Tang Dynasty: Taking the Empress Dowager to a brothel, Father Emperor, what a coincidence!

"Keep silent."

Cheng Chumo cautiously looked at Li Chengqian and replied:

"Your Highness, perhaps... we should rest for a while? Her Majesty the Empress means..."

"Change your clothes."

Li Chengqian interrupted Cheng Chumo directly.

"What?"

Cheng Chumo didn't react for a moment.

"I said, change your clothes."

Li Chengqian repeated it.

"Change into mourning clothes."

He paused, then added,

"Bring me my Emperor's Sword."

Qiu Yue and Cheng Chumo exchanged a glance and gave him a helpless look.

This Crown Prince is not someone a mere personal maid dares to stop.

Half an hour later, outside Da'an Palace.

Dressed in plain white mourning clothes, with the Emperor's sword at his waist, Li Chengqian walked expressionlessly toward the mourning hall.

Behind him followed only Cheng Chumo, who was also dressed in mourning clothes.

The Imperial Guards and palace servants along the way were all horrified when they saw Li Chengqian, and they all knelt down.

Inside the mourning hall, Li Shimin sat at the head of the table, with all the civil and military officials lined up on either side, kneeling on prayer mats.

As the master of ceremonies announced the order, the complex and oppressive sacrificial ceremony proceeded.

"His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!!!"

Just then, Wang De outside the door suddenly shouted "Yes!"

The sounds of weeping and chanting in the hall abruptly ceased.

Everyone turned around, staring in astonishment at the Crown Prince, who should have been "resting" in the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian ignored the hundreds of gazes around him.

He walked step by step to Li Yuan's coffin, lifted his robes, and knelt down heavily.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

Three kowtows.

When he looked up, two lines of clear tears had already slid down his cheeks.

This performance left Li Shimin, who was standing next to him, somewhat dumbfounded.

He didn't believe the kid didn't know Li Yuan had faked his death.

You can cry over this?

You should know that when he cried on the first day, he had to force himself to cry.

Li Chengqian then turned around and looked around before speaking:

I have three questions.

Firstly, my grandfather was always in good health. When I left the capital half a month ago, he was still able to play three games of chess with me. Why did he suddenly pass away?

Secondly, since the Emperor has passed away, where are the autopsy records from the Imperial Medical Bureau? Why have I not seen them?

Thirdly, less than half an hour after the Emperor's grandfather passed away, the cause of death was already determined and announced to the world.

"May I ask you gentlemen, who has the audacity to handle the affairs of the retired emperor so hastily?"

All the officials lowered their heads and dared not utter a sound.

Li Shimin stood up with a grim expression, looked at Li Chengqian, and sternly rebuked him:

"How dare you! This is your grandfather's memorial altar. How can you spout such nonsense and cause such a disturbance here?"

In the corner, Cheng Yaojin nudged Yuchi Jingde next to him.

"Hey Blackie, wanna open a betting session?"

Yuchi Jingde replied in a gruff voice:

"What are we betting on?"

"I bet five strings of cash that the Crown Prince will dare to draw his sword in this mourning hall today."

Yuchi Jingde chuckled:

"I bet ten strings of cash! He'd dare to kill someone."

Cheng Yaojin rolled his eyes.

What's the point of gambling here?

Li Chengqian ignored Li Shimin's reprimand and instead looked at the eunuchs in front of him.

"I have one more question! Before I left the capital, my grandfather's daily life was taken care of by the elders of Da'an Palace. Why is it that now, all I see are unfamiliar faces? Where are those elders now?"

Just then, a strange, sarcastic voice rang out.

Cui Mingan stepped forward and bowed deeply to Li Chengqian:

"Your Highness, I know your filial piety is commendable. Upon hearing the tragic news, I was overcome with grief and became somewhat disoriented."

But the Emperor Emeritus was the ancestor of our Great Tang Dynasty, and his status was so noble that no one would dare to harm him.

Your Highness's words implicate His Majesty in filial impiety and invite criticism from the world regarding discord within our royal family.

"Your Highness, please consider the greater good and refrain from further disturbing the peace of the late Emperor Emeritus."

"Oh."

Li Chengqian sneered.

