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

The pear blossoms in Taiji Palace are falling all over the place.

Li Zhi's hand holding the wolf-hair brush was suspended above the yellow silk, and the ink bead condensed on the tip of the brush fell "plop" on the fold of the two words "Minben".

"Your Majesty, you should not hold the pen for long in a severe wind."

The voice of Eunuch Wang came through the gauze curtain, with a hint of tentative gentleness.

Li Zhi didn't look up, he just rubbed his knuckles against his temples.

Someone passed by the window carrying a food box, and he suddenly remembered that three days ago when Li Hong came to pay his respects, he was holding the "Zhenguan Zhengyao" that he had copied, and his fingertips were still stained with unwashed vermilion - that was from when he was reviewing memorials for him.

The newly delivered lychee honey was placed on the imperial table, with water droplets still condensing on the edge of the celadon cup.

This was specially sent by Wu Meiniang from Lingnan by express horse, saying that it could moisten his sore throat when he was writing scriptures.

Li Zhi stared at the flowing honey-colored sweet syrup, and suddenly remembered the day when Li Hong was one year old. The child staggered and pushed away the jade sceptre in front of him, but tightly grasped the rattle handed to him by the wet nurse.

At that time, Wu Meiniang leaned on his knees and laughed, saying, "Hong'er is a child at heart after all." But later, the child studied with Yu Zhining, and was able to read "The Book of Rites" at the age of five. Pointing to the page "The ruler treats his ministers with courtesy," he said, "When father is reviewing memorials, he should let the ministers finish speaking first."

Suddenly, hurried footsteps were heard outside the hall, and the crisp sound of boot heels rolling over blue bricks startled Li Zhi and made him pause.

When Wang Can rushed in, his crown and belt were tilted to one side, and the fish token on his waist was still swinging. Zhang Xiaojing, who followed behind him, was holding a half-written report in his hand.

"Your Majesty..." Wang Can's voice trembled, his Adam's apple rolled up and down but he couldn't speak.

Li Zhi couldn't help but think of the severe drought. He led all the officials to pray for rain at the Altar of Grain and Grain. Li Hong, who was only four years old, secretly put a piece of cold bread into Li Hong's sleeve, saying, "Father will be hungry if he kneels for too long."

Looking at the pale faces of the two people in front of him, he suddenly felt a chill in his fingertips.

"Prince..."

Zhang Xiaojing suddenly knelt down, and his forehead hit the gold brick with a dull sound.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was in the East Palace at the beginning of the morning hour, reviewing military reports. At three quarters past four, he drank a bowl of Tremella fuciformis soup. Then at noon, he... lost consciousness."

When he raised his head, tears still stained the corners of his eyes. "The Imperial Hospital said... that there are dark blue spots on the seven orifices, like..."

"Shut up!" Li Zhi stood up suddenly, and the jade belt buckle at his waist hit the edge of the table with a crisp sound.

He staggered and held onto the imperial desk, feeling his temples throbbing.

"Go to the Eastern Palace," he said, pulling his dark cloak over himself, the jade sceptre clacking against his waist. "Lock up all those who have served the Crown Prince, including the cooks, the medicine boys, and the palace attendants, in the Ye Ting Prison."

The copper crane incense burner in the East Palace was still filled with the scent of agarwood, but it couldn't cover up the subtle fishy sweetness in the air.

When Li Zhi lifted the gauze curtain of the bedroom, he saw Li Hong lying on the carved step-down bed, covered with a black quilt, with only half of his face exposed - his once round cheeks were sunken, his lips were dark blue as if dipped in pine soot ink, and there was a teardrop mole at the corner of his right eye that had not yet dried.

He suddenly remembered that when the child was just born, the little guy didn't cry or make a fuss, but just put his little fist into his palm, which was warm like a piece of charcoal fire.

"Your Majesty, I mourn for you."

Wu Meiniang's voice came from behind, with a strong nasal tone. When Li Zhi turned around, he saw that the golden hairpin on her temples was tilted to one side, and the hem of her silk skirt was stained with grass debris, obviously she had run all the way here.

There were bloodshot eyes, but no tears fell. She just stretched out her hand to support him, her fingertips still trembling slightly.

