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

Just as Li Ke was contemplating whether to end his miserable life with a rope.

There was a sudden knock on the door.

"Who?"

"Your Highness, it's this servant."

The voice of Xiao Fuzi, the personal eunuch, came from outside the door.

Li Ke said in an annoyed tone:

"Come in."

Xiao Fuzi walked in with a strange expression.

"What's the matter in the middle of the night?"

Li Ke looked at Xiao Fuzi and asked.

Xiao Fuzi quickly replied:

"Your Highness, the Prince of Yue has arrived."

Li Ke was stunned after hearing this.

Fourth brother? Li Tai?

"What's he doing here in the middle of the night? Did he come in through the front door?"

"No way."

Xiao Fuzi pointed towards the backyard.

"His Highness Prince Wei climbed over the wall to get in, but got stuck on top of it."

It was only after I found two servants that he was pulled off.

He's currently in the back room eating a leg of lamb, saying he wants to see you.

Li Ke was a little confused.

During the period of national mourning, the princes were confined to their quarters.

How dare that fat fourth brother climb over the wall to visit someone?

"Let him come over."

A short while later, Li Tai walked in while gnawing on a leg of lamb.

"Third Brother!"

After Li Tai came in, he casually tossed the lamb leg bone onto the table.

"The food in your mansion is really good."

Li Ke looked at the carefree, chubby younger brother in front of him, and his eyes twitched involuntarily.

"Fourth brother, are you crazy? Father Emperor has ordered you to stay at home, what are you doing climbing over the wall to come here in the middle of the night? Don't you value your life?"

Li Tai said, looking aggrieved:

"What are you afraid of? Father is currently guarding the coffin at Da'an Palace. He has no time to care about us."

You have no idea, Li Gang is a devil. He's restricted my food again. He says I've gained weight recently and is forcing me to lose weight.

I was starving, and I thought that since your cook is so good, I came over to mooch a meal.

Li Ke stared speechlessly at Li Tai, never expecting that Li Tai had come to him looking for food.

Look at them, they're both princes, why is there such a big difference between them?

Some time ago, the emperor granted his fourth son a fief of ten thousand households and also allowed him to open a literary academy.

Those powerful families swarmed around the fourth prince like flies, clearly intending to support him in challenging the crown prince.

At the time, Li Ke thought that the fourth son was going to be in trouble.

But the result?

The fourth prince not only escaped misfortune, but instead lived a life of luxury alongside the crown prince, while the aristocratic families were the ones who suffered greatly.

and many more......

Li Ke excitedly grabbed Li Tai's arm and asked:

"Fourth brother, tell the truth to your third brother."

"When Father Emperor put you on the hot seat the other day, how did you manage to escape unscathed?"

Li Tai was startled by Li Ke's sudden action.

"Third Brother, why are you asking this?"

Li Tai looked at him suspiciously.

"Why do you look like your father has died? What happened?"

Li Ke ignored Li Tai's question and continued:

"Tell me first, how did you manage to dodge it?"

Li Tai chuckled:

"What's so difficult about that? When I saw that things were not going well, I ran to the East Palace overnight, hugged my elder brother's leg and cried."

I've made my intentions clear: I, Li Tai, am a good-for-nothing who only wants to eat, drink, and have fun; I have absolutely no ambition to seize the throne.

As Li Tai spoke, he patted his chest proudly.

"My elder brother is such a shrewd man; he saw through Father's plan of checks and balances at a glance."

My older brother not only didn't beat me up, but he also got me a VIP black gold card.

I'm spending money at the Crown Prince's Trading Company every day now; I've already spent all the rewards my father gave me.

Seeing my hopeless and incompetent state, my father naturally stopped paying attention to me.

Li Ke was stunned.

Slide kneeling?

Packing up trash?

Is it really that simple?

"Didn't your brother give you any trouble?"

Li Ke looked at Li Tai with some disbelief.

"What's so difficult about it?"

Li Tai waved his hand.

"Don't let his tough demeanor fool you, Big Brother is a reasonable man. As long as you admit defeat quickly and do it right, he's quite generous to us younger brothers."

Li Ke remained silent.

He looked down at the letters on the table that he hadn't had time to put away yet.

Is it too late for him to back down now?

Li Tai followed Li Ke's gaze and saw several letters on the table.

"What is this?"

Li Tai curiously picked up the top letter.

It was too late for Li Ke to stop him.

Li Tai glanced at it and was so frightened that his voice trembled.

"Former General of the Left Guard of the Sui Dynasty... Yuwen Bao?"

He then picked up the letter below.

