LFHYB -Chapter 126 Li Xuanba’s Casual Move

Li Shimin turned his head toward Changsun Kangning. “Madam, why are you still calling my younger sister-in-law ‘elder sister’?”

Changsun Kangning replied, “My sister and I are so close—why should I change how I address her? Everyone can go by their own way of calling!”

Li Shimin said, “Oh… all right then.”

A gentle smile rippled across Changsun Kangning’s lips. Just as her sister had said, Li Erlang was a good man—after getting married, she could still be willful.

Li Xuanba pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a long sigh. “I saved your lives, but who’s going to save mine? Help! I was counting on Second Sister-in-law to keep Second Brother in check. I don’t want a doubled version of Second Brother!”

Changsun Kangning put her hands on her hips. “Third Brother-in-law, how can you talk like that! What’s wrong with me?”

Before she even finished, she burst out laughing. “All right, all right. I got carried away the other day—I promise I won’t drink to excess again. Erlang, you’re not allowed to either.”

Li Shimin said solemnly, “I was just too happy. I never drink to excess.”

Li Xuanba: “Heh.”

Li Shimin: [Shut!]

Li Xuanba: [What?]

Li Shimin: [Your mouth!]

Li Xuanba: [Tsk.]

Yuwen Zhu tugged Li Xuanba’s hand, signaling him not to expose Li Shimin in front of Changsun Kangning.

The brothers could bicker however they wanted in private, but in front of their sisters-in-law, they had to give them face.

Changing the subject, Yuwen Zhu said, “Now that we’re feeling better, shall we go tidy up the courtyard together?”

Li Shimin said, “Sister-in-law, are you already thinking of moving out?”

Yuwen Zhu sighed. “Studying medicine is like rowing upstream—you stop, you fall back. I don’t just work with herbs; I also need to… Second Brother, you should know how military doctors train their skills in treating external wounds.”

Li Shimin frowned. “That’s true… Sigh, Father and Mother want me and A-Xuan to stay until after the New Year before returning to Zhangye. Otherwise, it would be best if you went back to Zhangye with us—much more comfortable. I can get you plenty of corpses to practice on.”

“Cough, cough,” Changsun Kangning said. “Be a little more tactful.”

Li Shimin quickly corrected himself. “Oh, oh—Zhangye has many patients for you to practice on.”

Li Xuanba couldn’t help muttering, “Patients who have already passed away, right?”

Li Shimin said, “Just tell me whether Sister-in-law needs it or not!”

Li Xuanba cupped his hands. “She needs it. Very much. I’ll be relying on you from now on, Second Brother.”

Li Shimin laughed. “Leave it to me.”

Changsun Kangning sighed. “But my sister and I have to stay in Taiyuan…”

Li Shimin interrupted her. “If I say I can take you with us, then I definitely can. Trust me and A-Xuan, right, A-Xuan?”

Li Xuanba nodded. “Mm. Please rest assured.”

How could he and Second Brother possibly leave their newlywed wives behind in Taiyuan?

Changsun Kangning blinked. “Actually, even if you left us behind, my sister and I would just disguise ourselves and sneak after you anyway, right, Sister?”

Yuwen Zhu: “Ahem.”

Changsun Kangning covered her mouth. “Ah—I let it slip, hehe.”

Li Shimin laughed. “We were thinking the same thing.”

The young couple exchanged mischievous looks.

Li Xuanba pulled Yuwen Zhu away. “Let’s go pack our things.”

Yuwen Zhu: “All right.”

Li Shimin and Changsun Kangning followed behind. “Hey, don’t go—let’s do it together.”

The two young couples left side by side. At the corner of the wall, a small head popped out.

Li Zhiyun said resentfully, “Second Brother and Third Brother got married, and there’s no place for me anymore. Wuwu… Shixin, I’m so sad. I want to get married too!”

Luo Shixin leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, looking exhausted. “Mm-hm, sure, sure. Why don’t you ask the Duchess when she’s going to find you one?”

