Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 335 He's already trying to change his fate. [Seeking monthly votes]

"Hahaha! This is so much fun! I never imagined this model ship could actually sail on water! You're amazing, big brother!"

"Isn't that amazing? In the future, our Zhinu will be able to travel the world on ships like this!"

"Like Columbus? I want to marry the Queen of Spain too!"

"Hehehe, good, from now on all the queens are yours."

Hearing the two brothers' nonsensical conversation, Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun exchanged a glance and couldn't help but show a helpless expression.

Although he didn't really want Li Zhi to leave the Tang Dynasty in the future, the promises Li Chengqian made to him were just too tempting.

As a result, he had to compromise with Li Chengqian and agree that Li Zhi would go to the west to govern in the future.

Moreover, judging from Li Zhi's current state, he seems to have a strong yearning for the West, and it is unknown whether he will change his mind in the future.

Who can say for sure what will happen in the future? After all, Li Zhi is only three years old now.

However, despite the agreement between Li Shimin and Li Chengqian, given Li Shimin's love for Empress Zhangsun, it was absolutely impossible for him to keep it a secret from her.

But after he composed himself, he asked, "Guanyinbi, what do you think of Chengqian's proposal?"

"Hasn't His Majesty already made his decision?"

Empress Zhangsun calmly asked a question, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Li Shimin frankly replied, "It's just an agreement! If you don't agree, I will never let Zhinu leave."

"Your Majesty's intentions are clear to me. But I have heard a folk saying: 'A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl, and a grown son cannot be kept at home.'"

Empress Zhangsun smiled faintly: "Rather than having my children stay by my side, I would prefer them to grow up on their own, even if they are at opposite ends of the earth. As long as the family is harmonious and peaceful, I will be content."

"But."

Li Shimin opened his mouth, but hesitated to speak.

He knew that Empress Zhangsun had always been a woman of great wisdom and righteousness, but he disliked how she treated Li Chengqian differently from her other children.

It is clear that Empress Zhangsun loved Li Chengqian more than her other children, just as she liked Li Tai far more than her other princes.

But Li Shimin's personality was such that he could do this, but you couldn't do the same as him, especially since he still had various prejudices and contradictions against Li Chengqian.

Empress Zhangsun seemed to have seen through Li Shimin's thoughts and said, "Your Majesty, do you still remember the hypothetical scenario I told you?"

"Are you referring to the hypothesis that Chengqian was lame?"

Li Shimin frowned and asked, "Could there be a sequel?"

Yes, there's more!

What was the follow-up?

Empress Zhangsun glanced at Li Shimin and said in a calm tone, "A cripple, his mother died, he was forced into rebellion by his father and brother, and in the end, he was deposed as crown prince."

"This, how is this possible?!"

Li Shimin was shocked and looked at Li Chengqian with a look of astonishment.

Empress Zhangsun did not finish her sentence.

She then added calmly, "Whether this hypothesis is true or false, he is trying his best to change his destiny."

"Whether he is a reincarnated immortal or an evil spirit, he has never denied that he is my son. So what can I, as his mother, do?"

"This"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was speechless and didn't know how to respond.

Meanwhile, the brothers Li Chengqian and Li Zhi were having a great time playing by the pool.

It was as if they had suddenly returned to the time in the Qin Prince's Mansion, and even Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun were somewhat dazed.

How did a perfectly good family end up like that?

On the other side, on an unnamed hillside outside Chang'an.

A man and two women were quietly watching a carriage drive away into the sunset.

They only looked away with puzzled expressions after the carriage disappeared from their sight.

"It seems we overestimated this King of Wei!"

A middle-aged woman said in a depressed tone.

The old Taoist priest beside him chuckled and said, "Five years ago, I had the honor of seeing the face of this Prince Wei once at the Qi Prince's mansion. His first half of life was incredibly noble, but his second half was a complete waste. Now, looking at his face again, there is an added variable. Do you know what this means?"

"what?"

The middle-aged woman asked instinctively.

The old Taoist priest stroked his beard and said with a sigh, "It means that everyone's fate is changing, including yours, mine, and the fate of us guards."

"Why is that? Could it be because of that Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty?"

"Maybe, maybe not, I can't say for sure!"

"This"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman fell into deep thought.

During this period, they had secretly plotted against Li Chengqian more than once, but each time he had thwarted their attempts at the most crucial moment. This led them to a deep question: what exactly was Li Chengqian's background?

If it is an evil spirit, how should we deal with it?

If not, why is it so strange?

In fact, what Li Chengqian said in front of everyone today was meant for them.

It was obvious that Li Chengqian already knew that the scroll Li Tai had produced was the work of their own men, which was why he said he wanted to take them in.

They had long regarded Li Chengqian as their mortal enemy.

But then the young-looking woman suddenly spoke up: "Master, you can't defeat His Highness the Crown Prince, so don't waste your time."

"It's been a few months, and you've really caught up in how quickly you've turned your back on us!"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman's face immediately turned cold. She then turned to the younger-looking woman and asked in a deep voice, "Yang Nannan, tell your teacher, what are the consequences of betraying the Guardian?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Nannan did not answer her, but instead explained to her, "Master, the things that have happened recently have caused me some indescribable difficulties, and it is not as you know it."

