Chapter 492 The Dust Settles
As dawn broke, the Taiji Hall, with its doors tightly shut, was shrouded in darkness. Li Yuan sat quietly on the high platform, his face hidden in the shadows, his expression unreadable.
"Bang—" The palace gate was smashed open, and Yuchi Jingde, wearing blood-stained black armor, with a scarlet cloak trailing on the ground and dark red blood dripping from the tip of his spear, stepped straight into the palace.
"Your Majesty! Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and Prince Qi Li Yuanji have plotted a rebellion. Prince Qin has already led his troops to quell the rebellion and has specially ordered me to protect you!"
Yuchi Jingde had already knelt on one knee, the sound of his armor rubbing together was as sharp as tearing silk, and he loudly reported to Li Yuan.
The hall was deathly silent, like a graveyard. Li Yuan stared at the bloodstains seeping from the gaps in the other man's armor, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.
The wind chimes on the eaves suddenly rang, and Li Yuan, snapping out of his daze, gripped the armrest of the dragon throne tightly, his knuckles turning white: "You're saying... the Crown Prince is plotting a rebellion?"
"Exactly!" Yuchi Gong suddenly looked up, his face still covered in blood, but his eyes burning with intense fire. "The rebels have been executed, and the Prince of Qin has taken control of Xuanwu Gate. I implore Your Majesty to issue an edict to establish the Prince of Qin as the Crown Prince!"
He slammed his spear into the ground, cracking the blue bricks. The guards outside the hall tried to rush forward, but were forced back by the crossbow bolts from the secret guards behind Yuchi Gong.
Li Yuan gazed at the fluttering banners outside the palace and suddenly felt the morning wind was biting.
The still-wet vermilion imperial edict on the desk was distorted and deformed in the reflection of the blood. In a daze, he saw the smoke rising from the direction of Xuanwu Gate, engulfing the nine-layered palace.
Could that be where Jiancheng and Yuanji are buried?
...
The tip of the wolf-hair brush hangs on the bright yellow imperial edict, and the ink droplets forming beads are slowly sliding down the last stroke of the two characters "Crown Prince".
Li Yuan stared at the ink spreading on the paper, his knuckles turning white from gripping it so tightly that he couldn't tell whether it was ink stains or bloodstains splattered on Xuanwu Gate.
"Squeak—" The carved lattice door was knocked open by a strong gust of wind, and a chilling air, along with the sound of clashing armor, rushed in.
Li Yuan looked up and saw Li Shimin standing at the palace gate, covered in gunpowder smoke. The blood on his black armor shone dark purple in the morning light, and he was leading a five or six-year-old child behind him.
"Chengqian?" The vermilion seal on the imperial edict was pressed into wrinkles by Li Yuan's fingertips. His gaze swept over his grandson's tender face and landed on the still unwiped sword at Li Shimin's waist. "Second son, are you crazy? How old is Chengqian?"
“Grandpa, Father didn’t bring me. I came here myself.” Li Chengqian raised his head, and before he finished speaking, a snow-white figure appeared behind him. The white tiger raised its head and let out a low growl, “You know I have this ability.”
At the same time, a phantom of a fiery phoenix suddenly rose behind Li Shimin, along with a tiger. Li Yuan smiled self-deprecatingly and slumped back on the dragon throne.
“Yes, Chengqian, you were born extraordinary, and Erlang is also blessed by heaven…” Li Yuan gripped the dragon throne tightly, a metallic taste rising in his throat: “But Chengqian, those are your eldest uncle and fourth uncle…”
Unwilling to look at his two sons' faces, Li Yuan closed his eyes and said resentfully, "Second son, you've won. Isn't the next step after brothers killing each other, father and son killing each other?"
Li Shimin's knuckles made a soft cracking sound as he gripped the sword hilt. "I never imagined it would come to this."
He gazed at his father's graying temples, recalling how his father had held his hand and said, "I will surely make you the crown prince," when the uprising began in Jinyang. His eyes reddened. "It is you, Father, who have repeatedly broken your promises, and it is Li Jiancheng who has repeatedly provoked me. Father, I have no regrets."
The ink on the imperial edict finally dried, and two lines of tears slid down Li Yuan's face. His back was hunched, and he looked much older in an instant.
"It was my fault, I regret it..."
He shouldn't have been so indecisive, always thinking he could keep fooling people, but in the end, it cost his two sons their lives.
Losing all strength in an instant, Li Yuan waved his hand, "The edict appointing you as crown prince has been issued. Take it and go."
