Time Travel: I am the idle king Li Shen and Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty

Li Shen got up very early again. Today was the first day of the new year, and all the nobles and officials in Chang'an who were of a certain rank had to go to the palace to meet the emperor.

To put it simply, it's about wishing the emperor a Happy New Year and saying auspicious things to him.

Moreover, there is another crucial part to today's ceremony: the sacrificial ritual.

We offer sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, and to our ancestors, wishing for peace and prosperity for the Tang Dynasty, and praying for a bountiful harvest and favorable weather in the coming year.

The event that Li Shen was required to attend was the ancestral worship ceremony.

Early in the morning, Li Shen carried Li Xu into the carriage and entered the palace in a daze.

As dawn broke, all the officials had already arrived, and servants from the seven ancestral temples were busy preparing for the sacrificial ceremony.

At the entrance of the Vermilion Bird Gate, Li Shen's carriage stopped, and Li Shen jumped off the carriage with the one-year-old Li Xu in his arms.

"Oops~~~" Li Shen yawned and forced himself to walk into the palace.

"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Ji." Someone greeted Li Shen on the way.

"Oh, Minister Tang is here early."

"Duke Zhao, there's no need for such formalities."

"You are courteous to Attendant Yu."

"Ouch~~~"

Li Shen greeted everyone as he walked past them; his destination was naturally the harem.

"Minister Tang, is Prince Ji holding something in his hand?"

A court official approached Tang Jian and asked him in a low voice.

Tang Jian looked into the distance and recalled for a moment:

"There seems to be something there. I didn't notice what it was at the time."

"Hehe, perhaps it's something to warm your hands. His Highness Prince Ji always enjoys it and often comes up with new items."

Another official laughed.

But at that moment, Yu Zhining said something:

"Why do I feel like Prince Ji is holding a child?"

"A child?" Everyone looked towards the direction of the inner palace in surprise, and vaguely saw Prince Ji carrying something.

Li Shen traveled without hindrance. When Li Shimin heard that Li Shen had arrived, he immediately ordered him to assemble at the Lizheng Hall.

As soon as Li Shen entered the Lizheng Hall, he saw that there were already quite a few people inside.

Li Shen thought he was early enough, but he didn't expect that there were people who were earlier than him.

"Thump!" Li Shen knelt down in front of Li Shimin and respectfully kowtowed.

"Greetings to Father and Mother. May Father and Mother live long and prosper, enjoy boundless blessings, and be blessed with good health and longevity."

"Haha, fine, you get up... You wretched thing, you unfilial son, what are you doing?"

Li Shimin was laughing heartily when he suddenly cursed, leaving Li Shen stunned.

"Huh?" Li Shen looked up.

"Oh dear, you child." Empress Zhangsun walked over, bent down and picked up Li Xu from Li Shen's arms.

"Oh my god, what is this thing?" Li Shen looked down and realized that he was still carrying a child, and he was startled.

He forgot about Li Xu in his hand. The weight of about 20 kilograms was not much of a feeling for Li Shen, who was over 1.8 meters tall.

He chatted with many people along the way and had long forgotten about Li Xu.

And her son was well-behaved, clinging to her arm without making a fuss.

"Bang!!"

While Li Shen was still in a daze, Li Shimin came to Li Shen's side and kicked him hard, making Li Shen roll several times on the ground.

"Ouch!" Li Shen cried out in pain.

"You scoundrel! People say even tigers don't eat their cubs, is this how you treat your son?" Li Shimin looked down at Li Shen with a furious glare.

"Father, didn't you treat me the same way?" Li Shen said, rubbing his ribs, feeling wronged.

Even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet you still hit me like that. I almost kicked myself and got a stitch in my side.

"You unfilial son, how dare you talk back?" Li Shimin kicked Li Shen's thigh again, and Li Shen shouted again.

Just then, Li Tai walked out with a smile and said to Li Shen:

"Hey, Tenth Brother, what Father said is right. He's your own son, after all. Is this how you treat him?"

Look how cold it is! What if he gets hurt? Even if you don't care about our father-son relationship, he is still of royal blood and a legitimate son of the Prince Ji's family.

What? Could it be that Tenth Prince intends to establish the eldest son as heir instead of the legitimate heir?

"Ok?"

As soon as Li Tai finished speaking, Li Shimin's expression changed immediately. He frowned and looked sharply at Li Shen.

This is no small matter; it's a big deal.

This precedent cannot be set by the royal family first, otherwise it would be going against the will of the ancestors.

The purpose of establishing the heir apparent was to prevent princes from vying for the throne, to avoid powerful clans supporting different princes, which could lead to numerous factions, instability in the country, and compromise the stability of imperial power.

After all, the throne is the pinnacle of power, holding the power of life and death, and controlling everything.

By then, powerful clans and aristocratic families would all fall from grace, threatening the rule of the imperial power.

This is something no emperor wanted to see.

Li Shimin was the most powerful monarch; how could he not know this principle? The consequences would be far too severe.

Therefore, Li Shimin's gaze towards Li Shen was different at this moment.

He could tolerate Li Shen's reckless actions, but there were certain bottom lines.

"Father, Father, please listen to my explanation. I never had such a thought, otherwise I wouldn't have brought Li Xu here alone today."

"My son really didn't mean it."

Damn it, that bastard Li Tai actually tried to harm me, how could he be so vicious?

Li Shen cursed Li Tai in his heart. Even though he was a time traveler from the future, he never had such thoughts.

Even if there were changes, they were only minor alterations within the Prince's residence, and there was never any intention to change the heir.

Although he wasn't the emperor, he knew what he should and shouldn't do.

The Prince Ji's family is large and powerful, and there must be an heir in the future. He also does not want his sons to fight each other for the inheritance.

It's good to designate an heir in advance, so that the other children can give up their hopes sooner, and their biological mother won't have to compete for favor.

"Hmph, Li Shen, you've always acted so recklessly, it's not surprising that you have such thoughts."

Over the years, you've followed the rules in everything you've done, but what you've done in this matter is a bit excessive.

Before Li Shimin could speak, Li Zhi had already snorted and looked at Li Shen with disdain.

"You...your father...you king...what have I done?"

Li Shen nearly suffered internal injuries from holding it in. He opened his mouth to swear, but after trying several different words, he felt they were all inappropriate and might inadvertently offend himself.

Li Shen was so frustrated he almost vomited blood.

"Hehe, what did you do? Didn't Fourth Brother just say that? Don't you know?"

Since ancient times, the eldest son of the legitimate wife has been chosen as heir, not the eldest son. How dare you defy this ancestral precept? It seems you've long harbored resentment about this.

Li Zhi chuckled coldly twice, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

"Yes, tenth prince, Father already dotes on you so much, why are you still not satisfied? If you have something to say, just say it directly, why take your anger out on the royal bloodline?"

My nephew is still so young. What if something happens to him? How will you face our ancestors?

Brother, am I right?

(My sister's baby weighed 19 pounds at twelve months old. He was so tiny, yet he could be lifted up with just one hand.)

And it can't speak, it just makes "ah ah" noises. I'm not just making this up.

(Of course, there are some exaggerations involved.)