The Changsha Princess incident served as a wake-up call for Changsun Wuji, making him finally realize that Li Zhi's biggest rival had emerged.
This person was none other than Li Zhong, who was hiding in Sanglin Village, Xianyang!
Although he is not yet certain of Li Zhong's identity, based on Li Shimin's unconditional favoritism towards Li Zhong and his frequent trips to Xianyang, it can be deduced that this person is very likely Li Jue!
He was very hesitant about whether or not to tell Li Zhi about this.
As the saying goes, no one knows a nephew better than his uncle. He knew his nephew too well. He was naive and lacked cunning. Once he learned that Li Jue was still alive and that he was very likely to take away his position as crown prince, he would very likely slip up.
This will not only fail to help him, but will actually harm him!
Changsun Wuji was not afraid of harming Li Zhi; he was afraid that Li Zhi would lose his position as crown prince and that the Changsun family's status would plummet!
Therefore, after struggling with the decision for several days, he devised a plan for Li Zhi.
"Uncle, will this work?"
"You don't need to worry about it, just do as I say!"
"Oh oh oh..."
After reading the schedule his uncle had written for him, Li Zhi silently wrote it down and then burned it under his uncle's watchful eye.
In fact, the contents of the paper did not contain anything taboo. It was simply to instruct him to reflect on his actions morning and evening, recite the Four Books and Five Classics, copy the Classic of Filial Piety, and frequently consult his father about his insights on governing the country.
The records were very detailed, even specifying what questions to ask each day, so he could just follow them.
Li Zhi silently memorized what Changsun Wuji had written, and then returned to the Crown Prince's residence to act according to the schedule.
Although it was a bit tedious in practice, you wouldn't feel anything once you got used to it. It was just that he had to pay his respects to his father every morning and evening and ask him questions, which made things a little difficult for him.
Because he was so afraid of his father, the emperor, that he was afraid of angering him.
As soon as he entered the palace that day, he saw his father, the emperor, leading the princess by the hand as they boarded a carriage, as if they were about to go on a long journey.
Upon seeing this, Li Zhi quickly ran forward and stopped the carriage.
"Father, where are you going?"
Li Shimin replied irritably upon hearing this.
Do I need to tell you where I'm going?
Li Zhi was stunned when he heard this. He wondered what was wrong with his father and who had made him angry.
"No... Your Majesty, I was just worried about you, that's why I asked..."
Li Shimin regretted his words as soon as he finished speaking, feeling that he shouldn't have taken his anger out on Li Zhi.
"I'd like to take your sister out of the palace for a walk. Is there something you need?"
"Oh, it's nothing..."
"Your son has only come to pay his respects to Your Majesty, and by the way, I would like to ask Your Majesty a question."
"What's the problem?"
"Your Majesty, I recently came across a saying in a book: 'Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish.' I would like to ask you what the meaning of this saying is."
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin instantly understood that the child had come to him to make his presence known!
Li Shimin, having experienced the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty and fought his way to the throne, knew all too well these tricks of the trade.
Many of his tactics are ones he already used back in the day.
When Li Shimin thought of this, he looked at Li Zhi again with a mocking and sarcastic smile on his face.
"But your uncle sent you to ask me this?"
"this……"
Li Zhi panicked upon hearing this. His affair with his uncle was a closely guarded secret, unknown even to his cousins. How did his father guess it?
Li Shimin knew he had guessed correctly just by looking at Li Zhi's expression.
His son has never been very shrewd; he wears his heart on his sleeve. Even if he has a few bad intentions, they won't be that bad.
While he is a qualified son, he is not entirely reassuring as the crown prince.
The most taboo thing for a monarch is for his ministers to guess his thoughts. Once a monarch's thoughts are known to his ministers, the ministers can cater to the monarch according to his likes and dislikes, and even deceive the monarch.
"I have urgent business to attend to today, I'll explain to you another day!"
In the end, Li Shimin couldn't bring himself to reprimand Li Zhi, after all, the child hadn't done anything seriously wrong and was just trying to get his father's attention.
"promise!"
"Your Majesty, I will come to seek your guidance another day!"
Upon seeing the carriage start moving, Li Zhi immediately bowed and stood aside.
"Respectfully seeing off Father Emperor!"
Sitting in the carriage, Li Shimin saw everything Li Zhi was doing and then let out a helpless sigh.
"Sizi, how long has it been since your ninth brother visited you in the palace?"
Upon hearing this, Si Zi's eyes darted around, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer.
After all, he had a good relationship with Ninth Brother, and if he told the truth, it would definitely displease his father.
"Father, Ninth Brother comes to see me often..."
"How long does it usually take?"
"this……"
"I came here once last month..."
Li Shimin snorted coldly upon hearing this.
"Sizi is so ill, and instead of showing concern, his elder brother is racking his brains to curry favor. I am truly disappointed in him!"
"Father, Ninth Brother has had a tough time too, please don't take your anger out on him..."
"You don't need to speak up for him. If he just came to visit you more often, I would feel better!"
"Father, Ninth Brother is also very good to me..."
"very good?"
Li Shimin sneered upon hearing this.
"While I am still alive, he dares to come to see you once a month. If I were to die, you might not even see him once a year!"
"I……"
Upon hearing this, Si Zi immediately fell silent.
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