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

"Your words have truly touched my heart."

Li Shimin sighed, “Now that I have ascended the throne, I have finally achieved the sweetness after all the hardships. But I must remember the bitterness from time to time so that I can appreciate how hard-won the sweetness was. This is why I value the censors so much. I want you to remind me at all times that I must not follow the path of a foolish ruler!”

As he spoke, he looked at the flatbread in his hand, gently patted off the dirt, broke off a piece, put it in his mouth, and chewed:

“Cheng Aiqing, your words are like this cake covered in dust. They taste bitter at first, but you can taste their sweetness if you savor them carefully.”

"You have rendered meritorious advice, and I shall reward you!"

Li Shimin gave him an approving look, "Tell me, what reward do you want?"

Cheng Jun sincerely said, "I am an imperial censor, Your Majesty's eyes and ears. I only wish to share Your Majesty's burdens and let everyone in the world feel Your Majesty's love for the people."

These words warmed Li Shimin's heart, and he smiled and said, "The emperor's word is as good as gold. Since I said I would reward you, then I shall reward you!"

Cheng Jun thought for a moment and said, "If Your Majesty truly wishes to reward me, I would like to request Your Majesty to bestow a calligraphy upon me!"

"A bestowed title?" Li Shimin asked curiously, "What title do you want me to bestow upon you?"

Cheng Jun solemnly said, "Savor the bitterness to appreciate the sweetness!"

"Although Your Majesty already knows the importance of appreciating the bitterness and appreciating the sweetness, the people do not yet know that if these four words were given to the person who makes the cakes, and that person were made to become Your Majesty's mouthpiece to promote the principle of appreciating the bitterness and appreciating the sweetness, then the people would also think about how difficult it was to start a business, and thus be down-to-earth and not do anything illegal!"

Li Shimin thought it over and found it increasingly reasonable, so he readily agreed, "Alright, I'll do as you say!"

"Your Majesty, I will grind the ink for you!"

Cheng Jun immediately brought over a writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and placed them on the imperial desk.

Li Shimin walked over, picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the four characters "品苦思甜" (pǐ kǔ sī tián) in large, flowing ink. He nodded in satisfaction, put down his brush, and asked, "Who is this person who made the cake?"

Cheng Jun said, "She is the mother of Du Jingjian, the intern officer."

Li Shimin suddenly realized, "Du Jingjian, I've heard of him. He's a famous scholar in Da'anfang. I heard he comes from a poor family and only has his elderly mother... Hmm, he's a virtuous man, so his mother must be a reasonable person as well. This calligraphy can be given to Du Jingjian's mother. I agree."

Cheng Jun cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Li Shimin looked at the sesame cakes in his basket, his appetite whetted, and asked, "Are there any sesame cakes in the basket that haven't fallen to the ground?"

Cheng Jun said, "Just that one, the others are all clean."

"Leave the flatbread, but take this calligraphy and the basket with you and go home!"

Li Shimin waved his hand and said.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Cheng Jun neatly placed the remaining flatbreads on the imperial desk, cupped his hands in greeting, and turned to leave.

Li Shimin looked at the ten flatbreads on the table, thought for a moment, and said to the outside of the hall, "Someone! Take these two flatbreads to the Empress and the Princess!"

…………

Cheng Jun, carrying a basket in one hand and a letter in the other, left the palace. As soon as he stepped out of Chengtian Gate, he saw Yuchi Jingde grinning at the red-lacquered palace gate. He asked curiously, "Uncle Yuchi, what's wrong?"

Yuchi Jingde said unhappily, "I was scolded by Zhang, the eunuch by His Majesty's side, and I have nowhere to vent my anger. I'm feeling really stifled!"

After saying that, he looked Cheng Jun up and down and asked in puzzlement, "Nephew Cheng, how do you manage to offend His Majesty every time you enter the palace, yet leave without any consequences?"

Cheng Jun pondered for a moment and said, "That's a long story. Uncle Yuchi, would you like some pancakes? I'll bring you some when I get back!"

Yuchi Jingde sensed that he had something else to say, so he held up five fingers and said, "Give me fifty."

"Then I'll go!"

"Get busy!"

…………

Not long after, Cheng Jun returned to Da'anfang. When he was almost at the Du family's gate, he saw Yu Chi Baolin standing there with his eyes wide open in anger, leading six retainers from the Duke of Wu's mansion, confronting ten people.

Among those ten people, one of them was Zhu Fangzheng from Da'anfang.

Standing in front of Zhu Fangzheng was a middle-aged man dressed as a clerk from the Ministry of Personnel.

Beside him stood eight burly clerks from the Chang'an County government.

He was the money-collecting clerk from the Ministry of Personnel that Zhu Fangzheng had mentioned... Cheng Jun made his judgment and stood calmly at the street corner, watching the movements at the Du family's door.

Yuchi Baolin is perfectly capable of handling the current situation; there's no need for him to intervene.

Cheng Jun decided to hide to the side and observe first.

"Guard the gate properly, no one is allowed to come out or go in alone!"

Yu Chi Baolin's loud voice echoed all around.

Zhu Fang, covering his cheek, glared at Yuchi Baolin and scolded, "This is not the Duke of Wu's residence, why won't you let us in?"

Yu Chi Baolin narrowed his eyes, staring at the handprint on his face, and cursed, "Do I need to explain myself to a lowly clerk like you? One slap wasn't enough, you want another?"

"go away!"

"Vulgar!" Zhu Fangzheng couldn't help but curse, and when he saw him glaring at him, he panicked.

Cheng Jun looks like such a reasonable person, yet he still managed to slap him.

The man in front of me, Yuchi Baolin, doesn't seem like a reasonable person at all. If I anger him, even Lin Lingshi might not be able to protect him.

At this moment, the middle-aged clerk from the Ministry of Personnel, who was in charge of collecting money, suddenly spoke up: "Yuchi Baolin, are you trying to obstruct the work of my Ministry of Personnel?"

Yu Chi Baolin scoffed, "A mere clerk can represent the Ministry of Personnel? Can't the Ministry of Personnel find a decent person to send you here?"

Lin Lingshi said angrily, "Stop your nonsense and answer me directly!"

Yuchi Baolin scratched his ear, then flicked it, sending the earwax he had picked out flying onto the man. Looking at the man's unpleasant expression, he grinned and said, "If you want me to answer, then send someone else who is an official. You, a nobody, do you think you're worthy of asking me to answer?"

Enraged, Magistrate Lin roared at the eight clerks from Chang'an County behind him, "Charge in and arrest Du Jingjian!"

Yu Chi Baolin saw the eight clerks from Chang'an County take a few steps forward, his gaze instantly turning sharp, and he cursed:

"I am Yuchi Baolin, and my father is Duke of Wu, General Yuchi Jingde! I'm standing right here. Try bumping into me, and I'll immediately lie down on the ground and drag you to see the Magistrate of Chang'an! If the Magistrate of Chang'an doesn't skin you alive, I'll have my father skin the Magistrate of Chang'an alive!"