47: Li Shimin felt a chill on his back

Court dismissed!

The bell for court dismissal echoed leisurely.

The officials were like startled birds.

Prime Minister's Residence.

Inside the study, sandalwood incense wafted, but it couldn't dispel the chill in Fang Xuanling's heart.

He hadn't changed out of his court robes, just sat there, withered, behind his desk.

It was a thin cicada-wing paper, the handwriting on it as fine as a mosquito's leg, yet it recorded news capable of overturning the entire Great Tang court.

The Crown Prince's power... was far greater and more unfathomable than anyone imagined.

The secret report listed names, flows of funds, and secret strongholds, one after another.

They were like an invisible giant Net, centered on the Eastern Palace, already spread throughout every corner of the Great Tang.

Some of the names, Fang Xuanling even thought belonged to pure officials loyal to His Majesty.

Unexpectedly, their true allegiance was to the Crown Prince, who had always been regarded by everyone, including himself, as mediocre and incompetent.

"Heh heh..."

He recalled the Crown Prince's understated remark, "It was too light a beating," in court.

He recalled Cheng Yaojin's group of arrogant generals kneeling without hesitation to request battle.

It turned out that it wasn't a momentary impulse, not a rush of blood to the head.

It was a meticulously planned demonstration!

The Crown Prince used the head of a Jing Province governor to leverage the entire court's structure, tying all the military generals to his chariot, and then, with that overwhelming Evil Qi, he harshly slapped these civil officials.

How was this forcing the palace?

This was clearly telling everyone that he, Li Chengqian, had the ability to change the ruler of this world.

Fang Xuanling felt a chill shoot from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head.

He slowly closed his eyes, and in the darkness before him, the Crown Prince's seemingly gentle face, which in reality concealed an endless abyss, appeared.

He had hidden too deeply.

All these years, everyone had been deceived by him.

His Majesty... had also been deceived by him.

Fang Xuanling suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze no longer gentle and refined, but replaced by an icy coldness that pierced to the bone.

No.

The situation absolutely could not be allowed to develop like this.

The Crown Prince's wings were fully grown; today he could use the power of the generals to pressure the civil officials, and tomorrow he could use this power to do something even more terrifying than the Xuanwu Gate Incident!

He picked up the secret report and held it to the candlelight.

The flame licked at the paper, gradually consuming those shocking names and secrets, turning them into a wisp of smoke.

But the contents had already been deeply imprinted in his mind.

Fang Xuanling stood up and paced back and forth in the study, his eyes flickering under tightly furrowed brows.

He had to find a way, a way that could weaken the Crown Prince without bringing trouble upon himself.

He had to... make His Majesty truly see the true face of this Crown Prince! ...Imperial Palace, Zichen Hall.

The officials had left, and the hall was empty.

He didn't return to Ganlu Hall; he sat there alone, isolated, on that cold Dragon throne, like a petrified statue.

In his hand, he also held a secret letter.

This secret letter was much more detailed, and... much more terrifying than the one Fang Xuanling had received.

It not only contained the Crown Prince's hidden personnel in the court but also his arrangements in the military, in the provinces, and even within those reclusive Schools.

"Iron Pagoda... Great Snow Dragon Riders... Shu Mountain... Net..."

Li Shimin's lips moved slightly, uttering one name after another that made his heart pound.

That was a heavy cavalry unit that existed only in legend, rumored to be impervious to blades and spears, immune to water and fire, with every soldier a killing machine capable of fighting a hundred.

He had always thought this was a baseless rumor, but the secret report clearly stated that the Crown Prince commanded three thousand Iron Pagoda!

Three thousand... Li Shimin's fingers suddenly tightened, his hard fingernails almost digging into the flesh of his palm.

When he launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident back then, the elite forces at his disposal were no more than eight hundred men.

Li Chengqian sent the sons of Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Jingde, and others to Jing Province to kill; what then, after the killing?

How could the entire court of military generals not favor the Crown Prince?

Chengqian... his good son... how many more trump cards did he hide that I didn't know about?

Li Shimin's gaze fell upon the empty hall, and he saw again the scene of the military generals kneeling in unison just now.

Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Jingde, Li Jing... these old brothers who had fought with him through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, their sons now obeyed Chengqian implicitly.

This was a Legacy.

A Legacy he most hoped to see, and also most feared to see.

