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

After speaking, Lu Ting glanced at everyone and said:

"You should remember that His Majesty once ordered Cheng Jun to seize money. Cheng Jun produced clear wine. In order to make money from clear wine, he used merchants to ruin the reputation of cloudy wine, causing no one to dare to buy cloudy wine, while clear wine became extremely popular for a time."

"Today, let's follow his example and let everyone in the capital know that this earthquake was caused entirely by Cheng Jun, do you understand?"

Everyone understood that Lu Ting wanted them to go out and spread rumors, and they all hesitated.

Seeing this, Lu Ting straightened his face and said in a low voice:

"We've already reached a life-or-death situation. What are you still hesitating about? If you fail to bring down Cheng Jun this time, do you know what will happen to you?"

The twelve people exchanged glances, then nodded in unison:

"I'll understand later."

Lu Ting's expression softened, and he said, "Remember, don't be stingy with money. At the same time, find as many people as possible and make sure the word gets around."

.............

The autumn sun, carrying a hint of coolness, fell on the tiles of the Ganlu Palace.

The blame also fell on Cheng Jun, who was heading towards the Ganlu Hall.

Cheng Jun arrived at the palace entrance, adjusted the xiezhi crown on his head and the crimson official robe on his body, before entering the palace. He saw Li Shimin sitting on the dragon throne with his eyes closed, resting. He bowed and said:

"Your subject Cheng Jun greets Your Majesty."

Li Shimin opened his eyes and first turned to face Zhang A'nan:

"Ananda, please take a seat."

Cheng Jun accepted the cushion offered by Zhang Anan and bowed again, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Seeing Cheng Jun sit down, Li Shimin slowly said:

“Minister Cheng, your idea of ​​using their methods to deal with them is quite good.”

Cheng Jun pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty flatters me. I was just a little quick to react."

Li Shimin nodded slightly. Indeed, this kid's reaction was really quick.

On the day of the earthquake, Cheng Jun already had a plan to deal with it.

This led all the civil and military officials to agree that the earthquake had nothing to do with him.

As for Changsun Wuji, he was just lucky.

Those who are dismissed from office later are more likely to suffer misfortune.

After all, earthquakes cannot continue indefinitely; they will eventually stop.

This was to be expected.

It was a matter of who would be unlucky; just as he was about to be dismissed from office, the earthquake stopped.

Li Shimin wasn't concerned about that at the moment; he was more concerned about something else. He stared at Cheng Jun and asked, "Was the dream you mentioned at the morning court session true or false?"

Cheng Jun was taken aback, genuinely not expecting Li Shimin to ask him this. After thinking for a moment, he asked in return, "Does Your Majesty think it's true or false?"

Li Shimin, with his arms crossed, leaned against the back of the dragon throne and said:

"To be honest, I think you are talking nonsense, but you mentioned the Southern Heavenly Gate, the Golden Palace, the Lingxiao Palace, and even the Jade Emperor's title so clearly, as if you had seen it with your own eyes."

"That's right, I can't just watch Journey to the West for nothing..." Cheng Jun said earnestly, "If Your Majesty believes in this, I can only say that it's fortunate that you are Your Majesty."

Li Shimin was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

Cheng Jun said, "If you were an ordinary citizen, you wouldn't have to worry about selling the brass that swindlers use as 'gold'."

"..."

"You say I'm easy to fool..." Li Shimin twitched the corner of his mouth, glared at him, and didn't continue. Instead, he asked:

"Let's get down to business. What Lu Ting said earlier wasn't without merit. If I dismiss them now, and the earthquake still occurs, what should I do?"

"Whom should I punish then?"

Li Shimin said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "We can't let the punishment end up on me, can we?"

Cheng Jun shook his head and said, "No, if the earthquake continues, it means that everyone in the court is right."

Li Shimin frowned and said, "If no one is wrong, then who is wrong?"

Cheng Jun said seriously, "We can pass the problem on to the Turks."

"It is said that Heaven is angry because His Majesty has not yet resolved the external threats, which is why it sent down this warning."

This kid's brain is really sharp... Li Shimin's eyes flashed, "Such a good idea, why didn't you say so earlier?"

If he had said that earlier, none of these problems would have arisen.

Cheng Jun sighed and said, "It's all Lu Ting's fault. Who told him to impeach me?"

