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

Taking a deep breath, Li Heng nodded solemnly.

"let's go."

Li Heng strode out first, and the eunuch who pretended to be deaf and dumb followed closely behind him, carefully lagging half a step behind, with his head bowed and eyes lowered.

Zichen Palace.

Li Longji threw a tantrum outside the door, but his health, which had just started to improve, gave out again, and he went back to bed.

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived."

The eunuch cautiously reported that Li Longji had recently become unpredictable, and everyone was afraid because they didn't know what they had done to anger him and thus face death.

Although Li Longji no longer held power in the court, he still had the power to deal with these household slaves. The high-ranking officials in the court would not oppose Li Longji for the sake of these lackeys.

"Let him wait! Let him figure out where he went wrong before letting him in."

Li Longji snorted coldly, then ordered the servants around him to apply makeup to cover up his current weakness.

How can an old tiger, lacking claws and teeth and riddled with ailments, compete with a strong and vigorous tiger for the position of tiger king?

He had to pretend to have recovered in order to suppress the ulterior motives in Li Heng's heart.

After makeup, Li Longji looked rosy-cheeked and radiant.

After repeatedly checking in the mirror to make sure that there was nothing wrong with his body, he then ordered Li Heng to come in.

Looking at his once weak and spineless son, Li Longji spoke in a cold and hard tone.

"From this day forward, all memorials from the three provinces shall be sent directly to the Zichen Palace, without needing to be reviewed by the Crown Prince. Memorials from the regional military governors shall be presented directly to me by the eunuchs. You may return to the Crown Prince's Palace for now to recuperate and cultivate yourself; you need not concern yourself with any other affairs."

Li Longji's tone was not one of discussion, but rather an order.

Li Heng's body stiffened slightly as he stood up straight, his eyes filled with disappointment.

Although he had expected it, he still found it hard to accept when the moment actually arrived.

I treated you with loyalty and filial piety, but you treated me with suspicion.

Forget it, how could I possibly have any unrealistic expectations about this?

Li Heng felt a bitter self-mockery. Since there was no longer any father-son relationship, he would have to fight for the people of the world as the crown prince.

"Father, you are just recovering from your illness. You should rest and recuperate properly in the Zichen Palace."

"State affairs are busy. It would be bad if Father Emperor were to overwork himself."

Li Longji's eyes showed even deeper suspicion. In the past, Li Heng had always obeyed his orders without question, but now he dared to talk back. Sure enough, after gaining power, he had become ambitious and arrogant, and wanted to seize power.

"Oh? Are you really thinking of my health?"

"I've heard that these past few days, officials have been flocking to the Crown Prince's residence. You, the Crown Prince, have countless people from the entire Qing court and countryside flocking to your side. Are you truly concerned for my health, or are you already impatient to ascend the throne?"

Li Heng felt a chill in his heart. He hadn't expected that his father not only wanted to seize power, but also had no affection for him whatsoever, and even doubted his filial piety.

Was his father really so heartless?!

Could it be that in his father's eyes, everything he did—diligence, filial piety, and service—was all a pretense for seizing power?

Li Heng slowly straightened up, his usual humility and deference largely gone.

"Father, I serve you day and night, daring not to harbor the slightest disloyalty. If I were to covet power, I could easily win over the court officials and seize control of the imperial guards while you are ill. Why must I remain by your bedside every day, diligently observing filial piety?"

"To put it bluntly, I could even order someone to tamper with Father Emperor's medicine, so that Father Emperor would never be able to get out of bed and govern."

"But I have not. I am loyal to Your Majesty and have never had any disloyal intentions."

"But right now the world is in turmoil, the floods in the Yangtze and Huai River basins have not yet subsided, and there are undercurrents in the border towns. If you take back all power, the connection between government orders will be broken, the world will be in turmoil, and in the end, it will be the people of the world who suffer."

"In the past, Master Li Bai taught me that the heir apparent must first and foremost bear the weight of the people's well-being. In the past, I obeyed in everything, only seeking to maintain the bond between father and son. But now, for the sake of the people, I have no choice but to stop Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, I have no desire to contend for the throne with you, nor do I harbor any intention of forcing you to abdicate. However, for the sake of the tens of millions of people of the Tang Dynasty, I cannot simply relinquish this heavy responsibility."

"I urge Father to rest well in this Zichen Palace. I will take good care of the affairs of state. If we, father and son, fight, it will surely lead to political turmoil and suffering for the people."

"If that day truly comes, then even if I am unwilling, I will be forced to seize your power."

After Li Heng finished speaking, he bowed deeply.

Li Longji flew into a rage once again, and even his son, who used to obey his every command, was now acting this way.

His last shred of authority was ultimately destroyed by his own actions.

"You unfilial son, are you going to defy me too?"

Li Longji felt a surge of emotion and began to cough incessantly.

Li Heng quickly stepped forward to pat Li Longji on the back, but his tone remained firm.

"Father, your health is already like this, you should rest well in the palace."

"Don't make things worse."

"Adding...cough cough...making things worse!"

"You unfilial son! You...cough cough...actually...say I'm causing trouble!"

The angrier Li Longji became, the more violently he coughed, until finally he couldn't utter a single word.

Li Heng knew that as long as he was here, Li Longji would continue like this.

He couldn't really anger Li Longji to death and bear the infamy of patricide.

So he quickly left, and at the door, he gestured for the eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict to come out with him.

"What's your name?"

Li Heng asked the little eunuch.

"Your Highness, my humble name is Li Jingzhong."

The young eunuch bowed his head respectfully and answered, his heart filled with joy. He never expected that he could catch the prince's eye and that he might one day be able to wield power like Gao Lishi.

Li Heng nodded. "Are you willing to work for me?"

"This servant is willing to go through fire and water for Your Highness without hesitation."

Li Jingzhong was so excited that he immediately knelt down before Li Heng to express his loyalty.

"From this day forward, you shall be in charge of all matters, large and small, in this Zichen Palace."

"No message may be sent out without my order."

"Without my order, no one is permitted to see His Majesty."

"Your Majesty is currently in poor health and should not be near women. You need to recuperate in the Zichen Palace and the Imperial Garden."

"Do you understand?"

Li Heng instructed that for the sake of the people, he could only suffer alongside his father, the emperor.

"This servant understands. Your Majesty is still recovering from a serious illness and is in a weak state. You need to rest. External things will only distract Your Majesty's mind and will do more harm than good to your condition. For the sake of Your Majesty's health, Your Highness has given this order. This servant will certainly protect Your Majesty's health."

Li Jingzhong quickly replied.

Li Heng gave Li Jingzhong a deep look. No wonder there were eunuchs interfering in politics throughout history. Their ability to figure out what those in power were thinking was terrifying.

They might not be able to come up with any ideas on big issues, but they are really useful in this kind of situation.