A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

In Chang'an, Li Yuan had already bathed and fasted, waiting for his eldest son to bring him the Imperial Seal of the State.

He had even prepared to summon all the high-ranking officials in Chang'an to witness the moment when Li Yuan obtained the Imperial Seal of the State.

Just thinking about Li Yuan now makes me feel incredibly happy, to the core.

Li Yuan had never been this excited, not even on his wedding night.

Li Yuan has even been staying in the palace in Chang'an for the past few days.

"Judging by the distance, Shimin should be back by now, right?"

Li Yuan calculated that Li Shimin had been away from Chang'an for five days.

"Pei Ji, has Shimin returned?"

Li Yuan asked Pei Ji.

Pei Ji gave a wry smile. "Not yet."

These past few days, Li Yuan has been asking him the same question every hour or so, and he's getting really stressed out by it.

Li Yuan waved his hand, and Pei Ji walked away.

Not long after, Pei Ji walked in again, looking somewhat excited.

"My lord, the second young master has returned."

Pei Ji bowed to Li Yuan and said with utmost respect.

"However, the Second Young Master returned alone and did not see those heroes who presented the Imperial Seal."

Li Yuan waved his hand, "It will surely be Shimin who sends the imperial seal over by fast horse first. The meritorious officials will arrive shortly."

"I will never be stingy with rewards for those who have made meritorious contributions."

Li Yuan grinned, showing his large teeth, his mouth stretching all the way to his ears. "Where is the Imperial Seal now?"

"Reporting to my lord, the second young master is outside the palace."

Pei Ji replied that he had a bad feeling about it.

"Outside the palace?"

"How could Shimin be so insensible? He should have stopped outside the city and let me lead the ministers to receive the imperial seal."

Li Yuan was somewhat dissatisfied, as he couldn't show off or display his prowess in front of others.

"Enough, enough. Shimin just wanted me, his father, to see the Imperial Seal as soon as possible. What wrong has he done?"

Soon, Li Yuan found an excuse for Li Shimin and jogged all the way to the outside of the palace, only to find Li Shimin standing there alone, holding nothing in his hands.

Li Yuan looked left and right, but found nothing on Li Shimin that resembled the jade seal.

But why is Shimin carrying several brambles on his back?

Even now, he has no doubt that his son gave away the Imperial Seal of the State as bait.

"Shimin, where is the Imperial Seal of the State?"

"Please forgive me, Father."

Li Shimin knelt down and bowed deeply to Li Yuan, his back already pierced by thorns and bleeding profusely.

Li Jiancheng also received news of Li Shimin's return and rushed to the palace, where he saw this scene as soon as he entered.

"Forgive me? Forgive me for what? Shimin, what crime have you committed?"

"You've brought back the Imperial Seal of the State; that's a great achievement!"

Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat, his face turned deathly pale, and he looked again at Li Shimin's empty hands and thin body that couldn't hide anything, and forced a smile as he spoke.

"Your subject has not brought back the Imperial Seal of the State."

Li Yuan: "!!!"

Li Jiancheng: "!!!"

Pei Ji: "!!!"

"Shimin, what did you say? I didn't hear you clearly."

Li Yuan looked somewhat confused. He picked at his ear and asked Li Shimin, "Shimin, what did you say?"

"Father, please forgive me for failing to bring back the Imperial Seal of the State."

"Without Father's consent, I set a trap using the Imperial Seal of the State, ordering the Wagang people to present the seal to Dou Jiande, which led Li Mi and Wang Shichong to join forces against Dou Jiande."

"Without the support of the Wagang generals, Li Mi's strength was greatly reduced. Although he and Wang Shichong could defeat Dou Jiande, they would also suffer heavy losses."

"In this way, with the Wagang generals as our inside help, we can directly defeat the greatly weakened Li Mi and Wang Shichong in one fell swoop. The Imperial Seal will also return to Father's hands, along with more than half of the land in the world and the foundation of the emperor."

"..."

Li Yuan's eyes widened, and his hand trembled as he pointed at Li Shimin.

The Imperial Seal of the State that he had longed for had flown away!

He was personally sent away by his eldest son!

He didn't hear anything Li Shimin said after that; all he heard was Li Shimin giving the Imperial Seal of the State to Dou Jiande!

"You beast!"

"How could I, Li Yuan, have a son like you?"

"That's the Imperial Seal of the State!!!"

"The Imperial Seal of the State!"

Li Yuan beat his feet and pounded his chest in regret. How could he have been so blinded by greed, letting Li Shimin go and retrieve the Imperial Seal of the State?

Moreover, how could Li Shimin remain indifferent to the Imperial Seal of the State?!

May you live a long and prosperous life, blessed by Heaven!

Li Yuan felt that even if Li Shimin escaped with the imperial seal, the probability was higher than if Li Shimin used the imperial seal as bait to give it to someone else.

"Father, if the Imperial Seal truly represents the Mandate of Heaven, how could the Qin Dynasty have perished after only two generations? Qin Shi Huang himself also wished to pass the Qin Dynasty down for thousands of generations, but what was the result?"

"The same applies to both the Han and Qian dynasties."

"If the Imperial Seal truly represented the Mandate of Heaven, how could the Great Qian and Great Han have perished?"

"More recently, there's the Sui Dynasty, where Yang Guang even died a miserable death at the hands of a villain like Yuwen Huaji."

"Only the one who unifies the world is qualified to receive the Imperial Seal, just like Emperor Gaozu of the Qianlong Emperor. If Father were to receive the Imperial Seal, would Dou Jiande, Li Mi, and Wang Shichong simply surrender?"

"Father, don't indulge in such unrealistic fantasies; it's just wishful thinking!"

Li Shimin shouted loudly at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan finally recovered from the pain of losing the Imperial Seal of the State to his fingertips.

Once Li Yuan calmed down, he looked at Li Shimin in front of him, unsure whether to hit him or scold him.

After all, Li Shimin was doing it for his own good.

"So be it. Anyway, you've already sent the Imperial Seal away, so there's no point in me saying anything more."

"Does it hurt?"

Only then did Li Yuan have time to check on Li Shimin's body, which was covered in thorns.

"For the sake of my father's great cause, I will not feel pain."

Li Shimin replied.

The thorns behind him had already pierced his skin and penetrated deep into his flesh, so how could he not feel pain?

Li Yuan quickly untied the rope binding Li Shimin's back, looking at the wound with heartache, and hurriedly asked Pei Ji to fetch the imperial physician.

"What's done is done. Don't punish yourself this way again next time."

"Your subject obeys."

When Li Yuan removed the thorns, he had to forcibly pull the thorns out of Li Shimin's body. Li Shimin endured the excruciating pain without uttering a sound.

"Sigh, after the imperial physician finishes applying the medicine, you should rest well."

"Your father will seize the opportunity."

Li Yuan patted Li Shimin on the shoulder and said earnestly to him.

"Yes."

Li Shimin bowed slightly and responded respectfully.