"If he doesn't impeach me, can I remain silent? If he does impeach me, and I shift the blame to the Turks now, what chance will Lu Ting have?"

Li Shimin frowned and said, "Minister Cheng, do you think it's right to have such a vengeful heart?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Jun understood the implication and decisively replied, "Your Majesty, I am not retaliating against him; I am trying to share your burdens."

Li Shimin chuckled and said, "I don't think so."

Cheng Jun said, "Who is Lu Ting? He comes from one of the Five Clans and Seven Families. And those who speak up for Lu Ting, every single one of them is related to one of the Five Clans and Seven Families."

"They were dismissed from their posts because of my words. Does this relieve Your Majesty of a worry?"

Cheng Jun solemnly replied, "Tell me, am I trying to share your burdens?"

"..."

Li Shimin lowered his arms from his shoulders, sat up straight, and gazed at him, saying:

"Why do I get the feeling that you're simply seeking revenge against him?"

Cheng Jun replied without hesitation, "I am not that kind of person!"

Li Shimin pondered for a long time, realizing he still couldn't trust him at all. However, he also knew that if he continued arguing with him, the man might have to switch from defense to offense. So he changed the subject, saying:

"Besides shifting the blame to the Turks, what other options are there?"

Cheng Jun thought for a moment, then pointed to the top of his head and said, "We can also ginseng it."

"After our self-examination, we found that there are no treacherous officials or villains in the court of our Great Tang Dynasty. However, since Heaven has sent down a warning, there is only one possibility: Heaven has made a mistake."

Cheng Jun solemnly said, "Since Heaven has made a mistake but sent down a warning, we can impeach it."

Li Shimin gasped, "Reaching for the sky?"

"That's a bit scary."

Cheng Jun said, "But it will definitely work. This is the most conservative way to solve this problem."

"You're not conservative at all..." Li Shimin muttered to himself, then quickly stopped the conversation, saying, "Go back to your work first, and I'll think about it some more."

"My minister retire."

Cheng Jun cupped his hands in greeting, left Ganlu Hall, and returned to his post at the Censorate.

Although he was supposed to be in office, he mostly just chatted with Xiao Yi and Ma Zhou, since the affairs of the Censorate weren't that numerous.

Around noon, Cheng Jun left the Censorate to go home for lunch. Just as he stepped out of the Vermilion Bird Gate, he saw a middle-aged man riding a black Turkic horse towards him.

This horse looks so familiar... The more Cheng Jun looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. Isn't this the horse I rode back then?

Looking again at the person on horseback, Cheng Jun was surprised, "Uncle Zhong?"

"Saburo!"

Cheng Zhong rode up to Cheng Jun and dismounted.

Seeing his anxious expression, Cheng Jun cut to the chase: "Are you looking for me or my father?"

Cheng Zhongdao said, "This old servant is looking for you."

Cheng Jun frowned and asked, "What happened?"

Cheng Zhong said with a solemn expression, "This old servant has heard that everyone in the market is talking about you, saying that the earthquake didn't stop because of you."

Cheng Jun's heart skipped a beat. "When did this rumor start?"

Cheng Zhongdao said, "This morning."

As he spoke, he said worriedly, "This old servant feels that someone is plotting against Sanlang from behind."

Cheng Jun waved his hand and said, "No need to think about it, it's definitely true."

As he spoke, he told Cheng Zhong about Li Shimin's dismissal of Lu Ting and others at the morning court session.

Cheng Zhong's expression turned angry upon hearing this. "These people are clearly retaliating."

Cheng Jun said, "It's normal for a cornered dog to jump over the wall."

Seeing his calm demeanor and lack of haste, Cheng Zhong also calmed down and said:

"Sanlang, we must quickly find a way to quell the rumors. If the rumors get worse, they will damage Sanlang's reputation."

Cheng Jun nodded slightly, realizing he did need to find a helper. Suddenly, a figure came to mind, and he said, "Uncle Zhong, go to Chongrenfang now."

Cheng Zhong immediately understood what he meant, "You need to ask someone for help?"

Cheng Jun nodded and said, "That's right."

Cheng Zhong asked, "Who does Sanlang want to invite?"

Cheng Jun smiled and said:

"Go and invite my fan leader, the president of Cheng Sanlang's support group, the virtuous Miss Qu Yue, to our residence."