My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

"What I'm telling you is that your precious son is the one you can't bear."

"Your son?" Fang Xuanling was stunned for a moment, then his face showed even more intense joy. Even Cheng Yaojin, who was holding his arm, could feel the tension in his muscles.

"His legacy of integrity? Or his legacy of love?!" Fang Xuanling tilted his head back, his eyes shining. "Could it be that my son... has also risen to the position of both general and prime minister?!"

Li Chen nodded, his gaze growing increasingly strange.

"Yes, your second son, Fang Yi'ai, has also made a name for himself throughout history."

"hiss--"

A collective gasp filled the hall.

Two outstanding figures from one family! The father will be remembered for eternity, and the son will also be remembered for eternity! What an honor this is! It's as if their ancestral graves are not just emitting auspicious smoke, but practically spewing fire!

Li Shimin looked at Fang Xuanling with a hint of jealousy. His own sons were all troublesome, so why were Fang Xuanling's sons so successful?

Fang Xuanling was so excited that he flailed his hands in the air, shouting, "I have done a good job raising my son! May our ancestors bless him! May our ancestors bless him!"

Just as the entire side hall was immersed in an atmosphere of envy.

Li Chen slowly pulled a hand out of his sleeve and stroked his chin.

"I haven't finished speaking yet."

Li Chen lowered his head, his gaze fixed on Fang Xuanling's eyes.

"Your son left behind an extremely rare bad reputation. He single-handedly nailed your Fang family's honor to the pillar of historical shame."

The air in the side hall seemed to freeze instantly.

Fang Xuanling's face froze in ecstasy. His expression was like a facial muscle suddenly twitching, stuck in an extremely comical angle.

"Bad...bad reputation?" Fang Xuanling's voice was barely audible, like a mosquito's hum. "Rebellion? Embezzlement?"

"It's much more exciting than that."

Li Chen leaned slightly forward and spoke in a very calm voice that everyone in the hall could hear clearly.

"Your good daughter-in-law, a princess of the Tang Dynasty, is having an affair with a bald monk. The two of them are making love in the house, and your good son Fang Yi'ai, who will be remembered for all time, not only doesn't get angry, but also personally moves a stool and sits at the gate to keep watch for them."

"This incident is known in later generations as... the first person in history to be cuckolded."

"boom--"

It was as if an invisible bolt of divine lightning from the heavens had exploded directly in the very center of the side hall.

Everyone's brain short-circuited for a moment.

Cheng Yaojin's mouth was wide enough to fit a fist, and his eyes were practically popping out of his head.

Changsun Wuji's hand, which was gripping Fang Xuanling's arm, trembled violently and almost let go.

Li Shimin, who was seated at the head of the table, had just picked up his teacup to moisten his throat when he heard this. With a "pfft," he sprayed all the tea onto the imperial table. He coughed violently, his eyes wide open.

A Tang Dynasty princess? Having an affair with a monk? Her husband guarding the door?!

The combination of these words is just as explosive as 200,000 Turkic troops storming the gates of Chang'an!

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

All that could be heard was the rustling of the wind through the window paper.

"Click-clack..."

An extremely faint sound of bones grinding together emanated from Fang Xuanling's body.

He remained kneeling, but his entire body began to convulse violently and irregularly. In just two breaths, his thin face went from flushed to deathly pale, and then from deathly pale to a suffocating purplish-black.

The blood vessels in his eyes burst open instantly, turning the entire white of his eyes a terrifying blood red.

"Cluck...cluck..."

Fang Xuanling made a strange sound like a broken bellows coming from his throat, his hands gripping the official robes at his chest tightly, as if he wanted to rip his own heart out.

A night breeze blew past the door.

Princess Gaoyang, sitting in the back row, had no idea that the "Princess of the Tang Dynasty" that Li Chen was referring to was her.

With a look of disdain, she grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and uttered a crisp curse:

"Shameless! Who is this shameless harlot who dares to tarnish the reputation of the Tang Dynasty royal family and disgrace the Fang family! Father, this kind of shameless woman should be stuffed into a pig cage and thrown into the river!"

Princess Gaoyang's extremely clear and angry curses became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Li Chen leaned against the wall, looking at the top of Fang Xuanling's head with extreme pity.

Fang Xuanling's body suddenly leaned backward.

"puff--!!!"

A torrent of blood gushed from his mouth. The blood exploded in mid-air, turning into a crimson mist that sprayed directly onto Cheng Yaojin and Changsun Wuji.

"The old house!"

"Xuanling!"

Cheng Yaojin and Changsun Wuji frantically tried to support his limp, muddy body.

Fang Xuanling's eyes rolled back to a deathly white, his body convulsed violently twice, his head tilted to the side, and he became completely still.

"Imperial Physician!!!"

Li Shimin leaped up from his seat, his voice booming, and strode towards the center of the hall, shouting, "Get in here and save them!"

