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

Li Chengqian could recognize the warmth of those hands even with his eyes closed.

The fingertips, warm and gentle, applied pressure with perfect precision. The gentle, light pressure on the taut muscles of the shoulders and neck instantly dispelled any fatigue accumulated from prolonged sitting.

A delicate and elegant peony fragrance wafted through the air.

Li Chengqian hummed comfortably twice, too lazy to even lift his eyelids, and leaned back like a puddle of mud, resting steadily on a soft and fragrant body.

"If the entire court knew that the president of the Great Tang Global Chamber of Commerce, the world's richest woman who controls more than 80% of the world's ocean trade, was out in the middle of the night giving me, a leisurely crown prince, a shoulder massage, they would probably be so shocked that their eyes would fall into Weiming Lake."

Li Chengqian's voice was languid, with a hint of teasing laughter.

Behind her, Wu Zetian wore a deep purple silk loungewear dress, the hem of which flowed like water onto the polished floor.

Hearing Li Chengqian's teasing, she covered her mouth and chuckled, a smile so captivating it could eclipse the stars. The merciless hand of time had completely dulled its edge on her. After consuming the diluted elixir of immortality, time stood still forever in her prime, in her early twenties.

Her skin was as white as snow, and her eyes sparkled. Looking at her gentle and obedient appearance, who could associate her with the ruthless businesswoman who could cause the European stock market to crash with a single word?

"Your Highness is making fun of Meiniang again."

Wu Meiniang's hands never stopped moving. She gently massaged a sore spot next to Li Chengqian's cervical spine with her thumb, her voice so soft it could drip water.

"Those empty titles outside are nothing but empty shells for outsiders to see. What is a female tycoon or a president of a chamber of commerce? In Meiniang's heart, none of them are as reliable as a maidservant who peels grapes for His Highness."

What she said was absolutely true.

In the original historical river of the Tang Dynasty, she should have stepped over the corpses of countless people, climbed step by step to the cold dragon throne of the Taiji Palace, and become an unprecedented and unparalleled domineering empress.

But now, the wheels of history had long been throttled shut by Li Chengqian, speeding towards a dimension even the gods couldn't comprehend. She didn't try to seize that uncomfortable dragon throne, because what she held in her hands was more insane than imperial power.

That's capital.

It is a terrifying financial power that monopolizes the world.

"Stop pretending to be well-behaved with me."

Li Chengqian closed his eyes and patted the back of her hand with the back of his hand.

"Yesterday, the old man was complaining to me on the holographic phone that the Minister of Revenue went to your Chamber of Commerce to borrow a batch of special funds for repairing the Mars probe, but you blocked him for three days. In the end, you forcibly cut off 15% of the exclusive naming rights for the lunar base. The old man was so angry that he smashed cups in the Imperial Study and cursed you as a heartless and ruthless female merchant who eats people without spitting out the bones."

Wu Meiniang chuckled, a sly glint in her eyes.

"Your Highness is wronging Meiniang. Even close brothers keep clear accounts, let alone businesses involving the national treasury. That Mars exploration is a bottomless pit. Meiniang manages the millions of dollars of real money held by the merchants' association. She has to show them some return on their investment, doesn't she?"

She walked around to the side of the wicker chair and gracefully sat down.

Extending two slender, jade-like fingers, she picked up a crystal-clear, chilled Western Region mare's milk from the white jade plate and gently fed it to Li Chengqian's mouth.

"Besides, don't you know His Majesty's temper? He's a workaholic. If I don't put some pressure on him, he could easily siphon hundreds of billions from the accounts tomorrow to repair the solar probe. I have to keep an eye on the purse strings for His Highness. Every country needs an accountant, right?"

Li Chengqian chewed on the cool, sweet grapes and smacked his lips in satisfaction.

"That makes sense. The old man is spending money like water these days; someone needs to keep him in check. But your methods are certainly tough. I heard that last month, some old noble families in England tried to form a shipping monopoly, but you shorted their bonds, almost driving those dukes to line up to jump into the Thames?"

Wu Zetian picked up a clean white silk handkerchief and carefully wiped the juice from her fingertips. Her expression revealed an air of domineering arrogance, yet her tone remained nonchalant.

"They're just a bunch of barbarians who haven't even learned to walk yet but want to run. The rules of the Tang Dynasty are the rules of the world. They think they can strangle the Tang Dynasty in shipping? That's wishful thinking. With just a flick of her finger, Meiniang sold off the original shares of several of their core shipping routes, and their financial chains were shattered. Later, their envoys knelt at the entrance of the headquarters building and cried for half the night before Meiniang barely managed to leave them a meal."

"You, you really know how to be ruthless."

Li Chengqian opened his eyes, looked at the carved ceiling above him, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Well done. Those red-haired, green-eyed guys have a robber's logic in their bones. If you don't beat them hard and make them afraid, they'll always think that the Tang Dynasty's trade network is easy to bully. You have to let them know that in the face of absolute capital and strength, all schemes and tricks are just paper tigers."

Wu Meiniang leaned slightly forward, crossed her arms and rested them on the armrests of Li Chengqian's rattan chair, her chin resting gently on the back of her hands, like a docile Persian cat.

"Compared to His Highness's strategic planning and his ability to use technology to dominate the world, Meiniang's little tricks in the business world are nothing but child's play. If it weren't for those groundbreaking blueprints that His Highness produced back then, even if Meiniang had extraordinary abilities, she wouldn't have been able to amass such a fortune."

This is her truest thought.

