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

As the year drew to a close in Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, the emperor, the retired emperor, and the crown prince—the three most powerful figures in the imperial family—gathered in the city, and the officials finally breathed a rare sigh of relief.

Especially veteran officials like Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, who had worked tirelessly for more than half a year.

What's more, I finally got to enjoy the long-awaited holiday.

"I sit alone in the pavilion, oblivious to the affairs of the court. I admire the blooming plum blossoms and watch the swimming fish—how delightful!"

Fang Xuanling took a sip of tea, murmured a poem on the spot, and sighed. He couldn't help but squint his eyes and take a deep breath, which seemed fresher than usual and carried the faint scent of the morning air from the surrounding neighborhood.

I felt as if I were floating on air.

Du Ruhui coughed slightly and chuckled twice.

"When this pavilion was first built, I thought it was cumbersome and winding, and the scenery was much worse. But now, taking a break to fish, I realize that this place, which I had previously disdained, actually has such beauty that I had overlooked."

"It's really wonderful~"

"Hahaha!" The two old friends looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Fang Xuanling raised his teacup. The air around him was slightly chilly, but the small charcoal stove beside him was boiling water.

"Hahaha, in the past we were so busy that we almost forgot what those classics we learned in our youth were all about. We never even had hot meals or proper tea... Hiss~ Ha~"

"Excellent tea! This seemingly ordinary teacup feels as if I'm touching a piece of fine jade."

Du Ruhui chuckled again, giving his close friend a teasing sidelong glance.

"Hehe, I thought you were going to say that this teacup feels like the delicate hands of some young lady."

"Go away! Don't tease this old man. You old codger, does your wife seem to be any gentler than mine?"

"Cough cough cough..."

After some casual conversation, the servants brought the two wool blankets from Bingzhou Road and covered them with them.

Melted snow and icy spring water dripped from the eaves of the pavilion, dripping into the fish pond in front of Du Ruhui's residence.

Ripples spread, making it hard to tell whether it was water droplets kissing the pool or fish teasing the mansion's master, who had been working tirelessly from dawn till dusk for most of the year.

The tranquil and leisurely atmosphere gradually made Fang Xuanling and his companion feel sleepy without them even realizing it.

Neither of them went back to their room. Instead, they lay on deck chairs, covered with warm and comfortable wool blankets, with a small charcoal stove beside them radiating heat.

however.

Just when these two pillars of the Tang Dynasty finally had a vacation.

At the entrance of Du Ruhui's residence.

A carriage bearing royal insignia slowly came to a stop.

Before Fan Qi could put down the footstool, Li Shimin, dressed in casual clothes, had already lifted the curtain, stepped down from the carriage, and stood with his hands behind his back. Thinking of his own crown prince, he finally relented on the matter of the Northern Expedition.

A smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

"Go, knock on the door!"

Fan Qi hurriedly stepped forward, and the gatekeeper was surprised to see that the person who had come was none other than His Majesty the Emperor.

Without any hesitation, he hurriedly opened the main gate and sent others to inform the lady and master of the mansion.

"Master, master... wake up..."

Du Ruhui had just fallen asleep less than half an hour ago, and was in a dream where he felt like a carefree immortal in the mountains and fields. Just a moment ago, he was skimming the water atop the vast forest, like a wild goose.

The next moment, a voice that seemed to come from the underworld rang out in his dream.

"Master, wake up... His Majesty is here!"

"Wow!"

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui opened their eyes almost simultaneously while lying on their chairs.

Their eyes, still somewhat glazed, met each other's gaze. Then, a splitting headache, as if struck by an axe, immediately brought a look of disgust to their faces.

"Is it really His Majesty who has arrived?" Fang Xuanling still harbored some wishful thinking.

However, Madam Du had no time to think about such things. With His Majesty's arrival, she and Du Ruhui, as the mistress of the mansion, were obliged to personally greet him.

"Could it be fake?" Madam Du pulled Du Ruhui, whose body seemed to have been drained of energy at that moment, up from the recliner.

When Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling met His Majesty the Emperor in the reception room.

This Emperor Li Er, who was cursed with a thousand cuts and a thousand needles, neglected his duties, was not a proper son, and oppressed officials, was standing in front of a well-grown bonsai pine tree with a spirited appearance.

Admiring the dark green branches.

"Xuanling, Keming, I have come to you today with some extremely good news!"

...If you come to us, I guarantee it won't be anything good!

Almost simultaneously, Fang and Du both mentally uttered a complaint to each other.

On the surface, however, he looked like a miserable, downtrodden working man, trying to be polite while suppressing his resentment as much as possible so that it wouldn't show on his face.

The two forced awkward smiles and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please speak..."

Li Shimin pulled the two of them to sit down, and then took the main seat himself. After Madam Du and the servants left the reception room, Li Shimin took the seat of honor.

This was as if they had won some big prize; they were excited, yet also seemed determined to keep it a secret.

He lowered his voice and leaned closer to the two of them.

"The Crown Prince wants to launch a northern expedition! Bingzhou is providing the funds, and I plan to take this opportunity to personally lead the expedition!"

"Xuanling, Keming, for such a momentous occasion of achieving great merit, you were the first people I thought of!"

Du Ruhui's lips twitched, and he looked at Fang Xuanling beside him, his eyes seeming to say, "Your Majesty must have said these nonsense to those two fellows, Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde, as well!"

Fang Xuanling's eyes were certain: "Such an important matter would have required us to be summoned very early in the morning, but it's already close to lunchtime. I'm afraid it's not just Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Jingde who's been here this morning..."

