Chapter 5: If Not Brilliant, Then Who Else Could It Be?

Li Shimin was momentarily stunned, then shook his head with a wry smile.

"I truly do not know whether I should believe you. You claim to come from the future and know about the Tang Dynasty, yet you don’t even know who my heir is?"

"Could it be that the history books from the future do not record the emperor’s name?"

He spoke with a hint of self-mockery. Ever since meeting Wen He, he had been oscillating between belief and doubt.

Wen He understood his feelings. For someone from the past, such claims were indeed beyond comprehension.

But wait.

Wasn't Li Zhi not yet born?

"That Gao Ming... you don’t mean Li Chengqian, do you?" Wen He suddenly recalled and asked in surprise.

Indeed, Li Chengqian’s courtesy name was Gao Ming.

When he was born, Li Yuan had already given him a name and a courtesy name.

"Naturally. If it’s not Gao Ming who succeeds me a hundred years from now, then who else could it be?" Li Shimin found it absurd as he looked at Wen He's astonished expression.

Gao Ming is my legitimate eldest son. If I ascend the throne, of course I will appoint him as crown prince. Who else could it be?

The moment he finished speaking, his expression suddenly froze as he saw a meaningful smile on Wen He’s face.

It seemed to say, "You guessed right; the successor is indeed someone else."

"Not Gao Ming? Could it be Qingque?"

"Have you considered Li Ke?"

"Ke’er?" Li Shimin’s eyes widened in shock, then he frowned and shook his head. "Impossible. Although the third son is intelligent, even if I intended to, the ministers of the court certainly would not approve, let alone Fu Ji and Ke Ming."

Li Ke’s mother, Consort Yang, was a princess of the Sui dynasty.

The powerful aristocratic clans who overthrew Sui would never want an emperor with former dynasty bloodline to appear.

"Could it be...!" Li Shimin suddenly thought of a possibility.

He clenched his fist tightly and trembled all over.

Today, he could imagine using military pressure to force his father to appoint him crown prince.

Then in the future, the third son might do the same.

"This is impossible. It can’t be Li Ke," Wen He quickly interrupted his wild conjectures, shrugging and smiling wryly.

"I’m merely verifying a suspicion from future historians. They recorded that after Li Chengqian was demoted to commoner and Li Tai was expelled from Chang’an, you considered appointing Li Ke as crown prince but were persuaded against it by Zhangsun Wuji."

"Absurd. With Gao Ming and Qingque present, how could I— What did you say?" Li Shimin suddenly stood up, roaring so fiercely with his mouth wide open that it seemed like a gaping maw ready to swallow Wen He alive.

"Gao Ming was demoted to commoner!"

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"

Though the one questioning was Li Shimin, the scene strangely reminded Wen He of Cao Cao.

"What did he do?"

Li Shimin urgently demanded an answer.

Just as he said before, Wen He's arrival would help him avoid all future mistakes.

This event had not yet occurred, so he still had a chance.

"Treason."

The two words Wen He uttered stabbed Li Shimin's heart like a needle.

He collapsed weakly to the ground, as if all his air had been let out.

"Treason? Could it be because I didn’t appoint him crown prince?"

"You did. He was crown prince for sixteen years."

"Then why?"

Li Shimin could not comprehend why the rightful heir would rebel. Was he so impatient?

The thought ignited a flame of anger in his heart. If Li Chengqian were here, he would surely teach his wayward son what it means to be a sovereign father!

"Well, it’s not entirely his fault."

If Li Chengqian’s tragedy was solely his own doing, it would be unjust.

At least Li Shimin bore half the responsibility.

"Are you blaming me?" Li Shimin asked indignantly.

"At least half. You appointed Li Chengqian as crown prince, but favored Li Tai lavishly, constantly bestowing titles and rewards, granting him military command and real power, building his prestige. This made the brothers stand opposed. Meanwhile, Li Chengqian was constantly monitored and impeached by court officials, likened to Qin Er Shi by Yu Zhi Ning simply for building a side chamber. As crown prince, when he entertained guests, Kong Yingda openly scolded him, and he had to endure it with respect."

"Anyone would go mad under such pressure and do foolish things, like disguising as a Turk or keeping male favorites. But that’s recorded in unofficial histories and might not be true."

Wen He didn’t want to overwhelm Li Shimin, so he fabricated a small lie.

Disguising as a Turk was indeed mentioned in unofficial records, but keeping a male favorite named "Chengxin" was documented in the Old Book of Tang and the Zizhi Tongjian, the former being official history.

Whether true or not, it had etched his name into history.

Li Shimin fell silent.

These events lay in the future; he did not know what his future self was thinking.

Could it be that, like his father, he feared the crown prince’s power and supported Qingque to maintain balance?

"No, no!" Veins bulged on Li Shimin’s forehead.

He stared intently at Wen He. "Whether Gao Ming or Qingque, all power came from me. How could I be so apprehensive as to pit brothers against each other?"

His father feared him because he held military power and great prestige in the army.

That’s why the emperor used the crown prince and the Prince of Qi to counterbalance him.

But Gao Ming and Qingque had nothing. Why would he fear them?

Li Shimin did not believe it, but he knew Wen He would never deceive him.

Then what was the real reason?

"Simply put, it’s about father-son feelings. You give the empire to the eldest, so you naturally feel you owe the second son something and try to compensate in other ways. But in the eldest’s eyes, your so-called fairness becomes favoritism."

Of course, this was Wen He’s own interpretation.

Yet to Li Shimin at this moment, it seemed to be the answer.

"Yes, it must be so."

How could I be like my father?

Seemingly fair but actually biased, promising me the crown prince title several times but breaking every promise.

And each time testing me, suspecting me of rebellion.

So in the future, I would certainly want to give my children fairness.

Yet this fairness became favoritism in Gao Ming’s eyes.

"Sigh."

Li Shimin sighed with melancholy.

An emperor is always lonely; he had understood this truth long ago.

"Your Highness, you won’t lose faith, will you?" Wen He asked with concern.

He didn’t want to be the cause of Li Shimin’s ambitions faltering, lest he become a historical villain.

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin looked up at him and pondered for a moment, then suddenly laughed bitterly.

"These are things yet to happen. Moreover, now that I know, I will surely avoid them. How could I lose faith?"

"That’s good, that’s good," Wen He said, patting his chest and exhaling in relief.

"However, there is one thing I suddenly want to ask you."

"Ah, um, you mean who becomes emperor in the future? That person..." Wen He was about to say "Li Zhi" when Li Shimin interrupted.

"It’s not him. If I’m not mistaken, he has not been born yet, right?"

Wen He remained silent, nodding.

Indeed, Li Zhi was born only in the second year of the Zhenguan era.

But how did he guess?

Seeing Wen He’s confusion, Li Shimin said dismissively, "It’s not hard to guess. If he had been born, you wouldn’t have mentioned the third son just now. Enough, let’s not discuss this for now."

Thinking of future events gave him a headache.

Yet there was still one matter he was eager to confirm.