LFHYB -Chapter 188 Escorting Parents Back to the Western Capital

Li Xuanba had not intended to be so high-profile.

But this world was such that, even if Li Yuan did not overtly wrong them, they could not neglect filial duty.

Even if Li Yuan openly wronged them—imprisonment or execution—if they resisted and killed him, history would still harshly criticize them for being unfilial.

Not only in the history books, even the young fans of Li Shimin, idolizing him as the exemplary elder brother, would think the same.

In May of the ninth year of Wude, Li Yuan summoned Qin Wang Li Shimin and informed him that the Grand Historian observing celestial phenomena had predicted a change: “Venus traverses the heavens and sees the division of Qin.”

In June of the same year, Qin Wang Li Shimin carried out the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

From the moment Li Yuan informed Li Shimin that “Venus traverses the heavens and sees the division of Qin” to Li Shimin’s decisive action, less than a month had passed. This surely was not Li Yuan telling his favored second son, “Heaven decrees you to be emperor, so go ahead with the Xuanwu Gate coup,” for Li Shimin to heed?

Earlier that year, Li Yuan’s attitude toward Li Shimin was fairly good. He even considered letting Li Shimin return to Luoyang, thinking, “Everything east of Shaanxi can be governed by him,” essentially splitting the empire.

Though foolish, and only serving to turn the succession struggle between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin into a nationwide conflict, it at least showed that Li Yuan had acknowledged Li Shimin as his son.

But after May of Wude 9, Li Yuan increasingly favored Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, gradually stripping Li Shimin of military power and sending his closest aides away from his household.

History, out of respect for the ruler, only recorded that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji plotted against Li Shimin, prompting his preemptive strike at Xuanwu Gate.

Yet historians often subtly hid the truth in the text—for example, Li Yuan summoning Li Shimin and stating “Venus traverses the heavens and sees the division of Qin”—all hints left in the historical record.

If Li Shimin had not seized the moment, would he have simply committed suicide to prove his innocence?

Li Yuan could have killed him, and by securing power to protect himself, Li Shimin would bear a historical stain—one that later generations universally recognized.

Li Xuanba understood: filial duty was just such a thing.

He had originally thought that if Li Yuan realized the situation, he would step back on his own, and the stain could be avoided.

For this reason, he and Second Brother had endured much restraint.

When Li Xuanba received the urgent dispatch from Taiyuan, reporting that Li Yuan, heeding Li Jiancheng’s advice, had confined their mother and Aunt Wan to coerce the three brothers, he was frustrated.

After all, he himself was branded a “Tàizōng villain”; why should Second Brother be spotless?

A mere stain of unfilial duty—they would bear it together.

If seeking so-called absolute innocence would harm their mother and Aunt Wan, only then would Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng regret it.

Thus, Li Xuanba sent letters instructing those in Taiyuan who had already submitted to Second Brother to publicly show their allegiance, giving Li Yuan a small but shocking glimpse of isolation.

Those in Taiyuan who had submitted to Li Shimin were still hesitant. Naturally, they wished to remain uninvolved, secretly siding with Li Shimin while not overtly offending Li Yuan.

But Li Xuanba forced them to “take sides,” and they could only grit their teeth and do so.

Originally, being trapped in Taiyuan Commandery meant they would miss out on the glory of campaigning alongside Li Shimin. Now, what if their allegiance wasn’t clear and Li Shimin assigned them to Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng’s side?

The struggle for the throne was ruthless; picking the wrong side meant losing one’s head. Since they all understood that the world would inevitably belong to Li Shimin, they weren’t foolish enough to misread the situation.

They really admired Pei Ji. Pei Ji’s friendship with Li Yuan was truly sincere.

Indeed, Pei Ji’s loyalty to Li Yuan was genuine—at least on the surface, he hadn’t openly taken sides. But he knew what was happening in Taiyuan Commandery and didn’t tell Li Yuan.

The scene in front of the city gates of Taiyuan Commandery was like a milder version of the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Li Xuanba had already informed most people in Taiyuan Commandery in advance. Pei Ji and other close aides of Li Yuan also knew about it. Yet the ministers in this small Taiyuan Li Tang court either stood with Li Xuanba or turned a blind eye, pretending not to know anything, and no one reported it to Li Yuan.

Carrying the stigma of being unfilial, Li Xuanba left Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng behind, leading his troops straight to find the imprisoned Dou Huiming and Lady Wan.