Li Zhiyun said, “That would be so embarrassing. Oh right—you’re not even engaged yet? You’re already this old and still not betrothed? How lame.”

Luo Shixin almost slid down the wall.

He snapped fiercely, “You asking for a beating?! The realm isn’t settled yet—how can I start a family? I’ll build my career first, then marry!”

Li Zhiyun made a face. “Excuses.”

The two started fighting.

Hearing the noise, Li Shimin turned his head to look. “What are Fifth Brother and Shixin doing?”

Li Xuanba said, “No idea. Looks like they’re bored. Let’s drag them over to help us carry things.”

The relaxed daily life of the two young couples didn’t last long. After the guests departed, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba began doing serious work, helping their father Li Yuan secure a foothold in Shanxi and Hedong.

Li Yuan summoned Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Xuanba. The four father and sons held a meeting to sort through the complicated network of aristocratic clans and officialdom in Shanxi and Hedong.

In Shanxi, the Sui court’s direct power was stronger.

The most prominent aristocratic family in Shanxi was the Taiyuan Wang clan, nominally one of the greatest families in the realm.

However, in this timeline the Taiyuan Wang clan had first been devastated in the Yongjia Rebellion, and later its most illustrious branch—the line of Wang Yu—had been exterminated by Liu Yu, leaving only Wang Huilong to flee alone to Northern Wei. The Taiyuan Wang name remained famous, but its real influence in both officialdom and local society had already declined, supported only by ancestral prestige.

After the founding of Tang, the Taiyuan Wang clan was still a “top” family in name, but in reality its status was no better than that of second-tier clans. The four great surnames—Cui, Lu, Li, and Zheng—often did not even include the Taiyuan Wang in marriage alliances.

Because of its economic and political weakness, the Taiyuan Wang clan was very cooperative with Li Yuan, no different from ordinary local magnates.

Hedong, however, was another matter.

Hedong was the cradle of the Guanzhong commandery clans, and since the Wei and Jin dynasties had always been a region controlled by aristocratic families.

The Guanzhong clans were led by the surnames Wei, Pei, Liu, Xue, Yang, and Du. Hedong alone had three major commandery clans: the Hedong Xue, Hedong Liu, and Hedong Pei families.

These Guanzhong clans were part of the Guanlong aristocracy. The Xue, Liu, and Pei families all held high positions at court and showed Li Yuan little respect.

Li Yuan had been appointed Pacification Commissioner of Shanxi and Hedong, making him nominally the supreme civil and military authority. But after the empire fell into chaos, the Hedong clans had fortified themselves in strongholds, raising private troops under the name of “local militias,” and Hedong’s officials also deferred to the great clans. Li Yuan was unable to insert himself into Hedong affairs.

As Li Yuan explained the difficulties of working in Hedong, Li Xuanba gathered intelligence on one hand, while on the other casually shared with his second brother some rumors from the future about Hedong.

In later ages, the history of the High Tang and the An Lushan Rebellion has fed countless “history-marketing accounts,” producing a huge number of rumors.

For example, some claim that the An Lushan Rebellion happened because the Tang court did not support Dou Jiande’s Hedong faction, so Hedong rebelled. Others go even further and say Hedong had always been semi-independent.

Anyone who knows even a little about famous Tang families like the Xue, Liu, and Pei clans would never say something so absurd.

The Xue, Pei, and Liu families who controlled Hedong Commandery were members of the Guanzhong aristocracy and formed the backbone of support for the Li-Tang dynasty. In the early Tang, these three families produced many chancellors, and many of them also married into the Li royal house.

By contrast, Dou Jiande had almost no members of the Hedong great clans under his command. Common people remembered him fondly, but the aristocratic families treated him coldly.

At that time, the economic and cultural lifelines of society were all in the hands of the great families. In the early and High Tang, the Guanzhong clans dominated the court, and Hedong was their main base. There was no way they would fail to favor their own home region.

Dou Jiande’s death did lead to several rebellions by his former subordinates in the early Tang, but that had nothing to do with the chaos in the Central Plains during the High Tang.

