Don't Rush

"May I ask, sir, when I was born and when I will die..."

At this moment, the Emperor's brother-in-law, Zhangsun Wuji, couldn't help but speak up.

"Uh..."

Wang Yousheng looked at him, paused for a moment, and then replied, "The Duke of Zhao... passed away in the fourth year of the Xianqing era of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, at the age of sixty-three."

"During Emperor Gaozong's reign?"

Hearing this, Zhangsun Wuji nodded. He hadn't expected to live until that time.

Sixty-three years of age was considered quite an advanced age in ancient times.

"In that case, the Duke of Zhao must have had a peaceful end in his twilight years," someone remarked.

"Not quite."

At this, a teacher shook his head. "In the fourth month of the fourth year of Xianqing, Emperor Gaozong, Li Zhi, issued an edict stripping Zhangsun Wuji of his position as Grand Commandant and his title as Duke of Zhao, exiling him to Qianzhou. In the seventh month of the same year, Zhangsun Wuji hanged himself in Qianzhou."

"Hanged myself?"

Upon hearing this, the smile on Zhangsun Wuji's face instantly froze, and he stood rooted to the spot in a daze for a long time.

"Wait, did you just say... Emperor Gaozong, Li Zhi?" At this point, Fang Xuanling seemed to have caught the discrepancy, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

The others also realized it upon hearing this.

Emperor Gaozong, Li Zhi?

Why would it be Li Zhi?

It was currently the sixth year of the Zhenguan era, and Li Zhi was born in the second year of Zhenguan. At most, he was only four years old.

He actually became the future emperor?

What about Crown Prince Li Chengqian?

Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun were also somewhat surprised.

Although they had previously learned from Qin Ning about Crown Prince Li Chengqian's rebellion, they did not know who the next emperor would actually be.

To think it would actually be their youngest son, Li Zhi.

A teacher who was quite knowledgeable about Tang history said, "In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, Crown Prince Li Chengqian rebelled. Emperor Taizong couldn't bear to execute him, so he demoted him to a commoner and exiled him to Qianzhou, where he eventually died during his exile."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone present drastically changed.

The Crown Prince actually rebelled?

"These are all matters of the future. They haven't happened yet, and the history of our Great Tang can certainly be changed," Li Shimin spoke up. He already knew about this and understood the reasons, so he didn't appear too angry at the moment.

"I never expected that Zhinu would ultimately sit on the throne. I wonder how he fared as an emperor?" Empress Zhangsun couldn't help but ask.

"Gaozong was actually very capable. During his reign, he achieved several major military victories, bringing the Tang Dynasty's territory to its absolute peak. He broke the power of the noble clans, strengthened imperial authority, bridged the past and future, laid the foundation for the Kaiyuan Era of Prosperity, and fostered an open and inclusive era where all nations came to pay respects. However..."

Listening to these achievements of Li Zhi, a look of pride for his youngest son naturally appeared on Li Shimin's face. He then asked curiously, "However, what?"

The teacher coughed lightly. "Ahem, I think it's better if I don't say what comes next..."

"Speak!"

Li Shimin frowned. "These are all future events anyway. Since they haven't truly happened yet, what can't be said? Could it be that Zhinu did poorly in his later years?"

He thought of the witchcraft disaster during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han.

"Do you really want me to say it?" The teacher looked at Li Shimin, then at the crowd, whose faces were filled with curiosity and a thirst for gossip.

Empress Zhangsun spoke, "Sir, please speak frankly. It might also serve as a warning for us."

"Then I'll say it."

The teacher cleared his throat and continued, "In the eleventh year of Zhenguan, the second daughter of Wu Shiyue, Wu Xu, entered the palace. She was granted the title of a fifth-rank Consort by Emperor Taizong and bestowed the name Wu Mei. Until the twenty-third year of Zhenguan, when Emperor Taizong passed away, she, according to custom, became a nun and moved into Ganye Temple..."

"Wait, weren't we just talking about Gaozong? How did we get to His Majesty's Consort? And a Consort from after the eleventh year of Zhenguan, at that," Zhangsun Wuji asked in confusion.

