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

Da'an Palace, Linhu Pavilion.

Although it was summer, this pavilion near Taiye Pond was cooler than other places due to the regulation of water vapor.

With the windows wide open, a gentle breeze carrying the scent of lotus blossoms wafted through the hall, dispelling some of the stuffiness.

However, the hall was still filled with a decadent atmosphere that had lingered for years, a mixture of aged wine and medicine.

Li Yuan was wearing only a thin, old silk shirt, with the collar open, and was sprawled out on a bamboo recliner without any regard for his image.

His cheeks were flushed an unnatural red, his eyes were cloudy, and he was clutching a nearly empty wine jug in his hand. Several plates of almost untouched fruit were scattered on the small table beside him.

Clearly, his solitary drinking at midday had left him quite tipsy.

Li Chengqian's arrival made him try to open his eyes wide, grin, and reveal his not-so-perfect teeth:
"My... beloved grandson has arrived?"

"Come...keep Grandpa company...and...have another pot of wine..."

As they spoke, the smell of alcohol was overwhelming.

"Grandpa, you've had enough to drink today."

Li Chengqian frowned slightly, stepped forward and naturally took the wine pot from his hand, placed it aside, and sat down on the embroidered stool next to him:
"Your grandson will keep you company, let you feel the breeze, and help you sober up."

"Speak? Ha..."

Li Yuan let out a hiccup, his cloudy eyes glancing at the blinding sunlight outside the window, and waved his hand: "No... nothing to say!"

"I...I am just an old man waiting to die..."

Li Chengqian picked up a palm-leaf fan and slowly fanned Li Yuan, speaking in a calm tone:
"It's not a big deal."

"It was during a literary gathering at my grandson's residence a few days ago that some scoundrels sneaked in and put something unclean in the tea and snacks, disturbing several old gentlemen. Even Prince Wei Tai was affected and vomited uncontrollably."

He spoke in a relaxed tone, as if he were telling an amusing anecdote.

Li Yuan's previously unfocused gaze suddenly sharpened for a moment.

He tried to sit up straight, but his body swayed against his will, so he had to lean back again, his voice hoarse and sticky with the effects of alcohol: "Poisoning? In...in your Crown Prince's residence?"

Li Chengqian nodded, his fan still waving steadily: "I never expected that such a thing would happen in the Crown Prince's residence, which is always heavily guarded."

"However, the person has been identified, but he committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and the trail has gone cold."

"My father issued an edict reprimanding me for my lax management of the household and ordering me to reflect on my mistakes behind closed doors."

"In a couple of days, I will ask my grandson to accompany me to Jiucheng Palace to escape the summer heat, saying that... I want to hear my grandson and Qingque explain things clearly."

He emphasized the words "Jiucheng Palace" and "explain clearly" a little more.

Li Yuan's fingers tightened slightly as he gripped the armrest of the recliner, his knuckles turning somewhat white.

He didn't speak immediately, but stared at the dazzling reflection of the water outside the window. The drunkenness on his face seemed to have been somewhat dispelled by the sudden news, replaced by a deep, painful recollection.

A brief silence fell over the Linhu Pavilion, broken only by the gentle breeze from the palm-leaf fan and the faint chirping of cicadas outside the window.

After a long silence, Li Yuan finally spoke, his voice carrying a sense of vicissitude and coldness that seemed to have traversed countless years. Slightly slurred by the alcohol, it only amplified the chilling aura he exuded:
"Poisoning...heh...poisoning again..."

He abruptly turned his head, his eyes, which had witnessed the vicissitudes of life, fixed intently on Li Chengqian. A complex and indescribable emotion surged within them: anger, sorrow, and a chilling coldness.

"Chengqian, do you know... back then at the Prince of Qin's residence, your father... was almost poisoned to death at the victory celebration banquet!"

Li Chengqian paused slightly in the hand that was fanning himself, but his expression remained unchanged: "Grandson... has heard a little about it, but the details are unknown."

"Have you heard a little about it?"

Li Yuan chuckled, his smile filled with bitterness and mockery, the smell of alcohol emanating from his words:

"That was the seventh year of the Wude era! Erlang had just quelled Liu Heita's rebellion and returned to the capital with the glory of a great victory! I held a banquet in the palace to celebrate his triumph!"

