“So they were twins, no wonder they looked so alike.” Li Shimin sighed and said: “Who would have thought there could be such a coincidence under heaven – you went to Honghua Prefecture to assassinate my father, but unexpectedly encountered your long-lost sister and even learned of your own origins.”

Yunyi’s expression darkened as she said: “If I hadn’t gone to Honghua Prefecture back then, Meixue and Father wouldn’t have died. I harmed them.”

Li Shimin comforted her: “Fate has its own mysterious ways. Perhaps this was their destiny. If anyone is truly to blame, it should be Yang Guang.”

Mentioning Yang Guang, Yunyi’s eyes revealed deep hatred as she said coldly: “He acted against righteousness and committed countless evils. Having such an end is truly heavenly retribution, not worthy of the slightest sympathy. It’s only pitiful for the common people who died from his forced labor!”

“Everything has already passed. From now on, you have no connection with him.” Saying this, Li Shimin glanced at the gradually darkening sky: “It’s getting late, let’s go back.”

As the two of them walked toward the military camp, a figure was galloping on horseback, barely managing to enter the city before Longchong Gate closed. After entering the city, he didn’t dismount but instead spurred his horse urgently, riding all the way to the imperial city.

Having just experienced the incident with Li Shimin, the imperial city’s security was much stricter than usual. Seeing a horse of unknown origin galloping toward them, the guards quickly drew their swords and shouted: “Stop! Who are you?!”

“Whoa!” At a distance of several zhang, the man reined in his horse, dismounted and said: “I have urgent business to see General Yuwen!”

The guard looked him over and said: “Who are you, and what business do you have with General Yuwen?”

The man hesitated, then said: “Tell the general that I am someone from Li’s command, with extremely urgent business. Please, he must see me.”

His words caused the several guards’ hearts to jump violently. Someone from Li’s command – that would mean Li Shimin, wouldn’t it? The latter had left the city last night, so why was he returning? Could it be that he felt unsatisfied and changed his mind, wanting to attack Jiangdu? If that were true, the trouble would be enormous.

Thinking of this, the guards dared not delay and said: “What matter is so urgent?”

“This matter I can only tell General Yuwen alone. Please relay the message.” Seeing him say this, the guards exchanged glances, and one of them said: “If that’s the case, wait here. We’ll go report to the general immediately.”

Saying this, that guard sheathed his sword and hurried into the palace. By coincidence, Yuwen Zhiji was currently discussing matters with Yuwen Huaji, specifically about Pei Qiantong colluding with Cui Guangde, Chen Botu and others in an attempted rebellion. Although both Pei Qiantong and Cui Guangde were dead, their remaining followers were still at large. If they didn’t eliminate these people completely, they would find it difficult to sleep peacefully.

Halfway through their discussion, a palace attendant entered and said quietly: “Report to the Chancellor and General, there is a palace gate guard outside requesting an audience, saying he has urgent business to see the general!”

“Palace gate guard?” Yuwen Zhiji frowned slightly, unable to think what matter would bring him here, but having experienced Li Shimin’s incident, he dared not be negligent and immediately said: “Send him in.”

Shortly after the palace attendant left, the guard entered the hall, bowed to both men, and said: “General, a soldier has come from outside, claiming to be from Li’s command, saying he has extremely urgent business. When this subordinate asked what matter it was, he said he would only speak after meeting the general face to face.”

Yuwen Huaji, sitting in the place of honor, said nervously: “Second brother, could it be that Li Shimin has returned?”

Yuwen Zhiji pondered for a moment: “It shouldn’t be. Big brother, don’t worry. Let me go out and see.”

Yuwen Huaji nodded repeatedly: “Good, hurry and go.”

After leaving Chengxiang Hall, Yuwen Zhiji said: “Bring that person to the South Study to see me.”

“Yes.” The guard moved quickly. Shortly after Yuwen Zhiji entered the study, he brought the man in. The latter cupped his hands: “Greetings, Lord Yuwen.”

Yuwen Zhiji examined the armor he wore and said coldly: “What did Li Shimin send you to do? This general has satisfied all his demands.”

The man smiled slightly: “The general has misunderstood. This subordinate’s coming here was not at Li Shimin’s command. On the contrary, it’s to expose Li Shimin’s trick.”

“What trick?” Under Yuwen Zhiji’s puzzled gaze, he said: “Does my lord truly believe that Li Shimin brought fifty thousand troops to Jiangdu?”

Yuwen Zhiji’s eyes flickered slightly as he stared at him: “What do you mean by this?”

The man said slowly: “When Du Ruhui found Li Shimin, Duke Li was at Longmen. He had to contend with Qu Tutong on one side and attack Chang’an on the other. Even his hundred thousand troops felt insufficient – how could he sacrifice a full fifty thousand troops for the sake of one woman? Didn’t General Yuwen have even a trace of suspicion?”

Yuwen Zhiji remained silent. In fact, when he heard this number, he had been suspicious, but Pei Qiantong had sworn an oath, saying he had seen it with his own eyes and it absolutely couldn’t be false. So although he found it questionable, he hadn’t thought much about it. “Are you saying Pei Qiantong had already colluded with Li Shimin?”

The man shook his head: “No, General Pei wasn’t lying, because even he was deceived by Li Shimin. I believe he told the general that he saw soldiers covering the mountains and valleys, shouting battle cries, at least ten thousand in number?”

“Correct.” Faced with Yuwen Zhiji’s answer, the man chuckled: “Indeed, there were ten thousand in number, but only a very small portion were soldiers. Most were common people hired by Li Shimin with grain – men, women, old and young alike. As long as they could shout and wave flags, they all came. Because they were far away, and it was raining at the time, General Pei couldn’t see clearly and thought they were truly soldiers brought by Li Shimin.”

By the end of this explanation, Yuwen Zhiji’s face had turned iron-blue as he said grimly: “How many soldiers did he actually bring?”

The man didn’t answer, only held up two fingers. Yuwen Zhiji probed: “Twenty thousand?”

The man laughed: “The general overestimates Princess Jinyang’s importance in Li Yuan’s heart. Let me tell the general the truth – for this matter, Li Shimin only brought… two thousand troops!”

“Two thousand?!” Yuwen Zhiji shot to his feet, repeating this pitifully small number in disbelief. Two thousand… only a mere two thousand. In the next moment he shook his head: “This is impossible. Jiangdu has a great army of one hundred thousand. How would Li Shimin dare come here with only two thousand troops to rescue someone? You must be talking nonsense!”

The man said unhurriedly: “Li Shimin excels most at empty city stratagems. In the past at Yanmen Pass, and later in the Battle of Taiyuan, he used this tactic to force back the Turkic armies!”

Before he finished speaking, Yuwen Zhiji had already slammed his palm heavily on the desk, gritting his teeth: “This Li Shimin actually dared to toy with this general – what audacity!” Thinking of how last night he had mistakenly believed fifty thousand troops surrounded the city, personally allowing Li Shimin’s group and later Pei Qiancheng to escape, and how hundreds of his personal guards had died in last night’s chaos, he was filled with rage.