Traveling through the Gaowu Tang Dynasty, Li Kuan and Li Shimin became the second sons of the Prince

"Uncle Dou, is Zhong Hui really that powerful? You actually said that he could defeat Yuwen Qing and Jiang Sheng together?" His Royal Highness the King of Chu did not ask the question in his mind again until Zhong Hui left.

"Like Jiang Gong, Zhong Hui is a martial arts genius, and his master is Pei Xingyan." Facing the question from His Royal Highness the King of Chu, Dou Shilun answered without hiding anything: "Your Highness, it is remarkable that Pei Xingyan took a liking to you at first sight."

"Okay..." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu nodded after hearing this, but didn't say anything more.

"Your Highness, you seem a little uneasy recently." Dou Shilun saw that His Highness the King of Chu was silent. He suddenly became serious and began to ask step by step: "I heard that you also accepted the Turkic envoy as a retainer?"

"Ah, Uncle Dou, you received the message quite quickly, but we really can't let that kid go back." His Royal Highness the King of Chu nodded when he heard it: "That is a blue lotus that grew from a sewage pool, but it is pure and not evil..."

"Your Highness has read a lot of books recently." Seeing that his master had made progress, Dou Shilun was happy from the bottom of his heart.

“That’s not the case…” His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu scratched his chin when he heard this: “Speaking of which… Master Yu and Master Xiao, they haven’t come to the palace to teach me for some time.”

"Your Majesty has assigned them some tasks to compile classics. I guess the two great scholars will not be able to take care of you for a while." After listening to the complaints of His Royal Highness the King of Chu, Dou Shilun immediately explained for Yu Shinan and Xiao Yu.

"That tyrant...isn't it enough that he harms me? He even wants to harm my two mentors?" His Royal Highness the King of Chu raised his eyebrows when he heard this: "They both taught me a student like me, so how can they still do the work that only cultured people can do?!"

"Your Highness, what you said... It is really difficult for me to judge whether it is reasonable or not..." - It must be admitted that His Highness the King of Chu's train of thought is still as strange as ever, and even Dou Shilun can't resist it occasionally.

"Alas..." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu looked at the sky outside the house, and said with a sigh: "I am worried that these two old men can't bear it..."

"That's not necessary..." Dou Shilun shook his head after hearing this: "I heard that Lord Xiao and Lord Yu have both looked very rosy recently, and even their appetite has increased a lot."

“These two…” His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu had never expected that he would be stabbed in the back by two teachers again: “Forget it, forget it, these old heartless people, I should have gotten used to it a long time ago…”

"Your Highness, let's get back to business." Dou Shilun realized that the topic had gone off track, so he decided not to proceed step by step. So he looked at the patriarch who was a little worried at the moment, and said directly: "Are you beginning to be afraid of His Majesty? Do you think that a sword fight between father and son is inevitable one day in the future?"

"What?" His Highness the King of Chu did not expect that Uncle Dou would speak more bluntly than Yuwen Qing: "Uncle Dou...what did you say?!"

“Your Highness, why did you start recruiting retainers intentionally or unintentionally after that day?” Dou Shilun looked at the King of Chu whose expression gradually changed from astonishment to silence. He sighed softly in his heart: “Your Highness, there are some things I must make clear to you - during the turmoil back then, Your Majesty showed no signs of involvement from beginning to end, even the old lady back then…”

"Uncle Dou..." His Royal Highness the King of Chu could no longer bear to hear this: "I am really not a child. Do you believe what you are saying?"

"Your Highness, but the fact is--" Dou Shilun found that His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu was becoming more and more like the old lady.

Extremely smart, but also paranoid.

Such a person may be considered a madman in the eyes of ordinary people, and his behavior and words are difficult to understand, but those who have truly achieved great things often have such a character.

"The fact is," His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu, who was somewhat paranoid by nature and often didn't like to use his brain to think about things, interrupted Dou Shilun's words and directly unveiled the gauze wrapped around his heart: "It doesn't matter whether my father participated in the incident or not. What's important is why he acted as if he didn't know anything about it from beginning to end. Chang He was Li Jiancheng's subordinate back then. He was able to instigate a rebellion, so why didn't he hear any news about the assassination?"

