Chapter 53: The Mad Zhangsun Anye!

My fate is determined by myself, not by the heavens!

Why did Zhangsun Anye regard this sentence as his absolute creed?

The root cause was simply that Zhangsun Anye felt himself to be profoundly aggrieved!

Clearly, he was the legitimate eldest son of the Zhangsun family, yet he had somehow been relegated to a mere collateral and concubine-born branch.

In the traditional feudal concept where strict distinctions were drawn between the primary wife and secondary consorts, this was tantamount to being expunged from the ancestral lineage altogether.

One must know that Zhangsun Anye’s mother was the original, wedded wife of his father, Zhangsun Sheng.

What was a wedded wife? At the wedding ceremony, the groom would cut a lock of his own hair and bind it together with a lock of the bride's hair.

This constituted the true principal wife.

Any woman married after the death of the primary wife could only be called a continuation wife, never a wedded wife.

Although a continuation wife was also considered a principal wife, her status could certainly never compare to that of the original wedded wife.

Therefore, Zhangsun Anye’s status as the legitimate eldest son remained unshakable.

Meanwhile, Empress Zhangsun and Zhangsun Wuji were born to Lady Gao, the continuation wife of Zhangsun Sheng.

Perhaps due to losing his mother at a young age and experiencing his father’s open partiality, Zhangsun Anye harbored immense hostility toward Lady Gao and her two children.

In fact, the very moment he inherited the family estate after Zhangsun Sheng’s death, he drove Lady Gao and her children out of the Zhangsun household.

However, Zhangsun Anye never dreamed in his wildest nightmares that the younger brother and sister he had cast out would attach themselves to the illustrious Li family, leaping over the dragon gate to become figures he could only look up to.

This massive disparity in status inevitably bred a deep sense of jealousy within him.

Yet, that was not even the worst of it.

What truly pushed him onto the path of rebellion was the bestowal of titles by Li Shimin.

Originally, given Zhangsun Wuji’s immense contributions, conferring upon him the title of Duke of Qi was more than sufficient.

However, Li Shimin instead bestowed the title of Duke of Qi upon the deceased Zhangsun Sheng, allowing Zhangsun Wuji to inherit their father’s peerage.

What did this signify?

It solidified Zhangsun Wuji’s status as the head of the primary lineage!

For only the legitimate eldest son was qualified to inherit the peerage.

Then, what did that make the original legitimate eldest son, Zhangsun Anye?

Thus, his resentment toward Empress Zhangsun and Zhangsun Wuji, and even toward Li Shimin, was profound beyond measure.

At this very moment, by synthesizing the lessons of Li Shimin’s Xuanwu Gate Incident and utilizing the terrifying deterrent power of fire-thunder explosives to control the entire imperial court, he was executing the exact same strategy Li Shimin had employed when using the severed heads of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji to control Li Yuan and seize the political situation.

He had effectively mastered the core mechanism of the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

However, seeing that Li Shimin and his ministers remained silent, Zhangsun Anye knew that the longer the delay, the more disadvantageous it would be for them. Therefore, he decisively dealt Li Shimin and the ministers a harsh blow.

Without a sound, he exchanged a glance with Li Xiaochang.

Li Xiaochang was momentarily stunned, but instantly grasped the meaning and nodded secretly.

Earlier, upon seeing the heads of Yuan Hongshan and Liu Deyu, he had thought his end was imminent, never expecting Zhangsun Anye to single-handedly turn the tides of heaven and earth.

Now, completely brainwashed by Zhangsun Anye’s rhetoric and rid of his previous panic, he immediately understood the signal in Zhangsun Anye’s eyes and walked straight toward the black wooden chest.

Then, he drew out a jar of fire-thunder explosive, and without a second word, ignited the fuse and rolled it casually toward the cluster of Li Shimin’s ministers surrounding Fang Xuanling.

"Danger!"

"Run!"

Upon seeing this, Qin Qiong let out a roar.

Fang Xuanling and the others had long been on guard, and the moment the explosive was hurled, they scrambled in a panic and scattered in all directions.

"Boom!"

A heaven-shaking explosion swept through the entire grand hall.

