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

The Xuanwu Gate opened slowly without making a sound, and Li Er, dressed in full armor, rode out on horseback with his men.

The resisting soldiers were caught off guard by the sudden attack and were unable to defend themselves for a time.

Thus, Li Er fought his way through the enemy lines and charged towards his wife, Changsun.

"Jiro!"

Seeing her husband running towards her, the eldest granddaughter could not hide her joy and shouted loudly, completely abandoning her usual dignified and quiet demeanor.

"Guanyinbi, would you be willing to come with your husband to this imperial city?" Li Er held Changsun's hand affectionately and asked with a firm look in his eyes.

Changsun Hui grasped Li Er's hand, her expression equally resolute, and said, "I will go with you, Erlang! We will be of one heart and one mind, until death do us part!"

After exchanging a glance, the two then charged back towards Xuanwu Gate side by side...

.........

"His Highness and Her Majesty are truly a loving couple, a sight to behold!"

Cheng Yaojin, who had just arrived, witnessed this scene and sighed with envy.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yu, who was lying on the horse's back, secretly rolled his eyes.

This is truly a case of a madman acting for fools; Li Yu himself found it incredibly awkward no matter how he watched it…

Snapped!

Old Cheng's sudden slap startled Li Yu, who thought he had blurted out his innermost thoughts.

"Boy, aren't you going to dismount? Do you really intend for me to lead you through Xuanwu Gate like this?"

"I didn't want this either! The problem is, there aren't any extra horses for me to ride!" Li Yu said, rubbing his head with a worried expression.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin looked around and found that it was indeed the case, so he could only call over the person dressed as a scholar who was sitting on a horse and observing.

"You, bring the horse over here for me!" he ordered, pointing at the man with one finger.

Upon hearing someone's rude and overbearing manner, the man turned around, about to unleash a torrent of curses, but upon seeing that the rude person was Cheng Yaojin, and that Qin Qiong was also present, he swallowed his profanities.

"So it's Duke Su and Duke Yi. I'm sorry for my rudeness!" The man dismounted and then, with a fake smile on his face, led the horse over to Old Cheng.

Upon seeing the man's appearance, Old Cheng chuckled sinisterly: "So it's Scholar Xu! May I ask what brings you here, Scholar? I recall His Highness did not summon you here."

Upon hearing Cheng Yaojin's question, the man cursed inwardly, then feigned extreme embarrassment and explained, "As His Highness's advisor, with such a major incident occurring, even if I cannot personally brave the dangers like you, I must at least clean up the mess for His Highness!"

"Forget it!" Cheng Yaojin scoffed. "If you want to get credit, just say so. Beating around the bush is annoying."

"Hehe!" Despite Cheng Yaojin's words, he showed no embarrassment or annoyance, but instead chuckled and said, "Master Su, you are indeed perceptive. Even my little thoughts couldn't escape your notice. I wonder if you could do me a favor?"

After he finished speaking, he began to observe Cheng Yaojin's reaction.

After all, they were all colleagues, and he didn't have any deep-seated hatred for Cheng Yaojin. Surely he wouldn't be denied even this much face!

Old Cheng's reaction, however, surprised him.

Cheng Yaojin first shook his head, then revealed a smile that was hard to tell whether it was helplessness or schadenfreude, and said to him, "I don't want to stop Scholar Xu from being so eager to make a name for himself, but unfortunately, there is someone here who doesn't have a horse, so we'll have to borrow Scholar Xu's horse."

No sooner had Cheng Yaojin finished speaking than a young man jumped down from his horse and said to him rather apologetically, "This humble one is Li Yu, the Prince of Songshan. May I ask how you should address me, sir?"

Although the man had never met Li Yu, he had clearly heard the name and knew he was the heir of the Prince of Zhao's residence. So he bowed and said, "Your Excellency is too kind. I am Xu Jingzong, and I greet Your Highness, the Prince of Songshan!"

Upon hearing the other person's name be Xu Jingzong, Li Yu immediately became alert.

He had naturally heard of this person; he was one of the eighteen scholars of the Prince of Qin's mansion, but now he held no official position whatsoever.

However, Li Yu dared not underestimate this person, who was later regarded as a treacherous and cunning minister!

This person was able to rise to the position of prime minister by writing articles and flattering others, which shows that the evaluations of later generations were not harsh.

Therefore, one should neither get close to nor offend such a person; the best course of action is to keep a distance and avoid them.

Thinking about this, Li Yu decided it was best not to use his horse...

However, Lao Cheng did not agree, and disregarding Xu Jingzong's feelings, he picked up Li Yu and put him on Xu Jingzong's horse.

"Kid, stop talking nonsense and get going!"

After saying this, Cheng Yaojin thoughtfully patted Li Yu's horse's rump, and the horse started running on its own, carrying away Li Yu's words.

"Old Xu! I'm so sorry! I'll have someone personally return your horse!"

"..."

"These damn bastards!"

"Beast! You damn beast!"

Watching the three figures gradually disappear into the distance, Xu Jingzong, who remained standing there, started hopping mad and cursing loudly.

Old Cheng is alright, after all, he is an advisor to the King of Qin, so even if he offends him slightly, his life will not be in danger.

But as the emperor's grandson, Li Yu was someone he dared not offend. Even if Li Yu stole his horse, he would have nowhere to seek justice.

"Ugh!"

After cursing for a while, Xu Jingzong lay exhausted on the ground, staring at the sky and muttering, "What kind of life is this?! The credit that was almost in my hands has just slipped away..."

.........

With the credit about to be in their hands, Lao Cheng and Lao Qin were both extremely excited.

This is a meritorious act of following the emperor's rise to power! It's a merit that no amount of killing on the battlefield can compare to!

With this achievement, even if they rebelled in the future, they would not be implicated and their entire family would not be punished. It can be said that from now on, the two of them could stay at home and enjoy their old age.

Li Yu felt no excitement whatsoever; he was still savoring what Lao Cheng had said.

After thinking for a long time, Li Er still couldn't figure out what his father was that made him wary.

Logically speaking, as long as they don't fight for power or profit, they can live a wealthy life just by the income from their fiefdom. What threat could they possibly pose?

Thinking about all this, Li Yu suddenly had a flash of insight.

manor!

By doing this, it seems that my father can stay in Chang'an for the rest of his life and naturally avoid having to take up a fief.

After all, historically, among Li Er's sons, only Li Tai was allowed to stay in the capital due to his favor with the emperor, while Li Zhi was made crown prince because he was too young and had already been established as the crown prince by the time he reached the age to be enfeoffed.

Once you understand one thing, everything else will naturally fall into place.

Perhaps Li Er still needed the Zhao Prince's Mansion, an entity positioned between the royal family and the military, to keep the powerful generals and officials in check. After all, compared to his father, his younger brother, with whom he had grown up and was like a brother, was more reliable…

.........