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

"Your Highness, this brothel only accepts customers at night; it's closed during the day..."

Wang De carefully served Li Chengqian.

He muttered to himself.

Facing the madam who was about to say something and came up to greet the guests, his eyes instantly flashed with a sinister light, revealing an undisguised threatening and murderous intent.

The latter was so startled that he froze in his tracks as he was about to go downstairs.

Li Chengqian ignored Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde, who were so agitated they wanted to tear Yunxian Tower down on the spot, and looked at the spot where they were hiding on the second floor.

The madam secretly observed them.

"You're the owner of Yunxian Tower? It's daytime now, and you don't have a single girl here to entertain guests?"

The madam peeked out.

In an instant, he was stared at by several fierce gazes.

She was so scared that she almost cried on the spot.

"This, young master, you're joking. Brothels have always only been open at night; the girls sleep during the day..." The madam's smile carried a hint of ingratiation and fear.

But he couldn't help but wonder about Li Chengqian's identity.

He wore a plain-colored robe, with a cape made of precious white fox fur draped over his body, and a jade pendant at his waist.

Apart from that, there were no other ornaments.

However, the air of nobility emanating from him was something the madam had never seen in all her years of running the brothel.

Hear the words.

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde immediately stepped forward with smiles, each putting their arms around Li Chengqian's shoulders, and were about to lead him away.

"Hehehe, young master, if you're looking for some entertainment, I, Old Cheng, will take you to Heaven on Earth. The massages there are absolutely amazing, and the hot springs..."

Yuchi Jingde nodded repeatedly.

"Come on, come on! It's a rare treat to run into you, young master. We brothers will cover your expenses today!"

Li Chengqian glanced at the two of them indifferently, but remained unmoved.

He glanced indifferently at the madam.

"So there aren't any girls who don't work in the sex industry? I don't believe it, they're sleeping right now."

The madam looked troubled.

The young nobleman in front of her was clearly of extraordinary status. His family must have taken great importance to this kind of place, and those two rough men had also been very generous at her Yunxian Tower last night.

Clearly, he is not an ordinary person either...

"Does it exist or not? Is it that hard to answer?" Li Chengqian frowned.

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde also stared intently at the madam.

"Do I have it here, or do I not?"

The madam felt uneasy under the men's gaze and was momentarily at a loss for what to do.

Cheng Yaojin glared at him fiercely.

"It either exists or it doesn't. Why all the nonsense?!"

Madam: "Where, where is it?"

Yuchi Jingde's tiger-like eyes widened: "Hmm?"

Madam: "No!"

Li Chengqian took a deep look at the two men beside him, the "two generals" who served his father.

He then calmly looked at the madam: "Are you sure you don't have any? This one is definitely possible!"

Madam: "..."

Before Cheng Yaojin could say anything more, Li Chengqian's chilling voice drifted from beside him.

"Uncle Cheng, do you want to teach your nephew how to do things?"

Cheng Yaojin: "!!!"

He hurriedly waved his hand, and the body blocking Li Chengqian's way quickly moved aside.

Li Chengqian ignored them and went straight upstairs.

He spoke casually as he passed the madam.

"Don't worry about the money, you'll be well taken care of. Get everyone out here, I'm taking over Yunxian Tower from now on! It won't be open to the public!"

Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde's expressions changed drastically in an instant.

What the hell? !

Is His Highness the Crown Prince not even planning to return to Yangcheng Palace?!

"Hey, this is bad! Something terrible is about to happen! Quick, go and report to His Majesty, quick!" Cheng Yaojin anxiously pushed Yuchi Jingde out, the last trace of drunkenness still lingering in his body.

At that moment, it vanished completely.

He watched Li Chengqian's figure disappear upstairs and hurriedly went to Wang De's side, who looked as if he had lost his parents.

He grabbed the other person, gritting his teeth.

"How could you allow His Highness the Crown Prince to come to such a place? If you taint the royal bloodline or affect the Crown Prince, aren't you worried about being punished?"

Wang De felt like his whole body was about to shatter.