The deafening roar struck the ministers as if they had been hit by lightning.

The billowing black smoke caused the officials to cough violently.

Flying ceramic shards left a trail of death and injury among the ministers who had failed to escape in time.

Shock!

Terror!

Apprehension!

Countless complex emotions saturated the entire hall!

Even Li Shimin could not help but twitch violently at the corners of his eyes.

Although the preceding sequence of events had been extremely brief, the terrifying scenario he had feared had finally come to pass, exactly as anticipated.

He understood!

He finally understood!

Why Liu Deyu and Yuan Hongshan had been able to defeat Qin Qiong and Chang He so swiftly!

It was because they, too, had employed these fire-thunder explosives!

"Now, those who have not yet chosen to submit are given one final chance. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!"

Facing the horrified and fearful gazes of everyone in the hall, alongside a scattering of angry curses and miserable shrieks, Zhangsun Anye brandished another fire-thunder explosive, swept his gaze across the assembly once more, and spoke in a chilling tone: "Those who submit shall prosper, those who resist shall perish!"

"This..."

The ministers stood stupefied, involuntarily turning their gazes toward Li Shimin.

Those imperial princes and veteran officials of the Wude era who had just chosen to submit rose from their seats in surging excitement.

Exhilarating!

This was simply too exhilarating!

Hahaha!

Li Shimin!

Who would have thought you would meet your match today!

Just as the imperial princes and Wude veterans were trembling with uncontrollable elation, Li Shimin forcefully suppressed the shock in his heart, turned his head toward Fang Xuanling and the others, and asked with deep concern, "Are you all unharmed?"

"Your... Your Majesty, rest assured, we are unhurt..."

At that moment, Fang Xuanling’s legs were trembling uncontrollably, and his voice shook as he replied to Li Shimin, for he had caught sight of the horrific states of those lying on the ground—truly too gruesome to behold.

They had been blown to pieces, utterly devoid of human form.

Even the sturdy bluestone floor slabs had been blasted into a deep crater.

If that entire black chest were filled with fire-thunder explosives, he dared not imagine what manner of scene would unfold upon detonation.

"Hah..."

Seemingly perceiving Fang Xuanling’s apprehension, Li Shimin drew a deep breath.

An unprecedented sense of crisis spread through the depths of his heart.

He had never experienced a crisis quite like this, not even during his bitter struggles for power against Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.

This alone demonstrated just how chaotic his inner state truly was.

Yet, no matter how turbulent his mind, he refused to display even a shred of cowardice.

In his view, even though Zhangsun Anye had seized control of the Taiji Hall through the power of fire-thunder explosives, as long as he, Li Shimin, resolved to escape the hall, no one could bar his way.

However, could he afford to flee?

He was now the Emperor of the Great Tang!

He was no longer the Prince of Qin of days past!

If he were to run away, even if he ultimately suppressed the rebellion led by Zhangsun Anye and his faction, the hearts of his entire civil and military administration would inevitably turn against him.

By then, his imperial prestige would suffer a devastating blow.

Therefore, come what may, barring an absolute extremity, he would never choose to flee.

Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly taut and suffocating, a resolute and ringing female voice suddenly echoed from outside the hall: "Anye! Do you truly intend to push our Zhangsun family into an abyss of eternal damnation?!"

Clatter!

An uproar swept through the entire assembly!

Including Li Shimin, every single person directed their gaze toward the entrance.

"The Empress!"

"It is Empress Zhangsun!"

"She—how did she come here?!"

While the crowd stared in utter astonishment, Qin Qiong, stationed outside the hall, stepped forward hastily to block her path: "Your Majesty, you must not! It is too dangerous!"

"General Qin, halt!"

Empress Zhangsun swept a disdainful glance toward Qin Qiong, her imperial majesty fully revealed: "This is a domestic affair of the Zhangsun family, and it ought to be resolved by the members of the Zhangsun family ourselves!"

With that, she strode with regal dignity straight into the Taiji Hall.

Meanwhile, Li Chenggan, following close behind her, took advantage of the distracted crowd to slip quietly over to Wusha's side.

"Eunuchs, are they born with a special seed of greatness?"

"Huh?"