Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 81 The Biggest Trap in the World
Li Xian stood in deep thought at the entrance of Liu Jianjun's courtyard.

He had been puzzled before. Since Shangguan Wan'er was in such a dangerous position by infiltrating Empress Wu's side, why did Liu Jianjun still send her to the Prince of Pei's residence to deliver the message?
Why not just send a trustworthy person to deliver the message?

But now, he understands.

Liu Jianjun was simply lusting after her body!

Then, Li Xian thought that Liu Jianjun and Shangguan Wan'er were indeed a good match. The two had only exchanged a few words before, but Shangguan Wan'er had already deduced that Liu Jianjun had not told her last time that he had deduced that Empress Wu wanted to move the capital.

Both of them were of average intelligence.

Then, Li Xian wondered how Li Xian was doing now, and about Taiping.

As they were siblings from the same mother, Li Xian had no objection to Li Xian's ascension to the throne; on the contrary, he was worried about Li Xian's current difficult situation.

He must have had a very difficult time facing such immense pressure from his mother, right?

Then there's Princess Taiping, who is the most favored by the Empress Dowager, but she is also close to Li Xian, so being caught in the middle must be the most difficult situation.

As she pondered this, the sun gradually began to set in the west, and Shangguan Wan'er emerged.

Although it was still a bit awkward, this time Li Xian smiled and nodded at her, and Shangguan Wan'er returned the greeting gracefully before walking towards the exit of the Prince's Mansion.

I heard Liu Jianjun's footsteps behind me.

Li Xian turned his head and teased, "This time it took longer. Were you deliberately staying on the couch and not getting up?"

Liu Jianjun, clearly afraid of being accused of this, jumped up and down, arguing, "What nonsense! What kind of nonsense is this! I haven't stopped talking!"

Li Xian smiled and shook his head. Watching Shangguan Wan'er's departing figure, he thought for a moment and said, "If you truly love Miss Wan'er, you might as well go to fewer places of pleasure in the future. Now that the Empress Dowager has set her sights on you, Miss Wan'er, as her lady-in-waiting, must also know about these things. Don't let her overthink it."

"If one truly wishes to tarnish their reputation, there are many other ways: horse racing, falconry, cockfighting..."

Liu Jianjun interjected, "That won't do, prostitution is much more enjoyable."

Li Xian rolled his eyes.

"Alright! This woman isn't that fragile, ignore her and talk to your business first." Liu Jianjun sat back down at the stone table, gestured for Li Xian to sit down, and said, "Shangguan Wan'er came here this time with an imperial decree, so she didn't try to hide it from anyone."

Li Xian was taken aback, and subconsciously stood up to prepare to bow.

Liu Jianjun grabbed him: "What are you doing? It's just the two of us here, why are you doing all this formality? Are you really planning to kowtow to me?"

Li Xian glared at him irritably.

But then, realizing what he'd said, he asked, "An imperial edict?"

Liu Jianjun continued, "Well, it was issued by Xianzi. It roughly means that he is summoning you to attend the court assembly tomorrow. It should be a routine for summoning princes and princesses like you."

Li Xian nodded: "It is a common practice for a new emperor to summon princes to the palace to pay their respects upon his ascension to the throne."

"That's fine then." Liu Jianjun nodded and continued, "Now, let's talk about your treason case. Do you remember when we went to see Liu Rengui, and he used the matter of clearing your name to test me?"

Li Xian nodded and asked, "Of course I remember. I was wondering at the time why it would be a good thing to keep this criminal record."

"Now I'll tell you why it's a good thing."

Li Xian quickly sat up straight.

"Have you ever thought about what your mother will do after she forces Li Xian to abdicate?" Liu Jianjun asked.

Li Xian was taken aback and said, "Isn't it supposed to be a direct ascension to the throne?"

"laugh!"

Liu Jianjun scoffed and asked, "Do you think there are many people who know right now that your mother wants to seize power?"

