Tiantang Splendid

His Majesty, who should have curbed Fang Jun's power, agreed to let Zheng Rentai serve as Li Ji's assistant. However, Fang Jun, who was served by Zheng Rentai, strongly opposed it regardless of His Majesty's dignity... When such a scene appeared in the court, the ministers had different thoughts.

Li Chengqian suppressed his displeasure and said slowly, "What do you think is wrong with this?"

Fang Jun seemed unaware of the emperor's dissatisfaction, and said slowly: "Zheng of Xingyang contributed manpower and effort in the Jin Prince's mutiny, and was rebellious. Your Majesty's not pursuing them is already a mercy beyond the law. If you do not punish them for their mistakes, or even promote them to higher positions, what a shame it would be for those soldiers who died in the battle to protect Your Majesty? Your Majesty's equal heart is praised by the world, but rewarding merits and punishing faults is the most basic responsibility."

Then he glanced at Li Chengqian, whose face was livid, and continued, "The original intention of the military reform was to separate the relationship between the army and the aristocratic families. As the head of the Zheng family in Xingyang, Zheng Rentai will definitely work hard for the interests of his family. We can take advantage of his rich experience, but we cannot allow him to infiltrate the 'committee' and stir up trouble. Otherwise, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"

The ministers remained silent, shocked in their hearts.

Fang Jun has always been Li Chengqian's most steadfast and loyal supporter. Even when facing the pressure from Emperor Taizong, he never changed his position. Even when all his official positions were stripped away, he still maintained his support for Li Chengqian.

The death of Emperor Taizong caused great shock to the court and the country. The two military rebellions by Guanlong and Prince of Jin were both just one step away from overthrowing the imperial power and dooming Li Chengqian. It was Fang Jun who fought bravely and turned the tide.

After Li Chengqian ascended the throne, he trusted Fang Jun and listened to his advice, and his favor to him was unmatched.

The relationship between the ruler and his subjects is harmonious, and the inside and outside are consistent. Many people believe that this will become a good story.

But is this a complete split now?
If Fang Jun's firm support is lost, the throne will be shaken in an instant. Don't forget that even today, the royal family has not fully recognized Li Chengqian's throne, and many people still express their desire for the throne openly or secretly...

If I break up with Fang Jun at this time, wouldn't that be like destroying my own Great Wall?

Besides, His Majesty is so supportive of Zheng Rentai, doesn't it mean that Zheng Rentai has already become His Majesty's man? On the surface, Zheng Rentai and Fang Jun have deep interests, which will naturally push Zheng Rentai to the top, but now that this is going on, I'm afraid Fang Jun will turn around and strangle Zheng Rentai to death...

It's really unwise.

Li Chengqian looked angry and glanced at Fang Jun. He stopped arguing as it would be disgraceful.

Liu Li slightly rebuked: "Duke Yue is a little emotional. Why is it so? Even if we have different opinions, we should discuss them with each other instead of being so arbitrary."

He was also helpless. He privately reached an agreement with Zheng Rentai to be loyal to His Majesty and entered the Ministry of War as an "internal response". However, after His Majesty did this, who didn't know that Zheng Rentai had surrendered to the emperor? It's no wonder that Fang Jun strongly opposed it. Who would let a "spy" be on an equal footing with himself?
Fang Jun seemed to feel that his open argument with Li Chengqian was inappropriate and that he had failed to fulfill his duty as a minister, so he nodded and said, "Your Majesty, please do not blame me. I know my crime. Since Your Majesty prefers Zheng Rentai, I will obey your order."

Li Chengqian still had a bad expression on his face.

Is this a concession?

This is not about competing with him as an emperor. It is not for the sake of his reputation as an emperor, but for the so-called duty of being a minister.

Haha, this is the so-called loyal minister and good general. How can they be loyal to the emperor at all?

*****
"boom!"

After the court meeting, Li Chengqian returned to his bedroom, took a shower, changed his clothes, and drank a few sips of tea. The anger in his heart was still there, and he threw the teacup to the ground.

The exquisite white porcelain teacup was shattered into pieces.

Wang De, the chief eunuch standing by, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, calm down. Everything is just a matter of negotiation. You should put your health first."

Seeing that Li Chengqian had a gloomy face and didn't speak, he turned around and signaled several palace maids to clean up the floor.

The young palace maids had rarely seen the "benevolent" Majesty so angry, and they were trembling with fear. They squatted on the ground to pick up the broken porcelain pieces. If they were not careful, the sharp fragments would cut their fingers, and blood would flow.

Li Chengqian became even more angry when he saw this. He slapped the coffee table beside him and shouted, "Blood is evil. Do you want to bring evil upon me? Drag him out and beat him to death!"

"Your Majesty, spare your life! Your Majesty, spare your life!"

The little palace maid was so frightened that she could only kneel on the ground, kowtow and beg for mercy.

Wang De couldn't bear it, so he said cautiously: "Your Majesty, maybe you can punish him with ten strokes of the cane and send him to exile..."

Li Chengqian suddenly raised his head, staring at Wang De, and shouted, "How dare you! As the ruler of a country, don't I even have the power to punish two palace maids who made mistakes? Do you two take me, the emperor, seriously?"

Wang De was so frightened that he trembled and dared not say anything. He bowed and pleaded guilty: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I will punish you right away."

They came to the door and called in the guards standing outside, and dragged the two little palace maids out. The little palace maids were so frightened that they collapsed, dragging themselves forward on the ground with no strength left, shouting for mercy, tears streaming down their faces, and their cries were shrill.