The causes of the An Lushan Rebellion were extremely complex. At their core, they were still the old story that when a dynasty declines, “the economic base determines the superstructure,” and “land annexation creates turmoil that gives ambitious men their opportunity.” There’s no need to go into that here—let’s return to the great clans.

The Hedong clans chose their side in time. By contrast, the Shandong clans in the early Tang failed to recognize Li-Tang as a winning bet, so their political status at the beginning of the dynasty was relatively low.

What Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu targeted was not the Shandong clans themselves, but rather an attempt to raise them up to check the Guanzhong aristocracy. Even the emphasis on the imperial examinations, on the surface, benefited the Shandong and southern scholarly families who passed down poetry and classics more.

Only after the dark age of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms dragged the great families down into hell together did the Song-dynasty examination system truly become more favorable to commoners.

After the An Lushan Rebellion, the Guanzhong aristocracy suffered devastating blows. The Shandong clans rose rapidly through the examination system, and most of the chancellors of the mid-to-late Tang came from Shandong families.

If you line up the lists of chancellors, you can clearly see that in the early and High Tang, most came from Guanzhong clans, while in the mid and late Tang, most came from Shandong clans.

However, although the Shandong clans entered the court in large numbers through the examinations, they also despised this non-hereditary method of selecting officials.

Once Shandong-clan bureaucrats fully occupied the center of power, they repeatedly tried to abolish the examination system and discriminated against officials who came from it. It was very much a case of “burning the bridge after crossing the river.”

Li Shimin listened to his brother’s constant inner muttering. His eyes kept twitching, making him very uncomfortable.

He really wanted to chat with his brother. But his telepathic link was too weak—he could only spit out words one by one, and it was exhausting. Saying five or six words felt as tiring as a forced march.

Why do you have to think about such interesting things at the exact moment when I can’t reply? I want to hear more of those ugly secrets about the great clans!

When Li Yuan finished sharing intelligence and the current situation, Li Xuanba finally, reluctantly, ended his inner monologue.

Only then did he remember that he had probably let slip something like “Emperor Gaozong and his wife” to his second brother.

But it didn’t really matter—he hadn’t mentioned the female emperor.

If this time his sister-in-law didn’t die young, and the crown prince was born a little later, then the crown prince would probably succeed normally, and maybe there would never be a female emperor at all.

Then again, it was also possible that the future empress would still become a concubine in the crown prince’s palace—or that she might transmigrate like himself into some descendant of the Li-Tang house. Who could say what the future held?

What happened after he closed his eyes for the last time wasn’t worth worrying about.

If the Tang dynasty really did produce China’s first female emperor, that would be pretty interesting.

However, the female emperor’s father had originally come to Taiyuan with all his wealth to join Li Yuan when Li Yuan first arrived, becoming one of the founding contributors of the early Tang. Yet after Li Xuanba came to Taiyuan, he never saw any wealthy merchant surnamed “Wu” in the Duke of Tang’s household.

He vaguely suspected that this was a case of “only one chosen one at a time”—the future empress’s original fate had already changed, and she would have to “travel at a different time slot.”

Li Xuanba secretly hoped things would be more entertaining. It would be hilarious if Wu Zetian transmigrated with her memories into some Li-Tang princess.

With the help of filial piety and the power of the maternal clan, it was easy for an empress dowager to usurp her son’s throne. But for a princess to ascend the throne? That was hell-difficulty. Normally, even if an emperor had no sons, he would adopt a male from the clan rather than consider a princess.

If Wu Zetian transmigrated with her memories, could she break this “never before” rule?

Li Xuanba happily prayed that if the future empress really were to transmigrate, he hoped it would be while he was still alive.

If he could spoil the future for the Wu Zetian who erected a wordless stele—especially telling her all the worst later judgments about her—it would be just as fun as telling Tang Taizong that “one reason you became everyone’s white-moonlight emperor is that you died at exactly the right time.”

