Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

The Crown Prince has returned to the palace!!!

The news arrived as Wang De joyfully drove his carriage through the palace gates into Yangcheng Palace.

The carriage was followed by a cavalry unit of the Eastern Palace's Six Guards, who only accompanied His Highness the Crown Prince, as well as the Embroidered Uniform Guard. As if they had wings, the news spread rapidly throughout the entire Yangcheng Palace.

Shougong Hall.

Emperor Li Shimin, who was completely ignorant of almost everything in Bingzhou Province, as well as the policies and extent of the new administration, and whose various government affairs were inseparable from their assistance, had his daily tea drinking changed from one cup to three cups for the two of them.

Tears streamed down my face instantly.

"You're back! It's good that the Crown Prince is back in the palace! It's good that he's back in the palace!"

"Ah, the Crown Prince is back, everything will be alright again..."

Li Gang's hands, which were holding the ginseng tea bowl, were trembling.

Today, the Emperor and Empress went to inspect the industries in Taiyuan Prefecture, but the administrative duties that needed to be handled were no less, and now they have basically all fallen on the shoulders of these old folks.

Li Gang and his colleague have been sitting in their positions for more than half a day since they started their shift early this morning. It's already noon, and they haven't even had time to eat a proper meal...

Yu Shinan was heartbroken and grabbed the eunuch Gao Hai who had brought him the good news.

"Eunuch Gao, where is His Highness? Is His Highness about to take over the administration of state affairs?"

In a side hall, Wang Yuyan and the other female secretaries of Li Chengqian, whose makeup seemed a bit sloppy today, all pricked up their ears.

His eyes were full of hope.

Gao Hai also looked sympathetic at this moment.

"Ahem, well, Elder Yu, Elder Li, although His Highness has returned to the palace, he went to his bedchamber... saying he wanted to test the other princes' studies over the past few days."

He noticed that the light in everyone's eyes had dimmed somewhat.

Gao Hai hurriedly continued.

"However, gentlemen, there is no need to be nervous. Everyone knows His Highness's temperament. His Highness has always been one to prioritize the overall situation. He has been away for a few days to relax and enjoy himself. Now that he has returned, I believe he will not abandon his duties."

Li Gang and Yu Shinan exchanged a glance and sighed.

That's all I can pray for in my heart.

"Don't click on me, don't click on me, don't click on me..."

Li Zhi was panicked!

I'm so panicked!

For some reason, the emperor, whom we hadn't seen for several days, suddenly returned to the palace today. What was even more terrifying was that as soon as he returned, he immediately decided to test all of our studies.

At this moment, in front of Li Chengqian's sleeping quarters, there is an elegant pavilion where he can usually fish.

Each brazier was placed beside the princes and princesses present, making everyone feel as if they had returned to the Imperial Academy in Chang'an, sitting at a separate table facing an exam paper filled with questions.

He frowned and pondered.

Li You, Li Yin, Li Yun, Li Zhen, and Princess Chang Le, Li Lizhi, were quickly scribbling something with their pencils.

The content on each person's exam paper is different.

Li You's main focus was on mathematics and some basic agricultural problems.

Li Yun, on the other hand, focused on mechanics, levers, and other physical mechanics, combined with mathematics.

Li Yin studied geography, while Li Lizhi studied basic medicine.

The advantage of elite education lies in the fact that the education itself is not limited to books, but can make more use of other resources to assist education.

The training model of practice, interest, and expert instruction has allowed the princes and princesses who came to Taiyuan Prefecture with Li Chengqian earlier to clearly enter the Bingzhou Dao education model.

The pencil in my hand is scratching loudly right now.

On the other hand, at the tables behind them were Princess Chengyang and Princess Gaoyang, who had come from Chang'an later with Li Er and his wife, as well as Prince Li Zhi.

At this moment, however, they were all frowning as they faced the examination questions for the First Official Academy's student class.

Li Zhi lowered his head, pretending to mutter calculations, his pencil hovering over the questions, but the tip never touched the answer sheet.

His eyes glanced in the direction of his elder brother, the Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

Seeing that the other person was facing this way, leisurely fishing, I couldn't help but start to sway gently, leaning my back against the wall.

"Bang bang..."

