Li Shimin faked his death? Then I will be powerful enough to conquer the world!

Zhaoling is an imperial mausoleum that carries the dignity and emotions of the Tang Dynasty royal family.

The last time Li Chengqian came here was when Empress Zhangsun passed away.

In Li Chengqian's heart, his mother, Empress Zhangsun, was like the warm sunshine that illuminated his growing years. Now that she rests in peace in Zhaoling Mausoleum, this land has a special meaning to Li Chengqian.

For this reason, he chose to develop in Xianyang, as it seemed that this would allow him to be closer to his mother.

Zhaoling Mausoleum is located on Jiuyi Mountain in Liquan County, Xianyang.

The mountain is steep and majestic, with the main peak towering into the clouds like a king.

What is particularly amazing is that there are nine ridges evenly distributed around the main peak. When you look from the southeast, the nine ridges are like nine giant dragons, guarding the main peak with agile posture and majestic momentum, like a natural barrier.

This place seems to have been created by heaven and earth specifically for the imperial mausoleum. Construction began in the tenth year of Zhenguan, and it consumed the efforts of countless skilled craftsmen. The project was so huge that it has not been fully completed to this day.

Li Chengqian stood quietly by, watching the soldiers carrying Li Shimin's coffin with solemn expressions and slowly walking towards Zhaoling.

His eyes revealed deep sadness and reluctance, and he followed involuntarily.

The funeral procession was solemn and dignified, and the soldiers' footsteps were orderly and heavy, as if every step was knocking on people's hearts.

Until an official in the funeral procession happened to look back and saw Li Chengqian.

I couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Why are you following?"

The official's voice was not loud, but it was like a stone thrown into the water, causing ripples in the quiet crowd.

Li Chengqian turned around when he heard the voice. When the official saw his face clearly, his face turned pale instantly, his legs went weak, and he immediately knelt on the ground in panic.

He shouted with a trembling voice: "Your Majesty!"

Following this exclamation, the originally quiet and orderly team became agitated. Everyone was surprised to find that His Majesty was not presiding over the funeral in the palace, but had secretly followed the funeral procession to Zhaoling.

Everyone looked at each other, but no one dared to say anything against him.

The scene was completely silent, with only the occasional sound of the wind, as if it was also stunned by this sudden situation.

Seeing the soldiers about to put down the coffin and kneel after hearing the shouts, Li Chengqian quickly stepped forward and raised his hand to stop them, saying, "No need to be so polite, just carry it in!"

His voice was steady and firm.

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

The soldiers responded in unison, the sound echoing through the valley, and then continued carrying the coffin forward.

Li Chengqian slowly glanced at the officials behind him who were carrying out the funeral procession, and said solemnly, "Everyone, please stand up. Do what you need to do. I need to go to Zhaoling to see my mother."

Fifty-nine-year-old Liu Hongji hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, this may be against etiquette. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider."

Li Chengqian frowned slightly, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes: "I have made up my mind, no need to say more."

After saying that, he followed the coffin and walked towards the interior of Zhaoling Mausoleum.

The ministers kneeling outside looked at each other, their eyes full of shock and helplessness.

Yuchi Jingde frowned, moved closer to Li Ji, and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, what should we do?"

Li Ji also looked helpless and responded softly, "Your Majesty has made up his mind. What can we do? We just hope there won't be any trouble."

The two looked at each other and saw relief in each other's eyes.

They were glad that Li Shimin did not follow them. You know, one must be pious when going to Zhaoling Mausoleum. One cannot take a carriage but must walk up step by step.

The journey was extremely difficult and required a lot of physical strength. Perhaps this was why most of the people who came were military generals, while the civil officials continued to arrange the funeral in the palace.

When their eyes met, they didn't notice that Li Jing had been watching them quietly from behind, with a thoughtful look in his deep eyes.

Li Jing thought to himself, "Your Majesty's move is likely to cause a disturbance."

As everyone entered Zhaoling Mausoleum, the eternal lamps were lit one by one. The dim lights swayed in the darkness, and the originally inky black tomb chamber gradually had a glimmer of light. Although it was only a little dim light, it was enough to make the surrounding scene clear.

As an imperial mausoleum, Zhaoling is grand in scale and magnificent in appearance. However, strangely, it does not give Li Chengqian a gloomy feeling at all.

The tomb passage here is wide and long, like a time tunnel leading to the depths of history.

