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

From that day on, apart from consulting Lu Deming every three days, Li Yu rarely went out.

As for the taverns in the East Market and his own tea-frying workshop, he hardly ever paid any attention to them anymore.

Surprisingly, these industries, which were no longer under their direct control, still seemed to be operating smoothly.

This pleased Li Yu greatly, so when Li Yuan personally went to Mount Li to preside over the "Autumn Hunt" that day, he followed him.

I have to go!

The so-called autumn hunt was simply an autumn hunt organized by the royal family, an important royal ceremony. Especially when the emperor personally led the autumn hunt, all members of the imperial family and important officials were required to accompany him, and no one dared to be absent.

"Watching a bunch of scholars shooting arrows is worse than not going! Your second uncle is away on a campaign and hasn't returned yet, and Zhijie and Yuchi have gone with him too. This year's autumn hunt is going to be incredibly boring," Li Xuanba complained to Li Yu while sitting in the carriage.

Li Yu nodded, but secretly he was delighted.

Because many military officers were away on campaign and had not yet returned, only the eldest son of the family could act as the head of the family to participate in the autumn hunt, which resulted in Cheng Chumo, Yuchi Baolin, and Changsun Chong being among the troops.

Li Yu dared not imagine how wild these spoiled brats would go without their parents' supervision...

.........

"Little fish, you can't even draw a single stone bow?"

Not long after arriving at Mount Li, Li Yu was met with Li Chengqian's ruthless disdain.

It was all because some bastard suggested it that these spoiled brats from the Li family spontaneously formed a team to compete against Cheng Chumo and his group of noble sons.

Li Yu was speechless at this.

Cheng Chumo and Yuchi Baolin over there are both excellent archers, and even that scoundrel Changsun Chong is a superb archer; on the other hand, apart from Li Xiaogong's eldest son, Li Chongyi, there's not a single person who can fight. So even if I can draw a bow, I'm practically useless to them…

"Never mind, never mind, I'll just make more..." Li Chongyi, who had been watching the commotion, quickly tried to smooth things over for Li Yu.

Although he had been badly tricked by Li Yu at the wine tasting event, Li Yu, in an effort to make amends, would send a jar of baijiu (Chinese liquor) to Li Chongyi's residence every month. Over time, the two gradually became friends.

"Brother Yu, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but your body is indeed a bit too weak. Uncle Wang is also a master of martial arts. Why don't you learn a move or two from him so you can have some martial arts skills to protect yourself?"

Hearing this, Li Yu felt a headache coming on: "I, your foolish younger brother, also want to practice my skills, but Father says I have absolutely no talent for martial arts. Even Generals Cheng and Niu say that when I fight, it's like a wild boar rooting for food..."

This is true. As a person from a later generation, Li Yu also had a dream of martial arts. Whenever he saw Wenren An leaping across rooftops and scaling walls, he was filled with envy.

However, martial arts also requires talent. For example, Cheng Chumo, who had been practicing martial arts since childhood, was invincible in Chang'an with his brute strength and some skills, but he was still far inferior to Wenren An, who was an extreme martial arts prodigy.

As for Li Yu, he's the kind of person who has neither strength nor talent. Let alone learning martial arts, even if you let him build muscle, he probably won't amount to anything...

.........

On the third day of the autumn hunt, Li Yu, who had caught nothing, watched as several playboys casually tossed their surplus prey in front of him, and he gritted his teeth in anger.

So what if you're just drawing a few broken bows? Wait until I build a gun, then let's see if you'll still be so arrogant!

Since he had accepted bribes, the task of handling the prey fell to Li Yu.

"Boy, my share must be plentiful!"

Li Yuan appeared here unexpectedly, startling the group of spoiled brats so much that they didn't dare to breathe.

"Grandpa, you should eat more lean meat. My master told you that last time at Taiji Palace..."

Ever since Li Er killed his two brothers at Xuanwu Gate, Li Yuan, their father, often complained of dizziness, flushed face, and red eyes. He didn't know if it was because he was angry with his second son or for some other reason, so he invited Sun Simiao to Taiji Palace to treat him.

After examining the emperor, Old Sun said that he had excessive qi and blood, a condition known as liver yang hyperactivity, which is equivalent to hypertension in later generations.

After prescribing several doses of medicine, he instructed Li Yuan to eat more vinegared celery, and to eat as little meat as possible. If he couldn't resist, he should eat some lean meat, but he should try to avoid oily fat.

But Li Yuan himself didn't seem to care much. Ever since he handed over all the power to Li Er, he spent his days indulging in pleasure.

During this time, Li Yu visited Taiji Palace several times, only to be met with incredibly erotic scenes that made him blush. Each time, he would stay for a short while before leaving in a hurry.

"You brat! I've fought wars my whole life, can't I enjoy myself a little?" Li Yuan was so angry that he blew his beard and glared at Li Yu. He was about to scold Li Yu a few more times, but after glancing around and seeing that everyone around him was young, he shook his head helplessly and left.

"Grandfather..." Li Chengqian was about to ask something when Li Yu interrupted him.

"Shh!"

Li Yu made a shushing gesture, picked up a skewer of grilled meat, got up, and followed.

"What are you doing following me?" Li Yuan asked irritably when he turned around and found Li Yu following him.

Li Yu smiled and said, "I saw that what you were eating didn't taste very good, so I brought you some grilled meat."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan's gaze fell on the meat skewers in Li Yu's hand: "Didn't you say I couldn't eat these? Why are you sending them to me now?"

"This piece was specially grilled for you by the young man. Most of the fat has been rendered out, so eating a little won't hurt!"

"At least you have some filial piety!" Li Yuan snatched the roasted meat away and then ate it with relish, taking a sip of wine and a bite of meat.

Having eaten most of the meat, Li Yuan was slightly tipsy. Emboldened by the alcohol, he tried to climb a large rock, but failed several times. With Li Yu's help, he finally made it to the top.

"I can't do it anymore! I'm too old!" Sitting on the rock, Li Yuan chuckled self-deprecatingly as he panted heavily. "When I was young, I could easily flip over and climb onto a rock this big, but now I need your help to get up there..."

Hearing him say this, Li Yu didn't know how to respond, while Li Yuan continued talking to himself.

"I met your grandmother here. Even after all these years, I can still clearly remember what she was wearing that day..."

"Your grandmother had a fiery temper, and not only that, her archery skills were no less than those of ordinary men..."

"And it was because of this that your imperial grandfather fell in love with her, so not long after, I prepared to go to the Dou family with betrothal gifts to propose marriage."

"Who knew that your grandmother would refuse and come up with some kind of 'peacock eye shooting' method to find a husband, saying that whoever could shoot the peacock's eye on the screen from thirty paces away would be the one she would marry."

"Needless to say, I eventually won her hand in marriage thanks to my superb archery skills."

"What a pity!"

At this point, a hint of sorrow appeared on Li Yuan's face: "I didn't even have time to fulfill my promise to her as empress before..."

.........