My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

Chapter 33: Lady Lu is jealous, Su Wan secretly peeks.

"I don't think so. Emperor Wen of Sui was the ruler of a country, yet he was very devoted to Empress Dugu. If the emperor was like that, what reason do his subjects have to indulge themselves?" said Lady Lu.

"Uh—," Li Shimin choked on his words. He hadn't expected that the Lady of Wei before him was no ordinary woman. Not only was she well-versed in classics and history, but she was also very knowledgeable about the affairs of the previous dynasty. He thought to himself, wasn't she implying that he wasn't as devoted as Emperor Wen of Sui? "I feel that the Duke of Wei has rendered great service and intend to reward him with ten beautiful women to serve him. I wonder if you agree?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Lu cried out, "I cannot obey!"

"You can't obey? You're clearly jealous," Li Shimin's face darkened. "What if I insist on doing it this way?"

"If Your Majesty insists on doing this, I beg to die before Your Majesty."

"Are you serious?"

"really!"

Li Shimin was also furious: "Since that's the case, then I'll grant your wish, Chengqian, bring her that jar of poisoned wine to drink!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian thought to himself that his father was really domineering, even meddling in other people's family affairs.

However, Li Shimin had spoken, and he dared not disobey.

As expected, Li Chengqian brought over a jar of poisoned wine and placed it in front of Lady Lu.

Li Shimin said to Lady Lu, "Lady Wei, if you really drink this jar of poisoned wine, then I will rescind my order and not bestow those ten beauties upon him."

Think it through carefully. Do you really want to die for love?

"Your Majesty, you must keep your word," said Lady Lu.

"Of course, how could I go back on my word?"

"Okay, I'll drink it!"

As she spoke, Lu picked up the wine jar with trembling hands and poured the wine down her throat.

Strangely, when she put the wine in her mouth, it wasn't spicy, but rather sour.

She sensed something was wrong, put the wine jar down, looked inside, and found that the color of the wine was also wrong; it was dark brown.

What kind of wine is this color?

She was also bewildered and asked, "Your Majesty, is this...is this wine? It tastes more like vinegar to me."

Li Shimin stood up and laughed heartily: "Lady Wei, you are truly a woman of great integrity and virtue!"

I had long heard that you were jealous, but I didn't believe it. Now that I see it, it is indeed true. To tell you the truth, that jar didn't contain wine, but vinegar. You are the wife of the Duke of Wei, the wife of a meritorious official. How could I kill you?

"I was merely testing you just now."

Upon hearing this, Lady Lu understood.

Li Shimin was deeply moved: "I never thought there was such a virtuous and resolute woman in the world. Not to mention the Duke of Wei, even I am afraid of you! I will reward you with that jar of vinegar as a memento."

Furthermore, I will not bestow those ten women upon the Duke of Wei; instead, I will reward you with ten catties of gold.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Lady Lu originally thought she was going to die this time, but unexpectedly Li Shimin played a joke on her, and she even made a fortune out of the misfortune.

"However, there is something you should tell the Duke of Wei when you go back. I am infinitely grateful to him and trust him completely. Therefore, I have appointed him as the chief minister of the court to supervise the compilation of the national history. I hope he can take some time to go to the Eastern Palace to teach the Crown Prince his studies."

Lady Lu glanced at Li Chengqian: "This servant obeys the decree!"

After Lady Lu left, Li Shimin said to Li Chengqian, "Fang Xuanling's wisdom is unmatched in the court. From now on, when you see him, you should treat him as your teacher."

"Your subject will obey Your Majesty's decree."

Li Shimin walked back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, and slowly said: "During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao and Lady Bian had four sons, namely Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi and Cao Xiong. Cao Xiong died young, leaving three sons behind."

So, who should be chosen as the heir apparent?

Cao Zhi was highly accomplished in literature and loved to compose poems and essays. His "Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River" made him famous throughout the world. However, it is regrettable that he did not understand politics.

Cao Zhang was a warrior. When it came to charging into battle and fighting bravely, no one could compare to him. In his own words, he did not want to be a king, but only a general.

Cao Pi was exceptionally shrewd and politically astute. Comparing his three sons, it became clear which was superior. This was one of the reasons why Cao Cao made Cao Pi his heir. Of course, Cao Pi also had the advantage of being the eldest among his four brothers.

