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

"Is there any other news?" Li Xiang asked Liu Zhi.

However, Liu Zhi was merely an ordinary imperial guard in the Right Guard Command, usually conscientious and dutiful. Recently, he had only been on duty in Longqing Ward and hadn't even gone to the palace, so how could he possibly know any valuable information?

We still have to rely on the village's intelligence network!

"Hey, young master Li, it's been quite a while!"

Upon seeing Li Xiang, Aunt Pang, whose chubby face always wore a smile, began to greet him from afar. A group of gossiping aunties and young women also greeted Li Xiang, stuffing snacks such as sesame cakes and persimmon cakes into his arms as if they were free.

"Young master, eat quickly. Although our food is not as good as that of noble people like you, it's good to try something new."

"Haha, I actually prefer the food of the aunties!" Li Xiang said with a smile, picking up a soft and oily persimmon cake, taking a small bite, and the dense and sweet taste instantly melted in his mouth, filling it with a rich honey aroma.

This wasn't just Li Xiang being polite; the food of Tang Dynasty nobles was mostly limited to roasted mutton and sashimi, quite monotonous. Mutton had a strong, gamey smell, and the variety of spices available in the Tang Dynasty was limited, making it terribly unpalatable; as for sashimi… who knows if those raw fish slices contained parasites?

In this era of underdeveloped medicine, Li Xiang preferred to eat fruit rather than those strange and exotic aristocratic foods, at least that was clean and hygienic.

To put it bluntly, it was due to an extremely low level of productivity. After all, it was a feudal agrarian society, lacking almost everything.

This damned Tang Dynasty.

After exchanging a few casual pleasantries with Aunt Pang and the others, Li Xiang subtly began to gather the information he wanted from the group of neighborhood aunties.

Aside from anecdotes like the untold stories of Widow Pan and Wang Erlang, just as he expected, he did indeed hear a lot of rumors circulating among the people about the court from the casual conversations of the crowd.

The first thing to spread was the aftermath of the incident at Furong Garden.

Although the Wei King's faction tried their best to suppress public opinion and control the impact afterward, the large number of aristocratic officials present that day made it impossible to keep it a secret. The matter eventually spread throughout Chang'an, becoming the hottest topic of conversation in the streets and alleys.

The people were most interested in talking about the key figures in the incident—Yu Zhining, Kong Yingda, and Li Tai, the Prince of Wei, who was originally at the height of his power and full of vigor.

The elegant gathering at Furong Garden was completely ruined, dealing a huge blow to Li Tai. The grandson of the emperor, Li Xiang, publicly exposed Li Tai's attempt to win over the former tutors of the Crown Prince, which also led to the emperor's personal arrival and disrupted the entire situation, directly causing the Prince of Wei's reputation to plummet and suffer great damage.

Furthermore, since Li Shimin still did not issue an edict to appoint a new crown prince during the grand court sessions on the first and fifteenth of this month, rumors began to circulate among the common people that the Prince of Wei had been severely reprimanded by the emperor and ordered to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors.

The idea of ​​a prince, so high and mighty, being publicly humiliated and forced into a period of depression at the height of his power is a favorite topic of conversation among the common people.

However, the mainstream public opinion still believes that the position of Crown Prince will eventually fall to Li Tai.

After all, Li Tai had been deeply favored by the emperor for many years, and this impression was already deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people of Chang'an, which could not be reversed in a short time.

Meanwhile, the public support for Yu Zhining and Kong Yingda was plummeting. The fact that a grandson of the emperor risked his life to force his way into the palace to seek justice for his father garnered widespread sympathy from the people.

Correspondingly, Li Chengqian's reputation also recovered slightly. Some people began to speculate that the deposed crown prince had been framed and was thus expelled from the Eastern Palace.

"We're not trying to cover up for the deposed crown prince who's imprisoned in our ward. Even if it's true that he's arrogant and immoral, how could it be as outrageous as the rumors said before? Perhaps someone was ordered by someone to deliberately exaggerate his shortcomings and orchestrate the downfall of the Eastern Palace!"

"That's right! Years ago, there were rumors that the Crown Prince went to learn Turkic customs... Those barbarians are rude and uncouth, reeking of mutton, and their clothes are like those of savages. It's always been the barbarians who imitate us Han people, not us Han people who learn from the barbarians!"

"Those non-Han officials who have submitted to our Great Tang are all trying to wear Han robes and turbans, desperately trying to align themselves with us Han people. How could the Crown Prince, with his status, be foolish enough to lower himself to imitate the non-Han people?"