"Duke Lu! You flatter me too much. This old servant is just a eunuch. Even if I had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard, I wouldn't dare to bewitch the crown prince."

"Besides, if it weren't for the Crown Prince's request, how would we dare to come to a place like this?"

Cheng Yaojin was angry and anxious, and looked at Qian Yingying beside him.

“Miss Yingying, you…”

Qian Yingying sighed and gently shook her head.

"Rest assured, Duke Lu, the Crown Prince is just in a bad mood, not a depraved person. I will keep an eye on him and will definitely not give anyone here a chance to take advantage of him."

rest assured?

Don’t worry!

Cheng Yaojin felt a chill run down his spine. As the one who had experienced the skills of the girls at Yunxian Tower most thoroughly last night, how could he not know the allure of such people to a young man like Li Chengqian?

"Have you informed His Majesty and the Empress?"

Wang De nodded hastily: "The Empress and the others probably already know..."

Into a palace.

Empress Zhangsun's calm eyes held a chilling coldness that made Li Shimin feel intensely uneasy.

"Guanyinbi, what brings you here? Has something happened?"

He still had some self-awareness, knowing that his current foolishness meant that even his first wife, the Empress, no longer liked him. He never imagined that the Empress was there to care about her husband.

Empress Zhangsun clenched her jade-like hand and nodded to Consort Wei, who stood up to pay her respects.

However, the next moment he made a surprising statement.

"Your Majesty, you may appoint a new crown prince!"

"What?!" Li Shimin wondered if he had misheard.

Even Consort Wei, who was standing to the side, was instantly taken aback and looked up.

"I say, Your Majesty does not like Chengqian to be the Crown Prince, does he? From today onwards, Your Majesty may appoint another Crown Prince, whether it is Qingque or Sister Yang's Ke'er."

"I have no complaints..."

Li Shimin: "......."

Consort Wei hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Empress Zhangsun, who was clearly emotionally unstable, back to her.

"Sister, why say such discouraging things? The Crown Prince and His Majesty's conflict is just a common one between father and son, at most it was a bit intense, why make such a fuss?"

Li Shimin remained silent, frowning as he looked at Empress Zhangsun.

I have a feeling that something extraordinary happened today.

"Guanyinbi, has something happened? What's wrong with Chengqian?"

After being placed in the remote Chengyi Hall, Li Shimin, who was almost always addressed as "rebellious son" and "crown prince" by Li Chengqian, now unusually addressed him as "Chengqian".

Tears welled up in Empress Zhangsun's eyes.

The veins on the back of his tightly clenched hands were clearly visible.

He clenched his teeth and squeezed out a sentence.

"Chengqian, today's court session is over...he went to a brothel!"

"So what if I cancel court? Everyone wants to slack off sometimes! He... what?!"

Li Shimin, who had just heard the first half of Empress Zhangsun's sentence and was speaking nonchalantly, was so shocked by the second half that he jumped up from his seat.

"Has he gone mad?! The crown prince going to a place like that?" Li Shimin's eyes widened.

She looked on in disbelief, completely unable to imagine that her prince, who spent his days muttering about people's livelihoods, clamoring for martial prowess, and even the matter of the Crown Princess, was something they had taken the initiative to arrange.

It's completely unimaginable that the other party would visit a brothel—such a fantastical thing.

Li Shimin's old face instantly darkened and collapsed.

"Who? Who has bewitched the Crown Prince?!"

"Are those old bastards Wang De and Li Gang all useless?! I placed them by the Crown Prince's side, and they couldn't even guard against a single nobody?!"

Li Shimin was clearly showing signs of anxiety at this moment.

however.

Upon hearing his words, Empress Zhangsun gave a bitter smile.

With tear-filled eyes, they looked at each other with complicated emotions.

"A petty person? If a mere petty person could make Chengqian so disheartened and degenerate, then the new policies could not have been implemented to this extent, and the five clans and seven noble families would not have been subdued by Chengqian to the point of bowing down and submitting!"

"This humble one...hehe," Empress Zhangsun shook her head gently, muttering with a bitter smile.

