Li Chengqian is crippled!
——This is a fatal matter for the entire Tang Dynasty court.
He is the Crown Prince.
The current Crown Prince becoming a cripple is unprecedented in history, instantly deepening the gloom that hangs over the Great Tang.
——The court and the public are in turmoil!
This event is entirely unavoidable, marking the beginning of a change in the flourishing court of the Tang Dynasty from this day on.
A crippled Crown Prince will inevitably cause so to harbor different thoughts.
Li Shimin has more than one son, and the sons born to Empress Zhangsun number three as well.
For all involved, this is a matter worth risking!
...
Li Shimin simply had no heart to think of these matters, for Empress Zhangsun was growing more and more critically ill.
He even set aside court affairs.
This was very rare for Li Shimin.
In truth, Li Shimin initially wanted to suppress the matter, at least ensuring Empress Zhangsun would not learn of it.
But how could such a significant event be kept hidden?
Empress Zhangsun ultimately learned of it, and her body, already nearing its end, could no longer bear such a blow, leading her to her final end.
——Such is fate; man can change it not.
Indeed, Li Shimin wished to hold back Empress Zhangsun, but ultimately he could only accept reality.
There were ministers, as in original history, suggesting Li Shimin should restore temples and pardon criminals to accumulate rit for Empress Zhangsun.
Yet neither Li Shimin of today believed in this, nor did Empress Zhangsun consent to it.
If such so-called prayers were truly effective, how could the able forebears of history have passed away?
Let alone those wise emperors themselves.
Take Gu Kang, Gu Xi, Gu Chen, each a Saint revered by the people across the land, and even they are long gone, so how could she be different?
Empress Zhangsun had begun to prepare herself for her death.
In Chang’an, at Li Zheng Hall.
Wisps of smoke swirled, filling the entire Li Zheng Hall with unbroken silence.
Li Shimin dismissed everyone, sitting on the couch holding Empress Zhangsun, tears dropping uncontrollably from his eyes.
"Your Ma... Majesty, do not grieve."
Empress Zhangsun spoke weakly, struggling to reach out her hands to wipe Li Shimin’s tears away, but such a small gesture was already incredibly taxing for her now.
Yet she stubbornly persisted.
Gazing intently at Li Shimin, she said with a trembling voice, "Your Majesty... I am leaving."
"Before that—"
"I wish to ask you to promise three things."
Li Shimin held Empress Zhangsun’s hands firmly, nodding solemnly.
"After my death, do not hold an elaborate funeral.... Do not trouble the people and tarnish your saintly virtue..."
Tears continued to fall from his eyes, and looking at Empress Zhangsun before him, Li Shimin rembered so much.
He rembered those early years of uprising companionship.
He recalled fainting from poison and waking to see Empress Zhangsun holding Li Chengqian with a sword, standing protectively before him.
He rembered the parting before the change of Xuanwu Gate....
These scenes combined with Empress Zhangsun’s fragile condition stirred his heart with continuous tremors.
"The Zhangsun Clan has already received heavenly grace.... Must not enjoy further, for the hearts of people are fickle.... My Zhangsun Clan is not the Gu Clan, and cannot bear the weight of the nation."
Empress Zhangsun’s breathing grew more labored, yet she continued to gaze steadfastly at Li Shimin, even gaining a bit of strength in her once weak hands.
"Lastly—"
"It is Chengqian....."
"Your Majesty, Chengqian is our eldest son, with the utmost filial piety and kindness. Though he now has a foot ailnt, deposing the Crown Prince must be done with caution!"
Empress Zhangsun’s grip tightened.
As she spoke, her eyes filled with worry, tears streaming down.
Li Shimin also couldn’t contain his sadness, tears pouring.
"I must see my mother!!!"
anwhile, in the Eastern Palace,
Li Chengqian, sensing sothing, headed toward Li Zheng Hall.
His expression was deeply sorrowful.
This feeling of predestination disturbed him greatly, along with the recent troubles of his foot condition, which had already thrown him off balance. At this mont, his expression appeared extrely distraught.
He was hastening his journey as much as he could.
Yet, upon reaching Li Zheng Hall, he was still too late to see Empress Zhangsun one last ti.
Just a mont too late.
Mother and son ultimately did not et.
The twelfth year of Zhenguan, February.
Empress Zhangsun passed away in Chang’an, aged thirty-eight.
Posthumously titled—Empress Wen De.
...
——The situation is suddenly altered!
Although Li Shimin heeded Empress Zhangsun’s last wishes, holding no grand funeral nor affecting the affairs of the court,
yet with Empress Zhangsun’s passing, he could not avoid feeling downcast.
This sentint inevitably trickled down through the ranks.
Of course, this didn’t signify the thriving montum of the Tang had changed, it rely ant Li Shimin needed ti to adjust.
Even though his rise appeared far smoother than in original history.
However, the risks were just as great.
Although Empress Zhangsun couldn’t accompany him to war, she shared his hardships, her carrying of poison signifying her loyal intentions.
Now departed, who could remain ungrieved?
Yet Li Shimin adjusted swiftly.
He could not stand still.
For the sake of his ambitions, and also for the entire Great Tang, he could not permit himself to falter.
The most crucial thing is—
Gu Zi submitted a morial.
He had sensed the unrest within the court and the public.
Li Chengqian’s foot condition allowed too many to see potential upheaval, a once-in-a-lifeti opportunity for opportunists.
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