Li Chengqian and Li Shimin exchanged a glance. Li Chengqian stepped forward, covered Li Yuan's hand, and asked bluntly, "Father, if you could do it all over again, would you still make your eldest uncle the crown prince?"
Li Yuan opened his eyes and looked at his beloved grandson, his eyes filled with grief: "Chengqian, why do you have to tear my heart out again? Aren't the deaths of your eldest uncle and fourth uncle enough?"
"Who said my eldest uncle and fourth uncle are dead?"
"Huh?" Li Yuan suddenly sat up straight, staring wide-eyed at Li Chengqian, then at Li Shimin in disbelief, his voice trembling as he asked, "You didn't kill your eldest brother and fourth brother?"
Li Shimin looked at him with disappointment: "Father, in your heart, is this the kind of person I am?"
"I didn't, I..." Li Yuan was very flustered. Seeing Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji being restrained and pressed down on him, he felt even more guilty towards his second son.
Li Shimin accepted this guilt without hesitation, which was more conducive to his ascension to the throne, wasn't it?
Although he did want to kill the two men, Chengqian stopped him.
Let's turn back time to the ambush at Xuanwu Gate.
A sharp arrow was aimed straight at Li Jiancheng's face. At the critical moment, a huge white tiger appeared and slapped the arrow away with its paw.
It wouldn't be accurate to say it protected Li Jiancheng, because while swatting the arrow, it also kicked Li Jiancheng to the ground with its hind legs, while Li Yuanji was being swatted away by its tail.
In just a few seconds, the shouts of battle from both sides fell silent in bewilderment. Only a large cat sat listlessly on the ground, with Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji pinned beneath it.
"..." Li Shimin walked over from behind, looking at Baihu with a puzzled expression, "Chengqian?"
The white tiger patted the ground with its tail, ignoring him.
Then a clear phoenix cry rang out, and a fire phoenix appeared before everyone's eyes, slowly landing on its back. A familiar little figure jumped off its back.
“Father.”
Upon hearing Chengqian's call, Li Shimin realized that he was not dreaming and that his son had really come.
"No," Li Shimin looked at Huo Feng with a questioning expression.
The phoenix chirped, which others couldn't understand, but to Li Shimin it sounded like a rogue: "Second Phoenix, you can't even refuse Chengqian, let alone me."
"Chengqian, you..."
Li Shimin looked at his son who had walked up to him, momentarily at a loss for words. He couldn't very well ask why he hadn't been allowed to kill Li Jiancheng, could he?
Although it's true, he didn't want to do it in front of his son.
“Father,” Li Chengqian tugged at his sleeve, “Chengqian doesn’t want Father to bear a bad reputation.”
Li Shimin's eyes reddened with emotion. "Chengqian, your father doesn't care."
“But Chengqian cares,” Li Chengqian said, then suddenly changed the subject, “Father, do you know why a playboy can become a playboy?”
"?" Li Shimin looked around, puzzled. Was this the right occasion to ask this? Was Chengqian being a little too ambitious? Thinking this, he still shook his head cooperatively.
"Because spoiled brats have the means to do nothing productive, if they don't do anything, then of course someone has to do the work."
As Li Chengqian spoke, he walked to the White Tiger's side and beckoned the Fire Phoenix to come over as well. "Father, you are blessed by the heavens and have made outstanding contributions, so you are already the most legitimate ruler. Under such circumstances, when dealing with capable opponents, rather than bearing the infamy and giving them a quick death, wouldn't it be more appropriate to make use of them and let them serve as your slaves?"
Li Shimin was somewhat tempted, but Li Yuanji retorted angrily, "Who would want to work for you? Li Shimin, if you have the guts, then kill me!"
Li Chengqian stepped aside in disgust, "Fourth Uncle, don't flatter yourself. You won't even get to be a beast of burden. You're not good enough for that."
"I can't?" Li Yuanji shouted. "What do you mean I can't? If you're so capable, make me get up!"
"Is this some kind of survival tactic you're using?"
Li Chengqian sighed softly, while Li Yuanji was so angry that his face turned pale and then red, as if he was about to explode.
Li Jiancheng, on the other hand, was much calmer. "The victor is king, the loser is villain. Li Shimin, I concede defeat."
He lacks all the advantages of timing, location, and popular support; how can he possibly fight back? And what about his father, the Emperor? Does he really not know that Li Shimin will take action against him?
"Li Shimin, I can submit, but there's one thing I'm not willing to accept: does Father Emperor really regret making me Crown Prince?"
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