I am Li Shen and Li Shimin, the free kings of the Tang Dynasty

Upon hearing Li Shen's words, Li Shimin replied indifferently:

"It's alright. I will have someone carry you to the sacrificial ceremony later, so that our ancestors can see that our Li family has produced an unfilial son."

"Unfilial son? Father, am I not filial? I dare not speak for others, but I am at least more filial than those three, am I?"

Upon hearing the words "unfilial son," Li Shen immediately lost his temper. He pointed at Li Chengqian, Li Tai, and the other two standing to the side and argued defiantly.

The three brothers were speechless. Did they really have to be so direct?

"Hmph, do you think giving some money and buying some gifts is filial piety?" Li Zhi snorted unconvinced.

“Otherwise what? What did you buy for Father and Mother?” Li Shen immediately retorted.

"At least we didn't cause our parents so much trouble, nor did we make our father and mother worry so much."

Look at your usual behavior, cheating and swindling, you're a disgrace to the royal family!

Li Zhi scoffed, "So what if you have money? It's just a little bit of money to buy your parents a few more things."

Filial piety cannot be measured in money.

"Hmph? At least I will send some rare treasures to my mother and father, and I will pay attention to my mother's health and send her some precious medicinal herbs."

Unlike some people who only talk about being filial but are actually unwilling to make any sacrifices.

Oh, right, it seems someone still owes my mother hundreds of thousands of coins, and I wonder if they'll ever be able to pay it off in this lifetime.

Li Shen also snorted and began to speak in a sarcastic tone.

"You... so what if you're rich? Isn't it through these kinds of means that you've won over your father and mother?"

Li Zhi was hit where it hurt; he did indeed owe the imperial treasury hundreds of thousands of strings of cash, all of which were incurred during the Divine Pearl incident.

"You insolent wretch!"

No sooner had Li Zhi finished speaking than Empress Zhangsun angrily rebuked him. Li Zhi's meaning was clear: wasn't he implying that she and the Emperor were greedy for money?

Empress Zhangsun frowned. Li Zhi was too presumptuous, speaking so recklessly.

She looked at Li Shimin, fearing he would get angry, but Li Shimin didn't change at all, he just looked at Li Shen.

"You unfilial son, do you also think that you can do whatever you want by sending me and your mother some ordinary things?"

Li Shimin questioned him.

"No, no, absolutely not. The things I gave to Father and Mother were just ordinary everyday items, nothing valuable."

This is all just a token of my filial piety towards my father and mother; how could I possibly ask for anything more?

Li Shen quickly offered an explanation.

"That's for the best. But you are indeed filial. You always think of your mother first whenever there's something good."

Even if you had ten thousand catties of gold, you would be willing to give half of it to your mother as a token of your filial piety. This greatly pleases me.

Li Shimin nodded slightly and gave Li Shen a word of approval.

Huh? But Li Shen was stunned for a moment. He seemed to have heard a familiar word.

He felt he must have heard it not long ago. Ten thousand catties of gold?

Suddenly, Li Shen's eyes widened, and he suddenly realized why things had turned out this way.

Thinking of this, Li Shen suddenly spoke:

“Father, Mother is the mother of the nation, how could she care about such material things? Even if I am being filial to Mother, she will not care about these things.”

A mother only cares about her son's filial piety.

Goodness, all that going around in circles, it turns out it was all for this.

He had already prepared himself for his father to ask for it directly, and he even had several versions of how to negotiate the price.

He knew that Cheng Chusi had told his father, the emperor, about the ten thousand catties of gold yesterday, and his father couldn't possibly remain indifferent.

If he doesn't get a share of the profits, he's not the Lao Tzu he knows.

But to my surprise, my father, the emperor, changed his tactics. What a clever move! He's not reading stories anymore, he's reading military strategy, isn't he?

This is a brilliant tactic of feigning one move while secretly making another. Now they have a legitimate reason and the torture bench is right in front of them, waiting for them to submit.

It's impossible to guard against someone who doesn't intend to ask and instead makes you give it willingly.

As expected of my father, the Heavenly Khan of the Tang Dynasty, his mind works faster than mine.

People say you can dodge the first day of the lunar month, but not the fifteenth; I'm thirty now and I haven't even dodged it yet.

Having figured everything out, Li Shen suddenly turned his head and glared fiercely at the fat man, Li Tai. It was all because of this fat man; if it weren't for what he just said, his father wouldn't have had the chance to perform.

It was all Fatty Li who gave the excuse to the Emperor.

"Tenth Brother, why are you looking at me like that? I'm a little scared." Li Tai felt uneasy under Li Shen's gaze.

Li Zhi, on the other hand, glared angrily at Li Shen, showing no fear whatsoever.

Li Chengqian shrugged, indicating that he was also powerless to help.

However, none of the three seemed to understand the deeper meaning behind it, only thinking that Li Shen had angered their father and was going to be punished.

"Tenth Brother, whether your mother cares or not is one thing, but whether you want to be filial to her is another."

Just as you just said, filial piety is not something you say, it's something you do.

If you have such filial piety, it means you're not entirely beyond redemption.

Li Shimin looked at Li Shen with a meaningful gaze. Li Shen understood the rest of the meaning without Li Shimin saying it aloud: he could avoid getting beaten up.

If you lack filial piety, then you're beyond saving and deserve a good beating.

Li Shen glanced at the yellow ruler in Li Shimin's hand, then at the long bench.

He resolutely knelt on the ground and shouted:

"I am an unfilial son who has disregarded Father's teachings over the years. Please punish me, Father."

This was a decision Li Shen made after weighing the pros and cons. A beating would at most leave him half-dead, but losing the money would mean certain death.

He refused to believe that his father would actually kill him for gold.

Five thousand taels of gold and eight hundred thousand strings of cash—it's worth it, even if you beat me up ten times, let alone just once.

He could stay home for a month at most without going out, but he might not be able to earn eight million coins a month.

Having figured out the reasoning behind it, Li Shen simply adopted a "what's the worst that can happen?" attitude, thinking, "Let them hit me, I don't care."

You're not playing the game of deception, taking advantage of someone's misfortune, or stealing from their misfortune, are you? Then you should go all in and fight to the bitter end.

Li Shimin was genuinely taken aback by Li Shen's words. He hadn't expected that Li Shen would choose to risk his life rather than part with his wealth at this point.

In his mind, with the ruler in hand and the torture bench in place, Li Shen should have given in by now.

Looking at Li Shen kneeling on the ground, Li Shimin frowned and fell into deep thought.

No one else knew what Li Shimin was thinking. The three brothers, watching from the side, were also puzzled. Why hadn't the torture been carried out yet?

Could it be that Father didn't really intend to torture Li Shen, but was just trying to scare him?

The most anxious were Li Tai and Li Zhi; they couldn't sleep without seeing this commotion.

"Alas~~" After a moment, Li Shimin let out a long sigh:

"Get up. Since ancient times, it has been said that if a son is not taught, it is the father's fault. Even if you are wrong, it is because I have not taught you well."

Since it is my fault, then I will take the punishment for you.

Come on, you're in charge of enforcing one hundred laws.

After saying this, Li Shimin handed the family law to Li Shen and then lay down on the bench.

Holy crap, a self-inflicted injury ploy!

(Willow catkins fill the imperial moat along the main road...)