Chapter 53: I Beseech Your Highness, the Prince of Qin, to Observe Three Years of Mourning for the Late Crown Prince!

"Wei Xuanrong, why do you not bow when facing the Prince!"

The middle-aged man in cyan-green robes was none other than the legendary Wei Zheng of later generations, known as a living mirror of advice.

However, at this moment, he still stood in opposition to Li Shimin.

After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, many within the Prince of Qin’s mansion had wanted him dead.

Had Li Shimin not been cautious beforehand and ordered his household guards to arm themselves, they would have been too late once Wei Zheng and Xie Shufang launched their assault.

The Prince of Qin's mansion would likely have flowed with blood.

The combat prowess of the Eastern Palace guards was hardly inferior to that of the armored Black Cavalry.

Yet, despite being on the losing side, he showed not the slightest awareness of a defeated man.

From the moment he stepped into the great hall, he stood rigidly straight, glaring fiercely at Li Shimin above.

Changsun Wuji was furious and rebuked him aloud.

"Hmph! This old man bows above to heaven and below to the Crown Prince. But to a mere regional prince? I will not bow!"

" Insolence!"

Changsun Wuji shouted angrily and strode toward him.

Yet at that moment, Li Shimin raised a hand from above to stop him.

He knew Wei Zheng was a man of talent, whom he had desperately wished to recruit in the past.

Unfortunately, his imperial father had reassigned Wei Zheng to the Eastern Palace.

This was a man of unyielding stubbornness, utterly incapable of compromise.

Yet it was precisely this temperament that made Li Shimin both cherish and exasperate him in equal measure.

"His Majesty has already issued an imperial decree deposing Li Jiancheng as Crown Prince and establishing the Prince of Qin. After tomorrow, His Highness will be the Crown Prince of the Great Tang!"

Though Du Ruhui rose slowly, his voice rang out with resounding force.

Wei Zheng turned his head, his eyes glaring so fiercely they seemed to spew fire.

"With neither proper title nor rightful reason, are you not afraid that the hundred officials will refuse to submit? Are you not afraid the common folk of the realm will refuse to submit?"

"The Emperor's decree is here. Whoever dares refuse to submit is guilty of treason!"

Fang Xuanling joined in as well.

Having seized control of the Taiji Palace, Li Shimin held the advantages of timing, terrain, and the hearts of the people.

Who would dare stand up at this moment and voice disobedience?

Even Wei Zheng dared not.

Li Shimin remained silent, offering no reprimand to Wei Zheng.

Because ever since the latter had stepped into the hall, no matter how sharp his questioning, there was one thing he ultimately had yet to say.

He understood Wei Zheng. Given the latter's temper, had he truly refused to submit, he would have long since pointed straight at his nose and cursed him as a "fratricidal usurper."

Yet he had not done so, choosing instead to debate only with Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, and the others.

"What if I can give you a reason that justifies my position as Crown Prince?"

Li Shimin suddenly spoke up, and the entire great hall fell silent.

Wei Zheng narrowed his eyes, gazing at the Prince of Qin walking toward him from above.

If he had a choice, he would never have wished to make an enemy of this Highness.

Yet ever since he entered the Eastern Palace, he had no other path left to choose.

"Had the Crown Prince only heeded my counsel back then, things would never have come to this," Wei Zheng sighed softly.

Li Shimin paused in his steps, his gaze turning a fraction colder.

"Wei Xuanrong, back then you urged my elder brother to have me transferred away from Chang'an. To sow such discord between brothers—that I did not kill you was already out of regard for your talent. Do not push your luck!"

"Ha! Prince of Qin, my head is right here. Take it if you wish!"

Wei Zheng's stubborn temper flared up as well.

He was never one to yield to threats.

"Wei Xuanrong, you are too audacious!" Changsun Wuji rolled up his sleeves in fury, stepping forward, but Li Shimin stopped him once again.

Looking at Wei Zheng, Li Shimin smiled faintly. "I will not kill you. I want you to witness with your own eyes the flourishing age the Great Tang shall achieve under my rule."