"Check his prescription."

Li Zhi suddenly grabbed the imperial physician's wrist, his nails almost digging into his flesh. "Since the beginning of last month, please list all the daily prescriptions, sources of herbs, and who prepared the decoctions for me."

He saw Wu Meiniang just lowered her head to straighten the corner of the quilt for Li Hong. When her fingertips touched the child's cold wrist, she suddenly pursed her lips.

As dusk drifted into the East Palace, Wang Can brought in a stack of files. On top was the memorial that the prince had not finished reviewing today. The red pen was still placed next to the word "relief", and the ink was not dry yet.

Li Zhi opened it and saw that Li Hong had written on the report on the "Henan flood" the words "Open the granaries and release grain, don't let the fields be full of starving people." The handwriting was much more sloppy than usual, and the last stroke of the word "野" was dragged out very long, as if he had suddenly run out of strength.

He suddenly remembered what Li Hong said the day before, "I have been feeling weak lately, maybe it's spring sleepiness." At that time, he smiled and said, "Your mother told me that you were still reading "Han Shu" in the middle of the night. You should rest more."

When the sounds of torture from the Ye Ting Prison came through the palace walls, Li Zhi was staring at the paperweight given to him by Li Hong on the desk - it was a piece of naturally formed bluestone with cloud patterns. The child said, "When father was reviewing memorials, he saw the clouds and it reminded him of watching the clouds in the Eastern Palace."

At this moment, the stone felt cold to the touch, just like the temperature on Li Hong's wrist.

Wu Meiniang stood behind him at some point and handed him a cup of warm ginseng tea.

He remembered that when he finished reviewing the memorials and went to the Eastern Palace last night, Li Hong was already asleep, and the sound of his even breathing could be heard from the curtains. He didn't want to wake him up, so he just tucked the corner of the quilt for the child.

I never thought at that time that this would be the last time we saw each other.

Wu Meiniang lowered her eyelids, the pearl hairpin in her hair swaying gently: "Your Majesty, please take care of your health. Don't let Hong'er...delay the affairs of state."

She suddenly choked up, but forced herself to hold it back, "Your Majesty, we have other children."

"Enough!" Li Zhi slammed the teacup down, and the celadon fragments splashed on the blue bricks, just like the jade bowl that Li Hong broke when he was one year old.

At that time, the child was so scared that he snuggled into his arms, and he smiled and said, "I'm fine." But now he just felt his heart broken and his chest ached.

At midnight, the bell and drum tower rang out. Li Zhi sat alone on the dragon throne in the Taiji Hall, with the unfinished "The Emperor's Model" on his desk.

The candlelight stretched his shadow very long, and it looked particularly thin when cast on the mural depicting "All Nations Coming to Pay Homage".

He took out Li Hong's natal hair from his sleeve - it was sent by the imperial physician in a golden box. The hair was fine and soft, and had a milky scent.

Now when I put it in my palm, it only feels dry.

It suddenly started raining outside the palace, and the spring chill seeped in through the cracks in the window.

"Don't be afraid, father. When Hong'er grows up, he will be able to protect your kingdom."

Li Hong's words echoed in his mind.

At that time, he held the child's hot hand, thinking that once the child was crowned, he would be able to take charge of things on his own, but he didn't expect that he would never be able to wait that long.

The ink in the inkstone gradually froze. He picked up his brush and added a sentence on the last page of "The Emperor's Model": "The most beloved and the most beloved will eventually become a disaster."

The tip of the pen scratched the rice paper, revealing the yellowed old paper underneath - it was "Ruyi Niang" written by Wu Meiniang back then, "Seeing the red turn green, my thoughts are in turmoil, I am haggard and emaciated because I miss you", the ink has not faded until now, but it can no longer illuminate the coldness of the room.

At that time, Li Hong stood at the gate of Taiji Hall, watching the morning sun spread over the steps, making the children's eyes and eyebrows shine.

Li Zhi just looked at him.

At that time, he thought that this was the future of the Tang Dynasty, but he did not expect that this future would be as fleeting as the morning dew.

Outside the window, pear blossoms are still falling, but no one picks them up anymore, saying they will pin them on father's hair.