"Alright, there are no outsiders here, so please tell your master in detail what happened!"

Yang Nannan knew that her master had a close relationship with this old Taoist priest and did not treat him as an outsider. She said, "Master, that time when Wu Bing and I went on a mission with the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, according to the original plan, we were supposed to cripple the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty at the Double Ninth Festival banquet. However, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty was far more mysterious than we imagined. He not only ruined the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families' plan, but also wiped out the entire clan of the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families. Even my Gu worms had no effect on him."

"And Wu Bing disappeared after I was captured. Does Master know where he is?"

"You don't need to ask about Wu Bing's affairs. Now, I'm asking you, I heard you died? How did you come back to life? And your Gu techniques seem to have improved since then. What's going on?"

The middle-aged woman naturally knew what had happened at the Double Ninth Festival banquet that night, but compared to that, she was more concerned about her disciple's resurrection.

But then Yang Nannan sighed and said, "To be honest, Master, after I was seriously injured by them, I was on the verge of death. Fortunately, Master Yuan gave me a life-saving pill, which saved my life and allowed me to see the Crown Prince of Tang."

"When he first met the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, he wanted Nannan to betray the guard and reveal the plan of the Five Clans and Seven Nobles, but Nannan refused to comply even at the cost of her life, and he did not succeed. Later, when the effect of the life-extending elixir wore off, Nannan thought she was going to die, but she miraculously came back to life."

"Oh? How did you survive? Did the Crown Prince of Tang save you?" the middle-aged woman asked impatiently.

The old Taoist priest standing nearby couldn't help but prick up his ears.

Yang Nannan nodded solemnly and said, "Yes, it was the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty who saved me!"

"What!?"

The middle-aged woman and the old Taoist priest were greatly surprised upon hearing this.

They never imagined that someone in the world possessed the ability to bring the dead back to life.

But then Yang Nannan continued, "Master, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty is an extremely capable person. Currently, he still has a mother-child Gu worm inside him. Mine is already dead, but you have one left. If you save him, he will repay you tenfold or a hundredfold."

"absurd!"

Before Yang Nannan could finish speaking, the middle-aged woman interrupted her with a cold snort, saying disdainfully, "Why should I save him? He is my Shouzhulang's enemy! If he hadn't wiped out the entire clans of the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Families, my Shouzhulang wouldn't have lost such a vast network of connections!"

Yang Nannan lowered her head and argued, "But if you continue to oppose him, you will not have a good ending. Look at Prince Wei, Li Tai, who was deeply favored by Li Shimin, but wasn't he still driven out of Chang'an by him?"

"Ah!"

The middle-aged woman sneered, "Li Tai is just a pawn in our game. The real show is yet to come! Once we capture the Crown Prince of Tang, we won't have to worry about his secrets falling into our hands!" "So, Master is determined to be an enemy of His Highness the Crown Prince?" Yang Nannan slowly raised her head and looked directly at the middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman, her face contorted with anger, said, "We don't need you to teach us how to do things! You're coming back with me now, and I'm going to give you a thorough examination to see if that Crown Prince of Tang has tampered with your body!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he seemed to remember something and looked at the old Taoist priest beside him: "Is there something wrong with my disciple's appearance?"

“The five elements have shifted, and the mind and appearance are not aligned, almost identical to that of the Tang Dynasty Crown Prince. There’s a big problem!” The old Taoist stroked his beard, glanced at Yang Nannan, and said thoughtfully.

The middle-aged woman was overjoyed: "Great! This is so easy! Let's go, let's go back and study it right away!"

After saying this, the two planned to take Yang Nannan to their residence.

But Yang Nannan's next words stunned them completely.

But then Yang Nannan suddenly said, "You don't actually think that I came to see you just to see you, do you?"

"What, you dare to defy your master?" The middle-aged woman sneered, then snapped her fingers.

A two-headed centipede, about three inches long, crawled out of her sleeve and made a barely perceptible sound.

Immediately afterwards, Yang Nannan felt a shiver run through her body, and an indescribable itch spread all over her body. Before she knew it, her collar, arms, and face were covered with strange red rashes that gave people goosebumps.

"Ah! Master...you..."

"What, have you forgotten? From the day you entered this sect, you have been my Gu. Now I'm just trying to make you more alert and clever, so that I don't completely turn you into Gu people."

After saying this, she reached out and let the two-headed centipede crawl towards Yang Nannan's neck, preparing to control her and lead the two of them away.

However, the moment she reached out, Yang Nannan, who was originally unbearably itchy and felt like she was about to collapse, suddenly took out a small porcelain bottle from her sleeve, and then, with lightning speed, pried open the bottle stopper and sprinkled the powder inside onto the two-headed centipede monster.

The originally ferocious two-headed centipede monster instantly turned into a puddle of pus upon encountering the powder.

Upon seeing this, the middle-aged woman's expression changed drastically.

She never expected that Yang Nannan would dare to lay a hand on her.

