On the seventh day of the first month, Wang Wei and Gao Jiunya, who had stayed in Honghua Commandery for nearly ten days, finally prepared to return to the capital to report back. When they came with Imperial Physician Zhu, they traveled light, but when they left, their belongings had increased by several cartloads—one could easily imagine where these came from. Even so, Wang Wei still felt dissatisfied, because there was one thing that Li Shimin had never offered with both hands.
Since Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng had difficulty moving about, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba saw them off. As they stepped out of the Governor’s mansion, Li Shimin said earnestly, “Are you two gentlemen truly not staying a few more days?”
Wang Wei chuckled and said, “We thank the Second Young Master for your generous hospitality, but His Majesty is waiting for us to report back, so it would be inappropriate to stay longer.”
“Since that’s the case, Shimin won’t insist.” Li Shimin cupped his hands and said, “Please put in good words for my father before His Majesty.”
“Certainly, certainly.” Wang Wei agreed repeatedly, then said with a half-smile, “By the way, Second Young Master, has that dancer still not returned?”
Li Shimin smiled and said, “That’s right. I asked Second Madam yesterday, and she said those dancers won’t return until after the fifteenth day of the first month. It’s also my fault for being thoughtless—I let them go home early for the New Year, preventing you two gentlemen from enjoying yourselves fully. I truly deserve punishment!”
Gao Jiunya rolled his triangular eyes and said sarcastically, “Whether it was thoughtlessness or intentional, the Second Young Master knows clearly in his heart.”
“Ah!” Wang Wei glanced at him and said, “Where are Brother Gao’s thoughts going? How could the Second Young Master act intentionally? If we’re to blame anyone, it’s our poor timing—we happened to arrive during the New Year.” He then said to Li Shimin, “Brother Gao is just straightforward and says whatever he thinks, but he means no harm. Second Young Master, please don’t take it to heart.”
“This matter is ultimately an error caused by Shimin’s carelessness—how could I blame Lord Gao?” Li Shimin replied respectfully, then continued, “Father heard that His Majesty enjoys hunting falcons, so he specially sought out a pair of hunting falcons and hopes to trouble you two gentlemen to present them to His Majesty on my father’s behalf.” With that, he had someone bring out the pair of hunting falcons along with the falcon-training maidens. Li Yuan’s prediction was correct—upon seeing the hunting falcons, Wang Wei and his companion’s eyes immediately lit up, their gazes constantly shifting between the falcons and the two falcon-training maidens.
“Would you two gentlemen be willing to help with this favor?” Li Shimin’s words brought Wang Wei back to his senses, and he quickly said, “Second Young Master, rest assured. We will certainly present them to His Majesty on your behalf. I believe His Majesty will be pleased with the Governor’s gift.” After Li Shimin thanked them repeatedly, he added, “Well then, it’s getting late. We should depart. You two young masters needn’t escort us further.”
The Li Shimin brothers cupped their hands together and said, “We wish you two gentlemen a smooth journey and swift arrival in the capital.”
Wang Wei nodded with a smile. After they boarded their carriage, the driver urged the horses toward the city outskirts. Watching the gradually departing carriage, Li Xuanba patted his sleeves and said with relief, “Finally, they’re gone.”
Li Shimin said with amusement, “What, you really didn’t want to see them?”
Li Xuanba said irritably, “Does Second Brother want to continue facing them? When Second Brother was asking them to stay just now, I was really afraid they would agree. These past days, having to accompany them every few days in cockfighting, dog racing, drinking, and merrymaking, while not being able to speak truthfully—it nearly killed me.”
“It’s not that exaggerated.” Faced with Li Shimin’s words, Li Xuanba said seriously, “I’m telling the truth. If I could choose, I’d rather practice boxing for an entire day than face them. Second Brother, I really don’t understand—we clearly don’t like those activities, so why must we pretend to be enthusiastic about them? Also, why are there several women living in the west wing? When I asked the servants, they said they were Father’s concubines, but I’ve never seen these people before, nor have I heard Father mention them. What’s this all about?”
“You’ll understand naturally in the future.” Before Li Xuanba could ask more, Li Shimin was already patting his shoulder and saying, “Alright, now that they’re gone, you don’t need to pretend anymore. Just go practice your boxing.”
Li Xuanba chuckled, “I was waiting for those words.”
After Li Xuanba turned and went inside, Li Shimin called over Steward Lin and said, “Send people to notify those dancers to return to the mansion tomorrow.”
As Steward Lin respectfully agreed, in the carriage, Gao Jiunya was complaining to Wang Wei, “This Li Shimin appears respectful to us on the surface, but actually he’s being duplicitous. Despite Brother Wang’s repeated hints, he still refused to hand over that dancer!”
Wang Wei flicked his fingernails and said coolly, “It doesn’t matter. She’s just a dancer—if he won’t give her up, so be it.”
Gao Jiunya said in surprise, “Brother Wang can truly swallow this insult?” He had known Wang Wei for many years and understood his temperament well. Despite his smiling face toward everyone, he was actually even more vengeful than himself.
Wang Wei shifted his plump white body and said with a half-smile, “Why couldn’t I swallow it? In any case, before long, the Li family will cease to exist.”
Gao Jiunya was startled and stared at Wang Wei, “Brother Wang, what do you mean by that?”
“Li Yuan defied the imperial edict, pretended to be ill, and refused to come to court—he harbors rebellious intentions. Tell me, if His Majesty hears about this, would he still allow the Li family to live in this world?”
Gao Jiunya frowned, “But Imperial Physician Zhu examined Li Yuan and confirmed he truly has injuries. Moreover, from what we’ve seen and heard these days, Li Yuan has been quite respectful toward His Majesty and shows no sign of rebellious intent.”
“It’s true that he has injuries, but who knows whether they were inflicted by assassins or whether he injured himself deliberately to avoid coming to the capital? The key to this matter isn’t whether Li Yuan has injuries, but rather how we report it.” Although their official ranks weren’t high, they both enjoyed Yang Guang’s trust deeply. As long as they said something was black, it would definitely be black.
Hearing this, Gao Jiunya understood his meaning, and a trace of worry appeared on his long face. “Wouldn’t this be… going too far? Apart from that dancer, the Li family has treated us quite courteously.”
Wang Wei said coldly, “I already gave Li Shimin a chance just now, but unfortunately he refused the toast and insisted on drinking the penalty wine—so he can’t blame us. As for courtesy… they wouldn’t even give us a single dancer. Do you think the Li family’s courtesy toward us is genuine? It’s just going through the motions. In reality, they couldn’t wait for us to leave quickly.”
“That’s also true.” Gao Jiunya hesitated, then said, “What about those hunting falcons and those two women…”
Wang Wei narrowed his eyes and said, “Naturally, we’ll keep them for ourselves. Li Yuan does have some discernment—both the hunting falcons and the falcon-training maidens are top-quality goods. They should help relieve our loneliness on this journey.”
Gao Jiunya nodded in deep agreement. Neither he nor Wang Wei knew that they were gradually walking into the trap that Li Yuan had carefully laid for them.