"A joint letter written in blood by former subordinates of Wang Shichong in Luoyang?"

Third Brother, you even personally wrote back, promising to bestow upon him the title of King of a different surname?

Li Tai's hand trembled, and the letter fell to the ground.

He stood up, took two steps back, and pointed at Li Ke, asking in a terrified voice:

"Third Brother! You...you...you're going to rebel?"

Li Ke quickly rushed over and covered Li Tai's mouth.

"Keep your voice down! Are you trying to kill me?"

Li Tai desperately pried Li Ke's hands away, and roared at Li Ke:

"Did I kill you, or did you kill me? The things you're doing are deadly deals."

Don't drag me into this, I haven't lived enough yet.

Li Ke was so anxious he was almost in tears:

"I didn't do it. It was Cui Mingan."

Li Tai was stunned:

"Cui Mingan? That old scoundrel from the Cui family of Qinghe?"

Li Ke recounted the events that had just occurred to Li Tai in detail.

After hearing this, Li Tai was completely distraught.

"These old dogs from the powerful families have been driven to desperation by the eldest brother, and they're trying to drag you down as a scapegoat."

Li Tai looked at Li Ke speechlessly.

"Third Brother, you're foolish! How could you agree to that?"

"If I don't agree to his request, these letters will appear on Father Emperor's desk first thing tomorrow morning."

Li Ke covered his face and cried.

"I have the blood of the previous dynasty flowing in my veins, and my father never liked me. The evidence is irrefutable; how can I possibly defend myself?"

Li Tai suddenly grabbed Li Ke's arm.

"Walk!"

"Where to?"

Li Ke raised his head and asked blankly.

"To the East Palace!"

Li Tai dragged Li Ke outside.

"If you're in trouble, go find your big brother. You've gotten yourself into such a mess, and instead of going to your big brother to confess, do you really want to join those old dogs and fight him to the death?"

Li Ke asked speechlessly:

"The Eastern Palace? My elder brother is under house arrest now. The Imperial Guards have surrounded the Eastern Palace like an iron barrel. How are we supposed to get in?"

"We have to get in, even if we can't."

Li Tai resolutely blocked the railway.

"If Father finds out about this first, we'll both be chopped up and fed to the dogs. Our eldest brother is our only chance to survive now."

Li Ke was dragged out of the study by Li Taisheng.

Under the cover of night, the two climbed over the back wall of the Shu Prince's mansion.

The streets of Chang'an were deserted.

The two princes followed the wall and made their way to the side gate of the East Palace.

Torches illuminated the area outside the East Palace.

Squads of Imperial Guards patrolled back and forth, completely surrounding the Eastern Palace.

Li Tai and Li Ke hid in the dark alley across the street, observing the situation at the entrance.

"Fourth brother, we can't get in."

Li Ke pointed to the entrance of the East Palace and said,

"If this is caught, disobeying an imperial decree and leaving the residence will be an even more serious crime."

Li Tai slowly took out a gold ingot from his pocket:

"Third Brother, you wait here, I'll go scout ahead."

After saying that, Li Tai walked out of the dark alley.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

The patrolling Imperial Guards immediately spotted Li Tai.

Li Tai raised his hands and laughed:

"Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand. It is I, King Li Tai of Yue."

The captain leading the group saw Li Tai's face by the light of the torch, paused for a moment, and quickly sheathed his sword and saluted.

"This humble general greets Your Highness, the King of Yue. Your Highness, His Majesty has decreed that during the period of national mourning..."

"I know, I know, it's a stay-at-home order."

Li Tai interrupted him, secretly slipping the gold ingot in his hand into the captain's hand.

"General, please make an exception. I have something urgent to discuss with my elder brother."

The captain was so frightened that he quickly pushed the gold ingot back.

"Your Highness, please don't make things difficult for me. His Majesty has issued a strict order that no one is allowed to enter or leave the Eastern Palace."

"If I let you in, my head will be on the line tomorrow."

When Li Tai saw that they wouldn't accept his gold, he became anxious:

"I have a matter of great urgency. A matter of great urgency concerning the fate of the Tang Dynasty."

The captain said with a stern face:

"Your Highness, please return. If you do not leave now, I will have no choice but to send men to escort you back to your residence."

When Li Tai realized that his gentle approach wasn't working, he suddenly shouted at the gate of the East Palace.

"Big brother! Big brother, help me!"

The captain was so frightened that he rushed over and covered Li Tai's mouth.

"Your Highness! Have you gone mad?"

Li Ke, who was in the dark alley, almost fainted from anger at Li Tai's actions.

It’s over.

Now the whole of Chang'an knows.