Now I really have to marry the princess.

Yang Zhengdao and Tun Qiaoqiao had just returned to Xingdaofang when they encountered Shi Tu, who had come looking for him on horseback, at the gate of the neighborhood.

However, the person who arrived with Shi Tu was a middle-aged eunuch dressed in plain blue silk robes.

Before Yang Zhengdao could speak, the eunuch bowed and said, "His Majesty wishes to see you. You must arrive at the Liangyi Hall at 1:15 PM. Young Master Yang, please come with me to the palace immediately."

Yang Zhengdao was taken aback, but dared not delay. He then instructed Su Hongyi to take Tun Qiaoqiao back with Shi Tu, while he and Tan Feng went to the palace together.

The three men whipped their horses and headed straight for the imperial city.

Yang Zhengdao glanced at the position of the sun. It was already early afternoon, around 3:00 PM, and 4:15 PM was the first quarter of the afternoon.

No wonder the eunuchs went out to look for him instead of waiting and having tea in the courtyard.

Such haste must have been Li Er's spur-of-the-moment decision.

They rode swiftly, passing through Yanxi Gate into the Imperial City, and finally dismounted at Changle Gate of Taiji Palace.

Yang Zhengdao handed "Black Shadow" to Tan Feng.

Only then did the eunuch notice that the horse Yang Zhengdao was riding was the very same imperial horse that the emperor had bestowed upon the third prince, Li Tai.

His expression changed slightly, and he immediately became even more respectful to Yang Zhengdao, gently reminding him while verifying the gatekeeper's registration and identification token.

"Young master, you must keep up with me closely later, time is running out."

Yang Zhengdao nodded.

Upon entering Chang Le Gate, the eunuch indeed moved swiftly, yet still maintained the decorum expected of a palace servant.

Yang Zhengdao could only hurry to catch up, but dared not run with his arms swinging.

After all, the offense of behaving improperly in front of the emperor can be serious or minor.

The two bypassed the east corridor of the Taiji Hall and headed straight for the area of ​​the Zhongchao Liangyi Hall.

After rushing as fast as I could, I finally arrived at the east wing of the Liangyi Hall.

The eunuch glanced at the water clock in the east wing and then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Young master, please follow me to the side room to await your summons."

Yang Zhengdao had met the eunuch who had summoned him at the New Year's Day banquet, which gave him the opportunity to strike up a conversation.

"I wonder what the angel is called."

The eunuch sensed Yang Zhengdao's conciliatory intention and smiled, saying, "My surname is Cao."

"Eunuch Cao, it's been hard work summoning you!" Yang Zhengdao said, placing a few gold beans into Eunuch Cao's hand.

The eunuch Cao's expression changed, and he was about to refuse, but Yang Zhengdao pushed him back.

"I understand the principles of governance, and I will not ask any further questions."

This time, Eunuch Cao did not refuse again and quietly put away the gold beans.

Then, he glanced at the sky outside and smiled, "The sky is clear and the air is crisp today, young master, please wait here for now."

Watching the departing eunuch Cao, Yang Zhengdao felt much more at ease.

Although the eunuchs around the emperor dared not reveal any information, they could still hint at the emperor's mood.

It seems that Li Er is in a good mood today.

Yang Zhengdao sat upright in a side room, propped up on his heels. The room was simply furnished, with only a small table and a small incense burner.

Time passed slowly, and Yang Zhengdao grew anxious, for Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, had a curfew.

As dusk falls and the palace gates are locked, leaving too late inevitably leads to another chaotic scene on the road.

As for why Li Er summoned him, Yang Zhengdao naturally had no idea.

Throughout history, emperors have used the mystery of "unpredictable divine will" as a powerful tool to govern their subjects, let alone Li Er, one of the most outstanding emperors.

Asking a college student to guess is asking too much.

Just as Yang Zhengdao was kneeling and his back and legs were aching, the eunuch Cao arrived.

When he got up, he decided that he must make a set of tables and chairs when he had some free time.

The system didn't generate any skills like furniture making or woodworking, but we can't rely on the system for everything.

Follow Eunuch Cao into the Liangyi Hall.