As a monarch, you don't necessarily have to be incredibly brave on the battlefield; the task of fighting can be left to the generals.

The Wei kingdom was basically conquered by Cao Cao himself. He captured Lü Bu, destroyed Yuan Shu, surrendered Liu Biao, and fought battles such as the Battle of Guandu, the Battle of Tongguan, and the Battle of Red Cliffs. He did not have a single capable general under his command.

Cao Cao failed to cultivate a single commander. Although Cao Ren was not bad, he was far inferior to Han Xin and Li Jing.

Another point is that Cao Cao, throughout his life, never unified the country, but only controlled one-third of it.

Let's look back at Eastern Wu. Did Sun Quan lead troops into battle?

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said, "It seems that Sun Quan did not personally command troops very often."

"Yes, he handed the army over to the Grand Commander. During the Battle of Red Cliffs, the Grand Commander was Zhou Yu. After Zhou Yu died, there was Lu Su. After Lu Su died, there was Lü Meng. After Lü Meng died, there was Lu Xun. Sun Quan had a sharp eye; he was always good at discovering talent."

Later, to avenge Guan Yu, Liu Bei mobilized an army of 700,000 to attack Eastern Wu. Sun Quan did not personally lead the battle, but instead sent Lu Xun to lead the troops to resist.

The two fires of Eastern Wu: one at Chibi burned Cao Cao's 830,000-strong army, and the other at Yiling burned Liu Bei's 700,000-strong Shu army.

This is where Sun Quan was more astute than Cao Cao;

Furthermore, regarding Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, his empire was largely established by Han Xin; he himself rarely participated in battles. This illustrates the difference between an emperor and a general.

"What Father says is absolutely right."

After returning to her residence, Lady Lu recounted the entire incident to Fang Xuanling.

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuanling realized it was a false alarm, but even so, he was still terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.

He swore an oath: "My dear wife, please believe me, I will only love you in this lifetime."

Mrs. Lu glared at him: "If you dare to mess around outside, I'll take a pair of scissors and cut your manhood off while you're asleep."

"My lady, how could I dare? To spend my whole life with only you is enough for me."

"Is that really what you think?"

"How could this be fake?"

"The Emperor sent me to tell you that you should go to the Eastern Palace to tutor the Crown Prince when you have time. I really don't understand why you didn't accept the Emperor's appointment as the Crown Prince's tutor?"

Fang Xuanling frowned: "You're just a woman; you don't need to concern yourself with matters of the court."

night.

Su Wan's boudoir.

Su Wan was reading when Xue'er walked in.

Seeing that her complexion was much better than before, Su Wan quickly stood up, came over to support her, and asked, "How are you feeling? How is your injury healing?"

"My lady, my injuries are much better now, and I'm fine!" Xue'er said with a smile.

"That's good! I was so worried."

Xue'er pouted: "I'm not the crown prince, why are you so worried about me?"

Su Wan rolled her eyes at her: "You little hussy, you never say anything serious."

"So, how are things going with your relationship with the Crown Prince lately?"

"What do you mean, 'how is it'? It's just like that!"

"Did you sleep on a tatami mat?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wan raised her hand to hit her: "I really don't know what you're thinking about all day long?"

Xue'er laughed and dodged the question: "Let me tell you, if a man and a woman don't sleep in the same bed, it means their feelings aren't strong enough. When feelings are intense, it's hard to extricate oneself; who can control themselves?"

Su Wan pursed her lips: "From what you're saying, it sounds like you have a lot of experience."

So, have you ever slept with a man?

"No, that's not true. Didn't you say that you and the Crown Prince slept together before?"

"They were just drunk. But my imagination runs wild; I can picture you and the Crown Prince naked on a couch—what a scene that would be like."

"Judging from how lovesick you are, I'll have to find you someone sooner or later."

Xue'er smiled and said, "Master, then you have to find me a normal one, not someone like Fang Yi'ai."

When Su Wan heard her mention Fang Yi'ai, she was also curious: "What exactly is Fang Yi'ai's situation?"

"How would I know? I only heard from the doctor that his sexual function is abnormal, and it seems that he cannot have sex."

"He looks quite strong, like a martial artist, how could he be in this state?"

"The people and things in this world are all strange and wonderful. However, when the doctor was changing my dressing today, he said that several beautiful women had appeared in Fang Yi'ai's home."

