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

"Your Highness, if there is nothing else, I will take my leave. Please let me know if you require anything."

"Okay." Li Yuanchang nodded, quite grateful, and asked for another candle.

After everyone left, he checked his condition by the dim candlelight. His buttocks were beaten bloody and mangled, and his waist had also been hit hard, injuring his bones. It would take at least several months to recover.

But this was actually a light punishment. Li Fan guessed that it was Hou Junji, representing the Crown Prince, or Cheng Yaojin and a few others who secretly helped.

The fifty strokes were certainly delivered, but the force was perhaps slightly less; otherwise, he would have been completely crippled. Even Lu Bu couldn't withstand a proper fifty strokes.

After the examination, Li Yuanchang was in so much pain that he couldn't sleep. He began to think about everything that had happened in the past few days.

He felt like he had been betrayed!

It wasn't just about Consort Yang reminding Wu Zetian, but also about this conflict.

Chai Lingwu's appearance was too coincidental.

There are so many places to drink in Chang'an, but Chai Lingwu just happened to come that day, to the same place, and coincidentally, they even sat next to each other.

By all accounts, it looks like Chai Lingwu is deliberately causing trouble.

Chai Lingwu was a member of the infamous Wei Wang faction in later generations. This might not be obvious now, but Li Yuanchang knew about his background.

Coupled with Li Shimin's unusual behavior of refusing to meet him, Li Yuanchang strongly suspected that Li Tai was behind it all!

His motive was the literary academy banquet. He sent Wei Ting to win him over, but he didn't go himself. Wei Ting regarded Wei Ting as the crown prince's helper and refused to submit to him.

In the increasingly fierce struggle for the throne during the eleventh year of the Zhenguan era, such suppression was not surprising.

But the cruelty of politics and the complexity of human nature far exceed the imagination of ordinary people.

Li Yuanchang did not completely dismiss Li Chengqian's suspicions.

He also rejected his attempts to win him over.

Although Hou Junji was following his instructions and it helped him in some way.

However, one possibility cannot be ruled out: that Li Chengqian orchestrated this whole thing himself, first harming himself and then saving himself, so that Li Chengqian would be grateful and support his future ascension to the throne.

This method is extremely sophisticated and cannot be achieved by anyone but those with the most cunning and shrewdness. It was used extensively by emperors throughout history.

But does Li Chengqian seem like such a cunning person?

If he truly possessed such cunning, he wouldn't have been so easily frightened by the King of Wei, ultimately leading to his own demise.

"..."

Just one day later, Li Yuanchang's doubts were completely answered.

late at night.

An uninvited guest arrived at the Imperial Clan Court.

When disembarking from the carriage, someone would step on their back to help them down, making a grand display that none of the Imperial Guards dared to stop them.

After removing his cloak, his bulky body stepped into the Imperial Clan Court's prison.

Li Yuanchang, imprisoned in this cell, hadn't slept at all. Hearing footsteps, he suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze as fierce as a torch.

As the footsteps grew closer, a group of people emerged from the darkness.

The leader was a bloated man, like a ball of flesh, but he was not unattractive. He had fair skin and an air of nobility. He was at most seventeen or eighteen years old, or even younger. He was followed by a number of guards.

"It really was you!"

Li Yuanchang stared coldly at the obese boy in front of him, who was none other than Li Tai, Qingque, the most favored person in the world, so much so that he was favored beyond the bounds of etiquette.

"Seventh Uncle, did you know I was coming?" Li Tai asked in surprise.

As he spoke, he said, "Quickly, go and check Uncle Qi's injury."

Stop pretending!

Li Yuanchang is ruthless; whoever appears first is the one who will harm him.

"From the day of my wedding, you were the one orchestrating everything behind the scenes, weren't you?"

Li Tai's eyes narrowed slightly, and the expressions of the people he brought with him also flickered.

"I don't understand what Seventh Uncle is saying."

Li Yuanchang said calmly, "It was you who slandered this child to His Majesty, saying that if this child were a girl, she would be the ruler of the world."

Li Tai frowned: "Seventh Uncle, am I really that despicable in your eyes?"

"If I wanted to harm you, I would do so based on your own slander, not on the slander of Lady Wu."

Li Yuanchang gave a sarcastic smile.

"Because you're smart. You know that directly attacking and impeaching me to His Majesty will displease and arouse his suspicion, which will damage your image as a good son."

"So you took a more roundabout approach, targeting the dirty water with Meiniang and introducing that rumor into the palace. At that time, Meiniang was the prospective Princess Consort of Han."

"If something like this happens, His Majesty will harbor resentment towards me."

"But you underestimate His Majesty and I. His Majesty not only has no ill will towards me, but also intends to compensate me. I can still go to Liangzhou and seize military and political power."

"At this point, you became anxious. You were afraid that after I went to my fiefdom, I would completely become the Crown Prince's man, so you came up with your second move."

"That's Chai Lingwu from not long ago!"

"Chai Lingwu is merely a pawn in your game. You send him to provoke and humiliate me, thereby causing me to make a mistake and completely eliminating me, your dissident."

"But His Majesty still hasn't killed me. Now is it more appropriate for you to appear, pretending to be a good person? Are you trying to lend me a hand in my most difficult time?"

Li Yuanchang's words were piercing to the heart.

"You've hidden it all too well; you're definitely more cunning than your older brother!"

Li Tai calmly said, "King Han, your imagination is a bit too rich."

"I came here on Your Majesty's behalf to see you and treat your injuries, but you think of Qingque like this. Qingque is very sad."

"This must be the eldest brother stirring up trouble again."

He denied it and even threw dirty water on Li Chengqian.

But Li Yuanchang, being a second-generation man, was no naive newcomer. He felt disgusted looking at the seemingly honest Li Tai!

"Qingque, you will pay the price!" He suddenly said, staring intently at Li Tai, like a beast that had been awakened.

Li Tai sensed danger, and his expression finally changed, transforming from honest and friendly to gloomy and ruthless, with a cunning beyond his years appearing in his eyes.

"Seventh Uncle, don't you think it's too late for you to say all this now?"

"You should come out first before we talk."

Having said that, it's tantamount to admitting it indirectly.

A cold smile appeared on Li Yuanchang's lips.

"You fatso, just you wait!"

Li Tai's plump, pale face darkened.

Seeing that it was impossible to win him over, Li Yuanchang had already seen through it all, so he stopped hiding it.

She said softly, "You're lucky to be alive, but some people aren't so lucky."

"That woman from the Wu family will probably die because of Seventh Uncle's ungratefulness!"

"Let's go!"

Li Tai snorted and turned to leave.

Although he acted tough, the word "fatso" and the ruthless exposure of his hypocrisy still angered him.

Li Yuanchang clenched his fists, burning with rage!

Threatening him with Wu Zetian touched a raw nerve!

This feud is irreconcilable and will never end.

But he didn't shout or yell; he just stared at the other person coldly.

He knew that nothing he said would make a difference; politics was not a place for reason. If he wanted revenge, he had to get out of there first. If he wanted to protect Wu Zetian, he had to get Li Shimin to grant him a pardon. The same applied to getting revenge on Li Tai.

He has to save himself from everything!

In just a dozen or so breaths, his cold, sharp gaze deepened, as if he had already come up with a solution.