Chapter 3: Let the Show Begin

"You brat, what are you doing here?" Li Yuan’s face darkened as he glared fiercely at Li Kuan, his tone harsh.

However, Pei Ji, who knew him well, understood that Li Yuan treated Li Kuan differently compared to Li Shimin’s other sons. After all, the Second Prince had been raised by Empress Tai Mu herself. In the second year of the Wude era, when Li Yuan proposed adopting Li Kuan to his late fifth son, Li Zhiyun, it was met with fierce opposition from the Empress Dowager Dou. That same year, the grandmother who had raised Li Kuan passed away due to illness, leaving him in a state of deep melancholy for a long time.

Later, the Xuanwu Gate Incident occurred, and Li Er ascended the throne. On the day of his coronation, Li Kuan knelt outside the Hongyi Palace and loudly recited the *Memorial on Expressing Feelings*. Li Yuan, then utterly heart-broken, could not help but shed tears upon hearing his grandson’s actions. It was because of the line: "Without my grandmother, I would not be here today; without me, my grandmother would not have had her remaining years."

By daring to express his stance under such complex circumstances—vowing to repay the kindness of his grandmother’s upbringing through his devotion to Li Yuan—Li Kuan took an enormous risk. While Li Shimin might have harbored resentment toward his son’s preference for his grandfather, he said nothing. But what of the ministers who had fought alongside Li Er at the Xuanwu Gate and achieved merit in the founding of the dynasty? For this act alone, Li Yuan ceased to hold any grudges against the boy.

Of course, that was how Li Yuan used to feel. Since then, the Second Prince, having gradually become more cheerful, had completely let himself go. For instance, right now, upon seeing his grandfather, Li Kuan trotted over and sat cross-legged beside him. It would be normal for a grandfather and grandson to share a table, but given that Li Yuan was the Retired Emperor, the scene was anything but ordinary.

The old ministers present were all observant; after all, they had all witnessed the temperament of this "Little Li Er." They had heard that this brat had recently frightened the Third Prince, Li Ke, into a state of illness, and they wondered how the Emperor had punished him to have let him out so soon. It was baffling—truly baffling.

"Grandfather!" Li Kuan called out loudly as he sat down. He reached out, grabbed a piece of spiced beef from the table, and then, with the casual familiarity of a regular guest, took Li Yuan’s wine flask and drank directly from the spout.

"Ah! My grandfather’s grape wine is still the best!" Li Kuan sighed, acting as if he had suffered greatly while by Li Er’s side.

"Hmph! You little rascal!" Li Yuan shook his head and laughed, chiding, "When I was your age, I had to drink in secret. You, on the other hand, do it openly and even steal from me!"

"Oh!" Li Kuan protested indignantly, "Grandfather, that is incorrect! How can drinking be called stealing? You were merely savoring loneliness by yourself! As the saying goes, 'Sages of old are lonely, only the drinkers keep their names!' My grandfather is elegant! A man of refined, scholarly grace!"

"Sages of old are lonely, only the drinkers keep their names! Your Highness, what a fine poem, truly fine!" Sitting below Pei Ji was Xiao Yu, the Minister of the Left of the Secretariat. He was a man who loved literature and was known for his upright and honest character. Thus, his presence among Li Yuan’s group of old ministers always felt like a crane standing among chickens.

"You're too kind!" Li Kuan gave a casual bow to the brother-in-law of Emperor Yang of Sui. Xiao Yu, unfazed by the perfunctory attitude, merely stroked his beard and smiled, showing no offense.

However, this did not stop Li Yuan from giving his grandson a swat on the back of the head: "You brat! One must know etiquette."

"Ah, ah, ah, alright, alright." Li Kuan blinked his eyes, looking at Li Yuan, who had his chest open to reveal a tuft of chest hair, and suddenly felt that his grandfather was quite humorous.

"What did you come here for?" Li Yuan raised his cup, took a sip, and finding the wine flask tainted by Li Kuan’s mouth, signaled a servant to bring a fresh one.

"Grandson is just..." Li Kuan carefully chose his words, "...I haven't seen you in a while and missed you dearly." Li Kuan could spout flattery to make the old man happy without a second thought, though his words would have been more convincing had he not been nudging Li Yuan aside to claim the platter of roasted venison for himself.

"Hmph," Li Yuan glared at him, knowing full well the boy had come to seek refuge, but he didn't call him out. Instead, he raised his cup to the ministers below and said, "Come, come, bottoms up!"

These days, Li Yuan’s life revolved around only three things: fine wine, beautiful women, and hangovers. The "Gale" Retired Emperor Li Yuan had completely surrendered to a life of drunken stupor.

As the saying goes, where there is a muddled monarch, there must be sycophants. Once the wine had flowed and the meal was well underway, Pei Ji, as Li Yuan’s chief bootlicker, began his daily flattery. The old man, missing a few teeth, spouted tired, cloying nonsense about "Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang" and "the greatest sage-king in history" as if it were nothing. And believe it or not, Li Yuan ate it all up.

Between Pei Ji’s relentless flattery and the continuous nodding and agreement of the other ministers, Li Yuan was already over the moon. Li Kuan, watching these shameless old men—well, except for Xiao Yu, whom he noticed had remained silent and was trembling as he held his cup—was genuinely shocked by their lack of shame.

He suddenly understood why everyone was drinking. Without the wine, even the most thick-skinned person wouldn't be able to utter such shameless nonsense. But Li Kuan felt these ministers were still too weak, and he needed to teach them a lesson.

*Smack!* Li Kuan suddenly slammed his hand onto the table, startling everyone in the hall as they looked up at him.

"Pei Gong, you are mistaken!" Li Kuan shared one trait with Li Yuan: he got heated once he had a bit of alcohol in him. His face was flushed, his eyes slightly unfocused; he had reached that perfect state of "a man is three-tenths drunk, acting until you weep."

And that meant one thing: Li Kuan was about to start causing trouble.