Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 109: The Dragon Throne, You Can Sit on It, So Can I
For a moment, you could hear a pin drop in the huge Beijin Garden.

Many members of the royal family were stunned when they heard Li Daozon's announcement.

It’s like estimating your scores and thinking that you’re either the top scorer or the second place, but when the results are announced you find out you’ve shamefully failed.

When facts are extremely inconsistent with expectations, the mind will go blank for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, there was an uproar.

Why is it Li You?
Why Li You?

According to convention, shouldn't the youngest Li Ming be adopted?
Moreover, Li Ming's biological mother is Li Yuanji's original wife. It is very suitable both emotionally and logically!

On the other hand, Li You is already an adult!
How can it be justified to adopt adult children?
When Li Ming first heard this, he thought that Li Daozon was really so brave that he dared to tamper with the imperial edict on the spot.

But when he glanced to the side, he saw Li Shimin sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai.

Then, he thought of Fang Xuanling's surprisingly calm attitude over the past few days, and his mother Yang was even more calm, not even coming to Lizheng Hall to visit him.

This reminds me of what Li Shimin said just now: "Don't believe what people say outside."

He then realized that it was not Li Daozon Redneck who was possessed.

The person Li Shimin wanted to send from the very beginning was not him, but Li You!
Indeed, Li Ming's biological mother, Yang, had a dark history.

But Li You’s biological mother, Concubine Yin De, was not a good person either.

Specifically, it was Yin Defei's father, Yin Shishi, who was not a good person.

That guy killed Li Shimin's brother Li Zhiyun and dug up the Li family's ancestral tomb.

In the end, he was brought to justice by Li Yuan.

Well, when Li Yuanji was killed, his title was King of Qi, and Li You’s title was also King of Qi.

King Qi and King Qi, a perfect match.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Ming quickly glanced around him.

Li Chengqian's expression was obviously distorted, but only for a moment.

He quickly regained his composure, and even after feeling Li Ming's gaze, he had enough time to smile with relief and nod to him.

He performed the scene of "Fortunately, we are still brothers" vividly.

Obviously, after several confrontations, Li Chengqian fully recognized his younger brother's ability and did not hope to achieve success in one battle.

So my mentality is still relatively stable.

In comparison, Li Tai's expression is wonderful.

There is a mixture of relief that "luckily the hammer is not broken", but also embarrassment that "this hammer is surprisingly difficult to use, and if I don't use it properly I might hurt myself accidentally."

All in all, it's a mixed bag.

Li Zhi, the youngest of the three and closest to Li Ming, is the complete opposite of Li Tai and is also different from Li Chengqian.

Li Zhi's expression did not fluctuate at all, and he remained in the posture of waiting for the imperial edict.

Obviously unreasonable.

Even passers-by who have nothing to do with the news would be tempted to find out something about this unexpected and explosive news.

How could Li Zhi be completely indifferent?

This can only mean that Li Zhi was trying too hard to conceal his expression.

Not nearly as natural as his brother.

But what kind of emotions did this little Li Zhi have that he needed to hide from me?

"It seems that this scheming little fellow is also quite wary of me and hopes that I will be sent out..."

Li Ming suddenly realized.

Tsk tsk, they are all werewolves.

After all, they are the legitimate sons of the emperor, and none of them are easy to deal with.

Compared to the three of them, the other bastards are really nothing but rotten fish and shrimps...

"quiet!"

Li Daozon maintained order at the scene seriously.

Everyone was stunned and looked at Li Daozon who was full of confidence.

Then he looked behind him and saw Li Shimin standing as still as a mountain.

Only then did everyone understand.

This is the true will of the saints—

Keep Li Ming and drive Li You away!
How could this be? How could this be?
From deep within the crowd, there were women's shrill screams.

It’s Concubine Yin De.

She fainted.

The imperial physician rushed over immediately and pinched her Ren Zhong acupoint and sprayed water on her.

After a flurry of activity, Concubine Yin finally woke up.

The first thing I did when I opened my eyes was to burst into tears.

She cried so heart-wrenchingly, as if the sky was falling.

