At the tender age of eight, he was hastily dragged out and made emperor!

"Tell me, why did His Majesty summon the Eighth Prince to the Shanglin Garden?"

Shanglinyuan.

A hillside.

Dong Heng, with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, hands behind his head, and legs swinging back and forth, looked at the azure sky and spoke to Li Bin sitting beside him.

"I don't know."

Li Bin stared straight ahead at the warhorse without glancing to the side, and replied calmly.

"The key is that the Eighth Prince actually came."

Dong Heng suddenly sat up, a hint of surprise on his face. "The three queens didn't object. And, do you know what?" As he said this, Dong Heng glanced warily around.

Seeing that there was no one on this slope, he whispered to Li Bin, "I have seen Sun Ben and the others meeting with Marquis Chenyang and Commander Xu in private several times."

"Is this weird?"

Li Bin glanced at Dong Heng without any surprise. "When His Majesty personally went to Shanglin Garden to study horsemanship and practice archery, apart from having Li Zhong and Wan Qiu'er accompany him, the rest were the on-duty guards. He didn't even bring the eunuchs."

"You said some people want to know what His Majesty said and did. Where else can they find out?"

"Did you already know this?"

Dong Heng lay down somewhat dejectedly. He had thought that he had accidentally stumbled upon this secret, and keeping it bottled up inside for the past few days had been making him very uncomfortable.

"Why has it turned out like this?"

Dong Heng looked at the sky and suddenly sighed, "It wasn't like this in the past. Sometimes I wonder, if Emperor Xuanzong were still alive, would all of this have been avoided?"

"maybe."

Li Bin felt somewhat melancholy, "But the dead cannot be brought back to life."

At this point, Li Bin's expression darkened, and his eyes reddened slightly. Thinking of his grandfather made him feel very down.

"Missing your grandfather?"

Dong Heng noticed this and quickly stood up to look at Li Bin, "Grandpa Li is a lucky man. Maybe after the battle in Xichuan is over, he'll be fine. Don't you think so?"

"maybe."

Li Bin covered his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking. This was the first time he had cried in front of others.

"Cry, cry."

Seeing this, Dong Heng reached out and gently patted Li Bin's shoulder, his expression downcast, and said, "Crying will make you feel better, in the future..."

"Dong Heng! I will have no grandfather from now on!!"

Li Bin suddenly looked up, bursting into tears as he stared at Dong Heng, "I will have no grandfather anymore!!"

Upon seeing this, Dong Heng's hand trembled slightly.

Tears streamed down his face.

Among the noble sons of Yudu, everyone knew how much Li Bin's grandfather doted on him. Every time he returned to Yudu, he would take Li Bin out for a stroll.

As long as it wasn't an unreasonable request, Li Bin's grandfather would grant it if Li Bin asked.

Even now, Dong Heng can still recall how Li Bin, when he was just ten years old, rode a priceless steed and swaggered in front of them, a sight that truly made many people envious.

Not all precious horses are the same.

People are different from each other.

“Li Bin, I know you’re in pain, you’re heartbroken, but you have to hold on.” Thinking of this, Dong Heng gently patted Li Bin’s shoulder. “You can’t fall down yet. The Duke of Xun’s mansion can’t just collapse like this. Even if he really dies in battle, he will be watching over you from heaven. You can’t let him down.”

Li Bin cried even louder.

In countless dark nights, Li Bin cried silently. He dared not stop, for if he did, the scenes of him spending time with his grandfather would appear in his mind.

His grandfather laughed.

His grandfather glared.

His grandfather swore.

His grandfather...

There was no time when Li Bin had ever thought about parting, but when the time actually came, his heart felt like it was being cut by a knife; the pain was unbearable!

"Brother, what's wrong with him?"

Not far away, Chu Hui, standing beside Chu Ling, looked at Dong Heng embracing the weeping Li Bin and asked Chu Ling with some curiosity, "Is it for the Duke of Xun?"

"When people are feeling down, they cry to release their emotions."

Chu Ling lowered his hands and said, "He's thinking about Duke Xun."

The noble sons of Sun Ben, Zong Zhi, and Chang Feng, who were standing behind him, all showed complicated expressions when they heard the emperor's words.

"Brother, do you miss our late father and brother?" Chu Hui suddenly looked up at Chu Ling and said, "I cried a few times, but not as loudly as he did."

At this point, Chu Hui's face darkened.

He was precocious, but he was only seven years old, even younger than Chu Ling. Before he turned six, he lived in the Yu Palace. Although he couldn't see Emperor Taizong and Emperor Xuanzong every day, he could still see them a few times a month.

Especially when he was five years old, there was a period when he was able to frequently visit the Daxing Hall. At that time, Emperor Taizong was very ill. When a person is ill, it is inevitable that he will have other thoughts.

Aside from chatting with Emperor Xuanzong, he would play with Chu Hui, who was only five years old.

This memory remained firmly in Chu Hui's heart.

"How could I not want to?"

Chu Ling sighed softly, looking ahead and said, "I am in the Daxing Palace, and I think of my late father and my elder brother all the time, but they will never come back."

Chu Ling's words were half true and half false. In her memory, that person longed for family affection. After all, such an experience in childhood was not something a child could accept.

Children may be young, but they are not stupid. They can sense who treats them well and who doesn't.

But Chu Ling at the moment had no intention of doing so; it was completely foreign to him.

"Let's go back."

Chu Ling turned and left, and Li Zhong, Wan Qiu'er and the others hurriedly turned to follow, but they suddenly stopped.

"Make sure you keep a close watch on what happened today!"

Chu Ling, who had stopped, turned to look at Sun Ben and the others, "If I find out that anyone privately mocks Li Bin or criticizes the Duke of Xun, then the Xun Guards will no longer need to come here!"

"I will obey your orders!"

Sun Ben and Zong Zhi hurriedly bowed and greeted them.

Chu Ling was aware of what Sun Ben and the others on duty in the Imperial Guard were doing in private, as Li Bin had informed him. However, Chu Ling did not blame them, given their status.

Interestingly, Sun Ben and his group don't talk about everything. What does that mean?

Chu Ling didn't think about it too much; time would tell.

Just like during Chu Ling's time at Shanglin Garden, some people made private statements, but Chu Ling didn't pay any attention to them. And without exception, all of these people disappeared.

Isn't that interesting?

Chu Ling came out this time hoping to relax, but unexpectedly stumbled upon this scene. This Li Bin needs to be given more things to do, otherwise he'll start overthinking when he's idle.

"Brother, from now on, if you miss me, just send a token to the palace." Thinking of this, Chu Ling said to Chu Hui, "Daxing Palace will always be open to you."

"Your Majesty, I thank you!"

Chu Hui quickly bowed and said.

Winning over the imperial relatives requires a step-by-step approach, and Chu Hui is a good starting point. His throne is currently secure, and as long as he's careful, Chu Ling doesn't think anything unexpected will happen. That's why Chu Ling has Li Zhong personally supervise everything he eats, and even during his time at Shanglin Garden, he has Sun Ben and others accompany him for meals. Chu Ling has his reasons; one can never be too careful…