Transmigrated into Li Chengqian, he effortlessly ascended the throne and became emperor.

The morning breeze, carrying the stench of blood, swept across the desolate stone path inside Xuanwu Gate. Li Yuanji's corpse lay not far away, his unclosed eyes seemingly still staring at the sky, questioning the injustice of fate.

At this moment, in this narrow space, only these two brothers, who were once the closest of friends, remained.

Li Jiancheng sat stiffly on the "Hulei Bo," and the horse beneath him seemed to sense its master's despair, pacing restlessly in the mud.

He looked at the large black bow that was drawn taut again a few dozen steps away, and at Erlang who used to follow him and call him "Big Brother." He felt his throat go dry, as if countless grains of sand were rubbing against it.

"Jade slave..."

Li Jiancheng gave a bitter laugh, his voice hoarse and broken, "You mean Chengqian? I never thought that at this critical juncture of life and death, you would still use a child to humiliate me."

humiliation?

Li Shimin snorted coldly.

He spared Li Jiancheng's life for his son's tears, and also to leave himself a final escape route, a way out so that he wouldn't be haunted by vengeful ghosts in the dead of night.

However, while the death penalty may be avoided, punishment is inevitable.

On the road to imperial power, there is no need for two standing dragons.

"If you don't want to leave, then kneel down."

Li Shimin spoke in a low voice, his voice as cold as if it came from the deepest hell.

The next instant, the muscles in his arms, which he had used for years to draw a bow and shoot eagles, bulged, and the bright armor made a teeth-grinding grinding sound.

The bow is drawn to its fullest extent, and the arrow flies like a shooting star.

"collapse--!"

The lingering echo of the bowstring's vibration still reverberated in the air; the wolf-tooth arrow, carrying the aura of death, had already crossed the distance between life and death.

Li Jiancheng's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively wanted to dodge to the side, his mind already rehearsing the excruciating pain of being pierced by an arrow.

However, the expected death did not come.

It was the dull sound of a sharp blade cutting into flesh, followed by an extremely mournful cry.

It wasn't Li Jiancheng who was hit by the arrow, but rather his magnificent steed, Huleibo.

This prized horse, which had accompanied him on his campaigns, had its left kneecap shattered by this arrow.

The terrifying penetrating power of the wolf-tooth arrow shattered the horse's kneecap, and blood mixed with bone fragments exploded instantly.

The warhorse, propelled by the momentum of its high-speed run, suddenly lost its footing. Its massive body, like a collapsing hill, plunged forward with unparalleled kinetic energy.

"No--!"

Li Jiancheng let out a terrified roar.

It all happened so fast that he didn't even have time to pull his feet out of the stirrups.

In an instant, the world spun around.

The world was upside down in Li Jiancheng's eyes, and the hard bluestone pavement rapidly magnified.

"Boom!"

A loud bang, and dust billowed up.

The warhorse's heavy body crashed to the ground, followed by a series of chilling sounds of bones breaking.

"Aaaaaahh ...

A piercing scream instantly shattered the deathly silence of Xuanwu Gate, startling countless birds in the forest.

Li Jiancheng was completely crushed under the horse's carcass, his noble right leg, which had once traversed the bustling city of Chang'an, now bent at an extremely bizarre angle.

The white bone fragments pierced through the expensive silk trousers, exposed to the air, and blood instantly stained the dust beneath them.

The excruciating pain surged like a tidal wave, instantly overwhelming Li Jiancheng's reason and dignity.

His face was ashen, cold sweat instantly soaked through his hair, and he gripped the blue bricks on the ground so tightly that his fingernails cracked and scratched bloody marks into the stone slabs.

"My legs... my legs..."

Li Jiancheng groaned in pain. The once high and mighty Crown Prince was now like a wild dog with its spine broken, rolling and convulsing in the dust.

Da, da, da.

The sound of horses' hooves slowly approached.

A shadow fell, blocking the blinding sunlight.

Li Jiancheng struggled to lift his head, and through his eyelashes covered in cold sweat and dust, he saw the figure riding a white horse.

Li Shimin looked down at him, the longbow in his hand already lowered. His heroic face showed no joy of victory, only an almost divine indifference.

"Big brother."

Li Shimin's voice was eerily calm, as if he hadn't been the one who had just fired that arrow.

"This leg is your sacrifice for Yuanji, and it's also an explanation to the Tang Dynasty."

Li Jiancheng trembled with pain, but he gritted his teeth and glared at Li Shimin with venomous eyes: "Li...Shimin! If you have the guts...kill me! Kill me!"

"Kill you?"

Li Shimin's lips curled slightly upward, revealing a mocking smile. "No."

Li Shimin slowly shook his head, rode his horse around Li Jiancheng once, as if examining his prey.

"Yu Nu likes you, his uncle, so much. If I kill you, he will be heartbroken."

When Li Shimin spoke the words "Yu Nu," his usually cold and hard voice softened strangely, carrying a chillingly doting tone.

"So, I want you to live."

Li Shimin leaned down, staring into Li Jiancheng's bloodshot eyes, and said, word by word, "I want you to see with your own eyes how I govern this Tang Dynasty. I want you to see how that Yu Nu, whom you looked down upon, becomes the most dazzling crown prince in the world under my tutelage."

"You've lost a leg, you can no longer mount a horse, and you can no longer lead troops."

"From now on, you will only be a useless person in that dark corner, looking up at the light of me and Chengqian."

"This is the greatest punishment for you."

Upon hearing these words, Li Jiancheng felt a chill run from his broken leg straight to his heart, a feeling that made him even more desperate than the excruciating pain he had just experienced.

Li Jiancheng suddenly remembered the child with beautiful peach blossom eyes who always timidly called him "Uncle".

"His Royal Highness King Qin!"

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps approached.

Yuchi Gong, exuding a murderous aura, carrying a blood-dripping lance, led dozens of elite Xuanjia soldiers out of the woods and quickly surrounded the scene.

Seeing Li Jiancheng lying motionless on the ground and Li Yuanji completely dead, Yuchi Gong's eyes flashed with wild joy, and he shouted loudly, "Your Highness! Now is the time to eliminate them completely..."

"Respect for virtue!"

Li Shimin abruptly waved his hand, interrupting Yuchi Gong.

He took one last deep look at his brother, who was panting painfully in the dust, then abruptly turned his horse around to face the majestic Xuanwu Gate tower.

The rising sun broke through the clouds, its golden rays shining on his silver-white armor, making him look like a god descending to earth.

"Carry the Crown Prince away and find the imperial physician to treat him properly. Don't let him die."

Li Shimin's voice resounded throughout the hall, carrying an unquestionable imperial majesty.

"The rest, come with me to the palace!"

"It's time for the heavens of the Tang Dynasty to change!"

"yes!!"

The eight hundred soldiers roared in unison, their voices shattering the morning mist.