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

"Excellent, excellent, Your Highness, you sang so well. The lyrics and music convey a sense of walking on thin ice, yet also of turning the tide in the face of chaos. What do you say, Erlang?"

"Listening to this melody, I feel as if I've returned to the days when I was the garrison commander of Taiyuan, watching the people and the country suffer, hesitating but ultimately rising up in rebellion. What a wonderful melody and lyrics!"

Li Yuan smiled broadly and spared no praise, an attitude that surprised Empress Zhangsun and the other women in Li Shimin's harem.

How did His Majesty and the Crown Prince obtain their positions?

It's practically no secret anymore.

This retired emperor was almost stabbed a hundred times by his own grandson, Li Chengqian.

However, the Emperor Emeritus's expression now seems completely genuine.

Hear the words.

Although Li Chengqian's song had already ended, Li Shimin, whose spine still felt cold, suddenly came back to his senses.

Seeing the Crown Prince's ambiguous smile, she twitched her lips twice.

Their gazes finally fell silent as the prince gently raised the bundle hanging around his neck.

"Yes, it has a sense of heroism, and I can feel it too, turning the tide..." Li Shimin said absentmindedly, unconsciously repeating a few words that Li Yuan had said.

His eyes were fixed on his own crown prince as he walked back to his seat.

Suddenly his eyes lit up.

Raise your glass.

"Chengqian, come here. You have been on your journey to Bingzhou for half a year. I and your mother and concubines have heard about everything you have done. Now you have even destroyed the Eastern Turks, relieving our Great Tang of a great worry."

"Though I am the emperor, today I must also offer you a toast for my Great Tang Dynasty. Come, come to me..."

Li Chengqian was taken aback, but then he immediately saw through the old man Bi Deng's thoughts.

They simply want to take advantage of their current individual strength being slightly superior to their own.

Do you want to take advantage of the situation and snatch the Imperial Seal from him?

Seeing that Li Chengqian had not made a move, Li Shimin raised his wine cup and pretended to be dissatisfied.

"What? My Crown Prince, do you think I'm not even qualified to offer you a cup of wine? Well, it's true, after all, it was the achievement of conquering a kingdom~"

Li Chengqian chuckled, picked up the wine glass on the table in front of him, and bowed slightly.

"Father, you have misunderstood me. I just feel that what you said is unpopular... I am not the only one who went to Bingzhou. Even at today's family banquet, my third and fourth brothers have also made contributions."

"My third brother personally quelled the rebellion of the Cui clan of Boling in Hedong Road, and my fourth brother followed me in several battles against the Turks on the grasslands. Although I am the elder brother, I am ashamed to say that I was almost ambushed by the Turks several times in the chaos of battle due to my distraction. It was only with the help of Qingque that we were able to achieve a great victory."

“Father…” Li Chengqian bowed.

"Father, as the emperor, you are both a ruler and a father to your son. You should treat everyone equally. Even if you are rewarding your son, how can you reward only your son?"

As he spoke, he lowered his head and gave a wink to Li Tai and Li Ke behind him.

We worked together for half a year and became like brothers.

The two immediately understood each other.

Consort Yang opened her mouth as if to say something, but received a comforting look from her eldest son, so she stopped.

Li Tai and Li Ke followed behind Li Chengqian, one on the left and one on the right.

He walked up to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin's eyes grew brighter as his crown prince approached, and his throat bobbed involuntarily as the bundle around the prince's neck drew closer.

"Hahaha, very good, very good, you are all my good sons. Come, let me toast you all..."

As Li Shimin spoke, he reached out as if to make Li Chengqian move closer.

But suddenly a figure blocked his way.

Li Tai bowed, holding a wine cup, and stood in front of his elder brother, the Emperor.

"Father, I used to think that what you said about the dangers of the battlefield was just to scare me. I was wrong about you, Father. I toast you."

"This cup has nothing to do with my military achievements, nor with my feelings for you as my father. It is all my respect for you, my father, who was able to pacify the world and achieve the fame of the Heavenly Strategy General. I'll drink it all, you can drink as you please!"

Watching Li Tai gulp down the wine in his glass.

Li Shimin opened his mouth, and the hand that he originally wanted to grab the crown prince had no choice but to land on his fourth son's shoulder under the gaze of everyone.

"Ah, Qingque, your intentions are commendable; your trip to Bingzhou was not in vain. You are a good son of mine, and you have not disgraced me..."

"Gudong"

Li Shimin drank the wine in the cup in one gulp.

But the next moment.

Li Ke, who was standing nearby, was quick-witted and nimbly pushed aside the eunuch Sun who was responsible for pouring the wine, and then swiftly filled Li Shimin's cup again.

"Father, I also toast you!"

A line of tears welled up in Li Ke's eyes, leaving Consort Yang and his younger brother Li Yin speechless with astonishment.

Holding a wine glass.

"Father, I have always felt that I am the least promising of all your princes, and the one you look down on the most. I have always lived cautiously in the palace. The other day, my elder brother said he would take me to Bingzhou to make my way in the world."

"Your Majesty, I thought you wouldn't allow me to go. I never expected that you would not only grant my request, but also agree to my brother entrusting me with the power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Your Majesty is ashamed. It was only then that I understood your intentions. It was not that Your Majesty disliked me, but that you were disappointed in me for not living up to your potential!"

