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

"Chengqian, I know you're inside. Open the door, I have something to say to you."

Li Shimin's voice had an indescribable eeriness.

Gentle, completely different from his previous persona. If it weren't for the fact that he could recognize the voice, Li Zhi would probably have suspected that someone was impersonating his father.

however.

When this sound reached Li Zhi's ears, it sent chills down his spine.

While frantically chewing and swallowing snacks, her eyes darted around her elder brother's palace, frantically searching for a place to hide.

Outside.

There was no response from inside for a long time.

Li Shimin turned his head with some confusion to look at the "cheerleaders" not far behind him.

Empress Zhangsun turned her head to the side, but Consort Yin excitedly made a gesture in the air, indicating to Li Shimin to do as written on the manuscript.

Consort Yang and Consort Wei smirked to themselves.

Seeing Li Shimin's embarrassed and helpless appearance at this moment, I just find it amusing. In this world, only this Crown Prince can make the emperor go to such lengths to gain forgiveness.

Li Shimin stiffly pulled the manuscript out of his pocket.

Looking at those unspeakable words, his face gradually flushed red.

however.

Li Shimin, who could not sense any opening of the door, thought about all the absurd things he had done since ascending the throne.

And the look of disappointment and indignation in his own crown prince's eyes that day.

Gritting his teeth.

"Ah~"

Inside the palace, Li Zhi, who had just run to Li Chengqian's bedside and was about to crawl under it, was instantly startled.

He was wondering what his father, the emperor, was doing outside, making such an embarrassing sound.

next moment.

"Chengqian, my precious son, I know you are angry with me. After that day, I was filled with remorse and couldn't sleep at night. All I could think about was your heartbroken look."

A cold snort had already appeared on Li Zhi's forehead.

He immediately abandoned the idea of ​​hiding under the bed.

To die! To die!

This awful place is no place to stay; if I get caught, I'm definitely not going to make it!

Li Zhi's gaze quickly settled on the window at the back of the sleeping quarters.

The most common items in the emperor's bedroom were bookshelves, which were densely packed with various books and scrolls, as well as many bamboo slips that were clearly quite old.

At this moment, apart from the main hall area near the entrance, there are still a few windows.

Almost all the windows behind were blocked by bookshelves, and only half of the window was still barely accessible for climbing out.

"My Chengqian!"

"You are so outstanding, you trust me, your father, and you even shielded me from infamy. It is I, your father, who have failed you. I have realized my mistake and from now on I am willing to show you my heart and soul."

"Chengqian, how brilliant I am!"

"Crack!"

Li Zhi accidentally bumped the windowpane with a fork, startling him so much that he froze instantly.

Li Shimin, who also heard the commotion, simply assumed that his "shameless" admission of wrongdoing had finally worked.

An excited expression involuntarily appeared on his face.

His tone became even more sincere and fervent.

"Chengqian~"

"I have thought a lot and read a lot of books during this period of time, and I have seen the lives of the people in Bingzhou."

"These are all areas where I fall short of you. But I am willing to repent and become a good emperor!"

"...Using bronze as a mirror, one can straighten one's clothes; using history as a mirror, one can understand the rise and fall of dynasties; using people as a mirror, one can understand one's gains and losses!"

"Chengqian, from this day forward, you will be my mirror."

"Open the door, I truly know I was wrong..."

Li Shimin's voice carried a hint of sobbing, which was hard to tell if it was genuine or not. The snow falling in the dead of winter was scattering all over him, and the cold wind was seeping into his clothes, making him appear even more desolate.

"Bang bang bang!"

A few light knocks on the door startled Li Zhi, who was standing on a chair inside, about to climb out the window, and he almost stumbled.

"Chengqian, please open the door. I'm really cold... Your mother is angry with me. If you don't forgive me, I'll truly be all alone..."

Li Shimin didn't know whether he was really going to cry or just pretending.

However, Li Zhi was truly on the verge of tears at this moment, seeing that the other person seemed to be leaning towards the window to check.

He quickly cleared his throat, pinched his nose, and lowered his voice.

"I...I understand, Father. You may return now."

Li Shimin frowned.

Listening to the noises coming from inside the room, I felt that something was off.

"Chengqian, are you feeling unwell? Have you caught a cold? Don't scare me like that. If you have, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible. I'll have someone summon the imperial physician for you..."

"No, no need!" Li Zhi almost lost his composure.

While keeping his eyes fixed on the main entrance window, he carefully peeked one foot out from the half-window behind him.

"Father, Father, please go back. I forgive you..."

The tense atmosphere caused sweat to stream down Li Zhi's forehead, almost flowing into his eyes.

But after waiting for a long time, seeing that there was finally no movement at the door, he breathed a sigh of relief as if he had been given a new lease on life.

With difficulty, he also stuck his other foot out of the back window.

As he tentatively searched for a foothold, he suddenly felt as if he had stepped on something solid, and the feeling of stability brought a relaxed smile to Li Zhi's face.

Its body then crawled out as well.

"boom!"

Land on both feet.

His head seemed to suddenly bump into something, causing Li Zhi, who was already unbalanced, to stumble.

"Wow..."

The snacks from his cuffs and pockets spilled all over the floor.

A used pencil even rolled out of the sleeve.

Li Zhi grinned and looked up, but the terrifying black shadow that came into view almost made him faint on the spot.

Well-defined muscles were visible through the pulled-open collar.

His bronze skin appeared completely black under the moonlight, as he stood with his back to the camera and his head was peeking out from behind him.

