Chapter 5: Aya, You're Not Dead After All

Chapter 5: Father, You’re Not Dead...

Upon hearing Li Zhi’s recent words, Wu Meiniang naturally felt a mix of awe, fear, and immense gratitude. Yet, inwardly, she remained indifferent.

If Emperor Taizong were truly alive, given the vast wilderness you planted over your father’s legacy, Li Zhi—how many lives would it take for you to atone for what you did to him?

“Alright, it’s getting late, Meiniang. We should rest now...” Li Zhi set the jade bowl aside and looked at Wu Meiniang with a decidedly masculine gaze.

Wu Meiniang smiled shyly and timidly. Before she could speak, the palace door was suddenly pushed open.

“How dare you!” Li Zhi sprang to his feet, stepping out from behind the screen, his face filled with fury as he pointed at the intruder. “Entering the palace without summons—”

But his voice trailed off, growing softer, his expression shifting to one of disbelief.

“Father.”

Li Shimin gazed at the young Li Zhi before him with deep emotion. When he had left, Li Zhi was but a child barely reaching his waist; now, standing before him was a young man slightly taller than himself.

“F-Father? You’re not dead?!” Li Zhi’s expression was one of utter shock. His father had passed away years ago; he had witnessed the entire funeral procession to Zhaoling and even personally helped carry the coffin into the tomb. How... how could his father suddenly be here again?

Hence, the exclamation escaped him instinctively, causing the gathered family to burst into astonished murmurs.

Li Zhi did not doubt this living man’s identity. There was no mistaking it—Li Shimin’s unique aura was impossible to imitate. Even if someone perfectly copied his appearance, they could never replicate the essence of his presence.

From the very first moment he saw Li Shimin, Li Zhi was certain of who he was.

Li Qing, noticing Li Zhi’s awkward expression, wondered if Li Zhi had only helped carry the coffin to confirm that the Second Emperor was truly dead.

Behind the screen, lying on the dragon bed, Wu Meiniang was even more terrified. Though Li Shimin no longer favored her, she was still, in name, one of his concubines and thus Li Zhi’s stepmother. If Li Shimin noticed her presence, it would be the end of her.

Her mind went blank; Emperor Taizong was a ruthless man who delighted in killing his brothers. If he could harm his own siblings, what chance did she, a mere consort with only a few nights of favor, have?

So instinctively, she curled up under the covers, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible to avoid detection.

“Of course I’m not dead,” Li Shimin smiled and beckoned to Li Zhi as he used to call him over in childhood. “I was aided by immortals, hence I can traverse time and space... I am still in the eleventh year of the Zhenguan era.”

The eleventh year of Zhenguan? Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang immediately became alert, catching the significance of that phrase. Wu Meiniang had entered the Luoyang Palace in November of that very year. Statistically, there was about an 80% chance Li Shimin would not recognize her.

It seemed the situation was not hopeless. The two exchanged a glance through the crack in the covers, hope shining anew in their eyes.

Hopefully, the former emperor’s arrival was not quite so... untimely.

“And who is this?” Li Zhi looked toward Li Qing, who regarded him with a faint, knowing smile that made him uneasy, as if he had already seen through everything.

“This is your grandfather’s sworn brother. Just call him Uncle Qing,” Li Shimin said, turning to Li Qing for confirmation. “You have no objections, do you, dear brother?”

“No objections. Your son is my great-nephew,” Li Qing said, barely suppressing a smile as he looked at the young man who was about his own age.

“Uncle Qing,” Li Zhi reluctantly offered a slight bow.

Li Qing nodded in acknowledgment.

Li Shimin was deeply comforted. He took Li Zhi’s hand and helped him sit on the bed. Wu Meiniang lay just on the other side of the thin quilt separating them.

Li Zhi’s feelings were tangled—thrilled to see his father again, yet terrified that his father might discover his relationship with Wu Meiniang. His nerves were on edge.

This anxiety soon caused him to break out in a sweat despite the cold winter.

Li Qing eyed Li Zhi’s embarrassed distress with a silent chuckle.

Sweating already, brother?

“I heard your wedding is tomorrow. Will your elder brothers return to Chang’an?” Li Shimin asked with concern.

Li Zhi’s heart tightened. He forced a calm expression and replied, “My brothers are far away in the mountains; they’re still on their way.”

Though he said this, he was genuinely panicked. Setting aside the eldest brother Li Chengqian, who died young of illness, and the second brother Li Kuan, as well as Li You, who was executed for rebellion in the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, the third brother Li Ke was implicated and unjustly executed a year ago due to Princess Gaoyang and Chancellor Zhangsun Wuji; the fourth brother Li Tai died of illness three years into the Yonghui era. Though Li Tai’s death was unrelated to him, with Li Ke’s suspicious demise still fresh, Li Zhi’s position felt like a mess—no matter how you look at it, a scandal.

The sixth brother Li Yin was exiled because of his connection to Li Ke, leaving only the seventh brother Li Yun, the eighth Li Zhen, and a few younger siblings.

“That’s their fault. Where’s Qingque?” Li Shimin frowned, scolding and then asking about his favorite chubby son.

“Fourth brother, he...” Li Zhi hesitated. Could he really tell his father that his fourth brother was dead? Wouldn’t his father have seen him when he came from the underworld?

“Li Tai died three years ago, and Li Ke was executed the following year for alleged rebellion,” Li Qing kindly reminded Li Shimin.

“What?! Qingque is dead? And Ke too?!” Li Shimin could hardly believe it. In an instant, suspicion fell heavily on Li Zhi.

*Emotion +500*

*Emotion +300*

Li Shimin never expected that Li Zhi, whom he thought gentle and kind, would be as ruthless in killing brothers as he himself was.

He had been careless.

“To be fair, Brother Li,” Li Qing patted Li Shimin’s shoulder, “Li Tai died naturally. You know how big your chubby son was—once a person gets that heavy, illness is inevitable. Plus, his spirit was broken by you. His death was to be expected.”

Uncle... you really are my true uncle... Li Zhi’s eyes welled with tears. Please say a few more words to clear my third brother’s name too!

“As for Li Ke, the main culprit was your brother-in-law,” Li Qing continued. “He and Prince Wu Ke did not get along. On top of that, Princess Gaoyang’s rebellion...”

Li Qing’s words were cut off as Li Shimin asked in shock, “What? Princess Gaoyang rebelled? How dare she... she’s just a princess...”

Li Qing thought Princess Gaoyang was decent compared to Princess Taiping and Princess Anle, who defined the extremes of Tang dynasty princesses. Compared to them, Gaoyang was merely average.

“In any case, Li Ke was quite innocent. The real blame lies with your ruthless brother-in-law,” Li Qing sighed. “It’s said that before he died, Li Ke cursed Zhangsun Wuji for seizing power and foretold he would face retribution.”

Li Zhi had no mood to listen to Li Qing airing his family’s dirty laundry. Earlier, when Li Shimin heard the words “Zhangsun Wuji usurping power,” he slammed his fist on the bed, barely missing Wu Meiniang curled up under the quilt...

(End of chapter)