“If you dare to come, I’ll kill you again, so you can’t even become a ghost!” With these emotionless words, Li Jiancheng’s hands applied constant force. Although Xin’an desperately clutched at the white silk, her strength was no match for Li Jiancheng’s. She could only watch helplessly as the silk tightened.

Xin’an struggled at first, but before long, she lay motionless against Li Jiancheng’s body. When he released the white silk, she collapsed limply to the ground.

After confirming that Xin’an had no breath, Li Jiancheng snorted coldly, turned, and walked out. The palace servants waiting outside saw him emerge and quickly bowed respectfully, stealing glances at the interior with their peripheral vision.

“Princess Xin’an has committed suicide. Find a thin coffin to place her in, then carry her outside the palace to be buried.” Granting Xin’an a thin coffin was already the greatest kindness he could show.

After the palace servants agreed, Li Jiancheng strode away. Even as he stepped out of Shuangyue Palace, he never looked back once. After all… Xin’an was nothing more than a despised passerby to him.

The Yang You affair had finally come to an end with Xin’an’s death, but had things really concluded? Perhaps not necessarily…

After leaving Shuangyue Palace, Li Shimin did not leave the palace. Instead, with Li Yuan’s permission, he went to see Yunyi. The moment their eyes met, both felt endless emotions surge in their hearts. They had nearly never seen each other again, but fortunately, the clouds had finally cleared.

Ruyi and the other attendant tactfully withdrew, leaving Yunyi and Li Shimin alone. Neither spoke first, only gazing at each other silently, wordlessly expressing the longing and concern of these past ten days.

After a long while, Li Shimin stepped forward to take Yunyi’s hand, saying deeply: “Thank you!”

Yunyi raised her willow eyebrows slightly, saying with a half-smile: “I went through such great effort to save you, and you only have these three words?”

Li Shimin laughed at her words, tightening his grip on her slender hand, joking: “Then what would you like me to do? Pledge myself to you in marriage?”

Yunyi’s face flushed at his words. She pulled her hand free and said softly: “Not proper.” After a pause, she remembered something and asked: “What happened to Xin’an? Did you find out who was behind it all?”

Li Shimin nodded: “Xin’an has been ordered by Father to commit suicide. As for the mastermind, we found out it was Duan Li.”

“Duan Li?” Yunyi repeated this extremely unfamiliar name with confusion. After learning the whole story, shock filled her eyes. She had always thought Xin’an’s accomplice was Li Jiancheng, never imagining it would be Wang Shichong from distant Luoyang. It was truly inconceivable.

According to this, Li Jiancheng was innocent? But she clearly…

Yunyi suppressed her racing thoughts and said: “Did Xin’an personally admit to this? Is there any possibility… she was lying?”

Li Shimin didn’t understand why she asked this, but still replied: “Xin’an’s testimony matched Duan Li’s actions perfectly, with no discrepancies. She probably wasn’t lying.”

Could it be… that she had guessed wrong, and this matter had nothing to do with Li Jiancheng?

“What are you thinking about?” Li Shimin’s words pulled Yunyi back from her contemplation. She shook her head: “Nothing, I just didn’t expect all this to be Wang Shichong’s conspiracy. This person is so sinister and cunning, and he’s occupying Luoyang City. I fear he’ll become a major threat to the Tang King and should be eliminated.”

Li Shimin nodded: “Father has this intention too, but there are many matters in Chang’an right now, so it’s not the right time yet.”

Yunyi thought this made sense and temporarily set the matter aside, turning to smile: “After I was released from house arrest, I never went to see you. Did you feel like we were each flying our separate ways when disaster struck?”

Li Shimin chuckled and lightly traced her cheek: “You’re deliberately trying to anger me, aren’t you? If I didn’t have even this much trust, what right would I have to marry you!”

These words filled Yunyi’s heart with joy. She leaned quietly against his chest as tender pink peach petals carried a gentle fragrance on the wind, falling on both of them…

Peaceful times were probably just like this.

However, the same time period, seen through another person’s eyes, held no sense of peace but was instead quite vexing.

Li Jiancheng sat silently in his chair, his expression alternating between dark and light. Jirong brought in a bowl of lotus seed soup, saying: “I heard about last night’s events. I imagine you haven’t eaten anything yet. Please have this lotus seed soup first to tide you over. I’ve already had the kitchen prepare a meal, which will be brought shortly.”

Li Jiancheng didn’t even look, saying casually: “Just set it down. I have no appetite right now.”

Jirong set it down as instructed while probing: “You seem to be in poor spirits. Is it because Luoyang hasn’t withdrawn their troops yet?”

“Duan Da has already left. They returned empty-handed this time, so I believe they won’t attack Chang’an again for a long time.”

Jirong said with confusion: “If that’s the case, what is troubling you?”

Li Jiancheng rubbed his forehead and sighed deeply. After a moment of silence, he said slowly: “You know about His Majesty’s case. The person who truly killed His Majesty… was Xin’an!”

“Princess Xin’an?” Jirong said in surprise: “It really was her?”

Li Jiancheng looked at her with some surprise: “From your tone, it sounds like you had already guessed?”

“I wouldn’t say that exactly, it’s just… when I was still in Taiyuan, I had some contact with the Second Young Master, and he didn’t seem like the type to be obsessed with beauty and lust. So I always had doubts about that incident.” She then showed some confusion: “But I can’t understand Princess Xin’an’s motive for doing this. She and His Majesty were uncle and niece after all, so why would she…”

“I told her to do it.” These sudden words made Jirong’s mouth fall open slightly as she stared at Li Jiancheng in shock. If those words hadn’t been so clear, she would have thought she was hallucinating.

Jirong took a deep breath, letting her stunned mind start working again, and said hoarsely: “That means the person who truly killed His Majesty was Princess Xin’an and… you? This… why?”

Since he had already revealed the most important matter, Li Jiancheng had nothing left to hide. He recounted the events of the past two months in detail, including how Xin’an had drugged him and their subsequent relations.

Jirong said angrily: “That Xin’an, for all that she was a princess, to be so despicable and shameless – she deserved to die!”

Li Jiancheng said with disgust: “Don’t mention that woman again.” After a pause, he said coldly: “Most hateful of all is Princess Jinyang, who ruined my plans at the last moment. If I hadn’t thought of a way to pin everything on Duan Li and Wang Shichong, whether I could still be standing here would be questionable. Every time I see her, nothing good happens – it was true in Honghua Commandery, and it’s true in Chang’an as well.”

Jirong consoled him: “What’s done is done. Getting angry won’t help now. Fortunately, Father-in-law believed your words and had no suspicions. As for the Second Young Master… we’ll look for another opportunity later.”