“Good!” After a moment of silence, Li Yuan said: “From now on, increase the guards and strictly watch all the palace gates. Once the Crown Prince and others commit treason, immediately arrest them and bring them before me. I want to personally interrogate them!”

“This subject obeys the decree!” After Chang He withdrew, Li Yuan let out a long sigh and said to Gao Yang, who was still kneeling on the ground: “Alright, you may rise.”

“Thank Your Majesty.” After rising, Gao Yang looked at Li Yuan, who seemed to have aged more than ten years in just a moment, and said carefully: “Your Majesty has been speaking for so long, you must be tired. Perhaps this servant should attend to you while you rest for a while?”

Li Yuan shook his head: “I am tired, but whenever I think of the Crown Prince’s behavior, I cannot sleep at all.”

Gao Yang tried to console him: “Perhaps… all this is just Prince Qi acting alone, with no connection to the Crown Prince.”

“Acting alone?” Li Yuan sneered: “Does Yuanji alone have such great audacity, such great capability?”

Gao Yang was struck speechless by his question. After a long while, he finally said: “Perhaps Your Majesty could have a good talk with the Crown Prince, maybe…”

“No need.” Li Yuan waved his hand dismissively: “I understand his thoughts very clearly. He fears that after I investigate his affair with Noble Consort De, he will lose his position as Crown Prince, so he wants to strike first. Using the name of clearing treacherous ministers from the court, he plans to attack Taiji Palace and force me to abdicate!” At this point, he laughed coldly: “I have carefully taught him for many years, yet I’ve raised an ungrateful wolf. How ridiculous! How ridiculous!”

Seeing him becoming more agitated, Gao Yang hurriedly advised: “Your Majesty, please take care of your dragon body!”

Li Yuan took a deep breath and said coldly: “Don’t worry, before eliminating those three rebellious sons, I won’t die yet!” After pausing for a moment, he looked at the dark sky outside the window and remained silent.

Gao Yang hesitated for a moment, then said quietly: “Your Majesty, this old servant has something to say, but I don’t know if it’s appropriate to speak.”

Li Yuan glanced at him and said coldly: “When did you also learn to play coy before me?”

“This old servant dares not.” Saying this, Gao Yang said in a low voice: “Since the Crown Prince and Prince Qi have ill intentions, could it be that their previous words targeting the Prince of Qin were all false, and the Prince of Qin has no treasonous heart?”

Li Yuan stared at him: “How much did you receive from the Prince of Qin to speak for him like this?”

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang waved his hands repeatedly: “No, this servant never received a single coin from the Prince of Qin. This old servant… just thought that the Crown Prince and their previous words seemed suspicious, so I said this. I’m wronged, this old servant is wronged!”

Li Yuan didn’t pursue it further, saying mildly: “Whether wronged or not, it no longer matters.” Regardless of whether Li Shimin intended to rebel, with his accumulated military achievements, he was an unstable factor and should not continue to remain in the court.

Gao Yang detected a trace of coldness and cruelty in his words, lowered his head, and dared not speak further.

On the twenty-seventh day of the seventh month, at the last hour, Li Jiancheng stood upright in Changchun Pavilion while Jirong was helping him put on his armor. After he was fully equipped, Jirong took the sword handed over by a servant and presented it to Li Jiancheng with both hands, saying softly: “Li Shimin is no ordinary person. Although you have Commander Chang’s assistance, Your Highness must not be careless!”

“Rest assured, I have made complete preparations. This battle will surely be won!” As he took the sword, Li Yuanji, also dressed in armor, walked in: “Elder Brother, are you ready?”

“Wait here for my return.” After instructing Jirong, Li Jiancheng tightened his grip on the sword and said to Li Yuanji, who was waiting beside him: “Let’s go!”

Watching Li Jiancheng’s figure stride away, Jirong nervously clenched her hands. If this battle was won, she would become the empress who rules the realm, receiving homage from thousands. But if they lost…

As soon as this thought appeared, she drove it from her mind. As Li Jiancheng had said, he had made complete preparations. This battle would surely be won without doubt—there was no possibility of losing!

When Li Jiancheng was heading to Taiji Palace, Li Shimin, also dressed in armor, was standing by the window with his hands behind his back. Everything was ready, waiting only for that moment to arrive.

“What is Your Highness thinking about?” This gentle voice startled Li Shimin. Turning around, he saw Zhangsun Shi standing behind him, her expression as calm and peaceful as always, showing no panic about the world-shaking battle to come.

Li Shimin quietly looked at her for a moment, then suddenly smiled: “You seem not worried at all.”

Zhangsun Shi smiled slightly and adjusted his armor: “Your Highness will surely win this battle. Since it’s a certain victory, why should this concubine worry?”

“Certain victory…” Li Shimin softly repeated these two words and smiled bitterly: “But I don’t have your confidence. Once defeated, the Prince of Qin’s mansion will cease to exist, and you will also be implicated. This is what I worry about most.”

Zhangsun Shi grasped his hands hanging at his sides: “Regardless of victory or defeat, this concubine will be with Your Highness. I believe Yunyi shares the same thoughts!”

Li Shimin silently nodded and said gravely: “For you all, I must win!”

At this moment, Duan Zhihong entered and said solemnly: “Your Highness, it’s already past the first quarter of the last hour. Master Zhangsun and General Du have assembled their troops and can depart at any time!”

“Good!” With this word, Li Shimin’s aura changed, becoming resolute and calm, just like every time he led troops into battle.

“Wait for my return.” This was the last sentence Li Shimin said before leaving. Zhangsun Shi smiled as she watched him go, and even though tears had welled up in her eyes, she kept holding them back, refusing to let them fall.

This battle must be won—victory or death!

Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji led several hundred men to forcibly break into Xuanwu Gate, but to their surprise, there was no trace of Li Shimin and his men. Apart from the commotion caused by their forced entry, everything was as peaceful as usual.

Li Yuanji looked around and frowned: “Elder Brother, something’s not right.”

Li Jiancheng said coldly: “Bring the guard responsible for gate duty.”

Soon, a panicked guard was brought before Li Jiancheng, who stared at him: “Where is the Prince of Qin? Where is he?”

“The Prince of Qin did not enter the palace today.” As soon as the guard finished speaking, Li Yuanji grabbed his collar and said menacingly: “Impossible! The Prince of Qin was clearly supposed to arrive before us. Tell me, has he already gone to Taiji Hall?”

The guard said urgently: “No, the Prince of Qin truly hasn’t come. This humble one is not lying to Your Highness!”

Li Yuanji stared at him carefully—he indeed didn’t seem to be lying. But Elder Brother had clearly had Jin Xiang deliver the message, deceiving them by saying they would act at the first quarter of the last hour. It was now well past the second quarter of the last hour, so there was no reason not to see even a shadow of them. Could it be that when the moment came, Li Shimin lacked the courage and was cowering in the Prince of Qin’s mansion?

“Not good, we’ve been tricked!” Li Jiancheng’s exclamation interrupted Li Yuanji’s thoughts. Turning to look at Li Jiancheng’s extremely ugly expression, he asked puzzledly: “Elder Brother, what are you saying?”

Li Jiancheng gritted his teeth: “That bitch Zheng Shi, using the excuse of ‘using strategy against strategy,’ was actually just trying to get the timing of our attack on Xuanwu Gate. She dared to betray me. When I return, I will surely cut this bitch into a thousand pieces!”