"Chang He..." Dou Shilun hesitated for a moment after hearing this name, and then he slowly said, "Chang He was originally..."

"Uncle Dou, please don't say that he is also my retainer." His Royal Highness the King of Chu sneered when he heard this: "Half of the beatings I have received since I was a child are because of him!"

"Your Highness, Chang He is naturally not one of ours." Dou Shilun smiled upon hearing this, and then said, "What I mean is that Chang He was originally someone that Your Majesty had planted beside Li Jiancheng. After Princess Pingyang Zhao died, Your Majesty finally made up his mind to fight the Crown Prince to the death. In the seventh year of Wude, which was the second year after Princess Pingyang Zhao's death, Chang He was transferred to Chang'an by Your Majesty, who gave him a precious sword and gold and made him the guard of Xuanwu Gate. As for what happened later, we all know it, so I will not go into details..." (Note 1)

"Uncle Dou, I don't know what to do now." At this moment, Li Kuan finally let down his guard in front of his most trusted retainer: "I understand what you mean. You want to tell me through Chang He's matter that my father started to make plans and plan Xuanwu Gate the second year after my aunt's death. Judging from his actions, he should not have participated in the murder of my aunt...

But…but what if he is…” His Royal Highness the King of Chu did not continue speaking, but he believed that Uncle Dou had understood what he meant.

“Your Highness, you are getting too obsessed with this.” Dou Shilun looked at His Highness the Prince of Chu, who had a painful look in his eyes, and gently advised: “Your Majesty is indeed resourceful, but judging from your Majesty’s past style of doing things, he is definitely not a sinister villain like Li Yuanji. Besides, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji have long been opposed to Your Majesty, and Princess Pingyang Zhao is on Your Majesty’s side. I really can’t think of…”

Dou Shilun suddenly stopped talking here.

broken……

His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu...he finally guessed it himself.

If His Majesty Li II chose to keep silent when he learned that Princess Pingyang Zhao might be assassinated in order to gain the support of the old lady, and waited for Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng to complete their mission, it would also mean that they would both be prepared for death...

When he thought of this, Dou Shilun felt a sudden pain in his heart.

"Your Highness, there is really no evidence to prove that His Majesty knew about this matter in advance."

"The absence of evidence is the best evidence!"

“Your Highness, you are father and son after all…” Dou Shilun looked at His Highness the Prince of Chu with a determined look on his face, and felt that if this matter was not handled properly, the Tang Dynasty would be in turmoil.

"I was raised by my grandmother." The young man's voice was hoarse. "Without my grandmother's care and love, how could I be where I am today?"

"Your Highness, can I say a few words?" - At some point, Wang Xuance brought Zhang Zhenxuan back and appeared outside the lobby.

"You say." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu blinked hard while speaking, trying to hide the tears in the corners of his eyes.

"If Your Majesty really feels that he owes Princess Pingyang Zhao, then logically, he would be especially nice to his nephews, Prince Chai Zhewei and Prince Chai Lingwu. But Your Highness, do you think that this is the case?" As soon as Wang Xuance said this, the whole audience fell silent.

Well... although this is indeed an unprecedented angle.

But...it seems to be true...

After hearing Wang Xuance's words, the first thing that came to his mind was the scene when he and Chai Lingwu drowned the precious orchids that his father had raised in the imperial garden with urine, and the two brothers were chased by the tyrant from the Taiji Palace to the Ganlu Palace to seek help from Empress Zhangsun...

"Your Highness, there is more." Wang Xuance saw that the Prince of Chu was slowly relieved, and he suddenly whispered, "Back then, the old lady left Li Zhongwen and the other four behind in order to resolve the conflict between you and your son, but now you are trying to escalate the conflict. Aren't you going against the old lady's original intention?

What's more... shouldn't you think about it carefully? The reason why His Majesty joined forces with Mr. Chai to take action is, after all, he doesn't want you to lose the support of the people - if His Majesty really has something to hide, would he do this?

You know, with your current power, once an outburst occurs... everything will be turned upside down in an instant, but His Majesty still chooses to believe in you.

After all, His Majesty always puts his father's identity before the emperor in front of you. The royal family is ruthless... How rare is this move? Your Highness, you should know this, so Your Highness, please think twice - don't make His Majesty sad because of groundless speculation..."