The old Taoist priest beside him also subconsciously took a few steps back, looking at Yang Nannan with surprise.

It seemed as if they wanted to see through her completely.

After doing all this, Yang Nannan calmly and indifferently looked at the middle-aged woman and said, "Master, your mind-controlling Gu is no longer effective against me. The Miao Gu technique that His Highness the Crown Prince passed on to me is far superior to yours!"

After saying this, she immediately took out a signal flare and quickly pulled off the fuse in front of the middle-aged woman and the old Taoist priest.

"Oh!"

There was a roar.

A plume of red smoke shot into the twilight sky and exploded in mid-air in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, shouts of battle suddenly came from all around.

"You! How dare you betray your master!"

The middle-aged woman was so angry that she trembled all over, and her voice changed.

But Yang Nannan remained calm and said, "Master, I have already betrayed the Guardian, so I am not afraid to betray you as my master!"

"Damn it! You traitor!"

The middle-aged woman pointed at Yang Nannan, but couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

The old Taoist priest standing to the side sighed helplessly, "So be it, so be it, it's all our fate!"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman was taken aback: "Uncle Xiang, what do you mean by that?"

But then the old Taoist priest said slowly, "I foresaw that we would face this calamity, but I never expected it to happen to your disciple."

"Do you think we can't handle them with our abilities?" the middle-aged woman said dismissively.

The old Taoist priest glanced at Yang Nannan with a strange expression, then shook his head and said, "It's not that we can't deal with them, but that person has also come!"

"that person?"

"Kanwei!"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman immediately looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged man with an air of otherworldly wisdom smiling at them from a spot not far away.

"Yuan Tiangang!"

The middle-aged woman recognized the middle-aged man at a glance, and her expression changed drastically.

But then Yang Nannan said, "Master, I can let you go, but I have one condition that you must agree to."

"What are the conditions?" the middle-aged woman asked instinctively.

"This disciple requests that you personally destroy that mother-child Gu worm!"

The middle-aged woman was taken aback by Yang Nannan's loyalty to Li Chengqian and became enraged, saying, "Don't even think about it! I'll make him suffer terribly and turn you all into Gu people!"

Although Yuan Tiangang's appearance made her feel a great crisis, with her and the old Taoist's strength, it wasn't impossible for them to escape.

But the old Taoist priest's ideas seemed to be quite different from hers.

But then the old Taoist priest said helplessly, "You should still agree to her request. Don't forget why we came here!"

"This"

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman fell silent.

Before they arrived, they reported to the garrison commander the results of Li Chengqian's "analysis of appearance and bone structure," which were beyond their ability to resolve and required the garrison commander's general to handle.

In other words, they had no need to fight Li Chengqian's men to the death, especially with the mysterious Yuan Tiangang present.

However, this was the first time she had been threatened by her apprentice, which made her feel quite aggrieved.

But Yang Nannan continued, "Master, keeping that Gu worm by your side will only bring you disaster. If you destroy it, I will be able to explain to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman couldn't help but look at the old Taoist priest again.

The old Taoist priest nodded slightly and made a decision instantly. Without saying a word, he reached into his robes, pulled out a small jade bottle, and crushed it to pieces in front of Yang Nannan.

As the jade bottle shattered, a dark shadow darted out from within it.

Immediately afterwards, she swiftly grasped the shadowy figure in her hand.

Streams of dark green liquid oozed from between her fingers, and then she slowly opened her palm, revealing a Gu worm that was dead beyond any doubt.

Upon seeing the Gu worm, Yang Nannan breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to the middle-aged woman, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, Master!"

"Hmph! Our master-disciple relationship has come to an end. May you have good fortune from now on!" After saying this, the middle-aged woman turned and left.

The old Taoist priest gave Yuan Tiangang a strange look, then left with the middle-aged woman.

When Pei Xingjian led his men to the nameless hillside, only Yang Nannan remained motionless, watching the direction the middle-aged woman and the old Taoist priest had left in.

Where are they?

Pei Xingjian asked, panting.

"gone!"

Yang Nannan glanced back at her, tears welling in her eyes, and said, "They're all gone."

"They're gone?! How could you let them go?!"

Pei Xingjian said somewhat angrily, "Didn't you say you were going to help His Highness the Crown Prince get rid of that Mother-Child Gu?!"

"The mother-child Gu poison has been neutralized."

"Huh?! How could this be?"

Pei Xingjian stared at Yang Nannan with a look of astonishment, speechless for a moment.

But Yang Nannan ignored him and looked towards the Kan position, which was now empty, as if no one had ever been there. She waved her hand and said, "Let's go back. We still have to deal with the Shouzhulang's revenge. I feel that my master and the others must have a bigger conspiracy in mind, otherwise they would never have compromised so easily."

"This"

Pei Xingjian hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, "Should we report this to His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"If you don't want to die, then don't report it!"

Yang Nannan rolled her eyes at Pei Xingjian, then without saying a word, she strode down the hillside on her own.

The group of Imperial Guards exchanged bewildered glances, wondering how their leader had been outmaneuvered by the second-in-command!
(End of this chapter)