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

"Bang--!"

With a loud crash, the heavy doors of Ganlu Hall were kicked open from the outside.

The eunuch guarding the gate was terrified. Just as he was about to rebuke who dared to be so bold, he saw a small figure, reeking of blood, walk in against the moonlight.

Li Shimin had just lain down and hadn't fallen asleep yet when he was startled awake by the loud noise and sat up from his dragon bed.

"Who?!"

He instinctively reached for the sword beside his pillow, and shouted angrily, "Are all the people outside dead?!"

"Father, don't be agitated, it's me."

Li Chengqian's voice was calm and undisturbed. He held a piece of Xuan paper still stained with bloody handprints in his hand, slowly walked to the dragon bed, and casually threw it in front of Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, I have just dealt with a few rats that tried to sneak into the Eastern Palace to steal things. While I was at it, I interrogated them and found something interesting, which I have come to share with you."

Li Shimin frowned and picked up the paper.

By the dim candlelight, he could make out the contents of the document.

That was a list.

A list of families wiped out, written in blood and fear...

Cui, Lu, Wang, Zheng...

Familiar yet jarring surnames coiled like venomous snakes on the paper. Following each surname was a detailed list of those involved in the assassination attempt, the amount of funding they provided, and… their secret hideouts within Chang'an.

"Assassinate...the Crown Prince?"

Li Shimin's pupils suddenly contracted, and a chilling coldness shot up his spine and straight to the top of his head.

He suddenly looked up, staring intently at Li Chengqian, his voice trembling: "Are you...are you injured?"

Although this rebellious son is usually infuriating, he is still his eldest son and the apple of his eye!

"I?"

Li Chengqian was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled, pointing to his spotless brocade robe. "Father, do you really think those chickens and dogs could harm a single hair on my head?"

Li Shimin finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then a surge of overwhelming anger erupted, instantly igniting his dragon eyes.

"Great! Excellent!"

Li Shimin slammed the list on the table, his teeth grinding together. "I have tolerated and yielded time and time again, but all I've received in return is their escalating aggression!"

"If you can't win economically, you're thinking of just flipping the table and killing people?"

"You cut off my food supply, you cut off my salt supply, and now you want to cut off my lineage?"

"These traitors! These parasites!"

Li Shimin was thoroughly enraged.

If before he still harbored a sliver of hope for these aristocratic families with their thousand-year-old lineage, and was wary of their deeply entrenched influence, then he was wrong.

At this moment, all reservations were shattered by this blatant assassination attempt.

Assassinate the Crown Prince!

In the Tang Dynasty, this was an heinous crime equivalent to treason! An absolutely unforgivable crime punishable by death!

"Issue my decree!"

Li Shimin's voice was as cold as the winter wind, echoing in the empty Ganlu Hall.

"Order Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong, and Cheng Yaojin to immediately mobilize the Xuanjia Army and seal off all thirteen gates of Chang'an! Not a single fly is allowed to escape!"

"Command Qinglong to lead the Embroidered Uniform Guard and search for the target according to the map!"

Li Shimin pointed at the blood-stained list on the table, his eyes filled with murderous intent, and uttered the order, word by word, a command that would turn Chang'an into a river of blood.

"Those on the list, regardless of rank, gender, or age..."

"Every participant, without exception!"

"kill!"

……

That night, Chang'an was sleepless.

Countless people were awakened from their sleep, and they peered out of the windows in terror.

The once quiet streets were now filled with torches that formed fiery dragons.

Clad in heavy armor and wielding long-handled swords, the Xuanjia Army blocked all the street corners, their cold iron armor gleaming eerily in the firelight.

Immediately afterwards, squads of Imperial Guards, dressed in flying fish robes and carrying embroidered spring knives at their waists, like soul-reaping messengers crawling out of hell, silently and efficiently kicked open the gates of one mansion after another, carrying lists in their hands.

"Bang--!"

The gate of the Cui family's house was smashed to pieces.

