I have already established my power and prestige, so how did Li Shimin come back to life?

"What will happen then?" Li Jiangning interrupted, his tone cold. "The world will be in chaos, shops will close, factories will stop working, people will not be able to buy food, children will not be able to go to school, and hospitals will be filled with injured people. Is this what you want to see?"

He slammed the glass down on the table, sending a few drops of soda splattering onto the tablecloth. "Old Qi, wake up! Things aren't the same now. People have enough to eat, a place to live, access to medical care, and schooling. This is the kind of life we ​​dreamed of giving the people of the Tang Dynasty. Now that it's a reality, why are you still thinking about chaos?"

Mr. Qi's face flushed crimson, and he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "But this world is not yours! Back then, you were His Majesty, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. But now..."

Li Jiangning laughed, a laugh that was both helpless and relieved. "I became emperor not for my own power, but to make life better for the people. Now that the people are living well, it doesn't matter who owns the world, whether I'm the emperor or not. What difference does it make?"

He stood up, walked to the window, and opened it. The evening breeze blew in, bringing a bit of coolness and dispelling the stuffiness in the teahouse. On the sidewalk downstairs, an elderly couple walked slowly hand in hand. The old woman was holding a cotton candy, the pink sugar threads gleaming in the light.

A few young people who had just got off work walked into the convenience store, chatting and laughing, and bought iced cola and potato chips; at the intersection in the distance, traffic police were directing traffic, and the traffic flow was orderly.

"Look," Li Jiangning pointed out the window, his voice softening. "This is our life now—plain, but stable. Wasn't everything we did back then just to give the people a life like this? Now that it's here, why would we want to destroy it?"

He turned around and looked at Mr. Qi with a firm gaze: "I am an ordinary person now, with a little money. I listen to others talk about family matters, work, and children's grades. This kind of life is pretty good."

"The old ways of kings, princes, generals and ministers are outdated. China today doesn't rely on the power of one person, but on the system, the law and the hard work of millions of ordinary people."

Mr. Qi looked at him, moved his lips, wanting to say something, but couldn't.

He suddenly felt that the Li Jiangning in front of him was actually the same as the emperor back then.

Your Majesty back then was able to humble himself for the sake of the people, eat coarse grains with his brothers, and fight wars together.

Now, for the sake of the people, Li Jiangning can put aside his status as emperor, become an ordinary person, and guard this stability.

"If... I mean if," Mr. Qi lowered his voice, a little uncertain, "if there really comes a day when the people can no longer survive and no one can stand up, what will you do?"

Li Jiangning walked back to the table, sat down again, picked up the chopsticks, picked up a fennel bean, put it in his mouth, and chewed it slowly.

After a long moment, he finally spoke, his voice calm but powerful: "If that day ever comes, millions of people will step forward without us having to do anything."

"They may be doctors, teachers, workers, farmers, students, or just ordinary people who want to protect this peace and stability."

He looked at Mr. Qi with a look of certainty in his eyes: "If they can't solve it, I will take action."

"As an ordinary person, I will do my best to protect the lives of ordinary people, just like I did back then."

Mr. Qi was silent. He picked up the Bingfeng on the table, unscrewed the cap, took a big sip, and the icy soda made his eyes sore.

He looked at Li Jiangning in front of him, at the tea stains on his white shirt, at the calmness and determination in his eyes, and suddenly understood - the emperor of that year had never disappeared, he just changed the way to protect the people he wanted to protect.

The storytelling in the teahouse continued, telling the story of Yue Fei's loyalty to his country. The ups and downs of the voice drew cheers from the guests.

The waiter came over with a plate of freshly fried peanuts and asked with a smile, "Boss, would you like anything else? Our fried noodles are hot from the wok."

Li Jiangning looked at Mr. Qi and asked with a smile, "Mr. Qi, would you like a bowl of noodles?"

Mr. Qi nodded, a smile slowly spreading across his lips. It was the first time he had ever smiled so easily. "Okay," he said, "have a bowl of hot noodles."