The four imperial physicians waiting outside the threshold tumbled and stumbled into the main hall, their medicine chests rattling loudly. They rushed to Fang Xuanling's side, some pinching his philtrum, others pulling out gold needles, creating utter chaos.

The side hall was filled with the pungent smell of blood.

Everyone looked at the Tang Dynasty prime minister who had vomited blood and fainted, their eyes no longer filled with schadenfreude, but with deep pity and lingering fear.

No wonder the immortal refused to tell me earlier.

No one could withstand this!

The imperial physicians worked up a sweat and finally managed to insert a three-inch-long gold needle into Fang Xuanling's acupoints, restoring the slight rise and fall of his chest.

"Your Majesty..." The Imperial Physician knelt down, wiping away cold sweat, "Prime Minister Fang suffered a stroke due to extreme anxiety, causing his blood to rush to his head. His life has been saved, but he absolutely cannot be subjected to any further stimulation. He must be moved to a quiet place immediately for acupuncture and bloodletting."

"Quick! Carry him to the back hall! Use the best medicine!" Li Shimin waved his hand, looking at Fang Xuanling as if he were looking at a piece of porcelain shattered on the ground.

Several eunuchs hurriedly carried Fang Xuanling out.

Cheng Yaojin and Changsun Wuji haphazardly wiped the bloodstains from their faces with their sleeves, standing there at a loss.

The side hall fell silent again, but the atmosphere was extremely eerie.

Li Shimin stared intently at Li Chen.

His chest heaved violently, and after moving his lips for a long time, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"Immortal Master... these... these words... almost sent the Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty to his death."

Li Chen spread his hands.

"Is it my fault?" The old man's voice was filled with utter innocence and helplessness. "I told you from the beginning that it was best not to ask or listen. He insisted on begging me to tell him, even after he cried, made a scene, and threatened to hang himself."

Li Shimin was so choked that he couldn't catch his breath for a long time.

He glanced at Princess Gaoyang, who was sitting in the back still cracking melon seeds, and felt a chill run down his spine.

A princess of the Tang Dynasty! Marrying into the Fang family!

Li Shimin's mind worked extremely quickly. Fang Xuanling's son, Fang Yi'ai, had just come of age. And among his own princesses of marriageable age, the most likely candidate was to be betrothed to a member of the Fang family…

Li Shimin's gaze swept over Chang Le and Gao Yang, and his palms instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

"Immortal Master!" Li Shimin took a step forward, his voice extremely low, even pleading, "May I ask, Immortal Master, who exactly is that... that shameless princess who had an affair with a monk... you just mentioned?"

Li Chengqian, Changsun Wuji, and the others all pricked up their ears. This was a major scandal concerning the face and lives of the royal family!

Li Chen looked at Li Shimin's face, which was almost turning purple, and then glanced at Gao Yang, who was completely unaware.

He suddenly coughed twice and waved his sleeve.

"Cough cough... It can't be said, it can't be said."

The old man turned his back, his tone unfathomable, "I have already revealed too many secrets tonight. Talking too much about such sordid matters will only sully my mouth and damage the bond between you two, a mere mortal father and daughter."

"Immortal Master!" Li Shimin exclaimed anxiously, and was about to step forward to tug at Li Chen's sleeve.

"Alright."

Li Chen swayed slightly and moved two zhang to the side, dodging Li Shimin's hand.

"Heavenly secrets must not be revealed, for to do so will surely bring retribution. That's all I have to say for today."

The old man waved his hand, as if shooing away flies.

"Meeting adjourned. Everyone go home and find your mothers. I'm going to rest too."

Seeing that the deity had spoken, none of the officials dared to provoke him further. They could only bow respectfully and take their leave, filled with shock and gossip.

Changsun Wuji pulled the still-dazed Cheng Yaojin out. Princess Gaoyang also yawned and followed the palace maid out of the side hall.

Inside the large side hall, only Li Shimin, Empress Zhangsun, Crown Prince Li Chengqian, and Princess Changle Li Lizhi remained.

There was also Little Sizi, who had been hiding next to the Empress, rubbing her eyes as she woke up.

Seeing that most of the people had left, Li Chen turned his toes and prepared to use the "Wind Control Technique" to make a quick getaway.

Sudden.

"Pat, pat."

A series of extremely light footsteps echoed on the empty bluestone floor.

Little Sizi, who had just woken up, broke free from Empress Zhangsun's hand. Dressed in a bright red ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), she stumbled and ran behind Li Chen with her short legs.

Under the extremely horrified gazes of the Emperor and Empress.

The little girl stretched out two chubby little fingers and grabbed the hem of Li Chen's gray-white robe tightly.

She looked up, and in her large, clear eyes, there was no awe of a deity, only a childlike, pure confusion.

"Sixteenth Brother!"

Xiao Sizi's clear voice rang out in the side hall.

"Why have you turned into an old man?"