Li Shimin remained silent, only watching the two approaching figures. When they were mere zhang apart, Li Jiancheng reined in his horse. After staring at each other for a long moment, he suddenly smiled. “Congratulations, Second Brother, for rescuing Princess Jinyang from Jiangdu without losing a single soldier. Your elder brother came specially to welcome you.”

“Is that the only reason Elder Brother came?” Li Shimin’s slightly cold voice made Li Jiancheng’s heart sink. It seemed he truly knew…

“Let’s find another place to talk.” With that, Li Jiancheng pulled his reins and galloped to the side. Li Shimin was about to follow when Duan Zhihong stopped him. “Second Young Master, beware of tricks.”

“He won’t make a move at this time. Don’t worry.” Li Shimin spurred his horse to chase after Li Jiancheng. When they reached an empty, deserted area, Li Jiancheng stopped, dismounted, and looked up at the overcast sky. “Do you remember the first time you rode a horse? You were riding well when suddenly a deer jumped out and spooked the horse, throwing you from its back.”

“I remember. I was in such pain and panic, not knowing what to do. Fortunately, Elder Brother pulled me away in time, or I would have been injured under the horse’s hooves.” At this point, Li Shimin’s eyes filled with deep anguish. “All these years, I’ve never forgotten Elder Brother’s kindness to me. So I truly never imagined that one day, Elder Brother would scheme against me, much less that the elder brother I’ve called such for over twenty years would actually…” He clenched his fists tightly, disappointment and rage erupting from his heart. “Want me dead!”

Li Jiancheng said quietly, “Actually… after you left, I regretted it, but…”

“Regret?” Li Shimin interrupted him, saying sarcastically, “Elder Brother only speaks of regret now—don’t you find that rather hypocritical?”

Li Jiancheng sighed. “I know that whatever I say now sounds hypocritical to you, but Shimin, these past two years you’ve competed with me for credit at every turn. Aren’t you at fault at all?”

“Competing for credit? Haha!” Li Shimin’s laughter mixed with the howling cold wind, sounding particularly grating. After a long time, he murmured, “So this is how Elder Brother thinks of me.”

“Am I wrong?” Faced with Li Jiancheng’s words, Li Shimin shook his head. “I never thought of competing with you for credit. Whether going to Yanmen Pass or following Father to Taiyuan, it was all because I didn’t want Elder Brother to encounter danger. Yet it turns out… in Elder Brother’s eyes, it became competing for credit. After so many years as brothers, doesn’t Elder Brother understand what kind of person I am?”

His words made Li Jiancheng’s heart tremble, but he quickly suppressed it. “Even if you had no such thoughts, what about Liu Hongji? I tried to recruit him for so long, yet he wouldn’t even see me. But as soon as you arrived in Hedong, he actively approached you. Dare you say he never spoke ill of me in front of you?”

Li Shimin was momentarily stunned by his question, then said, “What Master Liu thinks is his business. In any case, I’ve never harbored the slightest disrespectful thought toward Elder Brother, much less wanted to compete with you for anything. Do you still remember Mother’s words before she died?”

“After Mother is gone, you brothers must support each other and assist your father together. You must not engage in fraternal strife, or Mother will find no peace even in the underworld.”

Dou Shi’s deathbed words flashed through Li Jiancheng’s mind. The next moment, he waved his hand forcefully and said coldly, “You have no right to say such things. If you truly remembered Mother’s dying words, you shouldn’t have let Yang Yunyi escape back then, and you certainly shouldn’t have let so many people risk their lives to accompany you to rescue her now!”

Li Shimin’s expression darkened as he said quietly, “So Elder Brother still blames me.”

“Of course I blame you!” Li Jiancheng said excitedly. “If you hadn’t refused to listen to advice, how would Feng Li have died, and how would Xuanba have lost his life? Even if she saved Father and you, does that erase what happened back then? Impossible!”

“Since Elder Brother didn’t want me to rescue her, you could have simply stopped me. Why pretend to agree while actually plotting my death? If not for… Zhihong discovering Liu Wen’s disappearance and becoming alert, not only I but all two thousand soldiers would have no life to stand here!” To prevent Li Jiancheng’s misunderstanding of Liu Hongji from deepening, he omitted the latter’s name.

“Stop you?” Li Jiancheng sneered. “Would you have listened? It would just be a waste of words.”

“So you assigned those trusted subordinates to me, claiming to protect me but actually waiting for a chance to take my life!” Li Shimin said in anguish. “Elder Brother, how did you become so ruthless and heartless?”

Li Jiancheng took a deep breath. “I admit this matter was my fault, but I was momentarily enraged and committed this grave error…” After a moment of silence, he said, “Shimin, can you forgive your elder brother this once?”

“I don’t know.” Li Shimin closed his eyes in pain. In fact, he had been struggling with this matter the entire journey. No matter what, Li Jiancheng was his elder brother, and he really didn’t want fraternal conflict. But when he thought of Liu Wen informing Yuwen Zhiji and that person shooting sleeve arrows to kill him, he felt chilled to the bone.

Li Jiancheng said urgently, “Shimin, I already know I was wrong. Won’t you forgive your elder brother even once?”

In weather that wasn’t particularly cold, snow began to fall, landing ice-cold on their faces. Li Shimin opened his eyes. “There’s one thing I hope Elder Brother will answer truthfully.”

“Speak. As long as I know it, I’ll tell you everything.” Faced with Li Jiancheng’s words, he said, “Zhiyun—did you deliberately become separated from him?”

Li Jiancheng’s heart jumped violently. How… how could he know about Li Zhiyun? That matter, aside from Yuanji, only Jirong knew the truth, but these two would absolutely never betray him.

He knew this answer could very well influence Li Shimin’s decision, so he dared not speak rashly. He lowered his head and thought nervously. Before long, he heard Li Shimin’s urging voice: “Answer me!”

Li Jiancheng gritted his teeth and met Li Shimin’s gaze. “Fine, I’ll tell you. Zhiyun’s separation indeed wasn’t an accident, but the one who harmed him wasn’t me—it was Yuanji.”

“Fourth Brother?” Li Shimin repeated in amazement, then shook his head. “Though Fourth Brother is somewhat crude, he would absolutely never do such harmful things. Don’t wrongly accuse him.”

“I’m not wrongly accusing anyone.” Li Jiancheng said slowly, “You should know that Fourth Brother has never liked Second Mother, and Zhiyun happens to be Second Mother’s son. Actually, I had discovered signs before and warned Fourth Brother several times, but he didn’t listen to my advice. Taking advantage of a moment when I wasn’t paying attention, he deliberately lured Zhiyun out, then secretly notified the authorities to have him arrested. By the time I knew, it was too late. I couldn’t bear for him to be punished, so I concealed this matter and told no one.”