There is a very high probability that the 30,000 strings of cash ended up in Li Zhi's private account!

However, in such a major incident, Li Zhi not only failed to protect Changsun Dan, but also pretended to be innocent, which inevitably chilled the hearts of loyal ministers.

Li Shimin listened without suspicion, or rather, he didn't take the matter seriously at all.

"Since Zhinu is unaware of the situation, then punish Changsun Dan!"

"Strip Changsun Dan of all official positions and exile him to the imperial mausoleum to perform hard labor!"

"ah?"

When Li Shimin said this, not only was Li Zhi stunned, but even Li Tai, who had submitted a memorial to report him, was dumbfounded.

Has His Majesty become so short-tempered?

This is Changsun Dan, the Empress's own nephew! His Majesty actually allowed him to build the imperial mausoleum!

While the others were still in a daze, Zhang Liang, the Minister of Justice, immediately stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, even if Changsun Dan is guilty, does he deserve such a fate?"

"According to the tradition of this dynasty of discussing relatives and nobles, Changsun Dan would at most be demoted to commoner status, and there is no need for him to perform hard labor at the imperial mausoleum."

The so-called "discussion of relatives and nobles" refers to the Eight Deliberations system, which has existed since the Zhou Dynasty. The Eight Deliberations are: relatives, old friends, the virtuous, the capable, the meritorious, the noble, the diligent, and guests.

Anyone who commits one of these eight crimes, even if it is an unforgivable offense, can have their punishment reduced based on this.

To put it bluntly, it's a back door that the ruling class opened for themselves.

When Li Shimin saw Zhang Liang bring up the Eight Deliberations system, he immediately glared at Zhang Liang with great displeasure.

His glance wasn't just out of dissatisfaction with Zhang Liang's lack of tact, but also out of displeasure that Zhang Liang was standing on the same side as Changsun Wuji.

Li Shimin deliberately remained silent, wanting to see how many more people would jump out to plead for Changsun Dan.

Sure enough, five more people jumped out shortly afterward. Among them were officials from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Revenue, and two from the Ministry of Personnel.

Seeing this, Li Shimin smiled coldly. It seems the Crown Prince's influence is not insignificant!