The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 1090: Eastern Palace (Part )
Cen Wenben looked at the training ground and said quickly, "Your Majesty, don't worry. According to my observation, at most ten acres of land can be cultivated here. It is already autumn now, and the real sowing will not start until the spring ploughing in February tomorrow."

"There are still four or five months left, and during this time we just need to nourish the land."

"Your Highness only needs to spend one or two hours a day on these ten acres of land. There is no need to rush. It will not delay your daily studies or the errands assigned by His Majesty. Otherwise, His Majesty will not assign you errands."

Haitang was relieved after hearing this: "In that case, I will not delay Master Cen from delivering the order. Xiang'er is right there, Master, you can go by yourself."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I'll take my leave." Cen Wenben bowed again and walked towards the parade ground.

After Cen Wenben left the two of them for a distance, Hou Junji no longer had any scruples and immediately said dissatisfiedly: "Haitang, Cen Wenben is an important official in the court. He is valued by the emperor and was appointed as the prince's tutor, responsible for teaching Xiang'er."

"You should be trying to win him over, why are you being so disrespectful to him?"

"Dad, you know that Cen Wenben is Li Ke's man."

Haitang's face darkened as she complained, "Li Ke once fought with the emperor for the throne. He has been fighting with us openly and secretly since the ninth year of Wude. He even wanted to take advantage of my daughter. You know that."

"Li Ke is Li Ke, and Cen Wenben is Cen Wenben."

Hou Junji frowned and said, "In terms of talent and learning alone, Cen Wenben is one of the best in the court. He is highly trusted by the retired emperor and is also valued by the current emperor, who is in charge of the Secretariat. If we bring him over, Xiang'er's position in the court will be more stable."

"That's what he said, but he is too loyal to Li Ke."

Haitang looked at the figure talking to her son in the distance and said worriedly, "You told me that Cen Wenben had been lurking under Li Tai for more than ten years just to help Li Ke get rid of a powerful enemy. His determination and scheming are far beyond the reach of ordinary people."

"Now that he has come to the East Palace again, I can't control him. Who knows what he is thinking?"

Hou Junji shook his head with a wry smile, not expecting that his daughter's vigilance was due to his own contribution, so he advised her.

"You don't have to worry about it. Since the emperor has appointed him as the prince's tutor, he is naturally not afraid of him causing trouble. Why are you worried?"

After thinking for a while, Hou Junji looked around and said, "After the Wei Wang incident, Cen Wenben's double-dealing scheme became known, and his reputation in the court has been ruined. If the emperor does not take action, he will definitely return to the Wu Wang."

"The centipede is dead but not stiff."

"In addition to his own outstanding abilities, Cen Wenben has the support of the Jiangnan nobles and some old ministers of the previous dynasty. What a powerful force this is! Once he is determined to join the King of Wu again, the King of Wu will become a great concern for the emperor."

"The emperor personally recruited him with good intentions, precisely to appease the people and quietly dismantle Li Ke's foundation."

"This move will not only weaken the power of the King of Wu, but also attract such a powerful and heavyweight figure to increase our own strength. It is really killing two birds with one stone."

At this point, Hou Junji lowered his voice and said, "Moreover, according to my observation, after Lord Fang stepped down, the emperor still wanted Cen Wenben to check and balance Lord Changsun. This is related to the overall situation in the court. You must not ruin the emperor's plan."

"What? Lord Zhangsun is the emperor's uncle. Doesn't the emperor even trust him?" Haitang said in surprise.

"In my opinion, even if the emperor trusts a minister, there must be limits."

Hou Junji scolded her without any hesitation, looking at Haitang's expression of being short-sighted. Then he looked at the palaces stacked in the distance, and said with a look of fear: "Power lies in balance. Lord Changsun is now in charge of the Shangshu Province alone, which is three times more powerful than Lord Fang in the past."

"But the prestige and power of your majesty today are far inferior to that of the former emperor."

"Plus, with the Empress Dowager in charge of the Daming Palace, some people in the court have been saying privately that if things continue like this, the Tang Dynasty will be ruled by the Changsun family."

Haitang was shocked when she heard these secrets of the imperial court. After a moment of thought, deep worry suddenly appeared on her face. "Dad, you are the one who can see clearly. I didn't realize that the Changsun family has grown to this extent without anyone noticing."

"It really needs to be suppressed, otherwise it will lead to disaster sooner or later."

Hou Junji then said, "So when you asked daddy to advise Lord Changsun to serve as the crown prince's tutor some time ago, daddy strictly stopped it. Not only that, you should distance yourself from Lord Changsun and stay away from him as much as possible."

"Think about it, the Changsun family is already too powerful. If they are allowed to get involved with the Eastern Palace, the political situation will really be unbalanced."

"This is definitely not a good thing for Lord Changsun."

