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

As an advisor, how could Wang Gui possibly lose his composure because of a few words from a young man? He originally didn't want to pay any more attention to him, but upon hearing such provocative words, he still inexplicably said, "What wouldn't this old man dare to do?"

Cheng Jun said, "The phrase 'unable to protect the master' is a quote from the Emperor Emeritus, which my father used to describe the princes. The Emperor Emeritus once punished the princes, saying that you failed to persuade the Crown Prince, causing the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin to fall out. This is the source of the quote."

"My lord, let me remind you: if you impeach my father for using these words to scold you, it means you are saying that the Emperor Emeritus is wrong. The so-called ruler is the guide for his subjects, and the father is the guide for his son. If you criticize the Emperor Emeritus, it is more despicable than a son scolding his father. Be careful, someone might use this as a pretext to impeach you!"

Upon hearing this, the civil officials looked at Cheng Jun with strange expressions, and some even clicked their tongues in amazement.

"Excellent eloquence!"

Cheng Jun used the tiger's skin as a banner to bind Cheng Yaojin, the retired emperor, and His Majesty together, making Wang Gui hesitant to act rashly.

This made Wang Gui afraid to even file a complaint, because doing so would offend the retired emperor and His Majesty.

However, the phrase "unable to protect the master" in this sentence has another meaning, because Wang Gui was once Li Jiancheng's teacher, and Li Jiancheng was later killed because of the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

To put it bluntly, the phrase "cannot protect the master" is actually an insult to him.

This shows just how powerful Cheng Jun's words were.

"well said!"

Yuchi Jingde laughed loudly and clapped his hands.

The military officers sitting on the east side were overjoyed. It was the first time they had ever seen someone who could silence Wang Gui, especially the son of a military officer. They all cast admiring glances at Cheng Jun.

Wang Gui's face was extremely ugly. He stared at Cheng Jun, his lips trembling but unable to utter a word for a long time. Finally, he flicked his sleeve and coldly snorted:

"You're all talk and no action. Today, with the selection of imperial censors, I'd like to see how you'll fail miserably!"

Cheng Jun looked at him and said in the softest tone, "Coward!"

Wang Gui shuddered, turned around abruptly, and glared at Cheng Jun with wide eyes. "You brat! How dare you insult me?"

Cheng Jun pointed to the Turkic horse that had run off to graze nearby and chuckled, "Your Highness, please don't misunderstand. I'm talking about this horse; its name is 'Coward.'"

Having said that, he picked up his riding whip, walked over, and lashed the saddle hard, cursing in the beautiful, melodious Chang'an dialect:

"You son of a bitch, where are you running off to, you beast! You've even forgotten how many people you've followed! Who do you think you are, a donkey that can't even protect your ancestors!"

The black Turkic horse raised its head and glanced at Cheng Jun, thinking he was looking for it to play. It moved its face closer and stuck out its tongue at Cheng Jun, hissing softly.

"Hahahaha!" The military officers from the east couldn't help but burst into laughter.

If Cheng Jun was subtly criticizing Wang Gui earlier, he is now openly cursing him.

"You brat!! Try swearing again!"

Wang Gui was so angry he almost vomited blood. The laughter of his colleagues around him felt like needles piercing his skin, making him even more furious.

Cheng Jun paused, then looked at Wang Gui with a simple, honest smile, pointing to the black Turkic horse and saying, "Your Highness, I'm talking about this horse. Don't be hasty, I'm not talking about you!"

"Hahahahaha!"

The military officers looked at Cheng Jun with an air of "I'll scold you, you'll suffer the consequences," and the more they looked at him, the more they liked him. When they saw Wang Gui's exasperated appearance, they all burst into laughter, and the air outside the palace gates was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

"You, you..." Wang Gui pointed at Cheng Jun, his fingernails trembling. Suddenly, he let out a cry, stumbled, and fell straight to the ground with a thud.

The sudden scene silenced the surroundings, startling both the civil and military officials.

One of the civil officials hurriedly went over to support Wang Gui, patted his cheek, and called out, "Lord Wang, Lord Wang?"

Wang Gui kept his eyes closed and his lips tightly pressed together, and did not respond no matter how he was called.

"The prince has fainted! Quickly, take him to the Imperial Medical Bureau!"

When the civil and military officials realized it was real, they panicked instantly. Some got up, grabbed their horses, and ran home, afraid of getting into trouble.

More people surrounded Wang Gui and carried him to the Imperial Medical Bureau.

The remaining people stood aside and watched them go to the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Among them was the sneer-smiling Black Charcoal General, Yuchi Jingde.

"Chuxia, well done! You've really given our warriors a good dressing down today! I've been wanting to get rid of that scoundrel Wang for ages!"

