During Emperor Taizong's Reign
As of 643, during the reign of Tang Dynasty's second emperor Emperor Taizong, Lai Ji was serving as a low level official at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, Zhongshu Sheng). That year, Emperor Taizong's son and crown prince Li Chengqian was discovered to have plotted to overthrow Emperor Taizong, and Emperor Taizong requested opinions from his officials as to what to do with Li Chengqian. No one dared to speak up, but Lai said, "The best possible outcome is that Your Imperial Majesty can remain a kind father and that the Crown Prince can live out his years." Emperor Taizong agreed, and he deposed Li Chengqian to commoner rank but spared Li Chengqian's life. In 644, after Emperor Taizong had created another son, Li Zhi, to be the new crown prince, he could not find an appropriate person to serve the role of brainstormer for Li Zhi, and so he commissioned Lai. Lai was also made a scholar at the imperial think tank, Chongxian Pavilion (崇賢館). He was soon made a mid-level official at the legislative bureau and commissioned to edit the Book of Jin -- the official history of Jin Dynasty -- with Linhu Defen (令狐德棻).
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