Li Shimin did not notice that the two men had the same expression and looked expectant.

"Now, the Left and Right Martial Guards of our Great Tang are all clad in armor and wielding steel swords, and their warhorses are all strong and healthy. We are at the peak of our military strength. No matter who it is, whether it is the Western Turks or anyone else, they are no match for us."

"That's all thanks to getting it for free!"

"Xuanling, Keming, surely you two won't stand idly by, right?"

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui: "..."

Is it necessary for this old man to participate?

My sons are all serving under the Crown Prince, and I, an old man, have to go to the battlefield with you, this capricious and capricious emperor?

the other side.

Jiangxia Prince's Mansion.

"Your Majesty, you didn't even inform me of your arrival, so I could have made preparations to welcome you. This... has made you look foolish."

Li Yuan waved his hand with a smile, gesturing to the eunuchs who had accompanied him to deliver some of the gifts he had prepared, while simultaneously pulling the somewhat nervous Li Daozong along and leading him into the palace.

"What kind of Emperor Emeritus are you calling me? This isn't the palace. Why are you being so distant with me? Shall I leave?"

Li Daozong was startled. Seeing that Li Yuan actually looked like he was about to turn around and leave, he quickly bowed and changed his address.

"Uncle, please don't take it to heart."

"Hahaha! You're just too honest!" Li Yuan laughed and pointed at the other person, then suddenly turned to look at a beautiful young woman with a graceful figure and serene beauty.

He greeted everyone with a smile.

"Little Xueyan, have you missed your royal grandfather? Sigh, you haven't come to the palace to visit this old man. It must be your father keeping an eye on you, right?"

Li Yuan acted like a kind elder, causing Li Xueyan, the legitimate daughter of the Prince of Jiangxia, to quickly bow.

"Grandson greets His Majesty. Father knows that His Majesty is busy handling many state affairs in the palace and is afraid that grandson will disturb His Majesty..."

Li Yuan chuckled and glared at Li Daozong, who stood awkwardly to the side.

"Hmph, luckily Xueyan took after her mother, otherwise if you had that personality, ha!"

Li Daozong dared not respond and could only force a smile and keep up the conversation.

The father and daughter led Li Yuan to the reception room and personally poured him some fine tea.

Knowing full well that Li Yuan must have come with a purpose, Li Daozong did not dare to ask him at all.

"Xueyan is a good girl, but she's too aloof and doesn't like interacting with people. She should go out more. Gaoming used to be a reclusive and withdrawn person who didn't like going out either, but after two years of working in Bingzhou, he's clearly changed a lot..."

Li Yuan rambled on and on, reciting the everyday sayings his elders often used.

However, his words always subtly hinted at the fact that the Crown Prince would be engaged at the end of the year.

This caused Li Xueyan, who was brewing tea for the two of them, to furrow her brows slightly in a hint of worry.

His expression also became noticeably dazed.

Li Yuan chuckled inwardly, then suddenly pulled out something that looked like a note from his robes.

Hand it directly to the other party.

"The Empress is currently holding a poetry gathering. Also, the Crown Prince has brought a theatrical troupe from Bingzhou with him when he returned. They will be performing in the palace. Your cousins ​​are all there. Don't stay in this mansion alone. Go and see them."

Li Xueyan snapped out of her reverie, glancing at the invitation in a daze. The image of her elder brother, the Crown Prince, standing atop the whale-bone carriage, conversing eloquently with the Prince of Han, flashed through her mind...

Li Daozong immediately realized something and felt a little flustered.

Thinking of how her daughter had been so distraught these past few days since learning that the Crown Prince had returned to Chang'an, she felt a pang of sadness.

After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately did not stop it.

Seeing that the other party had put the items away, Li Yuan immediately knew that today's matter was bound to succeed.

After Li Xueyan poured the tea and left, he smiled and looked at his cousin Li Daozong, who had a wry smile on his face.

"What? You're dissatisfied with my grandson? You think my crown prince is unworthy of Xueyan?"

Li Daozong shook his head bitterly: "Uncle, you're putting me in a difficult position. The Crown Prince is such a person. No matter how much I love my daughter, I know that the Crown Prince is more than a match for Xueyan, but..."

Li Yuan responded directly.

"Are you just worried that Xueyan will be mistreated after going to the East Palace with Gao Ming?"

Li Daozong nodded bitterly: "That girl's personality is just like that. You know what women in the palace are like, Uncle."

Li Yuan snorted coldly.

"If you really care about Xueyan, you shouldn't be thinking about these things, but rather how to give her more confidence!"

"The daughter of the Wang family of Taiyuan, the daughter of the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Ying, the only daughter of the Duke of Lu... Is your status as the Prince of Jiangxia insufficient? If you feel it is not enough, then compete for the title of Prince of the First Rank!"

Upon hearing this, Li Daozong, who was originally worried, was instantly terrified.

He hurriedly stood up, about to shout that he was innocent.

Li Yuan grabbed him.

"I won't talk nonsense with you today. I didn't come here to scare you. I will bestow a marriage upon Xueyan and Gaoming. They are cousins ​​of similar age and are beyond the fifth degree of kinship. In the future, Gaoming will have a girl surnamed Li by his side, and I will feel more at ease."

"However, after saying all this, in a few days the Crown Prince will announce in court that you must stand up and support me for next year's Northern Expedition!"

"I, the Emperor, will personally lead the army into battle!"