His voice suddenly rose, filled with barely suppressed excitement and drunken loss of control:
"Right at that banquet! Someone poisoned his wine!"

"If it weren't for... if it weren't for the young eunuch who was serving at the time calling for the imperial physician in time... your father would have died long ago!"

Li Yuan's chest heaved violently, as if he had returned to that thrilling night.

He suddenly leaned forward, grabbed Li Chengqian's wrist as he was waving his fan with astonishing strength, and growled:

"And the person who poisoned him..." "Afterwards, all the clues pointed...to the then Crown Prince, your uncle, Li Jiancheng! And Prince Qi, Li Yuanji!!"

"They were afraid! Afraid of Erlang's military achievements, afraid of his prestige!"

"They want to use such despicable means to eliminate this biggest threat!"

Li Yuan's voice trembled, filled with endless sorrow and the pain of being betrayed by his closest relatives, mixed with a heavy smell of alcohol: "That was my son!"

"They...they're brothers! How...how did it come to this point where they have to fight to the death?!"

Li Chengqian let Li Yuan hold him, feeling the violent trembling and cold sweat on the old man's hands.

He remained silent and did not speak.

After letting out a low growl as if venting his anger, Li Yuan seemed to have exhausted all his strength. He slumped back into the recliner, letting go of his grip.

He stared blankly at the roof with its painted coffered ceiling, and murmured:
"Later...then the Xuanwu Gate Incident happened...I lost two sons, and I also lost...the throne..."

He turned his head and looked at Li Chengqian, his eyes filled with indescribable complex emotions—a warning, sorrow, and a deep-seated fear.

"Chengqian, do you understand now?"

"Some roads, once embarked upon, offer no turning back."

"Once the seeds of suspicion are sown, they will grow wildly, and eventually... eventually bear bloody fruit..."

"Poisoning...framing...framing brothers...how similar these scenes are! How similar they are!!"

Li Chengqian slowly moved his wrist, which had become numb from being squeezed, and continued to fan himself with the palm-leaf fan at a leisurely pace.

His face appeared unusually calm in the bright light streaming in from the window.

He looked up at his agitated, alcohol-smelling grandfather, his tone calm, even somewhat cold:

"Grandpa Emperor, please say..."

"The matter of poisoning my father back then, is it really... the evidence is conclusive, that it was the Crown Prince and Prince Hailing who did it?"

"Is it possible... that he was just a scapegoat who 'committed suicide out of guilt'?"

"Or...did someone take advantage of the situation at the time and secretly fuel the flames?"

Li Yuan froze, his pupils contracted sharply, and a look of disbelief and horror flashed in his cloudy, drunken eyes as he stared intently at Li Chengqian.

This question, like a cold dagger, precisely pierced the most hidden and unthinkable corner of that bloody past.

Li Chengqian did not wait for his reply. He slowly stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the lotus flowers blooming in Taiye Pond, which were somewhat wilted under the scorching sun. His voice was faint, yet clearly reached Li Yuan's ears:

"I just feel that history is sometimes like a cycle."

"I just don't know what kind of result the person behind the scenes is hoping for."

He turned around, looked at Li Yuan whose expression was shifting between drunkenness and shock, and bowed slightly:

"Grandpa, please rest well and sober up. Your grandson... should go and prepare for our trip to Jiucheng Palace."

"I hope the refreshing breeze from Qishan can truly dispel some of the turbidity in Chang'an."

After saying this, he didn't linger. He gently placed the palm-leaf fan on the table, turned around, and left Linhu Pavilion.

Li Yuan was left alone, slumped in a recliner.

He looked in the direction Li Chengqian had left, then glanced at the empty wine jug beside him, grabbed it suddenly, and smashed it against the doorway with all his might.

"Clang-!"

The wine jug hit the door frame and shattered.

The remaining wine was splashed everywhere, and the strong aroma of the wine exploded instantly, like the shattered past and unvented resentment, filling the entire room.

"A tragedy...it's all a tragedy!!"

The old man's desperate and desolate wails, accompanied by the pungent smell of alcohol, echoed for a long time in the empty lakeside pavilion.

Before long, the sound was drowned out by the even louder chirping of cicadas outside the window. (End of Chapter)