The Fierce Teacher of Zhenguan: Starting with Teaching the Crown Prince to Make a Comeback

Chapter 35 I refuse to believe he can keep pretending forever!

Li Yichen began to analyze the situation meticulously, like a skilled physician opening up potential wounds in advance so that the patient could be prepared.

"First, they will attack His Highness's private morality. They will use the past incident of 'Chengxin' as a pretext to criticize His Highness's moral character and his inability to serve as a role model for the Crown Prince. They may even make far-fetched accusations that His Highness has homosexual tendencies, thereby completely ruining His Highness's reputation."

Li Chengqian was breathing rapidly, his eyes burning with rage.

"Secondly, they will accuse Your Highness of associating with the wrong people. They will focus on mentioning Prince Han, Li Yuanchang, and Hou Junji. Prince Han is Your Majesty's half-brother, and there is long-standing resentment between them. Hou Junji is stubborn, greedy, and tyrannical, and there is evidence of this. They will say that Your Highness is too close to such people, that you have ulterior motives, are forming cliques for personal gain, and are plotting treason. This is the most insidious tactic, directly targeting Your Majesty's greatest taboo."

Li Chengqian was sweating profusely. He was indeed quite close to Prince Li Yuanchang of Han, and they often feasted and went on excursions together, complaining about things in the palace.

"Thirdly, they will criticize His Highness for being disrespectful and forgetting his ancestors. They will seize upon His Highness's past fondness for Turkic clothing, speaking Turkic language, and imitating Turkic customs, and exaggerate these things to accuse His Highness of forgetting his ancestors, lacking the demeanor of a Chinese crown prince, and even being suspected of colluding with foreign countries."

Each of these points precisely targets Li Chengqian's most shameful past wounds.

In the past, any one of these points would have been enough to enrage him and throw him into a state of utter confusion.

Li Chengqian's face turned ashen, and he said in a trembling voice, "If...if they really question me like this, how...how should I respond?"

He showed such helplessness in front of his study companion.

Looking at the Crown Prince's terrified appearance, Li Yichen felt little pity, only calm calculation.

What he wanted was for the Crown Prince to recognize the harsh reality.

"Your Highness, please do not panic."

Li Yichen's voice remained steady, carrying a strange, soothing power.

"Although there is solid evidence of the hostile guest, Your Highness is no longer the ignorant fool you once were. The way to deal with this is to turn the truth into falsehood, turn the tables, and advance by retreating."

He took a few steps closer, lowering his voice even further.

“They are attacking Your Highness’s private morality. Your Highness need not hide it, and may even bring it up on your own initiative.”

Li Yichen made a startling statement.

Li Chengqian looked up in astonishment.

"Your Highness may frankly admit that in the past, due to a foot ailment, you were depressed and acted improperly, failing to live up to His Majesty's expectations. However, it was precisely because of this past misstep that you have come to know the value of the right path. Now you have come to your senses and regret every day. You can only immerse yourself in books and cultivate your virtue to atone for your past mistakes. Your Highness should appear deeply remorseful and sincere, transforming your past misdeeds into a positive example of 'a prodigal son returning home.' At the same time, you can casually mention that 'Chengxin' was merely a musician, and His Majesty has already dealt with him according to the law, which shows the strictness of the court's laws. Your Highness has also been deeply enlightened and will not indulge in such behavior again. Shift the focus from your personal moral flaws to His Majesty's wisdom and the majesty of the law."

Li Chengqian was dumbfounded. Could someone really... defend themselves like that?
"If Your Highness is to associate with the wrong people, Your Highness must be even more cautious."

Li Yichen continued, “Your Highness must not be so hasty in clearing your name, for that would only reveal your guilty conscience. Your Highness may reply: The Prince of Han is the Emperor’s uncle, and Hou Junji is a meritorious official. It is only natural that Your Highness treated these two with the respect due to a junior and the Crown Prince. As for any grievances or actions they may have privately, how could I, being deep within the Eastern Palace, know? If they truly harbor disloyal intentions, then the court’s laws and His Majesty’s wise judgment are the way of the land, and Your Highness will resolutely support all of His Majesty’s decisions!”

