Li Zhi was not annoyed by this, but simply stood aside and chuckled foolishly.

He only stepped forward to help when he saw Wu Meiniang struggling to crank the well.

"Sister Wu, let me help you!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Meiniang immediately handed the well lever to Li Zhi, then stood guard by the wellhead. When she saw the bucket being swung up, she grabbed the rope and pulled it out.

Wu Zetian took a big gulp of water, then immersed her entire face in the bucket, and only came out of the water after a while.

"It's so cool!"

"It's so hot today!"

"The weather was already hot enough, but I had to wear such thick clothes just to see you. I almost died of heat!"

Upon hearing Wu Cairen's complaints, Li Zhi quickly offered words of comfort.

"I am foolish and stupid, thank you for your trouble, Sister Wu!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Meiniang snorted coldly, then pointed to her pretty face with her finger.

"Look at my face!"

"I almost got disfigured because of you!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi felt even more ashamed and wished he could slit his own throat on the spot.

"Sister Wu..."

When Wu Meiniang saw that Li Zhi was about to cry from her words, she immediately smiled sweetly.

"It's nothing, I was just kidding!"

"I risked my life to come here today mainly to tell you something and tell you what to do next."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi sighed inwardly.

"Sister Wu, why don't we give up? We're no match for Li Jue..."

"But don't worry, after Father Emperor passes away, I will definitely bring you out of the palace and take you back to your fiefdom..."

Upon hearing this, Wu Meiniang's eyebrows shot up, and she spoke with a face full of anger.

"What did you say?"

"So many of us risked our lives for you, and you're saying you want to give up!"

"Sister Wu... I just didn't want you to get hurt!"

"Shut up!"

"You think you can survive if you escape to Jinyang?"

"I ask you, in history, which deposed crown prince had a peaceful death?"

"Even your elder brother, Li Chengqian, died of depression a year after he was deposed!"

"Tell me, did he really die of depression?"

Li Zhi was startled when he heard this, remembering the secret that Changsun Wuji had once revealed to him.

"Big brother...big brother was killed by my uncle..."

Wu Meiniang was taken aback by these words, but quickly recovered.

In her view, it was not surprising that Changsun Wuji did such a thing.

"Child slave!"

"Your maternal uncle, Changsun, can help you get rid of the crown prince, and the old ministers around Li Jue will also help him get rid of you!"

"This is your destiny; once you've been a crown prince, you can't escape it!"

"I……"

Li Zhi was aware of his situation, but he was always timid and even somewhat self-deceiving.

Therefore, he didn't want to think about these things.

Now that Wu Meiniang has exposed him, he has no choice but to grit his teeth and think about it.

"Sister Wu, Father Emperor is currently very fond of Li Jue and has already named him Crown Prince. Do we still have a chance?"

Wu Meiniang replied confidently upon hearing this.

"Of course!"

"As long as you don't give up, and your eldest grandson uncle doesn't give up, we have a glimmer of hope!"

Inspired by Wu Zetian, Li Zhi finally mustered up his courage.

"Uh-huh!"

"I will obey Sister Wu in everything. I will do whatever Sister Wu tells me to do!"

Wu Meiniang nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this, then tidied her messy hair.

"You only need to do one thing next, and that is to play the victim!"

"When I encountered Li Jue on the road, I knelt down and waited by the roadside until his carriage had gone far away before I could get up!"

Li Zhi looked troubled upon hearing this.

"Sister Wu, isn't this too embarrassing?"

"I am Li Jue's uncle, how can an uncle kneel before his nephew!"

Wu Meiniang sneered upon hearing this.

"When he becomes emperor in the future, won't you, his uncle, kneel down?"

"this……"

"Since we're going to kneel down sooner or later anyway, why not start now?"

"Besides, with your father watching you kneel now, you'll naturally benefit from it!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi suddenly understood.

"I understand now, Sister Wu taught me the art of feigning distress!"

Wu Meiniang nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this.

"Thankfully, I'm not too stupid..."

"Now, only a plea for help can save you. Even if it can't bring down Li Jue, it can make your father feel guilty and give you more benefits!"

"Yes, yes, thank you for your trouble, Sister Wu!"

"In addition, you also need to contact your relatives. You don't need to make any promises to them. Just meet with them more often and be friendly and respectful to them."

"Relatives?"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi immediately thought of Gao Yang and was so angry that his teeth itched.

"That brat Gao Yang, how dare she conspire with Li Jue to deceive me!"

What happened to Gao Yang?

"Sister Wu, you don't know this, but I was invited over by Gao Yang today. Otherwise, no matter how bold Li Jue is, he wouldn't dare to move in front of me!"

"Oh oh oh..."

"You should stay away from Gaoyang as much as possible. It seems that His Majesty has assigned her to Li Jue to ensure Li Jue's continued power!"

"ah?"

Li Zhi's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.

"Sister Wu, what do you mean? I don't understand."

Wu Meiniang pondered for a moment upon hearing this and replied.

"I only found out about it when the palace eunuchs were talking about it occasionally. It seems that His Majesty once gave Gao Yang a secret order to secretly train an army at the Zongshan Imperial Mausoleum."

"Although the official leader of this army is Si Zi, the actual training and command are all under Gao Yang's control!"

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