In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

Upon returning to the Prince of Han's residence, Fang Weng was astonished to see the guests.

His Highness rejected the Crown Prince, the Prince of Wei, and all attempts to win him over, yet tonight he has surprisingly invited his friends back.

In fact, Li Yuanchang did this for three reasons.

First, these four individuals, and even their fathers, all died peacefully, without participating in any succession struggles within the Li family, and thus faced no political risks.

Second, having more friends means having more options. I'm not saying I want anything from them, but getting to know them is never a bad thing.

In terms of status, Li Yuanchang was higher than all four of them.

Third, they are indeed destined to be together, and their temperaments are compatible. Neither of them are the type to scheme behind people's backs or have a lot of ulterior motives.

Before long, Fang Weng and his men set up a large table of snacks and several jars of fine wine in a side room.

"Your Highness, why is your home so simple?" Cheng Chuliang looked around, his dark face full of doubt.

"Hehe, Your Highness, I hope you're not offended by what I'm saying?"

Li Yuanchang laughed heartily.

"It's nothing."

"The Prince's mansion did have a strong smell of rouge before, but since the wedding is coming up soon, we cleaned it up."

"But Your Highness, your mansion is completely bare of furnishings. It's quite an eye-opener for me. I had imagined it to be magnificent and splendid, with servants always attending to you."

"But I didn't expect it to be just like my home," said Yuchi Baoqi.

"Yes, yes," Tang Jian and the other man echoed.

Li Yuanchang smiled as he poured the wine, and the four men politely accepted it with both hands.

"Gold and silver are like a knife that scrapes your bones, and beauty is like a poison that burns your guts. It's better to be ordinary."

"Your fathers are both extremely intelligent men. You should learn from them, not from those spoiled brats. It won't do you any good."

The four top-tier spoiled rich kids immediately had strange expressions.

That sounds familiar.

But coming from the mouth of Li Yuanchang, the troublemaker, it just felt so awkward to them.

"By the way, stop talking."

"Come on, let's drink."

Li Yuanchang raised his wine glass.

The four men perked up immediately at the mention of drinking, their eyes lighting up.

"Homage to the King of Han!"

"Many thanks to the King of Han for his righteous assistance today!"

"If anything happens in the future, just let us brothers know."

Li Yuanchang was amused; these four were definitely a bunch of clowns. He then tilted his head back and swallowed the wine.

But after that bite, he almost spat it out onto Cheng Chuliang's face right there.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?"

The four men wiped their mouths, seemingly enjoying the fine wine.

"No, it's nothing." Li Yuanchang smiled wryly. Having gotten used to 21st-century wines, drinking Tang Dynasty wines was like drinking urine.

It tastes bad, has no alcohol content, and is not only sour and astringent with a harsh aftertaste, but also has a very strange flavor.

He suddenly had a brilliant idea: once he left Chang'an, he could start his own business, produce distilled liquor, and rake in money from the entire Tang Dynasty aristocratic circle.

While the ultimate goal of the wealthy is power, it cannot be denied that, whether in ancient times or in later generations, the rise of any power requires money as a foundation and support.

"Your Highness, let me offer you another toast." Cheng Chuliang said, filling his own cup again, and the others followed suit, showing great generosity.

It's easy to tell that the four of them were raised under strict family rules, and since none of them were the eldest sons, they were rather rebellious, but not bad people.

Li Yuanchang smiled and drank a few more cups with them.

After several rounds of drinks...

Li Yuanchang started the conversation.

"By the way, do you guys have any grudges against the people from Yipin Tianxia?"

When this matter was brought up, Cheng Chuliang was the most unhappy. He slammed down his wine glass, making a ruckus, and his eyes flashed with anger.

"Your Highness, to be honest, we do have a past grudge!"

"The owner of Yipin Tianxia is a lackey of Changsun Huan, who is the second son of the Changsun family. His elder brother is Changsun Chong, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. Your Highness must already know who is above him."

Li Yuanchang was astonished that such a small restaurant could actually involve so many important figures.

This is not surprising, after all, this is Chang'an, and to gain a foothold, one must find a powerful backer.

"We've known each other since we were kids, but this Changsun Huan is no good. He's full of tricks and always makes trouble for the four of us brothers."

"We even fought in a brothel before, but they didn't win, and they were unhappy about it."

"So, the reason they made things difficult for me at the restaurant during the day and wouldn't let me pay for my noodles was definitely because of that bastard Changsun Huan instigating it!"

Li Yuanchang felt ashamed.

A group of top-tier officials' children are fighting in a brothel. If their fathers knew, wouldn't they break their belts?

"You were too impulsive. If the conflict during the day and the arson at night are discovered, the four of you will be in big trouble. Your father will have to hand them over."

"I was also there during the day. That shopkeeper was deliberately provoking you to make you make a mistake. Once you made a move, you acted arrogantly, smashed things in the street, and committed the crime of injuring people."

"The new Zhenguan Law is meant to govern impulsive people like you."

"Do you understand?"

"You should learn from them. They stay behind the scenes and never show their faces. If something really happens, there will be scapegoats," Li Yuanchang said patiently, seeing that the four men were straightforward and got along well with him.

Upon hearing this, the group was filled with lingering fear.

Cheng Chuliang's eyes widened in a flash, and he was furious.

He slammed his hand on the table again, and in a booming voice, said, "If Your Highness hadn't warned me, I would have almost fallen for that bastard Changsun Huan's dirty trick!"

"Damn it, he's so wicked! He must have learned it from his father, Changsun Wuji; he's full of evil schemes!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Meng and the other two were startled.

After all, cursing Changsun Huan is just child's play for a junior, but cursing Changsun Wuji is a different story.

That was the emperor's brother-in-law, the prime minister, the head of the twenty-four meritorious officials, and Li Shimin's most trusted and relied-upon right-hand man.

The three of them blurted out at the same time, "Chu Liang, stop talking nonsense!"

"Beware, the walls may have ears!"

"You can't just say things like that!"

"What's there to be afraid of? There are no outsiders here anyway. The Changsun family is a bunch of cunning schemers, that's what my father said too!"

Cheng Chuliang, after drinking, became quite indiscreet and Tang Meng immediately covered his mouth.

"Why are you covering me? Your Highness is not an outsider."

"Brother Cheng, Young Master Tang is right, these words really shouldn't be spoken carelessly." Li Yuanchang said seriously, Cheng Chuliang was a bit too reckless.

"It's fine to insult Changsun Huan, but whatever you just said, don't ever mention it again. If your father finds out, he'll hang you up and beat you!"

Upon hearing the name of his father, Cheng Chuliang's eyes immediately cleared, coupled with Li Yuanchang's serious gaze.

He had no choice but to give up, muttering, "Alright, for Your Highness's sake, I won't scold that person anymore."

"But that bastard Changsun Huan deserves to die a horrible death!" he added indignantly.

Li Yuanchang was instantly at a loss for words, but he liked this kind of personality.

In fact, this is a microcosm. The Changsun family is a typical political giant, while the other four are descendants of meritorious officials. The fathers are not from the same lineage, and the sons are even less likely to be on the same page.

"In short, given your status, as long as you don't make any major mistakes, it'll be difficult for you to die in this lifetime."

"But this is Chang'an. We can't act impulsively, or we'll get you all in trouble!"