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

"hey-hey!"

Li Yu scratched his head awkwardly, not expecting that Li Yuan would still catch him red-handed.

Li Yuan was still lying on the deck, feigning sleep, but he opened his mouth and said, "Speak! What are you doing here? Did that rebellious son of Li Shimin bring you here?"

"Your Majesty, it was indeed my second uncle who brought me here. I was playing so much that I forgot the time. I'll be leaving now!"

After apologizing to Li Yuan, Li Yu, who was perched on the gunwale, prepared to disembark.

"Stop!" Li Yuan opened his eyes and looked at Li Yu. "What, even you don't want to keep this old codger company?"

Looking at the old man in front of him, whose eyes were full of sorrow, Li Yu, who had just helped Li Er kill his brother, couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Ultimately, aside from scaring him once in the Taiji Hall on the day he returned to Chang'an, Li Yuan treated his grandson quite well most of the time.

After all, Li Chengqian and the others had received just as many titles and rewards as Li Yu had. Li Yu even suspected that the tavern in the East Market was a way for the old man to compensate him through Li Er.

So he returned to the deck, walked to Li Yuan's side, and sat down naturally: "No, Your Majesty, I know that my second uncle stayed behind to comfort you..."

"Hahaha!" Upon hearing this, Li Yuan sat up with a laugh: "You little rascal, you certainly speak your mind, but by revealing your second uncle's thoughts to my face, how can you possibly appease me?"

Li Yu chuckled and said, "Look, aren't you laughing heartily right now?"

"Hahahahaha!"

Seeing Li Yu's cunning demeanor, Li Yuan laughed so hard he almost fell over. After a long while, he finally stopped laughing and said to Li Yu, "My foolish son, you really are as cunning as the rumors say!"

"I heard you've sold your roasted tea and that other kind of wine all over Chang'an. I even ordered some to be bought and tasted, and they're really good. Come tell your imperial grandfather how you did it?"

"this……"

Li Yu said with a hint of pride, "This liquor is made by my grandson from grains. The distillation process doesn't take too long, but it's stronger than other liquors."

"In addition, with the straightforward and generous nature of the people of Guanzhong, my grandson only had to give it a little push, and the people of Chang'an fell in love with my grandson's wine."

"As for the tea... I just don't like brewed tea, and I learned how to stir-fry tea from that old man years ago, so this tea was originally something I developed for myself!"

"..."

"You're quite the clever one," Li Yuan chuckled. "Next time you have any of these little trinkets, remember to send them to the palace. Your imperial grandfather will take a look and appraise them for you!"

"Of course." Li Yu patted his chest first, then seemed to remember something: "It's too difficult for me to go to the palace..."

"What's so difficult about that?" Li Yuan said, taking a small, golden fish-shaped ornament from his waist and tossing it to Li Yu. "If you ever want to come to the Taiji Palace again, just carry this, and no one will dare to stop you!"

"What is this?" Li Yu took the goldfish charm and examined it for a long time.

Although he didn't know what it was, just by looking at its exquisite craftsmanship, Li Yu knew that it was quite valuable.

So he thanked Li Yuan and happily tucked it into his pocket...

.........

Afterwards, the grandfather and grandson chatted for a long time, and Li Yuan shifted his attention from the pain of losing his son to what he had been talking about with Li Yu.

This made the guy who was hiding in the shadows breathe a sigh of relief. He watched as the small boat gradually drifted to the center of the pond, and then he disappeared into the Taiji Palace with a few leaps...

"You mean His Majesty is laughing heartily?" Outside the palace, Li Er looked at his eunuch Gou Da with suspicion.

He never expected that his unintentional act of bringing Li Yu into the palace would have such a remarkable effect.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty is currently chatting and laughing with Prince Songshan, and his laughter is quite hearty," Gou Da said with certainty.

Upon hearing this, Li Er nodded, thought for a moment, and then asked, "What did they talk about?"

"At first, His Majesty and the young prince were talking about selling wine. Then His Majesty seemed to be in high spirits, so he rewarded the young prince with an item. After that, the boat drifted too far away, and I couldn't hear clearly anymore."

.........

"Young man, this boat has now drifted to the middle of the sea. I have driven everyone off the boat. My grandson and I will have to wait a while before we can get ashore." Li Yuan smiled broadly, taking a sip of the tea in front of him.

"It's alright, Your Majesty. There are still many interesting things I haven't told you yet!" Li Yu, who had just been talking animatedly, picked up his teacup and drank the tea in one gulp.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan immediately became excited. "Tell Grandpa about this mahjong game first, and we can talk about other things later."

"That's natural, this mahjong..."

Li Yu talked for a long time, until both of them were exhausted. So the grandfather and grandson, one the emperor and the other a prince, both collapsed onto the deck without any regard for their image.

"Boy, tell me the truth, was your father involved in this? He and Yuanji have always been at odds, and I don't believe he would just sit and wait to die." Li Yuan closed his eyes weakly, but asked Li Yu.

Li Yu was also exhausted, so he simply closed his eyes and replied, "Grandfather, as you said, Fourth Uncle and my father have always been at odds, even to the point of being mortal enemies. So that very day, he sent men to massacre the Zhao Prince's mansion..."

Before Li Yu could finish speaking, Li Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and sat up abruptly on the deck: "Xuanba, he..."

Hearing Li Yuan's trembling voice, Li Yu sat up and said with a smile, "My father is doing well, but all the people my fourth uncle sent there never returned."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and continued to ask, "Where did he go after that?"

"After that, my father stayed in the Zhao Prince's Palace and didn't go anywhere else."

Upon hearing this, a relieved smile finally appeared on Li Yuan's face, and he then lay down peacefully.

"Enough! Enough! In the end, it was I who was wrong!" Li Yuan gave a bitter laugh. "Go back and tell your second uncle that whatever he wants, I will give it to him..."

.........

After the boat docked, Li Yu said goodbye to Li Yuan and then left the cruise ship, exhausted.

It was dusk, and the setting sun bathed everything in a crimson glow. Even the frogs in the pool had fallen silent, exhausted, so the only sound in the entire Taiji Palace was the rumbling of Li Yu's stomach.

On the way, he happened to meet a palace maid carrying melons and fruits, so Li Yu unceremoniously took one of the melons, then rudely stuffed a silver ingot into her hand, and ate the melon until it was dripping with juice.

Li Yu barely managed to finish eating the cucumber after walking all the way to the gate of Taiji Palace.

So he wiped his hands on his dirty robe and walked out of the palace gate.

But as soon as he stepped out of the palace gate, he was stunned by the sight before him…

.........