Yang Zhengdao walked into the hall, bowed deeply with his hands clasped, and performed a grand salute.

"Your subject Yang Zhengdao pays his respects to Your Majesty."

After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Huh? What's going on?!

When he first entered the hall, Yang Zhengdao only dared to stare at the eunuch Cao's backside and didn't dare to look in the direction of the imperial desk.

After all, aside from the time Li Er met with the original owner of the body alone once upon his return from the grasslands.

Even after traveling through time, Yang Zhengdao has never witnessed the charisma of Li Er, the greatest emperor of all time.

Driven by curiosity, he secretly raised his head.

Li Er was dressed in plain clothes, with a jade crown, his eyebrows and eyes were cold and stern, his eyes were slanted at the corners, his nose was straight, and his chin was covered with a sparse beard.

Even with the original owner's memories, nothing beats seeing it with your own eyes.

Yang Zhengdao couldn't help but sigh that the real person was even more handsome than Yan Liben's "Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy" painting.

What a coincidence!

Just then, Li Er, who had just finished reading the memorial, looked up and saw Yang Zhengdao staring at him, oblivious to his own mortality.

That bastard!

Now, not only is he bribing the Crown Prince to send a message to Azhi, but he is also asking Li Yuanjia to send a message, and yesterday he asked Li Ke to send a rubbing of the inscription.

Oh, a rubbing! Forget about this one!

It was precisely because he had obtained the rubbing of Zhong Taifu's inscription that Li Er had been in a good mood these past two days.

Feeling guilty, he covered the rubbing of the memorial he had received with a copy of the memorial.

Just as his anger was suppressed by the precious rubbing, he suddenly thought of that spendthrift Li Tai.

Send the imperial horse! Send the retainers!

Finally, he even declared that he would no longer be a blue sparrow, but a bluebird!

This damned thing corrupted my Bluebird!

No! Wait a minute!

Is this human talk?

It's a pity Yang Zhengdao can't read minds, otherwise he would know how hypocritical Li Er is.

If it's wrong, it must be someone else's fault.

How could the child born to Li Er and Guanyinbi be wrong!

The nameless anger in Li Er's chest suddenly flared up again.

His eyes widened in anger, and he slammed his fist heavily on the imperial desk.

"Bang!"

Yang Zhengdao was so startled that he almost knelt down and called him "godfather".

Fortunately, this body still has muscle memory, knowing that in the Tang Dynasty, kneeling is not customary except for grand ceremonies and apologies.

He had a sudden inspiration and glanced sideways at one side of the main hall.

Thank goodness! Thank goodness! The court attendant is here!

The Imperial Diarist was in charge of recording the emperor's words and deeds, as well as the reports and responses of his subjects.

The original owner was merely a tool to demonstrate the "Heavenly Khan's" kindness and benevolence; as long as the court attendant was present, his life was safe.

Li Er naturally noticed Yang Zhengdao's subtle actions.

It was precisely because of Yang Zhengdao's little action that Li Er instantly thought of his image in the daily records, and he swallowed back the angry rebuke that was about to come out.

But when Li Er saw Yang Zhengdao letting out a confident sigh of relief, he became even angrier.

He twirled his fingers, and a smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

Are you going to rely on the daily records held by the Imperial Diarist? Then let us have a dialogue between the emperor and his ministers.

Having made up his mind, Li Er immediately put on a gentle smile.

"I have summoned you here today because I have a question: Was Emperor Yang's construction of the Tongji and Yongji canals a merit or a demerit? Please speak frankly."

Yang Zhengdao almost blurted out the standard answer from later generations: "The harm was immediate, but the benefit will last for generations."

This is a life-or-death question!

It had only been a little over ten years since the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty. At that time, shouting "merits that will last for a thousand years" was tantamount to courting death.

However, openly defaming and completely denying the original owner's grandfather, Emperor Yang of Sui, would violate the moral bottom line of "concealing the faults of one's relatives."

He was in a dilemma, and to make matters worse, there was a court attendant nearby taking notes.

What should I do? It's urgent!

Just then, a hundred examples of perfect scores in the imperial examinations came to mind.

Unbelievable! Unbelievable! There's actually a standard answer here.