The history-marketing trolls didn’t just want to have fun at Tang Taizong’s expense.

“A-Xuan, it’s over. Why are you still spacing out?” Li Shimin grabbed Li Xuanba, who had tried several times to walk into walls and trees, and pulled him “out of danger.”

Li Xuanba answered reflexively, “I was thinking how fun it would be if the history-marketing accounts I run could be seen by all the wise rulers of past ages. I’d point at them and scold them, and they’d rage uselessly at me across time and space.”

Li Shimin didn’t know what “marketing accounts” were, but after being Li Xuanba’s twin brother for so many years, even when he didn’t understand specific words, he could grasp the general meaning.

“If what you scold them for is true,” Li Shimin said, “and the people you scold really are wise rulers, then I think they wouldn’t get angry. Instead, they’d treat you as a good teacher and a worthy friend.”

Li Xuanba teased, “The kind of good teacher and worthy friend they don’t have to worry about beheading in a fit of rage and then regretting later?”

Li Shimin laughed loudly. “Yes, exactly that kind.”

The two brothers put their arms around each other’s shoulders, laughing together over a joke that could never happen, and even plotting what kind of spoilers they would give to great rulers of the past if it did.

“Obviously we’d tell Qin Shi Huang that his dynasty only lasts two generations, right?”

“Of course! Hahahahaha!”

Their laughter carried far away—so far that even Li Yuan, who was frowning in his study, heard it.

He rubbed his forehead and chuckled. “Young people really do have good spirits. When they went out earlier they were still worried, and now they’re laughing so happily.”

The sound of his sons’ laughter infected Li Yuan. The gloom in his heart finally lifted, and he returned to carefully sorting through the intelligence, thinking about how to break the deadlock in Hedong.

If the situation couldn’t be broken, then at the very least, Shanxi had to be held firmly in his grasp.

…

After assigning tasks to Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, Li Yuan prepared to send Li Xuanba off to Hedong Commandery.

Time was tight. Li Yuan could not keep Li Shimin and Li Xuanba by his side for long—Hexi still needed them to hold the line.

So Li Yuan hurriedly dragged Li Shimin out on campaign, sweeping away the more stubborn forces around Shanxi; meanwhile, Li Xuanba quickly headed south to Hedong together with Li Jiancheng, striving to secure the support of Hedong’s great clans.

It was very likely that Li Xuanba would succeed in winning over the Hedong families.

Xue Daoheng came from the Hedong Xue clan, and Pei Shiju from the Hedong Pei clan. Both had taught Li Xuanba, so the Xue and Pei families of Hedong naturally regarded Li Xuanba as “one of their own.” Among great families, relationships were built through marriage, old patronage, or the bond between teacher and disciple.

From the fact that both the Xue and Pei families had sent influential members of their clans to attend the weddings of Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, one could see how close they felt to the two brothers.

Although Li Jiancheng was Li Shimin’s and Li Xuanba’s elder brother, in the eyes of the Hedong aristocratic families, the Duke of Tang’s household was still considered “non-aristocratic.” Their ties were to individuals, not to the clan as a whole. Li Jiancheng could not benefit from the teacher–disciple connections that linked Li Shimin and Li Xuanba to Xue Daoheng and Pei Shiju.

After tidying up the house, Yuwen Zhu packed her luggage and prepared to head south with Li Xuanba.

On the road, Li Xuanba said to her, “This time, the key to breaking the deadlock in Hedong might not be me, but you, Zhuniang.”

Yuwen Zhu immediately understood. “You mean… starting with the women of those families?”

“Exactly,” Li Xuanba said. “Aristocratic clans are like noble houses—no matter how powerful they are, female physicians are extremely rare, and truly skilled ones even more so. You’re already famous in Daxing and Luoyang. I’m sure the ladies of the great families have long been waiting for Zhuniang to arrive.”

A trace of worry crossed Yuwen Zhu’s face. “Can I really do it?”

“You don’t need to do anything special,” Li Xuanba said. “Just cure them and build good relationships. We’re not begging anything from them.”

