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

On the shimmering surface of the Taiye Pond, in the center of a painted boat, Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, sat restless.

He was dressed in an ochre-yellow round-necked casual suit, his hair was a little disheveled, and his usually bright eyes were now staring at the shore with suspicion.

Beside him, a beautifully sculpted child was curled up.

Those big eyes were now filled with tears, the corners of them slightly red, like a frightened fawn, tightly gripping Li Yuan's wide sleeves, trembling.

"Grandpa...Yu Nu is a little cold..."

Normally, Li Yuan would have already held this grandson, whom he loved to the core, in his arms and coaxed him.

But now, Li Yuan subconsciously patted Li Chengqian's hand, so hard that it left a red mark on the small, white hand.

Li Chengqian sighed inwardly.

He secretly raised his eyes and scanned his surroundings with his seemingly innocent and bewildered big eyes.

The imperial guards who were supposed to protect the emperor around the pleasure boat were now presenting a strange situation.

Dozens of guards from the Prince of Qin's palace, dressed in black armor, stood like silent statues, controlling the area around the pleasure boat.

Their numbers are small, even somewhat disproportionate.

Li Yuan's gaze was fixed on the guards holding weapons on the shore.

Those were his soldiers! The imperial guards of the Tang Dynasty!

As soon as they swarm in, these dozens of traitors from the Qin Prince's mansion will be instantly chopped into mincemeat.

However, that scene never happened.

"Why aren't you coming to my aid? Why aren't you taking action?!" Li Yuan's voice trembled.

The guards on the shore looked at each other, none of them daring to step forward at this moment.

As the shouts of battle from the direction of Xuanwu Gate grew increasingly deafening, and cries of "May the King of Qin be victorious!" drifted on the wind, many guards quietly turned their spears and began to move towards the East Palace.

Li Yuan's body swayed suddenly, as if he had aged ten years.

"Whoosh—"

An arrow flew in from nowhere, whistling through the air, and struck the carved window frame of the pleasure boat hard, its fletching still trembling violently.

"what!"

Li Chengqian cried out in surprise at the opportune moment, and immediately snuggled into Li Yuan's arms, "Grandpa! There's an arrow!"

Li Yuan's protective instincts surged, and he quickly used his wide sleeves to cover his grandson in his arms, shouting sternly, "Pei Ji! Where is Pei Ji? Is this what you meant by 'absolutely foolproof'?!"

Pei Ji, sitting opposite him, was already ashen-faced.

This prime minister, who was usually highly favored, was now like a mute, his head hanging low, not daring to look directly into Li Yuan's murderous eyes.

Just then, a series of heavy and hurried footsteps broke the tranquility of the sea pool.

Li Yuan suddenly looked up.

A burly, towering general strode onto the pier, heading straight for the painted boat.

He was clad in full heavy armor, which was covered in thick, dark red blood, obscuring its original color.

Even on the thick lance in his hand, blood was still dripping down the blood groove.

That was Yuchi Jingde.

The most formidable general in the Qin Prince's mansion.

Yuchi Jingde strode onto the painted boat, his heavy body causing the small boat to sink suddenly, creating ripples.

"Who...who are you?" Li Yuan's voice became extremely dry, even though he recognized this fierce general.

Yuchi Jingde did not kneel down.

He was only dressed in armor, his spear planted firmly on the ground with a dull thud, and he leaned slightly forward. His voice was like a booming bell, so loud it hurt the eardrums.

"Your Majesty, I, Yuchi Jingde, have been ordered by the King of Qin to guard you and prevent any disturbance!"

Despite being called a "royal guard," there was not a trace of a subject's submissiveness in his tiger-like eyes.

Li Yuan looked at the still-wet bits of flesh on Yuchi Jingde's breastplate, and his Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.

He felt Li Chengqian in his arms tremble even more violently.

The little guy peeked half his head out from Li Yuan's arms. His beautiful little face was as pale as paper, but his big eyes were fixed on Yuchi Jingde, as if he was terrified, or as if he was confirming something.

Li Yuan suddenly looked at Yuchi Jingde: "Where's Jiancheng? Where's Yuanji? What on earth happened outside?!"

Yuchi Jingde grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth.

"I hereby report to Your Majesty that Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and Prince Li Yuanji are plotting rebellion and intend to harm Your Majesty."

He paused here, looked directly at Li Yuan, and said, word by word:

"The King of Qin has raised an army to punish them! The head of the traitor Li Yuanji is here; the rebellion has been quelled!"

Although he had expected it, Li Yuan still felt dizzy when the news of his son's death actually came from Yuchi Jingde's mouth.

Is Li Yuanji dead?

...That's it?

Of those present, only Li Chengqian probably breathed a sigh of relief.

"You...you all..." Li Yuan pointed at Yuchi Jingde, his finger trembling violently, "This is...this is fratricide! This is treason!!"

Yuchi Jingde remained unfazed, merely pushing his lance forward slightly, the sharp tip reflecting a chilling glint in the sunlight.

