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

Tang Meng, Yuchi Baoqi, Li Chongzhen, and Cheng Chuliang all felt a warmth in their hearts upon hearing this.

All four of them were under twenty years old and in their rebellious phase, so their father's scolding was ineffective.

But for some reason, they took Li Yuanchang's advice to heart. Perhaps this was a common trait among people their age, a result of the goodwill they felt towards Li Yuanchang for his help not long ago, and also a result of their shared affinity over time.

"good!"

"Your Highness, please rest assured, we will be more careful in the future."

"Thank you for the reminder, Your Highness!"

"Come on, let's not talk about those unpleasant things anymore. It's fate and a blessing for the four of us brothers to know His Highness."

"Come on, let's have a toast!" Tang Meng said in a measured tone.

"Alright, let's drink until we drop tonight!" Li Yuanchang laughed, rolling up his sleeves without the slightest airs.

Having come to the Tang Dynasty, he had been suppressing his emotions for too long; tonight, he would drink himself into oblivion!

"Hahaha!"

"Come!"

All four laughed heartily, treating each other with sincerity and without any guile.

This was rare in ancient times, especially among the noble and meritorious circles of Chang'an. Most people wore a mask, their hearts filled with self-interest and calculation. They would call you brother to your face, but turn around and stab you in the back.

Li Yuanchang thought it was pretty good to get to know the "Four Demon Kings". Now he had a wife and friends.

Then, the tone of the drinking party suddenly changed!

Men can't drink without talking about women, and this was true in ancient times as well.

Li Chongzhen started the conversation first, and then he couldn't stop talking!

The top courtesan at that brothel had a big butt, and the young female prostitutes there had full breasts. This guy knew exactly where to find pretty widows in Chang'an.

Immediately afterwards, all sorts of things, like water and red beans, came.

Loud laughter, something only men would understand, could be heard from inside the private room from time to time.

The fighting finally subsided in the middle of the night.

The four men, drunk, put their arms around Li Yuanchang's shoulders.

"Brother Yuanchang, from today onwards, you are my elder brother, Cheng Chuliang's own brother, hiccup!!"

"If you want to fight, come find me, I'll be the first one to charge!"

"That's right, I haven't been this happy in a long time. I'm always being mistreated in the manor, it's so much better here with Your Highness!"

"Your Highness, you're getting married soon! Your brothers and I will definitely come to celebrate with you, and I'll also give you a miraculous elixir!"

"And another one!" Li Chongzhen was so drunk he could barely walk straight, and he raised a finger.

"Brother, Chongzhen insists on taking you to the most famous pleasure boat in Chang'an. The silver spears with 'tongue-rolling' on them are truly amazing!"

Li Yuanchang, supporting the two men on either side, was both amused and exasperated; these two were truly remarkable.

As for Yuchi Baoqi and Tang Meng, those two were completely drunk and had to be carried away by the servants of the Prince's Mansion.

Li Yuanchang escorted the person to the side gate, instructing his servants to ensure the person's safe arrival by carriage.

The four guys were still talking nonsense in the carriage, calling each other "brother" and completely messing up the seniority system in the Tang Dynasty.

According to seniority, Li Yuanchang was actually a generation older than the four, and since he was Li Shimin's brother, he was of the same generation as Cheng Yaojin and the others.

"..."

After this bout of drunkenness, the relationship between the five people began to improve dramatically.

Cheng Chuliang and his three friends would frequently visit the Prince of Han's residence, either to drink or to seek pleasure.

But with Li Yuanchang's wedding imminent, there were too many things to do.

Moreover, it was precisely during this time of being released on bail and protecting himself that he weighed the pros and cons and never went out, but instead entertained the four people at home.

However, he did not stay home completely; there was an exception, namely Wu Zetian.

In the twenty days leading up to their wedding, the two began to meet secretly more and more frequently.

Although it was against the rules, worldly views could not stop a soul from a future life and a woman who was born different from others from their own beginnings from going together.

The two secretly left the city and, like any ordinary couple, rode horses, shot arrows, fished, went for walks in nature, picked fruit... their relationship quickly blossomed.