“My Chengqian has been so decisive, reasonable, and intelligent since the day of Xuanwu Gate Incident. What kind of villain could possibly deceive even my Chengqian?!”

Empress Zhangsun angrily pointed at Li Shimin, who finally realized what was happening.

"It's you! You're the one who forced me into this!"

"When you launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Chengqian's bravery shocked you. Back then, you could still tell everyone, 'My son is like me!'"

"Then?"

Empress Zhangsun was unusually furious, pointing her finger at Li Shimin at that moment.

The latter was so startled that he retreated repeatedly.

"The 100,000-strong Turkic army was decimated by Chengqian! The Eastern Turkic Khaganate was completely wiped out by Chengqian!"

"Such a great achievement, how many does even you, General Li Shimin, have?"

"Your Majesty, do you dare say that you are not jealous of Chengqian, or that you are not afraid of Chengqian surpassing you?!"

"You appointed him as the Grand General of Heavenly Strategy, bestowed upon him lavish rewards, and wished the whole world knew that Chengqian was your successor, and that you were the true emperor!"

Li Shimin's pupils contracted, and his back pressed against the wall inside the palace.

His chest was being pressed against by the angry Empress Zhangsun's finger.

"But you didn't expect that Chengqian is not only good at fighting, but also good at governing! The famous craftsmen and geniuses of the Imperial University today all came at Chengqian's call. Why didn't they come to you, Prince Qin, when the Qin Prince's Mansion and the Tian Ce Mansion were still there?"

"The people of Bingzhou are all prosperous, and every household is seeing new additions to their families. In just one year, Taiyuan Prefecture has even surpassed your Chang'an!"

"You are not as good as my Chengqian!"

Consort Wei's expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly stepped forward to try to pull back Empress Zhangsun, who was now like an angry lioness.

however.

Empress Zhangsun's health is now vastly different from what it used to be, so how could she possibly stop her?

Li Shimin's expression changed drastically, his mood unpredictable.

However, Empress Zhangsun showed no sign of stopping her output at this moment.

Instead, his words became increasingly sharp.

"You hate Chengqian! You hate that he's braver than you, and you hate that he's better at governing the country than you!"

"You hate him even more for being the crown prince, yet being able to command all his brothers' obedience through sheer power! Even if you wanted to use your so-called imperial tactics to maintain balance, none of the princes would dare to oppose their elder brother, the crown prince!"

"You hate him! You hate that he, as the crown prince, is not controlled by you, the emperor!"

"The Turks called him the True Khan, the people of Bingzhou called him the Holy Ruler, and Murong Fuyun of Tuyuhun vomited out the Dafei River and the source of the Chishui River, and bowed his head in submission!"

"And you, as the emperor, are confined to your small palace in Chang'an, where you have to listen to the ministers praising Chengqian every day during court sessions. You must hate it even more!"

"He's not even going to court anymore!"

"You hide in the inner palace, but you don't realize that all the concubines speak well of the Crown Prince, and even the retired emperor, who was forced to abdicate by Chengqian, is speaking well of the Crown Prince!"

Empress Zhangsun spoke rapidly, her eyes filled with undisguised grief and indignation.

Every word struck a chord with Li Shimin at that moment.

Li Shimin wanted to refute this several times, but in the end, he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a single word in his own defense.

Empress Zhangsun gasped for breath, her body trembling violently with rage.

He was supported by Consort Wei, who was clearly somewhat panicked.

For a moment, the entire Cheng Yi Hall became deathly silent.

I do not know how long it has been.

Empress Zhangsun suddenly sighed softly.

"His Majesty hopes the Crown Prince will be wise, but when the Crown Prince is more wise than you, you hate him!"

"You hate the Crown Prince more than you, the Emperor."

"I will not blame Chengqian. If he is wrong, it is because he thought his father was like him, a person with ambition and drive."

Empress Zhangsun straightened up and walked out of the palace.

Just before reaching the door, I paused slightly.

"I will personally persuade Chengqian to abdicate... so that Your Majesty can receive the kneeling obeisance of all officials and the congratulations of all people."

"Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty, I offer my congratulations!"