After waiting for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the young Daoist finally returned, bowing as he said, “The Abbott is receiving guests. Please go to the main hall for tea first.”

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang immediately became displeased and scolded, “How dare you make…”

“Enough.” Li Yuan interrupted him, “Waiting a while is fine. It’s just right to taste whether the Maofeng tea here is truly exceptional.”

Seeing him say this, Gao Yang had to swallow his words and accompanied him and Li Shimin to the main hall for tea. After they had finished one cup of tea, Wang Yuanzhi finally arrived. Originally walking slowly, upon seeing Li Yuan, he immediately quickened his pace and bowed deeply, “Not knowing it was Your Majesty’s sacred presence, this poor Daoist failed to greet you from afar. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!”

“Those who don’t know are not to blame. Please rise.” After Wang Yuanzhi straightened up, Li Yuan smiled, “Who were you meeting with just now?”

“A friend I knew in my youth. We hadn’t seen each other for many years, so we talked a bit longer. I’m truly sorry for keeping Your Majesty waiting.” Speaking thus, he said, “What instructions does Your Majesty have for this visit?”

Li Yuan laughed, “I wouldn’t call them instructions, but I do come seeking to avenge a past grievance!”

Wang Yuanzhi’s face changed dramatically as he said in alarm, “Where do Your Majesty’s words come from? This poor Daoist has never harmed Your Majesty.”

Li Yuan waved his hand, “Don’t be nervous. The grievance I speak of refers to the chess board!”

Hearing this, Wang Yuanzhi let out a long breath, and color returned to his face, “If Your Majesty has such refined interest, this poor Daoist will naturally accompany you. However, it’s now near noon – why don’t Your Majesty dine in the side hall first?”

“Good.” As he rose, Li Yuan seemed to remember something and pointed at Li Shimin, “This is my second son. I specifically brought him to meet you this time.”

Li Shimin cupped his hands, “Shimin greets the Abbott.”

Wang Yuanzhi looked at him carefully, a strange gleam passing through his eyes, though he smiled on the surface, “The Prince of Qin is too courteous. This poor Daoist has long heard that the Prince of Qin has the reputation of a war god – once on the battlefield, no one can match him. Seeing you today, you indeed possess heroic bearing beyond ordinary men.”

Li Shimin said modestly, “The Abbott’s words make Shimin ashamed and unworthy.”

After some pleasantries, Wang Yuanzhi said to Li Yuan, “Your Majesty, since it’s near noon, why don’t we dine in the side hall first, then I’ll have someone prepare a quiet room for our chess match.”

“Good.” Li Yuan pointed at Li Shimin with a smile, “On the way here, he kept thinking about the vegetarian cuisine in your temple, eager to taste it.”

Wang Yuanzhi smiled, “The vegetarian cuisine is merely ordinary. I fear the Prince of Qin will be disappointed.”

Li Shimin picked up a nearby tea cup, “Even an ordinary guest tea uses Maofeng tea and is brewed so expertly. Shimin believes this vegetarian meal will definitely not be ordinary.”

Wang Yuanzhi smiled and gestured, “Then please, Your Majesty and Prince of Qin, move to the side hall.”

As Li Shimin had said, this vegetarian meal was indeed not ordinary. Though the entire table of dishes was made from vegetables, they achieved not only the appearance but also the taste of true delicacies from land and sea, and were even more delicious. To say that Xuanjing Temple’s vegetarian cuisine was unparalleled under heaven was absolutely no exaggeration.

After the meal, Li Yuan’s party moved to the quiet room where the chess board and pieces were already prepared. The two each took a color and fought with all their might on the board of mere inches!

After playing for a while, Li Yuan looked aside at Li Shimin, “If you find this boring, go out for a walk. Though this isn’t some famous mountain or great river, the scenery is exceptionally beautiful. This chess game between the Abbott and me will likely take quite some time.”

Li Shimin responded, “In that case, your son will return later.”

After the door of the quiet room closed again, Li Yuan set down the piece between his fingers and took out a folded paper from his sleeve, handing it to Wang Yuanzhi, “Help me examine this birth date and time.”

Wang Yuanzhi said puzzledly, “Your Majesty, this is…”

“Look first, then we’ll talk.” Under Li Yuan’s words, Wang Yuanzhi had no choice but to accept the paper. As Li Yuan had said, it contained a birth date and time. After carefully calculating with his fingers, surprise appeared in his eyes as he said cautiously, “May I ask Your Majesty, is this His Highness the Crown Prince’s birth date and time?”

Li Yuan’s eyes darkened as he said flatly, “Is there a problem?”

Wang Yuanzhi shook his head, “No, this birth date and time is very good. His Highness the Crown Prince will surely lead Great Tang to another golden age.”

“Another golden age…” Li Yuan murmured, repeating this phrase while staring at Wang Yuanzhi, “So this person will be the future emperor, correct?”

Wang Yuanzhi, not knowing his intention in asking this, answered honestly, “From the birth chart, it appears so.” As he spoke, he seemed to think of something and said quietly, “Your Majesty, could it be that this birth chart… doesn’t belong to the Crown Prince?”

Li Yuan stared at him for a long moment, then said coldly, “I might as well tell you – this birth date and time… belongs to the Prince of Qin.”

“Ah!” Wang Yuanzhi exclaimed, staring incredulously at the birth chart in his hand, “This… how is this possible? The Prince of Qin is not the Crown Prince. He… this birth chart cannot be his.” Perhaps due to excessive agitation, his words sounded somewhat incoherent.

Li Yuan stared silently at the black and white pieces clearly divided on the chess board. At this moment, his thoughts were not on Li Shimin, but on Xia Houduan, whom he had summoned in the middle of the night yesterday.

He truly hadn’t expected that Li Shimin had even bought off Xia Houduan, making the latter lie brazenly to his face. If he hadn’t been suspicious and specifically come here to have Wang Yuanzhi calculate, he would have been deceived by them.

Shimin, you indeed have merit toward Great Tang, but the throne never belonged to you. Since you’ve developed covetous thoughts toward something that doesn’t belong to you, don’t blame me for not remembering our father-son bond!

“Your Majesty!” Wang Yuanzhi’s words pulled Li Yuan back from his contemplation. He said coldly, “What do you think?”

Wang Yuanzhi rose and bowed, saying solemnly, “Though this birth chart is indeed extremely precious and possesses the countenance of an emperor, this poor Daoist can be certain that the Prince of Qin will absolutely not be the next emperor.”

His words startled Li Yuan, who asked puzzledly, “How do you come to this conclusion?”

“This poor Daoist just observed the Prince of Qin’s physiognomy. Though he is indeed handsome and extraordinary, there’s a faint bloody aura surrounding his brow, and his forehead lacks luster. This is absolutely not the countenance of an emperor!”

His contradictory statements confused Li Yuan, “But you just clearly said his birth chart belongs to an emperor. How can you now say it doesn’t?”

“Your Majesty doesn’t understand – each person’s birth time, their birth chart, never changes, but their fortune and destiny constantly shift. Perhaps Heaven truly once intended the Prince of Qin to be emperor, but the Prince of Qin failed to cultivate his character and virtue. Instead, he repeatedly created karmic debts through killing, causing bloody aura to surround him and personally destroying his imperial destiny!”

Li Yuan hadn’t expected him to say such things. Frowning in thought for a moment, he said, “You just said that fortune and destiny constantly change. Could it be that… after some time, Shimin’s fortune might change back to what it was before?”