Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5004: Resist to the End
Dou Dexuan received the news from Wannian County, and immediately bathed, changed his clothes, and took a carriage to Chengtian Gate to request an audience. After being allowed to enter the palace, he was led by the eunuchs to Wude Hall. He walked around the main hall and arrived outside the imperial study in a side hall. He heard a heart-wrenching howl. When he got closer, he saw that Li Yun, the prince of Jiang, was being beaten with a military stick on a wooden stool beside the door...

Dou Dexuan's heart sank and he sighed secretly.

He walked quickly to the front of the hall, and the eunuch at the door took him directly into the imperial study without informing him.

The rain was drizzling, and the light in the imperial study was dim. Dou Dexuan did not dare to look up, and went directly to the imperial desk, bowed and saluted: "Your humble servant Dou Dexuan, I am here to see Your Majesty."

A soft and gentle voice sounded from behind the imperial desk: "My dear minister, there is no need to be polite. Please stand up quickly. Someone, please give me a seat and serve me tea."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Dou Dexuan took two steps back and sat sideways on a chair. Only then did he get used to the light in the imperial study. He looked up and saw Li Chengqian sitting behind the imperial desk with a smile on his face and a kind attitude, while Li Junxian was standing on one side.

The eunuch brought the fragrant tea, Dou Dexuan took it with both hands, but did not drink it and put it on the coffee table beside him.

Dou Dexuan pondered for a moment, and seeing that His Majesty did not speak, he said, "Your Majesty, I am here..."

As soon as he said this, he saw Li Chengqian waving his hands behind the imperial desk, looking helpless: "Brother, are you here for Huai Rang's matter?"

Dou Yi, the general of the cavalry of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the chief minister of the imperial court, the senior general, the great general, and the Duke of Shenwu, had a daughter who married Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, and became the Empress Dowager Taimu. The youngest son, Dou Zhao, gave birth to Dou Yan, who had six sons. The fourth son, Dou Dexuan...

Therefore, Li Chengqian and Dou Dexuan are of the same generation.

As for Dou Dexuan’s son Dou Huairang, he is not of the same generation as Princess Jinyang... The royal family has never cared about seniority, they only care about interests.

The reason why Li Chengqian agreed to the Dou family's proposal of marriage was that, on the one hand, Princess Jinyang was getting older and if he delayed any further he might not find a good match; on the other hand, the Dou family was once the backbone of Guanlong. Although it has gradually declined in recent years, it has many descendants and a deep foundation. He could use the Dou family to win over the remnants of Guanlong and use them for his own purposes.

Dou Dexuan was a little depressed by the dominance of Li Chengqian, so he could only nod and say, "Your Majesty, I came here for this matter. My son is naughty and had a conflict with His Royal Highness Prince Jiang in the examination room, disrupting the order of the examination room. It is really wrong, but..."

"Eh!"

Being interrupted again, Li Chengqian pointed outside with a guilty look on his face: "Brother, why are you talking like this? Although Li Yun is my brother, his behavior is unforgivable, so I pushed him outside and gave him 20 strokes of the cane as a punishment. However, this matter has not been abandoned. As a result, Huai Rang was disqualified from the imperial examination for three years. This is really not right. It is inevitable that you are angry. You only need to tell me how to deal with him. I will never cover up for him!"

Dou Dexuan: “…”

My words are blocked, what else can I say?
If a prince was beaten in public and he was still not satisfied, wouldn't that mean he was harboring resentment towards the royal family?
But the reason I came to see the emperor was not to punish King Jiang...

After pondering it over, he felt that he had to make things clear today, otherwise there would be endless troubles in the future. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and ignore the repeated warnings from His Majesty. He lowered his head and sighed, "Some minor conflicts between relatives are nothing. Your Highness and my son are both at fault in this matter. Your Majesty just needs to give them a warning. There is really no need to make a big fuss. On the contrary, my son has neither intelligence nor calmness. He originally thought that he could excel in the imperial examination and make a difference in his official career, but in the end, he lacks talent and is impatient. He is really not worthy of Princess Jinyang... Your Majesty, this marriage has not yet begun. Why not call it a day?"

The news reported back by the family members in Wannian County was that Prince Jiang intervened temporarily before the exam and changed seats to sit next to Dou Huairang. This was obviously aimed at Dou Huairang, but Dou Huairang and Prince Jiang had no grudges against each other and they didn't even have much contact. What was the reason that made Prince Jiang target him like this?

After thinking for a long time in the mansion, the father and son discussed repeatedly, and finally had to admit Dou Huairang's point of view: Fang Jun was behind this matter, and the cause was that the Dou family wanted to marry Princess Jinyang...

As a result, Dou's father and son were naturally confused and frightened.

Although His Majesty has the support after the marriage, because His Majesty wants to use the Dou family to integrate the remaining power of the Guanlong clan, but who is Fang Jun? Once Fang Jun is hostile, even His Majesty will protect the father and son of the Dou family!
No matter how arrogant Dou Dexuan was, he would not dare to compare himself to Qiu Xinggong, who once held military power and had great authority. Since Qiu Shenji could die in an unclear and miserable way, how could Dou Huairang have a good ending?

So after the father and son discussed it, Dou Dexuan entered the palace and took this opportunity to cancel the marriage proposal. Even if it might cause dissatisfaction to His Majesty, they had to do so...

