The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

Cen Wenben looked at Wei Wang Li Tai, who was full of eagerness, with a strange expression. He then looked at his two old friends, Kong and Yu.

Although he was on good terms with Liu Ji, Kong Yingda, Yu Zhining, and others, he had never been interested in getting involved in the struggle for succession between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Wei.

I came to this late spring gathering partly to accompany two old friends, and partly because of the invitation from the King of Wei.

He had previously submitted a memorial advising Li Shimin against indulging the extravagance of the Prince of Wei, a fact known to the court and the public, and perhaps already hated by the Prince of Wei's faction.

Now that the King of Wei is powerful, if we openly refuse his invitation, it would be tantamount to breaking ties with him.

His memorial was written for the public good, not to oppose Li Tai. He thought that if he could reconcile with the Prince of Wei, there would be no harm in coming.

Unexpectedly, his two old friends, whom he thought were as upright as he was, were about to be recruited into the King of Wei's ranks after just a few words...

"Jingren, Your Highness is about to ascend to the throne. As your subjects, we should assist you in seeking peace and stability for the country," Yu Zhining advised Cen Wenben.

"Since Your Highness has humbled yourself so much, how can we still maintain our airs?"

He knew that compared to those "outspoken ministers" who only dared to advise the crown prince, Cen Wenben, who had sought justice for his father at the age of fourteen and was extremely filial to his mother, was the true humble, filial, and outspoken minister in the emperor's heart.

If Cen Wenben were to join the King of Wei along with them, then His Majesty's suspicions about them would likely be lessened.

However, Cen Wenben pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I am only holding one position, and I am still worried that I am not competent enough and may overstep my bounds."

"I dare not presume to ask for Your Highness's favor, but I beg permission to serve Your Majesty wholeheartedly."

Yu Zhining's smile froze instantly, and Li Tai's expression also changed. But he still forced a smile and said, "Father and I are one."

"Why does Lord Cen only wish to assist his father, the Emperor, and not to assist me?"

Upon hearing this, Cen Wenben smiled but still shook his head: "A loyal minister serves his sovereign wholeheartedly, nothing more."

"If Your Highness were to inherit the throne one day, I would also be a loyal subject."

These words carried a subtle barb, making Kong Yingda and Yu Zhining feel uneasy.

Li Tai's face darkened further. Just as he was about to say something more, another series of footsteps sounded outside. A figure appeared outside the private room's door, urgently saying, "Your Highness, something urgent has happened!"

"What is it? Speak!" Li Tai, already impatient from being interrupted, spoke with a hint of coldness in his voice to the servants of his household.

Even through the partition, everyone could see that the servant was trembling all over from Li Tai's shout, and his voice was shaking uncontrollably.

He stammered as he reported, "It's...it's a rebel who infiltrated the garden. In no time, he composed more than ten seditious poems, causing an uproar among the guests and creating chaos..."

"...What?" Li Tai paused, his eyes narrowing instantly.

This late spring gathering was a political show that he painstakingly orchestrated, risking being accused by Emperor Taizong of "forming cliques for personal gain."

All this was to win people's hearts, enhance his prestige, and pave the way for his ascension to the position of crown prince.

He had been preparing for many days, proceeding with extreme caution, and was determined not to allow any mistakes to occur!

But now, a madman who dares to compose rebellious poems has infiltrated the garden?

"Useless!" Li Taiqiang suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth as he rebuked, "Why don't you take advantage of the situation before it escalates and quickly dispatch men to capture that madman? All you do is frantically run to me for advice?"

"...But, but that person..."

The servant was so frightened that his legs went weak. After stammering for a long time, he finally broke into a mournful cry, his voice filled with despair:

Before reciting the poem, the man had already gathered all the noble sons and dignitaries in the garden, and he even shouted loudly, pretending to be wild.

"Those seditious poems... have now spread throughout the entire Hibiscus Garden, everyone is talking about them, and there's no way to suppress them!"

"...Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" Li Tai could no longer bear it, so he suddenly pulled open the partition door and kicked the servant to the ground.

