Chapter 4

Just as Li Kuan and Li Chengxun were confronting each other, Changsun, led by a maid, arrived at the scene.

"What's going on here?" As soon as she arrived, she saw Li Tai, who was covered in dirt, and quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe his face.

But Li Tai, with a reluctant look, had his chubby face deformed like waves under Changsun's hands: "Mother, be gentle, my face is falling off!"

"You silly boy, still complaining, what's going on here?" Changsun scolded with a smile. She could tell that a conflict had occurred among the children, and her son had been at a disadvantage. However, the fact that the little fatty could still complain indicated that the other side knew how to control their strength and had not injured him.

"They were saying bad things about Father, Qingque fought them, and they beat up Qingque. Second Brother went to reason with them." Li Tai, though small, was a very smart little fatty, and he explained the whole situation clearly in a few words.

"Did you start it first?" Changsun pointed out the key issue with one sentence.

"Mother, they started it by talking about Father!" Li Tai said in a small voice, showing his dissatisfaction.

"Little sister is here too!" Just as Changsun was about to scold Li Tai, another voice came, and it was the Crown Prince's wife, Lady Chang.

"Big sister is here too!" Changsun let Li Tai off for the moment and smiled at Lady Chang.

"Didn't someone come to invite me? Otherwise, I wouldn't have known, and my child would have been bullied to death!" Lady Chang said with a forced smile.

"How could that be! Little sister just arrived and doesn't even know what's going on! I saw my son being beaten as soon as I got here!" Changsun pretended to be ignorant, as the two families were now at odds.

"Is that so!" Lady Chang looked around and indeed saw only Li Tai with a dirty face, while her own children were fine.

"Big sister, don't you believe me? I was also invited here." Changsun smiled and spoke tactfully.

"What's going on here? What are you kids up to? Why did you rush to call me?" Lady Chang asked the children impatiently.

"It's Li Kuan, the sickly one, who called you, Mother!" Li Chengxun quickly answered, but as he said the words "sickly one," he didn't notice Changsun, who was wiping Li Tai's face, frown slightly.

Li Kuan stepped forward to greet Lady Chang: "Nephew Li Kuan greets Aunt!"

"It's you, little boy! The reason I came here is because Li Tai was beaten?" Lady Chang looked at Li Kuan coldly.

Li Kuan looked up, and only then did he see clearly what his aunt looked like. She was a super beauty, with exquisite features and a figure like a willow swaying in the breeze, though her lips were a bit thin, which made her look a bit sharp.

"Nephew invited Your Majesty and Mother here not because Qingque was beaten, but for another matter." Li Kuan changed his address, indicating the seriousness of the matter.

"Oh, what is it?" Not only Lady Chang but also Changsun looked at him curiously.

"This matter may require the Emperor to decide, so let's go to the Taiji Palace to discuss it in detail." Li Kuan looked at Lady Chang.

"How can even I not make a decision? Do we need to disturb the Emperor?" Lady Chang was surprised.

Not only her, but Changsun was also confused. Was this still the Li Kuan who spent half the year in bed and rarely spoke? He seemed like a different person.

"Yes, this matter is of great importance, even concerning the future of our Tang Dynasty. It cannot be taken lightly." Li Kuan said solemnly.

"Is that so, then let's hear it!" At that moment, a stern male voice came. A middle-aged man, wearing a nine-dragon robe, a mountain-river crown, and a Sichuan brocade belt with a jade pendant, walked into the small classroom.

"Your Majesty!"

"Grandfather!"

Everyone present hurried to bow, and the man was none other than the current Emperor of Tang, Li Yuan.

Why was Li Yuan here? This place was in the palace, and nothing could escape his notice. He had known about the incident as soon as Li Tai, crying, returned to the Qin王府. He just didn't expect Li Tai to bring Li Kuan here, and soon even the Crown Prince's wife and the Qin Prince's wife arrived. So he came to see what was happening, and he was intrigued by the idea that his grandson Li Kuan, whom he had never taken seriously, claimed that the incident concerned the future of the Tang Dynasty.