He smiled. “My lady can even be a little proud. Trust me—one day it will be them begging us, not the other way around. I’m only befriending them now so they can become our support earlier. If they’re blind to that, it will only be their own loss.”

Yuwen Zhu’s anxiety eased a great deal. “All right—then I’ll make the Hedong clans owe me plenty of favors!”

“That’s the spirit,” Li Xuanba said.

Yuwen Zhu took a deep breath. This was her first battle after marrying her husband—she had to start with a triumphant victory!

Watching the way she encouraged herself, Li Xuanba felt like laughing, but worried she might misunderstand, so he forced himself to hold it back.

After spending time closely with Yuwen Zhu and his second sister-in-law, he had discovered that the two women shared a similar temperament—stubbornness.

In modern terms, it was the kind of personality that said, “I’ve never been inferior to anyone,” full of competitiveness and a desire to excel at everything they did.

From something as small as drinking contests among women to something as big as their own careers, they were always full of fighting spirit, giving everything they had.

His second sister-in-law showed this trait more openly. His own Zhuniang hid it deep inside—perhaps even she hadn’t realized it herself.

Yet Zhuniang’s actions were even more extreme.

Not to mention women—very few even among famous physicians would dare to personally dissect a corpse.

Who knew what Physician Sun had taught her? He had truly given her everything he knew.

Speaking of which, where had Physician Sun run off to? He hadn’t even come to his own wedding.

Li Xuanba asked, “Is Physician Sun still in Daxing?”

“Why bring up my teacher all of a sudden?” Yuwen Zhu replied. “He’s not there. He went wandering the world. I don’t know where he is now.”

Li Xuanba put on a ferocious look. “He actually dared to skip our wedding. Next time I catch him, I’ll scold him thoroughly and extort all his precious medicines from him!”

Yuwen Zhu burst out laughing. “Good. I’ll help you. I’m angry too that he didn’t come to my wedding.”

“It’s a deal,” Li Xuanba said with a smile.

Yuwen Zhu remembered how her teacher, before parting from her, had expressed worry about Li Xuanba’s health.

After she and Li Xuanba were married, neither of them spoke again about the possibility of his early death.

They had already discussed it back when their marriage was first being arranged. Before they had even met face to face, they had already settled what Yuwen Zhu’s path would be if Li Xuanba died young.

Li Xuanba needed a wife to block off political marriages from other families.

She needed a place that would let her pursue her dreams without restraining her.

Their interests aligned perfectly.

After Li Xuanba passed away, she would remain in the Duke of Tang’s household.

She would become a princess-consort, and under the banner of remaining faithful to Li Xuanba, she would use the resources he left behind to continue fulfilling her dreams.

After they developed real feelings for each other, that plan changed into something else: after Li Xuanba’s death, she would take care of his family for him and continue to watch over the world that was sure to move toward a golden age.

She would see the future Great Tang on his behalf.

But all those plans and discussions came to a halt when they were married.

What needed to be discussed had already been discussed. Now they only wanted to treat growing old together as their premise and cherish every moment they spent side by side.

They would not speak words that spoiled the mood, nor think of things that spoiled the mood.

Today, tomorrow, and the day after—every day should be joyful, full of anticipation, and worth looking forward to.

Suppressing the faint sadness in her heart, Yuwen Zhu smiled and said, “I’m still a little worried that I’ll feel timid when I enter the households of the Hedong clans. Sanlang, tell me more about these great families. I heard you were once made things difficult by the Xingyang Zheng clan—are aristocratic families really that hard to get along with?”

Li Xuanba said, “The Xingyang Zheng clan isn’t usually deliberately arrogant. That time, when my second brother and I were given a hard time, it was because we were going to ask for a marriage. Once you’re the one begging someone else, being humiliated is only to be expected.”

Yuwen Zhu shook her head. “A marriage proposal is supposed to be a joyful event between two families. If it becomes humiliation instead, is that forging kinship or making enemies? From what I see, the Xingyang Zheng clan’s family ethos isn’t much to boast about.”

