“Impossible!” Wang Yuanzhi said with absolute certainty. “If it were only some minor changes, this humble priest wouldn’t dare make such a guarantee. But the Prince of Qin’s murderous karma is too heavy, his blood aura too dense – he would need to kill at least several thousand people to manifest such intensity. To resolve the karmic debt of thousands of deaths would require decades of spiritual cultivation and accumulating virtue, and he must maintain a strictly vegetarian diet, not touching even a drop of meat or fish. The Prince of Qin comes from a military background – he would likely find this impossible to achieve. Moreover, the Great Tang still faces the Turkic threat, and the Prince of Qin must lead troops into battle at any moment.”
Li Yuan nodded slowly. “According to your words, Shimin will absolutely never become emperor?”
“Yes.” Upon hearing this single word, Li Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Unless absolutely necessary, he too had no desire to move against his own biological son.
By the time Li Shimin returned, they had already concluded their conversation and refocused their attention on the chess board. This final game ended with Li Yuan winning by two stones.
When they left the Xuanjing Observatory, it was already approaching dusk. Li Shimin supported Li Yuan as they slowly walked down the mountain path. During this journey, he would occasionally steal glances at Li Yuan. Li Yuan noticed this behavior and asked, “What is it? Do you have something to ask me?”
Li Shimin smiled and said, “Not really. Your son just feels that after playing chess with Master Wang, Your Majesty’s mood seems much improved.”
Li Yuan would never tell him the true reason, so he casually replied, “I’ve gotten my revenge, so naturally I should be in good spirits, shouldn’t I?”
Li Shimin laughed. “That’s right! Your son nearly forgot about that. I saw Your Majesty’s final moves were truly divine – Master Wang’s defeat wasn’t unjust at all.”
These words greatly pleased Li Yuan, who stepped firmly on the hard stone path. “Don’t be fooled by Wang Yuanzhi’s smiling face when he saw us off – he’s probably blowing his beard and glaring in anger right now. He’s always been proud of his chess skills, even believing them to be unrivaled under heaven, yet now he’s lost to me.”
Li Shimin said with a smile, “It seems Master Wang will be unhappy quite often in the future, because Your Majesty’s chess skills are now steadily superior to his.”
Li Yuan looked him over with an expression that was half-smile, half-not. “When did you learn to flatter like this?”
“Your son speaks only the truth, without any intention of flattery.” Descending the mountain was much easier than climbing it, and by the time they finished speaking, they had reached the foot of the mountain. After helping Li Yuan into the carriage, Li Shimin took the reins from an attendant, mounted his horse, and escorted the carriage all the way toward Chang’an.
Li Yuan had no idea that Wang Yuanzhi was not displeased by his chess defeat as he had imagined, because… he simply had no time for such concerns.
After seeing Li Yuan’s party down the mountain, Wang Yuanzhi immediately returned to his room, where someone Li Yuan could never have imagined was waiting for him.
Seeing Wang Yuanzhi enter, Xia Houduan hurriedly stepped forward, nervously asking, “How did it go? Did His Majesty believe it?”
“From His Majesty’s expression, he should have believed it.” In the eyes of the world, this most famous Taoist priest was always unhurried and unperturbed, never startled or panicked. But at this moment, his fingers were trembling, and half the tea he poured spilled onto the table. Only after drinking two consecutive cups of tea did he seem to improve somewhat.
Hearing his answer, Xia Houduan let out a long sigh of relief. “Thank goodness, thank goodness. This time was truly dangerous!”
Wang Yuanzhi said irritably, “You still have the nerve to say that! Making me help you deceive His Majesty together – don’t you know that once His Majesty discovers this, we both face death?”
Xia Houduan nodded. “I know, but as long as we survive this crisis, everything I said before will become reality.”
Wang Yuanzhi glared at him. “Although His Majesty has dismissed his suspicions, he still has never considered passing the throne to the Prince of Qin. Let me speak frankly – for him to become ruler of all under heaven would be extraordinarily difficult.”
“In the past, when the Prince of Qin led ten thousand soldiers to Yanmen Pass, did anyone think he could force back a hundred thousand Turkic troops with just that one battle? Did anyone think the Prince of Qin could pacify Liu Wuzhou with merely thirty thousand soldiers – the same Liu Wuzhou that Prince Qi, Minister Pei, and General Li had all failed to subdue? And there was Mayi, Jiangdu – the Prince of Qin has never disappointed anyone. Trust me, this time will be no exception.”
Wang Yuanzhi stroked his long beard and said helplessly, “I’ve already told His Majesty such an enormous lie. Even if I don’t believe you, I have no choice now. If not for the sake of our fellow discipleship, I would never have agreed to this matter.”
Li Yuan only knew that Xia Houduan was skilled in physiognomy and bone-reading, but was unaware that Xia Houduan had learned from the Zhongnan Mountain school, and that Wang Yuanzhi was also from that lineage, having entered the school after Xia Houduan, thus calling him senior brother.
“I truly had no other choice but to seek your help. Once His Majesty discovers my deception, my head will certainly not remain on my shoulders. It was fortunate that the person His Majesty sought was you – if it had been anyone else, I would have had no solution.”
Wang Yuanzhi asked curiously, “Speaking of which, when did you become so close to the Prince of Qin that you’d risk your life to help him?”
Xia Houduan smiled bitterly. “To be honest, my relationship with the Prince of Qin isn’t particularly close. I’ve even forgotten when I last visited the Prince of Qin’s mansion.”
Wang Yuanzhi said in amazement, “Then why are you working so desperately to help him?”
Xia Houduan interrupted, “Junior brother, do you think the Prince of Qin’s death would be good or bad for the Great Tang?”
“This…” Wang Yuanzhi lowered his head in thought for a moment, then said, “The Prince of Qin’s contributions to the Great Tang are well known to all. At least half of the Great Tang’s territory was won back through the Prince of Qin’s blood and sweat on the battlefield. Although the Great Tang has now pacified various regions and the realm is initially stable, there’s still the Turkic threat. Additionally, the Huihe, Gaochang, Qiuci, and Tuyuhun are all formidable opponents. There will surely be many hard battles to fight in the future. The Prince of Qin is like a sharp sword for our Great Tang – though the sword is currently sheathed, it will inevitably be drawn again. If the Great Tang loses this sword, the future path will be very difficult, perhaps even… losing the hard-won kingdom!”
Xia Houduan said solemnly, “Exactly. That’s precisely why I lied to His Majesty. The Prince of Qin has always been wholeheartedly devoted to the Great Tang, never complaining. He shouldn’t meet such a fate!”
Wang Yuanzhi sighed deeply and waved his hand. “Enough, enough. Things have come to this point – even if we wanted to regret it, it’s too late. I hope the Prince of Qin can fulfill his destiny and become ruler of all under heaven, making our scheming worthwhile.” Then he said, “They should be nearly at the foot of the mountain by now. You should hurry and leave too. If you’re late and the city gates close, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to enter the city. If His Majesty discovers you weren’t in the city all night, he might become suspicious.”
Although the probability of Li Yuan discovering this was small, neither Xia Houduan nor Wang Yuanzhi dared gamble on it. Xia Houduan rushed all the way and finally managed to reach the city gates just before they closed, allowing his anxious heart to settle.
When he returned to his mansion, he was surprised to see Li Shimin there, and said in shock and alarm, “Your Highness, why have you come? If… if someone discovers this, what should we do?”