Tang Dynasty: Father, if you don't rebel, I will!

Qin Wangfu.

Three days have passed since the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

In these three days, the entire Tang Dynasty's high command finally faced a major upheaval.

Li Chengqian sat at a newly built Chinese-style desk. On the desk in front of him was a fine sheet of Xuan paper, covered with ink marks and various lines.

Li Tai stood beside Li Chengqian's desk with an expression of admiration, like a pageboy.

However, he was somewhat puzzled as he looked at his elder brother Li Chengqian, whose face was solemn and who seemed to have something on his mind.

"Brother, today Father is to be named Crown Prince. Everyone in the manor is very happy. Why do you not seem very happy?"

Li Chengqian raised his eyes.

He shook his head slightly and glanced at the quiet courtyard outside the window.

He took a deep breath, slowly stood up from his seat, and walked to the door, his hands tucked into his sleeves.

His eyes flickered as he gazed at the sky outside.

He let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"Happy? Qingque, do you think this is something to be happy about?"

Li Tai remained silent, unsure of what his elder brother meant.

Although the Empress Dowager did not explicitly say what had happened between Lord Fang and Lord Du at Xuanwu Gate, the heirs of the Prince of Qin remained tight-lipped in front of them.

But Li Tai still had a vague idea.

His own brother killed his fourth uncle with his own hands.

Just as he felt a pang of guilt, realizing he hadn't understood at all the suffering his brother was enduring, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of their father becoming emperor in the future.

Li Chengqian sighed again.

"It's nothing more than appointing a crown prince. Even if my father truly ascends the throne, my Qin Prince's lineage will ultimately need to use the heads of some reckless fools to secure our rule..."

Li Tai was stunned.

He stared wide-eyed at his brother's retreating figure.

Since the Xuanwu Gate Incident, my elder brother seems to have developed a particular fondness for white. Now, even his robes have all been replaced with elegant white brocade.

Although this outfit does look good on my brother, and it gives him a mysterious, ethereal quality.

But... for some reason, the white color became so glaring after her brother said those words.

However, Li Tai didn't think that much about it.

The scroll of "last will and testament" that his elder brother left him that day was taken to the palace by Lord Fang today, presumably to be shown to his father.

However, Li Tai could never forget what was written above.

"Whatever you want to do, brother, Qingque will definitely support you!"

Li Tai's voice carried an unwavering determination, regardless of right or wrong.

And at the same time.

In the palace.

The inside story of the investiture ceremony, which everyone knew perfectly well, ended quickly in a somewhat hasty manner.

The Eastern Palace, Xiande Hall.

"Congratulations, Your Highness! You still hold the reins of government, and His Majesty has already agreed to pass the throne to you. The throne is now secure!"

Changsun Wuji's face was full of joy.

Looking at Li Shimin, who has now been officially named Crown Prince, and his own sister who has become Crown Princess.

And it won't be long, perhaps even soon, before she becomes the Empress...

This caused even Changsun Wuji, who was always careful not to show his emotions, to lose control of his facial expressions.

Fortunately, almost all the meritorious officials from the Qin Prince's Mansion present who participated in the Xuanwu Gate Incident were like him.

"Hahaha, you old fool Cheng, you weren't there that day, you had no idea how dangerous it was. If it weren't for me, Yuchi Jingde, the Crown Prince's army would have numbered a full two thousand..."

Yuchi Gong, with a smug look on his face, kept nudging Cheng Yaojin with his elbow.

On the day of Xuanwu Gate Incident, Cheng Yaojin was not in Chang'an, but he was leading troops outside. His loyalty to Li Shimin was beyond doubt, and Cheng Yaojin was considered an escape route prepared by Li Shimin for the Prince of Qin's mansion.

Today, among the heroes of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Cheng Yaojin's contributions are equally significant.

However, just as everyone was in high spirits, and even Li Er's own smile gradually lost its composure.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, who were standing to the side, exchanged a glance.

"Your Highness, as things stand now, we cannot yet be considered to have truly secured our position in the court. Whether it is the old ministers of His Majesty led by Pei Ji, or those people in the Eastern Palace, or the people from the aristocratic families, none of them will allow us to sit on the throne as we wish."

"Therefore, Your Highness, we should make arrangements in advance."

Hear the words.

Li Shimin was taken aback, and then his smugness subsided slightly.

“Kemin is right. I have been a little complacent. Now that we hold military power, we need not worry about rebelling for the time being. Do you have any ideas on how to resolve this predicament in the court?”

Fang Xuanling immediately stepped forward.

As if he had prepared this in advance, he took out a scroll from his bosom.

"Hmm? Is this the scroll that Chengqian left for Qingque that day?"

Li Shimin's eyes flashed. There had been many things to do these past two days, whether it was dispatching Cheng Yaojin or mobilizing military affairs around Chang'an, which had taken up too much of the Prince of Qin's time.

So much so that I forgot about it.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui cupped their hands in greeting, their faces displaying an excitement that puzzled everyone present.

"Your Highness, please take a look. His Highness the Prince is a man of great vision, courage, and wisdom. Although the scroll he produced that day was supposedly a will prepared for the collapse of a great cause, the contents of it are truly astonishing. If used properly, our Prince Qin's Mansion could either extend the Tang Dynasty's reign for hundreds of years or, in a worst-case scenario, rebuild the world!"

"what?!"

Li Shimin, who hadn't paid much attention at first, was suddenly startled.

Recreating the world?

He suddenly remembered his son who had gone mad and wanted to send his own emperor to his death. At that time, the son seemed to have uttered some crazy words about recreating the world.

Unexpectedly, such words could come from the mouths of strategists like Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui.

Immediately, Li Shimin opened the scroll.

Amidst the curious gazes of the crowd, they quickly began to examine the contents.

However, when he saw the heartfelt words Li Chengqian spoke to his younger brother, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his hand holding the scroll trembled at that moment.

"The ruler is the boat, the people are the water; water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it..."

"To establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth, to secure a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations..."

Li Shimin was stunned: "This was really written by Chengqian?!"

For some reason, looking at the grand ambitions above, Li Shimin, whose mind was still preoccupied with becoming emperor, suddenly felt a ridiculous sense of shame and defeat.

His own ambitions were not even comparable to those of his son, Chengqian?