Princess Nanping's Residence.
Although Princess Nanping was not Li Shimin's eldest daughter, as his third daughter, she was still greatly favored by her father. Even when her first husband, Wang Jingzhi, was convicted and exiled, she was not implicated. Instead, she remarried Liu Xuanyi and continued to live her pampered princess life in the capital.
But human greed knows no bounds. Princess Nanping not only failed to appreciate the emperor's kindness, but also tried to profit from the national crisis.
At this moment, she was reviewing the account books of recent days, accompanied by her housekeeper Liu Zhong.
"In just a few days, we've made as much as we used to make in half a year!"
"Isn't it all thanks to the princess's strategic planning that our princess's residence is raking in money every day?"
Princess Nanping chuckled upon hearing this, her face beaming with pride.
"Everyone says that Si Zi has the abilities of Tao Zhu Gong, but little do they know that without Li Jue, that wild girl is nothing!"
"Relatively speaking, I'm the one who earns money through my own real skills!"
"If I hadn't heard about the epidemic in Xianyang and bought so many herbs in advance, where would we be to make this incredible fortune now? Hehehe!"
"Your Highness is wise!"
Just as the two were exchanging pleasantries, a servant rushed over.
"Princess, something terrible has happened!"
"What's the matter that you're so panicked?"
"Princess... the shop assistant from the East Market came back and said... our pharmacy manager has been slashed!"
"What?"
Princess Nanping was startled at first, then burst into a tirade of curses.
"Who dares to be so audacious as to kill even one of my people!"
"But that bastard Li Jue?"
"No, no, no... It's said that His Highness Prince Wei killed him..."
"What?"
"How could it be him?"
Princess Nanping dared to disregard Li Jue, but she always feared Li Tai, who was born of the principal wife.
Because Li Tai's status and the favor he received far surpassed his own.
"What King Wei? That's all ancient history. He's the King of Pu now!"
"This Li Tai has gone too far! He actually dared to kill one of my people! I'm going to confront him right now!"
Princess Nanping immediately led a group of servants and stormed into the East Market.
However, as soon as they reached the entrance of the East Market, they smelled a strong stench of blood. After taking a few more steps inside, they found the stone pavement of the East Market sticky and uncomfortable under their feet.
One of the servants looked down and immediately fainted from fright.
"Blood!"
Upon hearing this, Princess Nanping looked down in alarm and saw that there was blood flowing everywhere under her feet.
"ah!"
Princess Nanping slipped and fell into a pool of blood. Before she could get up, she saw Li Tai, his eyes bloodshot, walking towards her with a broken, chipped sword.
"Fourth Brother, please don't kill me, I...I beg you..."
When Li Tai heard the word "Fourth Brother," his eyes regained some clarity.
"Nanping!"
"Yes, yes, yes, I am indeed Nanping!"
Do you know your crime?
"My...my sister doesn't know..."
"You have allowed your servants to hoard goods and drive up prices, making a fortune off the national crisis. Your crime deserves death!"
"ah?"
"Fourth Brother, spare me! I'm just earning a little money for cosmetics; I never knew this violated the law!"
Upon hearing this, Li Tai looked down at Nanping and then smiled mockingly.
"have no idea?"
"I really don't know!"
"Since you don't know, I'll spare your life for now."
"I've slaughtered all your disobedient servants, and your pharmacy is now confiscated. It will be returned to you once the plague is over!"
"ah?"
"Fourth Brother, this is my business..."
Seeing that she was so tactless, Li Tai immediately picked up the broken knife and waved it in front of her.
"Think it through before you speak!"
Although Princess Nanping was usually arrogant and domineering, she had never seen such a bloody scene before. Seeing Li Tai's broken knife approaching, she was completely terrified.
"I am willing to offer the pharmacy to the imperial court!"
Li Tai snorted coldly upon hearing this.
"You're quite sensible!"
"Go back now. If you dare to challenge the authority of the imperial court again, don't blame your brother for being ruthless!"
"promise!"
Princess Nanping felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She scrambled out of the East Market, boarded her carriage, and sped off.
Only after returning to her own residence did she burst into tears.
"Li Tai, you bastard, all you do is bully me, a motherless child, waaaaah..."
While Princess Nanping was indignant, Li Yuan's daughters and sons were also dealt with by Li Tai.
Before this, he left the world with the impression of a gentle, learned, and talented scholar.
However, this time is different. If we don't use drastic measures, we won't be able to scare these royal children.
Therefore, he did not hesitate to ruin his image and personally committed murder, which finally stopped this evil trend.
However, when he returned to his residence, his face was very pale. He immediately ordered someone to summon the imperial physician from the palace, who prescribed two doses of calming medicine for him. After taking the medicine, he fell into a deep sleep.
Yan Wan stayed by Li Tai's side and saw that even in his sleep, Li Tai would sometimes frown and sometimes curse. She felt a pang of sadness and grievance in her heart.
"His Highness is such a good person, yet he's been driven to become a murderous monster, sob sob sob..."
Just as Yan Wan was secretly blaming Li Jue, she heard a servant from the mansion announce her arrival.
"Your Highness, His Highness the eldest grandson has arrived!"
"What?"
"Please come in quickly!"
"promise!"
Not long after, Li Jue entered Li Tai's bedroom and saw his fourth uncle lying on the bed talking in his sleep. He couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.
"I'm so sorry, Auntie. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have dragged Uncle into this."
Upon hearing this, Yan Wan wiped away her tears and forced a smile.
"Eldest grandson, don't blame yourself too much. Your fourth uncle is just that kind of person. He takes everything very seriously and has to achieve something."
"But... but your fourth uncle has never killed a chicken since he was a child. He even asks the driver to avoid a frog on the road so as not to run it over."
"This time, for the sake of the imperial court, he actually went so far as to become a murderer and butcher. It's really too much for him, sob sob sob..."
Li Jue felt a pang of sadness upon hearing Yan Wan's complaints.
In fact, he hadn't expected his fourth uncle to go to such lengths. In his eyes, Li Tai had always been a fool; otherwise, how could he have uttered such brainless words as killing his son to pass the throne to his brother, and thus handing over his throne to Li Zhi?
However, today's events showed him a different Li Tai, a Li Tai completely different from the brainless one he knew before.
This Li Tai is decisive, capable, and even a bit ruthless.
Just by looking at him lying in bed, you can tell that his ruthlessness is all an act, and he's silently bearing the consequences.
"Fourth Aunt, I won't say much more. As long as I come to power in the future, I will definitely give my fourth uncle an important position and make him a model of a wise king for the Tang Dynasty and even for future generations!"
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