"Stand up, I want to hear how a children's fight relates to the fate of the empire!" Li Yuan looked at the boy, who was only up to his waist, so thin that a gust of wind could blow him away: "If you don't explain it clearly today, I will charge you with deceiving the Emperor!"

Changsun's face turned pale at Li Yuan's words. A children's fight, if really considered as deceiving the Emperor, would not only implicate Li Kuan but also the Qin Prince, Li Er, who Li Yuan had long felt had too much military power. This could make life difficult for the Qin Prince's household in the future.

"Well, what if I make sense?" Li Kuan, still not fully adapted to this feudal family, asked.

"I will grant you one wish!" Li Yuan stroked his beard, answering. In recent years, no one had dared to bargain with him like this, which made him feel very fresh.

"Then, please forgive me for being impolite!" Li Kuan bowed deeply to Li Yuan.

"As long as you make sense, I will forgive you and grant you one wish!" Li Yuan answered solemnly.

"Today's incident, on a small scale, is just a children's fight, but as the saying goes, 'there are no small matters in the imperial family.' From this incident, we can see some signs, such as the conflict between the Crown Prince and the Qin Prince." Li Kuan's first sentence shocked everyone present. Although many people knew about the conflict, no one had ever dared to say it, especially in front of the current Emperor, the father of the Crown Prince and the Qin Prince, the highest decision-maker of the Tang Empire.

"What do you mean by that?" Li Yuan's voice became heavy. He knew about the conflicts among his sons, but to have it pointed out by a six-year-old child, his own grandson, made him very uncomfortable. Was he really a poor father?

"This can be seen from the cause of the incident: the Crown Prince's sons were secretly criticizing the Qin Prince, my father. How could children, who are only eight or nine years old, the oldest being eleven or twelve, know the true situation of my father and even discuss it in secret, and in a negative way? Isn't this suspicious? How could such young children know about state affairs? Even the Crown Prince's wife has no right to interfere in such matters, let alone the young princes!" Li Kuan continued.

"This shows that my uncle, the Crown Prince, must have discussed matters concerning my father at home, and it wasn't something good. The few words heard by my cousins indicate this. If the Crown Prince had said good things, they would have praised him, not criticized him, and Qingque wouldn't have fought with them."

"This is just your guess, it can't be taken seriously!" Li Yuan frowned.

"Is that so, Grandfather? I believe you also have an idea about this. Even if we set this aside, the fact that such a secret matter could be overheard by a few children shows that the Crown Prince is not discreet. If it had been a spy from an enemy country who overheard it during a discussion of state affairs, it would have been a disaster for our Tang Dynasty!" Li Kuan continued.

"This..." Li Yuan wanted to refute but didn't know what to say. How could Li Jiancheng act so carelessly, even at home, allowing a few young children to overhear such secret matters?

"Secondly, I want to say that the Crown Prince is not a good father. His conflict with my father is due to political differences." Here, Li Kuan glossed over the real reason, which was the throne, which he couldn't mention in front of Li Yuan.

"However, his sons criticize my father behind his back. How can they speak ill of their uncle, who is their elder, in secret? This is disrespectful. When Qingque discovered this, they did not admit their mistake. Qingque, though young, knew to defend his father's honor, but they beat him up. Qingque started it, but he is only four years old. How could he be a match for several ten-year-old boys? Grandfather, look at their bodies. Qingque is only four, yet they still attacked him, and more than one of them. Attacking a younger and weaker child is unjust. Beating up a younger brother is unrighteous," Li Kuan said, becoming more and more agitated, while the faces of the boys opposite him turned paler and paler.

Li Kuan turned to Li Chengde and Li Chengxun: "You, unjust and unrighteous, disloyal and disrespectful, how can you be the princes of our Tang Dynasty? If the future of our Tang Dynasty is in your hands, how can it last for generations?"