Cheng Jun spread his hands innocently and said, "It has nothing to do with me. I didn't scold him."

Yuchi Jingde stared blankly at Cheng Jun, and seeing his serious expression that clearly didn't want to get involved, he grinned knowingly and said, "Right, right, who insulted him? You insulted him as a beast. That scoundrel Wang deserves it!"

At this moment, the palace gate was suddenly opened from the inside. The young men who were standing at the door looking in this direction immediately regained their composure, identified themselves, and filed in.

"The time for the selection of imperial censors is approaching, you'd better hurry over!" Yuchi Jingde patted him on the back and said with a smile.

Cheng Jun bowed politely and said, "Uncle Yuchi, I will pay you a visit another day!"

Yuchi Jingde laughed heartily, "Alright! I'll wait for you to come and drink with me!"

Under the watchful eyes of Yuchi Jingde, Cheng Jun walked to the palace gate, verified his identity with the palace eunuch, and stepped into the Vermilion Bird Gate.

The Vermilion Bird Gate is still some distance from the Taiji Palace. You need to pass through three more palace gates, namely "Chengtian," "Jiade," and "Taiji," before you can reach the main hall where the selection of imperial censors takes place.

Upon arriving at Chengtian Gate, Cheng Jun caught up with the young men participating in the imperial censor selection, and greeted them with a smile and a cupped-hand salute:

"Gentlemen, my name is Cheng Jun, courtesy name Chuxia. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

The boys stopped and stared at the departing figures. Some looked on with curiosity, some with fear, some with dread, and some with terror.

"So you are the son of the Duke of Su, I've heard so much about you!"

"Young Master Cheng is a man of exceptional talent and appearance, truly remarkable!"

"Seeing is believing, Young Master Cheng! We are truly impressed!"

The young men, who came from humble backgrounds, greeted each other politely with clasped hands.

The son of a military officer who had just been eyeing him with curiosity asked, "Brother Chuxia, what brings you here?"

Cheng Jun smiled and said, "You all don't know me. Actually, I like to make friends with heroes. Those of you who are here today to participate in the selection of imperial censors are either talented people from various neighborhoods or young masters from prominent families. I wonder if you would like to befriend me? If you don't mind, please accept this small token of my appreciation."

After speaking, Cheng Jun took out wooden plaques from his pocket and handed them to everyone one by one.

"Gentleman?"

Someone noticed the writing on the wooden sign and read it aloud.

Seeing everyone's gazes, Cheng Jun said sincerely, "As the saying goes, a gentleman is inclusive but not partisan, while a petty person is partisan but not inclusive. I hope that today's selection of censors can be seen more as a selection of gentlemen. Only three censors will be selected, but there can be countless gentlemen!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was filled with awe and respect.

"Brother Chuxia is absolutely right! I will accept your offer!"

"I would be willing to befriend Brother Chuxia!"

"It is my greatest honor to know Brother Chuxia!"

The boys from humble backgrounds were overjoyed to receive the wooden plaques and carefully hung them on their waists.

The sons of military officers casually accepted the gifts and hung them on their waists.

The sons of civil officials hesitated for a few seconds before taking the wooden plaques, hanging them on their waists, and subtly concealing them with their jade pendants.

In an instant, everyone except a couple of people accepted the wooden plaque.

Cheng Jun looked at the two men who had confiscated his wooden plaque. One boy had a cold expression, while the other had a smiling face. He asked, "What are your names?"

"Wei Shuyu!"

Wei Shuyu? The son of another notorious troll from the Tang Dynasty?

Cheng Jun's gaze shifted directly from the aloof-looking boy's face to the smiling boy.

The other party said arrogantly, "Feng Yandao!"

Feng Yandao?

The son of Prime Minister Feng Deyi?

Cheng Jun recalled the details of Feng Yandao recorded on the paper and asked, "Why didn't you accept the wooden plaque, brother?"

Feng Yandao glanced at the wooden plaque in his hand. Although it was exquisite, it was of ordinary quality and obviously worthless. His smile carried a hint of disdain. "My father is honest and upright and doesn't like me accepting things from others."

I wonder if your father ever told you that if you don't know how to be polite, you'll get beaten up... Cheng Jun glanced at Feng Yandao with a deep look, then ignored him, put away the remaining wooden plaques, and turned to look at the others.

The list my elder brother brought back yesterday shows that among the sons of officials, sixty are sons of military officers and fifty-five are sons of civil officials.

Excluding the 108 young men from the common people, there should be 115 sons of officials present today.

But now, the number of sons of all officials is only 112.

Three people are missing....

I wonder if the three missing men are the sons of civil officials or military officials...

Cheng Jun pondered for a moment, then asked loudly:

"Gentlemen, your father holds a military official position in the court. May I raise my hand to indicate that he is one of them?"