Traveling through the Gaowu Tang Dynasty, Li Kuan and Li Shimin became the second sons of the Prince

Although the two Bangchui Khans of Western Turkic finally expressed their humble apologies to His Royal Highness the King of Chu and the Tang Dynasty, it was obvious that no one intended to let them go.

"How many people do you need to go to the northwest this time?" In the imperial study, His Majesty Li II looked at His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu, who was dressed in casual clothes and looked relaxed, and frowned, "How come you got your clothes dirty while eating?"

"Oh, you mean this..." Hearing this, His Royal Highness the King of Chu lowered his head and glanced at the stain on his chest: "Just now, I was making candied haws for Zhinu and Sizi, and when I was wrapping the sugar, I accidentally got it stained."

"Alas..." Upon hearing his son's words, His Majesty Li II suddenly sighed, and then said: "Your eldest brother has already written to me, saying that the Crown Princess is not morally sound—"

"——I have nothing to do with this. I have been staying in my own bedroom recently, reflecting on my mistakes." His Royal Highness the King of Chu shook his head at first, and then said, "But then again, if it were in the past, I would have to stand up and make some slanderous remarks, but now... I am not interested. You can do whatever you want. Anyway, I have also come to my senses. From now on, I will only do my job."

"..." Emperor Li II, who had been forced by Wei Zheng to start taking medicated food, would rather continue to face Wei Zheng than respond to his son's words.

He finally realized that the young prince in front of him was completely disheartened.

"I understand... In the early spring of next year, I will let you lead an army of 50,000—"

"No." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu interrupted His Majesty Li II before he finished speaking, "Why wait until next spring? Now is autumn, the horses are fat, it is a good time for the army to march forward, what are you waiting for next spring for?"

"You don't plan to spend the New Year's Eve in the palace?" His Majesty Li II asked back, "Since you first went to the north, you have hardly been in the palace in the following years—"

"The great affairs of the state are more important than the happiness of my own family." His Highness the Prince of Chu was too lazy to think about what His Majesty Li II meant by this move. He was not a cat or dog picked up from somewhere. He could rub it if he liked it and kick it away if he didn't like it. "Your Majesty, if there is nothing else, just order the dispatch of the army. I can lead the army to set off at any time. By the way, I will not bring the Dou family's troops with me when I go to the northwest this time. They will escort my retainers to Qiongzhou. I have a feud with Feng Ang, Duke of Geng, and I am worried that the old man will suddenly have an idea and plan to "ambush me with mountain bandits."

"He dares!" His Majesty Li Er frowned upon hearing this: "After all, you are also——"

"——Alas...forget about it." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu waved his hands impatiently after hearing this: "By the way, my cousin Lingwu came to see me yesterday. He, my cousin Zhewei, Huairen, Fang Yiai, Lu Yingke and others are planning to follow me to Qiongzhou, so I must also ensure their safety——My uncle and aunt treat me very well, I absolutely cannot let them down."

The so-called art of speaking was fully demonstrated by His Royal Highness the King of Chu at this moment.

"..." Emperor Li II obviously understood the hidden meaning of his son's words.

So, after a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "Can't you... try to understand Dad a little?"

"I understand you, but who has ever understood me?" His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu smiled coldly, "Don't worry, I will stay in Qiongzhou in the future. When I'm in a bad mood, I'll go out to sea in a big ship and beat up the Japanese. As for the rest..." At this point, His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu suddenly raised his head and looked at His Majesty Li II, "If there is another natural disaster in the interior, I can accept refugees in Qiongzhou. After all, Qiongzhou is now sparsely populated. If I want to build my fiefdom, it will inevitably require the addition of foreign population. Please don't be suspicious of this."

"...Could it be that you and I, father and son... actually suspect each other--" Having said this, His Majesty Li II suddenly stopped talking.

Fortunately, he still remembered that many years ago, when the young man in front of him had not yet ridden his horse to the northwest, had not yet offered sacrifices to the gods at Jinshan, and had not yet shown off his power in foreign lands, the other party had said the same thing to him.

But at that time, the relationship between them as father and son was far from what it is today...

"From now on, except for paying homage to my royal grandmother and... my royal grandfather, I will definitely not set foot in the Central Plains at other times." After saying this, His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu turned around and left the hall. Behind him, His Majesty Li II just sat behind the imperial desk and watched his son leave without saying a word.

"Your Highness the King of Chu..." Zhang Nan, the chief eunuch guarding outside the palace, saw Li Kuan leisurely walking out of the hall. He suddenly made up his mind and dared to block the other party.

"What? You want to practice with me?" His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu said as he began to roll up his sleeves. "It just so happens that I've been so idle lately that I'm almost going crazy."

"Your Highness..." Zhang Nan suddenly took out a green jade pendant from his arms and handed it to His Highness the King of Chu: "Take care..."

"No..." His Royal Highness Prince Chu looked at the jade pendant in his hand, and felt an inexplicable bitterness in his heart, but he pretended to be relaxed and said, "What do you mean? Are you reluctant to part with me?"

“Your Highness… Actually, we all know that in this palace… you are the only one who treats eunuchs like human beings… How can we bear to let go…” Zhang Nan said this with red eyes, and suddenly bowed to the ground: “Your Highness, from now on… I will pray for you sincerely in Chang’an… May everything go well for you year after year…”

"Alas..." Upon hearing this, His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu put away the jade pendant, then personally stepped forward to help Zhang Nan up, and then whispered in his ear: "When you reach Hong San's age, if you can be released from the palace, I will send someone to Chang'an to pick you up. If that tyrant wants you to be buried with him... I will send someone to kidnap you! But don't let the news leak out, otherwise I--"

"I'm standing right here, and you're conspiring with someone about this?" - His Majesty Li II originally walked out of the hall quietly because he couldn't bear to leave his son, and wanted to see him off. Who knew...

He "collapsed" again in the other person's mouth.

"Who would eavesdrop on someone?" Upon hearing this, His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu glanced at his father, the tyrant emperor, and said, "Is this okay with me?"

"Your Highness the Prince of Chu is kind and righteous..." His Majesty Li II was also sighing in his heart at this moment: "Why would I have any objection..."

"I won't listen to you even if I have an opinion." His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu said as he turned around and patted Zhang Nan, whose face was a little pale. "What are you afraid of? I said the treasonous words, what does it have to do with you? Okay, I'll take the things, Zhang Nan... take care!"

"This old servant respectfully sees off His Royal Highness the King of Chu!" - When His Royal Highness the King of Chu walked down the steps and entered the square, Zhang Nan prostrated himself on the steps behind him.

"Zhang Nan, why are you so reluctant to let go of that boy?" Emperor Li II looked at his son's receding figure with a sigh in his tone.

"Your Majesty..." When Zhang Nan stood up again, his expression had returned to normal, but his voice was still trembling slightly: "Because I know that from now on, in this deep palace, there will definitely not be another person like His Majesty the Prince of Chu..."