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

"wrong!"

Li Shimin quickly realized what was happening and said:

"The Crown Prince is the heir apparent. As an official of the court, how could Wan Nianling not know what the consequences would be if the Crown Prince were captured?"

The crown prince is the heir apparent. To arrest the crown prince is to commit suicide. Even if his entire family isn't exterminated, at least three generations will be wiped out.

Li Shimin was certain that the magistrate of Wannian County would not and dare not do such a thing, and asked, "What is the magistrate of Wannian called?"

Cheng Jun told the truth: "His name is Cui Shen."

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and asked, "The Cui family of Boling?"

Cheng Jun said admiringly, "Your Majesty is wise."

Li Shimin put on a stern face and said, "I understand, Cheng Jun, Wan Nian Ling Cui Shen is after you."

"The Crown Prince was pushed out to take the blame, which is why he was arrested and imprisoned in Wannian County."

Cheng Jun resolutely said, "I am innocent."

"You're accusing me of nothing..." Li Shimin muttered, and continued to ask:

"If I'm not mistaken, when Cui Shen arrested the Crown Prince, he had no idea that the person he was arresting was the Crown Prince, did he?"

Seeing Cheng Jun open his mouth, Li Shimin reminded him first: "Think carefully before you answer. Lying is deceiving the emperor, knowingly breaking the law, and the crime is doubled!"

Cheng Jun pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, Cui Shen truly did not know the Crown Prince's identity at the time."

Li Shimin looked knowing and snorted, "Cui Shen didn't know the Crown Prince's identity. That's called ignorance is no excuse. No matter how much you impeach him, I can't punish him."

Cheng Jun explained, "Your Majesty has misunderstood. I came to the palace not to impeach Cui Shen, but simply to ask Your Majesty to take care of your grief."

"..."

Seeing Li Shimin's facial muscles twitching, Cheng Jun realized he couldn't provoke him any further, so he changed the subject and said:

"However, seeing that Your Majesty does not seem to mind the Crown Prince's arrest, I am relieved."

"Who says I don't mind?"

Li Shimin said irritably, "I only said that Cui Shen did not know that the person he arrested was the Crown Prince. Ignorance is no excuse. I will have him release the Crown Prince, and then this matter will be over."

Cheng Jun sighed and said, "No wonder so many great Confucian scholars taught the Crown Prince, yet they couldn't teach him well. It turns out the root of the problem lies neither with the great Confucian scholars nor with the Crown Prince."

Li Shimin raised an eyebrow and said, "Cheng Jun, just say what you want to say, don't beat around the bush!"

Cheng Jun said indignantly, "The Crown Prince has been arrested. What a great injustice he has suffered! It's one thing for His Majesty not to comfort the Crown Prince, but to turn around and stand on the side of those who bullied him. I feel sorry for the Crown Prince."

Li Shimin rebuked, "The Crown Prince was arrested because of you, and he suffered injustice because of you. If anyone is taking revenge for the Crown Prince, it is I who am taking it out on you! How dare you criticize me?"

Cheng Jun retorted, "Your Majesty is mistaken. The Crown Prince and I have a deep teacher-student relationship. Wan Nian ordered Cui Shen to cause trouble for me. The Crown Prince did not want to see his teacher being harassed, so he stepped forward, which is why Cui Shen was arrested."

“How could I, as a teacher, sit idly by while the students are arrested? I could have fought them directly, given my physical strength, but I have always kept Your Majesty’s words in mind.”

"His Majesty once told me that when two sides fight, it is wrong for the one who hits to fight back, and it is also wrong for the one who fights back to fight back. One should not fight back, but should go directly to the palace to seek His Majesty's justice."

"Therefore, I did not take action against Magistrate Wannian and his yamen runners, but instead came to Your Majesty to ask you to uphold justice."

Cheng Jun shook his head and sighed, "I did as Your Majesty said, but Your Majesty takes it out on me. I am so wronged!"

Li Shimin said angrily, "How come after you've gone through all that, it's all become my problem?"

"What about your questions? Don't you have any questions at all?"

Li Shimin pointed at Cheng Jun, stood up and rebuked him: "If you have no problem, how was the Crown Prince arrested?"

