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

"what?!"

Li Shimin cried out in surprise, not because he was struck with the ruler, but because he paused and angrily said, "Is this how Cheng Jun teaches Qingque?"

"Qingque is my son, a prince! Which teacher would dare to hit a prince? Don't they all have their tutors take the blame for them?"

Zhang Anan said, "The King of Wei's companion has already been beaten by Cheng Jun and sent out of the palace for medical treatment."

Li Shimin pressed further, "Without a companion, is there no one to take the blame for Qingque? What about the guards? Can't the guards take the blame for her?"

Zhang Anan said helplessly, "The guards said they've already been beaten by Cheng Jun several times..."

"The guards around King Wei also said that Cheng Jun hit King Wei because he had repeatedly warned him against it, but King Wei refused to listen and showed no remorse. In the end, Cheng Jun had no choice but to resort to violence..."

"..."

Li Shimin's face darkened; Cheng Jun had clearly made the call on purpose to show him.

Cheng Jun first beat away the study companion, then beat up all the guards. His purpose was to tell the emperor that he didn't want to beat his son, but that his son had to be beaten because he couldn't be controlled without being beaten.

Li Shimin grew angrier the more he thought about it. "Cheng Jun deliberately provoked Qingque, which is why Qingque repeatedly ignored his advice. This is all Cheng Jun's fault!"

Zhang Anan nodded and said, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. I think so too. I will go and call Cheng Jun over right now. Your Majesty, please give him a good scolding."

Li Shimin glared at him and said, "Should I reprimand him, or should he reprimand me? You know how eloquent he is, and besides, he's in the right!"

Zhang Anan asked cautiously, "What should we do then?"

Li Shimin fell silent. Yes, what should he do? After much thought, he finally managed to utter the words with difficulty:

"Let Qingque suffer first, and let Cheng Jun bear the infamy!"

After all, if we don't make our son suffer, then we should make him suffer.

Li Shimin took a deep breath and said, "Twenty days later, I will find another opportunity to give Qingque a chance to vent his anger."

…………

The night of July 5th was cool and still.

Cheng Jun looked at the King of Wei, whose eyes were red-rimmed and whose hands were swollen and trembling. After finishing copying the last book, he carefully checked it and nodded, saying:

"That's it for today."

"I won't be coming tomorrow. Tomorrow is Tuesday, and Lord Wei will come to instruct you."

After speaking, Cheng Jun saw that the King of Wei was sitting motionless on the cushion, so he tapped him with a ruler and said:

"Don't be a block of wood, get up and see me off."

"You've forgotten all the respect for teachers that Master Kong taught you in less than a day?"

The King of Wei glanced fearfully at the ruler in his hand, endured the pain, stood up, and forced a smile, saying, "Imperial Censor Cheng, please take care."

Cheng Jun nodded in satisfaction, put the ruler back in its sheath, picked up "The Useful Book," and said:

"See you."

After saying that, he turned and strode away.

Watching his departing figure, the words "see you again" haunted Li Tai like a nightmare, filling him with sorrow.

This is only the first day; Cheng Jun will have to come twice more over the next twenty days...

I really messed with him; I've really kicked a hornet's nest...

The King of Wei was extremely frustrated, but soon his gaze hardened. No, I haven't lost yet. This is an opportunity.

"Twenty days later, once I surpass the Crown Prince, my father will know I am stronger than the Crown Prince and will like me more. If I maintain this, he will definitely choose me to inherit the throne in the future..."

…………

"Sanlang is back!"

Cheng Jun rode his Ferghana horse home and saw Cheng Zhong approaching from afar, seemingly having been waiting outside the mansion for a long time. A thought struck him, and he dismounted to ask:

"Is something wrong?"

Cheng Zhong leaned closer to him and whispered, "Third Brother, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived. He's waiting for you in the main hall right now. Eldest Brother and Second Brother are with him."

