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

The cries from the inner garden of the Eastern Palace had not yet subsided when steam locomotives outside Chang'an had already been running for three years, whistling their horns. The calendar of the Tang Dynasty turned quickly, and those little ones who were once fussing in their swaddling clothes had become mischievous monkeys running around the yard in the blink of an eye.

Li Chengqian was leaning back in a large huanghuali rocking chair, covered with a soft, long plush blanket. He looked to be in his sixties or seventies, with gray hair and wrinkles around his eyes. This was a "middle-aged and elderly disguise" that he had maintained for decades using system tools. Although he still had the vibrant heart and lungs of a twenty-year-old, his outward appearance was so perfect that even the most astute imperial physicians could not detect any flaws.

"Grandpa, look! These are mineral samples I brought back from the Special Administrative Region of South America!"

A little girl with a ponytail and bright, lively eyes rushed to the rocking chair. She was Li Ke's granddaughter, and although young, she was already a top student in the Department of Geography and Physics at the Tang Academy of Sciences. The Tang imperial family had long since expanded beyond the Guanzhong Plain. Li family members were scattered all over the world; some served as governors in Europe, training those "yellow-haired barbarians"; others managed heavy factories in the Americas, watching the blast furnaces burn day and night.

Li Chengqian squinted and slowly took the ore that shimmered with a deep blue light. A kind smile curved his lips as he gently tapped the little girl's forehead.

"Little girl, this ore contains a high concentration of active isotopes. Aren't you afraid you'll stunt your growth by holding it in your bare hands? Go, let that old guy Mo Ju weld a lead box for you to put it in."

The little girl was stunned, tilted her head, and asked, "Grandpa, what are isotopes?"

Knowing he had misspoke, Li Chengqian coughed lightly, then began to rock the rocking chair in a mysterious and enigmatic manner.

"It's a kind of... microscopic lightning hidden in the stone. The magnitude of the force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. Didn't your teacher teach you this? Go back and look at the book I gave you, 'Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy,' instead of just digging in the dirt all day."

Several great-grandchildren who had been making a ruckus in the courtyard also gathered around. These children had grown up listening to the myth of "His Highness the Crown Prince turning stones into gold," and they revered their imperial grandfather, who spent most of his time resting with his eyes closed, as a deity. The few physical laws or mathematical formulas that Li Chengqian would occasionally casually utter would always keep those white-haired academicians of the Tang Dynasty working up late to deduce them, and finally write them into textbooks.

This lifestyle gave Li Chengqian a sense of peace he had never felt before. In the original history of the Tang Dynasty, gatherings of royal family members usually meant conspiracies, poisonings, or mutinies. But in the era he had rewritten, the pie of power had been made so large that it was more than enough for everyone to have an entire continent.

There was no longer any struggle for succession, no longer any prejudice against嫡庶 (legitimate or illegitimate children). These descendants of the Li family talked about the span of the cross-sea bridge, the airtightness of the deep-sea submarine, or the legendary giant rocket that could fly to the moon.

"Your Highness, look at these children, they are much more lively than we were back then."

Wu Meiniang walked gracefully over. She was now dressed as a woman in her fifties, with a touch of gray at her temples, but her eyes remained as bright as ever. She walked behind the rocking chair and gently massaged Li Chengqian's shoulders. The two smiled at each other, everything understood without words.

This is the epitome of peaceful and serene life. Li Chengqian enjoyed this feigned old age, watching the flags of the Tang Dynasty fly across the globe, seeing his children and grandchildren numerous and talented individuals emerging. This salted fish had finally brought the entire pond to the edge of the stars and the sea.

"Grandpa, Great-Grandpa said he's going to take us to the Wei River to see the experimental fields tomorrow. Are you going?" A chubby-faced little boy asked, tugging at Li Chengqian's sleeve.

"No, no." Li Chengqian waved his hand, looking disgusted. "My old arms and legs can't handle the bumpy ride. Let your great-grandfather go and do it himself. With his energy, he can probably watch over the crops for another five hundred years."

