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

The sea breeze from Xianyu Island, carrying a slightly salty dampness, gently brushed against Li Chengqian's excessively young face. As his custom-made sunglasses were slowly removed, his clear eyes, which revealed a hint of helplessness, were completely exposed to the focus of the ultra-high-definition lens.

This second seemed to be stretched out infinitely.

The broadcast team behind the cameras nearly held their breath. They stared intently at the monitors, their fingers stiffly gripping the aperture, afraid to miss even the slightest expression on the face of this legendary Tang Dynasty crown prince. Globally, whether in front of the giant, flashing LED screens atop Chang'an or beside old televisions in taverns in the Western Regions, a billion viewers held their breath. Even the cavalrymen brushing their horses stopped, letting the brush slip to the ground with a soft thud.

The reporter was so excited his eyes reddened. He gripped the microphone tightly, his body leaning forward in extreme excitement, his toes sinking deep into the soft sand. In his fervent anticipation, what he was about to hear was an inspiring speech worthy of being recorded in human history, filled with grand narratives and patriotic sentiments. Perhaps it was about how to diligently study science day and night, or perhaps it was about how to plan the future of the Tang Dynasty with a global vision.

However, Li Chengqian simply sucked the last bit of clear juice from the coconut shell with a straw, making a series of unpleasant "glug" sounds. He casually tossed the empty coconut shell into the sandpit next to him and patted off non-existent dust from his hands.

"Secret? My dear reporter, do you have some misunderstanding about me? There's no secret."

Li Chengqian spoke, his tone as relaxed as if he were discussing breakfast with his neighbor the next day.

He adjusted his posture slightly, his brightly colored shorts standing out conspicuously in the sunlight. His once clear eyes were now filled with the sincerity and exhaustion of a "severe case of laziness."

"Actually, my original intention for doing all this was ridiculously simple. The reason I tinkered with trains and railways was simply because the horse-drawn carriages back then were just too uncomfortable to sit in. Every time I went out on inspection, the dirt road would shake my bones apart. In order to be able to sit more comfortably and get a good night's sleep, I had no choice but to grit my teeth and lay out the rails, and also build a steam locomotive to run."

The reporter's expression of admiration froze instantly. The veins that had been bulging with excitement were now twitching slightly as his brain went blank.

An eerie silence fell over the 24/7 broadcast signal.

The commercial district of Chang'an. Merchants who had been preparing to record the "Sayings of the Sages" as business principles found their pens leaving long, drawn-out ink marks on the expensive Xuan paper. They exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting a bewildered disbelief. Could it be that the steel behemoth that traversed Eurasia and completely transformed the global logistics system was ultimately created solely to protect the crown prince's buttocks?

Li Chengqian ignored the shock of the crowd. He seemed to have started talking, so he simply changed to a more comfortable position, slumped back in the recliner, and entered his Versailles-like peak mode.

"And that telegram and telephone. You think I'm setting up a global information network?"

He curled his lip in disdain and pointed to the faintly visible signal tower on the distant sea.

"I invented those gadgets simply because I thought letters were too slow. Back then, if I wanted to see a newly staged play or ask if the newly arrived melons and fruits from the Western Regions were sweet, I would send a letter, but by the time it returned, the melons would be rotten and the opera troupe would have disbanded. In order to be able to eat melons and watch plays as soon as possible, I had to force those old guys in the Ministry of Works to lay copper wire all over the world. As for their later use in transmitting military intelligence and business opportunities, that was purely a side effect."

These simple yet incredibly irritating remarks instantly went viral globally via electromagnetic waves.

Viewers at home were utterly dumbfounded. A technician who had been working ten hours straight in the factory, wiping his face with a towel, dropped the towel into a waste oil drum upon hearing this. He had thought he was fighting for humanity's journey to the stars, only to be told by the chief designer that his entire motivation was simply to be the "first to know" about the gossip?

The reporter's lips twitched violently. Trying to steer the conversation back on track, he asked in a trembling voice, "Then...what about manned spaceflight? The moon landing? That's a monumental feat of humankind traversing planets! Your Highness, you can't possibly say it's just to go to the moon to watch a play, can you?"

Li Chengqian sighed, his gaze lingering on the fading sunset on the horizon.

"Spaceflight..."

He paused for a second. In that brief moment, the hearts of viewers around the world were in their throats, wondering if this time it was for the future of all humanity.

Li Chengqian revealed a lazy smile, as if he would never say anything less than a shocking thing.

"The fundamental reason I did all this is simply because I'm too lazy. I want to retire, I want to be lazy, I want to find a secluded place to quietly relax. But this damn world is full of troubles, and if I don't make it more comfortable, how can I sleep soundly? As for the moon landing program, it's entirely because I've discovered that the old man has too much energy lately. If I don't give him a grand goal of exploring the stars and the sea to keep him busy, he'll definitely keep an eye on me every day and force me to take over the work. So, I can only set up a space agency and find a 'workhorse' to work for me, so that I can peacefully drink coconut juice in Hawaii."

With a loud "boom".

It was as if an electromagnetic pulse had exploded in the reporter's mind. His professional smile completely crumbled, and he swayed, nearly plunging into the seawater in front of him. The microphone in his hand even drooped due to his absent-mindedness, almost touching the sand.

At that moment, the world fell into a deathly silence.

In every province of the Tang Dynasty, whether it was farmers harvesting crops or lecturers giving lessons, everyone stared at the screen as if petrified. The "guiding light" that they once held in their hearts, so lofty and inviolable, was now lying listlessly on the beach, telling the world that he changed the world purely because he wanted to be lazy and incidentally made his own father work overtime.

The shock of that collapse of faith and the shattering of values ​​made countless people immediately ask themselves the profound questions: "Who am I? Where am I? Why am I working so hard?"

Meanwhile, deep within the Taiji Palace, in the Imperial Study.

Li Shimin was originally sitting upright, and had even specially changed into a majestic dragon robe, ready to show the world's model of "filial piety and parental love" in front of the camera. When he heard "it's uncomfortable," the vein on his forehead throbbed; when he heard "watching a play," the vermilion pen in his hand cracked from being squeezed; until he heard the last sentence, "find an old ox to work for me."

"Snap!"

The priceless white marble paperweight was brutally broken in two by Li Shimin.

His eyes, which were at the peak of his twenties, were now burning with a raging fury powerful enough to incinerate the entire atmosphere.

"You unfilial son...you worthless, rebellious son!"

Li Shimin was so angry that he laughed. He pointed at the huge LCD TV in front of him, which was playing Li Chengqian's lazy smile, and his whole body trembled with rage.

"I've spent 365 days a year tirelessly reviewing memorials, and I've been eating compressed biscuits every day for this grand vision. And you tell the whole world that I'm just a 'workhorse' you hired? What do you take me for! What do you take this Tang Dynasty for!"

The eunuch Wang, standing to the side, was terrified, his entire body pressed against the wall, too afraid to move. He swore he had never seen His Majesty so angry in his entire life. The imperial might surged wildly within the study, as if even the surrounding air itself was about to ignite.

On the screen, Li Chengqian appears to be waving at the camera, his smile smug and infuriating.

This interview was broadcast live via satellite and instantly reached every corner of the globe. Naturally, it also reached the giant LCD TV in the Imperial Study of Taiji Palace.