Chapter 44: A Man's Plight

Chapter 44: The Plight of an Individual

Li Shimin considered himself a man second to none throughout his life, yet he never imagined that after his death, so many absurd and utterly ridiculous scandals would come to light.

My lifelong reputation...

"Could it be that Princess Qianjin was coerced by that vicious woman, forced by circumstances to act against her will?" Li Shimin asked, holding onto a final shred of hope.

He desperately wished for Li Qing to substantiate his view, for if that were true, at least it wouldn't look quite so humiliating.

However, Li Qing responded with a chuckle that shattered his illusions.

"What are you even thinking, Brother Li? She and Empress Wu got along splendidly, acting just like the closest of girlfriends. Princess Qianjin would drop by the palace whenever she had free time, whispering intimate secrets with Empress Wu."

"Historical records state that ever since Princess Qianjin formally acknowledged Empress Wu as her maternal mother, 'she would enter the inner gates to pay her respects without regard to the hour, and every meeting was filled with joy'... Furthermore, Empress Wu even bestowed upon Princess Qianjin the imperial surname Wu, granting her the exact same treatment as Li Dan."

*Emotions value +1000*
*Emotions value +1000*

"Shameless to the extreme!" Li Shimin slammed his fist hard against the table before him. "How did the royal house of Tang ever produce such a shameless wretch? It's bad enough that she lacks any sense of loyalty, but to eagerly go out of her way to acknowledge a thief as her mother?"

"Hey now, Brother Li, you need to look at the bright side of things. This just goes to show that Empress Wu didn't treat her as an outsider," Li Qing said with a sarcastic tone.

His words had an immediate effect, sending another wave of skyrocketing emotions surging forth.

"Shall we take a short break?"

Li Qing asked tentatively, somewhat worried that if he strung old Li's nerves too tight, he wouldn't be able to harvest enough emotions from him anymore.

"No need, my brother, continue," Li Shimin said with a grand wave of his hand. He wanted to see just what kind of eye-opening spectacles the rest of the princesses had in store for him.

"Then there is Princess Chengyang, the very one you betrothed to Du He, the second son of Duke of Lai, Du Ruhui."

Li Qing flipped through his notes and abruptly shifted the topic to praise Li Zhi: "Actually, Zhinu was quite deeply caring toward his biological siblings. Take Princess Chengyang for instance; even when she was implicated in witchcraft sorceries, Zhinu not only refused to punish her, but treated her just as well as before. After she passed away, he even suspended court for five days and ordered that she be buried alongside you at Zhaoling Mausoleum."

"He even betrothed his most cherished youngest daughter, Princess Taiping, to Princess Chengyang's youngest son, Xue Shao. This clearly shows that Zhinu's affection for his younger siblings was entirely sincere."

Initially, upon hearing the mention of witchcraft, Li Shimin had grown quite angry. But as Li Qing recounted how Li Zhi showed deep affection and care for his younger sister, his anger turned to joy, and he stroked his beard with considerable satisfaction.

"It seems Zhinu turned out to be a decent older brother after all," old Li said in a rather proud tone.

"You are quite right about that."

Li Qing nodded, confirming Li Shimin's statement.

"Next up is a heavy hitter—the very same Princess Taiping we just mentioned."

"Princess Taiping?"

Old Li paused to reflect for a moment, recalling a young girl who had been as innocent and pure as a little white flower, untainted by worldly affairs. Frowning in disbelief, he asked, "Are you talking about the young woman who stays close to Li Dan? My brother, could you perhaps be mistaken?"

"Yes. Actually, it is quite difficult for me to pass judgment on her. In my view, her moral descent and corruption were entirely forced upon her by her mother, Empress Wu."

Li Qing sighed softly, genuinely feeling a sense of pity for Princess Taiping.

"Speaking of her brings us inevitably to your son, Li Zhen, the Prince of Yue."

"Zhen'er?" Li Shimin immediately clutched his chest and grabbed Li Qing's arm. "Wait a moment, my brother, allow me to gather myself..."