"When the Embroidered Uniform Guard is on duty, laymen should stay away!"

Shen Lian, carrying the still-dripping embroidered spring knife, kicked aside the trembling servant and walked in expressionlessly.

"Where is Cui Mingan, the head of the Cui family?"

"I...I'm here..."

Choi Mingan, wearing a bathrobe, was dragged out of his warm bed, his entire body jiggling with fat.

"Commander Shen... Commander Shen, let's talk this out. Is there some misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstand?"

Shen Lian sneered and threw the blood-stained confession in his face. "Plotting to assassinate the Crown Prince, and you think that's a misunderstanding?"

When Cui Mingan saw the familiar bloody handprint on the confession, his face turned ashen.

"No...it wasn't me..."

"Drag him out."

Shen Lian was too lazy to listen to his nonsense and waved his hand.

"No! You can't arrest me! I am the head of the Cui clan of Boling! You..."

The piercing screams abruptly stopped.

The same scene played out simultaneously in the Lu family, the Wang family, the Zheng family, and dozens of other residences in Chang'an City that were connected with the Five Clans and Seven Families.

Those once arrogant and disdainful patriarchs, who used to treat human life like dirt, are now like fat pigs being dragged out of their beds, waiting to be slaughtered.

There was no trial, no defense.

Only the cold Embroidered Spring Blade and the soaring bloodstains.

"Pfft—!"

At the intersection of Zhuque Avenue, the executioner raised his knife and brought down one after another once-arrogant head after another, their eyes still holding the fear and resentment of their dying moments.

Blood pooled into streams, flowing slowly along the bluestone path, staining this bustling capital city with an eerie crimson hue.

Its daybreak.

As the first rays of dawn pierced the clouds and shone on the towering city walls of Chang'an, the shouts of battle that had lasted all night finally subsided.

When the officials who had risen early for court stepped out of their homes and saw the scene before them, they were all so frightened that their legs went weak.

The streets were filled with patrolling Xuanjia soldiers.

The once arrogant mansions of powerful families now stand wide open, with several still-dripping corpses hanging at the entrance.

The air was filled with a strong, nauseating smell of blood.

This is the wrath of an emperor.

This is the power of the crown prince.

Overnight, the five clans and seven noble families, whose lineage had lasted for hundreds of years, were uprooted from their roots in Chang'an, leaving no one alive.

Inside the Manna Hall.

Li Shimin had not slept all night, his eyes were bloodshot, but he was unusually excited.

Looking out the window at the blood-stained dawn, he finally let out the pent-up resentment that had been suppressed by the aristocratic families for so long.

Cool!

This is the best I've ever felt!

Just then, Wang De walked in with small, quick steps and a very strange expression on his face.

"Your Majesty, the purge of each family... is over."

"Hmm." Li Shimin nodded, then casually asked, "How much stuff did you find?"

"this……"

Wang De swallowed hard, his voice trembling, "Your Majesty, you should... go and see for yourself."

Li Shimin frowned, stood up, and walked out of Ganlu Hall.

When he arrived at the square in front of the Taiji Hall, he froze instantly.

The wide square was now piled high with things.

Jinshan.

Silver Mountain.

There were also boxes upon boxes of neatly stacked jewelry, jade, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, land deeds and contracts...

The sheer number of them was so great that they practically filled the entire square.

The sunlight shone on it, reflecting a dazzling light that made Li Shimin dizzy.

"This...this is all?" Li Shimin's voice trembled.

Dai Zhou emerged from behind a mountain of gold, holding an abacus in his hand. He was so fast that his fingers were blistered, but he was oblivious to it, his face displaying a kind of manic ecstasy.

"Your Majesty! We've struck it rich! We've struck it rich!"

Dai Zhou cried out, "Just... just the cash in the Cui family's cellar alone is more than ten years' worth of tax revenue for our national treasury!"

"Your Majesty! This time, you can do more than just perform the Fengshan ceremony; you could buy Mount Tai if you wanted!"