At this moment, these three words meant something all too clear to Lady Zhangsun. The last trace of color instantly drained from her face, and though she opened her mouth to speak, she suddenly forgot how to form words, her entire body freezing in place.
Xiuzhu’s hands were trembling as well, her voice shaking as she said, “Your Highness, is there truly no evidence to be found?”
Li Jiancheng’s expression was pained as he replied, “I have tried every method possible, but… truly, nothing can be found!” As he spoke, he looked at Lady Zhangsun with guilt, “Sister-in-law, I’m sorry!”
Lady Zhangsun stared at him in a daze. After a long while, a hoarse voice squeezed out from her throat, “What does… father-in-law say?”
“Father says… that Second Brother killed His Majesty, and must be… dealt with according to law!” Before Li Jiancheng could finish speaking, Lady Zhangsun had already broken free from Xiuzhu’s grasp and rushed toward the study.
Upon entering the study, Lady Zhangsun immediately knelt down before Li Yuan, who stood with his back to the door, “Father-in-law, Wugou can stake her life on it—my husband would absolutely never have a private meeting with the Princess before marriage, much less kill His Majesty. Someone is deliberately trying to harm him. Please investigate this matter thoroughly, father-in-law.”
Li Yuan did not turn around, saying in a heavy voice, “Who would want to harm him?”
Lady Zhangsun bit her lip slightly, “This, Wugou is not yet clear about, but it certainly was not my husband.” After a pause, she continued, “My husband is father-in-law’s son. What kind of person he is, surely father-in-law knows better than anyone. His Majesty could not possibly have been killed by him.”
Li Yuan slowly turned around, his eyes slightly red as he said, “This King also does not wish for all this to be Shimin’s doing, but it has been eleven days—a full eleven days—and not a single clue has been found. Apart from Shimin and Chuyi, no one else claims to have seen this person called Xiao Liuzi. Even if this King wanted to disbelieve, I cannot.”
Lady Zhangsun said urgently, “That cannot be! As long as we continue investigating, we will surely find evidence proving that my husband was framed. Please, father-in-law, grant us a few more days so that eldest brother-in-law can continue the investigation.”
“Everything that could be investigated has already been investigated.” At this point, Li Yuan let out a long sigh, “The entire city of Chang’an is watching this matter. This King cannot fail to give them an explanation!”
“No!” Lady Zhangsun, ignoring the falling sensation in her lower abdomen again, said in panic, “If father-in-law kills my husband today, what will happen if he proves to be innocent later? Father-in-law, life comes only once—if we make a mistake, it will be forever, with no possibility of correction.”
Li Yuan’s body trembled slightly, his voice bitter as he said, “This King has his own judgment on this matter. You need not concern yourself with it. Go back.”
How could Lady Zhangsun be willing to leave? She crawled forward on her knees, “Father-in-law, please just grant us a few more days. Perhaps…”
Li Yuan interrupted, “If by then nothing is found, would you not ask this King to grant another few days? Going on endlessly, with no end in sight?”
Lady Zhangsun was rendered speechless by his question. After a long while, she finally said, “Wugou simply does not want father-in-law to wrongly kill an innocent person, and this innocent person… is father-in-law’s own legitimate son!”
Li Yuan took a deep breath, fixing his gaze on her, “Rest assured, this King will never wrongly kill an innocent person.”
“But my husband…” Before Lady Zhangsun could continue, Li Yuan had already raised his hand, “No need to say more. You may withdraw!”
Facing Li Yuan’s words, Lady Zhangsun did not rise but continued to kowtow again and again, hoping Li Yuan would grant a few more days. Xiuzhu also knelt beside her, kowtowing as well.
Li Jiancheng had not left but had been standing outside the study all along. Now he also entered, kneeling beside Lady Zhangsun and pleading, “Father, please, for the sake of sister-in-law and the child in her womb, grant us a few more days. Your son…”
Facing their desperate pleas, Li Yuan remained expressionless, “If you continue kneeling here, you may not even be able to see Shimin one last time.”
The two continued pleading for a long while, but Li Yuan remained unwilling to relent. Afterward, he even left the study, leaving them with no one to appeal to.
After signaling Xiuzhu to help the constantly weeping Lady Zhangsun to her feet, Li Jiancheng said heavily, “Sister-in-law, don’t blame father. He has no choice either. Actually, days ago, those ministers kept urging father to deal with Second Brother, but father forcibly suppressed them, which is why it has been delayed for so many days. Now… we have reached the limit!”
Lady Zhangsun said through her tears, “I understand father-in-law’s difficulties, but my husband is truly innocent. Eldest brother-in-law, I beg you, please think of another way. You also don’t want to see my husband die unjustly.” As she spoke, she was about to kneel again, but Li Jiancheng quickly stopped her, “Sister-in-law, rest assured. As long as Second Brother draws breath, I will not give up hope of overturning his case for even a moment.” After Lady Zhangsun’s emotions had calmed somewhat, he said, “Come, let us go see Shimin first.”
While Lady Zhangsun and Li Jiancheng were heading to the Ministry of Justice prison, Li Yuan appeared at Peiji’s residence. After the latter welcomed him in, he said, “Has the Prince of Tang come for Second Young Master’s matter?”
Li Yuan sighed deeply, “Indeed. I have already delayed this matter for over ten days. Now I can delay no longer.”
Peiji nodded, studying him, “From the Prince of Tang’s appearance, it seems the eldest young master found no clues.”
Li Yuan rubbed his forehead, which had been aching dully since earlier, saying in a heavy voice, “Jiancheng questioned everyone who had contact with Shimin that night. Apart from Chuyi, they all said there was no such person as Xiao Liuzi.”
Peiji’s eyelid twitched as he blurted out, “This means Second Young Master was lying?” Without waiting for Li Yuan to answer, he frowned again, “But from what I know of Second Young Master, he would not do such an absurd thing.”
Upon hearing this, Li Yuan’s face darkened, “In the past, that was true, but ever since he encountered Princess Jinyang, he has become increasingly wrong. I truly don’t know whether to believe him now.”
Peiji smiled slightly, “If the Prince of Tang truly did not believe Second Young Master, he would not have come to see Xuanzhen at this time.” Xuanzhen was Peiji’s courtesy name.
Li Yuan laughed bitterly, “Those who know me are none other than Xuanzhen. Truly, nothing can be hidden from you.”
“Whatever Xuanzhen can do, I will certainly assist the Prince of Tang with all my strength.” Facing Peiji’s words, Li Yuan nodded, “Do you still remember how we saved Zhaoren back then?”
“Zhaoren?” Peiji thought for a moment, “The Prince of Tang means that incident with Wang Wei and Gao Junya?” After Li Yuan nodded, his heart stirred, and he lowered his voice, “Does the Prince of Tang wish to use this method to save Second Young Master?”
“Indeed.” Li Yuan sighed, “Regardless of everything else, he is still my son. Moreover, as you said, this matter still has questionable points. To execute him just like this—I fear I will regret it in the future. So after much consideration, I can only resort to this desperate measure.”
Peiji nodded, then frowned again, “But Imperial Physician Zhao is thousands of li away in Jiangnan. This journey back and forth, even with swift horses, would take many days. Can the Prince of Tang suppress this?”
Li Yuan took an exquisite blue and white porcelain bottle from his bosom, “Actually, when this incident first occurred, as a precaution, I sent people on swift horses to Jiangnan to find Imperial Physician Zhao and obtain this bottle of feigned death medicine. I have not told even Jiancheng about this matter.”