"Your Highness should portray yourself as a crown prince who has been deceived but resolutely defends his sovereign and father. You could even ask those who started this trouble: Since you know that the Prince of Han and Hou Junji have treacherous intentions, why didn't you expose them to His Majesty earlier? Are you perhaps just sitting idly by, hoping to plunge the Tang Dynasty into chaos?"

This counterattack was extremely ruthless!

Li Chengqian felt a chill rise up his spine, yet it was mixed with a strange sense of pleasure. "If they were to attack His Highness for being disrespectful and forgetting his ancestors, that would be the best course of action."

A cold smile curled at the corner of Li Yichen's lips.

"Your Highness may speak frankly: In your youth, you were indeed curious about Turkic customs, a youthful curiosity born of a thirst for knowledge. However, through deeper understanding, you have come to know that the Turks are plunderers by nature, fickle and unpredictable, far from being a civilized nation. The elegance and refinement of our Great Tang's etiquette are unparalleled throughout the world. As the Crown Prince, how could Your Highness abandon the fundamental for the trivial? Those past actions were nothing but illusions, long since discarded. Now that Your Highness is wholeheartedly studying the classics, you understand the vastness and profundity of Chinese civilization. Your Highness could even use this opportunity to expound on the distinction between the Chinese and the barbarians, demonstrating your determination to uphold the orthodoxy of China. In this way, not only would you not err, but you would also be doing a good deed!"

Li Yichen delivered a lengthy speech, dissecting each of the possible malicious attacks and offering seemingly righteous but actually cunning countermeasures.

Its core lies in no longer getting bogged down in the debate over the truth or falsehood of specific facts, but elevating the topic to the moral and political high ground of "repentance and reformation," "upholding the monarch and father," "supporting the law," and "demonstrating orthodoxy," while cleverly deflecting the attackers' questions back and even reversing their accusations.

Li Chengqian was deeply moved; his previous fear had been replaced by an excited anticipation.

He could almost see the scene when those scoundrels arrived with meticulously prepared evidence, only to be utterly bewildered and humiliated by his combination of attacks.

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!" Li Chengqian excitedly straightened up, ignoring the pain in his ankle, and paced around the hall.

"Such a response is not only without fault, but it also demonstrates my magnanimity and insight! It will make those petty people shoot themselves in the foot!"

Li Yichen added, “Your Highness, please remember that no matter how vicious the words of the visitors may be, you must always remain calm, even displaying a hint of pity and helplessness at being misunderstood. Your words may be sharp, but your demeanor must be dignified. After each encounter, instruct the scribe to record the conversation in detail, without omitting a single word. This is not only to preserve evidence, but also to demonstrate your openness and honesty, and more importantly, to keep a sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of those with ulterior motives—every word they utter will become irrefutable evidence that could lead to future accountability!”

Li Chengqian nodded emphatically, engraving every word Li Yichen said into his heart.

He felt his heart beating strongly, and an unprecedented sense of confidence filled his entire body.

He was no longer afraid of tomorrow's unpleasant guests; in fact, he was even secretly looking forward to it.

"Very well! I'll do as you say! Let them come, I want to see who can do anything to me!"

While the Crown Prince and his servant were secretly plotting a countermeasure, a completely different scene unfolded in the Prince of Wei's residence.

Li Tai's obese body sank into the large couch, his face so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

Seated below were several trusted advisors, including Cui Renshi, the imperial censor who had just gone to the Eastern Palace that day to arrange for the imperial censor to test Li Chengqian, as well as several officials of the Prince's Palace known for their wisdom and strategy.

"Useless!" Li Tai slammed a cup of wine onto the ground, the liquid splashing onto the hem of Cui Renshi's robe.

"That idiot Wei Siqian, he always boasts so much, but he was refuted by that cripple in just a few words and slunk back home! And Lai Ji, he actually went to offer advice and suggestions, which gave that cripple a reputation for accepting advice!"

Cui Renshi's face turned pale and then flushed, and he dared not speak.

Another advisor whispered, "King Wei, please calm down. Today's events have indeed been unexpected. The Crown Prince... the Crown Prince seems quite different from before."

"Different?" Li Tai sneered, his small eyes flashing with resentment.

"A leopard can't change its spots! I refuse to believe he can keep up the act forever!"

(End of this chapter)