Li Xuanba said, “The family traditions of great clans are all more or less the same. They’re just living off the lingering glory of their ancestors, so there’s no need to think too highly of them.”

He carefully went through the origins and current situations of the major families of Hedong—such as how the Hedong Xue clan were actually outsiders, and how the Pei and Liu clans had once migrated south.

As Yuwen Zhu listened to Li Xuanba’s analysis, the image she had of Hedong’s great families became clearer and clearer, and her heart grew steadily calmer.

Once you strip away the mysterious aura created by ancestral prestige, these great clans are really nothing special.

Yuwen Zhu was well read and widely traveled. She firmly believed she could win.

Cheer up. One more time—cheer up! I can win!

When Li Xuanba saw Yuwen Zhu quietly clench her fists, he turned his face toward the window, pretending to breathe in some fresh air.

So cute—pfft.

Yuwen Zhu didn’t see Li Xuanba covering his mouth as he laughed. She kept her head lowered, continuing to psych herself up.

…

Just as Li Yuan had expected, the welcome Li Xuanba received upon arriving in Hedong Commandery far surpassed what Li Jiancheng had enjoyed.

The moment Li Xuanba reached the city gate, the most talented young men of the Xue and Pei clans who were staying in Hedong, together with young men of the Liu clan, were already there to greet him.

The Xue and Pei youths introduced the Liu youths to Li Xuanba, accompanied him to Li Jiancheng’s residence, and even introduced him to vacant mansions in the city, saying they would drink house-warming wine there.

Li Xuanba hadn’t shown any special ability at all, yet the scions of the three great Hedong clans treated him like an old friend they hadn’t seen in years, acting as if they couldn’t wait to drag him off to drink.

Li Xuanba gave a wry smile. “I’m sure my teacher has written home and mentioned that I really can’t drink, and told you not to force me.”

The youths of the Xue and Pei clans exchanged looks and all laughed. “He did tell us—but we don’t believe it.”

Li Xuanba rolled up his sleeves. “Fine then. I’ll show you my famous ‘three-cups-and-I’m-down.’”

The two clans immediately grabbed him. “Come, come! Let’s see if you really fall after three cups.”

The Liu youth behind them pressed his lips together in a smile and told someone to fetch the wine.

He cupped his hands toward Yuwen Zhu and said, “Brother Xue and Brother Pei are easygoing but not careless. They won’t really drink Third Young Master Li under the table. Sister-in-law need not worry.”

Yuwen Zhu smiled. “I’m not worried. You go have fun—I’ll brew medicine for you.”

She truly wasn’t worried, because Li Xuanba really did go down after three cups.

Li Xuanba hadn’t even had time to wash up. The moment he stepped out of the carriage, he was dragged off by the youths of the Xue, Pei, and Liu clans for a welcoming feast. Using the excuse of “welcoming our elders’ disciple,” they blatantly squeezed Li Jiancheng out of the gathering.

Li Jiancheng was furious inside, yet on the surface he still had to put on the face of a good elder brother. It was unbearably uncomfortable.

Li Yuanji saw this and fell into thought.

He couldn’t quite understand it. Given Li Xuanba’s cunning and scheming, there was no way he couldn’t see how his elder brother felt. If Li Xuanba had spoken up and invited his brother along, the youths of the three Hedong clans might have gone along with it and included him.

So why did Li Xuanba say nothing at all?

Li Yuanji vaguely grasped something, and excitement stirred in his heart.

While Li Xuanba was dragged off to drink, Yuwen Zhu stayed behind to sort out their luggage.

Li Jiancheng sent people to help, and Li Yuanji also put on the appearance of a good younger brother, directing the servants together with Li Zhiyun.

As he idly gave random orders, Li Yuanji suddenly realized Li Zhiyun was gone.

Using the excuse of looking for Li Zhiyun, Li Yuanji wandered off and hid somewhere to slack off.

“You must behave yourself. Don’t worry—we’ll soon send you to Zhangye.”

