Tang Dynasty: Consort Wu? Your Majesty, please address her as the Crown Prince's Consort.

Feeling the sharp edge pressed against his throat, and looking at Wu Zetian's resolute yet somewhat timid eyes.

Li Chengqian remained completely calm, and said with a composed expression:

"Do you know that assassinating the crown prince is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family?"

Li Chengqian's tone was icy and devoid of any vitality.

Upon hearing Li Chengqian's words, even Wu Zetian's hand holding the hairpin trembled slightly, and the sharp hairpin accidentally cut open the skin on Li Chengqian's neck due to Wu Zetian's trembling.

Blood began to slowly seep out, and Li Chengqian immediately felt a sharp pain in his neck.

Wu Zetian was startled by this sight, and the hairpin in her hand fell to the ground.

Just then, Li Chengqian reacted swiftly, grabbing Wu Zetian by the neck with icy eyes.

"Are you looking for death? Do you really think I won't kill you?!"

As he spoke, Li Chengqian tightened his grip even more.

A feeling of suffocation surged up instantly, her pretty face flushed red, and tears welled up in Wu Zetian's eyes as she desperately pried at Li Chengqian's iron-like hands.

"Your Highness...I...I know I was wrong!"

In the agonizing agony of suffocation, Wu Zetian managed to utter a single sentence.

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian loosened his grip, and Wu Zetian immediately collapsed to the ground, greedily inhaling the fresh air.

Li Chengqian didn't intend to do anything to her; he did it to scare her.

A woman who dared to hold a hairpin to the neck of a prince as soon as they met—if she isn't taught a lesson, she'll cause trouble in the future!

Ignoring the injury on his neck, Li Chengqian slowly knelt down in front of Wu Zetian and used his fingers to lift her smooth chin.

Seeing the pallor that still lingered on her beautiful face, Li Chengqian spoke softly:

"Can you eat properly now?"

Her beautiful eyes stared at Li Chengqian with a complex expression.

After a moment, she slowly nodded.

"Your Highness~ I'm hungry~"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian nodded in satisfaction and clapped his hands twice.

Snapped!Snapped!

As soon as the sound rang out, the maid who had been waiting outside the door for a long time immediately came in respectfully carrying the food!

Looking at the table full of food, Wu Zetian couldn't help but swallow hard.

She hadn't eaten all day, and seeing so much delicious food, a wave of hunger washed over her instantly.

Upon seeing this, Li Chengqian smiled slightly and said calmly:

"Eat quickly. Follow me well from now on, and I won't treat you badly."

After saying that, Li Chengqian did not linger and immediately turned and left.

When Wu Zetian saw that Li Chengqian left immediately after speaking without any intention of lingering, a look of longing flashed in her eyes.

She subconsciously touched the spot on her neck where Li Chengqian had just pinched her, and then gently ran her fingers over the tip of her tongue.

The fear and worry that had just been in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a captivating, wistful look.

"Hehe! You're really pinching me so hard, it'll be nice if you could pinch me a little harder!"

……

At the same time, Li Chengqian, who had just left Wu Zetian's courtyard, immediately lost his composure.

He immediately winced and gasped, clutching the wound on his neck as he spoke:

"Ouch~ This girl is really ruthless, it hurts like hell!"

Xue Rengui, who was waiting outside the courtyard, saw that Li Chengqian's neck was bleeding and rushed over.

"Your Highness! Are you alright? Was there an assassin? I'll go find someone to catch him right away!"

Seeing Xue Rengui's anxious appearance, Li Chengqian quickly interrupted him:

"I'm fine. I was just bitten by a puppy. Go and call a royal physician to bandage it for me."

However, upon hearing his prince's words, Xue Rengui immediately revealed a strange expression.

Where did this dog from the Eastern Palace come from?

Your Highness really knows how to have fun!

……

Inside the Li Zheng Palace.

"Guanyinbi, that boy Gaoming is getting more and more outrageous. This time he actually stole someone from my harem!"

He no longer resembles a prince at all!

Beside the bed, a graceful and elegant woman sat patiently listening to Li Shimin's complaints.

This person was none other than Empress Zhangsun Wugou, a wise and virtuous empress throughout the ages.

She was also the mother of Crown Prince Li Chengqian, Prince Wei Li Tai, and Prince Jin Li Zhi.

Seeing her husband's indignant expression, even Empress Zhangsun was at a loss for words.

"Alas! Gao Ming is eighteen years old this year and still hasn't married. I thought there was something wrong with him in that area, but now it seems that at least he is still a good man."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin was immediately dumbfounded.

He even saw a hint of relief on his own Guanyin maid's face.

No?

This brat has stolen my concubine, and you seem quite pleased about it?

Seemingly sensing her husband's thoughts, Guanyinbi immediately smiled and comforted him:

"Erlang~ It's rare for Gaoming to fall for a woman, so don't hold it against him. Wu Zetian is, after all, the daughter of a Duke. Even though the Duke of Ying is no longer here, it's really unfair for her to stay in your palace as a lowly concubine."

Don't forget the relationship between Father Emperor and Wu Shihuo. If he finds out you brought Wu Shihuo's daughter into the harem as a concubine, what will he think?

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's heart skipped a beat.

He glanced somewhat guiltily toward the direction of Da'an Palace, then couldn't help but gasp.

hiss~

Holy crap, I almost forgot about that.

My old man and Samurai Go are quite close friends.

When the uprising began in Jinyang, Wu Shihuo, who was then an ordinary timber merchant, spent all his family fortune to support Li Yuan.

It was precisely because of this that his father always remembered this favor, and after the founding of the country, he bestowed upon him the title of Duke of Ying and put him in charge of the Ministry of Revenue.

After he ascended the throne, in order to eliminate his father's influence in the court, he carried out a major reshuffle of court officials.

As a result, Wu Shihuo was reassigned as the governor of Jingzhou, far from the political center of the Tang Dynasty.

Last year, when Samurai Go suddenly died of a serious illness, his own father almost fainted from crying at Da'an Palace.

With the death of Samurai Go, the Samurai family fell into complete decline, and both of his sons were utterly useless.

And so, in order to please him, they even brought out their own sister, Wu Zetian!

He was also very pleased with himself for conquering the Eastern Turks, and seeing that this little girl was not only beautiful but also smart and clever, he didn't think much and took her in directly.

But now, reminded by Guanyinbi, he finally came to his senses.

Given the Emperor's feelings for Wu Shihuo, if he knew what Wu Shihuo had done, he would definitely rush out of the Da'an Palace and slap himself!