"Don't rush, you'll know in a moment."

The teacher smiled and continued, "In the twenty-third year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong passed away, which was the year 649 AD. By the year 650 AD, on the first anniversary of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin's death, Gaozong Li Zhi went to Ganye Temple to offer incense. There he met Wu Meiniang, and in 651 AD, he brought her back into the palace and made her a Zhaoyi."

"Pfft!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers who had been drinking wine and listening to the gossip couldn't help but spit out their drinks.

Li Shimin was furious. He slammed the table and stood up. "Zhinu, Zhinu, he..."

A Zhaoyi, similar to a Consort, was a title for imperial concubines.

In other words, Li Zhi took his father Li Shimin's Consort into his own harem and gave her the title of Zhaoyi!

This was undeniably cuckolding his own father!

"Don't rush, there's even more shocking news to come."

The teacher waved his hand, signaling Li Shimin not to get angry too soon.

Hearing this, Li Shimin almost couldn't catch his breath. There was something even more shocking?

"Wu Meiniang, also known as Wu Zetian, is one of the most famous figures in history. In 655 AD, Gaozong issued an edict officially making her the Empress."

Empress!

Everyone was stunned.

What was a Zhaoyi compared to that? She eventually even became the Empress!

"Bang!"

Li Shimin slammed the table again, exploding with thunderous rage. Fortunately, Empress Zhangsun was beside him to hold him back; otherwise, he would have definitely summoned Li Zhi over right then and beaten him to death on the spot.

"Don't rush, there's still more shocking news to come," the teacher waved his hand and smiled.

"There's... there's more?"

Hearing this, the crowd looked at each other in dismay, not even daring to imagine how much more shocking it could get.

"The Great Tang was once changed to Zhou, and Empress Wu became Emperor Zetian. In 683 AD, Gaozong passed away from illness. Wu Zetian took charge of the court as Empress Dowager. She successively deposed Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian and Emperor Ruizong Li Dan. In 690 AD, seeing that the time was ripe, Wu Zetian changed the Tang Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty, established the capital in Luoyang, proclaimed herself the 'Holy and Divine Emperor', and established the Wu Zhou regime."

"It wasn't until 705 AD that Zhang Jianzhi and others launched a coup, forcing Wu Zetian to abdicate in what became known in history as the Shenlong Coup. That same year, she officially issued an edict yielding the throne to Li Xian, and the Tang Dynasty was restored."

"Guards! Guards!"

Li Shimin was already burning with fury, roaring angrily, "Bring Li Zhi to me!"

"Erlang, calm your anger. Those are things that will only happen in the future. Now, we can completely avoid them." Empress Zhangsun was also quite infuriated, but on second thought, with Qin Ning's help now, it was absolutely impossible for these events to occur in their current timeline.

"Even so, I absolutely must break one of his legs today!"

Li Shimin truly couldn't be persuaded this time. Cuckolding him and making her Empress, he could still barely grit his teeth and pretend he hadn't heard.

But he never expected that Li Zhi would actually lose their entire empire!

A woman proclaiming herself Emperor was something that had never happened in all of history.

No wonder the gentleman said earlier that, looking throughout history, the name of Wu Zetian was unparalleled.

"Calm down."

At this moment, Qin Ning finally spoke, looking at Li Shimin and saying, "These are all things of the future. There is no need for this."

Hearing this, Li Shimin took a deep breath, remaining silent for a long time as his mood gradually returned to calm.

Wang Yousheng quickly changed the subject. "The sky is almost completely dark now. Everyone, why not take a look at Chang'an City below?"

"Oh?"

Hearing this, the gazes of all the ministers turned to gaze out below the tower, but they didn't notice anything unusual.

Zhangsun Wuji could not help but ask, "Sir, what is it that you want us to see?"

"Do not rush, just wait a moment," Wang Yousheng smiled.

The crowd was puzzled, looking at each other in confusion.

Soon, the originally pitch-black streets of Chang'an City suddenly became brilliantly illuminated.

The solar-powered lights that had been installed all over the streets during the day lit up at the exact same time, illuminating the entire Chang'an City as brightly as broad daylight!