Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 26 Your Majesty, the King of Qin is slandering me!

Li Shimin was indeed impatient.

He had defeated many enemies and gained many victories and honors.

But I have never felt this excited before.

He was just a hair's breadth away from becoming the most powerful person in the Tang Dynasty if he had taken just one more step forward.

From now on, there's no need to live in fear and be overly cautious like before.

Upon arriving at Xianchi Palace, Li Shimin dismounted and, after landing, lifted the pale-faced Wen He from the horse.

"Are you OK?"

He was a little worried. When he saw Wen He land on her feet and suddenly stumble and fall, he quickly reached out to help her up.

"Hehe, thank you."

Wen He swallowed hard, chuckled dryly, and in his heart cursed Li Shimin's ancestors for eighteen generations.

As for?
Everyone says the situation is already settled, yet you're acting like a madman.

You are Li Shimin, the strongest man in the Tang Dynasty. Do you have to be so excited? Do you know that this will make you lose your dignity?

He might have his complaints, but he dared not say them aloud.

Li Shimin, of course, had no idea what he was thinking. After helping him up, he straightened his clothes.

He had already changed out of his armor and was now wearing a sapphire blue brocade robe.

His expression returned to calm, the faint smile on his lips disappeared, and he strode towards the palace steps.

At the very top.

Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, Feng Deyi, Pei Ju, and Yuwen Shi had been waiting for a long time.

As he approached, the old ministers displayed various expressions.

Yuwen Shiji, Chen Shuda, and Xiao Yu breathed a long sigh of relief.

Pei Ji. Feng Deyi and Pei Ju sighed helplessly.

But almost at the same time, they went to greet Li Shimin.

"This old minister pays his respects to Your Highness."

It wasn't specified that it was a prince, not the King of Qin, nor the Crown Prince.

Li Shimin sighed sadly and returned their greetings: "Greetings, esteemed gentlemen."

Wen He, who was following behind Li Shimin, glanced at the old men in front of him. Although he knew who was present today, he couldn't tell who was who.

Fortunately, none of the old men looked at him, so he stayed behind Li Shimin, acting as if he were invisible.

"The old minister dare not."

Pei Ji and the others quickly moved aside.

Although they were meritorious veterans of the Tang Dynasty, having been dukes as early as the Sui Dynasty, as the saying goes, "a new emperor brings a new court," and the new emperor would not be an easy opponent.

What we are doing today is essentially no different from a change of dynasty.

"The Emperor is already waiting in the hall. Please proceed on your own, Your Highness." Pei Ji, dejected, stepped aside to make way for Li Shimin.

The others were the same as him.

They all stayed outside the hall and did not go in, simply because Li Yuan had driven them all out.

As the founding emperor, being betrayed and abandoned by his people must be a terrible feeling.

Wen He sighed inwardly and shook her head.

"Let's go," Li Shimin suddenly turned around and urged him.

"Me, come with you?" Wen He pointed to herself in surprise.

He thought Li Shimin was going to go in first.

Shouldn't the father and son have a heart-to-heart talk first in this situation?

What if I overheard you saying something private? Wouldn't I be doomed?
He also remembered that the Zizhi Tongjian said: "Shimin knelt down and suckled at the breast."

The scene was too beautiful for him to bear.

However, neither the Old Book of Tang nor the New Book of Tang records this, so it is unknown whether Sima Guang made it up himself.

"Otherwise, why would I have brought you here? Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Li Shimin suddenly grabbed Wen He's wrist and, half-pushing him, led him toward the Xianchi Palace.

Pei Ji and the others then noticed his presence and couldn't help but look at the others with curiosity.

Chen Shuda, Xiao Yu, and the others all shook their heads, and then their gazes turned to Yuwen Shiji.

The situation is now clear; everyone knows that Yuwen Shiji is from the Qin King's faction.

That old rascal, he kept it from them for so long!
Noticing their gazes, Yuwen Shiji couldn't help but smile wryly, using his eyes to tell them to calm down.

After watching Li Shimin and Wen He enter the main hall, he finally spoke, saying, "That young man is an extraordinary person. Although I do not know him, the Prince of Qin attaches great importance to him, which seems to be related to today's events."

After he finished speaking, Pei Ji and the others were speechless. What difference did it make whether he said anything or not?

……

Inside Xianchi Hall.

Inside the dimly lit hall, only a few candles flickered.

In the very center sat an old man with disheveled hair and a weary face.

Without a doubt, this person must be Li Yuan.

As it was the first time Wen He had seen him, she couldn't help but curiously examine this pitiful man.

Later generations have offered mixed reviews of Li Yuan.

But one thing is almost universally agreed upon: he was a failed father.

Of course, he wasn't the only one in the Li family. Throughout the history of the Tang Dynasty, there was almost no good father among them.

Li Shimin's Xuanwu Gate succession system had a profound impact.

"My son, I pay my respects to my father."

"Uh, this humble subject greets Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!"

Wen He didn't know what etiquette to follow when meeting the emperor, only remembering that in the Tang Dynasty, one did not need to kneel.

But whether or not to shout "Long live the Emperor!", he really couldn't remember.

The heavy atmosphere was immediately broken by his shout of "Long live the Emperor!"

Neither father nor son had ever seen anything like this before.

When Li Shimin paid his respects, Li Yuan, looking grief-stricken, was about to berate him, but Wen He interrupted him, leaving him momentarily speechless.

Li Shimin also gave Wen He an awkward glare.

Why cause trouble at a time like this!

Wen He looked completely innocent. He hadn't done it on purpose; he was just worried that he might anger Li Yuan and get implicated.

"Get out!"

Li Yuan came to his senses and pointed at Wen He.

"Okay."

Wen He was overjoyed; he had no intention of coming in at all.

The atmosphere here is so oppressive.

But before he could leave, Li Shimin grabbed him.

“Father, he cannot leave. What I did today is also related to him.”

Wen He was stunned. He hadn't expected Li Shimin to pin such a huge blame on him.

Seeing that Li Yuan was about to lose his temper, he hurriedly explained.

"Your Majesty is wise; today's events have nothing to do with me."

"This is His Highness the King of Qin slandering me! He's slandering me! Even without me, he would have done this today, it would just have been a couple of days later."

When Li Yuan stood up, Wen He was surprised to find that he was still holding a horizontal sword in his hand.

"Traitor! Traitor!"

Li Yuan roared as he walked towards them.

Seeing this, Wen He quickly hid behind Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. The Prince of Qin has something to say to you."

"Father!"

Li Shimin suddenly knelt down and burst into loud sobs.

"Your son has no choice. Your son doesn't want to die, but your elder brother and fourth brother want your son to die."

"Father, how cruel you are! Why do you make us brothers kill each other!"

He slammed his head on the ground, and Wen He clearly heard a "bang" from the floor.

Yes, without Li Yuan's efforts to maintain balance by having Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and Li Shimin contend with each other, there would have been no tragedy like today.

However, Wen He felt that it was somewhat biased to place all the blame on Li Yuan.

After all, it was the three brothers who couldn't bear to give up the imperial power.

But Li Shimin's words were like a sharp knife piercing Li Yuan's heart.

He, who was walking towards him, suddenly froze on the spot, and the knife in his hand fell to the ground because he had lost all his strength.

He stumbled and collapsed to the ground, bursting into tears.

"My eldest son, my fourth son, I... I'm so sorry!"

Excuse me, may I shamelessly ask for a few monthly passes?


(End of this chapter)