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

Li Yu naturally wanted to stay away from a room full of people plotting a rebellion.

After searching for Li Chengqian and the others without success, he came to Wenren An's courtyard.

"Why are you here instead of entertaining your guests?"

He nailed the axe to the wooden stump, and Wenren An, shirtless, sat down in front of Li Yu and drank the tea in his cup in one gulp.

Li Yu picked up the teapot, first poured a new cup for Wenren An, and then poured one for himself: "A group of people have taken the initiative to gather together to discuss things, so there's no need for me to entertain guests."

Upon hearing this, Wenren An's eyes flickered in the dim light: "What are you discussing? A rebellion?"

"You damned bastard, keep your voice down!" Li Yu was so frightened that he was scared out of his wits and hurriedly covered Wenren An's mouth.

"Pah! Pah!"

Wenren An shook off Li Yu's hand and said with displeasure, "Why are you making such a fuss? There's no one around!"

Hearing Ren An say this, Li Yu finally felt relieved and sat back down in his chair: "What else could it be? It's nothing more than this."

After taking a sip of hot tea, Li Yu continued, "I'm not sure what the situation will be like after today, so if you want to go back to Jiangnan, you should hurry back. If their plan fails, as the grandson of the emperor, I will at most be demoted to a commoner, but if you get involved, you won't have a chance to live."

Although history has already repeated itself, Li Yu is not entirely certain about how the world will turn out.

After all, in history, luck played a large part in Li Er's success in seizing the throne.

"You're being far too cautious," Wenren An scoffed disdainfully. "Besides, if I really wanted to leave, no one could stop me."

Li Yu was truly helpless in the face of Wenren An's childish behavior.

This guy never considered that his own father was a government official, so how could he possibly manage to hide his entire family in an unknown place...

Just as he was about to express his thoughts, Wenren An suddenly gestured for Li Yu to be quiet.

"Someone's coming!"

Following the direction Wenren An pointed, they saw Li Er walking towards them alone.

This puzzled Li Yu greatly.

Shouldn't they be having a lively discussion in the council hall right now? Why is Li Er, the leader, here?

"What are you doing here, kid? You've made us search for you for ages." As soon as Li Er got close to Li Yu, he habitually slapped him on the back of the head.

"Looking for me?" Li Yu scratched his head, looking completely puzzled.

However, Li Er showed no intention of explaining. After glancing at Wenren An, he grabbed Li Yu and headed towards the council hall...

.........

Hanging in mid-air, Li Yu struggled a few times but found it was futile, so he simply stopped struggling.

Damn you, Li Er! You bunch of traitors plotting a rebellion, why did you bring me, a mere child, along?

Also, even if you're hiring someone, why do you have to drag them along like this?

"What's with the hesitation? Your father is now unable to move around easily. As his eldest son, if you don't go, who will?"

Seeing Li Yu half-dead and looking like a punching bag, Li Er suppressed a laugh and scolded him.

"My nephew is just a child, he has neither power nor influence, what use would he be if he went..."

Although Li Yu also hoped that Li Er would succeed in seizing the throne, he never considered fighting alongside Li Er against others. With his small frame, wouldn't he be hacked to pieces on the battlefield?

"Boy, you're not powerless. Your father himself said that you are now in charge of making all decisions regarding the Zhao Prince's Mansion."

"Besides, I was able to escape with my life from the Crown Prince's poisoned wine thanks to the advance warning you gave me. Aren't you going to accept this enormous credit?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yu remained silent, only inwardly smiling bitterly.

A reward? Given my current status, what rewards could I possibly receive besides some money and property? Even if I liked money, it wasn't worth risking my life for.

Do you think you can bestow the title of Prince upon me after you ascend the throne?

.........

Li Er still possessed a certain degree of kindness and understanding.

After dragging Li Yu to the door, they put him down...

As Li Yu followed Li Er into the room, he immediately noticed the strange atmosphere.

Upon seeing the two enter, everyone in the room, except for Li Xuanba, rose from their seats without prior arrangement.

Li Yu had already met these people when they arrived. However, he only knew who was who, so he wasn't very familiar with most of them.

For example, the handsome civil official in front of him, Li Yu only knew him as the famous Fang Qiao, Fang Xuanling.

"Today, we, your humble servants, are here to discuss matters under the pretext of His Highness Prince Songshan's birthday banquet. We hope Your Highness will not take offense."

Even though Fang Xuanling, a quick-witted and resourceful man, knew that Li Yu had no say in the matter, he still went forward to apologize to him.

"Lord Fang, you flatter me. The matters you discussed with the elders were of paramount importance. My humble birthday banquet is nothing to mention."

Li Yu had no reason to blame Fang Xuanling for apologizing to him.

It wasn't just because the other party was a famous prime minister in history, the "Fang Mou" in "Fang Mou Du Du Duan" (a famous historical figure known for his strategic planning and decisive action), but because Li Yu simply didn't care about his birthday at all.

However, in their eyes, Li Yu's actions were seen as him being sensible and mindful of the bigger picture.

Immediately, the room was filled with praise, including mention of Li Yu's message, saying that the young prince's strategies were also superior to ordinary people, which made him very embarrassed.

However, some people did not participate. They were all acquaintances, such as Lao Cheng, Lao Niu, Changsun Wuji, and Du He's father, Du Ruhui, who just listened with smiles.

For a moment, there was no trace of the tense atmosphere that would have been present during a planned rebellion in the room.

It wasn't until Li Er coughed a few times that the crowd finally stopped showering him with compliments.

Seeing that everything had quieted down, he walked to the tiger-skin chair next to Li Xuanba and sat down. Then he asked his brother-in-law, "Wuji, is anyone else missing?"

"Your Highness, all the generals of our Prince Qin's Mansion have arrived. Only Chang He, the garrison commander of Xuanwu Gate, has not yet arrived," Changsun Wuji said, bowing.

Li Er then asked, "What time is it now?"

"Your Highness, it is already late in the 7 PM hour."

Li Er nodded, then looked around at everyone present and slowly said, "Gentlemen! You must have heard about what happened some time ago. Although the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi have been lightly punished, the current situation is still unfavorable to us."

"Now, it's a matter of life and death. The Crown Prince and Prince Qi are pressing me relentlessly, trying to kill me; and my father, fearing my growing power, is constantly weighing and checking me against the Crown Prince. Tell me, what should we do now?"

.........