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

Those present changed their expressions upon hearing Li Yuan's words.

Who was Li Yuan?

That was the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty!

He personally acknowledged that Li Chengqian would be the third emperor of the Tang Dynasty, thus making Li Chengqian the legitimate successor.

Even though Li Shimin is now the emperor, and Li Yuan can only stay in the Da'an Palace and not concern himself with state affairs.

However, he remains the person with the highest status in the Tang Dynasty. If Li Yuan says these words today, even if Li Shimin wants to depose Li Chengqian as crown prince in the future, he will have to think twice.

In some ways, Li Chengqian's ascension to the throne is even more legitimate than Li Shimin's!

Upon hearing Li Yuan's words, Li Tai's face instantly darkened, and his chubby little hands clenched tightly.

Li Shimin, sitting on the dragon throne, couldn't help but open his mouth, and a hint of envy flashed in his eyes as he looked at Li Chengqian.

The civil and military officials were stunned when they heard Li Yuan's words, and then all looked up at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin immediately spoke up:

"Father is right. Gao Ming is the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, the future emperor. Naturally, all the ministers must wholeheartedly assist him!"

Hearing that their emperor had relented, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and then quickly bowed to Li Yuan.

"Your Majesty, we obey!"

Seeing that his rebellious son was actually so sensible, Li Yuan snorted coldly and then spoke to Li Chengqian, who was kneeling in front of him:

"You brat, it's been a long time since you've been to Da'an Palace. Come and drink with me another day!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian immediately flattered:

"Don't worry, Grandpa, I happen to have a few bottles of fine wine. I'll bring them over for you to try another day!"

"Um!"

Hearing his words, Li Yuan nodded in satisfaction, then glanced at Li Shimin above and immediately snorted coldly, saying:

"Hmph! Alright! You two continue your discussion, I won't get in your way anymore!"

With that, he ignored Li Shimin and left without looking back.

Only after Li Yuan completely disappeared from everyone's sight did everyone slowly breathe a sigh of relief.

Especially the ministers below.

One was the emperor, the other the retired emperor; when gods fight, mortals suffer. They were caught in the middle, which was truly unbearable.

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian, who was still kneeling below, and immediately snorted coldly and said:

"Hmph! You unfilial son! Get up now, and stop embarrassing yourself here!"

Then Li Shimin glanced at the assembled officials below and spoke:

"This matter ends here. Wu Zetian shall be granted the title of Consort of the Crown Prince!"

After the Emperor Emeritus's outburst, everyone was at a loss for words.

Even the censors who were originally shouting loudly have fallen silent.

However, at this moment, Wei Zheng stepped forward again and spoke:

"Your Majesty, I wish to impeach Censor Wang Li. Censor Wang Li has committed the crime of disrespecting the Crown Prince and disobeying his superiors. This is the first crime."

Lacking ambition and preoccupied with the Emperor's family affairs, he is merely a figurehead and a licentious official; this is the second crime.

To impeach and slander the crown prince without any real evidence or knowledge of the inside story is no different from treason; this is the third crime.

Sowing discord, inciting discord between His Majesty and the Crown Prince, this is the fourth crime.

Wang Li's actions are unforgivable and too numerous to recount. I implore Your Majesty to execute Wang Li according to the laws of the Tang Dynasty!

These words stunned the entire court.

Li Chengqian, who had just gotten up, couldn't help but gasp when he heard Wei Zheng's words.

What the hell!

As expected of Wei Zheng, he's practically going to kill this censor! That's ruthless!

Upon hearing Wei Zheng's words, Wang Li was so frightened that he turned pale and trembled like a leaf.

"Your Majesty! I...I am an imperial censor. Imperial censors have the right to report matters upon hearing rumors. Even if what I said was inappropriate, it does not warrant death!"

"Hmph! 'Reporting on a whim' is not mere nonsense. As an imperial censor, you have abused your power to attack the crown prince. You not only deserve to die, you deserve a thousand deaths!!!"

Upon hearing his words, Wei Zheng showed no mercy, displaying an attitude that suggested, "If I don't kill you today, I'll change my surname to yours!"

For a moment, Wang Li was rendered speechless by Wei Zheng's rebuttal, and his colleagues around him cast sympathetic glances at him.

Upon seeing this, Wang Li immediately knelt down and pleaded with Li Shimin:

"Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am a member of the Wang family of Taiyuan! Your Majesty, you cannot kill me!"

boom!

The room fell silent upon hearing this.

Originally, Li Shimin thought that this guy's crime was not punishable by death. After all, as he said, even if the censor's report was untrue, it was not a crime punishable by death.

But when he heard the name "Wang Shi," Li Shimin's anger flared up instantly.

The group at the very front couldn't help but look at the guy with pity; he was practically courting death.

Meanwhile, officials in the court who also came from the Wang clan couldn't help but feel a jolt in their hearts.

Holy crap! No way, which branch did you jump out from? If you're looking to die, don't drag us down with you!

At this moment, Li Shimin, sitting on the dragon throne, had a gloomy face. He sneered and looked down at Wang Shan, saying:

"Heh! So this is the Wang family of Taiyuan. I need the Wang family's permission to punish you, is that right?"

Or perhaps you're actually threatening me?!

"No...no, Your Majesty! I had no such intention! I was just...just frightened and babbling nonsense!"

"Heh! What kind of place is this? The Taiji Hall, a place for discussing state affairs, how dare you spout nonsense here?"

"Guards! Censor Wang Li has sown discord between me and the Crown Prince, abused his power, and committed insubordination. According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, he should be executed along with his entire family!"

These words caused an uproar throughout the court.

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

"Your Majesty, this was all done by Wang Shan alone, and has nothing to do with the Wang family of Taiyuan!"

……

In an instant, nearly 70% of the officials in the court stepped forward to urge Li Shimin to reconsider.

Li Shimin, on the other hand, looked at the scene below with a cold expression, his face so gloomy it was almost dripping with water!

All of these officials who stepped forward were from prominent families.

Besides the Wang family of Taiyuan, there were also the Li family of Longxi, the Lu family of Fanyang, the Zheng family of Xingyang, the Cui family of Qinghe, the Cui family of Boling, and some other large and small aristocratic families.

Of all the officials in the court, more than 70% came from prominent families of the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Clans.

The five surnames and seven clans are of the same bloodline, and their intermarriage over a thousand years has made them inextricably linked. If the entire clan were to be exterminated, they would all die.

Li Shimin did not really intend to exterminate their entire clan; at least, now was not the time to wage war against these powerful families.

He said that because he wanted to test the waters.

Now it seems that the Five Surnames and Seven Clans are really... damned!

Even Li Chengqian, who was standing at the very front, couldn't help but frown at this scene.

Dynasties come and go, families last for a thousand years.

This is no exaggeration; the influence of these five surnames and seven clans is terrifying.

No wonder even a man of great talent and ambition like my own father couldn't solve the problems of these aristocratic families by the time he passed away.

It's not that he doesn't want to, but that he can't.