27: Your Majesty, please call me Crown Prince!!

The air throughout the entire Taiji Hall solidified.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on Li Chengqian, watching how he would respond to this final, most fatal blow.

However, Li Chengqian did not move.

He stood there quietly, as if he hadn't heard the eunuch's words. The imperial edict before his eyes, symbolizing supreme imperial power, was nothing more than a piece of waste paper.

Time passed breath by breath.

Cold sweat streamed down the forehead of the eunuch holding the imperial edict, and his arms began to tremble uncontrollably.

Li Shimin's face turned from white to red, then from red to ashen.

The veins on the back of his hand, resting on the armrest of the Dragon Throne, bulged like coiling, malevolent Dragons.

"Li Chengqian!"

A roar, suppressing monstrous fury, exploded within the hall!

"Are you defying an imperial edict?!"

The hearts of all Civil and Military Officials skipped a beat.

Wei Zheng subconsciously took a step forward, his lips moving, but in the end, he dared not speak.

Zhangsun Wuji quietly shrank back, fearing to be caught in the wrath of this father-son conflict.

Finally, under everyone's gaze, Li Chengqian slowly raised his head.

His eyes were terrifyingly calm, devoid of anger, unwillingness, or even ripples.

He met Li Shimin's almost fiery eyes from dozens of steps away.

His voice was not loud, but it was like an ice-tempered blade, piercing precisely into everyone's ears.

"Your Majesty, please address me as Crown Prince!"

Boom!

If Li Chengqian's previous words were a clap of thunder, then this sentence was the collapse of heaven and earth!

Every single Civil and Military Official was stunned.

They looked at the young man standing in the center of the Taiji Hall with utter horror, as if seeing a madman.

What was he doing?

He was correcting the emperor's address in the imperial court, in front of all Civil and Military Officials?

This was no longer a provocation; this was naked contempt for imperial authority!

Wei Zheng's legs went soft, and he almost fell to the ground.

He had never imagined that the Crown Prince he had wholeheartedly assisted would possess such a resolute, such... a 瘋狂 (crazy) side.

Li Shimin trembled with rage. He abruptly stood up from the Dragon Throne, his finger pointing at Li Chengqian shaking.

"You... you..."

He "you-ed" for a long time but couldn't utter a complete sentence.

He wanted to curse him as a rebellious son, wanted to order him dragged out, but the words caught in his throat, swallowed back by him.

He couldn't.

He couldn't lose his composure here.

He was the emperor, the Son of Heaven!

If he were to quarrel with his son in the imperial court like a common shrew, where would his dignity be?

Where would the prestige of the Great Tang be?

He bit down hard on his back molars, blood seeping from his gums, the metallic taste spreading in his mouth.

He forced himself to sit back on the Dragon Throne, his chest heaving violently like bellows.

After a long while, he squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Good... very good! Crown Prince, receive the imperial edict!"

Those two words, "Crown Prince," were almost roared out with all his might.

Only then did Li Chengqian bow slightly and take the heavy imperial edict from the eunuch's trembling hands, who was almost collapsing from fear.

The bell for the end of the court session rang, and the officials, like survivors of a catastrophe, walked out of the Taiji Hall with their heads bowed and unsteady steps, none daring to cast another glance at the emperor on the Dragon Throne or the Crown Prince holding the imperial edict in the hall... Eastern Palace, study.

Sandalwood incense wafted, dispelling the scent of blood brought from the imperial court.

Li Chengqian stood by the window, toying with the bright yellow imperial edict. His expression was indifferent; it was not a decree that would determine his fate, but a common plaything.

A report came from outside the door: Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui jointly sought an audience.

"Let them in."

Soon, the two chancellors of the Great Tang walked in, one after the other, their faces filled with concerned smiles.

"Oh, Your Highness," Fang Xuanling sighed as soon as he entered, "Your actions in court today... truly made this old subject break out in a cold sweat for you!"

Du Ruhui also nodded repeatedly, a look of lingering fear on his face: "Indeed, Your Highness. His Majesty is in a fit of pique; why must you confront him directly? The emperor's word is law, and the imperial edict has been issued. If you must go to Jing Province, then go."

"Chancellor Fang exaggerates," Li Chengqian turned around, gesturing for the two to sit, his tone calm, "His Majesty is sagacious. For him to send this prince to Jing Province for experience is for this prince's own good. How could this prince not know?"

Fang Xuanling stroked his beard, looking relieved, as if thinking, "This young man is teachable": "If Your Highness can think this way, then all is well. Although Jing Province has a few noble families that are difficult to manage, it is ultimately the territory of the Great Tang. His Majesty's intention is precisely to let Your Highness personally subdue those arrogant soldiers and generals and establish his own prestige. This move has a hundred benefits and no harm!"

"Exactly, exactly!" Du Ruhui chimed in from the side, "Once Your Highness achieves success in Jing Province, His Majesty will naturally see Your Highness's talent. By then, won't he welcome you back to the capital with great honor?"

The two spoke in unison, their words filled with "loyalty" and concern for Li Chengqian, yet in the imperial court, they were the same ones who had supported Li Shimin and advocated for the Crown Prince to take up his fief early.

Li Chengqian listened quietly, a faint, unreadable smile playing on his lips.

He waited for the two to finish speaking, then slowly picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and asked softly, "Listening to you two chancellors, this Jing Province sounds like a treasure trove for achieving great deeds."

"Precisely, precisely!" Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui nodded repeatedly.

Li Chengqian set down his teacup, the bottom of the cup hitting the table with a crisp "clink."

He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over their faces. The coldness in his eyes instantly froze the smiles on Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui's faces.

"If that is the case," Li Chengqian said unhurriedly, "this prince will report to Father tomorrow that the post of Jing Province Governor is indispensable for Chancellor Fang and Chancellor Du. Both of you are pillars of the nation; going to such a treasure trove will surely allow you to achieve new merits for our Great Tang. This immense credit, this prince will not contend with you two for it, how about that?"

For a moment, the study was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The color drained from Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui's faces instantly. They stood with their mouths agape, unable to utter a single word.

Go to Jing Province?

What a joke!

They were old men, doing well in the capital, the center of power. Why would they run off to a wild place like Jing Province to fight with local noble families?

Wouldn't that be the end of them!

The two stammered for a long time, cold sweat trickling down their temples, so embarrassed they wished for a hole to crawl into.

Just then, urgent and heavy footsteps sounded from outside the study.

"Your Highness!"

Yuchi Baolin, Qin Huaiyu, Luo Tong, and a group of young generals burst in impetuously.

They were all dressed in casual clothes, yet they couldn't conceal their martial Qi.

"Your Highness, are you truly going to accept the imperial edict and go to Jing Province?" Yuchi Baolin, being impetuous, blurted out as soon as he entered, "Those old fogeys are going too far! His Majesty is also..."

"Baolin, silence!" Qin Huaiyu quietly reprimanded him, then cupped his fists to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, we have all heard. If you must go to Jing Province, we vow to follow you to the death! What are a few local noble families? This subordinate is willing to be the vanguard and level Jing Province for you!"