He left the forces he and his second brother commanded in Taiyuan Commandery under their mother’s management. But no matter how many aces his mother held, it was still easy for Li Yuan to imprison her.

Li Xuanba realized he had underestimated the world and regretted it deeply.

“Mother, Aunt, you’ve suffered.” When Li Xuanba arrived at the courtyard where Dou Huiming and Lady Wan were confined, someone had already unlocked the main gate for them.

Dou Huiming and Lady Wan stood at the entrance, craning their necks to look out. The moment Li Xuanba dismounted, they couldn’t help but rush forward, embracing him, who had been preparing to bow.

“Sanlang, Sanlang, why are you so thin?” Dou Huiming held Li Xuanba for a moment, cupped his face with both hands, and wept uncontrollably. “My Sanlang, you’ve suffered so much.”

Lady Wan held one of Li Xuanba’s hands and wiped her tears with the other. “Sanlang, it’s not us who’ve suffered—it’s you. Erlang has spent so long trying to bring you back, yet why do you still look so frail?”

Held by their hands and having his face cradled, Li Xuanba couldn’t calm his mother and aunt. All he could do was repeatedly insist he was fine: though a bit thin now, he was healthy.

Dou Huiming scolded through her tears: “I am your mother! I’ve raised you for over ten years! Can’t I tell how your health is?! I barely got your body strong again—how could you ruin it with illness! If you don’t take care of yourself and follow your brother to fight in every battle, do you think he can spare a general like you? If anything happens to you again, your mother won’t want to live!”

Lady Wan wiped her tears. “Sanlang, if you don’t take care of yourself, it’s like tearing out the hearts of your mother and your aunt!”

Li Xuanba was so frightened by his mother’s words that his hair stood on end. “Mother… Mom! Don’t speak nonsense. Not wanting to live—no, we must all live properly. Saying that is unlucky. Aunt, don’t agree with her; help me talk her down!”

Lady Wan scolded him: “Talk her down? You unfilial child, you deserve it!”

Dou Huiming, holding Li Xuanba’s face, pinched his thin, fragile cheeks.

Li Xuanba cried out in pain: “Ouch! Mother, be gentle!”

As she pinched her son, Dou Huiming wept: “You’re so thin even your cheeks can’t be pinched!”

Li Xuanba pleaded: “Mother, wait until second brother returns. Pinch his cheeks then—they’re thick, easy to pinch! Besides, if second brother didn’t take care of me properly, that’s his fault, not mine. I didn’t want to get sick. Mother, you should scold second brother!”

Li Xuanba’s attempt to shift blame made Dou Huiming and Lady Wan laugh through their tears.

Lady Wan patted Dou Huiming’s hand that was pinching Li Xuanba’s face. “Sanlang is right. Wait until Erlang returns, then scold him.”

Dou Huiming released his face. “Your aunt and I are fine. The illness was a scare. Your father wouldn’t truly mistreat us. He’s just foolish and greedy, always thinking the world you and Erlang fight for is the world he’s conquered. Sigh.”

Though embarrassed, Li Xuanba followed them to the small courtyard where Dou Huiming and Lady Wan were held, and saw Li Yuan there: “…”

Dou Huiming advised: “Don’t blame your father too harshly. The emperor’s position is tempting—who wouldn’t want it? After declaring himself emperor, he hasn’t even enjoyed the full power an emperor should wield. Now if you demand he step down immediately, he surely won’t agree. Let me persuade him a little more—he still can’t cause much trouble.”

Li Yuan: “…Enough.”

Dou Huiming scolded: “Am I wrong? When Yang Guang was alive, you were the Pacifier of Shanxi, governing a far richer area than second brother’s Longxi, closer to the two capitals and the Central Plains. You had a more prosperous domain and started the rebellion earlier, yet Erlang nearly conquered the whole realm while you hadn’t even left Taiyuan. If you weren’t his father but any other rebel king, he wouldn’t need to personally come—he’d have defeated you easily.”

Dou Huiming blocked Li Xuanba behind her, rolled up her sleeves, and pointed at Li Yuan’s nose. “If you had the ability to conquer the world, even half of it, Erlang could only give you the other half, and then compete with Dalang for the crown prince. You could have brothers fighting brothers as you wished. But now, even though you’ve tried, you just don’t have what it takes to be emperor! I pleaded with you and you wouldn’t listen. Now, see where father-son affection has come to—are you satisfied?”

Li Xuanba had expected Li Yuan to retort or even lay hands on his mother.

