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

After seeing Li Er off, Li Yu rubbed his aching shoulders.

Damn it, who would have thought Li Er had such a strong grip? He kept calling me "good lad" and slapped my shoulder until it ached.

"Young master, shall I give you a shoulder massage?"

Perhaps seeing that His Highness the Prince of Qin had already left, the servant who had previously informed Li Yu came in again.

"Need not."

Li Yu waved his hand and sized up the sensible young man before him: "What's your name? Who do you work for?"

"Young Master, I am Dongshun. I have been following Steward Chen ever since I came to our Prince's Mansion."

Upon hearing this, Li Yu nodded, then asked, "How long have you been at the residence?"

"I have been working here for three years. I heard a few days ago that you were short-staffed, so Steward Chen arranged for me to come here."

Looking at the waiter who was replying with his head down, Li Yu ordered, "Raise your head and let me see you."

"yes!"

Upon hearing his young master's order, the waiter paused for a moment before cautiously raising his head.

After staring at the face for a long time, Li Yu realized that this person was indeed not among the brewing workers, so he felt relieved.

He pulled out a dagger hidden in his sleeve; the hilt was still damp from being held in Li Yu's hand for a while.

Taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the dagger, Li Yu said calmly, "I've never killed anyone, nor do I enjoy killing. So, will you confess yourself, or should I have someone else confess for you?"

Stared at by Li Yu's sharp gaze, the shop assistant was initially flustered, then he knelt down on the ground with a thud. "Young master, spare me! Young master, spare me! I really don't know what you want me to say!"

Seeing the worker banging his head repeatedly, Li Yu sneered and asked again, "What's your name? Who do you work for?"

Upon hearing this, the rhythmic kowtows abruptly stopped, and the waiter was so frightened by Li Yu's words that he slammed his head on the ground and dared not lift it again.

A moment of silence fell over the room.

"I wonder how much my fourth uncle has given you..."

Seeing that the waiter still wouldn't speak, Li Yu shook his head helplessly. "Do you know how I figured it out?"

The man's head was already bleeding profusely. Upon hearing this, he raised his face and shook his head in confusion.

"Chengqian told me this morning that his father spent the whole night reading military reports yesterday, so he has no plans to leave the palace today."

"I started calculating the time it would take for the Prince of Qin to arrive as soon as I asked you to send someone to the Prince of Qin's residence to inform him. Even though I was being very conservative with my calculations, he was still two quarters of an hour late."

"Normally, my second uncle would have rushed over as soon as he heard about this. If it weren't for your interference, I really can't think of any reason why he would be so late."

Seeing that the waiter seemed to have something to say, Li Yu waved his hand to interrupt, saying, "I know what you want to say, but these things alone are not enough to prove anything."

"But you, a servant who earns less than two hundred coins a month, are far too calm after receiving the ten taels of silver I gave you as a reward."

"Little one..."

At this point, the waiter tried to explain, but Li Yu interrupted him again: "Everything I've said lacks concrete evidence, but do I, a prince, need to talk to you about evidence?"

Upon hearing Li Yu's words, the waiter was struck dumb and began to tremble with fear.

"Your Highness, spare me! Please let me explain..."

.........

He ordered his men to take the waiter away, and Li Yu slumped into a chair.

The continuous battles over the past few days, coupled with the tense atmosphere caused by Li Yuanji, have left him physically and mentally exhausted.

After chasing away Changsun Chong and the others who had been eavesdropping for a while and were about to come in, Li Yu sat quietly alone for a long time.

In truth, Li Yu felt no anger whatsoever towards the buddy who betrayed him.

He was just a traitor he'd barely met; he wasn't going to take him seriously...

What's bothering him most right now is that all the troubles have piled up at once.

This left Li Yu unsure where to begin solving the problem.

Ultimately, I underestimated society's rejection of me, or perhaps my understanding of society was too narrow.

Li Yu admitted that he had tricked many people in his previous life, and had also been tricked by many others. But no matter what, his life had always been in his own hands.

In this society where serving a ruler is like serving a tiger, and one is bound to be punished at the slightest provocation, if one cannot always maintain a cautious and prudent mindset, then one will have no place to stand.

Take Li Yuanji for example. Because he followed his father, he was automatically classified as part of the Prince of Qin's faction. That's why he dared to ask Li Er for help when facing a common enemy, and he could also loudly discuss with Li Er strategies to deal with Li Yuanji.

That's why he was treated like a nephew by people like Lao Cheng, Lao Niu, and Changsun Wuji.

Among comrades, it's naturally a matter of "people helping each other out," with everyone supporting and complementing each other, and they automatically become friends.

The problem is that Li Er is only the Prince of Qin now. Once he has the opportunity to ascend to the throne, the original Prince of Qin faction will split into several interest groups. After all, a court cannot have only one force.

So, which group will I be categorized into when that time comes?

I am nothing more than an ordinary citizen of later generations, living a life of ease and comfort in peaceful times.

Li Yu didn't know how far he could go in the future, nor did he know if he would be able to go all out when he reached his wit's end.

Because his initial goal was to live a peaceful and wealthy life...

.........

Exhausted as I was, the wooden chairs in the tavern were ultimately not suitable for sleeping.

He instructed Laifu to prepare the horses, leaving Li Chengqian and the others at the tavern, and prepared to return to his residence alone.

I couldn't stand the consolation from these bastards; it sounded more like sarcasm. They all acted like they'd seen it all, boasting that it was nothing new...

Sitting on horseback, I looked at the sun, which was already setting in the west; it was already late afternoon.

The days grew longer and longer, and night didn't fall until the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), so Li Yu felt like going out for a stroll.

Riding horses was not allowed on the main streets of Chang'an, even if Li Yu was a prince or grandson of the emperor.

It's infuriating to think about it. I finally learned how to ride a horse, and I wanted to take a stroll on Zhuque Street, but I was stopped by Wuhou.

There was no other way; some rules couldn't be broken. So, Li Yu, with a dark face, gave Wu Hou a good scolding before turning his horse around and leaving the city from the east...

.........

Ignoring everything else, Li Yu rode his horse eastward at breakneck speed, watching the scenery rushing past on both sides. He felt that he had a real talent for horseback riding.

Turning his head, Li Yu discovered that Lai Fu was right behind him, and no matter how fast he went, Lai Fu could keep up. This dealt a huge blow to Li Yu's confidence.

As the horse slowed down, Li Yu looked into the distance from his saddle and found that his field of vision had become extremely wide.

So he turned to Laifu and asked, "Where are we?"

"Young Master, we have arrived at Bailu Plain."

.........