"Father, I will punish myself with a cup of wine!"

Li Shimin opened his mouth, but seeing that his third son was also showing genuine emotion, he could only reach out to comfort him again. He then downed his wine cup in one gulp as his son drank it down.

"Ah, Ke'er has become so talented! I am so pleased, so very pleased!"

Li Shimin sighed, patted the other's shoulder, and said earnestly, "Although your mother came from the previous dynasty, her feelings for me were genuine, and she was like a sister to the Empress. You and Yin'er are both surnamed Li, and you are my flesh and blood!"

"From now on, focus on your work and don't let your mind wander..."

Li Ke nodded in gratitude, and Consort Yang hurriedly pulled Li Yin to the front of the stage.

We thank the Holy One for His grace.

Just as Li Shimin was about to turn to look at his crown prince, Li Tai, who had just finished drinking a cup, raised another cup and bowed once more.

"Father, I offer you another cup!"

"Before going to Bingzhou, I heard that Father Emperor was cautious and careful in his policies regarding the people and governance. At that time, I had some criticisms of you, Father Emperor, thinking that you were too timid as a ruler. It was not until I went to Bingzhou and actually followed my elder brother in handling government affairs that I understood Father Emperor's helplessness and hardship."

“A seemingly insignificant decree from Chang’an, when applied to the local area, could become a mountain that crushes a family, or even an entire village or county. Your subject is ashamed!”

Li Shimin: "......"

Now, even if he was slow to realize what was going on, he had finally understood.

He couldn't help but grit his teeth as he faced the sly smile from his unfilial son.

Take a deep breath.

Suddenly, he raised the wine glass in front of him, looking at his two overconfident sons with a rather unfriendly smile.

"Very well, then today my good sons and I will drink until we're completely drunk! Come on! Let's keep drinking!"

Consort Yang looked at the emperor, whose expression was clearly unfriendly, and couldn't help but feel worried.

However, Empress Zhangsun, who was standing to the side, smiled and took his hand, gently shaking her head.

"It's alright, let men handle their own affairs. After all, men have their periods, they're not quite right every month..."

Li Ke and Li Tai looked at their father, who was now acting as if he wanted to talk to them about gender.

He couldn't help but swallow hard.

He glanced back at his elder brother, the emperor.

His eyes held a poignant sense of melancholy, like the mournful cry of a hero departing for his homeland.

"Father, I toast you!"*2

the other side.

Li Chengqian, however, took the opportunity to get close to the retired Emperor Li Yuan.

"Grandpa, look at this song and dance! It's so boring. Although it's beautiful, if a man watches it for too long, his spirit will inevitably be worn down!"

Li Yuan watched the dancers' graceful movements with a broad smile.

Li Chengqian's words startled him.

"Oh? Does the Crown Prince have any ideas?"

Li Chengqian chuckled: "Only sissies watch women dance. If you ask me, a real man should watch men dance!"

"Pfft! Cough cough cough..."

Li Shimin, who had just drunk a cup of wine, immediately spat it out.

Empress Zhangsun, who was having a private conversation with Consort Yang, was also instantly startled.

The couple looked at each other, thinking about how their Crown Prince, who had always been a vigorous young man, had never even touched a beautiful and capable female official like Qian Yingying.

And then I hear what they say today.

An ominous premonition welled up in both of their hearts at the same time.

Empress Zhangsun's eyes showed a hint of panic, and even Emperor Li Er, who was usually quite calm in important matters, suddenly trembled as he held the wine cup.

They were already starting to lose their composure.

Li Yuan stared at Li Chengqian in astonishment.

"What's the point of watching men dance?"

Li Chengqian chuckled, giving off an expression that seemed to say, "Grandpa, you just don't understand." This made Emperor Li Er and his wife even more flustered.

Li Chengqian still had the bundle containing the Imperial Seal of the State tied around his neck.

He held a wine glass in one hand.

Seeing Li Yuan's blank expression, he immediately stood up and twisted from side to side. His posture was not only offensive, but it also reminded Li Shimin of some unclean images, instantly making the wine that had just been swallowed up his throat disappear.

I even had an urge to go back on the spot.

"Grandpa, I've invented a dance called the 'Face-to-Face Dance.' It's where two people hug each other, clamping one of each other's legs between their own, their faces pressed together, and then... twist~ just like that, twist~"

As he spoke, Li Chengqian appeared before the astonished gazes of everyone present.

Suddenly it started to twist and turn comically.

Li Yuan stood there, dumbfounded, holding his wine cup: "..."

His previously smiling face instantly broke out in a cold sweat. He turned his head to look in the direction from which the gaze came and was met with Li Shimin's almost murderous stare.

He quickly shook his head.

This, this is not something I taught him!

How could I possibly teach the Crown Prince such an uncivilized thing?!

Li Shimin took a deep breath and resisted the urge to use the bronze wine vessel, which was about half a meter tall, to crack open his father's skull.

At this moment, his facial expression also became increasingly cautious as the prince continued to twist his body in an outrageous manner, as if afraid of stimulating the other party's "sensitive nerves".

"Ahem, Your Highness, you just said that men dance... well, your 'cheek-to-cheek dance' could it be...?"

"Of course, it's two men jumping together!"

Li Shimin felt his vision go black for a moment, and his body swayed twice.