Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

The tube that shimmered with a purple glow was emptied by Li Shimin.

The moment the medicine entered my throat, it wasn't sweet or bitter as I had imagined. Instead, it felt like a torrent of molten lava roaring down my esophagus.

Li Shimin originally wanted to smack his lips to savor the taste of this "elixir".

But the next second, his eyes rolled upwards and his whole body convulsed violently as if he had been electrocuted.

A surge of violent vitality exploded within him, like a nuclear bomb that had been pent up for millions of years finding an outlet in his narrow blood vessels.

"Ugh—!"

Li Shimin let out a suppressed growl, gripping the imperial desk tightly with both hands.

The hard, iron-like corner of the mahogany table was crushed into powder like tofu under his finger strength.

He felt his limbs and bones were being reassembled, every muscle and nerve was being torn apart wildly, and then healed at an incredible speed.

"Crackling and popping!"

A series of loud popping sounds emanated from his body, like a giant pot of beans being fried.

That's the bones shifting, the hidden wounds that have accumulated over many years being forcibly removed.

His back, which had been somewhat hunched from years of reviewing memorials and riding horses in battle, was now straightened inch by inch.

This upright posture carries a sharp edge, like a treasured sword that has been dusted for many years and has been polished clean of its rust.

Li Chengqian stood three steps away, calmly holding the empty test tube in his hand.

He watched helplessly as his father underwent a dramatic transformation.

The crow's feet around Li Shimin's eyes seemed to have been smoothed out by an invisible hand, and his skin became firm and elastic.

The most striking feature was his mottled white hair.

The paleness receded from the roots of her hair, replaced by a deep, inky black that spread rapidly down to the ends.

In just a few dozen breaths, the dignified yet weary old emperor in the Taiji Palace disappeared.

Instead, there was a young man in his prime, so heroic that he made people tremble.

"Whoosh—ha!"

Li Shimin suddenly exhaled a breath of turbid air, and the force of the breath actually formed a white column of smoke in the air, which shot out three feet away before slowly dissipating.

He stretched his neck, the sound of his joints rubbing together was deep and powerful.

The sheer power he felt, as if he could tear tigers and leopards apart with his bare hands, made his blood boil.

"This...this is what it feels like to be young again?"

Li Shimin looked down at his hands. The age spots on them had disappeared without a trace, the thick calluses on the tiger's mouth were still there, but his skin was full of explosive power.

He was somewhat incredulous and instinctively threw a punch at a decorative marble pillar next to him.

"boom!"

A muffled sonic boom echoed through the closed imperial study.

The solid marble pillar shattered instantly, cracking into a spiderweb pattern where the fist landed.

Fine stone chips fell in a flurry, landing on the wide sleeves of Li Shimin's dragon robe.

"I...I have truly returned to being twenty years old!"

Li Shimin touched his smooth, satin-like face, his features sharp and defined, and was so delighted he almost jumped for joy.

He feels amazing now; his back doesn't ache, his legs don't hurt, and even his vision is a thousand times clearer than before.

This illusion, as if he could kill an elephant with a single punch, plunged him into a state of frenzied excitement.

"Chengqian! This medicine...this medicine is simply miraculous!"

Li Shimin suddenly turned to look at his son, his eyes shining like two searchlights, which startled Li Chengqian so much that he shrank back.

"Old man, calm down, is this a demolition project?"

Li Chengqian pointed to the poor pillar and grimaced with heartache.

"This pillar costs several thousand taels of silver. If you punch it, this year's budget will be overspent again."

"Sure, I'll surpass it! I have plenty of strength now; I can earn another hundred mountains of gold for the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Shimin clenched his fist with boundless pride, his confidence in returning to his peak exuding a terrifying sense of oppression.

However, the tremendous noise and the rumble of the stone pillars shattering had already reached outside the Imperial Study.

"Your Majesty! What has happened?"

"Assassins! Quick, protect the emperor!"

Outside the palace, the ministers who had been waiting to discuss the "overseas labor program" were now in an uproar.

Because of Li Chengqian's earlier order to "go into seclusion," they didn't dare to come in, but now this sound is clearly the sound of demolishing a house!

Before Wang De could react, Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling had already resolutely burst through the door.

"Your Majesty, do not panic! Your humble servant is here!"

As he shouted, Changsun Wuji tried his best to rush forward with his short legs.

Although Fang Xuanling was a civil official, he was now carrying a heavy inkstone, ready to fight the assassin.

But when they rushed into the main hall and saw the scene before them, they froze on the spot.

In the center of the main hall, a marble pillar was teetering on the verge of collapse.

Beside the pillar stood a young man with jet-black hair, sword-like eyebrows, and bright eyes.

