Yin Shishi’s eyes gleamed coldly as he stared at Li Shimin, “Are you referring to Li Zhiyun? Indeed, I did order his execution, but if you want to blame someone, blame your father. He received great favor from His Majesty, yet raised troops in rebellion, committing the capital crime of treason. Li Zhiyun was killed because of him!” As he spoke, he turned his gaze once more to the bewildered Yang You, “Prince Dai, listen to what I say – the city gates absolutely cannot be opened!”

Yang You said pessimistically, “Even if we don’t open them, they can still break in. Chang’an City simply cannot be defended!”

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. As soon as I learned that Li Yuan and his forces were preparing to attack Chang’an, I already sent messages to various places. As long as we hold out for a while, commanders from all regions will send reinforcements. So we have no need for this rebel Li Yuan.”

His words made Yang You’s eyes brighten. If there was truly a chance to hold the city, he was unwilling to hand over Chang’an, the city that Yang Guang had entrusted to him. “General Yin, are your words true?”

Yin Shishi immediately replied, “I am defending Chang’an alongside you – how could I deceive you? They should have received my letters by now, and perhaps they’re already on their way.”

Yang You nodded but still felt uneasy. “What if they don’t come to our rescue? What should we do then?”

Before he finished speaking, Yin Shishi said with absolute certainty, “They will definitely come!” With that, he shouted down to Yunyi and the others standing below the city, “Stop wasting your efforts here. The city gates will absolutely not be opened. If you have the ability, just attack the city.”

Yang You was frightened by these words, his small face turning pale. He quickly grabbed Yin Shishi’s clothes and said, “General Yin, don’t be like this. What if they really get provoked and attack the city right now?”

Yin Shishi smiled eerily, “Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’ve already thought of a good method. Li Yuan absolutely won’t dare attack the city rashly.”

At this moment, Yunyi’s shouting came from outside the city. Yin Shishi said to Guyi beside him, “Immediately escort Prince Dai back to the palace.”

Yang You was unwilling and said, “Seventh Aunt is still down there. I want to speak with her a few more words.”

Yin Shishi shook his head, “Since Princess Jinyang has chosen to help the Li clan, we have nothing more to say to her. Let’s go.” Under his half-pushing, half-persuading, Yang You finally left the city gate.

After watching Yang You descend from the city wall, Yin Shishi returned to the battlements and stared at Yunyi, who had not yet left. “Prince Dai has already gone, and the city gates will not open. You need not waste your schemes here!”

Yunyi felt anger in her heart. Just moments ago, Yang You had clearly listened to her persuasion and was willing to resolve this conflict, but this Yin Shishi had ruined everything. “Yin Shishi, what benefit do you gain from sacrificing the lives of these innocent soldiers?”

Yin Shishi sneered, “That’s what I should be asking the Princess – what benefit do you gain from helping Li Yuan seize Chang’an?” At this point, he suddenly laughed and said, “I remember now. Years ago, when Li Yuan and his sons were imprisoned by His Majesty and were about to lose their heads, His Majesty suddenly changed his mind. Not only did he release them without punishment, he even appointed Li Yuan as Pacification Commissioner of Hedong. I heard that this happened because the Princess interceded for them.” He stroked his nearly meatless chin and continued, “This Li Shimin is indeed quite handsome. No wonder the Princess was smitten and even dared to betray her own ancestors. But I heard that this Li Shimin is already married. Even if the Princess shamelessly follows him, at most she’d be a concubine. A dignified princess of a nation, who could properly be the wife of a prince or duke, yet goes to be someone’s concubine instead. Tsk tsk, tell me, isn’t that laughable?” This last sentence was directed at the city defenders around him, immediately triggering bursts of mocking laughter.

Yunyi’s face turned ashen. This Yin Shishi had not only sabotaged her efforts but was now spouting nonsense here, brazenly mocking her. How detestable!

Just then, a sharp whistling sound reached her ears, followed by Yin Shishi covering his mouth and letting out a muffled cry of pain. Then he spat out a thumb-sized, blood-covered object, along with two teeth. He glared furiously at Li Shimin and said incoherently, “You dare use underhanded tactics?”

Seeing him open his mouth, Chai Shao was first stunned, then burst into hearty laughter. Yin Shishi’s previously intact set of teeth was now missing the two front teeth in the center, not only looking dark and gaping but also causing him to lisp terribly when he spoke.

Seeing Chai Shao laugh so wildly, Yin Shishi became even more enraged. With a darkened face, he roared, “You bunch of rebels, I… I will never let you go!” These words, spoken with extreme anger and resentment, came out through his gap-toothed mouth in an indescribably comical manner. Chai Shao had tried not to further provoke him, but after holding back for a long time, he finally couldn’t contain himself.

Li Shimin bent down and picked up a finger-sized stone from the ground, saying coldly, “If you dare speak nonsense again, you won’t be so lucky next time.”

Yin Shishi’s eyelids twitched violently. He had just been hit in the mouth by a stone thrown by Li Shimin, which had knocked out two teeth, filling his mouth with blood. After staring at Li Shimin for a moment, he suddenly smiled sinisterly, “I didn’t want to kill you, but since you insist on seeking death, you can’t blame me!” With that, he shouted fiercely, “Where are the archers?!”

Following his command, dozens of archers appeared on the city wall, their cold arrows all pointing at Li Shimin and his two companions without exception. Yin Shishi grinned maliciously, “This general wants to see who’s really unlucky.”

Chai Shao cried out in alarm, “This is bad! This old thief wants to kill us. What should we do?!” He complained, “Second Brother, you were too impulsive just now. What do we do now?”

“Second Young Master…” Before Yunyi could speak, Li Shimin had already said, “Don’t worry. There’s nothing to fear.” After saying this, he curled his fingers and placed them under his lips. A clear, loud whistle rang out in the gloomy sky.

Before the whistle had faded, thunderous hoofbeats sounded. Dozens of fine horses burst out from behind the trees, led by Li Shimin’s personal guard Zhao Jin. Upon reaching Li Shimin’s side, several soldiers dismounted and raised the large shields they carried, positioning them in front of Li Shimin and the others. Li Shimin’s survival until now in battlefields filled with smoke and where life was as cheap as grass was not merely due to luck.

Neither Yunyi nor Chai Shao had expected Li Shimin to have kept such a trump card. Yin Shishi was even more surprised, staring at this scene with his gap-toothed mouth agape. His moment of shock also cost him the best opportunity to kill Yunyi and the others!

After coming to his senses, Yin Shishi flew into a rage, “You Li Shimin, truly sinister and cunning! You had us withdraw the army, but you hid a portion behind the trees!” While cursing, he secretly blamed himself for not looking carefully enough to discover the soldiers hidden behind the trees.

Li Shimin smiled falsely, “When dealing with General Yin, if one doesn’t keep an extra eye open, one might not even know how they died. Well then, General Yin, do you still plan to kill us now?” Originally, he had left these dozens of cavalry as a precaution, never expecting they would actually come in handy.