Ganlu Hall.

Li Er was happily holding Xu Chongrong's hand, while his other hand was proudly stroking Xu Hui's belly.

Just now, after a diagnosis by the imperial physician, it was discovered that his beloved concubine, Consort Xu, was pregnant!

"Your Majesty, I..."

Before Xu Chongrong could finish speaking, Zhang Anan rushed in, shouting as he ran.

"Your Majesty, I am pregnant!"

Li Er almost spat out his drink when he heard this, and then stared blankly at Zhang Anan.

"Whatever you have, you have it!"

"My Consort Xu is the one I truly have!"

"ah?"

Zhang Anan was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then stepped forward with a face full of joy to offer his congratulations.

"Is Consort Xu really pregnant?"

Xu Hui nodded in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Um……"

Zhang Anan was delighted to hear this.

"This servant congratulates Your Majesty! Congratulations!"

"Consort Xu has truly rendered great service to the country! Our harem hasn't had a new prince born for over ten years, hahaha!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin glared fiercely at Zhang Anan, fearing that the man's jinx would ruin his plans.

In fact, Li Shimin had long realized that there was a problem with the harem, or rather, that there was a problem with him.

After all, no princes or princesses had been born in the harem for over ten years; anyone could see the problem.

Li Shimin privately consulted the imperial physicians and even Sun Simiao. Without exception, they all told him that he had suffered too much damage in his youth, which was why he had difficulty conceiving in middle age.

Fortunately, Li Shimin was very diligent in his prime. Not to mention other women, he had three sons and four daughters with the Empress alone, which was quite fruitful and made up for his regrets.

Now that Xu Hui is pregnant again, it not only proves that he is still as vigorous as ever, but also that the Tang Dynasty is blessed by the heavens!

"Shut up and tell me what you have to say?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Anan glanced at Xu Hui beside him, and Li Shimin immediately expressed his opinion.

"Xu Hui is not an outsider, so please speak frankly!"

"Your Majesty, this servant has just gone to consult the Crown Prince..."

Upon hearing this, Xu Hui immediately got up to leave.

"Your Majesty, since you and General Zhang are discussing important matters, I will return to my palace to rest first..."

Li Shimin was reluctant to let this great contributor leave, so he pulled him back and placed him on his lap.

"fine!"

"You watched the Crown Prince grow up, so why don't you listen to what he has to say!"

Seeing Li Shimin say this, Xu Hui shyly sat on His Majesty's lap.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has devised a system for me called the Eastern Depot. Please take a look!"

Li Shimin took the stack of papers handed to him by Zhang Anan and casually flipped through them.

"Were all of these decided by Li Jue?"

"yes!"

"The Imperial Grandson made this arrangement for me while he was drunk..."

"Drunk?"

Li Shimin was immediately displeased upon hearing this.

"Zhang Anan, when did your Inner Palace Attendants Department start allowing drinking alcohol?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Anan immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. This servant will teach them a lesson they deserve!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin snorted coldly and did not pursue the matter further. He simply quietly looked at the so-called "Eastern Depot" system designated by Li Jue.

When he saw the desire for power, Li Shimin couldn't help but frown.

He hates it when people ask him for power!

However, when he saw that Li Jue was demanding the right to arrest people and interrogate prisoners, a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

Li Shimin suddenly realized that his previous thinking had been too simplistic.

If the Inner Palace Attendants Bureau is only responsible for supervision, then it will be basically the same as the Hundred Cavalry Bureau, and it won't accomplish anything significant.

After all, they have neither the right to arrest people nor the right to interrogate prisoners, so who would be afraid of them?

But if the Inner Palace Attendants Bureau is given the power to arrest and interrogate criminals, wouldn't that put the Inner Palace Attendants Bureau above the Three Judicial Offices?

This would certainly provoke opposition from the civil and military officials in the court!

As Li Shimin thought of this, a sudden inspiration flashed in his mind.

Damn it!

Could this rebellious grandson be plotting this?

Personnel were dispatched to the three provinces and six ministries to oversee court assemblies, prisons, interrogations, and other related matters.

Such things as human rights violations, interrogation rights, etc.

This is clearly an act of defiance against the court officials, inciting all the civil and military officials to oppose me!

Could it be that this grandson doesn't approve of me doing this?

Thinking of this, Li Shimin looked again at the stack of papers in his hand, and thought, "That doesn't seem right either..."

If this grandson had objected, he wouldn't have needed to create such a perfect system!

Looking at the near-perfect institutional framework in his hands, Li Shimin felt an overwhelming sense of reluctance. If he didn't give it a try, he'd want to slap himself twice in his sleep!

"Cough cough..."

"Put aside the power to arrest and interrogate for now. No one is allowed to touch officials below the seventh rank in other regions or below the fifth rank in the capital!"

"As for the other ordinary criminals, you may arrest them first and interrogate them later, and report back to me afterwards!"

"Furthermore, officials from the Three Departments and Six Ministries should not be touched for now. If there is any evidence, please consult me ​​first!"

"promise!"

"Your Majesty, what do you think about the manpower situation..."

Li Shimin felt a headache when he heard this. He hadn't originally intended to make such a big deal out of it; he just wanted Zhang Anan to select some clever eunuchs to monitor the various princely mansions and the regional vassal kings.

But after seeing the detailed system formulated by Li Jue, he immediately changed his mind.

Since the Hundred Cavalry Command is not professional enough, let Zhang Anan train a group of professionals to keep an eye on things for him!

"Manpower..."

"Prioritize personnel from the Hundred Cavalry Division; if the Hundred Cavalry Division lacks suitable manpower, then transfer personnel from the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review!"

"Also, you can recruit the staff and others yourself in the capital!"

"We just need to control the number of people. Don't have too many in the early stages. One or two hundred people will be enough!"

"Oh oh oh..."

"Your Majesty, regarding the matter of the Crown Prince's surveillance of court officials, I would like to ask Your Majesty's instructions: who should I monitor, and who should I not?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin looked at Xu Hui, then patted Xu Hui's bottom and said.

"My beloved concubine, go back and wait for me. I'll be there in a moment!"

Xu Hui had been feeling extremely uneasy, and upon hearing this, she felt as if she had been granted a pardon and quickly got up to take her leave.

"This concubine takes her leave..."

Xu Hui felt a lingering fear after leaving Ganlu Palace. She really shouldn't have come to see His Majesty today, and she especially shouldn't have told him about her pregnancy!

What His Majesty and General Zhang discussed today was terrifying. Isn't this just the eunuch interference in politics during the Han Dynasty?

Xu Hui instinctively felt that this was inappropriate, but since His Majesty wanted to do it, and the Crown Prince was so supportive...

When the Crown Prince was mentioned, Xu Hui felt a surge of gratitude.

If I hadn't secretly accompanied His Majesty to see the Crown Prince, I wouldn't have received such favor, nor would I have conceived His Majesty's child.

It can be said that he was born of the eldest grandson of the emperor!

I need to find an opportunity to thank the Crown Prince!

But how should I express my gratitude?

Now that the Crown Prince is getting old, sending him small gifts could easily arouse suspicion. How about we make him a pair of shoes or a cloak?

This way, one can express their feelings without arousing suspicion from others.