To outsiders, she was an unapproachable business tycoon, a financial mogul who held the power of life and death over countless individuals. Western business leaders would book an appointment six months in advance to meet her, and would nervously recite Tang Dynasty etiquette in the reception room. Anyone who received a compliment from the president of the Wu Association at a banquet would see their company's stock skyrocket the next day.

But only she knew that everything she possessed—her eternally youthful appearance and her unparalleled wealth—was a gift from the seemingly lazy man before her.

She was willing to be his sharpest knife, and also gladly served as his most intimate maid.

Li Chengqian reached out and pinched Wu Meiniang's delicate cheek; it still felt so good that he couldn't bear to let it go.

"When I threw those business model proposals at you back then, I never imagined you could expand your operations to this scale. Now, even the wildlife sanctuary on the African savanna is practically becoming the private garden of the Tang Dynasty Royal Chamber of Commerce."

Wu Meiniang gently rubbed her palm against his, her eyes filled with tenderness.

"Your Highness has given me a blueprint, and I will do my utmost to realize it. Not only in Africa, but now I have also had the exploration teams under the Chamber of Commerce secure most of the mining rights for deep-sea combustible ice. Whatever prosperity Your Highness desires, I will present it to you with both hands."

These words were spoken with a resounding tone and an undeniable air of authority, but to Li Chengqian, they were full of heartwarming sentiments.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

No need for empty vows or unnecessary tests and confessions. Decades of trials and tribulations, countless days and nights of tacit cooperation, have long since forged them into inseparable soulmates.

He was the driving force behind Datang Technology's rapid growth.

She was the helmsman of the Tang Dynasty's economic hegemony.

One was responsible for painting a picture of a bright future, while the other was responsible for accumulating real wealth into the Eastern Palace's treasury.

This collaboration was absolutely seamless. Half of the Tang Dynasty's empire was propelled forward by Li Shimin, who used the engine of national destiny to drive it, while the other half was manipulated behind the scenes like a sandbox game.

"That stubborn old mule, Lao Xu, was still nagging me outside." Li Chengqian shifted to a more comfortable position and crossed his legs.

"What did Commander Xu say this time?"

"He said his grandson has become a general and is going to guard the Sirius defense zone. I find it absurd. Back then, we were still worried about how to deal with the Turkic cavalry, and now, that kid Xu Feng is going to fight aliens in the sky." Li Chengqian shook his head, his tone filled with emotion.

Wu Meiniang chuckled, "Isn't this all thanks to Your Highness's excellent teaching? If it weren't for those advanced technologies you developed back then, the Xu family would probably still be practicing swordsmanship in the loess soil of Guanzhong."

"Come on, I don't have time to teach people. They all did it on their own merits." Li Chengqian picked up his sparkling water and took a big gulp.

Night was falling.

The commotion outside the East Palace gradually subsided, but the celebratory whistles from the distant square could still be heard. The aftershocks of the Tang Dynasty's moon landing were enough to keep these people entertained for a whole month.

Li Chengqian frowned slightly as he listened to the faint, indistinct noises.

"These guys, still not asleep in the middle of the night, the noise pollution in Chang'an is getting worse and worse."

He sat up straight, rubbed his shoulders which had become sore from the massage, and let out a long breath.

The pinnacle of physics in the Tang Dynasty had been reached, and the old man had been lured into a journey to the stars. He didn't want to concern himself with these trivial matters on Earth for even a minute longer.

The most important task now is to carry out the word "salted fish" to the end.

Take enjoying life to its highest level.

Listening to the roar of machinery outside every day and watching the busy officials running around seeking instructions and reporting, he felt his life of leisure was seriously challenged. The Tang Dynasty no longer needed him, and he no longer needed its elaborate formalities. Those old ministers in the court were constantly finding ways to flatter the Crown Prince, which was utterly tiresome.

Seeing his slightly furrowed brows, as if he were ready to run away at any moment, Wu Meiniang, being so intelligent, immediately guessed Li Chengqian's thoughts.

She considerately stood up, walked to the desk, and casually pushed aside several billion-dollar business documents that needed approval the next day, as if she were cleaning up trash. To her, even the biggest deal couldn't compare to a single frown from Li Chengqian.

"Is Your Highness feeling restless? Chang'an is now the global nerve center, a city that never sleeps, twelve hours a day, and it is indeed a bit noisy. The day before yesterday, the Ministry of Works even submitted a plan to build a suspended train hub under the Eastern Palace, saying it was to improve work efficiency. Why don't I, Meiniang, order the Prefect of the Capital to impose a partial curfew on the entire city, to give you some peace and quiet?"

"No. The people are having fun, why should we join in with a curfew? Besides, it's easier to control what people say than to stop a river from flowing. If we try to stop them from singing and dancing, we'll get scolded. We can't spoil their fun."

Li Chengqian smiled and waved his hand, stood up, and strode to the large French windows.

He looked down upon the megacity he had single-handedly created. Ablaze with lights, bustling with traffic, holographic projections of lights flickering in mesmerizing colors among the skyscrapers. Shuttles in the sky trailed long, fiery trails, weaving a dense transportation network. This was his masterpiece, a brilliant civilization he had personally nurtured.

But now all he wants is to escape this excessively dazzling noise and find a moment of peace that belongs to ordinary people.

He turned and walked back to Wu Meiniang's side, his eyes sparkling with longing and nonchalance.

Li Chengqian patted her hand: "Chang'an is too noisy. Go get our private jet and go to an island for a few days of peace and quiet. Don't forget to bring our guards."