Li Chengqian was in a headache. Could it be that this girl couldn't get married?
But no matter how difficult it was for her to marry him, she was still his, Li Chengqian's sister, the daughter of Emperor Taizong. She was of noble descent and a royal family. How could she be so humble?

Then he smiled and said, "In a marriage, the most important thing is to be in love with each other. If you are unwilling, then let's forget it. Huairang is a young man with a bright future. I hope he can find a wife of his dreams and become a pillar of the empire."

Dou Dexuan opened his mouth, wanting to say something but unable to. He knew that he had angered the emperor. From now on, unless Dou Huairang did something extraordinary, his future would be bleak and it would be difficult for him to get promoted.

But he was really in a dilemma. If he married Princess Jinyang, he would offend Fang Jun. With that man's vicious and cruel style, Dou Huairang's life would be in danger. If he canceled the marriage proposal, he would offend His Majesty, and Dou Huairang's career would be hopeless...

I feel both anger and regret in my heart.

Princess Jinyang is beautiful, intelligent, and doted on by His Majesty and all the princes. She should have been the object of public scramble for attention by all the princesses, but people in the court and the public avoided her as much as possible and no one was interested in her. How could I be so obsessed with her that I thought I could get such a great bargain?

"I am so unlucky that I don't have the chance to marry His Highness Jinyang. I feel really ashamed."

"Brother, don't worry. Marriage is a matter of fate. If it hasn't happened yet, what else can we say? When you go back, urge Huairang to concentrate on his studies. In three years, he will pass the imperial examination and make a name for himself!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will take my leave for now."

"Don't worry, brother. This matter ends here."

"Here."

Dou Dexuan's mouth was bitter. What did he mean by stop here? Even if His Majesty really had no intention of revenge, in the future, whenever Dou Huairang appeared in front of His Majesty or even just heard Dou Huairang's name, he would think of the hatred of canceling the marriage proposal today. How could Dou Huairang have a future?

……

By the time Dou Dexuan left, the twenty beatings with military sticks outside had already been completed. Li Chengqian ordered his men to carry Li Yun in. Looking at Li Yun's buttocks, which were covered in blood and torn, Li Chengqian's face was gloomy and he shouted, "Do you think that you can let this go after being beaten with military sticks? Dream on! Just tell the truth, otherwise you will be punished even more severely!"

Li Yun cried out in pain until his voice became hoarse. His face was pale and he was dying. He said weakly, "Your Majesty, this is the truth. I have not concealed anything."

Li Chengqian snorted and said, "You went to so much trouble to bribe the officials of Wannian County to change the examination room and seats just to sabotage Dou Huairang's exam?"

"Indeed."

"You still dare to quibble?!"

"I don't dare."

Looking at Li Yun who was still refusing to let go, Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Come here, heal King Jiang's wound."

He then said to Wang De, the chief eunuch standing by, "Go check whether the maids and eunuchs around Princess Jinyang have gone out in the past two days. If so, arrest them and interrogate them to find out where they went, who they met, and what they did!"

"Here!"

Wang De walked out of the imperial study quickly.

Li Yun's face changed drastically. He didn't dare to look directly at Li Chengqian, his eyes flickered and his gaze wandered...

"Humph!"

Li Chengqian snorted angrily, there was indeed a problem!
"If you confess now, I may let you off the hook. If you wait until I find out, you will be severely punished!"

Li Yun was dejected and resisted to the end.

If His Majesty really finds out, he will bear the consequences, but he cannot betray Princess Jinyang...

Seeing his expression, Li Chengqian became even more angry: "Okay, okay, Your Highness King Jiang values ​​brotherly love and loyalty, right? You are really great, a role model for the royal family! Wait for me to find out the truth, and don't regret it!"

"Ouch! It hurts, it hurts, old doctor, please be gentler!"

Li Yun simply closed his eyes and screamed.

……

There were only a few eunuchs and palace maids around Princess Jinyang, so it was not difficult to find out some problems. Wang De came back quickly, leaned close to Li Chengqian's ear, and reported in a low voice.

After hearing this, Li Chengqian slapped the table and waited for Li Yun to say, "The maidservant beside Jinyang sent you a letter. What did the letter say?"

Li Yun knew he couldn't deny it, so he simply closed his eyes and stiffened his neck: "This matter was done by me alone. Your Majesty wants to punish me and I will accept it. It has nothing to do with others."

Li Chengqian said angrily: "The facts are there, and you still dare to deny it? You said it was done by one person, I think you are in collusion and deceiving the emperor!"

The one who beat him was Li Yun, and the one who instigated it was Jin Yang. However, how to deal with Dou Huairang in the examination hall was not something these two people could control. How could Xu Jingzong, a veteran of three dynasties and a meritorious official of Zhenguan, accept the instructions of these two people? Considering that Fang Jun was beside Xu Jingzong at the time, the reason why Xu Jingzong dealt with Dou Huairang so harshly is obvious...

The bastard Fang Er is still harboring evil intentions towards Jinyang!

Whenever someone proposed marriage to Jinyang, this guy would interfere. Did he really want Jinyang to remain single for the rest of her life, become a nun, and have an affair with him secretly and live together with him?
Outrageous!

"Someone, quickly order Fang Jun to come to the palace to meet the emperor!"

In a rage, Li Chengqian planned to call Fang Jun into the palace to explain the matter clearly, but he did not send anyone to call Princess Jinyang.

What can I say if I call you over?

All that girl had to do was act coquettishly and act naughty, and he, as her brother, would become soft-hearted and helpless...