Snap——

A slap landed hard on Li Chengxun's face.

A bright red slap mark instantly appeared on his face.

Liu Qiaoer slapped him, very angry: "Idle Prince? I think you are dreaming! Believe it or not, after Li Chengtai ascends the throne, the first person he will deal with is you!"

Li Chengxun was beaten, but he still said stubbornly: "Eighth brother is not such a person. The queen is kind and benevolent. She can treat the son of the late concubine well, so she will not harm me. The late queen and concubine are both examples. Is mother going to follow their old path? Will she not stop until she sends the Liu family to the guillotine?"

Liu Qiaoer angrily scolded: "We are in the royal family, how can there be any brotherhood! You grind wood every day and wear out your brain. Mother has endured for many years and suffered a lot, but she raised a waste like you!"

Li Chengxun remained silent.

After being scolded, he returned to his room silently. Li Chengxun lives in an independent courtyard, and his house is filled with various wood and tools.

Li Chengxun was not good at studying or martial arts, but he had excellent carpentry skills. The cabinets and benches he made are sturdy, beautiful and durable. He also designed palace courtyards and renovated fountains.

His craftsmanship is no worse than that of the carpenters in the palace.

Li Chengxun has a dull personality and only feels at peace when he is doing carpentry. He was obsessed with it and didn't want to get involved in the outside world's struggle for the crown prince.

But my mother is stubborn and refuses to change!

How dare you dream of the throne!

Li Chengxun was restless and worried. My father is strict and the queen is smart. My mother's secret collusion with the Liu family may have been known to my father and the queen.

Those who are involved are often confused, while those who are not involved can see things more clearly. The more Li Chengxun thought about it, the more frightened he became, and cold sweat broke out all over his body. He really didn't dare to think any further, and paced back and forth in the room. Finally, Li Chengxun plucked up the courage and went to Chang'an Palace to pay a visit to his father.

...

In the afternoon, Chang'an Palace was quiet.

Li Yuanjing took some time off and wanted to test Li Chengtai's ability, so he threw the job of handling memorials to Li Chengtai and hid in the side hall of Yongning Palace to play chess with Shen Wei.

Over the years, under Li Yuanjing's careful teaching, Shen Wei's writing, painting and poetry skills have risen rapidly. The only difference was that when it came to chess, no matter how Li Yuanjing taught her, Shen Wei's chess skills were horrible.

Li Yuanjing was unwilling to give up, so he often caught Shen Wei, set up a chessboard and taught her how to play chess.

"Wait, I regret my move!" Shen Wei was holding the black chess piece. Seeing that a black chess piece on the board was surrounded by white chess pieces, she hurriedly held Li Yuanjing's hand and stuffed a white chess piece back.

Li Yuanjing was amused by her action: "In one game of chess, I regretted my move five times."

Chen Wei was righteous and confident, and put down a black chess piece: "I want to regret my move. If the emperor doesn't like it, ask Concubine Lan and others to accompany you."

The room was filled with fragrance. Li Yuanjing looked at Shen Wei's pretty face and gave in reluctantly: "Forget it, I'll let you go first."

The two continued playing chess.

After half an hour, there were fewer and fewer black pieces on the chessboard, and Shen Wei was about to lose. She held the black chess piece in her hand and suddenly changed the subject: "Your Majesty, Chengyou is on his way to Liangzhou. Before he left, he told me that someone in the court was trying to divide the relationship between him and Chengtai. Has your Majesty found out who they are?"

Li Yuanjing paused in his chess playing.

Li Yuanjing naturally knew that someone in the court was trying to sow discord. We sent people to investigate and found out that the person was the Liu family in the south.

When Li Yuanjing was still Prince of Yan, Concubine Qian, in order to support Li Yuanli's ascension to the throne, colluded with court officials in an attempt to divide Li Yuanjing and the prince.

Times have changed, and Li Yuanjing must not let the past happen again.

There was a hint of murderous intent in his eyes: "I will handle this matter."

Shen Wei took the opportunity to take a white chess piece, but Li Yuanjing turned a blind eye and pretended not to see it.

There were footsteps outside the house, and Eunuch Deshun reported respectfully from behind the curtain: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Third Prince wants to see you."

Li Yuanjing put down the white chess piece: "Let him in."

After a while, Li Chengxun's thin figure appeared. He lowered his head and said, "I pay my respects to my father and the queen."

The voice was quiet, but full of fear.

Li Chengxun has been afraid of his father since he was a child.

In his impression, his father always had a serious look and was majestic and stern. Every time Li Chengxun performed poorly in horse riding and archery in the training ground, he would be reprimanded by his father.

Li Chengxun also wanted to perform well and not disappoint his father. But he really doesn't like riding horses, archery, or reading... Having lived in a depressing and cramped environment since childhood, he prefers to be alone and do things silently.

"Stand up and sit down quickly." Chen Wei was always very gentle. She asked Deshun to bring a rosewood chair over and stole a chess piece from the chessboard.

Li Chengxun sat down obediently.

Li Yuanjing looked at him and asked, "What's the matter?"

The voice was deep and magnetic, and to Li Chengxun's ears it sounded like the terrifying roar of a dragon or a tiger.

Li Chengxun felt his throat tighten and his knees go weak. He suddenly regretted coming to see his father so hastily.

But thinking of what his mother had done, Li Chengxun mustered up the greatest courage of his life and knelt on the ground: "Father, please forgive my mother! She, she was confused for a moment and had thoughts that she shouldn't have. You punish me, don't take your anger out on my mother."

The room was quiet.

Shen Wei and Li Yuanjing looked at each other. Shen Wei said: "I will return to the palace first."

When it comes to state affairs, Shen Wei has to pretend not to get involved, lest Li Yuanjing suspect her of "interfering in government affairs from the harem."

Li Yuanjing held down Shen Wei who was about to run away, and raised his eyebrows: "The game is not over yet, don't try to take the opportunity to escape."

Shen Wei rolled her eyes in her heart, sat next to her and pretended to study the chess game, and stole a white chess piece from the board.

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