Su Wan frowned upon hearing this: "If Fang Yi'ai doesn't have that kind of function, why does he still seek out so many beautiful women?"

"How would I know? Don't eunuchs and palace maids sometimes fool around together?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wan glared at her again: "If you ask me, your brain is already broken, beyond saving."

"Master, we have nothing to do now. Let's take a stroll around Fang Yi'ai's mansion and see why he's brought so many beautiful women here. And how he's getting into all sorts of trouble with them."

Su Wan perked up: "Okay, let's go take a look!"

So, Su Wan changed back into her night clothes, revealing her face through a light veil, and slipped out the back door with Xue'er.

They had just slipped out when they suddenly heard someone shout behind them, "Stop! What are you two doing?"

Su Wan and Xue'er were quite frightened. When they turned around, they saw that it was none other than Su Gui.

Su Wan glared at him: "Why are you leaving your post again without permission?"

Su Gui grinned, "Sis, why are you being so fierce? I came back to use the restroom because my stomach hurt!"

"You're such a lazy bum, always pulling the millstone. What did Chang He ask you to do last time?"

"Ashina She'er wants to transfer two thousand cavalrymen from our army, and Changhe wants me to go with him."

"Then why didn't you go?"

"Jingyao said he wanted to make a name for himself, so I gave him the spot."

Where are you two going to have fun? Take me with you.

Xue'er came over and said with a smile, "I heard that Fang Yi'ai is not good in that area, but he still has so many beautiful women in his mansion. I wonder what they're up to. We're planning to go and find out."

Su Gui was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this: "You guys are really resourceful, even knowing about this. How could you not include me in such a fun activity? I'll go with you."

"Doesn't your boss cause you trouble?"

"I'll tell him later that I accidentally fell into the toilet."

"You're talented, kid!"

Fang Yiai's study.

The three men stealthily approached the study window and peered inside.

Fang Yi'ai sat in the document room, pen in hand, and recorded all the recent events in Chang'an.

At this moment, a woman in red and four women in purple stood before him, their attitudes respectful.

"I was entrusted by the King of Yue to take you into my residence and carefully train you. I found famous teachers to teach you martial arts, and now you have mastered them."

Before leaving for Yangzhou, the King of Yue specifically came to me and instructed me to keep a close eye on the movements of the Crown Prince.

The woman in red said, "I understand. After inquiring, we learned that nothing has happened in the Eastern Palace recently. The Crown Prince simply demolished three old houses and turned them into three flower beds, and planted six mulberry trees."

Fang Yi'ai listened and nodded: "Anything else?"

"The Crown Prince went to Changsun Wuji's residence."

"Oh, is that so?" Fang Yi'ai thought that the Crown Prince was indeed closely related to his uncle, and it seemed that his father's concerns were entirely correct.

"true."

"Good, you've done a good job. Keep gathering information," Fang Yi'ai said, writing the latest news into the letter. He then handed the letter to one of the women in purple. "Chunhua, immediately ride a fast horse and deliver this letter to Yangzhou. Be sure to deliver it to the King of Yue in person."

Chunhua took the letter, put it in her bosom, and bowed, saying, "This subordinate understands and will depart immediately."

"Be very careful on your journey, and make sure you don't lose this letter."

"Please rest assured, sir!" Chunhua said, turning and leaving.

After leaving the room, Chunhua went to the stable in the backyard and led out a tall, red horse.

She mounted the horse, slapped its rump, and the horse galloped off, making a "clop-clop" sound.

Su Wan gave Su Gui a wink, and Su Gui understood, following closely behind the tall horse.

At this moment, three other women in purple came out of the room and dispersed, but they did not find Su Wan and Xue'er.

Only Fang Yi'ai and the woman in red remained in the room.

Fang Yi'ai stood up, walked up to the woman in red, lifted her chin with his right hand, and examined her for a long time: "Beautiful, you are truly beautiful! You won't leave tonight, you'll serve me here."

"My lord, this might not be a good idea," the woman in red said softly.

"What's wrong with that? It's just the two of us here. Don't you want to serve me?" Fang Yi'ai stared at her intently, looking quite greedy.

"No, it's just—"

"Just what?"

"You were probably too nervous last time to have sex. Have you recovered after the doctor's treatment?"