The autumn hunting turned into a farce. Li Shimin was overwhelmed but couldn't bear to scold them.

"What's up with her?"

"Your Majesty, Concubine De's pulse is fine, but she is a little uneasy." The imperial physician reported.

She was crying like a tearful person. This is called "somewhat uneasy"... Li Shimin was too lazy to care and waved his hand:

"Help her go back and rest."

Concubine Yin De was carried away by the palace maids.

Yang looked at her sympathetically and couldn't help smacking her lips with regret:
"Tsk tsk, how could a normal person suddenly go crazy?"

Concubine Wei looked at Yang and suddenly felt a chill on her scalp.

For the first time, she realized that this silent "sister" was actually very scary...

"I don't accept it!"

After Yin Fei was carried away, another wave of commotion arose among the crowd.

The fifth brother, Li You, who was adopted out, rushed to the platform regardless of his brothers' attempts to stop him, and knelt on the ground with a thud:
"Your Majesty, I refuse to accept this!"

His eyes were wide open, somewhat ferocious, somewhat angry, and mixed with confusion and helplessness. His well-developed chewing muscles bulged, and he could hardly suppress the emotions in his heart.

He was like an angry ruffian who could be ignited at any time like dry firewood; he was also like a silly child abandoned by his parents, exuding helplessness and stupidity.

But he doesn't look like a prince.

"No disrespect in front of the palace!" Li Daozon shouted harshly.

Li You glared at the emperor's uncle fiercely and continued to yell with his neck stiff:
"I don't accept it!"

"Oh? What's wrong with you?"

Li Shimin walked to the front of the stage with his hands behind his back, looking down at his fifth son, his emotions quite stable.

He had completely expected Li You to have such a reaction.

"This..." Li You thought quickly and gave a reason:
"My son is already strong and brave. If I adopt him to another family, I'm afraid there is no precedent and it is not in accordance with etiquette, right?"

"Then you are the precedent, and I established this etiquette." Li Shimin replied domineeringly.

The Minister of Rites said that he had no objection and that whatever Your Majesty said was in line with Tang etiquette.

"what?"

Li You had no more excuses, he was almost going crazy.

He is a simple-minded person and his brain gets hot-headed when something happens and he can't think calmly.

Li Shimin looked at this useless son with both anger and amusement, and said with a half-smile:

"What? Your mother is crying, and you are kneeling before me. Do you both want to disobey my order?
"Just like you stayed in the capital for a long time on the pretext of illness and didn't go to Qi to be a vassal?"

"I... am not..." Li You was speechless for a moment.

This old account was brought up again, leaving him speechless.

Li Shimin waved his hand:

"Go down."

When the guards held his arms, Li Youcai seemed to wake up from a dream, struggling and shouting:

"Father, how can this son of mine be inferior to that naughty boy Li Ming?"

His shout expressed the thoughts of all the concubine princes and their biological mothers present:

Why, Your Majesty, is it so determined to protect Li Ming even at the cost of violating ancestral rules and etiquette?

Why keep that extremely unstable and dangerous person in the palace?
Li Shimin's eyes suddenly became sharp, and his tone was low:
"Are you forcing me to make a choice?"

When Li You was swept by his father's gaze, he suddenly felt cold all over, and even his blood seemed to solidify.

Alas, unfilial son... Li Shimin sighed in disappointment, his eyes softened, and said:
"He never asks stupid questions, and that's what makes him so much better than you."

He said this to all the bastards who did not know their own limitations.

The whole place was silent, and no one dared to say anything more.

…………

After announcing the "little thing" of adoption, it was time for today's main course, autumn hunting.

The guards tied branches soaked in tiger urine to the tails of their horses and ran along the forbidden garden, driving the birds and animals in the garden towards the central area.

The hunt begins.

However, due to well-known reasons, none of the participants were in high spirits.

Because even if an ordinary prince conquered the entire Forbidden Garden alone, he would not be able to compete with Li Ming for favor.

The legitimate prince who can compete with Li Ming does not need to make his presence felt through hunting.

This results in autumn hunting being like traveling around the mountains and rivers after failing the imperial examination, which is tasteless and a pity to throw away.