Li Zhi slightly bumped into Princess Yuzhang's table behind him, and nervously stared in the direction of his elder brother.

Keep your voice as low as possible.

"Choose question five..."

Princess Yuzhang paused in her calculations, not quite hearing what was being said. Even more nervous than Li Zhi, she instinctively looked ahead.

"Wha, what?"

Li Zhi anxiously said, "Choose question five..."

Which number should we choose?

"five!"

"Multiple choice?"

Li Zhi: "......"

Frustration and tension caused Li Zhi's face to turn red as he lowered his head.

Just as I was about to repeat myself, a faint voice suddenly came from ahead.

"Child, what's the answer to the fifth multiple-choice question?"

Li Chengqian continued to look at his fishing rod, but Li Zhi and Yuzhang were so frightened that they immediately shrank back.

There was a sound of footsteps.

Li Zhi cautiously looked up and saw Chu Dahai, the head chef of the imperial kitchen, walking over with a huge plate on his face and an excited smile on his face.

"Your Highness, you're finally back! I've recently developed some new desserts..."

As Chu Dahai spoke, he lifted the lid off the plate in his hand.

These are nine-compartment plates, similar to those used to hold sweets, melon seeds, peanuts, etc., with each one a strangely shaped but somewhat comical doll-like pastry.

This caused Li Zhi's gaze to instantly widen.

Chu Dahai smiled.

"Your Highness, these are rice cakes made according to your instructions. Some have fillings, some have milk and sugar added, and these colored ones are mixed with fruit juice..."

"Gudong~"

Li Zhi was somewhat unable to reason.

Li Chengqian nodded, signaling the other party to put the things down, and then picked up one of the pastries that looked like a yellow-skinned mouse and put it in his mouth.

"Hmm, not bad, millet cake with red bean paste filling, um, the sweetness is just right..."

A rare look of surprise appeared on Li Chengqian's face, which made Chu Dahai even more excited.

He rubbed his hands together and chuckled.

"Your Highness mentioned the recipe for those rice noodles a few days ago, and I've been working on it myself. I'm starting to get a feel for it now. Your Highness, just wait a little longer, and I'm sure we'll be able to..."

Li Chengqian reminded him: "Slurp rice noodles."

"Yes, yes, it's rice noodles! Hehe."

Li Chengqian and Chu Dahai chatted about food. Li Chengqian liked all three staple foods: rice noodles, wheat noodles, and rice. The first batch of chili peppers had already been harvested.

He could also let Chu Dahai bring out all the delicacies from his previous life, collectively known as...Bingzhou cuisine.

After the exam, as a royal clock chimed, Li Zhi, filled with despair and trepidation, handed his mostly blank exam paper to Wang De, who was collecting the papers.

Wang De merely glanced at him, his eyes filled with pity as he looked at the Seventh Prince.

After collecting the papers, Li Chengqian did not immediately begin grading them.

After chatting with these younger siblings about everyday matters and asking them how things were going in Bingzhou Road, I decided to have a chat with them.

That is, to let everyone leave.

Here at the Shougong Hall.

Li Shimin was somewhat nervous. He stopped reviewing the documents in his hand and was now frowning, holding a pencil and scribbling on the paper.

Beside her, Empress Zhangsun, Consort Yang, Consort Wei, Consort Yin, and several other concubines were giving instructions.

"Your Majesty, you're being too authoritative here. This is an apology, how can you speak like an emperor? No matter what you say, coming from the emperor's mouth, it's neither a reprimand nor a pleasant sound. You are the Crown Prince's father, change it... don't use '朕' (zhen, the imperial proclamation), change it to '我' (wo, the emperor)..."

"Your Majesty, when you admit a mistake, you should do it properly. Praise the Crown Prince more. What son in the world doesn't want to be praised by his father? Once the Crown Prince's anger subsides, won't this matter be resolved?"

"Your Majesty, please remember to speak gently when the time comes..."

Li Shimin's old face turned bright red, his mouth agape as he stared at the words on the paper before him, words he was too ashamed to utter.

For a moment, my legs felt weak.

"Guanyinbi, it's just an apology, why go to such lengths? This...this is written like a love letter, this...how am I supposed to face him after this?"

Emperor Taizong of Tang was in a difficult position.

