No matter when or who you are, having dinner with the emperor is always a very painful experience.

The children of the Li family were no exception.

After enduring the ordeal of having dinner with Li Shimin, Li Tai and the others couldn't wait to pay their respects and take their leave, disappearing completely in no time.

Even Li Jue slunk away under Li Tai's pull.

Therefore, when Li Er looked at the empty dining table, he was extremely devastated.

"Am I being heartless?"

"His Majesty has the heart of a loving father..."

"Then why did they all run away?"

"I had originally intended to invite them to stay for tea and a chat..."

Zhang Anan was at a loss for words upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "If you talk like that, who would want to chat with you?"

Li Shimin wallowed in self-pity for a while, then could only slink away. But before leaving, he couldn't resist playing with his newborn grandson. Seeing that the grandson was only focused on nursing and had no time to pay attention to him, he finally left dejectedly.

The next day, as soon as Li Shimin sat on the dragon throne, he saw Chu Suiliang jump out.

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince has come of age and should therefore share more of the government affairs with you..."

"oh?"

"Your Majesty, this move will not only alleviate your burden, but also allow the Crown Prince to become familiar with government affairs sooner..."

"oh……"

Li Shimin did not reply to these words, but simply glanced at his ministers.

"Is that what you think too?"

As soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, several more officials jumped out, but they were all unfamiliar faces.

"Your Majesty, I believe Lord Chu is absolutely right. His Highness the Crown Prince is already a father, and it is time for him to share more of Your Majesty's burdens..."

"Your Majesty, I second that proposal!"

"Your Majesty, I second that opinion!"

Seeing so many people speaking up for Li Zhi, Li Shimin immediately smiled and said...

"good!"

"very good!"

"Tomorrow, have Li Zhi stationed at the Secretariat to assist in handling government affairs!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately knelt down to express their gratitude.

Seeing this, Li Shimin snorted inwardly, then gave Zhang Anan a look, telling him to write down the names of all those who had expressed their gratitude, intending to settle scores later.

The Prince of Qin's Mansion.

Li Jue had just gotten out of bed when he saw Li Tai squatting in front of him like a black-eyed chicken.

"Fourth Uncle, what brings you here?"

Li Tai replied irritably upon hearing this.

"You still have the mind to sleep?"

"What's wrong now?"

"Do you know that just now, the court officials submitted a memorial advising His Majesty to relinquish power to Li Zhi?"

"ah?"

"What did your dad say?"

"What do you mean 'my father'? That's your grandfather!"

"well!"

"At this point, don't worry about whether it's your father or my grandfather!"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai looked dejected.

"What else could your grandfather say? Of course, he would agree with the ministers and send your ninth uncle to the Secretariat to assist..."

"Only the Secretariat?"

Upon seeing this, Li Tai immediately gave Li Jue a heavy beating.

"Isn't the Secretariat enough?"

"The Secretariat, which handles confidential matters and drafts memorials, has become the central authority of power!"

"Oh oh oh..."

Li Jue was naturally aware of these things, but he still didn't take them seriously.

After all, he had long been prepared to seize power by force. If Li Shimin had finally chosen Li Zhi, then he would have staged another Xuanwu Gate Incident... no, no, he should have imitated Emperor Taizong of Ming, Zhu Di, and launched a Jingnan Campaign to drive Li Zhi off the throne.

"Fourth Uncle, is there anything else?"

Li Tai was directly defeated by Li Jue's reaction.

"Li Jue, can't you be a little more careful? Your Ninth Uncle has already come to our doorstep, and you still don't take it seriously!"

You have to fight for it!

Li Jue said with a frustrated expression after hearing this.

"Your father is the emperor, and the orders were issued by your father. How do you expect me to fight for it?"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai shook his head vigorously.

“Go to the palace right now, and when you see your father-in-law, don’t say anything, just hug his leg and cry!”

"cry?"

Does crying help?

"Of course it works!"

"Your grandfather is the most soft-hearted. As long as you cry your heart out, he'll surely reward you with several military prefectures and make you the highest-ranking prince in the Tang Dynasty!"

Is that so?

Li Jue was skeptical of this statement. In his mind, Taiji Palace did not believe in tears, and Li Shimin believed even less in them.

If you think you can fool several prefectures just by crying, you're seriously underestimating Li Er.

While Li Tai was in a frenzy, the Eastern Palace, where Li Zhi resided, was filled with joy and celebration.

"Your Highness, congratulations!"

"Your Highness's move to the Secretariat has solidified your position as Crown Prince!"

Li Zhi was a very reserved person, but he was still somewhat elated in the face of such a joyous occasion.

"Don't say that!"

"I'm going to the Secretariat only to share my father's burdens. As for whether he's the crown prince or not, that's not that important!"

"Yes, yes, Your Highness is right. It was I who was presumptuous!"

"Oh, by the way, Your Highness, which one are you wearing today? The bright yellow one?"

Li Zhi shook his head upon hearing this.

"Let's go with something simpler. These days are the anniversary of Mother's death, and wearing something too fancy might displease Father!"

Upon hearing this, Crown Princess Wang was immediately impressed.

"Your Highness is so thoughtful. I'll go get you a new one right away."

The residence of Changsun Wuji.

When Changsun Wuji heard that His Majesty had agreed to Chu Suiliang's proposal, his face was filled with disbelief.

He deliberately skipped court today, fearing His Majesty would fly into a rage upon hearing Chu Suiliang's suggestion. However, to his utter astonishment, His Majesty actually agreed!

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!