Chapter Thirty-Two: You Are the Crown Prince, the Heir to the Nation
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It must be understood that, as Crown Prince, Li Chengqian was, in theory and in reality alike, the person closest to the imperial throne—and the greatest threat to it.
Yet at this moment, Li Shimin, who had never allowed anyone to approach him, was letting Li Chengqian cling tightly to his arm. He was even carefully wiping the disheveled blood from his face.
Bit by bit, with utmost care and seriousness.
Only after the last trace of blood had been wiped away did Li Shimin look over him with unconcealed delight. Seeing that the Crown Prince’s appearance had been restored, he lowered his voice and leaned closer. In a voice only the two of them could hear, he suddenly said, “Qian’er, what you did today was reckless and presumptuous.”
“By law... a thousand deaths would not be enough to atone for it!”
The heart that had only just begun to feel a little warmth seemed to plunge straight back into an icy cellar.
Li Chengqian immediately tightened the hand gripping his father’s arm. His eyes, fixed upon Li Shimin, were filled with reluctance and fear of loss.
It was as though he were terrified that the paternal love he had finally recovered would disappear once more.
Fortunately, Li Shimin then changed the subject.
“But that heartfelt cry of yours just now...”
“It reminded me of you as a child, when you had only just learned to speak—staggering toward me with your arms outstretched. You... were my first child!”
Li Shimin’s low voice was filled with tender memories of happiness, yet mingled with helplessness and weariness as well.
“But... the heavy burden of the empire left me no choice but to harden every soft place in my heart until it was like iron!”
“And so, all these years, I never once cared to ask whether my Qian’er was suffering inside.”
“It was only because, in my heart, I believed that you were first and foremost the heir to the state!”
“Only afterward were you my eldest son!”
He looked straight into Li Chengqian’s eyes.
“But only today have I finally understood: you are first my son!”
“And only afterward are you the Crown Prince of this vast Tang empire and of all the people beneath Heaven!”
The tears Li Chengqian had just wiped away surged forth once more.
An inexplicable ache and a profound sense of release struck his heart at the same time.
So... Father knew. He had always known!
What father and son not knowing one another?
It was clearly that the father understood the son’s heart, while the son had doubted his father!
Li Chengqian’s heart was filled with guilt, but Li Shimin continued.
“Yet you must also understand me. I have always known that you bore resentment in your heart, Qian’er.”
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“You resented me for favoring Qingque. You resented me for showing you no concern.”
“But by now, surely you understand.”
“Matters within the imperial family are also matters of state. Touch one strand, and the entire body moves!”
“I am the supreme ruler beneath Heaven. Every word and action of mine concerns the stability of the realm and the welfare of its people.”
“The court may have appeared calm on the surface, but ever since the Wude era, it had already split into several factions!”
“Beneath the surface, the officials were locked in fierce rivalry, with hidden currents surging everywhere.”
“Indeed, in the early years of the Zhenguan era, they plunged the court into utter chaos!”
“Many benevolent policies that could have benefited the people could not be implemented smoothly.”
“At that time, had I made even the slightest mistake, the Tang dynasty would have faced a catastrophe, and the people would have been cast into misery!”
“With no other choice, I could only use family affairs to stir up affairs of state.”
At this point, Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly, and his gaze suddenly became razor-sharp.
“By using the rivalry between you, the Crown Prince, and the Prince of Wei, I fused the civil and military officials—who had been locked in chaotic mutual conflict—into two opposing factions!”
“That was how I transformed affairs of state into family affairs. Two tigers fighting one another were still better than a host of demons running wild!”
“Only in this way could the Tang realm be stabilized and the people beneath Heaven enjoy peace and prosperity!”
As he spoke, Li Shimin turned toward Li Chengqian. The sharpness in his eyes softened into compassion.
“Yet in doing so, I made you, the heir to the Tang dynasty, suffer.”
“If you hate me or resent me because of it, I will not blame you!”
“But Qian’er, remember this clearly!”
Li Shimin’s expression suddenly grew solemn, and his voice gradually became fiercely stern.
“You are the Crown Prince, the heir to the state!”
“You are also the future Son of Heaven of our Great Tang!”
“How can your gaze remain fixed upon one insignificant Li Tai?”
“How can your heart contain nothing but the Prince of Wei, who competes against you?”
“Most importantly, how can you spend your courage on such a... self-destructive intrusion into the palace to demand answers!”
Each of those repeated words—how can you—struck Li Chengqian’s heart like thunder.
Li Shimin’s words were like a heavy hammer, smashing apart in an instant the narrow and constricted vision Li Chengqian had held for so long.
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Like a man awakened by a thunderous blow, Li Chengqian suddenly realized that the struggle for favor and the battle for the throne—things he had always considered most important—were in fact so pitifully small.
If his heart held no place for the realm and its people, then even if he ultimately won his father’s favor and seized the supreme imperial throne, what meaning would it have?
Li Chengqian understood everything in a flash.
After a moment of thought, he suddenly took a step back, clasped his hands with grave solemnity, and bowed deeply before Li Shimin.
His voice was exceptionally firm as he said, “Your son will remember Your Majesty’s teachings. No matter how many hardships and obstacles lie ahead, I shall never forget them!”
Seeing that Li Chengqian had clearly awakened to the truth, Li Shimin was naturally overjoyed.
He gave Li Chengqian’s shoulder a heavy pat, and his tone softened.
“Qian’er, although you were reckless and presumptuous today, you have finally shown Father that you are no longer the cautious, timid Crown Prince who hid in the Eastern Palace day after day.”
“From presenting your proposals at the morning court to forcing your way into the palace in the dead of night to demand answers...”
“You dared to speak, dared to intrude, dared to fight, and dared to rage.”
“You even dared to lay your dissatisfaction and ambition plainly before your sovereign!”
Li Shimin’s gaze once again fell upon the wound on Li Chengqian’s forehead. With sincere admiration, he said, “Above all, it was your courage to tear away every disguise completely before me—the fierce resolve to roar, ‘Call me the Crown Prince!’”
“That is what the heir to Great Tang ought to look like!”
“My heart... is greatly comforted!”
By the end, Li Shimin made no attempt to conceal the admiration and encouragement in his eyes as he looked upon Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace.
“Father said... greatly comforted?”
Li Chengqian’s breathing quickened, and his heart pounded violently.
He could scarcely believe his own ears!
His resistance today—even his almost rebellious demand for answers—had actually won his father’s approval?
An indescribable joy surged through Li Chengqian’s heart.
The dashing, unrestrained figure of Zhao Mu appeared in his mind.
“Brother Zhao, did you see that...?”
Li Chengqian murmured inwardly, as though offering a prayer. At that moment, Zhao Mu had become almost divine in his eyes.
“Father has acknowledged me. Father has finally acknowledged me!”
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