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

Inside the banquet hall of the Prince of Lu's mansion.

Li Yuanchang, sitting at the head of the table, roared angrily, his voice faintly reaching those around him, causing the prince consorts and princesses who had been chatting amongst themselves to look in his direction with suspicion.

However, they were stopped by the guards of the Prince of Lu's mansion.

In the hall, Li Yuanfang was first startled, then, despite his fierce demeanor, he slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"Seventh Brother, what do you mean by this? What do you mean by trading with Xueyantuo? You're trying to pin this dirty laundry on me...!"

He was about to roar again when Li Yuanchang suddenly slammed a stack of stamped documents in front of him.

Flying and fluttering, they landed on documents scattered everywhere, black words on white paper.

Especially the almost blood-red seal of the Northern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which instantly made Prince Zhou, Li Yuanfang, who was originally trying to make excuses and cover up his actions, feel as if he had been choked.

He hurriedly knelt down and grabbed a few documents from the ground.

Upon seeing what was recorded there, the person's face, which had just turned bright red with anger, instantly turned pale.

The hand gripping the paper began to tremble noticeably.

Princess Gaomi, sitting opposite, also picked up a document. When she saw what was written on it, her pupils suddenly contracted.

"In May of the seventh year of the Zhenguan era, Zhang Shou, the elder brother of Consort Zhang, the mother of the King of Zhou, privately brewed grain liquor and sold it in Luoyang under the false name of Fenjiu. Several people fell seriously ill after drinking his counterfeit liquor. Zhang Shou then used Consort Zhang's name to falsely testify that the liquor was genuine, thus deceiving the officials in Luoyang. —Luoyang Thousand-Household Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard"

Princess Gaomi was horrified. The other princesses around her, who had been laughing and joking with each other, finally realized something was wrong when they saw her reaction and the terrified look on Prince Zhou's face.

He hurriedly picked up several more indictments of King Zhou from the ground.

The charges against officials from the Censorate, local supervisory officials, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard... especially those against the Embroidered Uniform Guard, are described most clearly.

"This, this... Li Chengqian wants to harm me?! Seventh Brother, is it Li Chengqian who wants to harm me?!"

King Zhou cried out in despair, while frantically snatching the scattered indictments from his brothers.

The expressions on the faces of the others were also not good.

Seeing a stack of documents in front of Prince Jing, Li Yuanjing, they all hurriedly got up and rushed over.

Amidst the chaos, Li Yuanchang didn't stop them. He just gritted his teeth and coldly watched these fools.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a pang of emotion. Fortunately, he didn't sleep soundly on weekdays. If he had slept soundly like these idiots and hadn't realized it, he probably wouldn't have had a chance to notice when his head was about to fall off.

"This is completely fabricated, a trumped-up charge! When have I ever bribed the Luoyang transport commissioner?! This is slander!"

“Those armors were all ordered to be discarded by the imperial court. I was just selling some discarded items to the Tanguts. How can that be considered a crime?”

"That damned bastard, how many other evil deeds has he done behind my back?!"

"......"

The scene was chaotic, and even the previously dignified and composed Princess Gaomi now had her face contorted with anger.

In her hands, a charge that, if it were to reach the imperial court, would surely result in the execution of her entire family, was written in bold letters.

"The consort of Princess Gaomi colluded with the manager of the Yunzhong Horse Ranch, using the pretext of being ill and unable to find a doctor to secretly embezzle imperial military horses. He once bowed to the Li family of Guzang, attempting to steal Qinghai steeds from the Qinghai Horse Ranch, but the Li family of Guzang refused to see him, and his attempt failed—Datong Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Office"

Princess Gaomi's hand veins throbbed, and she felt a tightness in her chest, so she slumped into her seat, clutching her chest.

Princess Lu was so startled that she quickly stepped forward to comfort her.

Li Yuanchang sat upright, his hands gripping his knees tightly, suppressing the anger in his heart.

"Take a good look, see if your heads are still on your necks!"

"Back then, Father Emperor swallowed his pride and pleaded with His Majesty and the Crown Prince on your behalf, which is why you were allowed to leave Chang'an and move freely. You really have some nerve! All these things you've done... how many heads do you have that the Embroidered Uniform Guard could chop off?!"

