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

The secret chamber of the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian, Qin Qiong, and Du Ruhui sat there, eating apples without any regard for their image.

Xiao Shunzi vividly recounted what had happened at the Duke of Qi's mansion.

"That's brilliant! Your Highness's move to cut off our supply lines is absolutely ingenious."

Those bastards from the Cui family are usually arrogant and haughty, but this time they swallowed such a huge loss without saying a word.

Just thinking about Cui Mingan's old face right now makes me feel relieved.

After hearing this, Qin Qiong clapped his hands loudly and cheered.

Du Ruhui, meanwhile, calmly stroked his beard:

"Duke Yi only saw the surface."

Your Highness's plan is brilliant in that it uses someone else to do the dirty work. The Cui family dares not hold Your Highness responsible for this.

"In the matter at Qujiang Pool, Cui Hao was in the wrong from the start. If this were to escalate to the imperial court, the Qinghe Cui clan would be unable to bear the charges of assaulting the Grand Tutor and plotting to murder a prince."

Li Chengqian said with a smile:

"So that old fox Cui Mingan could only go with the flow and pin the blame on my good uncle."

After all, the money and grain were delivered to the Duke of Qi's mansion, and Changsun Chong was also present at the time.

"If this yellow mud falls into your crotch, even if it's not shit, it'll still look like shit."

Du Ruhui nodded in agreement:

"Indeed. The Duke of Qi previously attempted to unite the five surnames and seven noble families to challenge His Highness in court."

Now that these 100,000 strings of cash and 300,000 dan of grain have been delivered, the powerful families will only think that the Duke of Qi is a two-faced, treacherous, and treacherous villain. Tomorrow's grand court assembly is going to be quite a spectacle.

Qin Qiong said with some worry:

"Your Highness, the aristocratic officials will definitely band together to launch a counterattack at tomorrow's grand court assembly."

Although Changsun Wuji was tricked, he still had many disciples and former subordinates under his command.

If these two groups start fighting, things could get messy. And what about His Majesty's side...?"

"Father?"

Li Chengqian scoffed.

"Father is probably hiding in the Ganlu Palace, secretly enjoying himself right now."

The powerful families and Changsun Wuji were fighting like dogs, while he, as the emperor, could simply reap the benefits.

Li Chengqian walked to the corner of the secret room, where a box that Xiao Shunzi had carried in was placed.

"But it's no fun just watching them argue."

Li Chengqian chuckled and lifted the lid of the box.

"I prepared some little gadgets for Uncle Cheng and the others to keep them entertained."

Inside the box were a dozen or so palm-sized wooden mechanisms.

Qin Qiong curiously leaned closer, picked one up, and examined it carefully.

"Your Highness, what is this?"

Qin Qiong examined it from all angles; it looked like a miniature crossbow.

However, it lacked a bowstring, had a small hanging knife on the side, and a long, narrow wooden box on top.

"A great way to relieve boredom."

Li Chengqian casually made up a story.

"Standing for one or two hours at a time during court sessions is so boring."

Holding it in your hand and playing with it can exercise your fingers and may even help prevent dementia.

Qin Qiong was completely confused.

He fiddled with the wooden box on top and found that it contained several sharpened thin wooden sticks, only the thickness of toothpicks and no more than two inches long.

Out of his military instincts, Qin Qiong subconsciously aimed the mechanism at the wooden pillar in the distance of the secret room and gently tapped the hanging blade on the side.

"Whoosh!! Ding!!!"

A soft thud came from a wooden pillar in the distance.

Qin Qiong was stunned.

Du Ruhui was also stunned.

The two turned to look at the wooden pillar.

A thin piece of wood was embedded in the pillar, its end still trembling slightly.

"This...this is a toy?"

Qin Qiong looked at Li Chengqian in shock.

"Your Highness, this mechanism is incredibly ingenious. If it were made of iron, it could easily pierce leather armor within ten paces. This is clearly a concealed weapon for murder and robbery."

Du Ruhui walked to the pillar to examine the thin piece of wood that was stuck in it, and his expression changed accordingly.

"Your Highness, if this item falls into the hands of an assassin, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes speechlessly and snatched the mechanism from Qin Qiong's hand.

"Uncles, this is so mean. What nonsense about hidden weapons, it's all so rude."

As Li Chengqian spoke, he pulled the trigger on his sword a few more times.

With a few "whoosh" sounds, the remaining wooden sticks were all stuck into the pillar.

"This is called a miniature version of the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow. Its range is only about ten paces. The arrows are made of wood and can at most pierce a little skin; they can't even penetrate a thick piece of clothing."

Li Chengqian waved his hand dismissively.

"I was thinking that if Cui Mingan and my uncle got into a fight in court tomorrow, it might be the perfect opportunity."

Uncle Cheng and the others are getting so anxious just watching. Using this to add to the fun, maybe even making things worse, is so much fun!

Qin Qiong and Du Ruhui exchanged a glance, both seeing terror on each other's faces.

Why would you give something like this to Cheng Yaojin, that troublemaker who thrives on chaos?

Will the officials in the Taiji Hall have a good tomorrow?

"Your Highness, please reconsider."

Cheng Zhijie is a scoundrel who's never been serious. If you give him such a powerful weapon, he might just start shooting wildly in the Taiji Hall. What if he injures His Majesty...?

"You won't get hurt, don't worry."

Li Chengqian interrupted Du Ruhui directly.

"I've tried it. When it hits you, it feels like being stung by a wasp. It won't kill you."

Besides, I'm not giving them iron arrowheads. Alright, it's almost dawn, I need to arrange for someone to deliver these treasures to Uncle Cheng and the others.

Li Chengqian summoned Xiao Shunzi, gave him a few instructions, and Xiao Shunzi grabbed the wooden box and ran off in a flash.

In the secret room, only Qin Qiong and Du Ruhui remained, staring at each other blankly.

"Duke of Lai, should we get involved in this matter?"

Qin Qiong looked at Du Ruhui and asked.

Du Ruhui gave a bitter smile:

"Manage? How can you manage it? Your Highness has come up with all sorts of creative ways to manage it now."

Let's just pray that Cui Mingan and the Duke of Qi will exercise restraint during the grand court assembly. Otherwise...

Du Ruhui didn't continue, but Qin Qiong could already picture the chaotic scene.