The young man was wearing a dragon robe that was somewhat tight due to his rapidly growing physique, and the muscles on his chest made the dragon pattern on it almost fly out.

This overwhelming sense of male hormones made Changsun Wuji rub his eyes.

"This... young hero, who are you?"

Changsun Wuji was completely dumbfounded. He looked at the burly man in front of him, and then at Li Chengqian, who was standing calmly beside him.

"Where is His Majesty? Where is our His Majesty? Where have you hidden him?"

Fang Xuanling slammed the inkstone in his hand onto his foot with a loud thud, causing his mouth to twitch in pain, but he didn't dare to cry out.

He stared intently at the young man's face; the features, the eyes—they were exactly the same as when he was at the Prince of Qin's residence more than a decade ago.

No, he's even more heroic and domineering than back then.

"Fuji, Xuanling, who do you think I resemble?"

Seeing the horrified expressions on his old comrades' faces, Li Shimin felt incredibly pleased.

He deliberately lowered his voice, a mischievous smile on his face, and raised an eyebrow at Changsun Wuji.

Changsun Wuji shuddered. Who else could this expression and tone be but his cunning brother-in-law?

"You...you are really His Majesty?"

Changsun Wuji stepped forward, trembling, wanting to touch Li Shimin's shiny black hair.

Li Shimin glared at him, and Changsun Wuji was so frightened that he quickly withdrew his hand.

"This hair...this complexion...Your Majesty, have you ascended to immortality?"

Fang Xuanling also came over, circled Li Shimin three times, and marveled at him.

"Incredible, utterly incredible. I just thought Your Majesty looked a little tired, but in the blink of an eye, Your Majesty has... regained your youth?"

Li Shimin laughed heartily, then casually put his arm around Fang Xuanling's shoulder, the force almost breaking the old prime minister's bones.

"Xuanling, I feel that I wouldn't be able to close my eyes for another three days if I could review all the memorials I receive!"

Fang Xuanling looked at Li Chengqian with a look of horror, his eyes clearly saying: Your Highness, what kind of madness drug did you give His Majesty?

Li Chengqian helplessly shrugged and said something that was sure to shock people.

"Don't underestimate me, this is a longevity elixir refined by Yuan Tiangang. I didn't expect the old man to absorb it so well."

"But Prime Minister, you don't need to worry. His Majesty is now full of energy and vigor. From now on, you can go directly to him for any trivial matters of the Tang Dynasty. You won't need to go to the Eastern Palace anymore."

Li Shimin was in a state of high excitement and immediately nodded upon hearing this.

"That's right! I have plenty of energy right now! What about that overseas worker program, Tang Jian? Bring him in! I want to reconcile the accounts with him myself!"

Changsun Wuji wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, thinking to himself, "This is bad."

Originally, they thought they could live a carefree life with the Crown Prince, but the old emperor has returned to his twenties. It seems that the Tang Dynasty is about to enter "rage mode" again.

"Your Majesty, is there any more of this elixir of immortality?"

Changsun Wuji stared at Li Shimin's tense face, a hint of longing in his eyes.

Li Shimin snorted coldly, like a lion guarding its food.

"What are you thinking? Master Yuan exhausted his entire life's effort to refine this tube. Fu Ji, if you want to stay young, go work on construction sites and carry bricks; it'll keep you healthy."

Changsun Wuji shrank back and muttered under his breath, "What a cheapskate!"

At this moment, Wei Zheng, who was outside the hall, finally squeezed in.

He stared at the "Li Shimin" with his thick black hair for a full three seconds, then took a deep breath.

"Your Majesty! Even if you regain your youth, I must still impeach you for the expenses incurred in expanding the bathhouse!"

Li Shimin's lips twitched. This old man Wei was still the same as always.

However, he was in a very good mood and simply patted Wei Zheng on the shoulder.

"Minister Wei, we can discuss the impeachment later. Come, accompany me to the horse farm for a couple of laps!"

Before Wei Zheng could react, Li Shimin grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him out of the imperial study.

Li Chengqian looked at the empty hall and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Your Highness, is there really no other way to treat this medicine?" Xu Xiao asked, leaning closer.

Li Chengqian smiled slyly and pointed outside.

"A backup plan? The old man's stamina is enough for him to keep going for decades to come. As long as he doesn't retire, my life will be stable, won't it?"

"What if he really does become immortal in the future?"

"Then I'll retire and let him take care of his great-grandson."

Just as Li Chengqian was about to sneak back to the East Palace, Wang De came running over again.

"Your Highness! His Majesty said that since he is now young, the matter of the imperial concubine selection..."

"Get him out!"