"Your Majesty, it's understandable that the eldest grandson, unaware of the true situation, might mistakenly believe it was your order. Why don't you explain it to him?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin looked mournful.

"How do you explain this?!"

"Am I supposed to tell him that I am his father-in-law, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty?!"

"this……"

"I have made up my mind. I will punish Cui Renshi severely!"

...

Cui Renshi, who thought he had escaped a calamity, was taken to the Taiji Hall by two men from the Hundred Cavalry Division as soon as he arrived at the Ministry of Revenue the next day.

When he was dragged to the Taiji Hall, he found that the hall was already full of people.

"Your Majesty, the criminal Cui Renshi has been brought here!"

Upon seeing this, Cui Renshi knew that His Majesty was going to publicly try him at the Grand Court Assembly, which frightened him so much that he started crying.

"Master Cui, do you know your crime?!"

"Your humble servant knows his crime. Your humble servant should not have acted on his own initiative and ordered people to drive away the vendors in Chang'an City, sob sob sob..."

As soon as Cui Renshi finished speaking, Chu Suiliang stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, Cui Renshi did indeed do something wrong, but haven’t you already punished him by exempting him from three months of taxes?”

"Hmph!"

"I'm still not satisfied!"

"This man's crimes are grave; only beheading him can appease my hatred!"

When Cui Renshi heard that His Majesty wanted to execute him, he was so frightened that he wet himself on the spot.

"Your Majesty, spare me! I will never dare to do it again, I will never dare to do it again, sob sob sob..."

The other officials in the hall were also taken aback when they heard this. They wondered what was wrong with His Majesty. Cui Renshi had only given an ordinary order, so why was His Majesty so eager to kill him?

Seeing this, Changsun Wuji also stepped forward and directly used the Tang Dynasty law to refute Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, deducting Cui Renshi's salary for three months is already an excessive punishment. If you were to behead him, where would that leave the laws of the Tang Dynasty?"

"If Your Majesty truly wishes to severely punish Cui Renshi, please explain your reasons. Without a just cause, the people of the land may not be satisfied!"

"reason?"

Li Shimin sneered a few times upon hearing this.

"I'll give you the reason right now!"

"Since ancient times, peddlers and porters have been humble yet legitimate businesses for ordinary people!"

"Even the tyrannical Emperor Yang of Sui couldn't prohibit it, yet it's banned in my prosperous Zhenguan era! How will people thousands of years from now view me as an emperor?"