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

Two quarters of an hour later, the Ganlu Hall finally returned to calm.

Inside the hall, Li Chengqian lay motionless on the ground, his hair disheveled and his eyes glazed over.

Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun sat beside the table, not even glancing at him, each holding a wine cup and sipping slowly.

The sadness they felt for their fourth son, who was about to leave the palace for his fiefdom, dissipated considerably after they beat Li Chengqian.

Seeing Li Chengqian like this, the last bit of sadness disappeared.

My mood has improved.

Li Shimin drank his wine, pondering his past actions, and said in a deep voice, "Guanyinbi, now that I think about it carefully, I realize that what I did was indeed wrong."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian raised his head and said, "Yes, you shouldn't have hit me."

Li Shimin glared at him and said, "You deserve to be beaten. You deserve it."

"What son in the world would dare to speak to his father like that?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian seemed to realize something, and his lips trembled slightly.

Empress Zhangsun noticed his hesitant expression and sensed something was wrong. She asked, "Gao Ming, you're not usually like this. Why are you acting this way today?"

Li Chengqian endured the pain and sat up, saying with a wronged expression, "I wanted to comfort you."

Li Shimin slammed down his wine cup and cursed, "Is this how you comfort someone?"

Li Chengqian retorted, "Tell me whether you're in a good mood or not."

"..."

Li Shimin hesitated for a moment, then exchanged a glance with Empress Zhangsun and immediately realized what was going on.

Empress Zhangsun asked, "Who gave you this idea?"

Li Chengqian said, "Cheng Jun."

Li Shimin's brows furrowed with anger: "I knew it was him!"

"Besides him, no one else is so bold as to encourage a son to curse his father!"

Li Chengqian whispered, "He didn't tell me to scold you."

Seeing Li Shimin cast a glance his way, Li Chengqian explained, "Cheng Jun's suggestion to me can be summed up in one word: 'noisy'."

Li Shimin clenched his fist and said, "Did he tell you to argue with me like this?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "No, he said I should say whatever I'm thinking."

Seeing Li Shimin's hand reach for the whip, Li Chengqian hurriedly said, "Father, I truly know I was wrong!"

After saying that, he couldn't help but say, feeling wronged, "Cheng Jun told me that his father never holds grudges. It's because his older brothers comforted his father like that that he was sure if I did the same, it would make you feel better. But he didn't mention that I would get beaten..."

Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun finally understood.

Li Shimin sneered, "Cheng Yaojin beats his son at home every day, what reason do you have?"

"Now you know why his older brothers get beaten every day, right?"

Li Chengqian said regretfully, "I found out too late."

Empress Zhangsun exclaimed in amazement, "No wonder Zhijie is so insightful. With two sons like him, she can take her anger out on them and naturally can't bear any sad things in her heart."

Li Shimin looked at the Crown Prince and asked, "Where is Cheng Junren?"

Li Chengqian said in a muffled voice, "He gave me some advice and then left."

Li Shimin turned to Zhang Anan and said, "Anan, go and call Cheng Jun over!"

"The slaves obey the order."

Zhang Anan immediately accepted the order, opened the gates of Ganlu Hall, and left quickly. Soon he returned alone and said, "Your Majesty, this servant could not find Imperial Censor Cheng."

Li Shimin frowned and said, "It's his duty time now. If he's not at the government office, where has he gone?"

Zhang Anan told the truth: "I heard from Zhu Zishe, the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, that Imperial Censor Cheng has gone to take refuge in an emergency."

"Emergency evacuation..."

Li Shimin pondered these words, then suddenly realized what they meant and angrily said, "Isn't that because he was afraid I would hold him accountable, he ran away in advance?"

As he spoke, he rebuked the Crown Prince with exasperation, saying, "Look at him, when he gave you the advice, he already foresaw the consequences. Look how fast he ran away. I can't find him anytime soon!"

