Chapter 9: The False Crown Prince

Just as the entire territory of Tubo was plunged into a purgatory of war, the Tang capital of Changancheng remained filled with song and dance.

The Imperial Palace, Lizheng Hall.

This was the Empress's bedchamber.

Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wuji was standing at the entrance of the main hall, pacing back and forth nervously.

He had come here today because there was something he wanted to ask his younger sister, the current Empress of Great Tang, Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou.

This matter was of great importance, and if Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wuji did not get to the bottom of it, he would truly be unable to eat or sleep in peace.

Before long.

A graceful figure slowly walked out from within.

"Elder brother, what made you think to come visit your sister today? Come in and sit."

Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou said with a smile.

After all, it was family coming to see her, and her own brother at that, so Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou was naturally overjoyed.

"Hahaha, sister, haven't I not seen you for a long time? After discussing state affairs with His Majesty at the Ganlu Hall today, I saw it was still early, so I specifically came to visit you." After some pleasantries, the siblings walked into Lizheng Hall together.

"Where is Qian'er?"

After entering the hall, Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wuji looked around and asked, pretending to be casual.

The "Qian'er" he spoke of was the legitimate eldest son of Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou and Li Er, the current Crown Prince, Li Li Chengqian!

Speaking of this Li Li Chengqian, it was truly a long story.

He was born short, stout, and dark-skinned; he inherited none of Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou's peerless beauty, nor did he inherit Li Er's heroic and strategic character. He was timid, disliked reading, and liked...

...to take petty advantages.

Yet even so.

Li Er and Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou still treated him as the apple of their eye.

Even after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Er directly named Li Li Chengqian as the Crown Prince!

This shows the deep love the couple had for this legitimate eldest son.

Besides this.

Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wuji was also fully supporting Li Li Chengqian.

His motives were naturally not so pure.

What he valued was Li Li Chengqian's cowardice and incompetence.

In this way, after Li Er passed away, he could easily control this new generation's Son of Heaven, ensuring the Empress Zhangsun family would always remain invincible.

"Sigh! This child does nothing proper all day; I don't know where he ran off to play again."

Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou sighed and said helplessly.

"Is that so..."

Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wuji nodded, not at all surprised.

After all, this was Li Li Chengqian's daily routine.

"By the way, sister, I remember that when you gave birth to Qian'er back then, our Great Tang had not yet unified the world, right?"

Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wuji glanced at Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou nonchalantly.

Beneath his seemingly casual words lay another layer of mystery.

Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou was pure-hearted and naturally did not notice anything, merely smiling as she said: "How has my brother become so confused? When Qian'er was born, our Great Tang had only been established for a year; how could we have unified the world?"

"Right, right, I remember now."

"I remember that year His Majesty followed the Retired Emperor's order to launch a western expedition to Wuwei, and for two whole years, he did not return to the court. It was during that time that you gave birth to Qian'er."

Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wuji pretended to have a sudden realization and continued to guide the topic.

Over a decade ago.

Great Tang had just been established for a year, surrounded by powerful enemies.

At that time, the strength of Great Tang was still quite weak, and they only had one trump card in their hands: the Black Armor Cavalry led by Li Er, who was the Prince of Qin at the time!

Wuwei City, northwest of Changancheng, refused to obey orders, so the Retired Emperor Li Li Yuan ordered the Prince of Qin, Li Er, to go and suppress them.

At that time, Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou was Li Er's virtuous helpmate; she refused to let Li Er go on the expedition alone, insisting on sharing life and death with him.

Li Er had no choice but to take Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou with him to the northwest.

At that time, Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou was newly pregnant, but she did not know it herself.

It was only after arriving in Wuwei that Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou began to have morning sickness.

Li Er wanted to send Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou back to Changancheng, but the world was in chaos, with battles raging on all sides.

To ensure Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou's safety, Li Er had no choice but to leave her in Wuzhangyuan City, a hundred miles east of Wuwei, and sent personal guards to protect her.

Wuzhangyuan was within the sphere of influence of Great Tang, and the military camp was quite inconvenient, so letting Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou wait for labor there was the best choice.

But who would have thought.

Wuwei could not be taken for a long time, and the Black Armor Cavalry led by Li Er suffered heavy casualties.

Not only that.

Warlords Wu Li Ke Dou Dou Jiande and Wang Wang Shichong took advantage of the emptiness of Changancheng to lead troops to attack.

Thus, the grain supply line from Changancheng was completely cut off!

Li Er had no choice but to lead his troops in retreat.

But the rebel army in Wuwei City took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, causing Li Er to suffer a crushing defeat, and even Wuzhangyuan City was lost.

And it was at this time that Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou was about to go into labor.

Amidst the chaos of war, the personal guards fought their way out of Wuzhangyuan City.

The personal maids by Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou's side were all pampered and soon became a burden during the escape.

To protect Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou, they all chose to leave.

Protecting one woman was always easier than protecting a group of women.

Just Wu Li Ke that.

The guards protected Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou and arrived at a farmhouse to take refuge.

Coincidentally, the daughter-in-law of this farmhouse was also about to go into labor.

On a night of torrential rain.

Empress Zhangsun Zhangsun Wugou and the farmer's wife went into labor at the same time. ===== CHAPTER 20 =====