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

After hearing Jiang Liuer's words, the atmosphere around them suddenly became depressing.

Li Jingyou felt as if someone had suddenly grabbed his throat, and the words that were about to come out of his mouth were swallowed back. He could only remain silent, staring at the ground with a complicated expression, his brows tightly twisted into the shape of the Chinese character "川".

Xu Yuan, who always acted decisively, seemed to be under a spell at this moment. He froze in place, his lips tightly closed, and just stood aside quietly with a solemn expression on his face.

"Compared to our father, we are still too immature."

Li Jingyou chewed over these words in his heart, his tone full of helplessness.

Yes, with the existence of the omnipresent Jinyiwei and Shadow Guards, every one of their plans and actions are carried out in broad daylight, without any cover, and are all exposed to the eyes of Your Majesty. There is no secrecy at all.

Your Majesty's influence has penetrated every corner of the court and is impossible to guard against.

Thinking back carefully, His Majesty might have seen everything from the very beginning of the planning of the whole thing, but everything they did before was still within the limits of His Majesty's tacit approval.

But now, the situation is very different.

Judging from the emperor's recent actions and attitude, it is obvious that His Majesty has been completely enraged.

But Li Jingyou also knew in his heart that if he did not take those risky measures, how could things turn around?

Minister of Revenue Li Wei has always followed the lead of Grand Tutor Qi and obeyed his orders completely.

On a normal day, it was almost impossible to allocate money from the national treasury from him. He would prevaricate and evade every application with various reasons.

The business field is firmly controlled by the wealthy Qianyu Chamber of Commerce. They control the key trade routes and sources of goods, and his merchants simply cannot compete with them.

In such a predicament, as the crown prince, he had no choice but to take a risk if he wanted to acquire a large amount of wealth to realize his ambitions.

But now, this move seemed too hasty and too risky, triggering the emperor's wrath...

Li Jingyou sighed deeply, as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest.

"You two should collect yourself. Father should be back soon. You should leave quickly and clean up the mess."

Li Jingyou forced himself to cheer up and said to the two men with a firm voice, "When the time comes, I will apologize to the emperor. If you don't leave, when the emperor returns, he will definitely take his anger out on you. With the methods he has, you will not be able to escape death."

"Let's go, get out of the spotlight first, and look for opportunities later."

Hearing Li Jingyou's sincere and urgent words, the two were stunned at first, then looked at each other, with a complex emotion flashing in their eyes, including gratitude, worry, and reluctance.

They slowly raised their heads and looked at Li Jingyou deeply, wanting to firmly engrave his current appearance in their hearts.

Then, the two of them bowed in unison, their voices trembling slightly as they said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

"His Royal Highness!"

Li Jingyou nodded slightly and also cupped his hands, his expression firm and said, "Let's go, no need to say more, we just need to wait for the right time."

In the blink of an eye, the spring of the eighteenth year of Qianwu arrived quietly.

Li Chengqian, who had been away from Chang'an for a year, finally embarked on his journey home.

This news spread throughout the entire Chang'an City like a gust of wind. For a time, many officials felt as if they were facing a powerful enemy and were terrified.

During the time when the Crown Prince was regent, the crackdown on corruption was obviously not as strict as when Your Majesty was in power. Some officials who usually had ill intentions took advantage of the opportunity to exploit the loopholes and acted more unscrupulously. Corruption and bribery occurred frequently.

Fortunately, the Jinyiwei did not launch a purge against them at that time, allowing them to escape by chance.

But now, with the news of Li Chengqian's return to the palace, these officials with guilty consciences suddenly became like frightened birds. The fear in their hearts spread like wild weeds, and they began to become restless and terrified.

On the day of returning to the palace, the sun shone on the walls of Xuanwu Gate, casting a golden glow.

All the officials lined up neatly at the entrance of Xuanwu Gate early in the morning, dressed in court robes and with different expressions.

Some of them looked nervous and kept wiping the sweat from their foreheads with their hands.

Some pretended to be calm, but their eyes wandered around unconsciously.

The carriage that Li Chengqian was riding in slowly stopped, and the wheels made a dull sound as they rubbed against the ground, as if hitting everyone's heart heavily.

He got off the carriage with a calm expression, his eyes revealing an aura of majesty without anger.

He did not stay in front of the crowd for long, but just glanced around briefly, then spoke directly and called Mr. Qi and Li Wei to go to Liangyi Hall to discuss matters.

When passing by his son Li Jingyou, he paused slightly and his eyes lingered on Li Jingyou's face for a moment. There was scrutiny and disappointment in his eyes, but he didn't say a word.

This glance, seemingly ordinary, made Li Jingyou's heart tremble suddenly.

Everyone was staring at the silent Li Chengqian. Even those officials who usually behaved improperly felt like their hearts were beating like war drums, "boom, boom, boom".

Their minds kept emerging with the iron-blooded methods His Majesty used to punish corrupt officials in the past. They felt a chill on their backs and their legs couldn't help but tremble slightly.

In everyone's mind, although His Majesty was majestic when he spoke, at least people could still understand his thoughts.

And His Majesty who does not speak is like an unfathomable iceberg. You never know what he is thinking in his mind, so he is the most terrifying.

The atmosphere in the Liangyi Hall was solemn and dignified.

Li Chengqian sat upright in the main seat, quietly listening to the reports from Mr. Qi and Li Wei.

Sometimes he frowned slightly, sometimes he nodded gently, his expression calm, making it difficult to guess what he was thinking.

After listening to the report, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, although Li Jingyou acted a little rashly and recklessly, the Tang Dynasty had a deep foundation and its basic situation had not been substantially shaken.

"My health is not good. I have troubled you for the past year."

Li Chengqian bowed slightly and spoke with a hint of apology on his face. Although his voice was not loud, it echoed clearly in the empty hall.

Li Wei was so frightened by these words that he quickly bowed his hands and said in a terrified manner, "Your Majesty, you are too kind. We are only doing our duty."

"It is an honor for us to share your Majesty's worries."

As he spoke, he lowered his head slightly, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead again.

Li Chengqian nodded, his expression calm, but his tone unquestionable: "I know everything in my heart. You can go down first. I will handle the rest of the matter."

"Xianhuai, go and call my good prince over. I have something to ask him."

Hearing Li Chengqian's tone, Li Wei's heart tightened. He knew that His Majesty usually had high hopes for the Prince. Now that the Prince's actions had caused such a disaster, His Majesty must be extremely angry.

So, he quickly tried to comfort him, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is still young and inexperienced. He hasn't fully understood many of your Majesty's efforts. Please, Your Majesty, for the sake of your Crown Prince's sincerity, don't blame him too much."

Li Chengqian just nodded with a serious face.

"Don't worry, Li Sikong, I know what's going on."

"Grandmaster Qi, take Li Sikong with you. Xianhuai, go and call the Crown Prince."