"Oh dear, Your Majesty~ I didn't say you had to read it aloud. You still have to improvise. Come on, keep writing. Just write about the look in your eyes that day, Chengqian. It broke my heart, made me feel like I had a bitter taste in my mouth, but it was my own fault, and I had no way to express my suffering..."

It was as if some switch had been flipped on Yin Fei.

He pulled Li Er aside and urged him to continue writing the apology.

Her pretty face was flushed with excitement.

Not far away, Li Gang and Yu Shinan, whose faces were obscured by tall documents, exchanged a glance and both sighed inwardly.

"This is an insult to scholarship, an insult to scholarship indeed..."

Dusk arrives.

Candles were lit in the Shougong Hall.

Sweating profusely, Li Shimin held the "love letter" in his hands and stammered as he read it aloud under the excited gazes of Empress Zhangsun and the other concubines.

In a side hall, Wang Yuyan, Wu Shun, and other female officials from the secretariat, who should have been off duty, were present.

Each of them held documents in their hands, pretending to be busy, but they all pricked up their ears, waiting with curiosity and tension for the sound coming from the other side.

"Ah~ Chengqian, you are my eyes, allowing me to see clearly the right and wrong, the black and white of this world~"

"Pfft!"

One of the female officials couldn't help but burst out laughing, but her female colleague next to her quickly covered her mouth.

Wang Yuyan bit her red lips, her eyebrows curving upwards.

He tilted his head back, trying to suppress a laugh, thinking about all sorts of sad things, but his shoulders trembled with each suppressed laugh.

Li Shimin looked speechlessly at Consort Yin and the others who were now laughing so hard they couldn't catch their breath, and then glanced at Empress Zhangsun, who was covering her mouth and trying to hold it in.

"Guanyinbi, perhaps I should just issue an edict of self-reproach? At least with an edict of self-reproach, I'll still have some face to live on. This thing..."

Consort Yin clapped her hands and hurriedly stepped forward to stop her.

It's both a way of being affectionate and an encouragement.

"Oh dear, Your Majesty, please believe us. No one can withstand such an apology. If you do this, not only will the Crown Prince no longer be angry, but he will also have no reason to pursue the matter further, right?"

"Does Your Majesty not wish to reconcile with the Crown Prince as before, just like when you played cards and fished together in Chang'an?"

Li Er was tempted, but he always felt that an edict of self-reproach would be safer.

at this time.

Wang De suddenly rushed over.

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has returned to his palace and should not leave the palace today!"

Immediately, several concubines pushed and pulled Li Shimin towards the outside.

"Quickly, Your Majesty, clear up the misunderstanding as soon as possible!"

Li Chengqian had just sat down in his bedroom, preparing to grade the exam papers of his younger siblings and find out how they were doing in their studies.

Before I could even sit down properly, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from behind.

"Knock knock knock!"

A knock sounded at the door, and a member of the Imperial Guard entered.

"Your Highness, urgent report from the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Imperial University! Top Secret Research Project Number One Successful!"

"what?!"

Li Zhi nervously peeked out and, after seeing his elder brother hurriedly lead the Imperial Guards out again, looked around and suddenly gritted his teeth.

They made their way towards the palace.

The palace was empty; all the Imperial Guards in the vicinity had been summoned away by his own elder brother.

As soon as Li Zhi slipped in, he spotted the stack of exam papers on the table. He quickly snapped out of his daze, locked the palace door, took out a pencil from his pocket, and hurried over to the exam papers.

He found his own exam paper, and then he found the exam papers of several of his older sisters who were very good at their studies.

Li Zhi's face was flushed with a mixture of excitement and nervousness.

With the scratching sound of the pen tip, he quickly filled in the blank test paper.

Li Zhi, who had finished tidying up his things and was about to leave, suddenly noticed a plate of pastries next to him.

"Gudong..."

Outside the palace.

Li Shimin looked back every few steps, watching the concubines in the pavilion behind him cheering him on, but he still felt uncertain.

Arriving at the door of his own crown prince's bedroom, he pushed it, only to find it locked from the inside.

"Ahem, Chengqian, it's your father! Open the door, your father has something to say to you... Your father was wrong..."

Inside the hall, with his mouth stuffed full, he was staring at Li Zhi, who had a pocket full of snacks: "!!!"