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

The Imperial Garden, which should have been a tranquil place of vibrant colors and fragrant flowers, had now become a scene of devastation.

Thick smoke billowed straight into the sky.

The once refreshing floral fragrance has vanished, replaced by an intense, pungent cumin aroma, mixed with the smoky scent of mutton fat dripping onto the charcoal fire, dominating every inch of the air.

"Sizzle—"

Li Chengqian held a large handful of iron skewers, flipping them across the specially made long grill with fluid, graceful movements, just like a master chef who had been immersed in the barbecue industry for decades.

Oil dripped down, and flames rose from the charcoal fire, licking the meat skewers and making an enticing sound.

"Big brother! Are you done yet? I've been drooling for ages!"

Li Tai squatted to the side, holding an empty plate in his hands, staring longingly at the sizzling, oily meat skewers. His small eyes, squeezed into slits by fat, gleamed with a hungry wolf-like green light.

"What's the rush? You can't rush things, and you certainly can't enjoy the best lamb skewers."

Li Chengqian grabbed a handful of chili powder and sprinkled it on the surface as if it were free. "This is called infusing it with soul! Do you understand?"

"I understand! Big brother is absolutely right!"

Li Tai nodded frantically. He would do anything to get meat, even call Li Chengqian "father".

"Here, take it and use it to build!"

Li Chengqian generously gave half of it to his younger brother.

The two brothers didn't care about etiquette and simply sat on the ground, leaning against the "Wei Zi" peony tree that Li Shimin loved most and which was said to be worth a thousand gold pieces, and feasted.

Nearby, several eunuchs and maids responsible for serving him huddled in a corner, trembling with fear.

Looking at those two living ancestors with their mouths dripping with oil, and then at the precious flowers and plants next to them that were losing leaves from the smoke, they felt like dying.

This is His Majesty's most precious possession, which he would take a look at even if he had to skip reviewing two memorials!

It was actually used as a tree to block the wind by the Crown Prince?

"Come on, Qingque, let's have a drink!"

Li Chengqian took out a glass bottle of "fruit wine" (actually a low-alcohol sparkling wine) from the ice box he carried with him, bit the cap open with his teeth, and handed it to Li Tai.

"This is also SK-II?" Li Tai's eyes lit up.

"Pretty much, it makes you burp after drinking it, it's really refreshing."

The two brothers clinked bottles together and took a big gulp.

"belch--!"

Li Tai let out a long, earth-shattering burp, feeling a surge of cool air rush from his stomach to his head, making his whole body tremble with pleasure. "Delicious! Brother, this is heavenly!"

"That's right, following the big brother, we'd go hungry for three days and then go hungry nine times... Pshaw, we'd eat and drink well every meal."

After a satisfying meal, Li Chengqian felt a bit bored.

"Bluebird, just eating isn't fun, let's play a game."

"What game?"

Truth or Dare.

Li Chengqian explained the rules with a mischievous grin, "The loser either answers a truthful question or does a designated task. Dare to try?"

"Tch, what wouldn't I dare to do!" Li Tai, now intoxicated, was full of bravado.

After several rounds, the teams had their share of wins and losses.

Another round of rock-paper-scissors, and Li Tai lost.

"I choose truth!" The chubby boy was still a little scared, afraid that his older brother would make him run naked.

Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes, leaned closer, and asked, "Qingque, tell me honestly, did you steal the jade belt that Father Emperor lost last month and use it to exchange for candy?"

Li Tai's chubby face stiffened, and his eyes began to dart around: "No...no! How could it be me! It must have been...a rat that carried it away!"

"Oh? A rat can carry a jade belt to a pawnshop in the West Market?"

"Big brother, how did you know?!" Li Tai exclaimed in surprise, then covered his mouth, his face filled with horror.

"Hehe, how about learning about the Embroidered Uniform Guard?" Li Chengqian smiled like a devil.

"Again! Again! I'm sure I'll win this time!" Li Tai said angrily.

Perhaps even the heavens couldn't bear to watch this, for Li Chengqian actually lost.

"Haha! Big brother, you lost!" Li Tai jumped up excitedly. "I want you to choose Truth or Dare!"

"Alright, tell me, what do you want?" Li Chengqian said nonchalantly.

Li Tai's eyes darted around, and he pointed to the smoking oven not far away: "Big brother, go add more fire to the oven, I want to eat those crispy roasted bread slices!"

"That's it? Child's play."

Li Chengqian stood up and swayed as he walked to the oven.

Just then, an autumn wind suddenly arose.

The originally docile charcoal fire, when blown by the wind, sparks flew everywhere, like fireworks.

"A favorable wind is blowing, sending me soaring to the clouds!"

Inspired, Li Chengqian grabbed a handful of charcoal and threw it in. Not satisfied, he then poured in half a bottle of the remaining cooking oil.

"boom--!"

The flames shot up three feet high in an instant.

But this wind is a bit unruly.

It spun around, carrying a few bright red sparks, and drifted leisurely toward the priceless "Wei Zi" plant beside it.

It was late autumn, and the weather was dry.

