This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

"I know the Crown Prince's character better than anyone else. In order to make him a good heir apparent, I found many great Confucian scholars to teach him to read."

"I have done so much for him, yet the Crown Prince has disappointed me time and time again. Those great Confucian scholars are so knowledgeable, but the Crown Prince will not listen to what they teach him."

“He was never first in the imperial examinations, but I believed in him because he was my son with Guanyinbi.”

Li Shimin sighed, “Today, you have convinced me of one thing: the Crown Prince is not stupid. It is my fault that I failed to find him a suitable teacher.”

"Now, I have found you. You are the best candidate to serve as the Crown Prince's tutor."

"Therefore, I not only want to emulate the ancients, but also to surpass them."

Li Shimin looked at the latrine and said with a smile:

"In ancient times, Xiao He chased Han Xin under the moon; today, the emperor chases his virtuous minister under the moon."

"Han Xin has returned to the Han camp. Liu Bang has built an altar to appoint Han Xin as a general. You will come back with me later. I will summon the ministers and have the Crown Prince acknowledge you as his teacher in the presence of them."

"From now on, you will be the future Imperial Tutor. Aren't you very happy?"

Li Shimin asked with a smile, but seeing no one answer from the direction of the latrine, he frowned and said:

"Cheng Jun, why aren't you saying anything? Say something!"

"If you don't speak, I'm going in."

The words had barely left his mouth when a cough suddenly came from the outhouse:

"Cough cough!!"

Li Shimin laughed and scolded, "There are no outsiders here, and I don't feel anything is wrong. Why are you being so dramatic? Alright, I'll wait here and not talk to you anymore. We'll talk after you've finished relieving yourself."

Silence returned in the direction of the outhouse.

Li Shimin was certain that Cheng Jun was inside, but he wasn't in a hurry and leisurely looked around.

Two quarters of an hour later, Li Shimin felt his legs getting tired from standing and was even more puzzled as to why it took so long to relieve himself. He shouted:

"Cheng Jun, are you done with your work?"

The latrine was completely silent.

"Are you dead inside?"

Li Shimin couldn't help but curse and walked over.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

A cough suddenly rang out from inside the latrine.

Li Shimin's eyes narrowed; the sound of his cough this time was clearly different from before.

Are there other people inside?

Li Shimin turned around and shouted, "Ananda!"

"The servant is here."

Zhang Anan ran over upon hearing the noise.

Li Shimin pointed to the latrine and said in a low voice, "Go in and see who else is in there besides Cheng Jun."

"The slaves obey the order."

Zhang Anan immediately walked towards the latrine, and as he got closer, coughing sounds came from inside.

Zhang Anan pretended not to hear, went straight in, and quickly came out. He solemnly walked up to Li Shimin and said:

"Your Majesty, Imperial Censor Cheng is not inside."

"..."

One sentence caused Li Shimin's facial muscles to twitch.

"Then all my sighs have been like talking to a brick wall..." Li Shimin was both shocked and furious, and shouted, "Go find Cheng Jun and see where he has gone!"

"promise!"

Zhang Anan walked quickly into the distance.

Li Shimin then waved to two palace guards, pointed in the direction of the latrine, and said:

"Bring the people inside out for me."

"According to the order!"

Two palace guards immediately drew their swords and rushed into the latrine.

Soon, two tall men dressed in purple robes came out with worried expressions.

"Cheng Chumo, the eldest son of the Cheng family, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

"Cheng Chuliang, the second son of the Cheng family, pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Cheng Chumo, Cheng Chuliang, Cheng Jun's eldest and second eldest brothers... Li Shimin recognized their identities, his hands behind his back clenched into fists, and stared at them, saying:

"Did you all hear what I just said?"

The two nodded. "We heard you."

Li Shimin said angrily, "You heard it and didn't say a word?"

Cheng Chumo said with a worried look, "We thought there were ghosts outside."

Li Shimin glared at him and said, "What nonsense are you playing here when I'm here?"

Cheng Chumo complained bitterly, "It's because someone outside the latrine claims to be the emperor that we think it's haunted."

"Throughout history, has there ever been an emperor who went to a subject's home, or even just outside the latrine, and was filled with emotion?"

After Cheng Chumo finished speaking, Cheng Chuliang picked up the conversation, complaining in his tone:

"Exactly! My brother and I thought there was something ghostly outside, so we were too scared to come out. We thought we'd wait until things calmed down before we went out, but then someone outside said, 'Wait for us to come out!' Who would dare to come out like that!"

Li Shimin's lips twitched a few times as he asked, "Where's Cheng Junren? Didn't he come?"

"no!"

Cheng Chumo and Cheng Chuliang said in unison.

"I've been tricked by this kid again..." Li Shimin cursed inwardly. Just then, he saw Zhang Anan leading a young boy over.

The tall boy, standing at 1.8 meters, wore a blue robe with cloud patterns; it was Cheng Jun.

"Your Majesty, what brings you to my residence?"

Cheng Jun walked over with a surprised look on his face.

Li Shimin stared at him: "Minister Cheng, I came to see you, and you're hiding from me?"

Cheng Jun asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Li Shimin said with a dark face, "When I came to your Cheng family, your steward said that you came back to relieve yourself. I waited here for a long time, but you didn't come out. Instead, your eldest brother and second brother came out. Come, give me a reasonable explanation."

Cheng Jun pondered for a moment and said, "I did come back in a hurry because my stomach was upset, but the pain stopped on my way to the outhouse, so I went back to my room to rest."

Li Shimin laughed angrily, "So, I've been waiting here for nothing?"

Cheng Jun asked in confusion, "Your Majesty, why are you waiting here? Why don't you wait in the main hall? It was my steward who invited you to the main hall."

Cheng Chumo exclaimed, "Uncle Zhong requested permission, but His Majesty did not agree. I heard everything clearly from the outhouse."

Cheng Chuliang chimed in, "Brother is right!"

Cheng Jun suddenly realized, then looked at Li Shimin and asked:

"Your Majesty, this is no one else's fault, is it?"

Suddenly, everyone's eyes turned to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin's forehead veins bulged as he said, "Let's talk somewhere else!"

He didn't want to stay there for another second.

"Your Majesty, please."

Cheng Jun opened his palm and led him to the main hall. After Li Shimin sat down, he personally poured him tea and then asked, "Your Majesty, what brings you here to see me?"

Li Shimin took a sip of tea to calm himself down before saying, "The Crown Prince praised you highly, saying that you are a good teacher and wants you to go back to continue being his teacher."

…………

Second update.