He must have come about the matter of the King of Wei... Cheng Jun nodded slightly and said, "I understand, I'll go see him now."

With that, he handed the reins of the Akhal-Teke horse to Cheng Zhong and walked towards the main room.

As he approached the main hall, he saw the Crown Prince sitting inside, chatting with Cheng Chumo and Cheng Chuliang, occasionally bursting into loud laughter.

Cheng Jun walked over with interest. "What are you talking about?"

"Third brother is back!"

Cheng Chumo smiled and said, "I was telling him the name of my Akhal-Teke horse."

Cheng Jun asked in surprise, "You've already come up with a name? What's it called?"

Cheng Chumo raised his head and said, "Get ready. What kind of horse am I riding?"

Cheng Jun was taken aback, chewed for a moment, and asked, "'What' is a name?"

Cheng Chumo snorted, "Third brother, how come you understand so quickly?"

"Just now I asked His Highness the Crown Prince what kind of horse I was riding, and His Highness replied that you were riding a Ferghana horse."

"Pfft..."

Cheng Chuliang had already listened to it a second time, but he still couldn't help but chuckle out loud.

What a lame joke... Cheng Jun twitched the corner of his mouth, looked at Cheng Chuliang, and asked, "Second Brother, have you named your Akhal-Teke horse yet?"

Cheng Chuliang said with a smile, "Uncle Zhong named it, saying that the Ferghana horse is 'gold,' and since I just received this imperial gift of a horse, he took two characters from it and named it 'King Kong.' I like it very much!"

"..."

"Why not call it a silverback gorilla..." Cheng Jun muttered to himself, offering a perfunctory compliment before turning to the Crown Prince and asking:

"Your Highness, you were looking for me?"

Li Chengqian stood up and said, "It's getting late, I have to go back to the palace. Let's talk as we walk."

Cheng Jun nodded, first told his eldest and second eldest brothers, and then walked out of the mansion with the Crown Prince.

Walking through the mansion, Li Chengqian sighed and said, "I've heard about what happened to you."

"My fourth brother is indeed clever, but most of his cleverness is petty!"

"He's quite good at recognizing people..." Cheng Jun agreed wholeheartedly, saying, "He does have a bit of cleverness."

Li Chengqian looked at him with a worried expression and said, "Twenty days from now, Father will review the results of your teaching of my fourth brother. If I want Father to be satisfied, I think the only way is for me to lose to him."

Cheng Jun frowned and said, "As the Crown Prince, losing to the Prince of Wei will cause gossip and be detrimental to you in the future."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "If I don't lose to him, Father will punish all seven of you. I won't talk about the others, but I'll talk about Li Shaobao. He is my teacher. How can I bear to let him be punished by my father at this age?"

“I would rather be scolded and punished than let you be troubled by my father, the emperor.”

Cheng Jun smiled. In this respect, Li Chengqian performed better than Li Tai.

When Li Chengqian heard that his teacher was being harassed, he stood up to protect him.

When the King of Wei heard that his teachers would be replaced by Li Gang, Kong Yingda and others, he not only remained unmoved, but was secretly delighted.

Li Chengqian continued, "Besides, being the Crown Prince isn't all that great. It's exhausting, and you get criticized all the time. I'd rather switch places with the Fourth Prince. He could be the Crown Prince, and I could be the Prince of Wei. That way, even if I went to a brothel, Father wouldn't say a word..."

"..."

Is this a pile of mud...? Cheng Jun's smile instantly froze on his face.

At that moment, under the moonlight, Li Chengqian saw the smile frozen on his face and asked curiously, "What are you laughing at?"

Cheng Jun looked at him, stroked his chin, and said, "I'm wondering whether I should relay your words to His Majesty."

Li Chengqian's expression changed, then he suddenly laughed again, pointing at Cheng Jun and saying, "You wouldn't, you definitely wouldn't, you absolutely wouldn't!"

He fell silent as he spoke, then asked expectantly, "You won't, right?"