Just as the family was enjoying themselves and the air was filled with the sweet aroma of osmanthus cake, the tightly closed gate of the East Palace was suddenly forced open by a brute force.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! Help!"

An old but powerful voice boomed in the courtyard.

Li Chengqian frowned and opened his eyes to look. He saw Xu Xiao stumbling in. The former commander of the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry was now an old man. Although he had drunk the elixir bestowed by Li Chengqian and was still in relatively good health, he was running so fast that his official hat was askew on the back of his head.

"Old Xu, what are you up to now?" Li Chengqian patted the armrest of the rocking chair and asked irritably, "I'm enjoying my grandchildren's company right now, so keep your voice down, don't scare the kids."

Xu Xiao stopped in front of the rocking chair, holding his knees and panting heavily. His old face was full of a complex expression, like wanting to laugh but not daring to, wanting to cry but wanting to hang himself. He pointed in the direction of Taiji Palace.

"Your Highness, the Emperor... the Emperor has collapsed yet again!"

Li Chengqian's teacup wobbled slightly, and his eyelids twitched.

"What's wrong with the old man now? Didn't he send a telegram the day before yesterday saying he was going to build an artificial lake in the Sahara? He seemed pretty enthusiastic about it."

Xu Xiao swallowed hard, then spread his hands with a look of grief and indignation.

"He's just too driven! His Majesty finished approving all the memorials from all the provinces of the Tang Dynasty, and then complained that the Ministry of Works was too slow. He just threw a tantrum in the Imperial Study and threw all the memorials away! He said... he said he can't live like this anymore. The Tang Dynasty is now as stable as a stagnant pool, and he can't find a way to intensify the competition!"

Xu Xiao leaned closer, lowered his voice, and spoke in a strange tone.

"His Majesty is making a scene about abdicating! He says he wants to retire and come to the Eastern Palace to fight you for the rocking chair! Eunuch Wang is clinging tightly to His Majesty's leg, but His Majesty's stubbornness is unstoppable!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian sprang up from his rocking chair. His carefully constructed persona of being "frail and sickly" nearly crumbled on the spot. He grabbed his cane, his eyes filled with terror.

"Steal the rocking chair? He's dreaming! I've painstakingly trained him into a super hard worker, and now he wants to back out?"

Looking at his children and grandchildren filling the courtyard, and then glancing in the direction of the Taiji Palace, Li Chengqian felt a throbbing headache. The old man's national destiny engine had probably overheated, and now he was trapped in a kind of nihilistic feeling of "not being able to find an opponent."

"Meiniang, quick! Bring me that outfit that makes me look the oldest!"

Li Chengqian was so anxious that he spun around in circles.

"Old Xu, convey my decree to Mo Ju, ordering him to quickly send the draft of that 'Moon Landing Plan' to His Majesty! Tell him there are vast tracts of land on the moon waiting for him to reclaim; it's unregulated there, perfect for him to develop infrastructure!"

"Under no circumstances can we allow him to step into the Eastern Palace! I haven't had enough of my retirement yet!"

Xu Xiao responded and scrambled out again.

Li Chengqian, leaning on his cane, shakily sat back down in the rocking chair, inwardly cursing wildly.

"Old man, you are the strongest pillar of this Tang Dynasty. If you don't go and lift it up, who will? If the moon won't do, then Mars; if Mars won't do, then the solar system! Anyway, this territory is vast. Please, just bear with it for another five hundred years!"

The children in the courtyard looked at each other, clearly not understanding why their usually calm grandfather would suddenly act as if facing a formidable enemy.

Li Chengqian closed his eyes again, and the rocking chair creaked.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?" the little girl asked softly.

"It's nothing. Your great-grandfather is just bored out of his mind. We need to find him some work that takes him to the stars and the sea."

Li Chengqian muttered to himself, already scheming in his mind how to plant the flag of the Great Tang Dynasty in even more distant places.

After all, as long as Li Shimin is still busy, he, the laziest crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, is the happiest salted fish in the world.