"It is not up to you, Cui Mingan, to judge my filial piety."

All I know is that if a descendant of a grandfather dies under mysterious circumstances and doesn't even dare to ask a single question, that would be the greatest act of disloyalty and unfilial piety in the world.

Unlike some people who are secretly overjoyed, practically begging for firecrackers to go off, yet they have to force a few tears onto their faces—it's really tough on you guys.

Li Chengqian swept his gaze across all the aristocratic officials with a mocking expression.

"The entire court is full of actor-turned-actors, a bunch of parrots who only know how to repeat what others have said."

"You...you..."

Cui Mingan never expected Li Chengqian's reaction to be so strong.

In front of the entire court, they were completely disregarding their dignity.

They've completely broken off relations.

"You brat!!"

Li Shimin roared.

"Guards! Take this rebellious son away from me."

"Take him back to the Eastern Palace. Without my decree, he is not to step out."

As soon as he finished speaking, two squads of Imperial Guards rushed in from outside the hall and instantly surrounded Li Chengqian.

Cheng Yaojin looked at Li Chengqian excitedly and muttered:

"Draw your sword! Draw your sword! Draw your sword now!"

However, Li Chengqian's reaction surprised everyone.

He didn't look at the Imperial Guards surrounding him, nor at Li Shimin, whose face was ashen.

He glanced at the coffin once and then turned and rushed out of the mourning hall.

"Your Highness!"

Without a second thought, Cheng Chumo followed.

The entire court was completely dumbfounded.

What kind of approach is this?

Running away when you can't win? That's not like the Crown Prince.

Li Chengqian rushed out of the palace and drew the Emperor's Sword from his waist.

He raised his sword to the sky, looked at everyone in the room, and said:

I hereby swear!

If the truth behind the Emperor's death cannot be found, the real culprit cannot be killed by hand.

I, Li Chengqian, hereby request to become a monk and never set foot in the imperial court again.

"I'll spend the rest of my life with only the company of an ancient Buddhist lamp and a solitary lamp!"

These words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

Every single official in the court was dumbfounded.

To depose himself from the position of crown prince?

Is it really necessary to go this far?

Some officials who had initially remained neutral now looked somewhat puzzled.

If the Emperor Emeritus truly died of old age, why would His Highness the Crown Prince be in such a state?

Li Chengqian's behavior led more people to believe that there must be something fishy about the matter.

Just as Li Shimin was wondering how to end this situation, a graceful figure appeared outside the palace.

"clever."

Empress Zhangsun has arrived.

She did not reprimand her son for his impulsive act.

Instead, he walked to Li Chengqian's side, took the Emperor's Sword from Li Chengqian's hand, and then threw it aside.

He then grasped Li Chengqian's hand.

"Mother..."

Li Chengqian immediately hugged Empress Zhangsun and burst into tears.

The grievances I've been holding in these past few days have finally found a place to be released.

"Mother...they killed Grandfather...they killed Grandfather."

I'm going to kill people... I must kill them all. Kill them all.

This was the first time Empress Zhangsun had seen her son so out of control, and she patted Li Chengqian's back with heartache.

"Mother knows, Mother understands everything."

"Gao Ming, calm down. You must believe in your father, and more importantly, believe in yourself."

Li Chengqian suddenly stiffened in his mother's arms.

Do you trust your father?

Believe in yourself?

Li Shimin's gaze towards Li Chengqian was somewhat complicated.

This fearless, reckless spirit, this ruthless determination to tear a hole in the sky...

That's just like my style back in the day.

"Someone come here."

The crown prince was overcome with grief, his mind was in disarray, and his words and actions became erratic.

Effective immediately, you are confined to the Eastern Palace! Reflect on your actions! You need not participate in any matters related to the Emperor Emeritus's funeral.

No one may visit without my decree.

Upon hearing this order, Cui Minqian and others were overjoyed, while Fang Xuanling and others looked worried.

Two teams of Imperial Guards immediately stepped forward to protect Li Chengqian from the left and right.

Li Chengqian slowly raised his head and left his mother's embrace.

He did not resist, nor did he even glance at anyone again.

They simply let the Imperial Guards "escort" them, walking step by step towards the Eastern Palace.