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

Cheng Jun did not refute him, but asked, "Your Majesty, what official position do I hold?"

Li Shimin said, "You are the Imperial Censor of the Palace."

"What are the duties of an imperial censor?"

"Upon hearing rumors, report them to the emperor and oversee all officials."

Cheng Jun then asked, "Would His Majesty allow someone who has such excellent relationships with all the officials to continue serving as an imperial censor?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin fell silent.

Won't......

He had already given himself the answer.

Cheng Jun said slowly:

"This is the conclusion I came to after thinking about it all night. The reason I was being harassed by the court officials is because I touched on their sore spot!"

"In my opinion, it is not a bad thing for an imperial censor to be troubled by court officials."

Cheng Jun said in a serious tone, "If an imperial censor is not troubled by court officials, it means that this person has already colluded with the court officials."

“If this censor is harassed by court officials, it proves that he has already distanced himself from them.”

"If the court officials are making trouble for this censor, it proves that this censor has not only distanced himself from the court officials, but also that he has done a good job of supervising the officials."

"Therefore, it is not that I have not done a good job, but that I have done an exceptionally good job. Your Majesty's decision to appoint me as Imperial Censor is a wise one!"

Li Shimin jumped to his feet, furious, and said:

"Stop trying to glorify yourself, okay?"

After saying this, Li Shimin turned to look at Zhang Anan, who had just put down his purple-tipped brush, and muttered curses:

"Once it's written, send it to all the officials immediately!"

If Cheng Jun won't let me sleep, then they won't be able to sleep either!

"promise!"

Zhang Anan received the imperial decree, took the drafted edict, and walked outside the hall. Just then, he saw a palace guard running over, waved to him, and handed the task over to him.

The guard quickly took the imperial decree, while whispering something in his ear.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Anan's heart stirred, and he nodded slightly, saying, "Understood. Send someone to deliver the decree."

"promise!"

After the palace guard left, Zhang Anan entered the Ganlu Hall, glanced at Cheng Jun, and then said loudly:

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Su requests an audience."

"Who?"

Li Shimin was in a fit of anger when he heard that the Duke of Su was requesting an audience. He was about to turn away when he suddenly remembered that the Duke of Su was none other than Cheng Yaojin. He exclaimed in surprise, "Cheng Yaojin has arrived?"

Seeing Zhang Anan nod, Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and looked at Cheng Jun. One arrived first, the other later—what was going on...?

"Let him in!"

Li Shimin decided to meet Cheng Yaojin.

Zhang Anan immediately turned around and went to bring people over himself.

Soon, Cheng Yaojin followed Zhang Anan into the Ganlu Hall. Upon seeing Li Shimin, he quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying:

"Your subject Cheng Yaojin greets Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin looked at him and said bluntly, "Zhijie, Cheng Jun came here to die, do you know that?"

Zhijie was the name Cheng Yaojin later changed to. His courtesy name was Yizhen, but people around him always called him Zhijie, and Li Shimin was no exception.

Cheng Yaojin swallowed hard, then clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I know, but I know too late."

Li Shimin sneered, "Then you're late too, you know that!"

Cheng Yaojin's expression changed. Was he about to be sentenced to death?

"His Majesty!"

Cheng Yaojin knelt down with a thud.

"If you had come earlier, I wouldn't have been so angry with him... Why are you kneeling down?"

As Li Shimin was speaking, he suddenly noticed that Cheng Yaojin was kneeling on the ground, and he was taken aback.

Upon hearing the words "angry," Cheng Yaojin realized he had misunderstood, smiled sheepishly, and stood up, supporting himself on his knees, to explain:

"I woke up too quickly this morning, and my vision went black for a moment."

"..."

Li Shimin sized him up and sneered, "You've come to plead for Cheng Jun, haven't you?"

Cheng Yaojin turned to look at Cheng Jun and stubbornly said, "No."

"I've come to capture this brat and take him back!"

Li Shimin didn't believe him at all, and chuckled, "After he finished impeaching me, you took him back. You two worked together quite well."

"But have you ever thought about me? How miserable I am!"

Li Shimin slammed his fist on the table and shouted angrily.

This was the first time Cheng Yaojin had ever seen Li Shimin so angry. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. He raised his hand to wipe his brow, looked at Cheng Jun, and while giving him a meaningful look, he scolded him:

"Hero, why aren't you apologizing yet!"

Cheng Jun stepped forward and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, what you are doing is wrong."

Li Shimin's face turned purple upon hearing this.

"..."

Cheng Yaojin looked at him in shock. "Does asking you to plead guilty mean asking His Majesty to suffer?"

Seeing Cheng Yaojin's incredulous expression, as if witnessing this scene for the first time, Li Shimin asked, "Zhijie, judging from your expression, is this the first time you've heard of your son impeaching someone?"

Cheng Yaojin quickly nodded and said, "This is indeed the first time I have seen this."

In the past, he would deliberately avoid Cheng Jun during morning court sessions.

Cheng Jun went to court, so he stayed home to rest.

He knew that being an imperial censor was a job that could offend people, and Cheng Jun had offended many people by sending people to the Imperial Medical Bureau several times.

If you go to court with him, those court officials might turn their anger towards him.

In terms of eloquence, Cheng Yaojin admitted that he was no match for them.

Therefore, in order not to hold Cheng Jun back and avoid becoming his weakness, he would never go to court with Cheng Jun.

In his view, the way censors impeached people was just like that: those with reason would reason, and those without reason would be at a loss for words.

But unexpectedly, Cheng Jun offered a third possibility: either I am right, or I am not wrong.

Cheng Yaojin finally understood the meaning of Cheng Jun's words, "If there is a problem, point it out; if there is no problem, create a problem and point it out."

But no matter what, Cheng Jun is still his own son.

Cheng Yaojin cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, although Cheng Jun did something wrong, he cannot be blamed."

Li Shimin thought he would comply with his wishes, but unexpectedly he defended Cheng Jun. He angrily said, "If it's not his fault, whose fault is it? It's mine!"

Cheng Yaojin said, "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, flies don't land on eggs without cracks. If you are not wrong, why would he impeach you?"

Li Shimin was immediately enraged, "Cheng Yaojin, what kind of talk is that!"

"Flies land everywhere. My memorial was just received and I haven't even reviewed it yet, but flies landed on it. Could there be something wrong with the memorial?"

"A fly is a fly, understand?"

Li Shimin enunciated the word "fly" with exceptional clarity while looking at Cheng Jun.

Isn't that an insult...?

Cheng Yaojin realized that one of his words had been taken by Li Shimin and used as a spear to attack Cheng Jun.

However, Cheng Yaojin couldn't find the right words. He transformed into a thick shield to protect Cheng Jun. He was anxious but at a loss for words, so he had no choice but to look at Cheng Jun.

Cheng Jun said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty is right, flies usually only land on excrement."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin retorted angrily, "If you can't speak properly, then shut up!"

He used Cheng Yaojin's words to mock Cheng Jun, calling him a fly.

Cheng Jun then used excrement to describe him.

Although both sides suffered losses, it must be said that the damage to him was greater.

Cheng Jun said solemnly, "What I say is true. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, go and see for yourself in the latrine."