Tang Dynasty: Starting at Xuanwu Gate, this prince is better off not being one.

Thinking of this, Li Yu decided to ask his father, Li Xuanba.

After all, they had been acting strangely ever since he returned home, and he felt that his father must know something.

After seeing Gou Da off, Li Yu went to the main hall. Li Xuanba was drinking tea with a troubled expression. Seeing Li Yu enter, he immediately looked at him tentatively and asked, "Foolish child, you know everything?"

"Father, I know everything..." Li Yu said with a wry smile.

"Ugh!"

Li Xuanba sighed helplessly and said reassuringly, "Don't worry, your father has decided that seventy percent of the guards from our Zhao Prince's Mansion will go to Lingnan with you and will definitely protect you."

After thinking for a moment, he continued, "If all else fails, I'll go and beg your royal uncle to send some more men..."

Seeing his father's worried expression, Li Yu couldn't help but laugh: "Father, there's no need to worry. Since His Majesty has already exiled Qingque to Lingnan, it proves that I will definitely not encounter any danger."

"That's true," Li Xuanba said, bowing his head. "But it's three thousand miles to Lingnan, and it will be difficult to return to Chang'an in less than three to five years. Who knows if something might happen along the way..."

"Lingnan is a place of exile, infested with vipers and rife with diseases. You are already frail, and I'm afraid you won't be able to endure this hardship."

"Moreover, the nine caves and eighteen villages are now each in power, and there is always the possibility of rebellion. At that time, it is hard to say whether they can protect you with their limited manpower."

Hearing Li Xuanba's words, Li Yu finally asked the question that had been bothering him: "Father, do you know why Uncle Huang sent me to Lingnan? And how much do you know about this situation?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuanba shook his head: "I have been away from the court for a year and am not very clear about the situation in the various prefectures of the Tang Dynasty. Your imperial uncle did not explain it to me in detail, but came to comfort your mother and me. So all I know is that your trip to Lingnan seems to be related to Duke Feng Ang of Yue..."

At this point, he sighed heavily: "In the end, it's all because I, as your father, am incompetent that you're in this predicament. If only I had..."

Before Li Xuanba could finish speaking, his mouth was covered by his eldest son, leaving him only able to stare wide-eyed and make two "mmm" sounds. He was extremely puzzled as to why Li Yu wouldn't let him finish speaking.

"Dad, you can't say that!"

Li Yu looked around in a panic, and only let go of his hand after finding no one was around.

Li Yu released his grip, and Li Xuanba, finally able to catch his breath, took two deep breaths and complained, "You brat, why did you shut your old man up?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yu scratched his head, looking quite embarrassed.

There was no way around it; ever since Fang Xuanling's wife was forced to drink a cup of vinegar by Li Er, Li Yu had always felt that there were spies of Li Er in his own household. Especially now that Wenren An, who had counter-intelligence abilities, was not around, he dared not say a bad word about Li Er behind his back.

That petty emperor always acted magnanimous to everyone else, but in front of him, he always acted like a greedy little man, finding pleasure in causing trouble for him. This made Li Yu more cautious about him.

"Father, please don't blame me, but you mustn't say such things carelessly."

Li Yu lowered his voice and explained, "Those officials all have spies of the Emperor in their homes. We two princes should be careful."

After saying that, without waiting for Li Xuanba to listen or not, he continued, "Actually, I already have a guess in my heart."

Li Xuanba, who had been indifferent, gradually became serious after hearing what his son said: "It's good that you know what's going on. Feng Ang is strong-willed and stubborn, and he's not so easy to appease."

"His current reaction is probably due to the pressure he has been under from other villages and some officials for a long time. When you are trying to appease him, you must be very careful. Remember, your own safety must come first. As for whether he will rebel or not, that is secondary. Your father will take responsibility for you, and your royal uncle will not blame you."

Upon hearing this, Li Yu nodded.

After hearing Li Xuanba's words, Li Yu was completely relieved.

He was certain that his father knew everything, including the fact that Li Er's demotion to Lingnan was actually to let him lay low. As for why he hadn't told him, that must have been Li Er's idea.

Now that he knew, Li Yu felt relieved. He had been worried that he might have handled the matter too roughly, but now it seemed that even if he had provoked Feng Ang into rebellion, nothing would have happened; at most, he would have received a beating.

Thinking of this, he said to Li Xuanba, "I will definitely go and return as soon as possible. As for those poisonous insects and snakes in Lingnan, Father, don't worry. I am also a doctor, and I can naturally handle them."

"Um."

Li Xuanba nodded, patted his son's head, and said gently, "Father understands. You must be extra careful."

After a while, he took his hand off Li Yu's head and waved to him, saying, "Go on, spend more time with your mother these next few days. She's very worried about you, so try to comfort her..."

After saying that, he stopped talking, picked up the teacup on the table, and started drinking by himself.

.........

In the following days, Li Yu did not step out of the Prince's mansion. He stayed by Dugu Jin's side and tinkered with some things in the study.

Occasionally, people would visit, and Li Yu would happily host a banquet to welcome them.

Gradually, more and more people came to visit, and the visits became more and more frequent. From close associates like Li Chengqian and Changsun Chong to casual acquaintances, Li Yu's attitude was always very warm. After all, the fact that he had been "exiled to Lingnan" was already common knowledge among the nobles in Chang'an.

Similarly, the news of Li Tai and Cheng Chumo's demotion spread like wildfire, but like Li Yu, they both kept their doors closed and did not go out.

Some people who knew the inside story were fine and didn't react much; they just used the three of them to teach a lesson to the younger generation in their own family.

Those unaware of the situation kept a close watch on their younger relatives, preventing them from going to brothels, fearing they too would be caught by Li Er and exiled to Lingnan. After all, if the emperor had exiled even his own son, what wouldn't he dare to do to these people?

The news spread so quickly that even Sun Simiao, who rarely interacted with people except for his patients, learned about it.

So the old man moved into the Prince Zhao's mansion and would check Li Yu's body every now and then, saying he was afraid that Li Yu would be tormented to death by the dysentery in Lingnan.

In addition, he asked Steward Chen of the Prince's Mansion to find him many herbs, which he then processed into bottles of pills and powders in his spare time, saying it was for emergencies...

.........