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

What kind of eyes were those?

There were no whites in his eyes, only an endless abyss, as if he had just been pulled out of a blood pool from the underworld, exuding a deathly stillness that froze the soul.

Bai Qi stood quietly half a step behind Li Chengqian.

His dark red armor hadn't even been wiped clean yet; the mottled, dark brown marks on it were the last imprints left by the 100,000 rebel soldiers from Youzhou. A strong, almost tangible smell of rust, mixed with the lingering smoke of battle, cleaved a battlefield into a scene of carnage in the once idyllic imperial garden of the Tang Dynasty palace.

He did not draw his sword.

He didn't even put his hand on the hilt of the knife; it just hung naturally at his side.

But Li Shimin had no doubt that if the bamboo pole he used to "teach his son" dared to drop even an inch further, even just an inch, the red-armored demon in front of him would, in a fraction of a second, tear to shreds any creature that dared to threaten Li Chengqian—including him, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty—without hesitation.

This is suppression at the top of the food chain.

It is a pure, unreverent killing machine, reacting instinctively to its target.

"Glug."

Li Shimin's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty. The bamboo pole that had been so imposing and ready to slap his rebellious son's backside now seemed to weigh a ton, frozen in mid-air, caught in a dilemma.

Cold sweat trickled down his temples and dripped into his eyes, stinging painfully, but he didn't dare blink.

The image of the messenger's tearful description uncontrollably surfaced in his mind:

Half an hour.

An army of 100,000.

Corpses littered the field; not a single life survived.

The killing god who had turned Youzhou into a living hell was now staring intently at his neck, as if assessing where it would be most convenient to strike.

"This...this is Bai Qi?"

Li Shimin roared inwardly, his legs began to cramp uncontrollably.

Afraid?

nonsense!

Who wouldn't tremble if stared at by a tiger that has just devoured 100,000 people? This has nothing to do with whether someone is an emperor or not; it's the human instinct for survival!

The air seemed to freeze.

Every second was stretched to its limit.

Li Chengqian was originally crouching on the ground, trembling with fear, but after waiting for a long time and not feeling any pain, he quietly opened one eye.

He was amused by the sight.

"Hey, Old Bai's back?"

Li Chengqian straightened up, patted the dirt off his buttocks, and as if he had seen a savior, he took the opportunity to hide behind Bai Qi, peeking out half of his head and looking at Li Shimin with a smug expression.

"Father, are your hands tired? Perhaps... you could put the stick down first?"

This shout broke the deadlock.

Li Shimin shuddered, and the suffocating feeling of being locked in by murderous intent subsided slightly.

He took a deep breath, forcibly controlling his facial muscles, trying to force out an expression that said, "I am still majestic," but the frequency of the twitching at the corners of his mouth betrayed his panicked state of mind.

beat?

They definitely wouldn't dare to fight.

If this really came to blows, tomorrow's history books will have to say: "In the first year of Zhenguan, the emperor beat the crown prince in the imperial garden because of grilling skewers. He was killed on the spot by the crown prince's servants and died at the age of twenty-nine."

This is so frustrating!

But if I just put down the stick like that, where will my dignity be? Where will my authority as the Supreme General of Heavenly Strategy be?

Li Shimin's brain was working at lightning speed, almost overheating, and finally, at the critical moment, he came up with a brilliant excuse.

"Ahem!"

He coughed loudly twice to cover up his embarrassment.

Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he moved extremely slowly and naturally... and gently lowered the bamboo pole he had been holding above his head.

Not only did he put it down, but he also casually poked the ground with a bamboo pole, as if his murderous actions just now were really just to unclog the sewer.

"Hmm, I'm just testing how sturdy this bamboo pole is."

Li Shimin stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky, his tone utterly nonchalant.

"Since it's sturdy, let's keep it for the gardener."

"I am a benevolent ruler throughout the ages, governing the world with virtue. How could I possibly stoop to the level of a child? I was just trying to scare you a little, look how frightened you are! You're pathetic!"

After saying that, he even puffed out his chest and glanced sideways at Bai Qi.

The meaning is clear: I am not afraid of you, I am merciful! I am reasonable!

Bai Qi's lifeless eyes flickered slightly, as if he were somewhat confused. But since he did not actually launch an attack, the killing intent emanating from him receded silently, like the tide going out.

He reverted to his taciturn self, standing quietly behind Li Chengqian.

call--

Li Shimin let out a long sigh of relief, feeling that the back of his clothes was completely soaked.

so close!

He almost became the first emperor in Tang Dynasty history to be so scared that he wet himself by his bodyguards.

The crisis was averted, but the atmosphere became even more awkward.

The ground was a mess, with charred peonies, a prince with his face smeared with soot, an emperor pretending to be stupid while holding a bamboo pole, and a bloodthirsty god of war.

This scene looks incredibly eerie no matter how you look at it.

Li Tai, that chubby boy, was already terrified. He huddled in the crevice of the artificial hill, clutching the now-cold cotton candy tightly in his hand, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"that……"

Li Chengqian blinked, feeling that he should do something to ease the tension. After all, his father had given him a way out, and he couldn't be too insensible.

He looked down and realized that he was still holding the "culprit" in his hand—a stringy, high-quality cotton candy roasted over Wei Zi Mu Dan charcoal.

"Father."

Li Chengqian put on a fawning smile, held the string of cotton candy in both hands, and carefully handed it over.

"Look at you, you've come all this way, shouting and running, you must be exhausted!"

"This was specially baked for you by your son. It was cooked to perfection, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and it even has a... uh, rich floral aroma."

"Have a piece of candy, to nourish yourself? To calm down?"

Li Shimin looked at the string of candies handed to him.

The sugar was roasted to a golden brown, and you could smell a heartbreaking burnt smell—it smelled like the corpse of his peony, which cost thousands of dollars a piece!

eat?

Eating this stuff is like my heart is bleeding! This isn't candy, it's my money!

Don't eat?

I can't back down without eating! Besides, I ran for so long just now, so I do have low blood sugar and feel dizzy.

Li Shimin's face instantly turned bright red, from anger and embarrassment.

His hands trembled as he looked at his "innocent" son, then at the expressionless killing god Bai Qi behind him.

Answer or not answer?

This is a matter concerning both the dignity of an emperor and the safety of his life.