Chapter 57: Your Highness! Please Issue the Order!

Chapter 57: Your Highness! Please Issue the Order!

The words of Li Duozuo were undoubtedly like a shot of adrenaline injected directly into the heart of Li Chongjun, the overlooked Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, please issue the order!" Shata Zhongyi said with a resolute expression, continuing to fuel Li Chongjun's determination: "We must thoroughly sweep away that pack of rats led by Wu Sansi, leaving not a single one behind! This is the heartfelt and long-cherished wish of the people throughout the Great Tang! We shall achieve total success in a single battle and fulfill the historic grand ambition of eradicating the traitors!"

"Very well!" Li Chongjun hesitated no longer, saying in a deep voice, "Tomorrow at the hour of Yin, join Us in executing the Wu clan!"

That night, Li Chongjun and Li Duozuo went to the Qianqi Camp of the Forbidden Army, and under the name of Emperor Li Xian, summoned more than three hundred soldiers.

At Li Duozuo's suggestion, these soldiers were broken down into smaller units, each led by an officer participating in the uprising. They agreed on the hour of Yin as the signal to storm Wu Sansi's residence simultaneously and eliminate the traitors of the state.

The purpose of this approach was to evade the patrol guards on the streets, making the uprising more covert.

Upon hearing that Li Chongjun possessed the Mandate of Heaven, these Forbidden Army soldiers one after another expressed their willingness to lay down their lives for His Highness.

As for the fortune-tellers who had been brought to the Eastern Palace, they were placed under strict secret surveillance by Li Chongjun's men.

You must be joking—at this stage, even a fool would know what they were plotting. To prevent them from leaking any secrets, the best method was to keep them confined first and release them only after the matter was settled.

Naturally, the fortune-tellers dared not object. The unique "Memory Recovery Technique" and "Bone-Relaxing Massage" practiced by the Forbidden Army were still fresh in their memories, and no one wanted to experience them a second time.

Meanwhile, Li Qing and his entourage had just arrived inside Chang'an City.

Along the way, Li Shimin wiped away tears the entire journey, and Li Zhi did not dare to try to comfort him; the moment he attempted to persuade him otherwise, he would end up getting beaten.

This left Li Zhi feeling as though he could do nothing right. If his biological father was weeping and he chose not to comfort him, it seemed like an unfilial son lacking concern for his father; if he did try to comfort him, it meant another severe thrashing.

Li Xian stared in astonishment at his Imperial Grandfather. To be honest, this trip somewhat subverted the image of Imperial Grandfather in his heart.

However, it was not diminished; instead, it became even more towering.

As for the fact that Brother Li was a total crybaby, Li Qing had been mentally prepared for a long time. After all, according to official history, the number of times old Li was recorded weeping was more than a dozen times greater than that of Liu Bei in *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*.

Moreover, those instances could even be categorized according to the reasons for his tears.

Come to think of it, Li Shimin was naturally a man of deep emotion, and being so revered by the people of the Great Tang in later generations, it was entirely reasonable for him to be moved to tears.

Originally, Li Shimin intended to go settle accounts with Wu Sansi tonight, but he was persuaded otherwise by Li Qing, who suggested he first experience the common people's lives in disguise and tally up a few more accounts to settle together, which would also provide a more righteous cause for their actions.

Li Shimin accepted Li Qing's proposal, and now this light and elite team was sitting in a restaurant eating dinner.

"Average," Li Qing commented. He truly did not hold high expectations for Tang Dynasty cuisine.

"I think it's quite delicious." Li Zhi was not picky at all, holding a piece of roasted mutton and eating with great relish.

Li Xian, who had never tried the delicacies brought by Li Qing, nodded in agreement, though he did not refute Li Qing—after all, his Great-Uncle was an immortal; what kind of exquisite food had he not tasted?

"Try this, dip it in here," Li Qing pulled out a few packets of dry spice rubs and Qi City barbecue dipping powders, winking at the trio of grandfather and grandsons.

