172: The End of the Emperor

Fei Peng.

He also saw it, the demonic sword residing within his body, filled with destruction and ominous aura.

"There's something very interesting hidden within you."

Li Chengqian said slowly.

Jing Tian's Soul nearly left him upon hearing this, scared out of his wits.

How... how did he know?!

No one had seen that red-haired monster give him the sword!

"And also an interesting Soul, one that even you yourself have forgotten."

Li Chengqian's words completely baffled Jing Tian.

What thing?

What Soul?

What exactly was His Majesty the Emperor talking about?

"Your Majesty... this commoner... this commoner is dull-witted and doesn't understand what you are saying..."

Jing Tian said with a mournful face.

"It's alright if you don't understand."

A meaningful smile curved Li Chengqian's lips, "Later, you will understand."

He no longer paid attention to the bewildered Jing Tian, his gaze turning to the last, and most restless, person.

Tang Xuejian.

"The Young Miss of the Tang Family Fort?"

Li Chengqian looked at her.

"This... this humble maiden is present!"

Tang Xuejian felt a chill in her heart under his gaze, but she still braced herself, not directly kneeling like Jing Tian.

"Your grandfather, Tang Kun, was indeed a character. Unfortunately, after him, the Tang Family Fort has declined with each generation."

Li Chengqian commented indifferently.

These words made Tang Xuejian both angry and anxious, yet she dared not refute them.

Because she knew that what His Majesty the Emperor said was the truth.

"You don't need to be nervous."

Li Chengqian looked at her, "I have no interest in your Tang Family Fort."

His gaze returned to Jing Tian.

"From today onwards, you two will remain in Chang'an."

"Li Junxian."

"Your subject is present."

Li Junxian, who had been standing silently by the hall door, strode into the hall and knelt on one knee.

"Arrange a residence for them and 'entertain' them well. Without my command, they are not allowed to leave Chang'an by even half a step."

"Additionally, select some basic cultivation methods from the Tiance Manor and let him, too, learn them."

Li Chengqian's finger pointed at Jing Tian.

"Yes!"

Li Junxian accepted the order.

Jing Tian was completely dumbfounded upon hearing this.

Let him... Cultivate?

He, a pawnshop clerk whose biggest dream was to have enough to eat and drink, was now being asked to learn things that only Immortals learned?

What on earth was going on?!

"Your Majesty! This commoner... this commoner doesn't want to Cultivate!"

Jing Tian blurted out.

"This is not up to you."

Li Chengqian's voice was beyond doubt.

"Your destiny, from the moment you were born, has not belonged to you."

"You are my chess piece. The only thing you need to do is follow the path I have laid out for you."

Li Chengqian stood up and no longer looked at them.

"You may withdraw."

He turned and walked into the back hall, leaving behind the three bewildered, fearful, and confused individuals, and the entire cold and majestic Taiji Hall.

Xu Changqing looked at the disappearing figure, his heart unable to calm down for a long time.

This Kaiyuan Emperor was even more mysterious and unfathomable than he had imagined.

He truly seemed to regard the entire world as a chessboard.

And all of them, whether Shu Mountain Disciples or people of destiny, were merely pawns in his hands.

This feeling of being completely controlled made Xu Changqing feel a deep sense of powerlessness for the first time.

While Jing Tian and the others were in the Taiji Hall, feeling the divine-like pressure of The New Emperor.

Inside Wude Hall, Li Shimin had just returned from his "Dao discussion" with the Master.

He walked alone, distraught, through the empty palace.

The Master's words were few, but they were like knives, tearing his last bit of pride to shreds.

"The door you opened with blood will inevitably attract more people who want to push open this door with blood."

"From now on, the Imperial Legacy of your Li Tang Dynasty will have no warmth to speak of."

"In the Xuanwu Gate Incident, whoever wins is the monarch."

"This is the destiny you have chosen for your descendants."

Destiny.

What ironic words.

Li Shimin, throughout his life, fought against Heaven and against men, believing himself to be the Dominator of fate.

In the end, he found that he was the culprit who had personally placed a bloody shackles on his own Empire.

He thought he had won the Empire.

It turned out that he had only opened Pandora's Box.

"Haha... Hahahahaha..."

Li Shimin laughed hysterically again, his laughter filled with endless desolation and self-mockery.

He slumped onto the cold ground, leaning against a massive hall pillar, his eyes unfocused.

