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

Chapter 55 is truly a masterpiece!

"Yes...that's what I've heard."

Wang De also found the matter utterly absurd, but he forced himself to reply.

After a brief silence, Li Shimin slammed his hand on the imperial desk, causing the writing brush and inkstone to jump around!

"Nonsense!" he roared, his chest heaving violently.

"absurd!"

He paced back and forth in front of the throne in anger.

"I thought that after this incident, he had finally learned some forbearance! I never expected him to be so foolish! So despicable! Faced with such slander, instead of thinking about how to clarify things or how to find out the mastermind behind it, he resorted to such childish methods? Does he think his reputation isn't bad enough? Does he think that the struggles in the court are just childish games?"

Li Shimin's voice trembled slightly with extreme disappointment and anger.

The slight pity he had felt for the Crown Prince because of those vicious rumors—after all, he was the eldest son of the legitimate wife—was completely dispelled by Li Chengqian's "foolish" response and turned into utter anger.

"He's given up on himself! He's just throwing caution to the wind!"

Li Shimin pointed in the direction of the Eastern Palace, his fingers trembling slightly from the force he was using.

"I think this crown prince is truly finished! He's utterly hopeless! It's a waste of my... a waste of my sliver of hope for him!"

Wang De lowered his head deeply, not daring to reply.

He could feel His Majesty's anger at that moment, mixed with annoyance at being foolish by his "unworthy son".

"Keep a close eye on him for me!" Li Shimin said, panting heavily, his voice icy.

"I want to see how long this farce with the golden egg can last! I want to see how he'll end it!"

Duke Zhao's Mansion.

After hearing his advisor's report, Changsun Wuji was first taken aback, then a hint of undisguised sarcasm appeared on his face.

"A rooster laying golden eggs?" He stroked his beard, shook his head, as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

"Your Highness... is truly ingenious. It seems that Wei Zheng's earnest advice these past few days has been completely wasted."

The aide whispered, "Your Highness, such absurd words will probably be forgotten in a couple of days. It's just something the common folk are looking for."

"Hmm," Changsun Wuji responded indifferently.

"A desperate struggle only makes him a laughingstock. If he had any intelligence, he should have taken advantage of the slight guilt His Majesty might feel due to the rumors to try to defend himself, or to keep a low profile and show his grievance. What use is it to cause such a mess now, except to make His Majesty think he is even more despicable and to make the court officials see him as a laughingstock?"

He picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and spoke with a condescending tone.

"It seems that the 'expert' in the Crown Prince's palace has only so much skill. He's just using petty tricks that are not up to par. With such a character and such methods, he is hardly fit for a great responsibility."

Liang Guogong Mansion.

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuanling remained silent for a long time, eventually letting out a long sigh, even heavier than when he first heard the rumor.

“Crown Prince… how could it have come to this…” he murmured, his face filled with sorrow and helplessness.

"This move will not only fail to break the deadlock, but will also be like adding fuel to the fire, plunging yourself into corruption. Your Majesty is probably utterly disappointed at this moment."

In his view, the Crown Prince's move was utterly disastrous.

To reduce a serious political attack to the level of a vulgar street tale is utterly pointless and only invites ridicule.

He could even imagine how Wei Wang's supporters were celebrating their victory behind his back.

"In the end... we took the wrong path."

Fang Xuanling closed his eyes, and the last glimmer of hope he had for the Crown Prince gradually faded away with this farce involving the "golden egg."

Duke Zheng's Mansion.

On his sickbed, Wei Zheng, after hearing his son Wei Shuyu recount the incident, coughed violently, a sickly flush rising to his sallow face. "Foolish...foolish indeed!"

He pounded on the edge of the bed, his voice hoarse and filled with endless sorrow.

"He didn't listen to a word I said that day! He doesn't take risky moves, and he doesn't crave empty fame... Yet he... Yet he did such an absurd thing to tarnish his own reputation! This is cutting himself off from the scholarly community and abandoning himself to the world!"

He was so angry that he was trembling all over, and Wei Shuyu quickly stepped forward to pat his back and soothe him.

"Father, please calm down. Your health is the most important thing..."

"Calm down? How can I calm down?" Wei Zheng was in tears. "The foundation of the nation is crumbling, the crown prince has ruined himself, and I... I wish I could give my broken body to awaken him!"

All the important figures who were paying attention to the movements of the Crown Prince's palace, whether they were worried, disappointed, or gloating, reached a consensus at this moment: Crown Prince Li Chengqian was accelerating his own demise in an extremely foolish way.

The "golden egg" rumor is nothing but a pointless uproar that will soon dissipate, leaving behind only an even more tarnished reputation for the crown prince.

However, things soon took an unexpected turn.

The rumor about the "golden egg," with its extreme absurdity, spread like wildfire throughout Chang'an.

Unlike those malicious and offensive political rumors, the "golden egg" possesses a strange, magical allure.

Ordinary people, peddlers, and even women and children in their boudoirs all talked about the magical rooster in the Eastern Palace with great interest.

"Have you heard? The rooster in the Crown Prince's palace laid a golden egg!"

"Really? A rooster can lay eggs? And they're gold?"

"How could this be fake? It's all over the place! They say it's glittering gold and bigger than a fist!"

"Tsk tsk, this is an auspicious omen! Could it be that the Crown Prince..."

This discussion, initially tinged with curiosity and jest, gradually diluted the heavy and malicious rumors about "curses," "extravagance," and "sycophancy."

People's attention was drawn to this novel and interesting story, and the other version of events seemed somewhat "old news" and "a killjoy."

Just as the rumors about the "golden egg" were rampant, forming a strange balance with the rumors attacking the crown prince, and becoming two major topics of conversation among the people of Chang'an, a new and more impactful rumor suddenly broke out!
—Not only does the rooster in the Eastern Palace lay golden eggs, but the Crown Prince's Persian cat can even compose poetry!

At first, people also thought it was just another nonsense and laughed it off.

A cat composing poetry?
This is even more outrageous than a rooster laying a golden egg!

However, when the poem spread along with the rumors, all those who heard it, especially scholars, could no longer laugh.

"Carved and hammered from the deep mountains, it emerges from the earth."

They treat the raging fire as nothing.

I fear not being shattered to pieces.
"One should leave behind a legacy of integrity."

These four lines of poetry are like four heavy hammer blows, striking the hearts of everyone who hears them!

The poem is simple and unadorned, yet every word carries immense weight, exuding an aura of unyielding spirit and unwavering integrity!

These are lines of poetry that no ordinary writer could have produced!
Its spirit, its character, its artistic conception are truly unparalleled!

Especially the last sentence, "To leave behind a pure reputation in the world," sounds so enlightening at a time when rumors are rampant!
This...is this really a "divine revelation" created by the cat in the Eastern Palace?
No one would believe that cats can write poetry.

But the very existence of this poem is a huge mystery.

It originated from the Eastern Palace and, at this sensitive time, it circulated in such an incomprehensible way...

People's curiosity was completely ignited!

"Have you heard? The prince's cat wrote a poem!"

(End of this chapter)