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

The sudden, familiar voice startled Yang so much that her legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground.

"That scared me to death!"

She patted her heaving chest, got up from the floor, and went to the bedside to lift the curtains.

Sure enough, Li Yu was lying on his side on the bed, looking very relaxed.

"Why did you come in person! Aren't you afraid Li Yuanji might suddenly want me to sleep with him tonight!"

Madam Yang rolled her eyes at Li Yu, clearly distrustful of his skills.

"Don't panic, sister. I've already inquired. Li Yuanji has already fallen asleep due to being drunk."

"Besides, Xiao An is guarding him. Once Li Yuanji wakes up, he will come and take me out immediately."

Hearing this, Madam Yang felt much more at ease.

She was just a little worried about Li Yu's skills, but she had witnessed the abilities of the boy in black.

She was able to ignore the heavy guards of the Prince's mansion and sneak into her boudoir unnoticed by the many servants. Even the highly skilled Dao Yue Master did not possess such an ability.

The curtain was lowered, and Yang took off her shoes and climbed up.

Two people were crammed into the small bed, which made her pretty face blush slightly.

Although he had met Wenren An in his room before, he always hid himself on the roof beam. Because with Wenren An's hearing, he could hear him clearly even if he spoke very softly.

Now, her first encounter with Li Yu was on her own bed, and he was even sitting on her blanket, which made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Even though Li Yu was only an eleven-year-old boy, his mature demeanor in front of her made it difficult for her to treat him as a child.

"Hey, what are you doing!"

Seeing Yang's appearance, Li Yu panicked and pointed to the two buns on his head that looked like ram's horns, saying, "I'm still just a little kid, don't overthink it!"

"No...no, I'm just not used to having someone in my bed..." Yang glared at Li Yu with a flushed face, her words becoming somewhat incoherent.

Upon seeing this, Li Yu's heart skipped a beat.

He discovered that although Yang had been married into the Qi Prince's mansion for nearly ten years, her temperament seemed to be even worse than that of an unmarried girl.

"Ahem!"

To avoid any ethical issues, Li Yu quickly changed the subject, asking, "What's wrong? Has there been any news from Li Yuanji?"

The topic was successfully shifted, and Madam Yang nodded: "When I returned to the manor today, Li Yuanji seemed to be in an unusually good mood. He even told me that His Highness Prince Zhao had become a cripple, and that Prince Qin would be next..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yu was startled and quickly asked, "Did he mention any plans for the near future, and specifically, on what date?"

"I already said it!"

Madam Yang nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking at rice, and said, "He was vague about the specifics, only saying it was something like 'two days later'..."

After thinking for a moment, she added, "Oh, right, Li Yuanji also mentioned the women in the harem."

"Who?" Li Yu asked.

After thinking for a moment, Lady Yang slowly said, "Consort Zhang."

"..."

.........

In the stillness of the night, not a single bird perched on an ancient tree in the Qi Prince's mansion was present, a rare sight indeed.

Just as they had arrived, the two left without disturbing anyone, and everything remained as peaceful as ever.

Back at the manor, Old Sun was examining Li Xuanba's severed limb wound when he saw Li Yu enter, so he asked him to assist him.

This was the first time Li Yu had seen his father's injury. Although the blood vessels had been sealed with a branding iron, it still pained him deeply.

"Grind Bletilla striata and Draconis into powder and bring it here." Seeing that Li Yu had not moved for a long time, Sun Simiao ordered without turning his head.

"Ah? Oh." Li Yu's heartache was interrupted by Sun Simiao, so he followed the old man's instructions, fetched the two medicines, ground them into powder, and handed them over.

"Your Highness, please do not act recklessly in the future. Do not do things like what you have done these past few days. The wound of a severed limb must be stopped and the wound sealed. There is no room for carelessness!" This was obviously said to Li Xuanba.

"Master Sun's words are reasonable, and I will certainly keep them in mind."

The wound was treated with medicine, and Li Xuanba gritted his teeth in pain, the veins on his forehead bulging.

Seeing that her father was enduring it so hard, and noticing that there were only the three of them—herself, Old Sun, and herself—with no outsiders around, she decided to tell him what Yang had overheard earlier that day, hoping to distract her father.

"What? I didn't expect this bastard to be so impatient!"

Sure enough, Li Xuanba forgot his pain and excitedly ordered Li Yu, "Foolish child, quickly send someone to relay every word he just said to your second uncle!"

"This matter should not be delayed, go quickly!" he repeated.

"Okay, okay, don't rush!"

After calming his agitated father, Li Yu summoned Green Robe to grind ink for him. He then wrote down what he had learned on a note and handed it to Lai Fu along with his waist token.

After finishing these tasks, Li Yu glanced at Li Xuanba and, seeing that he seemed relieved, asked, "Father, why are you in such a hurry? Could it be that something has happened with Second Uncle as well?"

Upon hearing Li Yu's question, Li Xuanba, who was sweating profusely from the pain, gritted his teeth and said, "Your second uncle and I both received invitations. The Crown Prince has hosted a banquet at his residence, which will be held in two days."

"This isn't a banquet, it's clearly a trap!"

Li Yu couldn't help but recall that there seemed to be a record of this event in the historical books. Although its authenticity still needs to be verified, the fact that this happened at this critical juncture made him believe that the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi had ill intentions.

"That's right!" Li Xuanba shook his head helplessly, "It's just that your uncle used the excuse of rewarding our triumphant return, and we couldn't refuse!"

After listening to his father's words, Li Yu remained silent.

There was no reason to refuse the banquet, and Yang's gathering of information confirmed everyone's suspicions.

As for how to deal with it, that can only be decided by Li Er...

.........

For the next two days, Li Yu did not step out of the mansion.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go out, but Li Er had ordered him to stay in the mansion.

So, out of sheer boredom, he took a few carpenters from the Imperial Workshop and made a caravan, which is what we now know as a wheelchair.

However, the "Anche" of this era could not move on its own, so Li Yu made a small modification based on the wheelchairs he had seen in later generations.

Thus, the first wheelchair in the Great Zhou Dynasty that could move forward manually was born.

Li Yu was very satisfied with his work, as it was very suitable for his father, who had broken his leg, in terms of both performance and comfort.

The only drawback was that there was no rubber in this era, so Li Yu could only wrap tanned cowhide around the wooden wheel.

Although it could be used with difficulty, it was much more difficult to push than the rubber wheels of later generations.

Fortunately, Li Xuanba possessed immense strength, so this weakness was negligible...

By the time I finished doing all this, it was already late at night two days later.

When Li Yu finally had some free time, he remembered that there was still no movement from his father and Li Er, so he decided to send Wenren An to find out.

Before he even reached Wenren An's courtyard, he saw Laifu rushing towards him...

.........