Li Shimin was not very superstitious, but he was a firm believer in destiny.

Because his life has been filled with so many unexpected events.

He only intended to conquer Wang Shichong, but unexpectedly he captured both Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande in one fell swoop, achieving the remarkable feat of capturing two kings in one day.

Therefore, even if he did not believe in fate, the facts before him forced him to believe in fate.

If he hadn't been destined by fate, how could he have overcome so many obstacles to become emperor?

However, this thought only existed in his mind for a moment before he quickly put it out of his mind.

After all, he already has a crown prince.

Li Zhi was an excellent student, diligent in his studies, and very filial to his father, the emperor.

Although the eldest grandson is clearly smarter, he is still too young. Who knows what the future holds?

After Li Shimin finished his lesson, he realized that it was already completely dark, and said with some complaint.

"Ananda, why didn't you remind me? It's so dark now, how are we supposed to keep going?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue immediately grabbed Old Li's sleeve.

"Old Li, why don't you stay today?"

"My place may be small, but it has all kinds of daily necessities. You can stay here for the night and go back to Chang'an tomorrow morning!"

"oh oh……"

Li Shimin was very interested upon hearing this, but he hesitated again when he thought about how small the bed in Li Jue's bedroom was.

"Isn't your bed too small?"

"That's quite big!"

"Uncle Li, that's a folding bed!"

"Come with me, I'll show you!"

Li Jue immediately led Old Li to the bedroom, took down the bedding, lifted the bed board and flipped it over, turning a single bed into a spacious double bed in the blink of an eye.

"That's interesting!"

"You came up with all of this yourself?"

"yes!"

"I've always loved to overthink things since I was little. I hope you'll forgive me, Mr. Li, hehehe..."

Although Li Jue said "please excuse my smugness," he couldn't hide the smugness on his face. His meaning was all too clear: he wanted Old Li to praise him.

Li Shimin naturally saw through his grandson's thoughts, but he just wouldn't praise him, which drove the little monkey crazy.

"Master, shall we stay here tonight?"

Before Li Shimin could speak, Li Jue spoke first.

"What do you mean by 'borrowing a place to stay'?"

"This is Mr. Li's house. I'm just looking after it for him!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin nodded quickly.

"Yes, yes!"

"This is our home, but you're not just here to look after the house; you're also the owner of this home, hahaha!"

When Li Jue saw that Old Li agreed to stay, he immediately ran out and took out two clean wooden basins from the storeroom.

"Uncle Li, you must be tired from your journey. Why don't you soak your feet to relax?"

"oh?"

Upon seeing this, Li Shimin quickly sat on the bed, and then saw Li Jue holding a large kettle and pouring water into a wooden basin.

Before long, the water in the two wooden basins was just enough to wash one's feet.

Li Shimin tested the water temperature and found it to be just right, neither too hot nor too cold, so he immediately put his feet into the wooden basin to soak.

Seeing this, Li Jue also brought over a small stool and soaked his feet with Old Li.

"Old Li, what exactly do you do?"

"I'm worried that your guards are no ordinary men; their armor and Tang swords are even better than those of the Imperial Guards!"

"Me..."

"I have some responsibilities in the imperial court."

"The Ministry of War?"

"Ah, yes, yes, yes..."

"They're in charge of those ordinary soldiers!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue showed a look of sudden realization.

"That's not surprising. As the saying goes, a local official is more powerful than a distant one. Since you work in the Ministry of War, you can naturally equip your subordinates with better armor, hehehe!"

"Is a local official more powerful than a distant one?"

Li Shimin laughed and scolded upon hearing this.

"You little monkey, you're quite worldly-wise, hahaha!"

"By the way, is there anyone else in your family?"

"For example, grandparents, siblings, etc..."

Li Jue hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, because his biggest worry was his elder brother who was in Qianzhou looking after their ancestral graves.

But his elder brother refused to run away with him and insisted on staying in that wretched place, Qianzhou.

"There is also an older brother who stayed in our ancestral home to guard the ancestral graves."

"And what about your grandparents?"

"My grandmother passed away in the tenth year of the Zhenguan era, but my grandfather is still alive..."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin continued to probe.

"Since your grandfather is still alive, why don't you go and seek refuge with him?"

“My grandfather…”

Li Jue's face darkened as he said this.

“My grandfather doesn’t want us anymore…”

Upon hearing these words, Li Shimin felt a lump in his throat and almost burst into tears on the spot.

Silly child, how could I bear to lose such a good grandson as you!

"Since your grandfather doesn't want you anymore, then you can treat me as your grandfather from now on!"

"OK!"

"Anyway, I don't have much of an impression of my grandfather. I've long forgotten what he looked like. I'll just treat you as my grandfather from now on, hehehe!"

After the two finished soaking their feet, Li Jue brought two clean towels, tossing one to Old Li and using the other to wipe his own feet.

He'd already finished wiping his feet, but Old Li hadn't even touched his own yet...

The reason was simple: Li Shimin's belly was too big, and he couldn't bend over at all.

"Uncle Li, you should lose weight, hahaha!"

Li Jue snatched the towel from Old Li's hand and quickly wiped his feet.

After Li Jue finished doing all this, he folded the two basins of water into one, and then shakily carried the wooden basin out to pour out the water.

Li Shimin watched Li Jue's departing figure and muttered happily to Zhang Anan beside him.

"Ananda, my eldest grandson just wiped my feet!"

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