Unexpectedly, Li Yuan merely frowned in silence, looking guilty.

Seeing him like this, Li Xuanba felt even worse than knowing Li Yuan had imprisoned his mother.

It was always like this—every time.

Whenever he was ready to completely give up on Li Yuan, Li Yuan would reveal a side that, to the world, seemed like a decent father and husband.

Li Yuan was not a good father or husband, but he wasn’t entirely bad either. He oscillated between the two, never fully good, never fully executing statecraft.

As recorded in history, Li Yuan was an indecisive man.

Against Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, Li Xuanba could strike decisively without hesitation.

But against an indecisive father—indecisive yet still a hundred times better than his parents in Li Xuanba’s previous life—he could not control his anguish, even if his actions showed no hesitation.

He wondered if the pain he was feeling now was the same pain that his second brother would have had to endure alone in the original timeline.

“Father, please take us to Daxing City,” Li Xuanba said, grabbing his mother’s hand just as her finger nearly poked Li Yuan in the face, his tone cold. “Since you have already declared yourself emperor and founded the Great Tang, nothing my second brother and I do can bypass you. Before my second brother unites the realm, you can still remain emperor.”

“Very well.”

This phrasing—allowing a higher-ranking person to permit a lower-ranking one—angered Li Yuan, yet he could find no words to refute it.

Li Yuan self-mockingly said, “Technically, you first held the title of Prince of Taiyuan, then became Prince of Jin. Now, it seems I’m within your territory.”

Li Xuanba nodded. “Father is correct.”

Li Yuan: “…”

For the first time, he realized that his third son—someone whose reputation outside was grand but whom he himself had barely noticed beyond chronic illness—could actually be quite vexing.

Li Yuan’s expression hardened. “Weren’t we going to Xijing? Pack your things; we leave today.”

Li Xuanba also remained expressionless. “Very well, I will prepare immediately.”

He then turned to Dou Huiming and Lady Wan, softening his tone: “Mother, Auntie, now that you’re going to Xijing, you must properly train Fifth Brother. Second Brother and I have entrusted Fifth Brother to teachers, but he complains in letters that they are too strict and refuses to study properly. With our official duties so pressing, only Mother and Auntie can oversee him more closely.”

Lady Wan frowned. “How can Qi Jian be so lazy!”

Dou Huiming comforted him: “Wulang is still young. We’ll just encourage him more.”

Li Xuanba continued firmly: “When Second Brother returns to Xijing, Mother, you must also stand up for me. Second Brother left me and the army confronting Xiao Xian, and went alone to help defend the city for the people of Nanyang Commandery. When I finally defeated Xiao Xian and went to help him, he kicked me off my horse and took it for himself.”

Li Xuanba rolled up his sleeve. His skin was fragile, and the bruises and scabs from a month ago had not yet fully healed.

He continued, aggrieved: “I’ve always stayed at the rear during battle and never been injured before. This is the first time I’ve been hurt on the battlefield.”

Dou Huiming’s face turned pale: “Li… Shimin!!!”

Lady Wan’s expression also changed, and she gently rubbed Li Xuanba’s bruised arm, heart aching. “Is this how Li Erlang cares for his younger brother? Madam! He must not be forgiven! Let’s go to Xijing and wait for him! You have to properly teach Li Erlang a lesson! How can he treat his brother this way?”

Dou Huiming ground her teeth: “Let’s go, pack our things, and return to Xijing!”

Lady Wan nodded, patted Li Xuanba’s arm, signaling with her eyes that she would continue helping him lodge complaints, then got into the carriage with Dou Huiming.

Li Yuan did not leave.

He frowned as he looked at Li Xuanba’s skeletal-looking arm.

Li Xuanba lowered his sleeve and cupped his hands: “Please, Father, get into the carriage.”

Li Yuan gave a hesitant “hmm,” then asked, “After escaping Hedong, you were seriously ill?”

Li Xuanba replied, “I almost died, even went to bid farewell to Second Brother in my dreams. Zhuniang and Doctor Sun tried many medicines on me, not even knowing their effects, and I don’t know which one dragged me back from the underworld. But now this body has returned to childhood; I can eat endlessly and never gain weight.”

Li Yuan asked, “Do you resent Dalang?”

Li Xuanba knew that what Li Yuan truly meant was, “Do you resent me?”

Li Xuanba said, “Father, whether Second Brother, Fifth Brother, and I resent our eldest brother or not, do you think he would believe that we do not? Even further, even if there is no resentment among us, with the merits that Second Brother, Fifth Brother, and I have achieved, aside from Second Brother becoming emperor, who could tolerate us?”

