I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

Li Zhi stood up suddenly.

"Fourth brother, why do you look at me like this?"

Li Zhi's mind was racing at this moment, he was wondering how Li Tai knew that.

Suddenly he thought of Changsun Wuji. Could it be that Changsun Wuji told Li Tai?

Or maybe Li Tai has some evidence or has found out something.

But then he secretly rejected this idea.

He has sent people to clean up the mess, and everyone involved in this matter has kept this secret forever.

He looked at Li Tai, trying to see something from Li Tai's face.

After looking for a long time, Li Tai still had a faint smile on his face.

"Chi Nu, don't be so nervous, sit down quickly." Li Tai pressed his hand.

"Fourth brother, how can I not be nervous about such a big thing? This is a crime of treason."

Li Zhi sat down, took a sip of the calming tea and spoke seriously.

"Zhi Nu, you and I are brothers, and everything Fourth Brother said is for your own good.

You are different from Old Ten, I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Li Tai's words were sincere, showing his care and love for his younger brother.

But Li Zhi remained unmoved.

"Fourth brother, what do you mean by that? Do you think this matter has something to do with me?"

Li Zhi asked angrily.

He wanted to see whether Li Tai really knew or was just guessing.

"Hehe, Chi Nu, even though Fourth Brother is not fighting now, he still has some manpower. If Fourth Brother didn't know something, why would he ask you this?"

Li Tai smiled slightly, looking contented, which made Li Zhi feel a little uneasy.

But he still pretended to be calm and asked:

"Fourth brother, you can't believe the rumors. I am also from the royal family, how could I do such a rebellious thing.

I think Fourth Brother made a mistake, didn't he?"

Li Tai looked at Li Zhi for a moment, then shook his head;

"Well, since you don't admit it, then just assume that I heard it wrongly.

But Chi Nu, Fourth Brother wants to remind you that you should think carefully before doing anything, and do it cleanly once you do it.

Don’t do half and leave half, and don’t trust anyone.”

Li Tai's words made Li Zhi frown. He felt that Li Tai was hinting at something. Could it be that he really found out something?

“Thank you for the reminder, Fourth Brother. I will keep it in mind, but I definitely did not do it.

If there is nothing else, I will take my leave. "

After saying this, Li Zhi stood up. He would never admit it even if he was beaten to death.

"I'm sending this to you."

"No need, please stay, Fourth Brother."

Li Zhi bowed and left Li Tai's villa.

After a moment, Du Chuke walked out from the darkness.

"Your Majesty."

"Oh~~" Li Tai sighed.

"Your Highness, His Royal Highness Prince Jin did not admit it."

“Yes, I guessed that he would not admit that this child is different from before.

Lao Shi is really amazing, he actually forced Chi Nu into this state."

Li Tai shook his head with some regret. Originally Li Zhi was a very steady child, but he was beaten badly by Li Shen and his temperament changed drastically.

"Your Majesty, I think it is better to keep a distance from His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin."

Du Chuke said behind Li Tai.

"Why?"

"Your Highness, the Prince of Jin is now behaving in a way that is unscrupulous and ruthless.

You are doing things too extreme. I am afraid that Your Majesty will be too close to Prince Jin and be implicated by him.

If we hadn’t received the news and sent someone to check it out, this matter would have been exposed.”

This is Du Chuke’s current evaluation of Li Zhi.

"He was attacked by Lao Shi. Zhinu was not like this before.

You said there are still people alive there? Have you dealt with them?

No matter what, I am his fourth brother, and it is my duty to help my younger brother deal with his troubles."

Li Tai looked at the teacup in his hand and asked softly.

"Your Highness, our people have already dealt with them, and there are two survivors in total.

We also camouflaged it there to ensure that no one else could see it.

There's only yellow sand there, and I'll probably turn into a mummy soon.

Even if someone discovers it, they will think it was done by the sand bandits.”

After hearing this, Li Tai nodded with satisfaction. He was quite confident in Du Chuke's work, as he was always very rigorous.

However, he also felt that Li Zhi was too extreme, as he wanted to kill his own people.

Who will work for him after that?

“Oh, my Lord, the news from the noble families also said that the Tubo side wants them to find a way to quell the war.

Their intention is that if the situation cannot be calmed down, they will tell Your Majesty about the smuggling as a condition for apologizing."

Du Chuke said again.

"Humph, are they threatening us? Now that all the evidence has been erased, it's impossible to convict them based on their testimony alone.

If you say something without evidence, they will say that he is trying to stir up civil strife in the Tang Dynasty. Even if Your Majesty believes it, you will not punish him without evidence."

Li Tai snorted disdainfully.

He was not afraid at all. He had never shown up in this matter, and the aristocratic families would not expose him.

"But the noble families seem a little scared. They are weak now. If they are weakened by your majesty, they will not be among the first families.

There is a high possibility that they will fall into the ranks of second-rate families.

So they were prepared to oppose the expedition against Tubo after Your Majesty returned.

Their intention is to ask you, Your Majesty, to persuade His Majesty at an appropriate time."

Li Tai shook his head.

“I will not get involved in this. Tell the people in the world not to play any tricks on me.

Whatever Old Ten can do, I can do as well, and I can do it more directly than Old Ten.

They can push Prince Jin to the front, but there has to be a limit. No matter what, Prince Jin is my younger brother.

I don't want Prince Jin to lose his life.

I know exactly what they are thinking, so I ask them to be more restrained in their actions."

Li Tai would never wade into muddy water. He put himself in the position of an outsider.

Looking at the whole situation from the perspective of an outsider will help him see it more comprehensively and clearly.

Li Tai knew that the aristocratic families were pushing Prince Jin to come out, but he did not stop them.

He also understood what the aristocratic families wanted to do, but Li Tai still couldn't bear to let Li Zhi lose his life.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will immediately convey Your Majesty's words to their contact in the city."

Du Chuke immediately bowed and accepted the order.

"Well, be careful. The whole city is full of Old Ten's spies. If you're not careful, you'll be easily discovered by Old Ten.

Find a reasonable excuse to go again."

Li Tai nodded.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Du Chuke said and turned to leave.

"By the way, have the dividends from the aristocratic family arrived?" Li Tai suddenly asked again.

"Your Highness, it has been delivered to the warehouse in the industrial park outside Chang'an City.

A total of one thousand kilograms of gold."

Du Chuke replied.

"One thousand jin of gold? That's 16,000 taels, or 160,000 strings of cash.

Well, it was not bad this time. At least my advice to them was not in vain.

It would be nice if there were always opportunities like this, but unfortunately, this is the only time I can do this."

(I have been busy with business recently, so I may not be serious enough in writing and may be a little slow. I will speed up the progress.)