Li Xian hesitated for a moment and said, "There shouldn't be many, right?" After all, people as smart as Liu Jianjun and Shangguan Wan'er are a minority. You should know that even Liu Rengui, a veteran minister in the court, only realized this after he was put in a seemingly high and powerful position.

There were probably not many people who realized that the Empress Dowager intended to usurp the throne.

"It's definitely not many!" Liu Jianjun concluded decisively. "Who would believe that an old woman would want to be the emperor? Your mother only got to where she is today by taking advantage of the absurdity and unbelievability of this matter!"
"But now, the drawbacks of doing this have also emerged. First of all, there is the issue of the general trend. It is unprecedented for a woman to become emperor, and not many people can accept it."

"Secondly, and most importantly, your mother's power base is unstable!"

Li Xian was taken aback: "Didn't you just say that the Empress Dowager is now invincible?"

"I'm talking about how she's unmatched in terms of military strength, financial resources, and political power, but her biggest weakness right now is her acceptance! Or rather, the will of the people, or you could say a return to the old ways. To be specific, people will think, 'Why should an old woman like you be the emperor?'"

"Or rather... your father still has children. Since the eldest son is not suitable, why not try someone else?"

As he said this, Liu Jianjun stared intently at Li Xian.

Li Xian's heart skipped a beat. With a mixture of disbelief and unexpected joy, he asked, "You mean... I'll ascend to the throne directly?"

"fart!"

Liu Jianjun glared at him irritably and said, "This is exactly what I've been trying to avoid!"

Li Xian was puzzled.

Isn't the goal of myself and Liu Jianjun to ascend the throne? Now that Da Bao is so close and within easy reach, why is Liu Jianjun trying so hard to avoid it?

"Think about your mother!"

Liu Jianjun continued, "As I just said, your mother is impeccable in terms of military strength, financial resources, and political power. What use is it if you only have the support of the people? Your son is the successor personally chosen by Emperor Gaozong in his will. Isn't that enough to win the support of the people? Isn't that enough to be the general trend?"

"Look at him now?"
"If you go up now, you'll end up like Xianzi!"

Li Xian suddenly realized and asked, "Then... what does this have to do with my treason case?"

"Going back to the previous question, your mother now holds great power, but the biggest problem is that she still has a strong influence."

"Therefore, she will not ascend the throne directly! She will follow the will of the people and send Gaozong's son to try it out!"

"But in this process, she will not relinquish power; she will only manipulate the new emperor as a puppet."

"Only after it is 'proven' that Gaozong's son is also incompetent will she 'reluctantly' ascend the throne and tell the world, 'Hey, you see, it's not that I want to be the emperor, but that Gaozong's son is also incompetent. I took over the Li Tang dynasty for the sake of the stability of the country!'"
“If you go up now, you’ll only be a puppet emperor, not to mention that your mother will ‘prove’ you’re incompetent. Then… it will be difficult for you to go up again, or even if you do, you’ll face endless troubles.” Liu Jianjun looked at Li Xian with a meaningful gaze.

Li Xian was instantly terrified.

This is the biggest trap in the world!

Using the highest position as bait, they lured Emperor Gaozong's sons and grandsons.

Li Xian almost took the bait!
Empress Wu and Liu Jianjun, on the other hand, were like silent anglers sitting on both sides of a river, knowing everything.

Li Xian finally realized what was happening and hesitated before saying, "So..."

“That’s right. You have to keep this treasonous identity. Because you were a traitor, your mother won’t have a good reason to promote you! If you don’t go up, you won’t be ‘proven’ to be incompetent, and our future path will be easier.”

Li Xian was completely convinced.

But soon, another question came to mind, and he asked, "You just mentioned... Father's offspring?"

Liu Jianjun nodded: "That's right. After Xianzi, the throne of the Tang Dynasty should be occupied by Danzi."

……

　That's fast enough, pushing through the plot for over ten days! Besides, I don't push through the plot!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)