Chapter 88 Li Xiang scolds Li Shimin (asking for monthly votes)
Li Xiang is back?
Not only the three brothers who were preparing to set off, but even Li Shimin was stunned where he was.

We are ready to bring people to rescue you, and you come back now?
Especially Li Zhi, although he looks gentle and honest, he is actually a violent person in his heart. Just now, he was really ready to go to Hou Junji's house and kill everyone with a sword in hand.

But after the astonishment, what followed was ecstasy.

Just come back safely, just come back safely!

"Let him come over quickly!" Li Shimin shouted.

After receiving the order, Wang De immediately went out to pass the message. Soon, he came over with Li Xiang.

As soon as Li Xiang entered the courtyard, he saluted with his arms crossed.

"Aunt! Fortunately, my grandson has fulfilled his mission! The criminal Li Yuanchang and the mastermind Hou Junji have been arrested!"

The Tang Dynasty was more relaxed and did not need to kneel down at every turn. Even if he had to kneel down, Li Xiang would find every excuse not to do so.

Are you kidding? How could I, Li Xiang, be the kind of person who would kneel down to others so easily?

impossible! Absolutely impossible!
"All right, all right, Elephant!"

Li Shimin looked at Li Xiang with shining eyes full of approval.

"Xiang'er is truly a talented young man from the Li family!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Uncle." Li Xiang replied indifferently, his face looking like Europe in October 1939 - no Poland at all.

Look, this is just another empty promise. If I believed it,
Is this just said to me, or to my other children and grandchildren as well?

Li Shimin was even happier to see Li Xiang's calmness in the face of praise or criticism.

This demeanor is similar to mine!

In fact, what he didn't know was that Li Xiang was a man who would not release the eagle until he saw the rabbit, and would never be satisfied with the pie in the sky.

"Where is Hou Junji?" Old Li looked up and asked.

Li Xiang crossed his hands and said, "The offending official, Hou Junji, is waiting in Liangyi Hall."

Li Shimin's eyes went dark. Good boy, every word you say is meant to confirm Hou Junji's crimes, right?

"Come with me." Li Shimin waved his hand.

Since Hou Junji was a foreign minister and a traitor, he was not allowed to enter the Lizheng Hall.

What if the two princesses were frightened? Even if the princesses were not frightened, it would be wrong to scare the flowers and plants.

When leaving the Mansion of Duke Chen, Li Xiang forgot to ask Hou Junji to put on his clothes, and Hou Junji himself did not ask for it.

So under this misunderstanding, he was brought to Liangyi Palace.

So when he stepped into the Liangyi Hall, what Li Shimin saw was Hou Junji with his shirtless body.

When a king and his ministers meet, they are naturally jealous of each other.

Li Shimin was angry that he treated Hou Junji well, but the latter repaid his kindness with enmity, instigated the brotherhood between his two sons, and even attempted to instigate the crown prince to rebel; Hou Junji felt that Li Shimin was unfair, as he put him in prison just for a trivial matter, and made him endure humiliation at the hands of clerks.

It can be said that both sides think they are right and no one thinks they are wrong.

"Hou Junji! How dare you come to see me!" Old Li shouted angrily.

"How dare I not come when the Holy Saint invites me?" Hou Junji also looked at Li Shimin coldly, with no intention of giving in.

Li Shimin asked: "Why do you want to rebel?"

"If the sage treats me unfairly, I will naturally rebel." Hou Junji said righteously.

"I have treated you fairly, why do you say I have treated you unfairly?" Li Shimin stared angrily and asked, "I want to ask you, according to military law, what is the crime for privately dividing the property of the Gaochang Palace?"

According to the rules, it is actually normal for generals to divide up property among themselves, especially when Hou Junji is fighting in a distant place. In order to stabilize the morale of the army, it is nothing to share some of the spoils.

But Hou Junji's taboo was that he swallowed the portion that should have been offered to the emperor, which was a big taboo.

If it were any other emperor, he would have thrown him into prison and punished him, or at the very least, he would have been stripped of his title of Duke, instead of simply dismissing him from office like what Old Li did to Hou Junji now.

Hou Junji knew he was in the wrong, but he was unwilling to give in. He stiffened his neck and said, "The relationship between me and the sage has ended. If you want to kill me or chop me up, just say it. Why bother talking nonsense here?"

Li Shimin took a deep breath. He didn't expect Hou Junji to be so stubborn.

"You feel guilty and know that you have committed a capital crime, so you dare not say it!" Li Shimin said coldly.

