Chapter 293 Li Mu's Side Story: The World as a Chess Piece (Part Two)
From the moment this idea took hold, Li Mu began, intentionally or unintentionally, to live out his ordinary life.
He went from being a genius who amazed the Grand Tutor to a mediocre talent who was no better than average. Anyone who mentioned him would think he was utterly ordinary.
“My brother is mediocre; he never seems to grasp the essentials of reading or writing.” Li Mu smiled wryly and handed Li Yao a sweet osmanthus cake that he had hidden in his bosom. “Here, I secretly brought this out.”
Li Yao looked at the sweet osmanthus cake in his hand and grinned, "In Yao'er's eyes, brother is the best!"
Li Yao, who was not even allowed to like sweets at a young age, often hid in the garden of the Imperial College and ate the sweet cakes that Li Mu had brought out.
Only at times like these did he feel a slight relief from the suffocating imperial city.
In contrast to Li Mu's growing mediocrity, Li Yao gradually showed his talent, and the scheming ability inherited from the Li family was gradually revealed in him.
The second prince, Li Yao, gradually became a renowned prodigy at the Imperial Academy.
Correspondingly, he would no longer be scolded, and wherever he went, he would hear people praising him. But he never heard a single word of praise from Consort Shu.
He was puzzled, and he realized with almost despair that no matter what he did, his mother would not be happy.
My mother always had an excuse, thinking things could be better.
"With such results, you're already arrogant and complacent, feeling satisfied?"
"Such excellence, yet you're not even a crown prince, just wasting your days eating and waiting to die. If you can't even come back with first place, then you're utterly worthless!"
Whenever this happened, he would go alone to the lotus pond in the Imperial Garden, sit there and stifle his sobs so that no one would notice that he was crying.
And Li Mu would always "coincidentally" pass by, and "just right" bring a little candy.
He simply stayed quietly beside Li Yao, gazing at the blooming red lotuses in the lotus pond before them, his brow furrowed, saying nothing.
He knew he had no standing and could not comfort his brother who was trapped in the siege.
Even though he had tried his best to conceal his brilliance and blend into the crowd as an ordinary person who could not be picked out.
However, they were unable to rescue Li Yao from Consort Shu, who was enjoying control and greedily craving even greater power.
Whenever Li Yao suppressed his tears, he felt just as lost and helpless, gazing at the clear sky, utterly at a loss.
If it weren't for this series of "coincidences," it wouldn't have caught the attention of the Prince of Pingyang, who controlled all his henchmen.
“Li Mu is no simple man.” He sat in the study, holding a cup of warm tea, looking at the reflection on the water, and pondered for a moment. “Your Majesty should give him a word of advice when you have time. If he doesn’t have ambitions for the world and can’t be ruthless, he may lose his life because of it.”
He paused for a moment: "Have we seen enough examples already?"
At the time, Li Yi thought that Li Mu, who was over thirteen years old, was too young and it was normal for him not to understand.
So he adopted a wait-and-see attitude: "If he doesn't move, someone else will." He said, "You only know the pain after you've suffered a loss."
At that time, Li Yi, who loathed Consort Shu, naturally overlooked the importance of his mother, Consort Li Yao, in his heart.
He didn't know what kind of person Xu Weiyou's legitimate daughter was, and he had no interest in her whatsoever.
Having never been to the Forbidden City, he naturally had no idea how Consort Shu had taught Li Yao.
He just felt that Li Mu was so close to him and had such a good relationship, so he figured that there wouldn't be any major problems with Consort Shu's education.
That winter, a heavy snow fell in the imperial city, covering the spacious square of the Taiji Hall with a thick layer of snow.
Taking advantage of the New Year's Eve palace banquet, with all the empresses in the main hall putting on a show, Li Mu quietly crept up behind Li Yao and said, "Yao'er, let's go out and play in the snow!"
Perhaps seeing that everyone was engrossed in singing and dancing and had no time to pay attention to the two of them, Li Yao, who had never happily played in the snow, made up an excuse and slipped out through the most inconspicuous door in the main hall.
The snow was falling heavily, and the entire Taiji Hall Square was shrouded in tranquility.
The two children had never been so happy, stomping one snow hole after another in the snow.
Li Mu made a snowball and unexpectedly hit Li Yao with it.
