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

At Xuanwu Gate, blood flowed like rivers and corpses piled up like mountains.

Most of them were the Crown Prince's personal guards. As for the men of the Eastern Palace's Ten Guards, they had already surrendered when the heads of the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi were hung on the Xuanwu Gate city wall.

So when Li Yu passed through Xuanwu Gate, a strong stench of corpses mixed with blood assaulted his nostrils, making his stomach churn. He could only urge his horse to leave this dangerous place as quickly as possible…

Li Er and his entourage had already arrived at Taiji Palace. Along the way, the conservative soldiers did not offer any resistance when they saw that it was the King of Qin.

"Jingde, come with me to meet the Emperor. The rest of you, remain where you are!"

Li Er turned and gave an order, only to find Li Yu among them, so he called him over: "Boy, you're coming with me!"

"I?"

Li Yu was dragged into the Taiji Hall by Li Er, his head full of question marks.

If you're going to force me to abdicate, then so be it! Why are you dragging me into this? Are you afraid your father will blame you, so you're using his grandson as a shield?

Li Yu didn't understand. He had even killed his own brothers, so what was there that he couldn't face his own father with equanimity?

Seeing Li Er's anxious and somewhat guilty appearance, Li Yu didn't dare to ask. So he could only be dragged by Li Er for a quarter of an hour, walking around in a winding path, until they arrived at the North Sea Pool of the Taiji Hall. Only then was Li Er released and allowed to play by the lake on his own...

In the sea pool, Li Yuan was boating with several ministers when he saw his second son approaching. He suddenly stood up from the boat.

"Erlang! Why are you alone? Who was causing trouble at Xuanwu Gate just now?" He seemed to realize something and asked Li Er in a trembling voice.

"Father..."

Li Er pondered for a long time, unsure of how to begin, so before Li Yuan's ship even docked, he knelt down with a thud.

"you……"

Seeing this, the shrewd Li Yuan immediately understood the situation. Trembling, he pointed at Li Er and demanded, "Those are your own brothers! How could you do this?"

Upon hearing Li Yuan's question, Li Er lowered his head and remained silent.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi rebelled and attempted a treason, but they have been executed by His Highness!"

Yuchi Gong, still holding his spear, stepped forward at the opportune moment and fabricated a lie: "His Highness was afraid of disturbing you and was worried about your safety, so he specially sent me to guard you!"

"You bastard!"

Li Yuan roared, staring intently at Li Er: "Second Son, is this all you're going to say to deceive your father, the Emperor?"

"Your subject wouldn't dare!"

Even Li Er, upon hearing Li Yuan's questions, could only bury his head in the ground, not daring to lift it.

Seeing this, Li Yuan laughed in fury: "You wouldn't dare! You can even slaughter your own brothers, what else wouldn't you dare to do?"

At this moment, Li Yuan's eyes were filled with vicissitudes and coldness. He didn't understand who he should blame for the current situation: Li Er? Or himself?

Overwhelmed with sorrow, Li Yuan waved his hand at the silent Li Er and said, "Go! I don't want to see you right now!"

But after he finished speaking, Li Er showed no intention of leaving even after a long while.

He angrily slammed his hand on the gunwale and shouted, "What else do you want? Your eldest brother and fourth brother are dead, Xuanba is crippled, and now I only have you as my one and only legitimate son! What more could you possibly want?"

Upon hearing this, Li Er suddenly raised his head, looked at Li Yuan, and said firmly with red eyes, "Your subject will take control of the army throughout the land."

"What did you say?" Li Yuan asked incredulously.

"Father! I want to control all the armies in the land!" Li Er said firmly once again.

"Hahahahaha!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan suddenly burst into laughter, but his laughter was filled with a sense of vicissitude.

He had only been laughing for a short while when he felt dizzy and staggered.

"Father!"

"His Majesty!"

"..."

The ministers who were on the same boat with him rushed over to help Li Yuan steady himself when they saw this.

Two elderly ministers with graying hair advised, "Your Majesty, please do not be angry! Forgive our bluntness, but at the beginning of the pacification of the realm, His Highness the Prince of Qin made great contributions. Perhaps we should..."

"Get out! All of you, get out of here!"

Li Yuan shook off the two people who were helping him and roared at everyone.

Seeing Li Yuan's anger, everyone jumped off the boat as soon as it reached the shore, leaving the sea pool in a panic.

Li Er and Yuchi Gong, supported by the two old ministers, also left...

After everyone had left, Li Yuan lay back on the deck, tears streaming down his face. After a long silence, he murmured, "What a tragedy! Hui'er, I've failed you!"

.........

"Your Highness, the fate of the matter rests entirely with Your Majesty's decision. This old minister has done his utmost."

Inside the passageway of Taiji Palace, Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda, who had just advised Li Yuan, spoke earnestly to Li Er.

"Thank you both for your help today. Now, Your Majesty..."

Before he could finish speaking, the two old ministers waved their hands and said, "What we two old men think about is nothing more than peace and prosperity for the world. You don't need to take it to heart."

Upon hearing this, Li Er said nothing more, but bowed to the two men and left with Yuchi Gong...

.........

The lotus flowers were in full bloom in summer. Li Yu was squatting by the river, repeatedly poking a petal into the mud and pulling it out, trying to see if the lotus flowers were as Zhou Dunyi described, rising from the mud unsullied.

After an unknown amount of time, he got a little bored and was just about to check if Li Er had finished dealing with his mess when he found that there was no one around, only a small boat slowly drifting towards him.

Li Yu was utterly speechless at this.

What? You've just left yourself here? The thing is, you don't even recognize the way you came!

With no other option, Li Yu could only wait for the ship to drift by so he could see if there were any servants on board to clean up and have them take him out.

After a long and difficult journey, the boat finally reached the shore. Li Yu stood up, shook the water off his robe, and climbed onto the side of the boat.

He never expected the ship's planks to be designed to be so smooth, so he lost his balance and fell onto the planks with a thud.

"Holy crap!"

Li Yu groaned a few times, his body aching all over, and then grumbled as he climbed up from the deck.

Before he could finish his rant, he saw an old man in a yellow robe lying on the other side of the boat with his eyes closed.

Seeing this, Li Yu curiously went over, but when he saw the old man's face clearly, he was so frightened that he almost fell into the boat.

Damn it! How come Li Yuan is here all alone?!

A sense of foreboding washed over him, and Li Yu tiptoed toward the ship's side, preparing to flee as quickly as possible.

Just as he put one foot on the gunwale, he heard a chilling voice behind him.

"Stop right there! You're already here, why are you thinking of leaving?"

.........