"Did you not want me to give you a legitimate and proper reason to seal the mouths of all critics under heaven? Very well, I shall tell you."

He walked to Wei Zheng's side, placing his hands behind his back as he gazed out at the gradually darkening night sky beyond the great hall.

"On the fourth day of the sixth month—tomorrow—Venus will appear in broad daylight in the southern region of Qin. This is a warning from the heavens to the Great Tang, foretelling that I shall become the master of this realm!"

Wei Zheng was startled.

He had heard rumors of this omen previously.

That was precisely why he had known the Emperor might secretly move against the Prince of Qin and drive him out of Chang'an.

"A warning from the heavens? This old man does not believe it!" Wei Zheng shook his head stubbornly.

"For Your Highness to actually believe in such ghosts and gods—if that is the case, you truly fall far short of the Crown Prince!"

Wei Zheng flicked his sleeve, looking down on Li Shimin with disdain.

The latter remained unperturbed, merely smiling faintly. "How about a wager between you and me?"

"A wager on Venus appearing in daylight?"

"Precisely."

"What are the stakes?" Wei Zheng asked, his brow furrowed.

Seeing him take the bait, Li Shimin felt a surge of joy inwardly, though he kept his expression calm and serene. "If I win, you, Wei Zheng, shall submit a memorial tomorrow urging my ascension."

"This..." Wei Zheng was taken aback. He had not expected Li Shimin to propose such a wager.

If he truly did that, the former Crown Prince's loyalists would surely harbor a bone-deep hatred for him, leaving him with no way back.

Yet he did not believe it, assuming Li Shimin was deliberately tricking him.

The Prince of Qin was no Daoist sorcerer; how could he predict changes in celestial phenomena?

"Very well, I accept. But if I win, I ask that Your Highness observe three years of mourning for the late Crown Prince!"

"Insolence!"

These words instantly enraged the three men watching the drama unfold in the hall.

Wei Zheng was pushing them too far!

To actually demand that the Prince of Qin mourn his own brother!

Ignoring them entirely, Wei Zheng kept his eyes fixed on Li Shimin.

He had expected the latter to at least show a flash of anger, but to his surprise, Li Shimin remained utterly unruffled.

"Very well, I accept your terms."

Hearing this, Wei Zheng looked skeptically at the trace of triumph playing across Li Shimin's face.

Could the Prince of Qin be so confident?

Could the officials of the Bureau of Astronomy have already calculated it precisely?

Seeing Wei Zheng's astonishment, Li Shimin found it utterly amusing. He grew all the more eager to see the expression on Wei Zheng's face when the planet Venus appeared shortly.

The more he thought about it, the harder it was to hold back a smile.

Consider this a merit earned by that rascal Wen He.

"Achoo!"

Inside the Prince of Qin's mansion, Wen He, having finished his evening meal, was in the courtyard telling stories to Wenrou and Li Lizhi.

A sudden, chilly gust of wind from nowhere caused him to sneeze.

"Is Elder Brother sick?"

Panicking slightly, Wenrou anxiously reached out to feel his forehead.

She and the original owner's parents had passed away from a cold, and she herself had been ill for some time, making the little girl terrified of Wen He falling sick.

"Sick? There are physicians in the mansion, I'll go fetch them."

Li Lizhi immediately stood up. In her haste, her footing slipped, and she nearly fell to the ground before a quick-witted maidservant caught her.

"I'm fine, quickly go invite a medical officer. If young master Wen gets sick, there will be no one left to tell me stories."

"I am not sick."

Wen He smiled bitterly.

If a medical officer were truly brought over, the Prince of Qin's mansion would undoubtedly be in an uproar tonight.

That virtuous Princess Consort Changsun would surely come personally to check on him.

By then, with everyone fussing over him, a headache would be guaranteed.

"Young master Wen is ill?"

A surprised voice suddenly rang out from outside. The courtyard door was pushed open, and a group of people hurried inside.

Leading them, Princess Changsun scanned him with a gaze full of concern, and immediately instructed the maidservant beside her, "Go summon a medical officer at once."