"The rebels are plotting a rebellion, and the King of Qin is eliminating a scourge for the country. However, the rebels outside the palace are still putting up a stubborn resistance. Arrows have no eyes, so I urge Your Majesty... to reconsider."

Li Yuan looked towards the shore, where the imperial guards were still observing, and some had even laid down their weapons.

He then looked at the spear in Yuchi Jingde's hand, which was only five steps away from his throat.

On this cramped pleasure boat, faced with this bloody reality, Li Yuan finally realized—

The world has changed.

The power of the Tang Dynasty no longer belonged to him.

An unprecedented sense of despondency instantly overwhelmed the old man.

He was like a drowning man, desperately looking around, trying to find the last straw.

"Pei Ji..." Li Yuan's voice was hoarse, with a hint of pleading, "What should we do now that such a thing has happened today?"

Pei Ji knelt to one side, his forehead pressed tightly against the deck, his back soaked with cold sweat.

What could he say? He was the Crown Prince's close ally, and now that the King of Qin had won, it was questionable whether he would even survive the day. How could he dare to offer any advice?

This silence was like a slow, agonizing death, each cut slicing into Li Yuan's dignity.

Li Chengqian sensed the stiffness in Li Yuan's body.

At this point, someone should offer a way out.

Sure enough, the two ministers who had been standing in the corner and had not been treated roughly by the guards of the Prince of Qin's mansion—Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda—exchanged a glance and slowly walked out.

These two men, who usually have a good relationship with the King of Qin, are now in a position to play their part.

Xiao Yu bowed respectfully, his tone calm yet each word piercing: "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi were never involved in the planning of the Taiyuan Uprising, nor have they contributed anything to the world. In recent years, they have only colluded with each other out of jealousy of the Prince of Qin's high achievements and prestige, and even plotted treason."

Chen Shuda then said, "Now that the King of Qin has taken action to quell and kill them, his achievements are unparalleled and the people are devoted to him. If Your Majesty can treat him with great courtesy and entrust the affairs of state to him, everything will naturally be peaceful and there will be no more worries."

These words sounded like a script that had been written long ago.

It gave a bloody coup the perfect political guise—not a usurpation, but a "suppression of rebellion"; not a forced abdication, but a "transfer of power".

Li Chengqian felt Li Yuan's arms suddenly loosen their grip on him.

The once powerful old man now seemed to have lost all his backbone.

He glanced at the murderous-looking Yuchi Jingde, then at the defecting officials, and finally looked down at the pair of clear eyes in his arms that reflected fear—those were Li Shimin's son.

In the end, this world belongs to them, father and son.

Li Yuan let out a long sigh, a very long sigh, as if he wanted to vent all the resentment and helplessness of his life.

He slumped dejectedly onto the couch, his voice aged and hollow: "Indeed... this is exactly what I've always wanted!"

But Yuchi Jingde did not give up.

For soldiers, verbal promises are worthless.

At this moment, outside Xuanwu Gate, Xue Wanche of the Crown Prince's Palace was still launching a fierce attack. If he did not gain military power, the coup would still be subject to change.

Yuchi Jingde stepped forward, staring intently at Li Yuan: "Your Majesty is wise! Given this situation, the Imperial Guards are currently resisting the attacks of the remnants of the Eastern Palace and the Qi Prince's forces, and the Prince of Qin is already leading his guards to defend Xuanwu Gate. The situation is critical. I implore Your Majesty to issue an imperial edict ordering all armies to be placed under the Prince of Qin's command, so that a large army can be mobilized to jointly annihilate the rebels!"

Li Yuan's hands were clenched tightly in his sleeves, his nails almost digging into his flesh.

To give it up means to completely abdicate and from then on be nothing more than a wealthy man.

If he didn't give it to him, that still-dripping lance would likely pierce his chest the next moment due to "accidental injury" or "stray arrow".

The air on the pleasure boat seemed to freeze.

Li Chengqian stretched out her delicate white hands and gently took Li Yuan's trembling large hand in hers. In a soft but clear voice, she said, "Grandpa, Father is the most amazing. He chased away all the bad guys. In the future, Yunu will accompany Grandpa to go boating on this lake."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan's heart trembled.

Yes, if we gave it to them, we could go boating.

If they don't give it to us, we might not even be able to get out of this sea pool.

This child... did remind him.

Li Yuan looked at Li Chengqian's face, which resembled Li Shimin's but was even more refined and delicate, and gave a wry smile.

"well."

Li Yuan closed his eyes, seemingly using all his strength, and said, "Bring me pen and ink."

"No need." Yuwen Shiji, who served as the Sima of Tiance Mansion and concurrently as the Inspector General, handed the already drafted imperial edict to Li Yuan.

This imperial edict has been drafted by the Secretariat and reviewed by the Chancellery; all procedures are complete.

After Li Yuan nodded wearily, Yuwen Shiji left with the imperial edict.

At this point, all the imperial guards in Chang'an were officially placed under the command of Li Shimin.