Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4937 Headstrong and conceited
The atmosphere at the banquet was rather depressing, and the communication between people was a little cold.

Even if His Majesty Li II did not have such great achievements, his personality charm alone was enough to impress people with his words and deeds, and make people involuntarily approach him and be willing to get close to him. In this regard, Li Chengqian was far from enough.

Therefore, against the backdrop of the imprisonment of Prince Jin and the major case breaking out in Zhaoling, the atmosphere was not warm enough. The food was cold and the stews were bland even with the addition of fine wine. The banquet ended hastily before the hour of You.

Li Chengqian, the Queen, and the Crown Prince left their bedrooms and sent a message to Fang Jun, asking him to go to the Imperial Study, saying that they had something important to discuss...

Princess Qinghe did not leave, but stood aside with her hands behind her back, staring at Fang Jun.

Fang Jun then remembered his promise and stopped Princess Gaoyang who was about to go home first, "Go back and ask the steward to check the shops in the city to see how many fireworks are left, and send them all to His Highness Qinghe... and send some to Princess Ankang as well."

It would have been fine if Dugu Mou had not been there just now, as so many princesses had already sent some fireworks in advance. However, since they promised to give more to Princess Qinghe, they naturally had to give some to Dugu Mou as well, otherwise Dugu Mou would be unhappy...

Princess Gaoyang was stunned, and her beautiful eyes glanced at Princess Qinghe who was standing with her hands behind her back, then looked at her husband suspiciously... With so many princesses, why did she give Qinghe so much?

Is there something going on?
Princess Qinghe blinked and reacted quickly. She knew that Princess Gaoyang had misunderstood. She immediately blushed and took Princess Gaoyang's hand. She stamped her feet and said coquettishly, "Sister, what are you thinking about? My husband was chatting with Erlang and Prince Consort Dugu just now. He accidentally mentioned fireworks, and Erlang agreed to give me some to play with."

Princess Gaoyang curled her lips and said, "When you call Dugu Mou, it means Prince Consort Dugu, and when you call my husband, it means Erlang... So you are very close to my Erlang, right?
However, she was not a petty person who ignored the overall situation. She could not lose her temper in such a situation. She smiled and held Princess Qinghe's hand, teasing, "Why are you so nervous? Even if I don't trust my own husband, can I not trust you, sister?"

Princess Qinghe: “…”

Do I have to thank you?

On the side, Princess Baling and Princess Lanling passed by hand in hand. They glanced at Fang Jun, then looked at Princess Gaoyang, pursed their lips, and hurried away.

Princess Gaoyang: “…”

What's with that look in your eyes? Are you provoking me?

Her eyebrows slightly raised, and before she could say anything, Princess Qinghe had already pulled her out: "It's almost midnight, hurry up and ask someone to bring me fireworks, otherwise it will be too late."

"Humph!"

Princess Gaoyang snorted and followed Princess Qinghe.

……

Fang Jun heaved a sigh of relief, and when he turned around, he saw Princess Changle looking at him with a half-smile. He quickly smiled and was about to say hello, but Princess Changle's smile suddenly disappeared, her face cold and she turned and left...

Princess Chengyang, who happened to pass by, seemed to notice Fang Jun's embarrassment and smiled.

Fang Jun coughed dryly and scanned Princess Chengyang. "I heard that Du He has caught a cold and is feeling unwell. He didn't even show up at today's banquet. Could he be seriously ill? I'll come visit him another day."

Princess Chengyang's expression suddenly changed. She looked around nervously. Seeing that there was no one nearby, she breathed a sigh of relief, glared at Fang Jun, and left in a hurry.

Du He encountered a chaotic attack in a farm in the south of the city last year. Although he was lucky enough to save his life, he was frightened and fell ill. This year, he has been recuperating in a farm next to the royal villa in Mount Li and has not been at home at all. Fang Jun kept saying that he came to visit him. Was he visiting Du He or something else?
Given Fang Jun's reputation as a "good princess", Princess Chengyang didn't dare to respond, regardless of whether he was sincere or teasing...

……

There were only the emperor and his family in the imperial study. Li Chengqian was kneeling on a mat by the window. Outside the glass window was a bright and colorful courtyard. The empress, dressed in palace clothes and with pearls and jade on her head, was kneeling beside them, boiling water and making tea. The crown prince Li Xiang was sitting on the dragon throne behind the imperial desk, grinding and practicing calligraphy.

Fang Jun entered, greeted everyone, and then sat opposite Li Chengqian.

The Queen brewed some tea and placed it on the desks for both of them. Her profile was extremely beautiful under the candlelight, with picturesque features, delicate eyebrows, and hair as sharp as a knife. She had a slender, white neck, and her hair was covered with pearls and jade.

The subtle fragrance of tea and the slightly thick powder blend together to create a refreshing aroma...

Fang Jun took a sip of tea and asked respectfully, "I wonder if your majesty has summoned me for any instructions?"

Li Chengqian said bluntly: "You have people hiding in the East Palace, which can indeed better protect the prince, but now the thieves have not yet launched an attack. If those people hide for a long time, I am afraid that they will damage the reputation of the East Palace."

