Li Yuan painfully closed his eyes. He truly couldn’t bear it, but if he couldn’t prove Li Shimin’s innocence, he could only act according to the law!

Li Yuan secretly drew a breath and said, “Three days. I’ll give you three more days. You must find evidence. This matter is of great importance—even as a father, I cannot delay indefinitely.”

Li Jiancheng nodded repeatedly, “Father, rest assured. I will definitely prove Shimin’s innocence.”

Heh, never mind three days—even if it were thirty days or three hundred days, Li Shimin would never escape!

During these three days, Eldest Sun Shi visited Li Jiancheng daily, but each time the news she received was the same—no progress whatsoever.

Seeing that the time left for Li Shimin was growing shorter, Eldest Sun Shi was anxious beyond measure. Yet she had already done everything she could—there truly was no other recourse.

On the eighth day of the fourth month, after servants had set the midday meal on the table, Xiuzhu wrung out a towel and said, “Miss, let this servant help you wash your hands for the meal. Today the kitchen made your favorite eight-treasure meatballs.”

With Li Shimin in mortal danger, how could Eldest Sun Shi have any appetite? Without even looking, she said, “Take it away. I have no appetite.”

“Miss.” Before Xiuzhu could offer words of persuasion, Eldest Sun Shi had already stood up and said, “Prepare the palanquin immediately. I’m going to the Crown Prince’s residence.”

Xiuzhu was startled and said, “Miss, didn’t you just go to the Crown Prince’s residence this morning? How…”

Eldest Sun Shi interrupted her, “Don’t say so much—just go prepare the palanquin.”

Xiuzhu shook her head, “Miss, ever since your husband’s troubles began, you haven’t eaten properly. Look at yourself—in just these few days, you’ve already lost a full circle of weight. Even if you don’t care for yourself, you must think of the child you carry with your husband. Do you want him to go hungry while still in the womb?” After pausing, she continued, “How about this—I’ll go prepare the palanquin now, and while I do, you eat a few bites. Is that alright?”

Eldest Sun Shi, after all, cared for the child in her womb, so she nodded in agreement. While Xiuzhu prepared the palanquin, she reluctantly ate a few mouthfuls, then went to the Crown Prince’s residence.

As soon as she stepped into the residence, she saw Li Jiancheng standing in the courtyard with a dark expression, scolding a group of guards, “I asked you to investigate something, and after all these days, you’ve made no progress at all. You’re all utterly useless!”

Xue Wanche was among them, looking troubled as he said, “Crown Prince, we subordinates have tried our best to investigate, but… we really can’t find any leads. Forgive me for saying something unpleasant, but if Second Young Master were truly innocent, after investigating for so many days, we should have found at least some traces. But now we can’t find any clues at all, I’m afraid…”

“Afraid of what?” Li Jiancheng walked up to him and said coldly, “I’m telling you, Shimin definitely isn’t the murderer. Before dawn breaks, you must find evidence to prove Shimin’s innocence, or you’ll all bring me your heads!”

After the crowd left with submissive acknowledgments, Li Jiancheng saw Eldest Sun Shi standing to one side and said in surprise, “Sister-in-law, you… why are you here again?”

Eldest Sun Shi curtsied and said, “I was restless at my residence, so I came to ask elder brother how the investigation is proceeding and whether there’s been any progress.”

Li Jiancheng’s expression darkened as he said, “I’ve had them investigating day and night, but… I’m sorry.”

Eldest Sun Shi forced a slight smile, “Elder brother shouldn’t say such things. I know you’ve done your best.”

Li Jiancheng was silent for a moment, then said, “There’s still one day left. Even if I have to turn all of Chang’an upside down, I’ll find evidence to prove Shimin’s innocence. I definitely won’t let anything happen to him.”

Eldest Sun Shi had no other recourse now and could only say, “My husband’s life is in elder brother’s hands.”

Li Jiancheng nodded, “You should go back first. As soon as there’s any news, I’ll send someone to inform you. A physiognomist once read Shimin’s face and said he was a blessed person. Before this incident, Shimin encountered danger several times, but each time he escaped unharmed and turned misfortune into fortune. I believe this time will be the same—don’t worry too much.”

Though Eldest Sun Shi remained uneasy, since Li Jiancheng had spoken thus, she could only agree, “Then I’ll return and await elder brother’s news.”

Watching Eldest Sun Shi’s departing figure, Li Jiancheng’s lips curved into a bone-chillingly cold smile. Li Shimin had indeed turned misfortune into fortune several times before, but this time, he absolutely wouldn’t have such good luck.

Though Eldest Sun Shi returned to the Tang King’s residence, she couldn’t sit still, frequently having Xiuzhu go outside to see if anyone had come with news. But she waited until nightfall without anyone coming.

This time, even Xiuzhu couldn’t sit still. If her master were truly determined to be the murderer of His Majesty and sentenced to execution, wouldn’t her mistress become a widow? How could this be endured?

The night of the eighth day of the fourth month was a sleepless night for many people. Eldest Sun Shi endured the discomfort of pregnancy as she sat at the table, repeatedly going over the events of that day that Li Shimin had told her about, as well as the clues they had gathered these past days. But throughout the entire night, no matter how much she thought, she couldn’t determine who the real murderer might be, and the witness Xiao Liuzi still hadn’t been found.

What to do? There was no time left. If elder brother couldn’t find any clues on his side, then her husband… Thinking halfway through, Eldest Sun Shi quickly stopped her thoughts, murmuring to herself, “It won’t happen. There must be a way to prove that His Majesty wasn’t killed by my husband!”

Thinking this way, she forced herself to calm down. Just as she was about to go through the events once more, Xiuzhu hurried in and said, “Miss, the Crown Prince has arrived.”

Hearing this, Eldest Sun Shi quickly asked, “Has he found evidence?”

“This servant doesn’t know.” Xiuzhu hesitated, then said, “As soon as the Crown Prince arrived, he went to see the King. He should be in the study now.”

Xiuzhu’s words made Eldest Sun Shi’s heart sink as she said, “Let’s go see.” With these words, she supported herself on the table to stand up. But as soon as she stood, her vision went black and she felt a dragging sensation in her lower abdomen.

Seeing something was wrong, Xiuzhu quickly stepped forward to support her, asking nervously, “Miss, what’s wrong?”

After standing for a while, the dragging sensation gradually faded and her vision returned to normal. Eldest Sun Shi shook her head, “I’m fine. Let’s hurry over.”

“Perhaps…” Before Xiuzhu could finish speaking, Eldest Sun Shi was already urging, “Quickly!”

Xiuzhu reluctantly agreed. Other people who were pregnant were served good food and drink and didn’t have to worry about anything. Only her mistress—when she first discovered her pregnancy, her husband went to Luoyang to fight. After finally enduring until four months when the pregnancy had stabilized somewhat, this incident occurred. She had suffered many times more hardships than others.

If her master emerged from this safely, that would be fine, but otherwise… she truly didn’t dare think further.

Arriving at the study, Li Yuan and his son were indeed inside. After waiting for a while, Li Jiancheng emerged with a heavy expression. She quickly approached him and asked, “Elder brother, have you found any clues?”

Li Jiancheng looked at her and said heavily, “I’m sorry!”