapped the secret report on his hand.

"The Crown Prince disguises himself as a country bumpkin who's never seen the world? The King of Yue disguises himself as a page who only knows how to gnaw on chicken legs? Li Gang, Li Wenji..."

A veteran of three dynasties, actually dressed up as an old butler?

As Li Shimin spoke, the flesh on his cheeks twitched uncontrollably.

This imagery is so vivid.

He couldn't imagine Li Gang, who was usually so serious in the court, acting like a grandson following behind two juniors.

"Your Majesty, this isn't even the most outrageous thing. The most outrageous thing is Grand Tutor Kong..."

Thinking of Kong Yingda, Li Junxian couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

He quickly covered his mouth, paused for a moment, and then continued:

"Grand Tutor Kong pinned the disciple of the great Confucian scholar Wang Yun to the ground and whipped him while reciting the Crown Prince's interpretations of the Analects..."

Li Shimin remained silent.

He now doubts whether the Xuanwu Gate Incident he initiated was right or wrong.

Is there not a single normal person in the Tang Dynasty's imperial court?

It's one thing for Li Gang to be led astray, after all, he was someone that rebellious son protected.

But what about Kong Yingda?

That person is a role model for all scholars in the world.

Normally, if I cough once during a court meeting, that old bastard will jump out and berate me for half an hour.

Now he's become that rebellious son's henchman?

Li Shimin felt that his whole body ached, except for the sorrow.

"What else does the Crown Prince do besides these things?"

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince also extorted 100,000 strings of copper coins and 300,000 dan of grain from the Cui family of Qinghe at Qujiang Pool."

Li Junxian immediately reported this.

Li Shimin snorted coldly:

"The aristocratic families have been sucking so much blood from the Tang Dynasty all these years, it's time for them to pay up. Gao Ming is good at making money, but his methods are too disgusting."

"But......"

Li Junxian hesitated for a moment, but continued speaking.

"His Highness did not take the money back to the Eastern Palace, but instead had the Cui family deliver it directly to the Duke of Qi's mansion."

This morning, the head steward of the Cui family unloaded everything outside the gates of the Duke of Qi's mansion.

Li Shimin paused slightly as he picked up the teacup.

He instantly saw through the true nature of the matter.

"Wonderful!"

A hint of appreciation flashed in Li Shimin's eyes.

That rebellious son of mine played a brilliant move.

This not only dealt a blow to the Cui family of Qinghe, but also sowed discord between Changsun Wuji and the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families.

This is killing several birds with one stone.

But after the initial excitement, Li Shimin started having headaches again.

The Cui family suffered such a great loss because of this unfilial son's actions. At tomorrow's grand court assembly, that old scoundrel Cui Mingan will definitely not be able to swallow this insult.

At that point, they'll either impeach their own rebellious son or impeach Changsun Wuji.

Both are flesh and blood, both are family, so which one should he abandon?

"Alright. You may leave."

"Dispatch the Hundred Cavalry to keep an eye on the movements of the Duke of Qi's mansion and the other major families, and report any suspicious activity immediately."

Li Junxian bowed and withdrew.

Li Shimin sat there for a while, feeling agitated, then got up and walked outside.

He couldn't take the blame for this himself; Guanyinbi had to teach that rebellious son a lesson.

When Li Shimin arrived at the Lizheng Hall, the lights inside had already been turned off.

After taking off his boots, he slowly made his way to the bedside.

On the bed, Empress Zhangsun seemed to be fast asleep.

Li Shimin quietly climbed onto the bed and reached out to put his arm around Empress Zhangsun's shoulder.

"Guanyinbi, I've come to see you..."

Before he could finish speaking, Empress Zhangsun suddenly turned over and stared at him with her eyes open.

Li Shimin was startled, and his outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

"Why are you here in the middle of the night instead of reviewing memorials in the Ganlu Palace?"

Empress Zhangsun asked in an annoyed tone.

Li Shimin chuckled awkwardly twice, then said with a troubled expression:

"Guanyinbi, I am so distressed. You have no idea how much trouble that brat Gaoming has caused again."

Upon hearing this, Empress Zhangsun sat up and casually grabbed an outer garment to put on.

"So what if he's good at it? Isn't he diligently studying under Kong Yingda in the Eastern Palace?"

Li Shimin quickly embellished the story of what happened at Qujiang Pool.

"Guanyinbi, do you think this kid is going to ascend to heaven?"

If he does this, won't those aristocratic officials cause a huge uproar at tomorrow's court assembly? I, the emperor, will be left cleaning up his messes every single day.

After Li Shimin finished speaking, he waited for Empress Zhangsun's gentle words of comfort.

But Empress Zhangsun offered no comfort whatsoever; instead, she sneered:

"Has Your Majesty finished speaking?"

Li Shimin was taken aback: "Say...you're done."

"Get out of here after you've finished speaking."

Empress Zhangsun kicked Li Shimin in the lower back, sending him sprawling.

Li Shimin sat on the ground, looking at Empress Zhangsun in astonishment, and asked:

"Guanyinbi, what are you doing?"

Empress Zhangsun pointed at his nose and angrily rebuked him:

"You stayed up all night just to come and complain about my son?"

What happened to Gao Ming? What did he do wrong?

Those aristocratic families have always disregarded the law, and Gao Ming is suppressing them for the sake of the Tang Dynasty.

"He extracted so much money and grain from the Cui family; in the end, wasn't it all going to fill the national treasury?"

"As for my eldest brother..."

Empress Zhangsun paused for a moment,

"Since he dared to scheme against his own nephew behind his back, he should have expected this day to come."

Even if Gao Ming doesn't cause him any trouble, I'll still have to confront him and give him a piece of my mind.

Li Shimin was stunned by the scolding.

There should be a limit to this overprotectiveness, right?

"But what about tomorrow's morning court? Those people are sure to cause trouble."

Li Shimin tried to reason with his beloved wife.

"That's your business as the emperor."

"You, as the father, are incompetent at dealing with powerful families, and your son stood up for you. Not only do you not help, but you come here gossiping? Aren't you ashamed?"

"Get out! Don't disturb my rest."

Li Shimin said pitifully:

"Guanyinbi, it's cold outside..."

"roll!!!"

Empress Zhangsun lost her temper.

A moment later, Li Shimin was expelled from the Lizheng Hall.

Wang De then leaned closer and cautiously asked:

"Your Majesty, shall we return to Ganlu Palace?"

"Alas, how come my life as emperor is even more miserable than that of a beggar on Zhuque Street?"

Li Shimin sighed.

He then glared fiercely in the direction of the Eastern Palace.

"You little brat, you just wait."

If you don't get past this hurdle at tomorrow's morning court, I'll make sure you know exactly why I am who I am.