The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

In the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era, in Chang'an.

Taiji Palace, Ganlu Hall, 3:45 AM.

The rising sun barely touched the eaves of the majestic palace, and the palace still retained the inky darkness and chill of the night.

There were no lights in the Ganlu Hall. The deep darkness before dawn made the hall appear terrifying in a way that was rarely seen on ordinary days.

In the dim light, the trembling palace servants remained silent.

The cracking of whips echoed continuously in the empty palace.

"Snapped!"

"—You good-for-nothing!"

"Snapped!"

"—Why did you do this?!"

"Snapped!"

"—Aren't you the Crown Prince?!"

"Snapped!"

"—Tell me why!"

"—Why rebel?!"

The horsewhip, wrapped with gold thread, was exceptionally heavy. With each lash, it tore off Li Chengqian's magnificent crown prince robes, leaving bloody welts on his back.

Li Chengqian gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound.

This defiant attitude only enraged Li Shimin, who was whipping him with a horsewhip.

This benevolent ruler, who single-handedly laid the foundation for the prosperous Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty and was known for his diligence in accepting advice, was now completely devoid of his usual wise demeanor. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hair stood on end in anger.

Seeing that Li Chengqian showed no intention of speaking, he raised the heavy, gold-wrapped horsewhip once more...

"His Majesty!"

A sudden, hoarse voice interrupted Li Shimin as he was about to strike with his whip. A young eunuch, disregarding the somber atmosphere in the hall, rushed into the Ganlu Hall.

Faced with Li Shimin's angry glare, he was so frightened that his knees buckled and he knelt down far away, his voice trembling slightly.

"Your Majesty, His Highness Li Xiang, the eldest son of the Crown Prince and grandson of the Emperor, requests an audience..."

"I won't see you, get out!" Li Shimin waved his hand impatiently, his voice filled with barely concealed anger.

The young eunuch hesitated, not moving immediately. Li Shimin narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, the anger in them turning into murderous intent.

The young eunuch felt as if he had instantly fallen into an ice cellar, and quickly said:

"But...but Your Majesty..."

"The Imperial Grandson... His Highness the Imperial Grandson held a sword to his neck, declaring that if His Majesty did not see him, he would immediately commit suicide in front of the palace..."

Upon hearing this, even Li Chengqian, who was gritting his teeth and closing his eyes as if awaiting death, was surprised to open his eyes.

Li Shimin's gaze sharpened. After a moment's thought, he suppressed his anger and spoke:

"Announce!"

The eunuch felt as if he had been granted a pardon and scrambled out of the Ganlu Hall.

Before long, a palace servant led a young man carrying a long sword, which was always held to his neck, to the outside of Ganlu Hall.

Li Shimin stared intently at the young man who was ready to commit suicide at any moment, his eyes revealing an even stronger rage befitting an emperor.

The palace servants in the hall all knelt on the ground, their legs trembling, not daring to breathe.

The palace servants who led Li Xiang dared not enter the hall; instead, they prostrated themselves on the ground at the gate.

Only Li Shimin, who was inside the hall, and Li Xiang, who was outside, remained standing, facing each other from a distance across the door.

"This person is none other than the strongest carbon-based life form of the 7th century, the governor of Asia, the leader of the Eastern Hemisphere, with the bearing of a dragon and phoenix, the appearance of the sun and moon, the Grand Commandant, Minister of Works, Grand Chancellor, Grand Minister of Justice of Shaanxi East Circuit, Grand Minister of Justice of Yizhou Circuit, Governor of Yongzhou, Governor-General of Liangzhou, General of the Right Wing Guard, General of the Left and Right Martial Guards, General of the Twelve Guards, Pillar of State, Prince of Qin, General of Heavenly Strategy, Heavenly Khan, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin..."

Although he was mentally prepared, Li Xiang still couldn't help but swallow hard when he saw Li Shimin in the hall, whose face was ashen and who exuded a terrifying aura.

He silently encouraged himself:

"So what if he was Li Shimin? He was just the ruler of a corrupt feudal dynasty!"

"We absolutely cannot miss this opportunity!"

-----------------

He is Li Xiang, yet he is not Li Xiang.

He still remembers not long ago, he was eating hotpot at home, humming a song, and watching the lottery draw while eating—and then he won the lottery! The lottery ticket he bought casually a few days ago won a whopping 30 million!

He jumped up, exclaiming how lucky he was. But his good fortune wasn't over yet: in just a few days, his serialized online novel's traffic skyrocketed to tens of thousands of views, his hometown was suddenly demolished, his stocks soared, and beautiful cosplayers at anime conventions were vying to add him on WeChat. He was about to enter the nighttime settlement screen of a life winner…

then……

Then he put it on.

Lottery tickets, demolition compensation, beautiful cosplayers—all vanished. A figure in his mind, calling itself a "system," congratulated him on becoming Li Xiang, the grandson of the Tang Dynasty emperor in the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era.

Li Xiang was furious, Li Xiang cursed, Li Xiang didn't want to transmigrate at all! However, the system remained completely silent.

Well, since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it. Although I inexplicably transmigrated to this Tang Dynasty, at least I have a system with me. Li Xiang then asked what kind of supernatural abilities the system possessed.