The walls are painted with various exquisite murals. Those murals are colorful and delicate in brushstrokes, as if telling the glorious history of the Tang Dynasty and the glorious stories of the royal family.

Each mural is a work of art, with figures, scenes, myths and legends. The figures are lifelike, with some wearing fluttering clothes and some with majestic expressions.

The scenes are depicted in great detail, including the luxurious and lively atmosphere of court banquets and the fierce battles on the battlefield.

Li Chengqian looked at the murals and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "These murals are truly a stroke of genius. They must have taken the painstaking efforts of countless craftsmen."

On the top of the tomb are lifelike stone carvings. The auspicious beasts and birds carved into the stone seem to be guarding the mausoleum. Their postures are different, some spreading their wings to fly, some looking majestic and awe-inspiring. Every line demonstrates the superb skills of the craftsmen.

Li Chengqian followed the team and walked carefully through the various forked tomb passages along the marks made in advance.

The tomb passages were like a maze, but everyone did not dare to slack off and finally arrived at the main tomb chamber.

There are two huge sarcophagi in the main tomb chamber, and the stone lid of one of them has been sealed.

The outside of the sarcophagus is carefully carved with a three-dimensional phoenix on a paulownia tree. The phoenix's feathers are carved in great detail, and each piece seems to be trembling slightly, as if about to spread its wings and fly away.

The carved stone statue is also painted with brightly colored pigments, red like fire, gold like light. These colors are intertwined to make the phoenix more vivid and lively.

But the sarcophagus was already closed. Li Chengqian looked at this strange yet familiar sarcophagus, and his mother's voice and smile emerged in his mind. Thinking that the mother who was best to him was lying alone in it, sadness surged like a tide, almost drowning him.

His eyes were red, his lips were trembling slightly, and he murmured softly: "Mother, your son is here to see you..."

At this time, Li Shimin's coffin was slowly lifted into another stone coffin, and then precious burial objects were carefully placed on the coffin.

An official in charge of placing the burial objects picked up an exquisite jade artifact and said to the person next to him, "This is something your majesty loved during his lifetime. It must be placed properly."

The burial objects include gold, silver, jade, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, each of which is priceless. They carry the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty and respect for Li Shimin.

Then, with a heavy sound, the sarcophagus slowly closed. This sarcophagus was ingeniously designed. Once closed, it could no longer be opened from the outside. It was locked from the inside using a complex mechanism.

If someone tries to force it open, the first thing that will be triggered is the mechanism of the tomb, and the consequences will be unimaginable.

Li Chengqian watched all this quietly, looking at his father and mother lying there quietly, a feeling of loneliness spread from the bottom of his heart, as if he was the only one left in the whole world.

He took a deep breath and said to the soldiers around him, "Guard this place well and don't disturb my father and mother."

The soldiers responded in unison: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

After everything was arranged, Li Chengqian stood there quietly for a while, as if he wanted to remember this moment forever.

Then he took a deep breath and ordered the soldiers to seal the tomb door.

His voice was a little hoarse: "Let them rest in peace here forever!"

The soldiers received the order and began to slowly push the tomb door.

Since Li Chengqian had already revealed his identity, he no longer wanted to waste time and did not want to go through those tedious and complicated ceremonies.

He directly ordered the funeral procession to return to Chang'an.

At the same time, he ordered Wen Ruchu to send someone to rush back to Chang'an to inform Prime Minister Fang and Grand Tutor Qi to end the funeral as soon as possible.

In Li Chengqian's view, the Tang Dynasty was in a critical period of development and needed to focus more on national construction rather than wasting time on these red tape.

He said to Wen Ruchu, "National affairs are of paramount importance now. Funerals should be simple. We must not follow the old ways and waste people's time and money."

Wen Ruchu nodded and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I will make the arrangements right away."

Li Chengqian looked at the figure going away and couldn't help thinking in his heart.

The person is gone, and no matter how luxurious the ceremony is, it is just a passing cloud and has no real meaning.

Only when the Tang Dynasty becomes strong and prosperous can my father's spirit in heaven truly rest in peace."

He knew very well that his simple handling of Li Shimin's funeral would inevitably cause an uproar.

Those aristocratic families would certainly seize this opportunity and would soon attack his unfilial behavior in front of the whole world.

Li Chengqian was even too lazy to hold his own coronation ceremony. He didn't care about the rumors, nor was he afraid of the ambitions and conspiracies against him that the aristocratic families might have.

He doesn't care about those empty formalities, he still says the same thing!

The Son of Heaven should be represented by men with strong soldiers and powerful horses!

