My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

Inside the Li Zheng Palace.

Li Shimin was sitting on Empress Zhangsun's soft couch, holding a bowl of freshly cooked lily and mung bean soup, carefully blowing on it.

A few days ago, Empress Zhangsun was sulking with Li Chengqian for several days because of his affair.

This usually dignified Tang emperor has been pulling out all the stops these past few days, swallowing his pride and trying to appease the empress with smiles, finally managing to soften her expression somewhat.

"Guanyinbi, the soup is at the perfect temperature, please have a sip."

Li Shimin scooped up a spoonful and, with a beaming smile, brought it to Empress Zhangsun's lips.

Empress Zhangsun sighed softly as she looked at him, and was just about to speak.

"Father! Mother!"

A clear cheer came from outside the hall.

Little Sizi, like a happy little bird, trotted in, holding the jet-black ice crystal staff in her hand.

The palace maids and eunuchs inside the hall were startled when they saw the object in the little princess's hand that emitted a faint chill. They wanted to stop her but dared not.

"Sizi, slow down, don't fall." Empress Zhangsun pushed away the soup bowl in Li Shimin's hand and looked at her daughter with loving eyes.

Little Sizi ran to the soft couch and raised the staff in her hand as if presenting a treasure.

"Father, Mother, look! This is a magical artifact that Sixteenth Brother made for Sizi! It's so much fun!"

Li Shimin paused for a moment, his gaze falling on the strangely shaped short staff.

He felt the pure coldness emanating from the piece of jade at the tip of the staff, and his eyes immediately lit up.

The things that my sixteenth brother made are definitely celestial treasures!

"Oh? This is the magic weapon Chen'er gave you?" Li Shimin put down the soup bowl, rubbed his hands together, and revealed a smile on his face like the Big Bad Wolf coaxing Little Red Riding Hood.

"Sizi, this magic weapon looks a bit dangerous. You're still young, what if you hurt yourself? Why don't you leave it with your father for now? Your father will keep it safe for you, and by the way... cough, by the way, it can help your father cool down. It's too hot."

As Li Shimin spoke, he reached out to take the staff.

He had a plan in mind: once the staff was in his hands, he could say he was borrowing it to study it, and then he could decide when to use it.

Little Sizi is incredibly clever.

Her big eyes darted around, and she immediately hugged the staff to her chest, took two steps back, and dodged Li Shimin's hand.

The little girl pouted, looking at Li Shimin with a childish yet extremely serious voice.

"Father, my sixteenth brother taught me, 'Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.' I don't want to give you the staff!"

These words were spoken.

Li Shimin's outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

He was stunned for a moment, then burst into a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! Good! What a wonderful 'Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you'!"

Li Shimin turned his head and looked at Empress Zhangsun with a proud expression.

"Guanyinbi, listen to this! Our Sizi is so young, yet he can already recite Confucius's Analects! And he can use it so aptly. It seems that Chen'er hasn't been teaching us all sorts of nonsense these past few days."

Empress Zhangsun was also pleasantly surprised and couldn't help but reach out and pat the little girl's head.

"Sizi is so clever. Now tell your mother, what exactly does that sentence mean?"

Little Sizi puffed out her chest, put her hands on her hips, and looked confident.

"Sixteenth Brother said that what he meant was: I will absolutely not leave you anything that I don't like or want. When I leave, I will pack everything up and take it with me!"

silence.

A deathly silence fell over the Lizheng Hall.

The eunuchs and palace maids around them all lowered their heads, biting their lips tightly, their shoulders shaking wildly.

Empress Zhangsun's smile froze.

She stared blankly at her innocent daughter for a long while before finally covering her mouth with a silk handkerchief and bursting into laughter. The laughter grew louder and louder until tears streamed down her face.

And Li Shimin.

The Tang emperor's face was contorted with anger, and his lips twitched violently.

The veins on his forehead were bulging one after another.

The towering and majestic image of Confucius in his mind completely collapsed at this moment, shattering into pieces.

"The traitor!!!"

Li Shimin suddenly stood up, so angry that he jumped up and down, and roared in the hall without any regard for his image.

"What kind of rubbish is he teaching! Is this the Analects of Confucius?! This is nothing short of bandits coming down from the mountain! Robbers crossing the border!"

"It's bad enough that he's ignorant and incompetent, but he even dares to mislead other students! I'm going to skin him alive today!"

Seeing Li Shimin's furious outburst, Xiao Sizi was not afraid at all; instead, she made a face at him.

"Hehehe! Father Emperor is trying to take Si Zi's things again, Si Zi is ignoring you!"

After saying that, the little girl turned around, took short steps, hugged the ice crystal staff, and fled from the Lizheng Hall like a gust of wind, heading straight for the side hall of the Cold Palace to find her sixteenth brother.

"You...you look at her!" Li Shimin pointed at Xiao Sizi's retreating figure, trembling with anger. "This is the good sister that rebellious son raised!"

Empress Zhangsun laughed as she tugged at his sleeve, her laughter shaking her head: "Alright, alright, children say the darndest things. Although Chen'er's teachings are somewhat biased, look how happy Sizi has been these past few days. You, as his father, even snatch a toy from him, no wonder Sizi used those words to shut you up."

After the Empress's words, Li Shimin's anger subsided considerably, but he still felt stifled.

At this moment, in the courtyard of the side hall.

Li Chengqian was already dressed.

He looked at Li Chen, his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were thinking about something important.

"Sixteenth brother."

Li Chengqian walked to the rocking chair, his tone becoming unusually serious.

"You've been lying here a lot lately, either sleeping or spacing out. I'm starting to think...aren't you getting a little bored?"

Li Chen closed his eyes and yawned.

"What? You want to give me some fun?"

Li Chengqian shook his head, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes.

"No. I mean, once you get bored, someone's bound to suffer."

He looked at Li Chen's calm face and a chill inexplicably rose down his spine.

Li Chen opened his eyes, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

"You understand me best, my elder brother."

He slowly sat up and took out a strange doll made of ironwood and fine steel from his storage bag.

The puppet's joints were covered with intricate runes, and it held a wooden stick in its hand.

"I've been pretty bored lately. So, I spent some time making a little toy."

Li Chen patted the doll's cold head.

"Come, Your Majesty. Now that you're so strong, let's test your resilience over the past two weeks!"

Li Chengqian looked at the faceless, dangerous-looking ironwood puppet and involuntarily took two steps back.

The chill instantly spread throughout my body.