HNYWEF -Chapter 173 Internal Rectification

Night.

The side hall of the Liangyi Hall was brightly lit.

Li Shimin sat on the couch. Standing before him were several men — Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Wang Gui, Cheng Yaojin, and Qin Qiong.

None of them looked pleased, especially Wang Gui, whose brows had been tightly furrowed ever since he entered.

Li Shimin slapped the slip of paper in his hand onto the desk.

“The magistrate of Luoyang cleared the streets for Princess Changle, shutting down the entire Tian Street for half a shichen. The princess rebuked him on the spot and ordered everything restored. Which one of you arranged this?”

Wang Gui stepped out from the line.

“Your Majesty, I did not arrange this matter. The princess’s journey was a private affair. The Ministry of Rites only approved the ceremonial protocol and never notified the prefectures or counties along the route.”

Li Shimin looked at him, then swept his gaze across the others.

“And the rest of you?”

No one answered.

Li Shimin nodded. After thinking it over carefully, he knew they probably would not have done such a thing either, so he turned to Fang Xuanling.

“Investigate it. Find out who leaked news of the princess’s journey and who arranged the receptions along the way. Princess Changle is traveling to visit family. It’s a private matter, not an imperial tour. Who turned a private trip into official business? Who is wasting the people’s labor and money? Once you find out, punish them severely.”

“Yes,” Fang Xuanling answered.

Wei Zheng stepped out from the line.

He walked to the center of the hall and bowed. “Your Majesty, I believe there is no need to make such a major issue out of this.”

Li Shimin looked at him.

Wei Zheng straightened up.

“The princess’s journey causing local officials to curry favor along the route was certainly improper. But local officials reacting upon hearing the news is only natural. After all, the princess is Your Majesty’s legitimate daughter, and the prince consort is a meritorious noble of the court. Local officials would not dare neglect them; their actions are understandable. Moreover, the princess already reprimanded them on the spot and ordered everything restored. The matter has already been properly handled. If we continue investigating and make a great commotion of it, it will only chill the hearts of local officials. I believe a warning is sufficient. There is no need for severe punishment.”

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Li Shimin looked at Wei Zheng without speaking.

Cheng Yaojin frowned and took a step forward, about to speak, but Qin Qiong pulled him back.

Cheng Yaojin glanced at Qin Qiong. Qin Qiong shook his head.

Cheng Yaojin swallowed his words and stood there with an unpleasant expression, but remained silent.

Li Shimin finally spoke. His voice was not loud, but every word was crystal clear.

“Wei Zheng, answer me this. The princess’s departure was approved by me. The Ministry of Rites approved the protocol, and the Ministry of Works prepared the carriages and horses. From beginning to end, I never ordered any prefecture or county to be notified. So how did the magistrate of Luoyang learn of it? Who told him? Who ordered him to clear the streets?”

Wei Zheng did not answer.

Li Shimin continued, “Today it was the streets of Luoyang being cleared. What about tomorrow? Huai Prefecture? Xiang Prefecture? Dozens of prefectures and counties along the route — if every one of them pulls the same stunt, is the princess going home to visit family or going on an imperial inspection tour? Is Zhou Xiong going to mourn his late wife, or to flaunt his power and prestige?”

His voice rose slightly.

“It took him fifteen years to take this step. I approved it in court, the Ministry of Rites raised no objections, and the Ministry of Works released him for the journey. And what happened? The local authorities pull something like this! Street clearances, martial law, kneeling welcomes! What do you expect Zhou Xiong to think? What do you expect the princess to think?”

Wei Zheng stood there in silence for a while.

Then he spoke.

“Your Majesty is entirely correct. But I still believe the fault lies in the excessive flattery of the local officials, not in anyone deliberately orchestrating it. Investigate the source, issue warnings to the officials involved, and forbid it from happening again in the future. That will suffice. If this leads to a large-scale purge and prison investigations, it would instead damage the dignity of the court.”

Li Shimin looked at him for three breaths.

Then he nodded.

“But the investigation will still proceed. Find out who leaked the information and give them a warning. Let there not be a next time.”

Wei Zheng bowed. “Your Majesty is wise.”

Li Shimin waved his hand. “You may all leave.”

Cheng Yaojin was the last to go. When he reached the doorway, he suddenly stopped and turned back.

“Your Majesty.”

Li Shimin looked at him.

Cheng Yaojin said, “If that bear of a man finds out Your Majesty held a meeting in the middle of the night just for this matter—”

“He won’t know.”

Li Shimin interrupted him.

Cheng Yaojin froze for a moment.

Li Shimin looked at him. The expression on his face was not fatigue, but the calm indifference of someone who believed some things did not need to be known by others after they were done.

“He should focus on the things he needs to do. As for this mess, I’ll block it for him. Now go.”

Cheng Yaojin opened his mouth as if to say something, but swallowed the words back down.

He cupped his fists and turned to leave.

The hall quieted once more.

Li Shimin sat on the couch, staring at the slip of paper on the desk for a long while.

Then he picked it up and held it to the candle flame.

The fire licked upward. The edges of the paper curled black as ashes drifted down onto the desk.

He released his hand. The final corner of the paper burned away completely. The flame flickered twice, then died out.

Only a thin strand of smoke remained, slowly dispersing in the candlelight.

He watched that strand of smoke for a while.

Then he rose and walked to the window.

Outside, the night was pitch black. Nothing could be seen.

He stood there for a very long time.