Zheng Shi said gratefully: “With Your Highness’s words, even if this concubine dies, it would be worth it.” Saying this, she knelt down: “Then this concubine takes her leave.”
After stepping into Yiqiu Palace, the grateful expression on Zheng Shi’s face immediately disappeared without a trace, replaced by endless coldness. She turned to look at Jin Xiang, who was standing behind her: “I don’t need to teach you anymore, do I?”
Jin Xiang smiled: “This servant knows what to do. Your Majesty truly has a good strategy. In such a short time, you managed to coax the Crown Prince into revealing the timing of his uprising.”
Zheng Shi snorted coldly: “His greatest weakness is being too overconfident, always thinking that everything is under his control, especially regarding people weaker than him.”
Her words made Jin Xiang’s smile deepen: “This servant really wants to see the Crown Prince’s expression when he learns the truth. I’m sure it will be very entertaining.”
Zheng Shi glanced at her and said coldly: “Why aren’t you going yet?”
“This servant takes her leave.” Saying these four words, Jin Xiang withdrew from Yiqiu Palace and, following Li Jiancheng’s “instructions,” wrote this matter in a letter and delivered it to the Prince of Qin’s mansion.
The first quarter of the last hour—that is to say, the real time when Li Jiancheng would raise troops to force Taiji Palace should be the second quarter of the last hour, so the Prince of Qin’s mansion’s uprising time should be the third quarter of the last hour.
After learning the timing and arranging everything, Li Shimin rode out of the city. The place he went to was none other than Mingyue Nunnery, where he had wanted to go but couldn’t for these four years.
At this point, regardless of final success or failure, Li Yuan’s orders could no longer restrain him. He wanted to see Yunyi, immediately!
When Yunyi, who had just finished her afternoon prayers, saw Li Shimin, she almost couldn’t believe her eyes. Only when her fingertips touched that warm skin did she confirm that standing before her was truly Li Shimin, not the illusion that had deceived her countless times.
After coming to her senses, Ruyi said joyfully: “Your Highness’s arrival here—does this mean the Princess can return to the mansion?”
“I don’t know either.” Under Ruyi’s puzzled gaze, he grasped Yunyi’s slightly trembling fingertips: “Father Emperor still hasn’t forgiven you, but I… no longer need his forgiveness.”
Yunyi looked at his eyes in surprise, and seeing that trace of determination in his gaze, she seemed to understand something. She pulled Li Shimin into the side room, and after instructing Ruyi to close the door, she said softly: “Has Your Highness made some decision?”
Li Shimin caressed her plain face, untouched by any cosmetics, and said slowly: “Tomorrow, I’m going to do something rather dangerous. If I succeed, I’ll come to take you away immediately, and we’ll never be separated again. If I lose, you and I… I fear we’ll both find it hard to escape death. Do you blame me?”
Although Yunyi had been confined to this small Mingyue Nunnery for these past years, her mind had not grown dim—it remained as clear as crystal. After pondering for a moment, she said: “The matter Your Highness speaks of—is it related to the imperial throne?”
Li Shimin sighed deeply: “I originally didn’t want to walk this path, but today I have no other way left. In Father Emperor’s and the Crown Prince’s eyes, father-son and brotherhood mean nothing at all. Every time I think of it, it chills my heart.”
“Your Highness came to see this concubine—do you still have hesitation in your heart?” Facing Yunyi’s words, Li Shimin shook his head: “Since I’ve decided, I won’t hesitate. I came to see you… because I fear I may never see you again. Yunyi, you’ve been wronged these years. I’m sorry!” When he said those last words, Li Shimin—who had been wounded by enemy swords on the battlefield, whose life hung by a thread yet had never shed a single tear—actually wept.
Yunyi slowly wiped away his fallen tears and smiled: “As long as Your Highness has this concubine in his heart, this concubine doesn’t feel wronged. Rather, if those soldiers who followed you into battle and faced death saw you like this, they would surely laugh at you.”
Li Shimin was made to laugh by her words: “At a time like this, you still have the mood to joke.”
“If I don’t speak, should I wear a sad face instead?” Yunyi said with a laugh, grasping Li Shimin’s broad palm and speaking word by word: “No matter what Your Highness does, this concubine will stand with you. If we’re defeated, we’ll meet again in the underworld—in life and death, never apart!”
Though these words lacked flowery rhetoric, they deeply moved Li Shimin. He tightly grasped her hand in return: “That’s right, in life and death, never apart!”
Before Li Shimin left, Yunyi looked at the kind-faced Guanyin statue enshrined on the Buddhist altar: “This concubine will pray day and night before Guanyin, asking Guanyin Bodhisattva to protect Your Highness and ensure everything goes smoothly!”
Li Shimin nodded and said in a low voice: “I’ve discussed with Master Liu—if we can’t hold Chang’an, we’ll retreat to defend Luoyang. Before leaving, I’ll send someone to fetch you. Pack what you need to bring tonight.”
“This concubine understands.” After seeing Li Shimin off, Yunyi simply packed her things. She didn’t have much to take, only the portraits of Li Kuan that Zhangsun Shi had sent over.
After packing, she lit three sticks of clear incense and knelt before the Buddhist statue, silently praying for Li Shimin.
Though four years had passed, Li Yuan’s surveillance had not been withdrawn. Li Shimin’s front foot had just stepped into Mingyue Nunnery when the news reached Li Yuan’s ears. The latter’s eye corners twitched continuously as he said coldly: “He indeed still yearns for that slut Yang Shi. Good! Really good!”
Zhang Shi rubbed his chest while persuading: “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. It’s just a small matter—don’t let it harm your health.”
Her words drew cold laughter from Li Yuan: “You think this is just a small matter?”
“This concubine thinks that Yang Shi and the Prince of Qin were husband and wife after all. Having been forced to separate these years, they must miss each other terribly. Being able to endure for four years is already quite remarkable. If it were this concubine, not seeing Your Majesty for even a few days would make me so lovesick I couldn’t eat or drink.”
“When did she become Shimin’s wife?” Faced with Li Yuan’s rebuke, Zhang Shi hurriedly said: “This concubine misspoke in the moment. I said the wrong thing. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”
Li Yuan snorted coldly: “Originally, I forbade them from meeting, hoping Shimin could forget this disaster-bringing woman. I never expected… not only has he not forgotten, he’s treating my words as wind past his ears. It seems that in his eyes, he truly has no regard for me as his father emperor.”
“Actually…” Zhang Shi glanced at Li Yuan and hesitated before continuing. Only when Li Yuan urged her did she say: “Until now, many people are still spreading the word that the Great Tang’s territory was conquered by the Prince of Qin, and Your Majesty should pass the throne to the Prince of Qin rather than the Crown Prince.”
Li Yuan’s expression turned sinister: “Since ancient times, it has always been passing to the legitimate heir, not the concubine-born, to the eldest, not the youngest. With the elder brother still alive, where is his place? As for this territory—ridiculous! Can he alone defeat the enemy’s thousands of troops?”
“Your Majesty, these things you’ve said, this concubine naturally understands. But those common people don’t understand—they’ve always followed others’ words. Think about it: if even this concubine, who lives secluded in the palace, has heard this, you can imagine how intensely it’s being spread outside.”