The next morning.
The girls from Hundred Flower Tower performed seductive dances, occasionally casting flirtatious glances at Fang Er.
However, their gazes lacked a certain charm.
Anyone would be exhausted after dancing all night like this!
That's right, Fang Er had been sitting here all night.
Drinking, watching dances, listening to music...
Upstairs, the applause from Li Chengqian's side had stopped at the third watch.
The wine in front of Fang Er was from the Western Regions, sweet, clear, and not too strong.
It was refreshing to drink, far superior to any other beverage.
Two girls from Hundred Flower Tower stood on either side, serving wine and dishes, and occasionally, intentionally or not, brushing against Fang Er.
"Grape wine in a glass of fine jade,"
"I won't let you boast about it!"
"Pray tell, where is the wine shop?"
"Be careful of venereal disease if you boast."
"Sunlight on the censer creates purple smoke,"
"You girls, stay away from me!"
"............"
Fang Er's string of witty retorts left the two girls thoroughly embarrassed.
The sun was high in the sky, and Li Chengqian had not yet risen. However, Lai Yifa came rushing in from outside.
"My Lord!"
After a cupped-hand salute, he walked to Fang Er's side and whispered something in his ear.
Fang Er's brows furrowed, and he looked at Lai Yifa with a grave expression.
"Are you sure?"
"I spent the entire night verifying the intelligence with my subordinates. The information is absolutely accurate!"
"Give it to Qi Wudao and have him send it to the palace!"
"Yes!"
Lai Yifa turned to leave.
However, less than half an hour later, he returned, carrying a small wooden box.
"What's going on?"
Fang Er looked at him quizzically.
Lai Yifa gently placed the box on the table and explained, "Reporting to my Lord, His Majesty said that this matter is to be handled by the Crown Prince."
Fang Er: ........
Not long after, footsteps were heard from upstairs, and Li Chengqian pushed the door open.
His face was swollen like a balloon, his eyes reduced to mere slits.
He stumbled down the stairs, and upon seeing Fang Er, his body froze.
"Mountain Chief..."
His swollen face revealed no expression, but his tone was one of panic.
The arrogance of yesterday had vanished after a night of turmoil.
Thinking of his actions yesterday, he no longer knew how to face Li Shimin.
"Sit!"
Fang Er gestured expressionlessly to the empty seat opposite him.
Li Chengqian was filled with trepidation. He walked over, sat on the edge of the chair, and cautiously probed.
"Mountain Chief, Father... Father Emperor he..."
Fang Er stared at him for a long while before letting out a cold laugh.
"Heh, the arrogance of yesterday is gone?"
"Didn't you ever consider why His Majesty would push you like that?"
Li Chengqian: .........
Busy...
But he dared not say the words aloud.
"Why, why?"
Fang Er waved away the dancers. After they had all returned to their rooms, he slowly spoke.
"You are the successor!"
"With your past disposition, as long as His Majesty is still alive, you will find it difficult to achieve great things!"
"His Majesty forced you to vent the depression in your heart. This is medicine for your soul!"
"His Majesty wants you to know that after you succeed him, even he, in front of you, will be a minister among ruler and subject, not a father!"
"The imperial family is without sentiment because their sentiments are tied to the entire realm, not just a single family!"
"Remember your state yesterday!"
"The state of being uninhibited and fearless!"
"Under heaven, all is the king's land!"
"All who reside by the shores are the king's subjects!"
"You, are the king!"
"Remember these things, and you will not have lived in vain His Majesty's painstaking efforts!"
Li Chengqian sat there blankly, looking at the wine in the glass bottle, his heart filled with a myriad of complex emotions.
No one knows a son better than his father. His little thoughts ultimately could not escape his own father's notice!
But this dose of medicine was too strong, so strong that he felt suffocated.
"Mountain Chief, study..."
He stopped mid-sentence and quickly corrected himself.
"I thank the Duke of An Guo for his frank advice. I, understand..."
He had never addressed himself as "I" in front of Fang Er before. This was the first time.
Fang Er smiled, thinking the boy was still salvageable.
He casually pushed the wooden box that Lai Yifa had brought over.
"Open it and take a look. These are the assignments His Majesty has given you!"
"Your test has arrived!"
Li Chengqian was stunned for a moment. He opened the wooden box, revealing several booklets.
As he flipped through the contents of the booklets, his shock grew.
"Thump..."
The booklets slipped from his hands, and he asked incredulously.
"This, this, is all of this true?"
"More true than real gold!"
Although Fang Er had not seen the booklets, his tone was still very firm.
Beneath Li Chengqian's swollen face, his expression shifted continuously.
After a long while, he extended his right hand to Fang Er.
"Give me the walkie-talkie!"
Fang Er smiled and took out a walkie-talkie, handing it over.
Li Chengqian twisted the knob, adjusted the frequency, and began to call out.
"I, Crown Prince!"
"In my name, I summon the Tiger Guard Sixth Regiment!"
"Come to Hundred Flower Tower immediately to receive orders!"
After speaking, he released the transmit button, and the walkie-talkie remained silent for a long time.
The Tiger Guard Sixth Regiment was originally the Eastern Palace's Six Guards, composed of the Fubing (garrison soldiers), responsible for guarding the Crown Prince, with a strength of 30,000 men.
Since the military reforms of the Great Tang, which abolished the Fubing system and established nine major supervisory prefectures, the Eastern Palace's Six Guards were changed to the Tiger Guard Sixth Regiment.
The Tiger Guard Sixth Regiment was nominally under the White Tiger Army of the Chang'an Supervisory Prefecture, but in reality, it still performed the duty of guarding the Crown Prince.
On the western side of Chang'an City, at the White Tiger Army camp.
Commander Duan Zhixuan heard Li Chengqian's voice from the walkie-talkie and was stunned for a long time.
Wasn't this young master always lazy?
He found it hard to believe that those words were actually true!
The deputy generals around him were also confused.
"Commander, is that really the Crown Prince's voice?"
"It seems that ever since the Tiger Guard reforms, the Crown Prince has never summoned us, right?"
"Could this be someone impersonating him?"
"............"
"Nonsense!"
Duan Zhixuan roared, pointing at the walkie-talkie. "Only I and the Crown Prince know this channel!"
"Issue an order: the Tiger Guard Sixth Regiment will enter the city immediately!"
"Heh heh heh heh, let's see what the Crown Prince intends to do!"
After saying this, he picked up the walkie-talkie and replied to Li Chengqian.
"Your subordinate Duan Zhixuan obeys the Crown Prince's order!"
In Hundred Flower Tower, Li Chengqian had been waiting from the moment he put down the walkie-talkie.
He had never given orders to the Tiger Guard Sixth Regiment before. This was his first time.
Without Li Shimin's verbal command or imperial decree, he did not know if his words would be effective.
It was only when he heard Duan Zhixuan's reply that his anxious heart finally settled.
A smile played on Li Chengqian's lips, but paired with his swollen face, it looked somewhat eerie.
An hour later, Duan Zhixuan personally led his men to the location.
He was not curious at all why Li Chengqian would be with Fang Er in a brothel.
It wouldn't be surprising for this young master Fang to take the Emperor to a brothel...