"Oh my god, the armor is so heavy..."

Little Li Ming put on the breastplate made according to his size, and with the help of the palace maid, he finally got on the pony.

Step up from the left and fall down from the right.

Yang, who had been calm and composed just now, could no longer sit still.

She hurriedly said goodbye to her sisters and ran to him in a hurry.

I saw little Li Ming lying on the ground with his arms and legs spread out, shouting:
"Oh, I fell down. I need the maid to hold me up."

This naive look made the palace maids laugh, and they wanted to laugh but didn't dare to.

Yang's face turned dark, she gave Xiaose a slap on the face and then hugged him in her arms.

My waist almost broke.

"Why are you so heavy?!" Yang was shocked.

"It's armor..." Li Ming was like a fallen turtle, unable to get up.

At this moment, a strong hand grabbed Li Ming's collar skillfully and pulled him up like pulling a carrot.

"Grandpa! You finally came to save us mother and son~"

Li Ming shouted loudly without any hesitation, completely ignoring the envious and jealous looks around him.

Facing this little kid with a face as thick as a city wall, Li Shimin found that he couldn't get angry no matter what, so he could only pretend to be angry:
"My Li family has been a family of heroes for generations, how come a little coward like you who can't even ride a horse is born?"

Li Ming said faintly:
"Your Majesty, you can conquer the world on horseback, but you can't rule it."

"You..." Li Shimin was choked.

Wow, this little thing even masters Wei Zheng’s core technology.

Yang looked at the father and son, who were enemies, and just smiled with her hands covering her mouth.

"You kid are giving me advice? Should I give you a few rolls of silk cloth as a reward?"

Li Shimin gently kicked Li Ming's butt:

"Get on the horse and go hunting with me, your father!"

"No." Li Ming flatly refused.

Even Yang couldn't stand watching him like this, so she grabbed his ears and said:

"Ming'er, how can you spoil your father's fun?"

“Ouch, ouch, ouch, it hurts!”

Li Ming bared his teeth, but still insisted on his opinion:
"Hunting is too dangerous. We don't have to worry about having meat to eat, so why put ourselves in danger?"

His fear was not without reason.

Since hunting is called half a military exercise, it is naturally a high-risk sport.

There are many celebrities who have had accidents or almost had accidents while hunting.

Even Li Shimin himself was almost shot through by Li Yuanji while hunting.

Li Ming didn't show it on his face, but he knew clearly in his heart that Li Shimin's favor had brought him a lot of hatred.

Although the brothers may not really dare to do anything to him.

But safety comes first, so there is no need for him to take the risk and leave his life to the reason and conscience of his brothers.

"Are you really not going?" Li Shimin looked grim.

"No." Li Ming said no to the emperor bluntly.

Li Shimin's face changed, and he finally compromised:

"If you don't want to go, then don't go. I won't go either."

As he spoke, in the surprised eyes of others, Li Shimin personally took off Li Ming's armor and held him in his arms.

"Aren't you going to play?" Li Ming was also a little surprised.

Li Shimin snorted:
“You are going to Liaodong soon.

"Remember what I said at the beginning? It's a long journey, and we will have fewer opportunities to meet in the future."

Li Ming thought of his father who died young in his previous life, and his eyes dimmed.

After a while, he returned to his heartless self:
"Don't worry, I've already thought of this.

"That's why I don't want to be a king, just so I can go home and see you more often."

Li Shimin smiled:
"I knew that you, the 'Jiedushi', had bad intentions."

As he spoke, in the extremely shocked gazes of everyone - including Yang herself - Li Shimin picked up Li Ming.

Sitting together on the dragon throne——

It was not a formal dragon couch, but a chair prepared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the convenience of His Majesty's travel.

But if you really want to be picky, this chair is not something that everyone can sit on.

Your Majesty has transgressed the rules of propriety for Li Ming, even surpassing Li Tai, Prince of Wei.

Even Yang, who was usually calm in the face of adversity, nervously grabbed her clothes.

Only the Minister of Rites Li Daozon said that everything Your Majesty said and did was in accordance with Tang etiquette.