Even the person's face at that moment seemed to be hidden in the darkness.

Only a pair of sharp eyes, like the cold glint of a steel blade, were coldly scrutinizing him.

A pair of eyes, upon seeing the scattered pastries, felt an indescribable terror.

"Father, Father, Father, Father..."

Li Zhi was terrified.

He kept repeating "father, father, father" as if he was too frightened to utter a complete sentence, or as if he was repeatedly reminding Li Shimin that he was his son, his own son.

"You came to your brother's place to steal things?"

Li Shimin's voice was like that of a vicious wolf, emitting a ferocious threatening growl from its throat after pouncing on its prey.

Li Zhi was so frightened that he trembled all over.

Faced with Li Shimin's question, he opened his mouth, but had no ability to answer at all.

Everyone gets the stolen goods!

My life is over!

Li Shimin glanced at the window, half of which was blocked by a bookshelf, and the other half revealed his crown prince's desk.

There were also rows of exam papers laid out there.

"Oh, stealing things was just a side thing; the main purpose was to steal and alter the answers?"

Tears of fear were welling up in Li Zhi's eyes.

He, who had been slumped on the ground, hurriedly got up and knelt down in front of Li Shimin with a thud.

"Father, Emperor, your son, your son was wrong, your son knows he was wrong..."

"Your subject will never dare to do it again! Father, please forgive me this once! I, your subject, will never dare to do it again, sob sob sob..."

Li Shimin squinted at the seven sons who were now tugging at his trouser leg.

Suddenly, she spoke softly.

"So, you heard every single word I said at the door just now...?"

Li Zhi: "!!!"

"No! Your Majesty, I didn't hear it! What did Father Emperor just say? Your Majesty doesn't know!"

Li Shimin, with his body resembling a humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex, slowly crouched down. A terrifying aggression emanated from him, and with just a glance, Li Zhi's body went limp.

"You're quite clever, but unfortunately..."

"You were just using my name under the guise of your imperial brother, weren't you?"

Li Zhi: "!!!"

He tried to pull away and beg for mercy, but Li Shimin roared angrily the next moment, which frightened him so much that he couldn't help but cry out on the spot.

"Guards! Hang the Seventh Prince up! Tie him to a tree!"

"Bring me my riding whip!"

"I'm going to teach him a lesson today, how to be a decent human being!"

Wang De sighed and stuffed a cushion into Li Zhi's trousers.

This seventh prince truly always manages to offer himself up whenever His Majesty needs a scapegoat the most.

This time, they went even further and used such a "generous gift".

He stole from his own elder brother, the emperor.

They even secretly altered the exam answers.

And then, the most terrifying thing of all, was hearing His Majesty's incredibly embarrassed apology...

Wang De looked at Li Zhi, who was screaming and being forced onto a bench, struggling in terror, and then at His Majesty, who was holding a whip and had come up behind the other man, his hair standing on end in fury.

"Sun Yi, quickly summon the imperial physician! This Seventh Prince will likely be bedridden for at least ten days to half a month..."

Li Zhi had a cloth stuffed in his mouth and was making sobbing noises.

Meanwhile, at the Imperial University's Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

Black smoke billowed from an experimental site.

A buzzing sound filled the air as shovel after shovel of coal was fed into the boiler.

Inside the boiling water tank, steam rose like a roaring beast, crashing and squeezing the transmission device at the connection point, which slowly began to whir.

And as time goes on, the rotation speed increases.

"Hahaha! Great! That's fantastic!"

Seeing the rapidly spinning axle, Li Chengqian excitedly clapped his hands on the spot.

Become!

Steam engine!

He has finally created another world-changing artifact in this world!

The craftsmen, including Master Mo, who were originally extracted and summoned from the simulated world, are now the first batch of top engineers registered in the Tang Dynasty, holding the title of royal consort.

After nearly a year of continuous research and practical discussions on details such as steel, mechanical structure, and internal structure of the steam engine, the steam engine before us is now named "Dragon Heart No. 1" by Li Chengqian.

Finally, all the tests were officially completed.

“Your Highness, this steam engine can now be used for pumping water in the mine simply by connecting it to a pumping device.”

"And by simply adding a gear mechanism around that axle, the rotating mechanism can drive other mechanical devices after adding a gear or chain."

"The kind of textile machine you mentioned, as well as various metal processing machines, can all be made using this machine!"

Old Master Mo was very excited, although deep fatigue could be seen on his face.

At this moment, however, he was completely immersed in this immense joy.

Li Chengqian nodded repeatedly.

"All personnel involved in the development of Longxin-1 will be officially recognized as Royal Honored Academicians, receiving Royal stipends. From this day forward, I will take care of your children and your livelihoods!"

Li Chengqian walked around the constantly roaring iron lump, his eyes burning with a light as intense as the flames inside the boiler.

"With this big machine, the problem of insufficient manpower can be temporarily solved!"

"Now I can move forward more boldly..."

It wasn't until it was completely dark, and the palace was about to close, that Li Chengqian emerged from the Imperial University.

It was just when the air felt sweet, and even the drifting snowflakes seemed to carry a hint of sweetness.

Qian Lou, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, suddenly arrived quickly.

"Your Highness, the Emperor Emeritus has secretly sent a batch of goods from Chang'an..."

His expression was somewhat strange.

He handed a list to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian reached out and took it, and the next moment...

"hiss!"

"Today is fucking my lucky day!"

"Double happiness!"