Cheng Jun explained, "As I just said, I have a deep teacher-student relationship with the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince stood up for his teacher and was arrested because of this."

"..."

What he said seemed to make sense, no, it was a bit confusing... Li Shimin sat on the dragon throne, forcing himself to calm down. The moment he felt that Cheng Junyan's words made sense, he realized that he had been led astray by him.

"The Crown Prince is the heir apparent. If he doesn't want to be arrested, it's simple. He just needs to reveal his identity, and Cui Shen wouldn't dare to arrest him."

Li Shimin calmed down and asked.

Cheng Jun said, "There were many people at the time, and the Crown Prince did not want to reveal his identity in public."

So what if there are many people? The Crown Prince has done nothing wrong by traveling incognito. I myself often travel incognito to show concern for the people's plight. What is there to be ashamed of... Li Shimin was about to speak when he suddenly realized something was amiss. The Crown Prince should understand such a simple principle, yet he didn't want to reveal his identity...

Li Shimin asked, "Where did you take the Crown Prince?"

Cheng Jun knew he couldn't fool Li Shimin, so when Li Shimin asked, he said directly, "I took the Crown Prince out of the palace for a meal."

Li Shimin pressed further, "Where did you eat?"

Cheng Jun said, "Pingkang Ward."

Li Shimin frowned and said, "Be more specific."

Cheng Jun said, "Le Yun Lou."

Li Shimin's expression changed, "Isn't Leyun Tower a brothel!"

Cheng Jun was surprised, "His Majesty went there?"

"Go to hell... go to hell!"

Li Shimin slammed his fist on the table and stood up angrily, saying, "No wonder the Crown Prince dared not reveal his identity. To reveal his identity in such a place is to disgrace the royal family!"

"Cheng Jun, what were your intentions in taking the Crown Prince to a brothel? How can you be a teacher like this?"

Seeing Li Shimin's glare, Cheng Jun explained, "Your Majesty, I did not intend to take the Crown Prince on a life of debauchery, but rather to let him know why brothels are called brothels."

Li Shimin said, "Is there any other reason? Of course, it's because brothels are full of women!"

Cheng Jun was surprised again, "His Majesty also went there?"

Li Shimin cursed, "If you try to drag me into this again, I'll have someone slap you!"

Cheng Jun became serious and said:

"Your Majesty, the most urgent matter is not to investigate the matter of me taking the Crown Prince to a brothel, but to think about how to get the Crown Prince out of Wannian County Office unharmed."

Li Shimin's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by 'coming out of Wannian County Office intact'? Could the Crown Prince possibly have come out incomplete?"

"not sure."

Cheng Jun said, "After all, the Crown Prince is close to me, and Cui Shen has a grudge against me. Since he can't deal with me, he will naturally turn his attention to the Crown Prince."

Li Shimin reminded him, "The Crown Prince is the heir apparent!"

Cheng Jun also reminded him, "But Cui Shen doesn't know that."

"I am now worried that Cui Shen may take revenge on the Crown Prince."

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Impossible. Gao Ming is the Crown Prince, not a fool. He's about to be beaten, so why wouldn't he quickly reveal his identity?"

Cheng Jun solemnly said, "Your Majesty may not know this, but being a county magistrate is a righteous position. However, not everyone who holds the position is a righteous person. If the Crown Prince enters the Wannian County Office and then reveals his identity, who will believe him? He will likely be brutally beaten. Losing an arm or a leg would be the least of his worries. In fact, losing an arm or a leg is nothing. What I fear is that if word gets out that Cui Shen kidnapped the Crown Prince in a brothel, the people of the world will think that the aristocratic families have trampled the royal family underfoot."

After saying this, Cheng Jun said with a sorrowful expression:

"Your Majesty, I mourn for you."

Li Shimin could no longer sit still.

"Ananda, go to the Wannian County government office immediately and bring the prince back."

Zhang Anan hurriedly replied, "This servant obeys the decree."

He had just turned around when Cheng Jun stopped him and said:

"Your Majesty, I believe it is best to entrust the task of bringing the Crown Prince back to the palace to me."