For some reason, he felt like he had won the bet.

Even the bet was placed by the emperor on his behalf.

On the day he was appointed as "Lu Wangfu"...

"You're still not light even without your armor."

Li Shimin asked Li Ming to sit half on the dragon chair and asked with a half-smile:
"How is it, is this seat comfortable?"

"It's uncomfortable. I can only sit on half of my butt."

Li Ming's casual words were meant to help the nine tribes cool down.

"Hahaha!"

Li Shimin was amused by this idiot:
"Just bear with the discomfort and enjoy watching your brothers hunting on horseback!"

…………

The royal brothers said, what the hell is this hunting?

As soon as they got on their horses, they saw that the little scoundrel Li Ming was playing tricks again.

Then he saw that his father had stopped hunting in order to accompany this little scoundrel.

Not only did he not hunt, he also held the boy and sat...

Where is Nima sitting?

Dragon throne???

This time it's not just the bastard prince who is in charge.

Even the three legitimate princes felt a huge sense of crisis at this time.

The mood for hunting was gone.

Just at this moment, the drums of war sounded.

The autumn hunt has begun.

Even though they were extremely reluctant, the princes had no choice but to follow the activities arranged, ride their horses to chase prey, and force themselves to "entertain themselves".

They are not like Li Ming, who can act like a spoiled child in front of his father.

If anyone dares to disobey my father's arrangements, I won't mind giving them a lesson, the kind that they will never forget.

However, among the group of half-hearted actors, there were indeed a few who were immersed in the joy of hunting.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian was one of them.

Riding on his horse, he forgot his disabled legs and the unpleasantness of fighting for the throne.

I feel like an eagle on the grassland, free and unfettered, no longer worried about my status...

Suddenly, there was a sound of breaking air behind me.

Li Chengqian instinctively lay down.

A sharp arrow flew across his flank and hit a hare running in the grass.

"Li You? You...!"

Li Chengqian's eyes were red with anger.

But in Li You's eyes, there was no prince brother at all.

He looked gloomy and his eyes were bloodshot.

All I could see was prey.

The only thing on my mind is killing!
His mouth opened and closed rapidly, as if he was muttering something.

You don't treat me as your son, right? You just spoil that little piece of shit, right?

Okay, Dad, you can do it!
"That guy is crazy..."

Li Chengqian rationally felt that he should stay away from Li You's active volcano.

But just as he was about to back down, the bushes behind him rustled.

Li You's ears moved, and he suddenly turned around, bent his bow and drew his arrow!
“This is bad…!”

The fellow who was obsessed with hunting suddenly realized that the prince was in the path of his arrow.

But it was too late, his fingers had already loosened and the arrow had already shot out!

"Li You, you..."

Li Chengqian had no time to get angry and tugged on the reins nimbly.

Fortunately, he was an excellent rider and managed to steer his horse so well that it barely avoided the fatal arrow.

However, the arrow grazed the horse's ear.

"Hi~!"

The beast was frightened and first rose up with its own strength, then carried Li Chengqian and ran wildly into the depths of the forest!
…………

"Drive, drive!"

After an unknown amount of time, Li Chengqian's mount finally calmed down.

"Huh..." He let out a long breath.

Several times, he was nearly thrown off his horse.

If you were thrown off by an out-of-control horse, you would be half-dead if not dead...

Li Chengqian survived the disaster and lay exhausted on the horse's back, stroking the horse's mane, letting the horse carry him and strolling aimlessly.

After walking for a while, he vaguely heard the sound of chanting.

Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha…

Li Chengqian suddenly came to his senses and sat up.

Although it is noon now, the Forbidden Garden is filled with lush trees and dim light, creating a rather eerie atmosphere.

His breathing suddenly became rapid and goose bumps appeared on his back.

At this moment, the view suddenly became clear.

The horse carried him out of the dense forest and came to an ancient courtyard.

"A Buddhist temple? In the forbidden garden?"

Li Chengqian was puzzled. He sniffed the faint scent of incense in the air and looked up.

On the plaque of the Buddhist temple, there are three golden characters written:

Ganye Temple.

(End of this chapter)