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

Li Yuanchang seemed a little embarrassed; she had come to see her husband off, but instead she was bringing food to another man.

Although his reasons were legitimate and his words were polite, Li Yuanchang himself was somewhat eccentric.

"Your Highness, please accept it. Yi'ai is not good with words, and the princess often does it for him." Fang Xuanling's words gave everyone a way out.

It must be said that a person who can rise to the highest position in the court must have an extremely exaggerated ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

"Thank you, Princess Gaoyang." Li Yuanchang no longer hesitated and accepted the gift directly.

When the wooden box was handed over, the two accidentally touched each other's fingers. It was just an unintentional rub, but Princess Gaoyang, a pioneer of free love, had tears welling up in her eyes.

Not long after, Princess Gaoyang passed away.

Before leaving, he only exchanged a few words with Fang Yiai's official representatives, without revealing any genuine feelings.

Immediately afterwards, the team set off, heading first to Lantian County.

Because Fang Xuanling was too old to ride a horse, Li Yuanchang simply accompanied him in a carriage.

Inside the carriage, the two set up a game of chess.

The black and white forces clashed, the carriage swayed, yet it was quite pleasant.

Fang Xuanling suddenly said, "Your Highness, I apologize for making you laugh just now."

Li Yuanchang knew what he was referring to—not the pastries, but Princess Gaoyang's attitude towards Fang Yi'ai. He didn't know what to say, so he could only force a smile.

Fang Xuanling, seemingly in casual conversation, said with a wry smile, "His Majesty, out of concern for the Fang family and to reward this old man, has married Princess Gaoyang to my son."

"But Yi'ai is weak-willed and uneducated. It's a pity for Princess Gaoyang. She is His Majesty's daughter and the pearl of the Tang Dynasty. Yi'ai is indeed not good enough for her."

There was no pretense in his eyes; he genuinely felt indebted to Princess Gaoyang.

This is indeed the objective fact. Princess Gaoyang was not a member of the imperial family, and Fang Yi'ai was only the second son. Moreover, Fang Yi'ai did not have any merits and did not even have a basic temper.

Li Yuanchang opened his mouth as if to say something, but didn't know how to begin.

You can't exactly say, "Your daughter-in-law is bound to cheat on you, so watch out."

When this reached Li Shimin's ears, Li Yuanchang would be punished, and the Fang family would be thoroughly offended.

Looking at Fang Xuanling, who was so magnanimous and empathetic, he probably couldn't have imagined the fate of the Fang family after his death.

After much hesitation, Li Yuanchang said.

"Master Fang, have you ever considered training Erlang?"

"He doesn't seem to be a bad person by nature, just a little too mild-mannered. Sending him to the army might be a better option."

Fang Xuanling smiled wryly: "Of course I thought about it, but he's not cut out for it. He was dull-witted when he was young and learned martial arts, but he achieved nothing."

"I have done everything I could to turn things around."

As he spoke, a hint of helplessness towards future generations was revealed in the wrinkles of this famous minister.

It seems the old saying "like father, like son" isn't entirely unfounded.

Li Yuanchang took a deep breath.

"All right."

"However... I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

"Your Highness, please speak freely. It's just the two of us here, and I know Your Highness's character well," Fang Xuanling said.

Li Yuanchang placed a black piece and then looked at Fang Xuanling.

"Princess Gaoyang may not be as virtuous as she appears. Although she is a princess, she is also a daughter-in-law of the Fang family, so perhaps Lord Fang doesn't need to treat her so well."

"Scolding is justified, and restrictions are justified. Even His Majesty would probably support this if he knew; he is a wise and sensible ruler."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuanling was surprised, astonished that Li Yuanchang would say such a thing.

He frowned: "Your Highness, although Princess Gaoyang's personality is not ideal, she is, after all, born into the royal family, so some of her personality traits are normal."

Li Yuanchang smiled helplessly; his personality was indeed normal.

Princess Gaoyang's arrogance was only in private; she was still respectful to Fang Xuanling in front of him, which was not a problem for a princess.

But the problem is... Fang Xuanling probably also anticipated what outrageous things Princess Gaoyang might do in the future.

"In short, housing should be restricted where necessary!"

He couldn't explain it too clearly, so he could only offer a hint.

Fang Xuanling's deep eyes flickered slightly. He knew Li Yuanchang wasn't one to speak without reason, but there were limitations...

In his view, Gao Yang simply disliked Fang Yi'ai.

The topic gradually faded away in silence.

Li Yuanchang did not mention it again.

The carriage swayed, and the two had only played less than five games of chess before arriving at Lantian County.

As soon as the group arrived, the magistrate of Lantian County immediately led all the county officials out to greet them. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Li Yuanchang and Fang Xuanling parted ways to attend to their own business.

Fang Xuanling was mainly responsible for sacrificial rites. In ancient times, sacrificial rites were a very complicated matter, and the various procedures could drive a person to the brink of collapse.

Li Yuanchang, on the other hand, had a relatively easier job, only responsible for security.

However, if something goes wrong with this thing, it won't be easy.

Therefore, Li Yuanchang dared not be careless and immediately led his team to Wangchuan. The entire Wangchuan was a hunting ground designated by the Li Tang royal family, which was said to be more than twenty miles in circumference, and could be described as extremely powerful.

Due to its vast area and the fact that hunting grounds are typically remote and rugged terrain, the difficulty of security is constantly increasing.

In Li Yuanchang's memory, he had never heard of Li Shimin being assassinated in the sixteenth year of the Zhenguan era.

But history is just history, and very little of it is actually recorded, so it cannot be taken entirely at face value.

Upon arriving in Wangchuan, Li Yuanchang immediately summoned Kou Zhu, Cheng Chuliang, and others, as well as Tu Fei, a lieutenant general of the Left and Right Guards.

"How are your preparations going?"

"Your Highness, the brothers from Zhechong Prefecture have cleared the area three times in the past few days to ensure that no civilians have accidentally wandered in. The area where another person may have fallen off a horse has also been filled in," Kou Zhu said.

Li Yuanchang nodded, then took his binoculars and looked out over the hillside, where the mountains stretched as far as the eye could see.

"Has there been any search on the mountain?"

"Your Highness, we searched the area to ensure there were no people hiding there. We also sent some brothers to guard the area to prevent any assassins from sneaking in and hiding," Kou Zhu added.

Li Yuanchang nodded again. Actually, it was just a small matter, and he could tell there was no problem.

He was decisive and ruthless: "His Majesty will arrive in five days, so we have plenty of time to prepare."

"In this way, all three thousand soldiers from Lantian County will be transferred here, and starting today, we will gradually complete the encirclement and the guard posts."

"Guo Chao, replace all the sentries in Shaogang with the personal guards of the Prince of Han's mansion, and bring binoculars with them."

"Tu Fei, go survey the camp, and while you're at it, take your men and bring in the supplies needed for the hunt."

"Tu Sitong, go back and tell Sikong that I am not going back and will sleep here."

"Chu Liang, Bao Qi, take your men and come with me for a casual stroll to see the situation on the ground."

"Yes!!" The crowd clasped their hands in a fist salute, their voices thunderous.