Li Shimin said nothing, only silently watching the carriage gradually disappear into the distance. Du Ruhui sighed and spoke no more. He had said all he could—whether Li Shimin could understand and let go of the past was up to him.
The carriage moved slowly under the autumn sun. Yunyi gazed blankly at the brilliant golden sunlight outside the window. Though the weather was so fine, her mood felt as heavy as if a large stone pressed upon it, making even breathing difficult.
Seeing her dejected appearance, Ruyi whispered, “Should… this servant ask the driver to turn back?”
Yunyi closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m fine. You needn’t worry.”
“But…” Before Jixiang could continue, Yunyi said, “Even if I stayed a few more days, I would still have to leave eventually. Better to endure brief pain than prolonged suffering.”
Seeing her say this, Ruyi and the other sighed and spoke no more. The Princess truly had a bitter fate. Previously, to help His Majesty pacify the realm, she had gone alone to Honghua Commandery to assassinate Li Yuan, returning covered in wounds. When she came back, not only did His Majesty not praise her, he even scolded her. After finally enjoying a few peaceful days, she was shocked to learn that His Majesty was not her real father, and even… he had wanted to rape her. Now she had missed her chance with the Second Young Master again. They say after bitterness comes sweetness, but the Princess had suffered so much yet still couldn’t see where the sweetness lay…
When dusk was falling, the carriage stopped. The driver lifted the curtain. “Your Highness, there’s an inn here. It’s getting late—shall we stay here for the night?”
“Very well.” Yunyi agreed, taking Ruyi’s hand to alight from the carriage. Just as she was about to follow the innkeeper inside, urgent hoofbeats sounded behind them. Jixiang curiously turned to look, and after seeing who it was, her curiosity instantly turned to excitement. “Your Highness, look quickly! It’s the Second Young Master! The Second Young Master!”
Her words made Yunyi’s chest tighten violently. Li Shimin… how could he possibly come here? Had she misheard, or… had he really come?
Amid thoughts too complex for words, Yunyi stiffly turned around and indeed saw Li Shimin walking slowly toward her. The night wind lifted the hem of his robe like a butterfly dancing in the darkness. He stopped only when they were but a step apart.
Yunyi stared blankly at Li Shimin, who shouldn’t be here yet stood truly before her. She struggled to squeeze out a few words from her throat. “You… how did you come to be here?”
Li Shimin looked at her, his eyes bright as stars in the night sky. After a long moment, he slowly said, “I thought I wouldn’t care about your departure, but when you disappeared from my sight, I realized I didn’t care as little as I thought I did. So I came.” At this point, he stared at Yunyi with some nervousness. “Would you… return with me?”
His words made Yunyi’s eyes glisten with moisture. She choked out, “And can you let go?”
Li Shimin knew what Yunyi meant. After a moment of silence, he said, “I don’t know if I can completely let go of Xuanba’s matter, but I hope you can give me a chance. Will you?”
Meeting his gaze, Yunyi said through her tears, “Don’t you mind that I’m a daughter of a fallen kingdom?”
Li Shimin raised his right hand. “I, Li Shimin, vow to protect Yang Yunyi for life, whether she be a princess or a daughter of a fallen kingdom. I will never violate this oath!”
Hearing these words, the tears Yunyi had held back for so long finally fell. With Li Shimin’s words, even if they couldn’t end up together, she would have no regrets in this life.
Li Shimin wiped away the tears on her face and said gently, “You haven’t answered me yet.”
Under his gaze, Yunyi slowly said, “If you do not abandon me, I will follow you!”
“Good! Good!” With these two words, Li Shimin tightly grasped Yunyi’s hand and didn’t let go for a long time…
Seeing Li Shimin bring Yunyi back, Du Ruhui was also delighted. His earlier words had not been in vain. He hoped that after today, the two of them would get better and better…
After this interlude, Li Shimin led everyone toward Chang’an. Finally, when winter arrived, they reached the vicinity of Chang’an, less than fifty li from Li Yuan’s main force. They expected to reunite within a day.
At this time, Li Yuan’s forces had reached 250,000 men, incomparable to the initial 30,000. Among these 250,000 troops, 70,000 had been recruited by Li Shimin’s third sister, Li Xiuning. After learning that Li Yuan had crossed the Yellow River, she had led these 70,000 troops to join them and handed over complete military authority to Li Yuan.
Li Yuan received the urgent message and learned that Li Shimin had not only safely rescued Princess Jinyang but had also returned with almost no losses among the 2,000 men he had taken. Naturally, he was extremely pleased. However, Li Jiancheng’s mood was exactly the opposite. He couldn’t understand how Li Shimin had managed to return alive from this certain death situation without losing a single soldier. It was truly hateful.
The more Li Jiancheng thought about it, the angrier he became. He swept away the tea Jirong had just brought and gritted his teeth. “That useless bunch led by Liu Wen couldn’t even handle such a simple matter. I’ll see how I deal with them.”
Jirong stroked Li Jiancheng’s arm and said softly, “Forgive this concubine’s boldness, but now is not the time for anger. My lord should think carefully about what comes next.”
Li Jiancheng’s expression changed slightly as he stared at her. “You’re worried that Shimin knows the real purpose of my sending Liu Wen and the others to accompany him to Jiangdu?”
“Exactly. Liu Wen and the others have always been loyal to you and would never betray you or disobey orders. So the only explanation is that they acted according to your plan but were discovered by the Second Young Master, causing their failure. If that’s the case, the Second Young Master very likely already knows your intentions.” As Li Jiancheng’s expression gradually darkened, she continued, “It doesn’t matter if he knows, but what’s feared is that he’ll use this matter to slander you before the Duke. That would be greatly disadvantageous to you!”
Li Jiancheng sat there with a gloomy expression. Jirong was right. If Li Yuan knew he had done something to harm his brother, he would never forgive him. So Li Yuan must never learn of this matter, but… how could he silence Li Shimin?
After thinking it over, he still had no solution. In his anger, he pounded his fist on the table and said irritably, “If father wasn’t watching, with the 50,000 troops I have, I could destroy them several times over. There wouldn’t be such troubles.”
Jirong’s eyes shifted slightly. “Don’t be anxious, my lord. This concubine has a method.”
“Speak.” At Li Jiancheng’s urging, Jirong said, “My lord once told this concubine that the Second Young Master’s greatest weakness is his womanly compassion—he acts indecisively. It was because of this that the female assassin who was then Princess Jinyang had the opportunity to kill the Third Prince.”