Li Zhi and Li Xian exchanged glances, neither father nor son able to figure out what exactly Li Qing had handed over.

Li Shimin's spirit lifted. He took the seasoning packet, poured a bit into his bowl, and handed it to Li Zhi. Then, he sliced off a piece of mutton with his knife, rolled it thoroughly in the dipping powder, and popped it into his mouth.

"It turns the decaying into the miraculous," was his verdict.

Li Zhi and Li Xian had no intention of talking; they simply uttered a couple of affirmative grunts and continued devouring their food.

Little did they expect that their Uncle (Great-Uncle) possessed the skill of adding the finishing touch to a masterpiece. With such a divine stroke, he could actually elevate the flavor of this ordinary roasted mutton by dozens of levels.

Li Zhi, being as observant as a hair, naturally noticed Li Shimin's casual familiarity with the matter. He secretly noted it down in his heart, pondering that his father and uncle must have previously tasted some heavenly delicacies, otherwise their reaction could not possibly have been so mild.

He had to get on good terms with his uncle. Whether he could score some delicious food in the future depended entirely on how strong his relationship with his uncle was.

While they were busy stuffing themselves, the continuous weeping and shouting coming from downstairs drew Li Shimin's attention.

He stretched his neck to look. The cries were coming from a lavishly decorated carriage passing by below.

"What a sin! Such a sin!"

Leaning against the window, the restaurant owner looked at the carriage and cursed bitterly, even obscurely spitting toward it several times.

"What is going on here?" Li Shimin asked, seeing that the man seemed to know the inside story.

"Isn't it just Princess Anle's household servants!" the owner cursed indignantly. "Beasts! In broad daylight, they brazenly seize the children of good families to make them slaves in the princess's estate! How can such things happen in this world?"

Hearing this, Li Shimin slammed the mutton bone in his hand onto the table in anger and cursed, "Simply lawless!"

"Law? Heaven?" The owner laughed bitterly as if he had heard something immensely funny. "Those people are members of the imperial family, the golden branches and jade leaves of Princess Anle, the reigning Emperor's most beloved youngest daughter. You want to talk to them about the law and heaven? They *are* the law, they *are* heaven!"

"What can humble commoners like us possibly do..." At this point, the owner leaned against the window and let out a desolate sigh.

"With just a single hair plucked from their legs, they could crush me to death. All I can do is stand here and sigh a couple of times to vent my grievances."

"It's not just Princess Anle; there are also the reigning Emperor's other daughters, and that Wu... Forget it, I won't say anymore. Why am I even telling you this? There's nothing you can do about them anyway." The owner thumped the window frame in deep frustration and sighed.

"Just watch, her good days are coming to an end," Li Shimin said, elegantly wiping his hands with the napkin Li Qing had handed him.

Elegant. Simply too elegant.

"Please don't make fun of me. If there really is such a day, I'll give you this restaurant," the owner said with a look of complete disbelief. "Forget about the restaurant; if there really is such a day, I'll acknowledge you as my grandfather!"

Having no idea of Li Shimin's true identity, he impulsively made such a wager on the spot.

Li Shimin let out a hearty chuckle. *Oh boy, you sure know how to dream up a good bargain and take advantage of me.*

You look barely twenty years old, yet you want to acknowledge Us as your grandfather?

However, he found this restaurant owner rather agreeable. What harm would it be to take on this grandson?

"You sure know how to take advantage..." Li Shimin said with an amused smile, pointing a finger at the owner.

The owner grew anxious: "Hey, you're something else! Wait, I'm the one acknowledging you as my grandfather, how did *I* end up taking advantage?"

"Still, if it truly turns out as you said, and just paying this small price gets rid of a scourge in our Great Tang, then I'd honestly be the one profiting." At this, a look of yearning appeared in his eyes.

Li Shimin stood up and cast a deep, lingering glance at the carriage as it gradually faded into the distance.

"Just wait and see. You never know, someone might just come to deal with her tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)