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

"It wasn't Imperial Censor Cheng who did it."

Seeing Li Shimin's astonished expression, Zhu Zishe quickly added, "It was the Silla envoy who did it."

Li Shimin glared at him and said, "Is there any way to speak so succinctly?"

Zhu Zishe couldn't help but chuckle dryly.

Li Shimin asked, "Did he just stand by and watch the Silla envoys kill people without stopping them?"

Zhu Zishe quickly replied, "He stopped him."

Li Shimin frowned and said, "Since you're stopping them, are you going to let the Silla envoys kill them?"

Zhu Zishe chuckled awkwardly, "Imperial Censor Cheng is stopping the envoy from Goguryeo..."

"..."

Li Shimin was taken aback again, pondering his words, and asked, "Does the Goguryeo envoy intend to retaliate?"

Zhu Zishe explained, "It wasn't a retaliation; the Goguryeo envoy tried to escape, but was stopped by Imperial Censor Cheng..."

Li Shimin angrily said, "Is this how you block me? Isn't this intentional!"

Zhu Zishe said, "It wasn't intentional; it was just an accident."

Li Shimin could no longer sit still. He suddenly stood up, turned to Zhang Anan, and said, "Anan, prepare the carriage for the Court of State Ceremonial. I want to go see him!"

"The slaves obey the order."

Zhang Anan immediately went outside the palace and instructed the young eunuch to prepare the imperial carriage.

As Li Shimin walked towards the outside of the palace, he waved for Zhu Zishe to follow, saying, "Zhu Shaoqing, you come along too."

Zhu Zishe was somewhat reluctant. Both Li Shimin and Cheng Jun were like firecrackers, easily ignited. If he went with them, he would most likely get blown up.

But Li Shimin's words were law, so Zhu Zishe had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Your subject obeys."

…………

In the main hall of the Honglu Guest House.

Cheng Jun sat on the stool, head down in thought. Given Li Shimin's temperament, he would probably question him.

However, there's nothing to worry about... Cheng Jun looked relaxed. Li Shimin is a reasonable person; as long as you explain things to him clearly, there won't be any problems.

The Zhenguan era was so much better; when you're in the right, you have nothing to fear...

Just as Cheng Jun was pondering, a clerk from the Court of State Ceremonial entered and respectfully asked:

"Imperial Censor Cheng, should we scan the area outside?"

Cheng Jun waved his hand and said, "Scan it."

"promise."

The official from the Court of State Ceremonial acknowledged the order and turned to leave.

Not long after, the official from the Court of State Ceremonial entered again. "Imperial Censor Cheng, His Majesty has arrived!"

Why did he come directly here...? Cheng Jun was a little surprised. He thought Li Shimin would call him over for questioning, but he didn't expect him to come in person.

"understood."

After Cheng Jun finished speaking, he carefully got up, noticed that the shape of the stool was slightly crooked, bent down to straighten it, and then walked out.

As soon as he arrived at the Honglu Guest House, he saw Li Shimin riding in a royal palanquin toward him.

Cheng Jun stood to one side, and only after the imperial carriage landed steadily did he bow and say, "Your subject Cheng Jun pays his respects to Your Majesty."

Li Shimin looked him over and said with a stern face, "Minister Cheng, I just heard about your matter from Minister Zhu."

Cheng Jun glanced at Zhu Zishe standing next to Zhang Anan, hesitated for two seconds, and then bowed to Li Shimin again, saying:

"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty."

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "I wasn't praising you!"

Cheng Jun said earnestly, "Your subject thanks you in advance."

Seeing his appearance, Li Shimin laughed in exasperation. This kid was far more reckless than his father. He sneered, "Do you think I came here to praise you?"

The matter of the King of Wei and the matter of the Crown Prince have not yet been settled with him.

This is perfect; we can settle everything at once.

"Let's go in and talk!"

Li Shimin strode into the Honglu Guest House and headed towards the main hall.

Cheng Jun followed closely behind and arrived at the hall. Seeing the two stools inside, he glanced at Zhu Zishe, who was already sweating profusely, and said without changing his expression, "Zhu Shaoqing, go and get some cushions."

Before Zhu Zishe could respond, Li Shimin waved his hand and pointed to the stool, saying:

"No need, there's a stool here, I'll sit here."

After speaking, Li Shimin walked to the stool, bent down, and sat down naturally without any suspicion.

Oh no... Zhu Zishe's face turned pale. This stool looks like it has four legs, but only one leg is actually usable; the other three legs are just for show.

He glanced at Cheng Jun and found him calm, composed, and as steady as a mountain. He clicked his tongue in surprise. Was he really that bold...?

boom!

At that moment, a muffled thud echoed throughout the hall.

Zhu Zishe looked at Li Shimin sitting on the ground with a bewildered expression, closed his eyes, and thought to himself, "This is it."

Just then, Cheng Jun suddenly moved, quickly walked to Li Shimin, and asked kindly, "Your Majesty, are you alright?"

Li Shimin snapped out of his daze, glanced down, and plopped down on the stool. Three legs were broken. Only then did he realize what had happened and looked up to ask:

Why are there Hu stools in the Court of State Ceremonial?

Cheng Jun explained, "I am not used to sitting on soft cushions, so I asked Zhu Shaoqing to prepare two stools in advance."

Li Shimin pointed to another stool next to him and asked, "Why are there two stools? Are you sitting on one with only half your buttocks on it?"

Cheng Jun explained, "The other one is for Zhu Shaoqing."

As he spoke, he looked at Zhu Zishe.

Zhu Zishe immediately went to Li Shimin's side, helped him up, and changed the subject, saying, "Your Majesty, didn't you want to ask Cheng Jun about the Goguryeo envoy?"

He felt he couldn't continue this topic; if he did, he and Cheng Jun might lose their heads.

Li Shimin, however, thought he was trying to save face for him, which was why he changed the subject. His expression softened, and he took the opportunity to back down:

"Cheng Jun, Minister Zhu says you caused Goguryeo to suffer a fatal blow. What happened?"

Cheng Jun decisively replied, "It was done by the Silla envoy."

Li Shimin stared at him and asked, "Why did you stop the Goguryeo envoy from running away?"

Cheng Jun spread his hands and said, "I can't just do nothing, can I?"

"..."

What you've done is worse than not doing it at all...

Li Shimin twitched the corner of his mouth and asked, "What arrangements were made for the Goguryeo envoy?"

Cheng Jun said, "He has already been sent to the Imperial Medical Academy for treatment."

Li Shimin grunted in agreement, patted his bottom, and said, "With Chao Yuanfang and Sun Simiao here, he should be fine."

After saying that, he reminded Cheng Jun, "Be careful next time, don't stop the wrong person again!"

Cheng Jun smiled and said, "As you command."

Just as Imperial Censor Cheng had said, His Majesty really would protect his own people... Zhu Zishe looked at Cheng Jun with admiration; he truly had His Majesty firmly in his grasp.

Just then, an official from the Court of State Ceremonial brought over three soft cushions.

Li Shimin sat on the cushion, then pointed to two other cushions, indicating that Cheng Jun and Zhu Zishe should sit down.

Once the two were seated, Li Shimin looked at Cheng Jun and asked, "Now that the Goguryeo envoy has been stabbed, it will probably make the mediation even more difficult. Do you have any ideas?"

Cheng Jun nodded and said, "Yes."

Li Shimin asked, "What brilliant plan do you have?"

Cheng Jun said, "I only have one word: delay."

Li Shimin was taken aback upon hearing this, then widened his eyes and said, "You tell me in front of me that you want to delay doing what I entrusted to you. Do you think that's appropriate?"