After those soldiers left, Li Shimin walked in. Upon seeing him, Li Yuan immediately asked: “How goes it? Have you caught Yin Shishi?” Li Yuan cared even more about Yin Shishi than about Yang You—the hatred of killing his son, the grudge of desecrating graves, the revenge for destroying the ancestral temple—it would not end until death.
“Not yet, but Big Brother and Fourth Brother are searching, and we’ve posted guards at the city gates. He can’t escape.” He cupped his hands: “Chang’an City has been mostly brought under control, even more easily than we expected. Please rest assured, Father!”
“Good. Send troops to bring your Second Mother and the others into the city. Have them stay temporarily in our old residence—that mansion is quite spacious and should be enough for them.”
“Yes.” As Li Shimin went to fetch Wan Shi and the others according to his instructions, the two Li Jiancheng brothers were searching everywhere for Yin Shishi. Both harbored great anger, and even as night fell, they refused to return, vowing to find Yin Shishi.
At this moment, Xue Wanche ran over and reported: “Eldest Young Master, we found Guyi and several soldiers. He was trying to escape through another city gate. I questioned his subordinates—this man served as an official alongside Yin Shishi and had a good relationship with him. He might know Yin Shishi’s whereabouts.”
Li Jiancheng’s spirits lifted: “Bring him here immediately.”
“Yes.” Shortly after Xue Wanche agreed, Guyi, whom they had seen on the city wall before, was brought forward. Upon seeing them, he immediately pleaded: “I’ve done nothing wrong. I beg the two young masters for mercy, give me another chance.”
Li Yuanji snorted coldly and drew his sword, placing it at his neck: “Tell me, where is Yin Shishi?”
Guyi’s eyes shifted as he shook his head: “I don’t know. Since you began the siege, I haven’t seen Yin Shishi. I truly don’t know where he went.”
Li Jiancheng caught the flash of something in his eyes, dismounted and walked before him, taking the sword from Li Yuanji’s hand. He examined the blade gleaming coldly in the firelight and said coolly: “General Gu, have you ever seen the punishment of cutting flesh from a person piece by piece? I hear that skilled executioners can make a thousand cuts without causing death. I happen to have such a person under my command. Would you like to try?”
Guyi was so frightened his legs trembled, and he fell to his knees: “Eldest Young Master, have mercy! Have mercy!”
“You must know what Yin Shishi did to my Li family. I absolutely cannot let him go. If you want to live, tell me Yin Shishi’s whereabouts. Otherwise, I’ll let you know what it means to wish for death!”
“I… I…” Guyi stammered but never continued, though his eyes kept glancing toward the soldiers he had brought. Meanwhile, a soldier standing at the very back was quietly moving outward. Since everyone’s attention was focused on Guyi, no one noticed his movements. After moving about ten steps away and seeing no one paying attention, the soldier quickened his pace, taking advantage of the night to head toward a deserted area. But just then, a fierce shout came from behind: “Seize him!”
The soldier was greatly alarmed and immediately ran forward, but unfortunately didn’t get far before pursuing soldiers tackled him to the ground, unable to rise, much less escape.
Li Yuanji walked up and kicked him hard, cursing: “You dog, why are you running? I’m not going to eat you!”
Li Jiancheng threw the steel sword to a nearby soldier and said coldly: “He doesn’t want to die, so naturally he runs.”
Li Yuanji asked puzzledly: “Big Brother, what are you saying? Father said not to kill surrendering soldiers, so how could…”
“Look carefully.” Li Jiancheng’s words made Li Yuanji even more confused. After ordering the soldiers to step aside, he grabbed the soldier who had fallen face-first in the dirt and hauled him up. Though the latter tried hard to avoid them and his face was covered with dirt, if one looked carefully, his features were still discernible. This… this wasn’t…
Li Yuanji yanked off his helmet, and now he could see even more clearly—wasn’t this exactly the Yin Shishi they had been desperately searching for?
The next moment, Li Yuanji landed a vicious punch that knocked Yin Shishi to the ground. Before the latter could get up, he had already stepped on his head: “So it’s you, you dog thief! Actually disguising yourself as a soldier—you certainly thought of something clever, but unfortunately you’re destined to fall into our hands!”
Now Yin Shishi was truly panicked, crying out in alarm: “No! Don’t kill me!” Before his words finished, the foot on his head pressed down harder, grinding ruthlessly: “When we told you to open the city gates and release those people, why didn’t you say this then!”
“No… don’t!” Yin Shishi barely squeezed out these two words from his throat—he felt like his head was about to be crushed.
Li Jiancheng said coolly: “Enough, take him to see Father. Don’t actually kill him!”
Li Yuanji reluctantly withdrew his foot and ordered soldiers to arrest both him and Guyi to take them to the palace to see Li Yuan. On the way, he asked curiously: “Big Brother, how did you know Yin Shishi was disguised as a soldier?” If Li Jiancheng hadn’t seen through Yin Shishi’s disguise just now, they would still be searching around like headless flies.
“Didn’t you notice that when Guyi was talking, he kept glancing in that direction? If it was just an ordinary soldier, why would Guyi keep looking at him? So I concluded that person must be Yin Shishi!”
“Brilliant!” Li Yuanji gave a thumbs up in praise: “Big Brother has eyes like a hawk, perceiving the minutest details. I truly admire you.”
Li Jiancheng laughed: “You rascal, when did you learn to flatter?”
“I have no interest in learning such things—I’m speaking the truth.” He continued with some resentment: “If you ask me, Big Brother surpasses Second Brother in every way, yet Father just happens to… favor Second Brother more, giving him command of 120,000 troops, while I have none at all and can only follow Big Brother around.”
Li Jiancheng turned back: “What, does following Big Brother make you feel wronged?”
Li Yuanji thought: “Of course not, I just feel it’s unfair to myself and to Big Brother.”
Li Jiancheng smiled: “Remember, whether it’s fair or not, saying so with your mouth is useless. Just watch—someday I’ll make Father see and think of me first, not Shimin.”
“Yes, I support Big Brother!” Saying this, Li Yuanji thought of something: “Big Brother, now that Chang’an City has been taken, is Father going to proclaim himself emperor?”
“No.” Seeing Li Jiancheng’s unhesitating denial of his words, Li Yuanji was somewhat unconvinced: “Why not?”
“Because supporting Prince Dai is what Father has been saying constantly since raising his army and even when approaching Chang’an City. Father always means what he says—he absolutely would not go back on his word.”
“But Yang You is just a young boy—what qualifications does he have to be emperor?” Faced with Li Yuanji’s indignant words, Li Jiancheng smiled slightly: “Very simple—just because his surname is Yang!”