Seeing that his brothers and sisters were terrified, Prince Xu Kang, Li Yuanli, quickly got up to try and ease the tension.

"Your Majesty, I'm sure many of you have been misled in this matter. If we go to the palace and clarify things with the Crown Prince, there shouldn't be any problems..."

Li Yuanjing has always known that he is not very smart.

But now, hearing his younger brother's naive words, he couldn't help but laugh in exasperation.

Before Li Yuanchang could speak, he let out a cold snort.

"Very well, since Prince Xu Kang thinks he has the authority and that all the escort agencies you run have official permits, then fine, get up and walk out of my residence. Just shout 'I am innocent' at the gate, and the Imperial Guards will take you there and clear your name!"

"What?! The Embroidered Uniform Guard?!"

As soon as these words came out.

Xu Kangwang's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he instinctively looked warily toward the gate of the Lu Prince's mansion in a panic.

King Zhou, Li Yuanfang, was terrified.

"Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother, is there really a Embroidered Uniform Guard? Then, are we all going to die in the Northern Garrison?! Seventh Brother, save me! Seventh Brother, save me! Waaaaah!"

Princess Gaomi nearly choked on her breath again, and the others around her, such as Princess Changguang, Princess Wanchun, and Princess Fangling, were also terrified.

The shadow of a famous tree.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was truly established through ruthless and cunning means.

The annihilation of the Cui clan of Boling, the stirring up of the Four Kings Rebellion in the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, the infiltration of Tuyuhun to coerce Tu, and the territorial intimidation of Gaochang, the Western Regions, Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje, and other countries—who wouldn't be terrified upon hearing this name?

Of all the people who have ever been imprisoned by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, only Wei Zheng has ever been to go in alive and come out alive.

It is said that Qian Lou, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, does not even give face to the current emperor or the retired emperor.

They only obeyed the Crown Prince.

If the Crown Prince were to lay a hand on them... just thinking about it made everyone's legs tremble, and several timid princesses even burst into tears on the spot.

He looked like he deeply regretted his actions.

Princess Gaomi, having calmed down a bit, grabbed Princess Lu's hand with tears in her eyes: "Sister-in-law, save me, save me!"

Princess Lu looked helplessly at Li Yuanchang, who snorted coldly.

"The reason I summoned you to Chang'an and spoke to you about these matters is because of the Crown Prince's orders. This is not the case as it was back then, and the Crown Prince does not wish to cause his father, the Emperor, any grief. Therefore, he has decided to give you this opportunity to confess honestly to the Ministry of Justice and to confess all your crimes. The subsequent judgment will be decided by those above!"

Princess Gaomi, tears welling in her eyes, cried out, "But... but my husband has committed a capital offense! He..."

"Then let him die! Why don't you all rebel?!"

Li Yuanchang's words instantly silenced everyone present, leaving them only with fear and choked sobs.

While Li Yuanchang was warning everyone to honestly confess their crimes, he was chasing after the two little ones, Li Yutong and Li Leya, in the palace, holding a snowball and shouting excitedly.

However, a palace attendant stopped him with an imperial decree.

“Your Highness, it is the Emperor Emeritus’s decree…” Wang De reminded him.

Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes, then took the imperial edict directly from the eunuch's hand and unfolded it to read it.

A smile involuntarily appeared on his face the next moment.

"Hahaha...Grandpa Emperor, that scumbag, is truly heartless after he's done with his lover."

The imperial edict contained very simple content, consisting of only one sentence.

"The Crown Prince may dispose of all the princes and princesses as he sees fit."

Ministry of Punishment.

Li Daozong looked at the princes and princesses in front of him, who were terrified and confessed all their crimes when questioned by the officials.

He couldn't help but shake his head with a sigh.

Originally, some of these guys were hesitant and unwilling to admit their crimes, but after Wang De came to the Ministry of Justice with an imperial edict from the retired emperor,

These people immediately started talking like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, revealing everything they knew without reservation.

Evening, dinner at the palace.

Li Chengqian was having dinner with Empress Zhangsun today. Just as he was finishing his meal and preparing to leave, Empress Zhangsun called him back.

"Gao Ming, are you planning to make a move against the nobles?"