In the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era, the Tang Dynasty was at its zenith, with its national power at its peak, its surrounding foreign tribes submitting to its rule, and its military prowess unmatched.

In Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty and the heart of Guanzhong, which family didn't have a son serving as a soldier? Who hadn't heard the legendary stories of the Guanzhong soldiers of the Tang Dynasty conquering all directions and defeating the barbarians in a sorry state?

The mere mention of the Hu people elicited disdain and contempt from even these ordinary women, their brows brimming with pride and arrogance as Tang people from Guanzhong and citizens of Chang'an.

"Hu people?" They were merely numbers on the merit books of the Guanzhong youths, a term equated with uncivilized wild beasts, a unit of measurement for land and rewards. What Chang'an resident would respect Hu people? For the Tang crown prince to admire Hu customs was, to the common people of the Tang Dynasty, utterly incomprehensible fantasy.

Li Xiang was utterly terrified. It was true that Li Chengqian imitated the Turks when he went mad. His cheap father, who had clearly been driven to insanity, was indeed more erratic than anyone else when he went into a fit of madness... However, perhaps it was also a way of expressing his rebellion against Li Shimin and the Crown Prince's tutors in the Eastern Palace.

You want me to be a good crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, but I'll deliberately learn from the Turks and make you all furious... something like that.

Ultimately, Li Chengqian was nothing more than a young man in his early twenties, with an extreme personality and a stubborn heart.

Li Xiang was still unsure whether there was any conspiracy behind Li Chengqian's deposition. But he could see clearly that ordinary people always preferred such conspiracy theories.

The current shift in public opinion is undoubtedly a good thing for him.

Only Li Shimin remained completely silent in the rumors, likely having issued some gag order. After all, Li Er's imperial authority was deeply ingrained, and the officials and noble families in the Hibiscus Garden that day would probably have deliberately kept quiet, and no one would have dared to spread Li Xiang's treasonous remarks to the common people.

Thinking about this, Li Xiang felt quite regretful.

The words he used to curse Li Er were clearly the most powerful.

"Ladies, I have another question to ask you."

Li Xiang smoothly picked up the conversation, pretending to be casually chatting, "Where have Master Yu and Master Confucius been working and appearing lately? Have you heard anything about it?"

Upon hearing this, the aunties immediately perked up and started chatting away.

"Should we mention that Master Yu again? Ever since the incident at Furong Garden, he's become a coward, hiding in his own mansion all day long, refusing to see anyone who comes to visit, and even too lazy to go to court."

"That's right, he's probably too ashamed to show his face. He was all righteous and awe-inspiring before, but after this incident, his reputation is completely ruined. How could he possibly show his face in public now?"

"Confucius is a bit better off. The old man is getting on in years and is about to retire. He also has a group of disciples and grand-disciples who speak on his behalf. So he doesn't hide as much. However, he doesn't go to the court often anymore. He usually just goes to the Imperial Academy to give lectures, and then goes back to his residence. He keeps a very low profile."

"In the end, it's just a matter of losing face. Having your thoughts exposed in public by a young man, anyone would be too ashamed to show their face around."

Li Xiang listened silently, and instantly felt reassured.

Yu Zhining simply lay down at home and shut himself away from the world, becoming a complete coward; Kong Yingda, on the other hand, still dared to go out, but he stayed in the Imperial Academy, focusing on teaching and educating people, deliberately avoiding the political turmoil and gossip of the people.

After hearing this, a playful smile flashed across Li Xiang's eyes.

Yu Zhining stayed home and didn't go out, so even if I wanted to cause trouble, I wouldn't have a chance. Even if I went to his house, there wouldn't be enough audience members.

But Kong Yingda is different.

He went to the Imperial Academy every day, which was a gathering place for scholars and students in Chang'an, a place with the most scholars and where gossip spread the fastest.

Isn't this just like a gift delivered right to my doorstep?

With the succession to the throne still undecided and rumors rampant in the streets, I was just worried about finding a place to stir up trouble. Since Kong Yingda was pretending to be safe and sound at the Imperial Academy, I might as well pay him a visit.

Go visit the Imperial Academy, meet the students of this top-tier university in the Tang Dynasty, and have a good "discussion" with Kong Yingda.

After all, discrediting Confucius would enhance Li Chengqian's reputation.

With Li Chengqian's increased prestige, he would have more weight when facing Li Er, and Li Er would truly worry that he would create another Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Upon realizing this, Li Xiang immediately made a plan.