Li Zhiyun’s voice came from the other side of the wall.

Li Yuanji quietly peeked out from behind the corner and saw Li Zhiyun speaking to someone dressed like a book-boy.

His heart jolted. Realizing something, he suddenly stepped back, making a bit of noise.

Li Zhiyun immediately became alert. “Who’s there?”

Li Yuanji turned and ran.

After waiting a moment, Li Zhiyun said slowly to Luo Shixin, “Go take a look.”

Luo Shixin went over and came back. “He’s already gone.”

Li Zhiyun patted the book-boy—who had a rather blank look on his face. “Do you remember how you’re supposed to act?”

The book-boy nodded.

Li Zhiyun told him to go back and change into a maid’s clothes.

Then he said to Luo Shixin, “Third Brother’s scheme is so crude. Can it really work? With even a little investigation, he’d find out that His Highness the Crown Prince doesn’t have any sons.”

Luo Shixin said, “Third Young Master said it doesn’t matter whether it succeeds or not—it’s just a spare move. Besides, it’s precisely because the child is an ‘illegitimate son’ that His Highness the Crown Prince could send him away.”

Li Zhiyun nodded. “That makes a lot of sense.”

He stroked his chin and walked back with Luo Shixin. “I wonder if Li Yuanji will really go inform on us. If he does, then Second Brother, Third Brother, and I will never again have to worry about him stabbing us in the back in the future.”

Luo Shixin didn’t reply. He felt vaguely uneasy, though it had to be just his imagination.

Third Young Master always planned for everything. He must have accounted for even the worst possibilities. I’m just worrying for nothing.

“Wow!” Luo Shixin suddenly shouted excitedly.

Li Zhiyun jumped. “What are you yelling for like a ghost?”

Luo Shixin said proudly, “When I was just thinking randomly, I actually used the idiom ‘the man of Qi who worried about the sky falling’!”

Li Zhiyun looked puzzled. “So what?”

Luo Shixin said, “It proves I’ve read a lot of books!”

Li Zhiyun: “…My friend really can be kind of dense sometimes.”

Sure enough, after only two cups Li Xuanba was already swaying. The newly acquainted clan youths made him drink hangover-relief medicine while they drank wine and he drank water. They kept partying until midnight, and only then did he go home, stuffed to the point of misery.

As soon as he got back, Li Zhiyun pounced on him, grinning. “It worked.”

Li Xuanba rubbed his belly, which was full of water, and said weakly, “After this, just drop it. Treat it like it never happened.”

Li Zhiyun said, “Huh? There’s no follow-up? I was just getting ready to really go all out!”

Li Xuanba said, “For now it’s enough to plant a seed of doubt in his heart. We’ll adapt to how the situation develops and make our next move later.”

Li Zhiyun drooped. “Alright then.” Sigh—he had thought this time they could finally punch Li Yuanji so far away that he’d never see him again.

After seeing Li Zhiyun off, Li Xuanba bade Yuwen Zhu good night and returned to his study to sort through the latest intelligence he had gathered at the welcoming banquet.

Yang Xuangan was still alive, yet Yang Guang was actually still planning to campaign against Goguryeo. It was truly impossible to guess what Yang Guang was thinking.

The Xue, Pei, and Liu clans all had members accompanying Yang Guang on campaign, so their information was even more up-to-date than Li Yuan’s.

From what he had sounded out at the banquet, Yang Guang was pushing the blame for the chaos in the Central Plains onto Goguryeo’s refusal to surrender, claiming that it had damaged his prestige. He firmly believed that once Goguryeo submitted, the rebels would once again fear him and return to obedience.

How utterly ridiculous.

Before setting out, Yang Guang had also issued instructions for suppressing the rebels.

He once again uttered that famous line recorded in history, though not well known on the internet: “The more people know that they want nothing, the more they will gather together and become bandits.”

Li Xuanba pressed a hand to his forehead, a mocking smile tugging at his lips. “Truly worthy of being Emperor Yang of Sui.”