My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

For several days in a row, the east courtyard of the Qin Prince's Mansion was filled with earth-shaking noises, as if a demolition crew was carrying out construction work.

Qin Qiong, Qin Huaidao, and the Crown Prince Li Chengqian, who seemed to thrive on chaos.

These three body-building fanatics, with muscles as thick as iron towers, would start their crazy brawls in the training ground before dawn every day.

The sonic booms, with their powerful punches and surging air currents, kept Li Chen from getting a peaceful nap.

That noon, Qin Huaidao and Crown Prince Li Chengqian began again.

Unable to bear it any longer, Li Chen finally decided to escape this "muscle hell" filled with sweat and violent hormones.

He changed into a low-key moon-white casual outfit and draped a rather inconspicuous fox fur cloak over his shoulders.

Holding the hand of the little girl, who was wrapped up like a red cotton ball, in his left hand, followed by Qin Wan'er, who was dressed in a light green ruqun and looked elegant and refined, the three of them strolled out of the gate of the Qin Prince's mansion and headed towards the bustling East Market of Chang'an.

As the first snow melts, the weather becomes extremely cold and biting.

However, the East Market of Chang'an City remained a bustling and prosperous scene with a constant flow of traffic.

On both sides of the street, stalls selling flatbread and hot soup noodles were steaming with heat.

Merchants from the Western Regions, leading camels, loudly hawked their wares in broken Tang Dynasty Mandarin. The bustling sounds, brimming with the warmth of everyday life, brought a long-lost sense of peace and vitality to Li Chen's Dao heart, which had gradually grown somewhat indifferent during his years of cultivation.

"Sixteenth Brother! Sizi wants to eat that! The bright red one!"

Riding on Li Chen's shoulders, the little ox excitedly waved its gloved little hands, pointing to a vendor carrying a haystack not far ahead.

The haystacks were covered with strings of candied hawthorns, their red color glistening with sugar coating and looking incredibly tempting.

"Little glutton."

Li Chen smiled indulgently, strode forward, took out a few copper coins and tossed them to the vendor, then casually picked off the two largest and reddest strings of candied hawthorns.

He took the little girl off his neck and handed her a string of skewers.

Then he turned around and handed another string of candied hawthorns to Qin Wan'er.

"Wan'er, here, you can try some too," Li Chen said casually.

"Huh? For...for me?"

Qin Wan'er was taken aback. She was the daughter of the Duke of Yi, raised under strict rules; she had never eaten such street food before.

Looking at the string of glistening candied hawthorns, and then at Li Chen's gentle, smiling face.

The girl's cheeks flushed red instantly, and her heart felt like a deer was pounding wildly.

She carefully reached out and took it, saying softly, "Thank you, Your Highness..."

That shy, lowered head, bathed in the warm winter sun, was even more radiant and captivating than a candied hawthorn, drawing the attention of many passersby who secretly marveled at whose beautiful young lady she was.

"Wow! It's so sweet! Sweet and sour, it's delicious!"

Little Sizi took a bite of half a hawthorn, chewed it in her mouth like a little hamster, the syrup covering the corners of her mouth, and her eyes narrowed into slits with happiness.

"Eat slowly, don't choke. Look at you, you've got food all over your face."

Seeing this, Qin Wan'er quickly took out a silk handkerchief with a faint fragrance from her sleeve, squatted down, and gently wiped the sugar stains from the corner of Xiao Sizi's mouth.

Li Chen stood aside, watching this heartwarming scene.

A delicate, beautiful young girl, a stunningly beautiful woman with a gentle and graceful demeanor, all amidst the bustling noise of the surrounding marketplace.

At this moment, Li Chen had the strange feeling that he was just an ordinary family of three strolling on the street.

"These peaceful days are quite nice," Li Chen thought to himself.

However, it was in this peaceful and warm atmosphere that...

At the other end of the street, less than thirty steps away from Li Chen and his companions.

Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty had just finished his court session.

