Wang Gui committed an error.

After Yuan Tiangang agreed to Li Zhi’s request, he went to the relocation site the next day to take up teaching duties.

Before that, the rewards for both him and Li Chunfeng had been announced. Li Chunfeng was promoted from Deputy Minister to Chengwulang, while Yuan Tiangang was appointed as Censor-in-Chief.

Yuan Tiangang had only resigned from his county magistrate post for a year before being granted an honorary fifth-rank position, which delighted him immensely.

When Li Zhi learned that Yuan Tiangang had already gone to teach, he decided to take decisive action. On the condition of helping Li Yin build a larger laboratory, he invited Li Yin and his students to the relocation site as well.

This instantly solved the problem of having enough teachers there.

After resolving these matters, Li Zhi obediently spent a few days working at the Jingzhao Prefecture government office. But within two days, he was urgently summoned to the palace.

Upon arriving at the Taiji Hall, he was surprised to find that nearly all the civil officials in court were present.

What puzzled him most was the presence of Dai Zhou and Li Daozong, who rarely participated in state affairs outside of court sessions.

Even more perplexing was seeing Wang Gui standing alone in the center of the hall, looking dejected—a clear sign he had committed some grave mistake.

As Li Zhi approached Fang Xuanling’s side, Li Chengqian and Li Tai arrived almost simultaneously. Judging by their expressions, they too were completely unaware of what was happening.

Just as Li Zhi was about to quietly ask Fang Xuanling, Emperor Taizong suddenly spoke from above, his face full of anger: “Wang Gui, as the Yellow Gate Attendant and Chancellor, how dare you casually leak the court’s confidential matters to others?”

Li Zhi was stunned by those words.

The so-called confidential matters were policies discussed privately between the emperor and his closest ministers, not yet implemented—in other words, what we now call inside information.

For someone of Chancellor rank like Wang Gui to know such information naturally indicated its considerable importance.

From this, one could infer just how serious Wang Gui’s offense was.

Wang Gui bowed and replied, “Your Majesty, your humble servant was momentarily confused and caused a great error. I beg Your Majesty’s punishment.”

At this moment, Wang Gui was at a loss for words.

As Li Tai’s tutor, his interests were closely tied to Li Tai’s. But recently, Li Tai’s performance in court had been disappointing.

To put it bluntly, any official who appeared in court was more politically astute than Li Tai.

In the past few days, Wang Gui had discussed many political issues with Li Tai, finding many of Li Tai’s ideas shortsighted.

He had offered several reminders, but although Li Tai outwardly showed humility, he made no real progress.

Frustrated, Wang Gui had drunk more than usual the previous day, which led to his careless leak of Emperor Taizong’s travel plans.

What upset him most was forgetting who he was speaking to.

Seeing Wang Gui admit guilt without explanation, Emperor Taizong felt a deep resentment, as if hating the fact that he couldn’t shape him into a better man.

“This matter concerns my very life and death. If you do not explain yourself, how am I to deal with it?”

As expected, just as Emperor Taizong grew anxious, Censor-in-Chief Cui Yi was the first to stand and speak.

“Your Majesty, all major affairs of state concern the welfare of the people and the foundation of the nation. For Lord Wang, entrusted with the responsibility of Chancellor, to commit such a grave error, I request that he be severely punished according to the law.”

Cui Yi came from a powerful family. Seeing an opportunity to bring down a key minister of Emperor Taizong, how could he restrain himself?

Once he spoke, five or six officials from aristocratic clans quickly voiced their support.

Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Li Jing, and other friends of Wang Gui frowned upon seeing this situation.

At that moment, the Crown Prince’s Right Assistant, Kong Yingda, spoke up: “Your Majesty, the affairs of state must not be taken lightly. I urge Your Majesty to severely punish Attendant Wang as a warning to others.”

With these words, all officials aligned with the Crown Prince turned their eyes toward him.

Seeing no response from the Crown Prince, they immediately echoed calls for strict punishment of Wang Gui.

Those demanding harsh penalties now numbered nearly half the assembly.

Among the rest, many awaited Li Tai’s stance.

As Wang Gui’s student, he was expected to express his position.

Fortunately, Li Tai was not entirely foolish.

He stood and said, “Father, although Attendant Wang erred, I believe it was unintentional.”

He glanced secretly at Emperor Taizong and, seeing no displeasure, continued, “Attendant Wang has always been upright and reliable in office. To impose severe punishment for a momentary lapse seems inappropriate.”

After Li Tai spoke, some began pleading for leniency on Wang Gui’s behalf, easing the pressure on him considerably.

However, those favoring a light sentence were still a minority.

Cui Yi spoke again: “Your Majesty, this matter is of great consequence. It cannot be dismissed as a mere unintentional mistake. I ask Your Majesty to reconsider.”

Kong Yingda also added, “Merit is merit, fault is fault. Your Majesty should not excuse today’s errors by past achievements.”

Their remarks were immediately supported by a group behind them, intensifying the pressure on Wang Gui once more.

Logically, Li Tai should have quickly countered, continuing to defend Wang Gui.

Regardless of the validity of his argument, it would give Emperor Taizong reason to impose a lighter sentence.

Yet Li Tai fell into deep thought, still pondering a good excuse to exonerate Wang Gui.

Emperor Taizong’s gaze was already fixed on Li Tai, expecting a swift rebuttal.

What he did not know was that Li Tai had completely lost his way in thought.

Those who followed Li Tai’s lead were watching him, but after a long wait, he remained silent.

Fang Xuanling, standing beside Li Zhi, grew anxious.

In this situation, they could not speak up, yet Li Tai, who could, was speechless.

Just as Emperor Taizong and Fang Xuanling grew silently impatient, Li Zhi suddenly stood up.

He said, “Father, I believe Lord Wang is no longer fit to serve as Attendant. It would be better for him to take a principal position in one of the departments and retire.”

At his words, Emperor Taizong and Fang Xuanling’s eyes brightened.

Wang Gui, who had been bowing his head silently, trembled.

Li Zhi’s move was brilliant.

Everyone’s debate had focused on whether the punishment should be harsh or lenient, but no concrete proposal had been offered.

Li Zhi directly addressed the issue by assigning Wang Gui a position.

Most importantly, Li Zhi’s arrangement carried profound meaning.

First, he demoted Wang Gui from Chancellor to a principal official of a department, effectively a two-rank demotion.

By anyone’s standards, this was no light punishment.

Yet the brilliance lay in how this allowed Emperor Taizong room to reinstate Wang Gui later.

The reason was simple: under the current personnel system, there was a function Emperor Taizong could freely confer at will.