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

"Your Majesty, you mustn't! The title of General of Heavenly Strategy was once exclusively reserved for Your Majesty. You swept across the land and fought countless battles to obtain this title. Now, His Highness the Crown Prince has only fought one battle. How can he be granted the title of General of Heavenly Strategy?"

Before Li Shimin could even speak, the officials from the powerful families couldn't sit still any longer.

Just kidding, if they keep blocking them like this, they'll all be out of the game.

Seeing the group of powerful officials who jumped out to oppose him, Li Shimin was unsure whether to be happy or angry.

He's happy because someone has given him a way out, so he doesn't actually have to appoint that rebellious son as the Grand General of Heavenly Strategy. He's angry because these aristocratic families still want to get involved in the Li family's struggle for the crown prince position!

Regardless, let's save face first.

"General Tian Ce is indeed inappropriate. The Crown Prince is young and needs more time to reflect! Let's adjourn the court for now!"

After saying that, Li Shimin ignored everyone else and immediately turned and left.

Li Ke was dumbfounded when he saw his father leave after saying just one sentence.

No! Your subject hasn't finished speaking yet! How can you say that my elder brother is unworthy of the title of General Tian Ce? Your subject would like to argue a few more points!

Seeing his expression, Li Chengqian chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, saying:

"Alright! Come back with me. I'll have your sister-in-law make lotus seed soup!"

"Oh! Father is so stingy! He's just a General of the Heavenly Strategy Army. In the future, the entire Tang Dynasty will belong to you, Big Brother!"

Although Li Ke's voice was soft, it was clearly heard by Li Tai, Wang Gui, and others who were not far away.

Li Tai couldn't help but clench his fist.

Hehe! It's not certain who will rule the Tang Dynasty yet. My "Complete Annals of the Land" is almost finished, and I'm sure I'll win Father's favor then.

What good are Li Chengqian's outstanding military achievements? In the end, it all comes down to who wins Father's favor more.

Thinking of this, Li Tai's mood improved slightly, and he immediately snorted coldly and turned away.

Li Chengqian was also somewhat surprised to see Li Tai like this. He turned to Li Ke beside him and said:

"I've only been gone a few months, and this kid's already this arrogant? He doesn't even greet his older brother!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ke couldn't help but remind him:

"Brother, you should be more careful in the future. It seems that the fourth brother has made contact with people from the Zheng family of Xingyang and the Wang family of Taiyuan. Look at Wang Gui in the court today. He tried to suppress your military achievements as soon as he came up. He obviously wants to help Li Tai take the throne."

The power of this aristocratic family should not be underestimated!

Although Li Ke went to his fiefdom early on, he still understood some things about the court. Over the years, due to various reasons, his father had been hampered by powerful families in many matters.

Moreover, his mother was actually from a prominent family. The Sui Dynasty royal family was a branch of the Hongnong Yang clan, and he knew just how capable a prominent family could be.

Seeing his younger brother's concerned expression, Li Chengqian couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart.

He smiled slightly, and then spoke calmly:

"Actually, I know all of this. Not only that, I also know that the Zheng family of Xingyang colluded with the Yinan to betray my whereabouts, intending to leave me on the grasslands forever!"

"What?"

Li Ke was shocked to hear his elder brother's words, and then he flew into a rage.

"Damn it! What did they do? Colluding with foreign tribes and plotting to assassinate the crown prince—such a crime deserves the extermination of nine generations of their family!"

As he spoke, he grabbed Li Chengqian's arm and said anxiously:

"Let's go! Big brother! Let's go tell Father about this!"

However, when he pulled hard, Li Chengqian behind him did not budge.

Upon seeing this, Li Ke looked at him with a face full of confusion.

"Big brother?"

"Hehe! The old man can't handle this matter. He has too many things to consider. The five clans and seven noble families are of one mind. Don't be fooled by the fact that some of them are currently neutral, some are supporting Li Tai, and some are even showing signs of leaning towards me. But when one of their clans faces a crisis of extinction, the other noble families will definitely not sit idly by."

Because if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold, they cannot back down in this matter.

Therefore, openly convicting them is not an option!

Upon hearing this, Li Ke immediately became anxious.

"Are we just going to let it go like this? That's too easy on them!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian immediately sneered and said:

"Heh! Of course, we can't just let it go like this. If we can't do it openly, we'll resort to underhanded tactics. Who doesn't know how to play dirty tricks?"

Looking at his older brother's sinister little eyes, Li Ke couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"What are you planning to do, brother?"

You'll find out in a few days!

……

Ritsujeon Hall!

As soon as the court session ended, Li Shimin went straight to his wife to complain about what had happened in court that day.

"Guanyinbi, you don't know, I originally thought that by recalling Ke'er, I could have him and Qingque work together to teach that rebellious son a lesson and make him behave himself in the future."

But I never expected Ke'er to have such a good relationship with that rebellious son. You didn't see the way Ke'er looked at him; he's never looked at me with such adoration!

At this point, Li Shimin's tone even carried a hint of jealousy. What father doesn't want to be admired by his child?

Unfortunately, one of his children was a rebellious son, and the other admired him. Although Qingque was a good person, he feared him more than he admired him. His other sons avoided him like the plague, and they all looked anxious and apprehensive in his presence.

Looking at Li Shimin, who was crying and looking aggrieved in her arms, Empress Zhangsun couldn't help but feel a little helpless.

But she still gently stroked the back of Li Shimin's head to comfort him:

"Alright, Erlang~ Actually, this is a good thing. Their brotherly bond is strong, so there won't be any fratricide in the future. Isn't that what you hoped for, Erlang?"

As she spoke, she couldn't help but sigh and said:

"In fact, Qingque and Gaoming are siblings from the same mother. Although Gaoming often teased Qingque when they were in the Qin Prince's Mansion, the two brothers still had a good relationship."

Even later, when Xue Wanche attacked the Qin Prince's Mansion, I could still see Qingque standing in front of Gao Ming!

But things changed after you took this position, Erlang. As your mother, I could see the ambition in Qingque's eyes when he came to pay his respects to me.

Erlang, I don't want to see either of these children get hurt; they are both my sons!

As she spoke, Empress Zhangsun's eyes gradually welled up with tears. Li Shimin, seeing this, panicked and quickly stood up, embracing his wife and saying:

"Guanyinbi! Don't worry, I... I also want to hone Gaoming. He's had too smooth a journey. As an emperor, how can things always go smoothly? Rather than him suffering setbacks after he ascends the throne, it's better to hone him while I can still support him."

As for Qingque, I will not let anything happen to him. They are also my sons, and I will not let anything happen to any of them!

After coaxing her for a while, Empress Zhangsun finally calmed down a bit.

Seeing this, Li Shimin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

As an emperor, what he feared most in his life was the tears of the woman before him!

Just then, Empress Zhangsun suddenly remembered something, turned to Li Shimin beside her, and said:

"Gao Ming already has a concubine and a royal consort, but the position of Crown Princess remains vacant. This won't do. Gao Ming is destined to be emperor. We should arrange a Crown Princess for him as soon as possible so that a legitimate son can be born sooner, and we can hold our grandsons sooner!"