Even though it's this godforsaken ancient world, with a system as a cheat code, there's still some hope, right? Does this system start with a warehouse full of resources? Or does it give you the Five Tiger Generals just for signing in? At the very least, it should give you a cultivation technique, so playing the immortality path all the way to the 21st century wouldn't be bad...

System: The time travel process is complete. This system is now beginning uninstallation...

Li Xiang: (°ロ°)? What the hell...

Fortunately, before the system completely disappeared, it still gave Li Xiang a glimmer of hope: if he wanted to end his time travel and return to the modern world, there was only one way.

That is: he was killed by Li Shimin, the emperor of this era!

The conditions weren't particularly difficult, but they weren't exactly easy either. In this feudal era, to be killed by the emperor, one only needed to recklessly rebel, and one could be subjected to the "Imperial Escape - Nine Clans Separation" technique.

The difficult part is that the body he transmigrated into is that of the eldest grandson of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, and the eldest son of Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

Surely Li Shimin wouldn't have inexplicably thought that his grandson, who was only ten years old, was a traitor who should be executed?

Although I only have a superficial understanding of Tang Dynasty history, I have heard of the major event that Crown Prince Li Chengqian was deposed for treason.

If we seize upon the fact that Li Chengqian plotted a rebellion, we can add fuel to the fire and further provoke Li Shimin.

In his rage, Li Shimin might very well have murdered his son and grandson and sent him back to the modern world.

After all, it's not like Li Er hasn't done things like murdering his own parents before!

-----------------

Li Xiang did not remove his sword or boots. He maintained his confrontational stance with Li Shimin, but simply put the somewhat tired Tang sword down from his neck, then picked it up and stepped over the high threshold of Ganlu Hall.

Sword and shoes enter the palace!

Li Shimin narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly, staring at Li Xiang with an even more hostile expression.

"You brat, do you also intend to rebel?"

Perhaps out of concern for Li Xiang's safety, or perhaps because he didn't want Li Xiang to see him in such a disheveled state, Li Chengqian, who was kneeling with his back to Li Shimin, also endured the excruciating pain and struggled to stand up.

"What are you doing here? Go back!"

Li Xiang turned to look at Li Chengqian, the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, who was in a sorry state, with shocking whip marks on his body.

He was secretly alarmed by Li Shimin's ruthlessness. "What if Li Er gets carried away and whips me with his horsewhip too?"

But this opportunity was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for him, and he would never go back. Li Xiang had already rehearsed in his mind many times how to provoke Li Shimin.

He adopted a solemn expression and asked Li Shimin in return:

"Your Majesty uses a riding whip; is that a matter of family law or state law?"

"If this is family discipline, is Your Majesty punishing your father on behalf of your grandmother?"

"How dare you mention your grandmother to me!"

Li Shimin said coldly.

Empress Zhangsun, Li Xiang's deceased grandmother and Li Chengqian's mother, was the love of Li Shimin's life. Everyone inside and outside the palace knew how much Li Shimin grieved after losing Empress Zhangsun.

Even though Empress Zhangsun had passed away many years ago, Li Shimin would often stand on a high place in the palace and look towards Zhaoling, where Empress Zhangsun was buried, to express his grief.

Using Empress Zhangsun to provoke Li Shimin undoubtedly had an immediate effect.

"Why can't I mention my grandmother!"

"My father told me that on the morning of the incident at Xuanwu Gate, my grandmother stood in front of the gate with a sharp blade to prevent anyone from harming him."

"And now, it is His Majesty who is harming him!"

"Would a grandmother whip her son with a horsewhip?"

Li Xiang's gaze glared at the horsewhip in Li Shimin's hand.

Li Chengqian was stunned, and Li Shimin was also taken aback. His momentum faltered for the first time ever, and the blood-stained whip in his hand trembled slightly before he gripped it tightly again.

Li Xiang gave Li Shimin no chance to catch his breath. He stepped forward, pressing his advantage and continuing to provoke Li Shimin, saying:

"And if it's according to the law... Your Majesty, you killed your brother!"

"Shut up!" Li Shimin was startled and shouted urgently.

"You shall make Lady Yang your queen!" Li Xiang stepped forward again.

"……Shut up!"

"You launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident, murdered your brothers, imprisoned your father, and set a precedent for fratricide in the Tang Dynasty!"

"You still want your sons to continue killing each other! You want to make the Prince of Wei the crown prince! You want him to live in the Wude Hall!"

"I told you to shut up!!!"

Li Shimin's eyes were bloodshot, as if he were seeing some kind of nightmare.

Li Xiang pressed closer, taking another step forward and still staring intently at him:

"Did I say something wrong? If it's according to the law, why doesn't His Majesty himself suffer the flogging?"

"you……"

In that instant, Li Shimin's momentum was completely suppressed by Li Xiang. He was breathing heavily, trying his best to maintain his rationality.

But he was astonished to find that he had no words to refute his young grandson.

The shame and anger deep within him fueled his fury. He abruptly turned his head and glared at the stunned Li Chengqian:

"Chengqian! Is this how you teach your son...?"

"Please address Your Majesty as Crown Prince!!!!"

Li Xiang suddenly raised his voice and shouted out the line he had prepared, interrupting Li Shimin.

The morning sunlight finally pierced through the chill of the hall and slanted onto Li Xiang's face.

This roar seemed to illuminate the chilling Ganlu Palace, and in doing so, it completely burned away the last remaining affection between Li Shimin, Li Chengqian, and Li Xiang.