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

"My foolish child, are you hurt? Let your mother see!"

As the crowd dispersed, Dugu Jin immediately spotted Li Yu, whose face was covered in blood, and began to check his injuries with concern.

"I'm fine, Mother. That's all someone else's blood." After being shaken by Dugu Jin for a while, Li Yu felt that the nausea he had just felt had become even more severe.

After checking on Li Yu, Dugu Jin found that he was indeed not seriously injured, so she was relieved: "It's good that he's alright, it's good that he's alright!"

She finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then suddenly remembered that her husband's safety was still unknown, so she got up and said she wanted to go back to the Prince Zhao's residence.

"Mother, don't worry, Father is fine." Seeing his mother's anxious expression, Li Yu quickly comforted her. "Li Yuanji sent Yuwen Bao, the guard of the Qi Prince's mansion, to massacre our family, but Father and Xiao An wiped them all out!"

"Xiao An?" Upon hearing this news, Dugu Jin was overjoyed: "I've always thought that child was sensible, and I will definitely reward him handsomely after this!"

"Yes!" Li Yu smiled and agreed, "Mother is absolutely right!"

The woman in green, who had been waiting nearby, saw that Li Yu was only a little disheveled but not injured, so she immediately prepared to fetch water for Li Yu to wash up.

Before she could even move, she saw Lao Cheng and Lao Qin riding over on horseback.

"Boy! Come with me to Xuanwu Gate right now, we can't let this opportunity to gain you slip away!"

After speaking, Old Cheng roughly lifted Li Yu up and placed him on his horse, then urged the horse to leave the Prince of Qin's residence...

"Uncle, please put me down! This credit is of little use to me..."

Li Yu had just started to squeak a few times while lying on the horse's back when Old Cheng slapped him on the head, instantly making him quiet.

"Nonsense! Who said merit is useless?" Cheng Yaojin scolded, "Your father is now crippled, if you don't earn merit, who will?"

Li Yu dismissed Lao Cheng's words, saying, "All I care about is earning money for the family. As for any merit, there's nothing for me to be rewarded for..."

Snapped!

No sooner had he finished speaking than Li Yu received another slap on the back of the head, followed by Old Cheng's comment: "Are you really stupid or just pretending?"

"Huh?" Li Yu asked, puzzled.

"Didn't your father tell you anything?" Old Cheng looked at Li Yu with a skeptical expression.

Li Yu shook his head: "My father only said that I would be in charge of the household from now on, and that's all..."

Upon hearing this, Old Cheng couldn't help but rub his forehead: "Do you think I, a mere Duke, would slap you again and again?"

"You and my father are sworn brothers, and my nephew is also a close friend of Chu Mo, so naturally he is your nephew. It is only right that you teach him a lesson..." Li Yu replied, scratching his head.

"Alas!" Cheng Yaojin shook his head: "Even if your father is my sworn brother and you are my nephew, in the end, both your father and you are members of the royal family. Logically speaking, we should not be so close to you."

Seeing Li Yu's bewildered expression, Cheng Yaojin continued to explain, "Do you know that from the moment the King of Qin tacitly allowed your father to cut off his tail to save his life, your Zhao Prince's Mansion no longer truly belonged to the royal family, but rather to the camp of us military generals?"

After hearing Lao Cheng's analysis, Li Yu's eyes widened: "Does this mean my second uncle wants to seize my family's title?"

"You idiot!" Old Cheng gave him a look of utter disbelief. "Where did your usual cleverness go? Nobody's trying to take your family's title away; you're still a prince of the Li family!"

Li Yu was still confused, and could only say, on the verge of tears, "Uncle, please give me some pointers! I really don't understand..."

"Sigh!" Cheng Yaojin shook his head helplessly. "Your father wants to divide the family property!"

"Separate the family?"

Old Cheng nodded: "That's right, it's about splitting up the family."

"Do you know that your eldest uncle, second uncle, and your father were once very close and affectionate brothers? Do you know why they ended up like this today?"

Li Yu, seemingly understanding but not quite, asked in return, "Could it be because of the throne?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin first nodded, then shook his head and pondered, "To be precise, it's for the sake of face."

"Face?" Li Yu felt as if he was about to fall into confusion again.

Cheng Yaojin glanced around and, finding no one else, lowered his voice and said, "Your second uncle has always been ambitious, and he conquered most of the world today. Tell me, shouldn't he be the crown prince?"

"Hmm." Li Yu nodded to indicate that there was nothing wrong with it.

"Then tell me, as His Majesty's eldest son, if the Prince of Qin were to become the crown prince, what face would Li Jiancheng have left?"

"Just because of this, you think you can make them fight like this?" Li Yu found it hard to believe. He couldn't believe that his father would break ties with Li Er because of his covetousness for the throne.

Besides, my father doesn't have much power, and his situation is completely different from that of the Crown Prince and Li Er. How can we bring up the issue of face?

Cheng Yaojin shook his head in denial: "Of course it's not just that. The details can't be explained in a few words. You'll understand gradually in the future."

"All you need to know is that now both you and your father are military officers. From this day forward, any merit you accumulate will no longer be for the royal family, but for us military officers!"

"..."

"good……"

Li Yu nodded, suddenly remembering what his father hadn't finished saying last night. Now, after listening to Lao Cheng's explanation, he finally understood what his father had wanted to say.

So he looked at his small frame and realized that he was nowhere near being a "military general"...

Seeing Li Yu nod, Old Cheng said no more, spurred his horse a few times, and galloped towards Xuanwu Gate...

.........

At this moment, Li Er stood majestically atop the Xuanwu Gate.

Below the city gate, there were still some soldiers who were loyal to the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi, who wanted to storm Xuanwu Gate to avenge them.

Of course, at this point, these people were no longer a concern for Li Er. He glanced at the heads of the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi hanging above, a flicker of pain crossing his eyes.

However, when he turned his head to look at the majestic Taiji Palace, that trace of pain vanished completely.

"Your men! I don't care whose personal guards you are. Surrender now, and I will spare your lives. Otherwise, kill without mercy!"

Li Er spoke with great force, especially the phrase "kill without mercy," which he emphasized so heavily that it was incredibly chilling to hear.

Despite this, the guards below continued their attacks on Xuanwu Gate, seemingly ignoring Li Er's words.

"Sigh!" Li Er shook his head helplessly. He was about to order Yuchi Gong to lead his men to surround and annihilate those personal guards when he happened to catch a glimpse of his wife, Changsun Guanyinbi, leading a group of people toward them from afar.

His face immediately lit up with joy, and he hurriedly instructed Yuchi Gong, who was waiting nearby, "Jingde! Order Chang He to open the city gates! I want to personally don my armor and lead the charge!"

.........