19: Li Chengqian, the hidden dragon

Fang Xuanling read it extremely slowly, savoring every word. His usually placid face gradually showed a look of horror.

Finally, the silk scroll reached Du Ruhui's hands.

The Minister of the Left, famous throughout the world for “Fang’s schemes and Du’s decisions,” after reading it, silently placed the silk scroll back on the table, looked up, and gazed at Li Shimin with a grave expression.

“Your Majesty, this matter… is inconceivable.”

Du Ruhui’s voice was low, “Annihilating one hundred and fifty thousand enemies overnight, and with a single decisive strike. This has already exceeded the scope of military strategy; it is… a mythical legend.”

“Myth?”

Li Shimin sneered, a tremor in his voice, “You don’t trust Li Jing’s report? Or do you think I would use such a matter to amuse you?”

“This subject would not dare.”

Fang Xuanling bowed, “General Li’s army is disciplined; he would never speak carelessly. It’s just, what exactly is this ‘Shu Mountain’? I have perused all the county annals in the world and have never heard of such a School. They possess such terrifying power, yet have remained unknown; their intentions… must not be small.”

The atmosphere grew even heavier.

This was an unsolvable problem.

A power so strong it was incomprehensible suddenly appeared within the territory of the Great Tang, like a fierce tiger lurking beside one’s bed, ready to open its bloody maw at any moment.

“Ke Ming,”

Li Shimin turned to Du Ruhui, “What is your opinion?”

Du Ruhui pondered for a moment, then declared decisively: “Investigate! It must be thoroughly investigated! Mobilize the Hundred Cavalry Division, mobilize the Bad People, even if we have to dig three feet deep, we must unearth the truth about this ‘Shu Mountain’! If such a power cannot be used by our Great Tang, then it must be completely destroyed! We absolutely cannot allow any power that threatens the stability of the nation to exist!”

His words were forceful, full of the meaning of decisive action.

However, Zhangsun Wuji shook his head.

He had remained silent throughout, his gaze fixed on the design of the token on the table, especially the character “Qian” on the back.

“Fuji, what is your insight?”

Li Shimin’s gaze fell upon his brother-in-law.

He knew that among the three present, when it came to meticulous thought and sensitivity to schemes, no one surpassed Zhangsun Wuji.

Zhangsun Wuji slowly raised his head, his expression more solemn than ever before.

He did not answer directly, but instead asked, “Your Majesty, Chancellor Fang, Duke Du, what do the three of you think of the character ‘Qian’ on this token?”

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui exchanged glances, both with tightly furrowed brows.

“Qian, is Heaven, is the ruler.”

Fang Xuanling said in a deep voice, “To use this character as a symbol, their intentions are punishable by death.”

“Perhaps it’s just a coincidence?”

Du Ruhui hesitated, “There are people named Qian in the world, it’s not unheard of.”

“No.”

Zhangsun Wuji flatly denied, “Duke Du, do you think a power capable of mobilizing divine soldiers and slaughtering one hundred and fifty thousand troops overnight would leave such a careless coincidence on its token?”

Du Ruhui fell silent.

Zhangsun Wuji’s gaze swept over everyone, his voice extremely low, as if afraid to awaken some sleeping ghost or deity.

“This character ‘Qian’ may not refer to a surname, nor is it an arrogant self-comparison to the Son of Heaven.”

He paused, then said word by word, “I believe this character might be taken from a certain phrase.”

“Which phrase?”

Li Shimin pressed, his heart involuntarily quickening.

Zhangsun Wuji’s eyes became incredibly deep. He slowly uttered four words, each word like a giant boulder, heavily striking everyone’s hearts.

“Hidden Dragon, do not use.”

Boom!

An invisible thunderclap resounded within Ganlu Hall.

Li Shimin’s body swayed violently, his face instantly drained of color!

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui both gasped, their eyes filled with unbelievable horror.

The first line of the Qian hexagram in the I Ching: Hidden Dragon, do not use.

A hidden Dragon, for now, cannot display its talents.

What a subtle, yet what a blatant ambition this was!

This was no longer a hint; it was almost explicitly telling them that a true Dragon was lurking in the heartland of the Great Tang, accumulating strength, waiting for the moment to soar into the sky!

And that mysterious power calling itself “Shu Mountain” was the claws and teeth of this Hidden Dragon!

An unspeakable chill instantly enveloped the entire Ganlu Hall.

The three powerful ministers who controlled the court, and the supreme emperor of the Great Tang, at this moment, all felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

Only then did they realize that everything that happened in the Crown Princes Residence tonight might not have been a simple father-son conflict at all.

It was a Hidden Dragon, after being disturbed, for the first time, revealing its ferocious and sharp scales to the world.

Li Shimin clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging deep into his palms, blood dripping from between his fingers, yet he was completely unaware.

Only one thought whirled madly in his mind.

His seemingly mediocre, seemingly tolerant son, how many secrets he didn't know were hidden behind him?

What kind of heart lay beneath that seemingly docile face?

A war without smoke had already quietly begun without his knowledge.

And his opponent was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

The hall was dead silent.

The faint crackling of the candlelight, at this moment, sounded as jarring as a mountain collapse.

One drop, two drops.

Crimson blood beads seeped from between the fingers of Li Shimin's tightly clenched right fist, dripping onto the mirror-smooth golden bricks, blooming into small, shocking red plum blossoms.

He felt no pain. His tiger-like eyes stared fixedly at the ground, the bloodshot in his gaze spreading wildly at a visible speed, as if to engulf his entire eye socket.

Hidden Dragon, do not use.

What a “Hidden Dragon, do not use”!

His son, Li Shimin’s son, the Crown Prince of the Great Tang, was actually a Hidden Dragon!

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui’s breathing had stopped; they didn’t even dare to look at the emperor’s face, only stiffly lowering their heads, cold sweat pouring down their foreheads.

The four words Zhangsun Wuji had spoken were like four great mountains, pressing down on them, making them unable to breathe.

This was no longer rebellion; this was a declaration to the entire world that he intended to take over!

“Heh…”

An extremely light, cold laugh squeezed from deep in his throat, breaking the suffocating silence.

Li Shimin slowly unclenched his fist, looking at the deep, bone-visible blood marks in his palm, and a strange, distorted smile appeared on his face.

“Good, good indeed, my Crown Prince, good indeed, Li Chengqian!”

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over his three trusted ministers one by one. There was no longer the majesty of an emperor in his eyes, only the beast-like chill and madness of someone betrayed by a loved one.

“You tell me, when did he start?”

His voice was terribly hoarse, like two rough stones grinding together, “Was it from the day he was made Crown Prince? Or even earlier? When he was still a child, when he was acting spoiled in my arms, was he already thinking about that Dragon throne in his heart?”

No one dared to answer.

Who could answer such a question?

And who would dare to answer?

Zhangsun Wuji’s lips moved, but ultimately, it became a heavy sigh.

As the emperor’s uncle, he had watched Li Chengqian grow up. At this moment, his heart was a mix of emotions, both worry for the safety of the nation and an imperceptible… fear.