In his eyes, Li Qing was practically a grim reaper coming to collect lives; every single person he brought up turned out to be a disaster. Since he was bringing up the Prince of Yue all by himself, and it was connected to Princess Taiping, Li Shimin didn't even dare to imagine what kind of atrocious stunt that bastard son of his had pulled to earn a mention from Li Qing.

"Don't worry, Brother Li, your eighth son actually did well," Li Qing said, giving Li Shimin a thumbs-up and offering words of praise.

"Did well?" Li Shimin's heart, which had just plunged to the bottom of a valley, surged back up. "Is what my brother says true?"

Heaven be praised, I finally have a son worthy of my brother's praise of 'doing well'...

Just look at him—look at how the once-great Emperor through the Ages has been tortured by you into such a state!

"Yes, he rebelled," Li Qing consoled Li Shimin.

"He rebelled, did he?" Li Shimin nodded, but suddenly felt something was amiss, his voice rising in pitch. "What? He rebelled? And you call that doing well?"

"Hey, I haven't finished yet, Brother Li. Your eighth son rebelled against Empress Wu," Li Qing immediately clarified.

Old Li looked at his good sworn brother and took a deep breath.

Whatever, I won't lower myself to my brother's level.

Yet, was it just his imagination? Why did he always feel like his brother sometimes deliberately tried to infuriate him? Li Shimin looked at Li Qing suspiciously, but quickly dismissed the thought.

Impossible, absolutely impossible! My brother and I share a bond deeper than life itself, thicker than thieves. How could he possibly mean to anger me on purpose? Besides, there's no benefit for him in making me angry.

Pushing that thought aside, Li Shimin began to feel pleased once more.

It seemed that among his sons, there were still quite a few promising ones after all.

"It's just a pity that his troops were defeated and he was killed. But in truth, you can't really blame him; after all, Empress Wu still held the moral high ground at the time, merely holding court as regent without having usurped the throne yet."

Saying this, Li Qing paused briefly, waiting for Li Shimin to recover from the "pain of losing a son" before continuing.

"Princess Taiping and her husband Xue Shao were deeply in love, getting along like sweet honey and oil. Unfortunately, Xue Shao's elder brother became implicated in this 'rebellion' and was executed by Empress Wu. Xue Shao himself had it even worse; clearly completely innocent and uninvolved, he was nevertheless ordered by Empress Wu to be beaten with a hundred heavy staves and thrown into prison."

"At the time, Princess Taiping's youngest child had just turned one month old. She pleaded with Empress Wu with all her might, but failed to soften her mother's heart. She could only watch helplessly as her beloved husband was starved to death in prison, while she herself was forced by Empress Wu to marry her paternal cousin's son, Wu Youji."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin let out a furious curse: "That venomous woman!"

"From then on, Princess Taiping embarked on a path of self-abandonment and moral decay from which there was no turning back. During her second marriage, she kept numerous male courtesans, engaged in illicit affairs with court officials, and even presented her favorite male lovers to Empress Wu to curry favor."

A heavy tone crept into Li Qing's voice; if he were in her shoes, he would either have been driven to death by Wu Zhetian or driven completely insane.

"Perhaps because her first husband was murdered, or perhaps because she had simply had enough of living in constant terror, she realized the critical importance of political power. From that moment on, with Empress Wu's tacit consent, she actively participated in state affairs. Even Lai Junchen, the notorious chief inquisitor of the Wu Zhou dynasty, and Xue Huaiyi, Empress Wu's first male favorite, were both eliminated through plots devised by her."

"Furthermore, during the Shenlong Coup, Princess Taiping actively participated in the execution of the Zhang brothers, forcing Empress Wu to return power to Li Xian. For this, she was bestowed the title of 'Grand Princess Taiping, Defender of the State,' and Li Xian frequently relied heavily upon her. Throughout the reign of Emperor Zhongzong, Empress Wei and Princess Anle threw the court into chaos, yet the only person they truly feared was this very Grand Princess Taiping."