"What's going on?"

A gentle voice sounded, and Queen Su walked in from outside. She was wearing a crimson palace dress. The snow-white collar set off her slender head and swan neck. Her figure was graceful and well-proportioned. Her cloud-like hair was piled into a bun and her head was full of pearls and jade. She was a natural beauty, graceful and elegant.

The two maids seemed to have seen a savior. They struggled to break free from the guards’ hands, rushed forward and grabbed the queen’s skirt tightly, crying, “I know I’m wrong, please save me, madam!”

The queen was slightly stunned, looked around the room, and asked, "What happened?"

When Wang De saw the queen coming, he was happy at first, thinking that the two palace maids should be saved, but then his heart sank and he hurried forward and said, "Reporting to the queen, these two maids were careless and offended Your Majesty. Their crimes are unforgivable. I will take them out right away."

He shouted at the two guards standing by with their hands down, "What are you still standing there for? If you offend the Empress, you will all be punished! Block their mouths and drag them out."

"Here!"

Two guards rushed forward, covered the maid's mouth with one hand, held her under the armpit with the other, and walked out quickly.

"stop!"

The Queen shouted at the two guards and turned to look at Li Chengqian, whose face was livid. Her eyebrows slightly furrowed, "Your Majesty, what unforgivable crime did these two palace maids commit?"

Li Chengqian looked deep and silent.

The queen looked at Wang De.

Wang De had no choice but to explain in a low voice. At the end, he looked at the queen and whispered, "These two maids are indeed suspected of causing trouble. I will take them away to execute them."

The Emperor and the Empress had quarreled many times before, and Your Majesty has not slept in the same bed with the Empress for many days. It would be unnecessary for Your Majesty to be angered by two palace maids and cause the rift between the couple to deepen.

The queen understood Wang De's look, but didn't take it seriously.

She was born into a prominent family and was influenced by the story of Empress Wende when she was waiting to be married. She was determined to become a virtuous woman who could advise her husband. When she married the crown prince and became the crown princess, she understood how to lead by example. As a wife, she should not blindly follow her husband, but should speak out and advise him when he made mistakes.

The queen took a few steps forward and said gently, "Your Majesty has always been kind and benevolent. How can you abuse the palace maids because of a small mistake? In this peaceful and prosperous era, with good governance and harmonious people, your Majesty's good name will surely be recorded in the history books. If you let a small flaw in the white jade be caused by a small act of violence, wouldn't that be a loss of the big picture for the small?"

The emperor is the ruler of the world and rich, so he should be broad-minded and benevolent. How could he take out his anger on innocent people just because he was offended outside?

This is honest advice.

But Li Chengqian has now fallen into a dilemma. His imperial power has been challenged and his dignity has suffered a blow. This has made him shocked, angry and lost his composure. He was refuted in public by ministers in the outer court and lost face. Now he has returned to the bedroom and wants to punish the two palace maids who made mistakes, but they stand up one by one to accuse him?
Especially the Queen's words of consolation. Under normal circumstances, he might have listened to them, but now he found them extremely irritating.

What does it mean to torture palace maids?

The prosperous and peaceful era with stable government and harmonious people was ruined by a tiny flaw because of this emperor?
Is this what his wife said?
This is slander and insult that only enemies would commit!

Li Chengqian's eyes were cold and his tone was chilling: "From the beginning to the end, all of you thought that I couldn't be a good emperor. Even though I sit on the throne today, you still continue to doubt and slander me. You either treat me as a puppet or as a waste... So, do you want to teach me how to be an emperor?"

The queen's heart trembled, she looked at her husband in disbelief, and opened her red lips slightly: "I am just giving advice, why is your majesty so angry? When three people walk together, there must be a teacher among them. Even the saints know that no one is perfect and they need to learn all the time. Why is your majesty so conceited? Emperor Yang of Sui refused to listen to advice and was stubborn and self-willed, which led to the death of the second emperor of the Sui Dynasty. Now your majesty refuses to listen to advice. Do you want to repeat the same mistake?"

"presumptuous!"

Li Chengqian's eyes widened with anger. He stood up and slapped the queen hard in the face.

Snapped!
A crisp slapping sounded in the room, and the queen's delicate body fell to the ground...

Everyone was stunned and it took them a while to react. The guards and palace maids were so frightened that they knelt on the ground with their heads bowed, not daring to look up. Wang De shouted, "Your Majesty, please calm down," and threw himself on the ground, trying to help the queen up, but found that the queen's eyes were closed and her whole body was limp as mud. She had already passed out.

Wang De was so frightened that his soul left his body and he shouted, "Imperial Physician, call the Imperial Physician!"

There was a eunuch outside the door who quickly ran to the Imperial Medical Bureau...

Li Chengqian was stunned, and his hand that hit the person trembled subconsciously. He did not expect that he would lose control in his rage and slap the queen.

He felt regretful in his heart, for this was his wife who had accompanied him through the most difficult and dark days. When he was oppressed by his brothers, despised by his father, and mocked by his ministers, it was his wife who was by his side to comfort and support him. The couple supported each other and walked out of the haze.

Today, he is an emperor, rich and powerful, but he hit her out of a moment of anger...

He wanted to go forward and help the queen up, but he couldn't save his face. Seeing that Wang De had already summoned the imperial physician, he thought it would not be a serious matter, so he snorted coldly and left with his hands behind his back.

The entire Tai Chi Palace was in chaos.