He looked his father in the eye and spoke slowly, emphasizing each word: “You… would… not… tolerate… us either.”

He cupped his hands again: “Father, please get in the carriage.”

This was not merely a struggle for the throne—it was all three brothers’ struggle to survive.

It was a matter of life and death, leaving no room for retreat.

Finally, Li Yuan turned to enter the carriage.

Though Li Xuanba had just arrived in Taiyuan Commandery, a carriage, already prepared, awaited them.

As Li Yuan climbed in, he asked once more: “Will you spare Dalang?”

Li Xuanba answered reluctantly: “If eldest brother behaves, given Second Brother’s pride, he would at most find an excuse to exile him, without leaving the stigma of fratricide.”

Li Yuan said, “But when Daxiong left Taiyuan to find you, he said he would surely kill Bishamon.”

Li Xuanba blinked. “Oh? He said that? Father, don’t worry, I’ll stop Second Brother.”

Li Yuan sighed. “I trust you… sigh.”

He finally got into the carriage and said no more.

Li Xuanba watched the carriage slowly move forward. As it left, he caught a glimpse of Li Jiancheng, eyes red with fury, blocked by the carriage.

He stepped past Li Jiancheng once more.

“I really wonder, what does eldest brother think it means to vie for the realm? Plotting in the rear palace? You’re worse than Second Brother and me at six or seven years old—we were already earning to support ourselves in childhood,” Li Xuanba said, disdainfully.

He mounted his horse and headed to the Taiyuan Commandery office designated by Li Yuan, ready to take over all affairs of the Deputy Commander.

Li Xuanba would leave Taiyuan Commandery soon, but he had to first arrange its defenses. He could not leave immediately, lest Liu Wuzhou or Wei Dao’er seize it. Was he, former Prince of Taiyuan, now Prince of Jin, going to lose face? He was not Li Yuan, founder of Tang, who could afford to lose the very land of the dragon’s rise.

Li Yuan was intelligent and genuinely felt fatherly affection for Li Shimin and Li Xuanba. When he realized he could not compete with his sons for the throne, he finally relented and followed Li Xuanba’s arrangements.

A father and son tearing each other apart would be unpleasant. The Tang dynasty would remain Tang; the throne would pass to his descendants. Even if he could not be the emperor with real power, Li Yuan would not lose much.

Though Dou Huiming scolded him for not acting sooner, Li Yuan believed it was not too late.

Indeed, it was not too late, because Li Yuan had not truly torn ties with Li Xuanba and Li Shimin.

He acted like Li Zhi, manipulating from behind the scenes, hiding everything, leaving responsibility to others.

It was like in history, where “Tai Bai sees Qin divided” pressured Li Shimin, but on the surface, the conflict still appeared to be between Li Shimin, Li Jiancheng, and Li Yuanji. Even so, it wouldn’t look like father and son were openly at odds.

Now, Li Jiancheng’s petty schemes couldn’t even leave Taiyuan, and neither he nor Li Shimin had any obvious conflict. Li Yuan had even less reason to clash with Li Shimin.

Li Xuanba didn’t know what Li Yuan would do once he reached Xijing, but for now, Li Yuan was being very reasonable, proactively proposing that upon arriving in Xijing, he would make Li Shimin crown prince, and when Li Shimin returned, Li Yuan would step down to become Taishang Huang.

Li Xuanba hoped that everything Li Yuan said was true, but he would continue to play his moves assuming the worst-case scenario.

When Li Xuanba escorted their parents and Li Jiancheng back to Xijing, Li Shimin, who was still stationed in Hejian Commandery near Dou Jiande’s old base waiting for a chance to strike, received news that his younger brother was up to something.

“A-Xuan said he would return to Xijing after persuading Yao Junsu to surrender,” Li Shimin said, clutching the letter. “He just detoured through Taiyuan Commandery. How is that lying to me? Taiyuan is his own fief; if he wants to go back, he can. Does he really need to report this to me, his second brother? Right?”

Qin Qiong and Luo Shixin: “…Do we say yes or no? Better to stay quiet.”

Wei Zheng, clearly annoyed, said, “Obviously, he deliberately deceived you, intending to handle your father’s matters himself. My lord, what Prince Jin did may seem like he is easing your burden, but in reality, it could give others the impression that you are cunning and that he acted against filial piety on your behalf. Prince Jin taking matters into his own hands is outright foolish!”