He changed into a blue silk robe like that of an ordinary wealthy man, accompanied only by Crown Prince Li Chengqian, who was also dressed in plain clothes, and several secret agents of the Imperial Guards disguised as servants who followed far behind.

This most distinguished father and son in the world were walking familiarly towards the Qin King's mansion.

"Chengqian, you showed considerable improvement in dealing with those stubborn old aristocratic families in court today. Your arguments were well-reasoned and logical, which greatly pleases me!"

As Li Shimin walked, he praised his eldest son with satisfaction.

Li Chengqian stroked the stubble that had just grown on his chin and chuckled.

"Father, you flatter me. I learned this from my sixteenth brother. When dealing with those unreasonable pedantic scholars, you can't give them a pleasant look; you have to overwhelm them with your imposing manner!"

"You little rascal, you've really picked up Chen'er's reckless spirit perfectly."

Li Shimin smiled and shook his head, then touched his belly.

"Enough said. We argued in court all morning, and now my stomach is growling with hunger."

Li Shimin's eyes lit up. "Hurry, hurry! Today I had the imperial kitchen prepare several fresh Yellow River fish. Let's rush to the Prince of Qin's residence and have Chen'er make some kind of boiled fish fillets! If we're late, that kid will definitely make an excuse to sleep and refuse to see guests again!"

The father and son quickened their pace.

Just as he turned a corner, Li Shimin, with his sharp eyes, spotted Li Chen and his two companions standing next to the candied hawthorn stall.

"Oh! Chen'er!"

Li Shimin was overjoyed and subconsciously raised his right hand, ready to greet loudly and call out to the sixteenth son who was trying to avoid him all day long.

but.

Just as Li Shimin raised his hand, his attention was entirely focused on Li Chen.

An accident has occurred!

On the streets of Chang'an, where the snow had just melted the night before, a thin, barely perceptible layer of dark ice had formed in the low-lying areas of the bluestone pavement.

To Li Shimin's left, a woman who had just bought something from a butcher shop was hurrying over with a basket in her arms.

This woman was incredibly "majestic and imposing".

He was over eight feet tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, his physique even more rugged than those burly men in the army who wielded swords and spears. To make matters worse, he had several large black moles on his face, making him look rather frightening.

The burly, ugly woman was walking too fast and stepped right on the dark ice!

"Ouch!"

The ugly woman slipped, and her huge and heavy body instantly lost its balance. Like a collapsing mountain of flesh, she uncontrollably crashed down on Li Shimin, who was waving his hand beside her!

Upon hearing the noise, Li Shimin turned his head sharply.

A mountain of meat, accompanied by a strong, pungent smell of pork, was coming towards us.

Li Shimin was, after all, an unparalleled emperor who conquered the world on horseback. Even though he was old, his solid martial arts foundation and muscle memory were still there.

In that split second...

Li Shimin instinctively steadied himself in a horse stance, his hands flashing forward like lightning, attempting to catch his opponent in mid-air and prevent himself from being knocked to the ground by the immense force.

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed through the street.

Li Shimin's hands landed squarely and firmly on the chest of the burly, ugly woman!

At that moment, time seemed to stand still.

Li Shimin's face flushed red instantly, and his mind went blank for a moment.

He had assumed that a woman's body would be soft, but when he pressed down with his hands, he found that the area he touched was as hard as iron. The hard, muscular feel was even more solid than Yuchi Jingde's pectoral muscles!

If it weren't for the fact that the other person was wearing a floral green women's dress and had a pearl flower in their hair, Li Shimin would have thought he was pinned down by a Turkic wrestler!

"ah--!!!"

After a brief silence.

The burly, ugly woman whose chest was being held down by Li Shimin suddenly let out a shrill, pig-like scream!

"You lecherous scoundrel! You shameless old pervert! How dare you take advantage of me in broad daylight! This is indecent assault!"

The ugly woman screamed and waved her thick arms, raising the basket full of pig intestines in her hand, as if to smash it down on Li Shimin's handsome and majestic face.

"presumptuous!"

Li Chengqian, who was following behind, was startled, and then flew into a rage.