Upon hearing this, Hou Junji asked Li Shimin, "I have followed the sage in more than a hundred battles, risking my life and death to earn this position as a duke. Do you think that because I am greedy for a little profit, you will forget my previous contributions and punish me?"

"The past is the past, and the present is the present." Li Shimin sighed, "How can the merits of the past offset the mistakes of the future? Can we just sit back and do whatever we want by relying on our past merits?"

"What's the point of risking my life for wealth and honor if I can't be happy?" Hou Junji asked in return.

Li Shimin put his hands behind his back and walked slowly back and forth a few steps.

He sighed and looked at Hou Junji again.

Hou Junji's naked upper body was covered with bony scars.

It didn't matter when he saw this, Li Shimin's heart softened immediately.

Just now he wanted to severely punish Hou Junji, but now he remembered the days when Hou Junji fought with him on the battlefield.

Hou Junji didn't hear Li Shimin speak for a long time and thought he was hesitating, so he raised his head and saw Li Shimin's slightly red eyes.

He was secretly happy in his heart, but did not show it on his face. Instead, he continued to kneel there without saying a word.

"This wound was left when you followed me to fight against Xue Ju and Xue Rengao, father and son."

Li Shimin pointed at a scar on Hou Junji's arm and said, then pointed to another scar on his chest. His eyes seemed to be filled with memories and feelings.

"The wound on your chest was left when you followed me into the battle at Wulao Pass. I thought you were going to die at that time, but who would have thought that you were so lucky and still survived."

As he spoke, Li Shimin began to cry.

He really wasn't pretending; this was completely genuine.

"This wound was left when you followed me to fight Liu Heita. I bandaged it myself..."

"Can it be that we can really share adversity but not prosperity?"

Hou Junji finally came to his senses. He banged his head on the ground and cried bitterly.

"Your Majesty! I know I was wrong! I know I was wrong!"

"It is because I was blinded by greed that I have committed the actions I have today. I dare not ask for your forgiveness, Your Majesty. I only ask that you spare my bloodline..."

Seeing his old brother kneeling on the ground humbly and begging for mercy, Li Shimin's heart softened at once.

Thinking of the times they fought together on the battlefield and his bravery at the Xuanwu Gate, Lao Li suddenly didn't want to kill Hou Junji anymore.

Li Xiang was standing by and immediately understood what was going on.

Damn, Lao Hou, you are such a good actor!

Taking off clothes, it seems like he is showing off his experience and achievements to me, but he is waiting for me here! ?
At the end of it all, Li Xiang finally figured it out. From the moment Li Yuanchang was exposed, Hou Junji had already planned all of this.

If he ran away or rebelled, according to Li Shimin's character, he would die a miserable death.

However, if he was tough at the beginning and then showed weakness to Li Shimin in the end, the other party would definitely soften his heart and at least leave a bloodline for him.

The key point of this plan is to let Li Shimin see his scars, because the two of them had often fought together in the past, and Li Shimin knew where almost half of the scars on his body came from.

Things turned out exactly as he had imagined, except that there were unexpected gains.

Not only did Li Shimin soften his heart, he even considered sparing his life.

Li Xiang now understood that he must not take it lightly when fighting against these old foxes. If he is not careful, he will be tricked.

"You have been by my side, conquering the world for twenty-seven years. How could I bear to execute you..."

Li Chengqian and the other two nearby were secretly worried, but they didn't know where to start to persuade Li Shimin to deal with Hou Junji according to the law.

So urgent!

But they had no way to stand up and persuade Li Shimin to punish Hou Junji.

At this point, Hou Junji felt truly guilty.

All his plans were just to leave a bloodline for himself.

According to the law, he must be put to death. Even if the emperor asked for permission, it would be useless as the ministers would not allow it.

But now the emperor does not bear grudges, and even expresses regret, recalling the brotherhood of the past.

Even if Hou Junji had a heart of stone, he would still be grateful.

Your Majesty still remembers the friendship we had back then...

Just as he was about to speak, he heard Li Xiang next to him start speaking.

"Why are you acting like a child, old man?"

"I..." Li Shimin got angry and asked, "What the hell do you mean, kid?"
The eyes of Li Chengqian and his two brothers suddenly lit up.

"Isn't Grandpa the closest to your second uncle? He has already been trying to alienate your two sons! You are being too soft-hearted!" Li Xiang said, folding his arms, without giving in.

Li Shimin felt a lump in his throat.

Damn, this little bastard...

He remembered what he had said to Li Xiang when he asked him to capture Li Yuanchang.

"Aren't you usually the closest to Sizi? He is plotting to murder your aunt! You are being too soft-hearted!"