Wu Mei called Li Yuanchang "Seventh Brother".

Li Yuanchang added the courtesy name "Meiniang" to Wu Mei.

The two were deeply in love and met frequently in private, exchanging letters three times a day.

And so, as the days passed by, the wedding day finally arrived!

The imperial entourage decorated the Prince's mansion in a festive manner, with the three-mile-long street adorned with auspicious characters and a red carpet stretching from the main gate to the backyard.

Countless imperial relatives, civil and military officials from Chang'an sent congratulatory gifts.

Even Li Tai's men, after being politely refused by Li Yuanchang, still sent gifts as was customary.

The day before the wedding, the entire city of Chang'an was in an uproar!

To demonstrate the majesty of the imperial family and to show how good Li Shimin was as the second elder brother, he ordered an edict to be drafted and proclaimed to Chang'an that the city's curfew would be lifted for two days to celebrate the wedding of the Prince of Han, so that the people could enjoy the festivities together.

This proclamation shook the entire world and Chang'an!

The curfew was only lifted on major national holidays like the Lantern Festival, but it was temporarily lifted for the sake of the King of Han's wedding.

For a time, the entire city of Chang'an was filled with praise for Li Shimin's kindness towards his brothers.

For a fleeting moment, Li Yuanchang even felt the same way.

Along with the proclamation came Li Shimin's lavish rewards.

Leaving aside the gold, silver, jewels, silks, satins, carriages, and antiques, the most important thing was Li Shimin's formal investiture!

"Li Yuanchang, the Prince of Han, is hereby appointed as the Prefect of Liangzhou, concurrently serving as the Commander-in-Chief, and later as the Grand Commander-in-Chief, in charge of the administration, judiciary, and military affairs of Liangzhou..."

boom!

The scene in front of the Prince of Han's mansion erupted in chaos.

"Congratulations, King Han! Congratulations, King Han!"

"His Majesty's favor towards the Prince of Han, appointing him Governor of Liangzhou and concurrently Grand Commander, is truly evident to Heaven!"

"The future of the King of Han is promising, a truly promising future!"

Amidst the compliments, Li Yuanchang calmly accepted the imperial edict and exclaimed, "Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!"

This moment also marked his complete transformation from a Han king with little real power into a high-ranking official in charge of a region.

But Li Yuanchang was also well aware that this so-called regional governor was the highest position the common people could hope for, but in Chang'an, it was nothing.

There were at least two or three hundred such high-ranking officials in the Tang Dynasty, but his rank was higher, since he held the title of Prince of Han.

With abundant resources and a elite force, would Li Shimin dare to send him across?

The eunuch said with a smile, "Your Highness, congratulations."

"The first five of the six rites—betrothal, asking the name, accepting auspicious gifts, presenting betrothal gifts, and setting the wedding date—have all been completed."

"Now there's only one last thing left: the welcoming ceremony."

"The Imperial Household Department and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs are also handling things at the Wu Mansion. Tomorrow morning, His Highness the Prince of Han can go to fetch the bride."

"His Majesty also asked me to convey a message to you, saying that after the wedding, Your Highness Prince of Han does not need to rush to leave. It would be fine for you to stay in Chang'an with Princess Han for a while."

Li Yuanchang certainly understood the subtext: he was letting you stay for a short while, not asking you to stay indefinitely.

In ancient times, it was quite a sensitive matter for a prince not to go to his fiefdom.

The other princes lingered and refused to leave, but he couldn't wait to go.

"good!"

"Please trouble Lord Chang to go back and report to His Majesty, and tell him that I thank His Majesty for his concern, but I still want to go to Liangzhou to take up my post as soon as possible, so as to share some of the pressure with His Majesty."

The eunuch gave him a knowing smile.

"Then I will return to report."

"Fang Weng, please see this off for me."

"yes!"

Watching the imperial procession depart, Li Yuanchang turned back, a relieved smile spreading across his face.

He was finally going to marry Wu Zetian and finally leave Chang'an, this place of trouble!