Even though the prince is still young and has not yet married, the palace is deep and any bad rumors may tarnish the royal reputation.

Queen Su raised her eyes and looked towards Fang Jun, with some worry and expectation in her eyes.

For a mother, the safety of the prince is at stake, so she doesn't care about anything else. As long as the prince is in the slightest danger, she is willing to let those students in the academy remain in hiding.

But His Majesty obviously doesn't think so, and the only one who can change His Majesty's mind is Fang Jun.

Fang Jun hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, you can see clearly that the thieves have ulterior motives and are extremely rebellious. They will definitely not give up their rebellion easily. Moreover, the Zhaoling case involves a wide range of people, and many royal family members are involved and should be executed according to the law. How can they just sit there and wait for death? Your Majesty is surrounded by many guards and is safe. The thieves will definitely set their sights on the crown prince. At the very least, they can use this to threaten Your Majesty to give in. We must be on guard."

Li Chengqian shook his head, "I don't think so. The Zhaoling case was earth-shattering. I am the son of Emperor Taizong and Empress Wende. I dare not give in under any circumstances. Otherwise, it would be unfilial. Anyone involved in the case must be dealt with according to the laws of the country and the rules of the family. Those who deserve to be beheaded will be beheaded, and those who deserve to be exiled will be exiled. I will never compromise. The royal family has long known my attitude, so why would they try to coerce me?"

After a pause, he said with a stern expression: "Let's take a step back. Even if the thieves succeed by chance and use the crown prince to force me to compromise, I will never give in on this matter!"

For a long time, "indecisive" has been almost synonymous with his label. People's first evaluation of him is that he is "irresponsible", cowardly, and not decisive enough. So this time he will let the world see how tough he can be.

It also lets the world know his bottom line.

Fang Jun frowned, somewhat incomprehensible: "Your Majesty, as the ruler of a country, how can you act on impulse? If you follow the law, I'm afraid every family in the royal family will be in mourning, and it's not an exaggeration to say that the world is turned upside down! Your Majesty should take this opportunity to divide and win over the royal family, isolate those who are disloyal, gain the support of the majority, and then firmly control the royal family."

The butchers in the market can take revenge and the knights in the Five Tombs can do whatever they want, but the emperor cannot.

The emperor's authority comes from the support of the people, and the underlying foundation is the political system.

In fact, the political system does not care about fairness and justice, but only about interests. The interests are distributed layer by layer according to class. This is the system. When the powerful occupy the top of the interest distribution, it is feudalism. Those who entrench themselves above and exploit those below are capitalism. Those who strive to distribute the benefits to every civilian are socialism.

All wars in the world are basically linked to interests.

The underlying logic behind every war is the redistribution of interests...

Therefore, what the emperor needs to consider is the distribution of benefits, rather than the so-called fairness and justice.

When you are the only one sitting on top of an empire, overlooking all living things and enjoying the wealth created by hundreds of millions of people, how can you talk about fairness and justice?

A qualified emperor should be a complete political figure.

And politics is the art of compromise.

If you don’t know how to compromise, what’s the point of talking about politics?
Li Chengqian just couldn't listen, shook his head and said: "A real man has things he shouldn't do and things he must do. If I can't bring those who desecrated the imperial mausoleum to justice, I'd be ashamed to be a son!"

Queen Su lowered her head to pour tea, her pretty face calm, but her beautiful eyes could not hide her inner worry.

Your Majesty's move is to force those royal family members to take risks and fight to the death...

Fang Jun was somewhat helpless. He had already noticed the paranoia and stubbornness in Li Chengqian's character. This might be the result of his long-term suppression and his complete release after ascending the throne as emperor, a transformation from one extreme to another.

To continue advising him would be tactless and would not only be of no help, but would cause the rift between them to become deeper and deeper.

Fang Jun took a sip of tea and nodded, "If so, the 'Shenjiying' lurking in the East Palace can be withdrawn, but to be on the safe side, we might as well wait until after the fifth day of the first lunar month, which will only take about three to five days."

From the beginning of the New Year to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the royal family and the court held a series of activities, most of which were sacrificial ceremonies. However, after the fifth day, the scale and density of various activities were greatly reduced. There were fewer people in Chang'an who had excuses to move around, and the danger was naturally reduced accordingly.

Although Li Chengqian was still dissatisfied, feeling that as the emperor he could not even make the decision on the guard force of the Eastern Palace, he also knew that Fang Jun was already giving in. If he insisted on his own opinion, this idiot might get angry.

This guy is really foolish, he is really a little scared...

"That's fine. Erlang has always been prudent in his work. I will listen to your advice, but... 'Shenjiying'?"

It was the first time he heard this name. There had never been such a number in the military sequence of the Tang Dynasty.

Fang Jun smiled and said, "I was just joking. Those who are now lurking in the East Palace to protect the prince's safety are all outstanding students of the academy. They are young and have a strong ability to accept new things. They are also the first unit to be fully equipped with firearms, so they are called the 'Shenji Camp'."