孽 孽!
This guy is really keen on taking revenge and never delays it!
How long has it been since then, and it’s already been returned to me intact?
Hou Junji knelt on the ground and felt a chill in his heart.

He had seen how sharp-tongued this little grandson of the emperor was.

Even he, an adult, is no match for her...

If the emperor is persuaded to cut off his bloodline, all the plans will be in vain.

But he didn't think that Li Xiang's two teachers were two of the most powerful figures in the Zhenguan Dynasty.

"The national law cannot be abolished!" Li Xiang stepped forward and looked at Li Shimin without giving in: "I hope that you will take the national law into consideration and punish Duke Chen according to the law!"

Hou Junji, who was standing by, felt a sweetness in his throat.

The last step was almost completed, but unexpectedly Li Xiang showed up and disrupted the plan.

Li Shimin's sentimental heart took over his IQ. He wiped his tears and looked at Li Xiang with a pleading look: "Xiang'er, Hou Junji and I have been close for many years. I really can't bear it..."

"National law! National law!" Li Xiangqing shouted, "Does Aung want to disregard the dignity of national law?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a eunuch came to report that Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Xiao Yu, Zhangsun Wuji, Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong and others were outside seeking to see him.

"Announce it quickly!" Li Shimin said immediately.

With such a big thing happening, how could these important officials just sit at home? Of course, they came here as soon as possible.

All the ministers came together and entered the hall.

Of course, they also heard Li Xiang's voice just now. When they walked over, they all looked at Li Xiang twice.

Wei Zheng and Xiao Yu, in particular, looked at Li Xiang with approval.

Be a good student to your teacher!
Even able to scold the emperor!
Changsun Wuji's eyes also became closer, after all, Princess Changle was his daughter-in-law and niece. Even if we take a step back, the next generation of the Changsun family will be blessed by Princess Changle. If Princess Changle was harmed by Li Yuanchang, the consequences would be unimaginable.

After the ceremony, Fang Xuanling came out to ask what happened. Li Shimin told him what happened before and said with some emotion: "When the country was not stable, you made great contributions to the country. Although you have committed a serious crime now, I am reluctant to punish you according to the law because of your past contributions..."

After hearing what Li Shimin said, all the ministers said in unison: "Hou Junji's crime is intolerable to heaven and earth. Please execute him to show the great law!"

"Jun Ji and I have known each other for many years. How can I bear to kill him!" Li Shimin wiped his tears and continued to plead for Hou Jun Ji.

Wei Zheng stood up and said, "Your Majesty's generosity is evident to all, but Hou Junji's crime has violated the foundation of the country. I hope Your Majesty will abide by the law."

"But……"

Li Shimin was about to say something else, but unexpectedly Hou Junji suddenly knelt a few steps in front of him, knelt down and cried.

"I have failed the Emperor's grace, and I cannot redeem myself without death. Today I am willing to die to thank the world!"

After saying that, without waiting for Li Shimin to react, he exerted force on his legs, stood up and slammed hard into the pillar beside him.

Then, his body slowly slid to the ground, and blood gushed out from the wound on his head.

When everyone went forward to see, he was already dead.

Li Shimin walked forward and saw Hou Junji's miserable condition, and couldn't help but burst into tears.

He covered his eyes and said sadly: "I have said goodbye to you forever. From now on, all I can see is your portrait!"

After feeling sad for a while, he ordered people to carry Hou Junji's body away and send it back to the Mansion of Duke Chen.

"Since Jun Ji has committed suicide, considering his past contributions, we should spare his wife and children's lives and exile them to Lingnan. What do you think?" Li Shimin asked again.

"Your Majesty is wise!" The ministers immediately crossed their arms and said, they were very satisfied with the result.

"Immediately announce that Hou Junji's wife and children will be exiled to Lingnan." He announced again.

After Hou Junji was taken away, Li Shimin turned his attention to Li Xiang.

Although Li Xiang's attitude just now was not very good, he also kept the national law in mind.

Besides, he was able to argue with him without giving in, and he admired this kind of magnanimity very much.

This child is so similar to me!
He looked for a moment, then raised his head and looked at his ministers.

"Grandson Li Xiang is calm, resolute, wise and decisive. He not only quickly solved the case of the princess being poisoned, but also uncovered Hou Junji who was hiding behind the scenes. What do you think should be the reward for him?"

(Three updates a day, 4000 words each, a total of words.)
(Fourth update is beyond my ability, and I don’t have time to sort out the plot, so the quality will collapse...)
(End of this chapter)