Qin Qiong glared at Wei Zheng.

Luo Shixin rubbed his forehead. Wei Xuancheng and the Third Young Master used to get along well—what happened to make them so antagonistic?

Li Shimin asked, “According to Xuancheng, what should I do?”

Wei Zheng replied, “Of course, write a letter to rebuke Prince Jin! If he continues acting on his own, you should strip him of all his posts so he can reflect properly—just in time to recuperate his health!”

Li Shimin nodded. “Wei Qing, you speak sensibly.”

Qin Qiong, incredulous, said, “My lord, you really intend to scold the strategist over such a trivial matter?”

Li Shimin raised an eyebrow. “Trivial? Entering the city alone to persuade Yao Junsu to surrender—is that trivial? Facing my father and Li Jiancheng’s abuse alone—is that trivial? He thinks that with our mother protecting me, I can’t do anything to him. I am stripping him of his posts and ordering him to recuperate, and even Mother cannot stop me!”

Qin Qiong: “…It seems my lord doesn’t actually intend to punish the strategist, but he really is angry.”

“I knew he was urging me to attack Hejian Commandery while Dou Jiande was heading south with ill intentions,” Li Shimin fumed more and more. “He knows that if he isn’t in the army, I wouldn’t leave the main force to go alone. Damn it! How could I have such a brother? I must not have beaten him enough when he was little!”

Wei Zheng wholeheartedly agreed. “A child left untrained is the father’s fault. You raised the Third Young Master like a father, yet he is so reckless—truly, you failed to discipline him strictly. Please take this as a lesson for the future, my lord.”

Li Shimin: “Xuancheng is right!” Although Wei Zheng had now become someone unbearable if he didn’t give advice daily, his counsel perfectly matched what I wanted to do!

Everyone around Li Shimin tended to side with Li Xuanba, so he couldn’t even find someone to scold his brother with him. Wei Zheng was the first to support Li Shimin and urge him to teach this bad younger brother a harsh lesson.

Seeing that the lord and Wei Zheng were on the same wavelength, Luo Shixin quickly changed the subject for the sake of the Third Young Master: “My lord, Dou Jiande may be returning. We should quickly find a way to take Hejian Commandery.”

Li Shimin said, “I was just about to mention this. I’ve just received news that Dou Jiande failed in his attack on Jiangdu, so we’ll move south to block him. Once Dou Jiande is captured, Hejian Commandery will collapse on its own.”

Wei Zheng, puzzled, asked, “I always thought Yuwen Huaji was an incompetent, and his relations with the other Xiaoguo army generals weren’t good. How could he hold Jiangdu?”

Li Shimin explained, “It wasn’t Yuwen Huaji defending Jiangdu. After handing Yang Guang over to Wang Bo, Yuwen Huaji promised to lead the Xiaoguo army north back to Guanzhong. While he was heading north, Jiangdu was taken by Changsun Wji.”

Seeing everyone’s shocked expressions, Li Shimin’s face, which had been stiff from anger at Li Xuanba, finally relaxed into a smile.

Changsun Wuji led several hundred men to scout Jiangdu. This reconnaissance, like that of Chai Shao, who claimed he wanted to join Li Shimin in Longxi, briefly lost contact.

Changsun Wuji was both lucky and unlucky.

By the time he reached Jiangdu, Yuwen Huaji had already left, taking Yang Guang’s consorts and all the court officials, leaving only a few people to guard the city.

When Yu Shinan was released from prison, Yu Shiji, Pei Yun, and others had already been executed by Yuwen Huaji, who had installed a member of the imperial clan as emperor, labeling them as “traitors of the Sui.” Yuwen Huaji didn’t take Yu Shinan, a low-ranking official. So Yu Shinan found a plot of land in Jiangdu to bury Yu Shiji, intending to guard the grave for a while and return the coffin to their homeland once the realm was somewhat stable.

Changsun Wuji happened to run into Yu Shinan, so he stayed a few more days to gather information and persuaded Yu Shinan to join him in Li Shimin’s army for safety.

Just as Yu Shinan was considering this, news came that Dou Jiande was moving south, and the former Wuxing Commandery governor Shen Faxing was also approaching Jiangdu.

Yu Shinan might have been killed, but thanks to some smooth talking, Yuwen Huaji released him. Seeing this, Wang Shichong, who was left to guard Jiangdu, immediately sealed the city, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

Changsun Wuji was trapped inside Jiangdu.