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

The day before Li Yuan's funeral.

A burly man walked into the study of the East Palace.

Upon seeing the person who had arrived, Li Chengqian hurriedly stood up:

"Uncle Qin!"

The visitor was none other than Qin Qiong, the Duke of Yi of the Great Tang Dynasty.

Qin Qiong finally returned to Chang'an the day before the funeral, and managed to avoid being seen by anyone.

Qin Qiong sat down in the chair and took a big gulp of tea from the teapot on the table.

"Your Highness, what is the current situation in Chang'an?"

Li Chengqian relayed the key information that the shadow had sent back to Qin Qiong.

When Qin Qiong heard that Hou Junji had a secret rendezvous with Cui Minqian in the middle of the night, he smashed the teapot in his hand to the ground.

"Pooh!"

Qin Qiong spat.

"I always thought Hou Junji was no good. He liked to steal credit during battles and his mind was always on scheming."

I never expected him to grow so audacious, even daring to take on a rebellion.

Li Chengqian looked at Qin Qiong and asked:

"Uncle Qin, Hou Junji controls the city's defenses, so he will definitely let the aristocratic families into the inner city tomorrow."

Should I send men out of the city now to bring in the Royal Guard?

Qin Qiong waved his hand:

"No need."

He stood up and stretched his limbs.

"The Royal Guards are outside the city; His Majesty kept them to deal with those unruly individuals within the Sixteen Guards."

Leave the city affairs to me.

Qin Qiong turned to look at Li Chengqian.

"Your Highness, just hand over the military tally of the Eastern Palace Guard to this old man."

Li Chengqian was taken aback:

"Uncle Qin, the Eastern Palace Guard only numbers about two thousand men at most. The aristocratic families have mobilized their entire forces this time, plus Hou Junji's personal guards, so the number is definitely not small."

Qin Qiong waved his hand dismissively:

"Two thousand men are enough to deal with a bunch of hastily assembled rabble and that good-for-nothing Hou Junji."

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will make sure they never return tomorrow."

Seeing Qin Qiong's domineering demeanor, Li Chengqian finally felt relieved.

Li Chengqian directly took out the military tally of the Eastern Palace Guard from his pocket and placed it in Qin Qiong's hand.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Qin."

Qin Qiong took the military tally and walked out of the study.

Qin Qiong's involvement this time will definitely expose his identity, but it is a perfect opportunity to eliminate the powerful clans.

Originally, Li Chengqian planned to save this surprise for his father.

It seems best to save the bigger surprise for Dad.

Li Chengqian called out towards the door:

"Xiao Shunzi, go and fetch Changsun Chong."

Not long after, Changsun Chong walked into the study, yawning.

He has been drinking with Cheng Chumo and a few others in Pingkangfang for the past two days.

"Your Highness, why did you call me here? I just went to bed."

Li Chengqian ignored his complaints and simply tossed him a token.

Changsun Chong quickly caught it.

"Tomorrow is the day of the Emperor Emeritus's funeral; there will be great chaos in Chang'an."

Changsun Chong was startled awake, and his drowsiness vanished instantly.

"Trouble? What trouble?"

"The powerful families are going to rebel."

Changsun Chong was so frightened he almost fell to the ground.

"Rebellion? Your Highness, you must be joking."

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes at him:

"Look at your pathetic self. Tomorrow you don't need to go to Da'an Palace. Take my token and go to the Hundred Cavalry Command to summon two hundred men."

Changsun Chong asked cautiously:

"Why transfer people? To guard the Eastern Palace?"

"The Crown Prince's Palace doesn't need you to guard it."

Li Chengqian drew a circle on the table with his finger.

"As soon as the Vermilion Bird Gate makes a move tomorrow, you will take these two hundred men and go directly to the various mansions of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families in Chang'an."

Changsun Chong was stunned.

"Why go to their residence? To confiscate their property?"

"Confiscating property is a matter for the Ministry of Revenue."

Li Chengqian looked at Changsun Chong and gave instructions.

"You lead your men in and don't worry about anything else."

Just do one thing.

"Retrieve their family genealogies completely from me. If even one page is missing, I will hold you responsible."

Changsun Chong looked at Li Chengqian with a bewildered expression and asked:

"Genealogy?"

"Your Highness, what time is it? Why are you asking for their family genealogy instead of arresting them? You can't eat that stuff."

Li Chengqian was too lazy to pay attention to him and simply waved his hand:

"Just go when I tell you to, why are you talking so much nonsense?"

If you really can't figure it out, go back and ask your father.

Changsun Chong shrank back after being scolded, took the token, and slunk away.

Half an hour later.

The study of the Duke of Zhao's residence.

"Father! Something terrible has happened!"

Changsun Wuji frowned and roared at Changsun Chong:

"What are you shouting about? What's all the fuss about?"

Changsun Chong quickly recounted what had just happened at the East Palace.

"Father, is His Highness under too much pressure lately? Is something wrong with his mind?"

Changsun Chong asked, his face full of confusion.

"He gave me two hundred men but wouldn't let me go to rescue the emperor or defend the city. Instead, he insisted that I go and steal some kind of family genealogy."

What use is that tattered book if we steal it?

After hearing his son's words, Changsun Wuji was stunned for a moment.

After a long while, Changsun Wuji finally understood, his eyes filled with shock.

Changsun Chong was even more puzzled by his father's expression.

"Dad, why do you look like that too? What is my cousin trying to do?"

Changsun Wuji looked at his clueless son and sighed helplessly.

"You, you've been by the Crown Prince's side for so long, how come you haven't made any progress at all?"

The Crown Prince is trying to eliminate any potential threats at all.

Changsun Chong still didn't understand.

"Cut the weeds and wipe out the roots? What does that have to do with the family genealogy?"

Changsun Wuji looked at Changsun Chong and asked:

"What crime is rebellion?"

"Exterminate their entire family!"

Changsun Chong blurted it out.

"How many people from those five clans and seven prominent families are there in Chang'an? And how many of their branches are there in the surrounding areas?"

Changsun Wuji sneered.

"The powerful clans are deeply entrenched. If we were to investigate and arrest them one by one, it would take forever. And there would definitely be some who slip through the net."

Changsun Wuji pointed at the token in Changsun Chong's hand.

"The Crown Prince sent you to fetch the family genealogy just to save you trouble."

With a family tree, it's clear who is the direct descendant, who is a collateral branch, and who is related to whom.

Isn't it much easier to kill someone according to the family genealogy than to search the world one by one?

Changsun Chong stared blankly at the token in his hand, completely dumbfounded.

Murder based on family genealogy?

Is this how people play nowadays?

Changsun Chong looked at Changsun Wuji in horror and asked:

"Is His Highness really that ruthless?"

Changsun Wuji sighed and patted Changsun Chong on the shoulder:

"Ruthless? How can you deal with these scourges from the aristocratic families without being ruthless?"

Be smart tomorrow. Take some people in, rush in, grab the family tree, and leave. Don't get entangled with them.

Tomorrow, Chang'an will likely be awash in blood.