After kicking him, he suddenly realized that his furious and out-of-control state had completely shattered his usual image as a wise and gentle king who treated people with respect.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, turned around, and forced a smile at Cen Wenben and the others, trying to soften his tone as much as possible:

"Gentlemen, please wait a moment. A madman has suddenly caused trouble in the garden, and I need to go out personally to deal with and arrange things."

"After I have instructed the guards of the Imperial Household Department to restore order in the garden, I will then have a good drink and conversation with you all."

Wei Ting and Liu Ji were well aware of the King of Wei's private temperament, so they were not surprised to see him lose his composure like this, and simply nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Although Kong Yingda and Yu Zhining were surprised by the King of Wei's sudden outburst of anger and were secretly alarmed, they still needed his help, so they could only pretend to be calm, stroke their long beards, and nod in agreement.

Only Cen Wenben secretly rejoiced – he had never wanted to stay here long, much less be pressured or coerced by Li Tai.

Now that the topic has been diverted, it's the perfect time to slip away!

He immediately pretended to be very interested, slowly stood up, and said loudly, "To be able to compose more than ten rebellious poems in a short time, you can be considered a talented person."

"I also want to see for myself and appreciate it. Just what kind of skill it takes to spread the word about the anti-poem throughout the entire Hibiscus Garden in such a short time?"

"In that case, let us go with Your Highness." Upon seeing this, Wei Ting also stood up.

"We also need to rely on the prestige of Confucius, Cen Gong, and Yu Gong to quickly stabilize the hearts of the people in the garden."

It's a rare privilege to invite someone like Cen Wenben to Furong Garden; we can't let him leave so easily under some pretext.

They all went with him, making it difficult for Cen Wenben to leave alone.

The group followed Li Tai and left the elegant pavilion by the water to find the Imperial Guards of the Prince's Residence, who was in charge of guarding the garden.

The journey was silent, with both Cen Wenben and Li Tai looking displeased. To ease the tension, Liu Ji stepped forward and started a conversation, saying, "I wonder who that madman is, that he has such audacity to cause trouble in this Hibiscus Garden."

"They really don't know their own limitations."

"What Lord Liu says is quite right." The servant leading the way thought Liu Ji was asking him a question, and despite the pain in his waist, he forced a smile and replied.

"That madman was secretive and used many names, which were probably all aliases. All that was known was that although he spoke outrageously, he was only about fourteen or fifteen years old, and a handsome young man."

"Oh, right, he also claimed to know Confucius and Yu, and boasted that even if the two masters discussed philosophy with him, they would be no match for him."

"It's even said that His Majesty, upon hearing his words, was so startled that he sat up abruptly from his illness..."

As he was speaking eloquently, Li Tai, Kong Yingda, and Yu Zhining all paused in their tracks.

The three exchanged glances, all feeling that these descriptions sounded strangely familiar...

No, impossible. That brat should be under house arrest in Longqingfang...

"Oh, it's that madman! When did he get so close to this waterside pavilion!"

Suddenly there was some noise outside the waterside pavilion. The servant turned his head slightly and saw that a lot of people had gathered under the waterside pavilion outside the window.

A young man stood beneath the waterside pavilion, facing off against several guards from the Imperial Household Department. Countless people whispered among themselves, pointing and whispering about the young man from a distance as if avoiding a plague, but no one dared to approach him even a step closer.

"...Get out of the way." Hearing that the madman was downstairs, Li Tai pushed the servant aside and leaned out from the second floor of the waterside pavilion to look.

He desperately wanted to know if the one who had disrupted his plans again was the same figure that had been frequently appearing in his nightmares lately.

However, as soon as he peeked out, his face darkened: the figure downstairs carrying a wine pot and standing with his hands behind his back, who else could it be but that damned brat Li Xiang?

Downstairs, Li Xiang, who was arguing with the guards of the Prince of Wei's personal residence, also sensed that someone was peeking out from the waterside pavilion.

He looked up and saw his good uncle Li Tai, whose face had turned liver-colored.

"Oh, is it the King of Wei?" Li Xiang whistled lightly at Li Tai.