67: Shushan, under the order of the Crown Prince, has come to purge the imperial court. "Xuanwu Gate, open, or die."

A flicker of imperceptible solemnity crossed Yuan Tiangang's eyes.

He slowly stepped forward, passing through layers of palace gates, walking towards the Xuanwu Gate—the great gate symbolizing the highest power of the Great Tang Dynasty.

Above the city tower, the Jinwu Guard soldiers defending the city were already in a state of chaos.

They couldn't see any Sword Immortals, nor could they understand the strange buzzing sound.

But they could feel an overwhelming fear, making their hair stand on end, approaching from outside the city.

Warhorses restlessly pawed the ground, letting out terrified neighs.

Some soldiers couldn't even hold their long halberds, and their weapons clattered to the ground.

"General! That... that is!"

A young captain pointed outside the city, his voice trembling.

The commanding general defending the city, a veteran of many battles, also looked horrified at this moment.

He strained his eyes to see into the distance.

Shu Mountain Sword Immortals descended, their white robes whiter than snow, their Sword Intent soaring to the sky!

They simply stood there.

Each person carried a sword on his back.

The sunlight glinted off the sword hilts, reflecting countless pinpricks of cold light, converging into a chilling sea of light.

They had been standing there for a century.

An aura of 肅殺, coldness, and disdain for all living beings, transcended the vast distance, directly assailing the Xuanwu Gate tower, making every defender feel difficulty breathing.

This was not an army of mortals at all.

The commanding general forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart, drew his saber, and roared, "Archers! Prepare!!"

However, his voice seemed so insignificant amidst the pervasive sound of swords.

No one listened to him.

Everyone's attention was completely captivated by the terrifying sight outside the city.

Just then, a person slowly emerged from that black "forest."

He wore a white robe, unsullied by dust.

He did not carry a sword on his back.

In his hand, he held a three-foot-long green blade.

Step by step, he walked to a spot several hundred paces from the city wall and stopped.

Then, he raised his head.

The commanding general on the city tower felt a bone-chilling gaze precisely lock onto him.

At that instant, he felt as if he had fallen into the Nine Nether Ice Abyss, and all the blood in his body was about to freeze.

The man in white slowly raised the sword in his hand, its tip pointing diagonally towards the sky.

He did not speak, but a voice clearly resonated in the mind of everyone on the city tower.

"Shu Mountain, by order of the Crown Prince, has come to purge the corrupt Officials."

"Xuanwu Gate, open, or die."

Cold, ruthless, devoid of any emotion.

The commanding general opened his mouth, but found his throat seemed to be tightly strangled by an invisible hand, unable to make any sound.

He knew.

With just a word from His Highness, the Crown Prince.

This most fortified gate of the Great Tang Dynasty, along with everyone on the city tower, would be reduced to dust in an instant.

Three Thousand Sword Immortals were already at the front of the formation.

They awaited only Li Chengqian's command!

Inside Taiji Hall, a deathly silence reigned.

Even the air solidified into brittle, fragile glass.

The informing eunuch had long since scrambled out, but the news he brought was like an invisible thunderbolt exploding above everyone's heads, its echoes lingering.

Shu Mountain, Three Thousand Sword Immortals.

Purge the corrupt Officials.

Before Xuanwu Gate.

Every word was like a red-hot iron awl, fiercely piercing the eardrums of everyone present, burning into their hearts.

The Civil and Military Officials stood frozen in place, like clay figures or wooden statues.

Their usual eloquence and cunning calculations, at this moment, all transformed into pale fear.

No one dared to speak, no one dared to move.

Everyone's gaze subconsciously converged on the two figures before the hall.

Upon the Dragon Throne, Li Shimin sat motionless.

But his hands, tightly clutching the armrests of the Dragon Throne, had turned white at the knuckles from excessive force, and veins like coiling Dragons pulsed and throbbed on the back of his hands.

His gaze, spanning a dozen steps, was fixed intently on the person below the dais.

His son, the Crown Prince of the Great Tang, Li Chengqian.

That gaze was no longer the scrutiny and suspicion of the past, nor the complex emotions of a father towards his son.

It was a furious lion, staring at an opponent who dared to challenge his authority, cold, violent, and filled with a desire for destruction.

Time, at this moment, was infinitely stretched.

Finally, Li Shimin spoke.

His voice was not loud, even a little hoarse, but it was like a massive boulder, heavily striking the heart of everyone present.

"Do you intend to commit regicide?"

There was no roar, no accusation, only an extremely calm statement.

However, beneath this calm, was a towering rage capable of overthrowing the entire Great Tang Dynasty.

Li Chengqian slowly raised his eyelids, meeting that gaze that could make ten thousand generals bow their heads.

On his face, there was not the slightest trace of panic or unease.

Not even a ripple.

He was like an outsider, enjoying a play that had nothing to do with him.

"Imperial Father,"

He spoke, his tone respectful, yet with a chilling detachment, "When did your son ever say that I intended to commit regicide?"