Li Yao, however, focused intently on building a small snow mound out of snow.
Looking at this rough "masterpiece," the two children burst into laughter.
"Wait a minute, I'll go get some firecrackers!" Li Mu, lifting his already soaked clothes, asked a palace servant for a string of small firecrackers.
Accompanied by the undulating music and dance sounds in the Taiji Hall, this small string of firecrackers crackled and popped.
Looking at the flickering firelight, Li Yao made a wish: "May the world be at peace and forever tranquil."
In this way, he can cherish these precious moments and remain his younger brother forever, always having such a warm and caring older brother.
Unexpectedly, Li Mu, who was standing to the side, said gently, "May all your wishes come true."
Li Mu, who was already thirteen years old at the time, had long foreseen the inescapable fate that he and his brothers were destined to face.
I have long foreseen the day when we will clash with swords.
I already knew that it was a future where it was either you or me who would die.
He gazed at the bustling Taiji Hall, his face etched with sorrow, a mixture of helplessness and deep despair: "I'm sorry, Yao'er."
"If I could have been born a few years later..." He lowered his eyes, looking at Li Yao's surprised face, and smiled so sadly, "If only that were the case."
After that day, news that Li Yao was playing in the snow with Li Mu in the Taiji Hall Square reached Consort Shu's ears.
She was furious and wanted to give Li Yao fifteen lashes.
Upon hearing the news, Li Mu rushed over. Seeing Li Yao, who was crying silently and lying there unable to move, a surge of anger rose to his brow. He angrily rebuked Consort Shu: "Consort Shu, you are truly heartless! How could you be so cruel to your own flesh and blood!"
Provoked, Consort Shu flew into a rage, pointing at him fiercely and saying, "Fine, fine, the Crown Prince is incompetent and wants to drag my son down with him. Now that I'm disciplining my son, the Crown Prince is getting involved too. You're meddling way too much!"
"Guards! Drag the Crown Prince away!"
"Let's see who dares!" Li Mu's eyes flashed with daggers as he stared intently at Consort Shu.
This gaze made Consort Shu, who had been contradicted by a child, lose control even more. Overwhelmed by her rage, she snatched the wooden board that was as tall as a person, completely disregarding her status and position. In the Zijing Palace, ignoring Crown Prince Li Mu who was still protecting Li Yao, she forcibly added the remaining eight strokes of the cane.
Two children were seriously injured while playing in the snow one night, suffering from persistent high fevers and hanging by a thread.
Li Yi was furious and wanted to demote Consort Shu to Tiande Temple to become a nun and guard the imperial tombs.
Only then did Consort Shu begin to feel fear. She abandoned the seriously injured Li Yao, knelt outside Yun Ning Palace, and begged for mercy with tears streaming down her face.
When Consort Xiao discovered that Li Yao had been abandoned in the Zijing Palace and was only being cared for by an old nanny, she quickly ordered someone to bring him back to the Yunning Palace.
Li Mu, who was older, recovered much faster. As soon as he could move around a little, he would sit by Li Yao's bedside every day, serving him tea and water and feeding him medicine.
Li Yi and Consort Xiao witnessed this affection, and it troubled them deeply.
There were calls to change the crown prince, but Li Yi suppressed them, citing the lack of precedent.
"What will become of us if things continue like this?" Consort Xiao frowned, looking worriedly into the room.
But then Li Mu put down the medicine in his hand, closed the door, walked up to Li Yi, and bowed, saying, "Father, your son has something to say."
Look at that mediocre prince, who has no special talent.
Look at Li Mu, so gentle and refined, who puts brotherly affection before the fate of the nation.
Looking at that person's gentle, chrysanthemum-like face, always smiling...
Li Yi never dreamed that this seemingly ordinary son would tell him, that very night, an incredibly grand plan that would begin with his own death.
"If we succeed, it will be a prosperous era for the Great Wei Dynasty, bringing blessings to all people," he said. "If we fail, we will still have Li Jin, who is skilled in both literature and martial arts."
He laughed, defiant of death: "We are born as pawns of the world, and we should use our limited lives to create the most brilliant fireworks, providing the greatest value to the country and the people."
"Whether it's life or death..." Li Mu shook his head, "It doesn't matter."
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