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

The heavy mica screen slowly moved aside, and Li Tai and Li Zhi bowed and stepped back, exiting the screen.

After the screen closed again, separating Li Shimin, who was resting with his eyes closed, inside, Li Tai secretly let out a long sigh of relief.

Overweight people tend to sweat a lot, and in just a couple of sentences, he was already soaked in cold sweat!

"Zhi Nu, go change your clothes," Li Tai said to Li Zhiqiang with a forced smile. He never bothered to hide anything from his younger brother, who was always silent, respectful, and utterly harmless. "Go to Zhu Ming Gate first; I'll be there shortly."

"only."

Although he was facing his elder brother, Li Zhi was still extremely respectful. He bowed slightly and clasped his hands in a salute to Li Tai.

"Hmm." Feeling Li Zhi's respect today, Li Tai felt comforted. He felt that Li Zhi was trying to flatter and please him, and his desire to win the throne grew even stronger.

Judging from the Emperor's attitude, he seems to still be wavering on the matter of convicting Chengqian. In this situation, the attitude of his maternal uncle, Changsun Wuji, is crucial.

However, Changsun Wuji was not only Li Tai's maternal uncle, but also Li Chengqian's maternal uncle. In addition, he was always prudent and mature, rarely revealing his attitude, and acting impartially, always prioritizing the emperor's will.

"My father trusts my uncle, the eldest grandson, far more than anyone else in the court. If I can get him to side with me, the heir apparent will surely be deposed!" Li Tai thought to himself.

He was secretly thrilled and moved his body to follow the palace servants to the side hall to change clothes and bathe, determined to leave a good impression of being upright and respectful in front of Changsun Wuji.

After he left, Li Zhifang slowly straightened up, his narrow phoenix eyes, which were very similar to Li Shimin's, gleaming with a slightly cold light.

"Lanzhi".

A very faint female voice came from behind him. Li Zhi glanced away almost imperceptibly and saw the female official, who was gently grinding medicine with a silver pestle outside the screen, softly beckon a young palace maid over and whisper:

"I wish to change my clothes briefly; please grind the medicine for me first."

"Yes, ma'am." The young palace maid replied with her head bowed, her expression somewhat fearful. "Please hurry, my lady. I'm clumsy and might accidentally crush the medicine..."

The female official, addressed as "Talented Lady," smiled gently, patted the little palace maid's hand to comfort her, and then moved slowly, leaving Ganlu Hall through a side door. As she turned around, her gaze seemed to glance unintentionally at Li Zhi.

Li Zhi's heart fluttered.

"I've thought about it. Since Fourth Brother is taking a bath, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go and greet Uncle like this." Li Zhi suddenly stopped and said to those around him not far from the Ganlu Hall.

"You all rest and wait here. I will hurry back and change my clothes."

"only."

Unlike Li Tai and others, Li Zhi did not leave the palace to establish his own residence; he usually lived in the palace city.

He wanted to go back alone to change his clothes, and the palace servants naturally had no suspicions.

Li Zhi strode quickly along the imperial road into the inner palace. Seeing no one around, he swiftly slipped into a secluded corridor. He skillfully navigated the winding corridors, and soon arrived at a dusty, secluded pavilion.

His heart pounded. He carefully pushed open the pavilion door, and sure enough, the beautiful figure he had been longing for stood gracefully inside.

It was the female official who had just been grinding medicine in the Ganlu Hall and then left under some pretext.

"Sister Wu!"

Li Zhi was overjoyed, a smile that he had never shown before in the Ganlu Palace bloomed on his face, and he rushed towards the woman's beautiful figure in two steps at a time.

"Saburo."

Li Zhi was still young and not yet fully grown, while this woman was even taller than him. She gently lowered her head and embraced Li Zhi affectionately for a moment.

After a moment, she reached out and gently nudged Li Zhi, then said solemnly, "Time is of the essence; this is not the time for our sentimental escapades. Sanlang, I have something to ask you."

Li Zhi seemed reluctant to leave, but when the beauty spoke, he obediently stepped back slightly, though his hands still gently caressed her slender waist. He showed none of the composure and caution he had displayed in the Ganlu Palace, and said with a playful laugh:

"What does my sister want to ask?"

The woman surnamed Wu ignored his strange hand gesture and went straight to Li Zhi, asking, "Do you understand the meaning behind what Your Majesty just said?"

She was standing behind the screen, secretly eavesdropping on the conversation between the emperor and the prince. This was a serious crime in the palace, but Li Zhi showed no reaction.

His smile vanished, and the disdain for Li Tai in his narrow phoenix eyes became clear: "How could I not understand?"

"Father's intention is probably not to punish my elder brother. It's laughable that Qingque schemed so much, inciting the court officials and slandering him to Father."

"Besides causing his father, Kongjiao, to become suspicious and giving him a fright, he's unlikely to get anywhere good."

Thinking of his ailing father, Li Zhi's hand, which had been caressing the beauty's slender waist, stiffened involuntarily. That fat Qingque must have been driven mad by the flattery of the Confucian officials in the literary academy.

Taking advantage of the emperor's illness, he secretly stirred up trouble among the court officials, intending to influence public opinion and push for the emperor to depose the heir apparent...

Little did they know that the entire Tang Dynasty revolved solely around their father, the emperor.

If the Emperor wants to depose the heir apparent, he can do so with a wave of his hand; but if the Emperor does not want to depose the heir apparent, even if the court officials are all in uproar, he will not be able to depose him!

"You have your eye on the Crown Prince?" Consort Wu stared intently at Li Zhi with her almond-shaped eyes.

"...It wasn't my intention." Li Zhi composed himself, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Whether Chengqian or Qingque becomes the crown prince, what does it matter to me?"

"However, compared to Qingque, Chengqian is indeed more tolerant of me. Qingque appears to be honest and kind, but he is actually narrow-minded and has always been fond of seeking fame and reputation. If he ascends to the throne in the future, he will definitely not tolerate you and me."

At this point, Li Zhi's bitter expression deepened... His affair with the beauty before him was a grave transgression against all moral principles, and if it were known to others, even Emperor Chengqian... might not be able to tolerate it.

He simply thought that Chengqian himself was quite absurd and acted arrogantly, disregarding Confucian etiquette and laws, making him more likely to spare his own life than Qingque.

However, his life was like a stagnant pool from birth, only after meeting this beautiful woman with a special identity did it begin to ripple... It was absolutely impossible for him to abandon this beauty.

Even though... she was actually her father's woman.

"Sanlang, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Haven't you ever considered... taking it for yourself?"

When Wu Cairen uttered the words "take it yourself," her voice trembled slightly, as if out of fear, yet also as if she was excited to the extreme deep inside.

"...Take it yourself?" Li Zhi was startled and looked at the beauty in front of him in disbelief. He saw that Wu Cairen's gaze was still burning. Through those almond-shaped eyes that could see through people's hearts, Li Zhi felt that something deep in his heart seemed to be ignited by that gaze.

"Sister, are you referring to... the struggle for the throne?"

Li Zhi trembled uncontrollably.