Not a defense, not a denial.

It was a rhetorical question.

A light, rhetorical question, yet it was like a resounding slap, fiercely striking Li Shimin's face, striking the faces of all the Civil and Military Officials.

The air in Taiji Hall was instantly ignited!

"Boom!"

Among the Officials, there was an uproar.

"This... is the Crown Prince insane!"

"How dare he... how dare he speak to His Majesty like that!"

Hou Junji's legs went soft, and he almost collapsed directly to the ground, fortunately supported by an Official next to him.

Cold sweat poured down his face like a waterfall.

Zhangsun Wuji's pupils suddenly constricted to the size of needlepoints.

He stared intently at Li Chengqian, wanting to tear open his nephew's flesh to see what kind of monster was hidden inside.

And amidst this chaos, several figures suddenly rushed out from the ranks of the military generals.

"Your Majesty!"

Qin Qiong was the first to kneel, his weathered face now filled with anxiety and earnestness.

"Your Majesty! You must not believe slanderous words! His Highness, the Crown Prince, absolutely has no such intention; there must be a misunderstanding, a huge misunderstanding!"

Immediately after, with a "thud," Cheng Yaojin's robust body also knelt heavily, and he shouted, almost roaring: "Your Majesty! I, Old Cheng, guarantee with my head! His Highness, the Crown Prince, would never commit regicide! Those rascals outside the city must have been tricked by others! Yes! It must be so!"

Li Jing followed closely behind; he did not shout like Cheng Yaojin, but his face was paler than white paper.

He bowed deeply, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, this incident is sudden, there must be something fishy. I implore Your Majesty to temporarily quell your thunderous wrath and investigate the truth. You must not, absolutely must not, due to momentary emotion, shake the foundation of the state!"

Three crucial figures of the Great Tang military, at once, all knelt before Li Shimin.

Their foreheads heavily knocked against the cold, hard golden bricks, emitting dull thuds.

They could not but kneel, could not but be anxious.

Because just now, the urgent report written in blood from the Xuanwu Gate commander clearly listed several names.

At the front of the Shu Mountain formation, beside the leading white-robed Sword Immortal, were three great generals.

Great Snow Dragon Riders, Qin Huaiyu.

Tiance Manor, Cheng Chumo.

And his, Li Jing's, own son, Li Dejian!

Those were their biological sons!

They were the hope and future of their Families!

At this moment, their sons, leading Three Thousand Sword Immortals, were at the city gates, their swords pointed at the Emperor!

This was no longer just regicide.

This was a grave crime punishable by extermination of the nine familial relations!

Li Shimin looked at the three old brothers kneeling at his feet, at their anxious and uneasy faces, and the rage in his eyes found an outlet, instantly burning even more fiercely.

He suddenly stood up from the Dragon Throne, looking down from above, his voice like it came from the Nine Nether Underworld.

"Misunderstanding?"

He laughed, his laughter filled with endless sarcasm and sorrow.

"Qin Qiong! You tell Us, what misunderstanding is it that your son, Qin Huaiyu, appeared outside Xuanwu Gate with the Great Snow Dragon Riders?"

"Cheng Yaojin! What misunderstanding is it that your son, Cheng Chumo, is arrayed alongside the rebels?"

He finally fixed his gaze, fiercely, on Li Jing.

"And you, Li Jing!"

Li Shimin's voice suddenly rose, like a heavy hammer, "Our God of War! You tell Us! Why is your son, Li Dejian, mixed up with Li Chengqian! They want to purge the corrupt Officials, whose side are they purging! They are purging the side of Us, this Emperor!"

Each question, like thunder, echoed through Taiji Hall.

Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, and Li Jing all trembled violently, as if struck by lightning.

What could they say?

Say their sons were unfilial?

Say they were ineffective in their upbringing?

They were following the Crown Prince!

What do your father-son grievances have to do with us!

It's your Crown Prince who wants to commit regicide, not our sons!

Before the Emperor's thunderous rage, any explanation seemed so pale and powerless.

The entire hall once again fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone was awed by the Emperor's wrath, hushed as cicadas in cold weather.

Only Li Chengqian remained standing quietly.

He looked at his father, at the three Dukes kneeling on the ground, at the Civil and Military Officials, some terrified, some angry, some gloating.

On his face, slowly, a smile appeared.

The smile was faint, yet it was like a needle, precisely piercing Li Shimin's last shred of reason.

Li Chengqian finally spoke again; his voice was not loud, but it clearly carried to every corner of the hall.

"Imperial Father, instead of asking them, why not ask your son?"

"Shu Mountain is your son's."

"Purging the corrupt Officials is also your son's intention."

"But your son is not committing regicide."

He paused, then spoke each word distinctly and forcefully.

"Your son merely wishes to help Imperial Father... cleanse the treacherous Officials from the court."

...Today's six compensatory updates are complete.

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