Instead of relying on Confucian etiquette to maintain status.

He wanted to save more money to develop the military, expand the territory, and make the territory of the Tang Dynasty larger. This was his real goal.

……

On the other side, Li Shimin in Songhua Courtyard was enjoying a relaxing foot bath on the second floor.

The room was steaming hot, and two middle-aged women who still had charm were busy beside him, skillfully helping Li Shimin to clear his blood and qi.

One of them said with a smile: "Sir, you must take good care of your body."

Another echoed, "Yes, our method is sure to make you feel comfortable."

Li Shimin squinted his eyes in comfort and responded with a smile: "Haha, your cooking skills are really good."

The perfect amount of force made Li Shimin feel comfortable all over, as if every pore was cheering.

The lychee wood below continued to burn in the brazier, emitting bursts of warm heat. The whole room was enveloped in this heat, like a fairyland on earth.

Li Shimin was enjoying the comfortable foot bath and sauna at the same time. The feeling made him shiver with comfort. He felt as if he was the number one in health preservation. There was nothing more wonderful in the world than this.

But for some reason, Li Shimin, who was immersed in comfort, suddenly sneezed. He himself felt a little strange and muttered, "It must be a ghost. Why would I sneeze?"

At this moment, the waiter at Songhelou knocked on the door and said respectfully, "Sir, the funeral procession from Chang'an has returned! Please put on your clothes quickly and return to Chang'an!"

Li Shimin, who was dozing off with his eyes closed, enjoying himself to the fullest, suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he hurriedly asked, "What time is it now?"

The waiter replied, "Sir, it's not even noon yet!"

Li Shimin frowned, feeling somewhat unhappy, and thought to himself, "The funeral procession is back so soon?"

According to his own estimation, a round trip from Zhaoling, plus all the complicated ceremonies, would take him until tomorrow.

He didn't expect them to come back today, which completely disrupted his plans.

He said to the waiter dissatisfiedly: "I know."

Although Li Shimin was somewhat reluctant, he slowly put on his clothes.

As he put on his clothes, he muttered, "Really? I haven't enjoyed myself enough yet."

However, it must be said that after this massage and sauna, he felt refreshed, with a warmth emanating from his whole body, as if he had become several years younger.

The two women's massage techniques were indeed quite good, which made him very satisfied.

After putting on his clothes, he left Songhe Tower contentedly, returned to his room, sat on a chair, and waited leisurely for his three old friends to come back.

However, what he didn't notice was that after he left, the owner of Songhelou came out from the corner with a small notebook in his hand.

He began to record with a serious expression: "During the late emperor's mourning period, some people in the funeral procession enjoyed the sauna and foot bath on the second floor of my shop."

As he wrote, he recalled Li Shimin's appearance and continued, "From Chang'an, name unknown, official position unknown, like a follower of the Duke of Ying."

He thought carefully about Li Shimin's appearance and figure, and muttered to himself: "Appearance and figure, I have memorized them."

After finishing, he signed at the end of the notebook: "Xianyang Jinyiwei code number 12003."

After a while, Yuchi Jingde, Li Ji and another general came back exhausted.

As soon as they entered the door, they saw Li Shimin sitting in the living room, leisurely drinking Xiaobai Gan. There was a steaming whole roasted lamb on the table, and the tempting aroma filled the air.

Li Shimin saw them and said with a smile, "Are you here? I just ordered it! I've been waiting for you!"

Seeing Li Shimin so leisurely, Li Ji patted his forehead helplessly and said with a worried look on his face: "Your Majesty! Look at what day it is now!"

Li Shimin looked puzzled and asked, "What day?"

Li Ji said with a bitter face, "It's your mourning period! Your own mourning period! You're feasting like this! If the Crown Prince knew, would he punish you? And your Majesty! You're still my personal guard!"

The more he spoke, the more he felt like crying but had no tears left, and his heart was filled with worry.

Li Shimin listened to Li Ji's words, but his face was indifferent. He waved his hand and said, "Alas, Cheng Qian is far away in Chang'an. How can he control me? How can a son blame his father for his crime? Don't worry, I will protect you if anything goes wrong!"

Yuchi Jingde swallowed hard and said nervously, "No, Your Majesty! The Crown Prince came with the funeral procession! You know, we drank a lot of wine and ate a lot of meat during your mourning period. I don't think any of us three can escape!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's expression changed slightly, and his brows furrowed. "What? This rebellious son is here too?"