He thought of Jiancheng, he thought of Yuanji.

He thought of the blood on the day of Xuanwu Gate, and he thought of their resentful and unwilling eyes before their deaths.

Retribution.

All of this was retribution.

That rebellious son had merely inherited his ruthlessness, his heartlessness, and then, in an even more thorough and unreasonable way, returned it to him.

"Your Majesty..."

Empress Zhangsun walked in, holding a bowl of freshly brewed medicine.

Seeing her husband in this state, her heart was once again fiercely clenched.

"Where... where did you go?"

She asked cautiously.

Li Shimin slowly raised his head, looking at his wife, and two lines of clear tears flowed from his cloudy eyes.

"Guanyin Bi,"

His voice was hoarse as if rubbed with sandpaper, "You say... was I, from the very beginning, wrong?"

He had asked this question before.

But that time, it was a question filled with unwillingness and anger.

This time, however, it was the purest, most genuine self-doubt from the bottom of his Heart-Nature.

Empress Zhangsun could no longer hold back her tears upon hearing this, and they streamed down her face.

She walked forward, knelt down, and tightly embraced her husband.

"Your Majesty... it's not your fault... it's not your fault..."

She didn't know how to comfort him, so she could only repeat these words in the most clumsy way.

Just then, outside the hall, an old figure quietly walked in.

It was Fang Xuanling.

He looked at the Emperor and Empress embracing and weeping, and his usually shrewd and capable face was also filled with sorrow and helplessness.

"Your Majesty, Your Imperial Highness."

He bowed in greeting.

"Wuji? How did you get in?"

Empress Zhangsun asked in surprise.

The New Emperor had commanded that no one was allowed to visit the Retired Emperor.

"It was His Majesty... it was Kaiyuan Emperor who sent this old subject."

Fang Xuanling said bitterly.

Li Shimin's body stiffened abruptly.

That rebellious son?

What did he send Fang Xuanling here for?

To watch him make a fool of himself?

"He... what did he send you here to do?"

Li Shimin pushed Empress Zhangsun away and looked coldly at his brother-in-law, who was also his most important strategist.

Fang Xuanling sighed and took out a memorial from his bosom, presenting it with both hands.

"His Majesty said that the Retired Emperor might feel bored in Wude Hall. He specifically sent this subject to bring some interesting anecdotes from today's court to the Retired Emperor to relieve his boredom."

A flicker of humiliated anger flashed in Li Shimin's eyes.

Relieve boredom?

What an insult!

He snatched the memorial, intending to tear it to shreds.

But when he saw Wei Zheng's familiar handwriting on the memorial, his hand stopped.

He trembled as he opened the memorial.

What was written on it were the detailed regulations for the "Kaiyuan Commercial Bank" and the "Dragon Seed Plan."

Salt and iron monopolies, bringing all wealth of the Empire under state control.

Selecting young children, and with the power of the entire Empire, training an army of Cultivators.

Every word, every policy, was filled with Li Chengqian's unique, undeniable domineering and madness.

But, precisely, it struck at the core lifeline of the Li Tang Dynasty.

The more Li Shimin read, the colder his heart became.

His imperial Heart-Nature, which once held the entire Empire, was utterly shattered by this memorial at this moment.

He finally admitted.

Even without the so-called "Great Tribulation of Salvation," even without comparing that god-like martial power.

In terms of governance, in terms of imperial Heart-Nature, in terms of planning for the future of this country.

He, Li Shimin, had already been left far behind by his son.

His proud "Reign of Zhenguan," in front of this magnificent blueprint, seemed childish and ridiculous, like children playing house.

"Pfft—!"

Another mouthful of fresh blood sprayed onto the imperial yellow memorial.

Li Shimin's eyes completely lost all their luster, turning to ashes.

He lost.

He lost, convinced and resigned.

And he lost, with no possibility of ever recovering.

"Wuji..."

He looked at Fang Xuanling, his voice as faint as a mosquito's.

"Your subject is present."

"You... go tell His Majesty."

Li Shimin's lips twisted into a smile uglier than crying.

"Tell him... I, admit defeat."

"From now on, this Great Tang is his."

"Let him... take care of himself."

After saying these words, Li Shimin's head tilted, and he completely fainted.

This time, he truly let go.

He let go of all his pride, all his unwillingness, all his dreams of being an Emperor.

Fang Xuanling watched this scene, tears streaming down his old face.

The Emperor, in decline!