He supported Chengqian, hoping he could become a competent ruler who preserved the existing order.

But now it seemed Chengqian had no intention of preserving the existing order.

He wanted to create an era that belonged only to him!

An uncontrollable chill spread from the depths of his heart.

Li Shimin saw another version of himself, a younger, colder, more ruthless version, standing in the Eastern Palace, watching this Dragon throne with a scrutinizing gaze.

Would the blood of Xuanwu Gate have to flow once more?

"Your Majesty."

A gentle voice broke the dead silence of the hall.

Empress Zhangsun walked in.

"Guanyin Bi, why are you here?"

Li Shimin's voice was a little hoarse.

"If I didn't come, the sky of the Great Tang might be torn apart by those fools!"

Empress Zhangsun's tone was unprecedentedly stern.

She walked to Li Shimin's side, looking at his bloodshot eyes, a pang of heartache flashed in her eyes, but it was immediately replaced by determination.

"Huang Jianzhong! What a Huang Jianzhong! What a Five Surnames and Seven Clans! How dare they ambush the legitimate son of Duke Yiguo! They are digging at the Foundation of our Great Tang! Your Majesty, if this matter is not severely punished, which soldier in the world will still be willing to fight for our Great Tang?"

Li Shimin wearily rubbed his brow: "I have already ordered the three judicial departments to conduct a joint trial and investigate thoroughly."

"Investigate? What's the use of just investigating?"

Empress Zhangsun stared at him, "Your Majesty, you must make those aristocratic families see clearly that the meritorious service of the generals is the cornerstone of this Great Tang; whoever dares to touch it will die!"

Her voice was not loud, but every word was forceful, carrying the majesty and decisiveness of an empress who ruled the world.

"Not only that,"

Empress Zhangsun continued, "You must also appease! The Qin family's child has suffered such a great injustice; Your Highness the Crown Prince stood up for him, and killed well! But beyond the law, there is also human sentiment! You must personally issue an Imperial Edict, generously rewarding the Qin family, so that the common people of the world can see that the court has not forgotten those meritorious officials who shed blood for the country! The hearts of the people are the most stable Foundation of this empire!"

Li Shimin stared blankly at his Empress.

At this moment, she was not a gentle wife, but a shrewd politician with keen insight.

Her words, like a bolt of lightning, cut through the fog in his heart.

Yes, what was he afraid of just now?

Afraid of Chengqian becoming a second him?

But he forgot that Chengqian was first and foremost the Crown Prince of the Great Tang!

Everything he did today was to uphold the Foundation of the Great Tang!

"Guanyin Bi, you are right."

Li Shimin let out a long breath, the confusion and fear in his eyes gradually fading, replaced once again by the majesty and decisiveness of an emperor, "It was I... who thought wrongly."

He took Empress Zhangsun's hand, that hand which had once ruled the world, now trembling slightly.

"I will issue the Imperial Edict now; I will personally go to Duke Yiguo's mansion!"

...Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian returned to his study, dismissing all attendants.

He took a secret letter from his sleeve and, without even looking at it, threw it directly into the bronze brazier before him.

The orange-red flames instantly engulfed the paper filled with incriminating evidence, the firelight reflecting on his young and handsome face, his deep eyes showing no ripple, as if he were merely doing a trivial task.

"Your Highness."

A dark shadow appeared behind him like a ghost, kneeling on one knee.

"How were things handled?"

Li Chengqian asked indifferently without turning his head.

"Reporting to Your Highness, the Jing Province clans are in close contact with high-ranking officials in Chang'an, and their dealings with Fang Xuanling are the most frequent! The Net is currently interrogating them, and we believe we will soon uncover everyone behind him."

"Not enough."

Li Chengqian's voice was very soft, "What's the use of just digging them out?"

The shadow fell silent.

"Pass my secret order,"

"Command the Iron Pagoda near Jing Province to immediately set out and blockade all vital routes leading to Chang'an."

"Your Highness, this... this will cause great chaos in the court!"

"Chaos?"

"Without breaking, there's no establishing. This corrupt court, it's time to thoroughly wash it with blood."

"Additionally, draft an imperial decree of the heir apparent, enfeoffing Qin Huaiyu as the Military Governor of Jing Province, effective immediately. He will oversee all military affairs in Jing Province; if anyone disobeys..."

"Kill without mercy!"