Li Chengqian stood up and said excitedly, "Your subject will go and settle accounts with him!"

Before he could take his second step, Li Shimin called him back.

"you come back!"

Li Shimin questioned, "What accounts do you want with him?"

Li Chengqian pointed to the purplish-blue marks on his face and said emotionally, "Look at how I am now, shouldn't we hold him accountable?"

Li Shimin asked, "You asked him for advice on how to comfort your father and mother, did he help you?"

Li Chengqian said, "I've helped..."

Li Shimin then asked, "Did you use his idea to make me and your mother feel a little better?"

Li Chengqian hesitated for a moment, then said, "Yes..."

Li Shimin said, "Then why are you still trying to settle accounts with him?"

Li Chengqian shouted, "He didn't say I would get beaten!"

Li Shimin sneered and said, "When you see Cheng Jun, tell him this, and he will tell you why you didn't ask if you would get beaten. How will you answer?"

"..."

Li Chengqian opened his mouth, but could not utter a word.

Seeing this, Li Shimin asked, "Have you lost your temper? Have you realized that you can't blame him?"

"When you find him, you'll find that not only can you not blame him, but he will also blame you for not being grateful."

Li Shimin snorted and said, "Are you going to settle accounts with him, or to apologize to him?"

"..."

Li Chengqian stood there, stunned.

Empress Zhangsun looked at Li Shimin with a strange expression. Her second brother seemed to know Cheng Jun far too well...

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's leave it at that. Don't do this again."

Li Chengqian obediently replied, "Your subject would not dare to do it again."

After saying that, he clutched the places on his body where he had been whipped, his lips trembling as he said, "It hurts so much..."

Li Shimin's expression softened. "It's good that you know it hurts."

After saying that, he turned to Ananda and said, "Ananda, send someone to the Imperial Medical Bureau and have them go to the Eastern Palace to treat the Crown Prince."

"The slaves obey the order."

Li Shimin then waved his hand at Li Chengqian and said, "Go back now. I will not hold this matter against you."

Li Chengqian hurriedly bowed and said, "Your subject takes his leave."

Watching the Crown Prince limp away, Empress Zhangsun felt both sorry for him and amused. She turned to him and said, "Second brother, this Cheng Jun has a rather peculiar way of comforting people."

Li Shimin snorted, "The whole Cheng Yaojin family is like this. It's not surprising that he could come up with such an idea."

After saying that, he changed the subject and said in a deep voice, "Guanyinbi, you should go there in person to deal with Qingque's matter."

Empress Zhangsun stood up and said, "I will make the arrangements immediately."

After he left, Li Shimin let out a breath, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Anan, send someone to convey my oral decree to Yuchi Jingde."

Li Shimin gritted his teeth and said, "That bastard, I don't believe he doesn't know what going to the sea pool means. Knowing this, he still dared to go. I've spared him the punishment of being a city gate guard. He's only been there a few days and he's already forgotten himself. Let him continue guarding the palace gate!"

"The slaves obey the order."

…………

In Huai De Fang, Cheng Jun rode his Akhal-Teke horse 'Adolf' home at breakneck speed.

Before he could even enter the mansion, he bumped into Cheng Chumo and Cheng Chuliang.

Cheng Chumo greeted him, "Third brother, you're back."

"Something came up, so I came back for a bit."

Cheng Jun smiled, then suddenly noticed the bluish-purple tinges on their faces and asked in confusion, "What happened to you two?"

Cheng Chumo said truthfully, "I can't tell, you just got beaten up."

"She was perfectly fine this morning..." Cheng Jun asked, puzzled. "Why?"

Cheng Chumo said indignantly, "Our father is a real scoundrel. He ate one extra piece of bread at breakfast this morning, and he said I ate too much!"

Cheng Jun asked, "And then?"

Cheng Chumo cursed, "And then? He ate one more piece than me, and he has the nerve to criticize me? I just ripped the biscuit out of his mouth right in front of him!"