Li Shimin naturally wouldn't go to see Li Jue, so he saw everything on his trip to Zongshan except for his beloved grandson.
Li Shimin was generally satisfied with the expansion of the imperial mausoleum. He would have been even more satisfied if a certain rebellious grandson hadn't used the mausoleum to amass wealth.
But there are no "what ifs" in this world...
If there were a chance, he would definitely have forgiven Chengqian, or simply not given the King of Wei the opportunity to compete for the throne.
Standing once again in the underground palace, Li Shimin saw that most of the construction was completed, with only the intricate work of embroidering dragons and phoenixes left to be done half-heartedly. A sense of desolation suddenly arose in his heart.
It seems this mausoleum is only missing one owner...
While Li Shimin was feeling lost and dejected, Li Zhi was chatting with Changsun Wuji outside the underground palace.
"Uncle, Father seems a little unhappy..."
Changsun Wuji rolled his eyes upon hearing this.
"When you get to that age, you won't be happy either!"
"oh?"
"Does Your Majesty mean that His Majesty feels his days are numbered?"
Changsun Wuji nodded heavily upon hearing this.
Many times, Changsun Wuji found it difficult to describe his relationship with His Majesty.
They were childhood friends, ministers who helped usher in the prosperous reign of Zhenguan, and also close friends who were brother-in-law and brother-in-law.
Although Changsun Wuji had been secretly doing some things that clearly harmed Li Shimin's interests, he still considered himself loyal to Li Shimin.
He did not want Li Shimin to die, and was even willing to give his own life to save Li Shimin's if necessary.
But this is destined to be just wishful thinking.
Thinking of this, Changsun Wuji couldn't help but pat Li Zhi on the shoulder.
"Spend more time with your father when you have time; he has had a very hard life..."
"Um!"
Li Zhi nodded understandingly upon hearing this.
In fact, Li Zhi has always been a very sensible child.
Of course, if Li Jue hadn't suddenly appeared, he believed he would have been much more sensible.
"Uncle, did Father come to Zongshan this time just to see Li Jue?"
Changsun Wuji snorted coldly upon hearing this.
"Is there even a need to ask that?"
Have you ever seen His Majesty care about anyone so much?
"No……"
"Uncle, what should we do?"
"How do we do it?"
"Of course, kill him!"
"If Li Jue doesn't die, you'll never reach that position!"
Li Zhi was very puzzled upon hearing this.
"Uncle, hasn't Father already distanced himself from Li Jue?"
"estrangement?"
Changsun Wuji sneered upon hearing this.
"Can you calculate how far Zongshan is from Chang'an?"
"If this counts as estrangement, then what about Qianzhou?"
"this……"
Upon hearing this, Li Zhi sighed inwardly.
"well!"
"Does it really have to come to that?"
Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji sneered inwardly.
He knew his nephew very well; his nephew was not a particularly kind person, and he was indifferent to family ties.
"Don't worry about it, your uncle will take care of it for you!"
Li Zhi was delighted to hear this and quickly bowed to Changsun Wuji.
"Thank you, Uncle!"
"Oh, by the way, Uncle, should we bring Cousin Changsun Dan back with us this time?"
Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji felt very dissatisfied with Li Zhi.
Do you even need to ask this?
How could he, as the younger cousin, bear to see his older cousin carrying stones at the construction site of the imperial mausoleum?
Changsun Wuji held back for a long time before swallowing back the words that were about to come out.
"Fine, you figure it out yourself!"
Li Zhi watched his uncle's departing figure, his heart filled with doubt.
What's wrong with my uncle? Why did he suddenly get angry?
Is it because I didn't rescue my cousin?
After months of moving stones, Changsun Dan finally shot himself in the foot.
Although the stones he was carrying weren't very big, it still hurt quite a bit if you were hit by one unexpectedly.
Just as Changsun Dan was clutching his foot and crying, he saw someone—someone he would curse even in his dreams.
"Your Highness?"
Li Zhi finally couldn't overcome his conscience and decided to visit his cousin who had taken the blame for him.
He never expected that in just three months, his cousin would become so thin that he was almost skin and bones.
"Cousin, what happened to you?"
Upon hearing this, Changsun Dan spoke with a mixture of complaint and resentment.
"Try living a life of hunger, sleep deprivation, and having to move hundreds of stones every day..."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhi let out a long sigh.
"well!"
"Cousin, you've worked hard..."
"Cousin, I'll go to Father Emperor right now and ask him to pardon your sins!"
Upon hearing this, Changsun Dan was so angry he felt like his lungs were about to explode, and he glared at Li Zhi with hostility.
"Am I guilty?"
Upon seeing this, Li Zhi immediately understood and quickly changed his words.
"My cousin took the blame for me. I will repay his kindness in this lifetime!"
Hearing this, Changsun Dan felt a little better, and then shrugged at Li Zhi.
"Don't bother, His Majesty will definitely not give you that face."
Li Zhi looked puzzled upon hearing this.
Why?
"My cousin didn't commit a serious crime. Does Your Majesty not even grant me this much face?"
Changsun Dan smiled bitterly upon hearing this.
"You don't understand..."
"Li Jue calls the shots here. He can decide who dies and who lives!"
"Furthermore, since he built the imperial mausoleum so beautifully, His Majesty will certainly not go against his wishes, much less offend his most beloved grandson because of me, an outsider."
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