"The Emperor asked Cen Wenben, who was at odds with Zhangsun Wuji, to come to the East Palace to strengthen Cen Wenben's power. He also asked me to temporarily withdraw from the court. All of this was done to achieve a balance of power in the court."

"Lord Changsun obviously felt uneasy, so he didn't stop it. Besides, he rarely came to the East Palace because he was afraid of offending the emperor."

Haitang had never expected that during this period of time, under the peaceful court, there were so many undercurrents. She was frightened and a little overwhelmed. Suddenly, she heard something that was closely related to her and suddenly asked, "What, Daddy, the emperor asked you to leave the court, how come I didn't know?"

"Are there still many things you don't know?"

Hou Junji glanced at his daughter with a displeased expression: "You have been married into the royal family for more than ten years, but you are still as naive as you were back then. You are not suitable for life in the palace at all. As a father, I and the emperor, as a husband, have to bear all these hardships."

"Let you and your son live in peace."

"How wonderful it is for you. You have been living in peace these days, but you have been thinking nonsense all day long and constantly causing trouble for us!"

When Haitang heard this, a blush appeared on her delicate and fair face, and she said awkwardly: "Daddy, my daughter..."

"Okay, there's no need to say those polite words. This is what we should do."

Hou Junji sighed: "Don't worry about the affairs of the court, just take care of the harem. The situation in the court has been too serious recently. Under the surface, it seems calm, but I don't know how fierce the fighting is in secret."

"Didn't you see that it has only been a short time and a princess has died?"

"Chu Heng, the Jingzhao Yin, a senior third-rank official, was dragged down from the imperial court and thrown into the prison. He is probably in great danger. There are also so many fourth- and fifth-rank officials who have been exiled to the local areas. This shows how dire the situation is."

"The emperor asked me to withdraw temporarily for my own good, so as not to let me get involved."

Haitang's face turned pale instantly and she felt panicked. Isn't that right?

In just a few days, a princess, a third-rank minister, and so many fourth- and fifth-rank officials were killed. Isn't this serious?
Haitang looked worried: "Daddy, what about you?"

"Don't worry, Daddy is fine. You can see that Daddy is still holding the post of General of the Left Guard and is recovering at home. He can return to the court at any time."

Hou Junji looked at his daughter lovingly and said with a smile: "Daddy didn't tell you this because he didn't want you to worry. I'm telling you some things now so that you can have an idea and don't act recklessly."

"You are the queen. You should have some understanding of the situation in the court and be a good wife to the emperor."

"The emperor is in charge of the overall situation. You just need to obey his orders. Our emperor is not a weak person. He is a wise and wise emperor who can hold up the sky. He is not inferior to the emperor in any aspect. We don't need to worry about him at all."

"With him here, the Tang Dynasty will never be overturned!"

Hou Junji stroked his beard and smiled. He was really not worried at all. As for the powerful Turkic Khanate in the north, its biggest external threat was its friends rather than its enemies. What other internal problems could there be? Even the noble families could not cause any big waves.

It's nothing more than a matter of how the emperor solves it.
Haitang did not have the confidence of her father, and her eyes were filled with worry. "Dad, don't be careless. Cheng Qian was always weak-willed. He may have gained some experience in these sixteen years of wandering outside. How can he be a match for those old foxes in the court?"

"You should be more careful and don't let him get bullied?"

"cough cough"

Hou Junji suddenly felt that a daughter who is married off is like water spilled. He was not so worried about his own father just now. Now asking him to protect Li Chengqian is no less than asking a wolf to guard a tiger. Who is protecting whom?
"Okay, Dad knows all about these things."

Hou Junji turned to look at Cen Wenben who was happily chatting with Li Xiang in the training ground, and told his daughter: "Mr. Cen is the teacher appointed by the emperor himself to teach Xiang'er. You should also respect your teacher and don't act like the queen. It is the right thing to do to maintain a good relationship with him."

"We are all family, so stop quarreling among ourselves and causing trouble for the Emperor!"

"Humph, I feel unfair when I mention this. Daddy, you were injured in the assassination, and Hou Gui also died on the spot. It's such a big assassination case, and it's obvious that the King of Wu is involved. It's just a good opportunity to deal with him. Why didn't the emperor mention it?"

Haitang was still a little indignant and said, "As long as Li Ke is not overthrown, I will not be at peace. I am afraid that Cen Benwen will also miss his old master. Father, why don't we find some people and submit some memorials to remind His Majesty."

"Otherwise, I will talk to His Majesty in person."

"No, this is an important matter in the court. Don't interfere blindly. You will only make the emperor unhappy."

When Hou Junji saw that the emperor did not mention this matter, he knew that the other party had seen through the trick here. He used the excuse of dealing with Hou Gui to divert the trouble to the east, and it was up to the emperor whether to use it or not.

The emperor's mind was unfathomable. Although he did not order a thorough investigation, he did not clear Li Ke's name either.

If it's hanging there, it means there are other plans. How to deal with it is not something you can control.

(End of this chapter)