There was a thick layer of pine needles under the peony flowers for warmth.

When a spark falls on it, it's like dry wood meeting a raging fire.

"Whoosh!"

The flames instantly leaped up, following the pine needles and directly licking the delicate branches and leaves of the peony.

"Wow! Bro! Fire!"

Li Tai pointed at the peony and clapped his hands excitedly, "Beautiful! So festive with its bright red color!"

The eunuchs nearby were terrified when they saw this.

"Fire! Fire!"

"Quickly, put out the fire! That's His Majesty's peony!"

A group of people frantically searched for the water bucket, and the scene was quite chaotic.

Li Chengqian was also taken aback by this sudden turn of events, but he quickly calmed down.

It burned?

Let it burn.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Seeing the fire growing ever stronger, instead of trying to put it out, his eyes lit up, and he pulled out a bag of soft, white things from his sleeve—cotton candy.

"Don't panic! Don't panic!"

Li Chengqian shouted, stopping the eunuchs who were running around like headless flies.

"Such a good fire, it's such a waste to put it out!"

He skewered the marshmallows onto a stick and held it right next to the burning peony.

"Bluebird, come here quickly! The fire from this precious wood will definitely give your marshmallows a floral aroma!"

The eunuchs were all dumbfounded.

Oh, our ancestors!

Was that burning peonies? No, it was burning our heads!

You actually have the mind to roast marshmallows?!

"Really?"

Upon hearing there was food, Li Tai, the glutton, didn't care about peonies anymore. He ran over excitedly and, just like Li Chengqian, started roasting sugar by the expensive firelight.

The fire grew larger and larger, spreading along the flower bed.

The once vibrant and colorful corner of the Imperial Garden has now been transformed into a sea of ​​fire.

Before the towering flames, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Wei of the Tang Dynasty were squatting on the ground, each holding a string of cotton candy and eating it with relish.

"Brother, this candy is so sweet, and it even stretches!"

"Of course! It's roasted over firewood costing thousands of strings of cash per tree, how could it not be sweet?"

……

Ganlu Temple.

Li Shimin was buried in a mountain of memorials, his brow furrowed.

Although the war in Youzhou has been quelled, there is still a great deal of work to be done in the aftermath; although the powerful families have been suppressed, there is still considerable backlash in various places.

Each and every one of these tasks required his personal involvement as the emperor.

"Sigh, when will this ever end?"

Li Shimin rubbed his sore neck and picked up his teacup, wanting to take a sip to refresh himself.

He had just brought the cup to his lips when he suddenly sniffed.

"Hmm? What's that smell?"

A faint smell of burning wafted in through the cracks in the window.

"Could it be that the imperial kitchen burned the rice?"

Li Shimin put down his teacup with some dissatisfaction, got up, walked to the window, and opened it.

This push was nothing serious.

Thick smoke billowed and flames shot into the sky from the direction of the East Palace, which is the Imperial Garden, turning half the sky red.

The fire looked like something you'd make while cooking.

"This...this is..."

Li Shimin's pupils suddenly contracted, and the teacup in his hand shattered with a "crack".

That is my imperial garden!

Those were rare and exotic flowers and herbs that I collected from Luoyang and Yangzhou at great expense!

"Help! Help!"

Just as Li Shimin was about to call for help to put out the fire, he saw Wang De tumbling in like a rolling gourd.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

Wang De's face was covered in soot, and his voice was hoarse from shouting. He collapsed at Li Shimin's feet with a sob in his voice.

"Something terrible has happened!"

"His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness Prince Wei... they're having a barbecue in the Imperial Garden..."

Li Shimin's vision went black, and his body swayed.

barbecue?

Is my imperial garden for barbecuing?!

"And then what?!" Li Shimin asked through gritted teeth.

Wang De trembled all over, not daring to lift his head, and said in a trembling voice:

"Then...then the wind was so strong that it set that 'Wei Zi' plant on fire..."

"The fire has now spread to the 'Yao Huang' area! Your Highnesses... Your Highnesses and..."

"What happened to them? Are they injured?" Although Li Shimin was angry, he was still his own son, so he subconsciously asked with concern.

"I'm not...I'm not hurt."

Wang De raised his head, his face filled with indescribable emotions, his expression even more unsightly than if he were crying.

"The two princes are eating roasted marshmallows by the fire!"

"And they said...and they said a bigger fire makes it cook faster!"

"boom--!"

Li Shimin felt as if the top of his head was about to fly off in anger.

Does a higher heat make it cook faster?

That's my peony! That's my money!

That's my precious darling!

This isn't roasted marshmallows; it's roasting my heart!

"You unfilial sons! Two unfilial sons!"

Li Shimin roared, turned around and rushed to the wall, pulling down the Emperor's Sword that was hanging there.

"Clang!"

The sword was drawn, its cold light gleaming.

Li Shimin, sword in hand, charged out with murderous intent, his demeanor even more ferocious than during the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

"Prepare the carriage for the Imperial Garden!"

"If I don't give those two bastards a good spanking today, I'm not a Li!"