A flash of pain crossed Li Shimin’s eyes as he said calmly: “For things you like, drinking occasionally is enough. If you drink too much or possess too much, you’ll lose that initial fondness.” With these words, he raised the wine cup and drained it completely, not leaving a single drop.

Li Yuanji picked up the wine pot to refill his cup, and as before, pressed down the wine lid. Li Shimin stopped him: “I’ve drunk so much that my head is spinning badly. If I drink more, I’ll surely be drunk.”

“How could that be? This is only one cup,” said Li Yuanji, trying to bypass his obstruction to pour wine. However, Li Shimin remained firm: “You and Elder Brother have only had one or two cups, but I’ve had more than ten. What, did you forget about the thirty cups so quickly?”

Li Yuanji smiled awkwardly: “It was only ten cups. With Second Brother’s drinking capacity, that’s nothing.”

“If it were ordinary wine, that would be fine, but your wine has quite an aftereffect. In just this short time, I’m already dizzy and seeing stars. I can’t drink anymore.”

Li Jiancheng urged: “Shimin, it’s rare for us brothers to gather together, and it’s Yuanji’s birthday. Don’t be such a spoilsport.”

“Now that the Great Tang is pacified and we don’t need to constantly send troops to war, we can gather anytime we want. Isn’t that right, Elder Brother?”

“That’s true, but…” Li Jiancheng had only spoken halfway when Li Shimin interrupted: “Since Elder Brother also says it’s true, then I’ll take my leave first. We can gather again another day.”

Seeing his determination to leave and unable to stop him, Li Yuanji could only say: “If that’s the case, Second Brother, drink one more cup – just one. After drinking it, I absolutely won’t detain you further.”

Li Shimin stared at him for a moment, then bent down to pick up the wine cup: “Fine, one cup!”

As soon as Li Yuanji filled it, Li Shimin drained it in one gulp, then quickly left with Duan Zhihong and Zhao Jin. After the servants outside closed the door, Li Yuanji nervously said: “Elder Brother, his attitude just now was very strange. Do you think he saw through our plan?”

“I don’t know.” Li Jiancheng took the wine pot that Li Yuanji hadn’t put down and said coldly: “If he had seen through it, he wouldn’t have drunk those two cups. Yet he did drink them.”

“But if he hadn’t seen through it, why would he talk about the past and rush to leave? There’s clearly something wrong.” Li Yuanji scratched his head: “But as Elder Brother said, if he suspected the wine was problematic, he wouldn’t have drunk it. Why… sigh, it’s truly puzzling.”

Li Jiancheng opened the wine lid. By the room’s lamplight, one could see that the wine pot contained a thin partition separating two compartments, each holding different wine. This type of wine pot was called a “mandarin duck fragrance-turning pot,” which Li Yuanji had spent considerable effort to find. It could simultaneously hold two types of wine without mixing them. Normally, the wine from the right compartment would pour out, but once the button on the lid was pressed, the wine from the left compartment would flow instead. Without knowing the mechanism, it was impossible to detect.

Li Yuanji was completely baffled. Seeing Li Jiancheng staring at the wine pot in a daze, he said: “Elder Brother, say something! What was he really thinking?”

Li Jiancheng set down the wine pot and said slowly: “Regardless of whether he noticed or not, he has already drunk the wine. That’s the result.” After a pause, he added: “Immediately destroy this and bring out the backup wine pot we prepared beforehand. Don’t leave any traces.”

“I understand.” Li Yuanji glanced at the pitch-black sky outside the window: “The poison in the wine should take effect before dawn, and there’s no antidote. After tonight, there will no longer be a person named Li Shimin in this world!”

Li Jiancheng stared at him: “Were you having second thoughts just now?”

Li Yuanji was silent for a moment, then said: “A little. I never knew that during those two years, he had been secretly following behind to protect my safety.”

“You could go tell him now – it might still be in time.” Faced with Li Jiancheng’s words, Li Yuanji shook his head: “But I quickly thought it through. He may have been good before, but that’s all in the past. Now he relies on his military achievements to compete with Elder Brother for the crown prince position. Based on this alone, he’s no longer my second brother. If we’re not brothers, then there’s only one relationship left – enemies!” After a brief pause, he continued: “I’ve said it before – the person I support is Elder Brother, and only Elder Brother. This will never change.”

Li Jiancheng was deeply moved: “Yuanji, having you do this for me makes me feel terrible. Rest assured, when I ascend the throne, I’ll share this realm with you!”

Setting aside their brotherly devotion, after Li Shimin left Prince of Qi’s mansion, he whispered something to Duan Zhihong, then mounted his horse and rode toward Prince of Qin’s mansion. However, halfway there, Duan Zhihong changed route and headed elsewhere.

After Li Shimin returned to his mansion, he didn’t rest but went to his study. After a while, Duan Zhihong entered and said quietly: “Your Highness, Master Xia Hou has arrived.”

With these words, Xia Houduan emerged from behind him and asked puzzledly: “Your Highness summoned me in the deep of night. What are your instructions?”

Li Shimin said nothing except: “Please check my pulse, Uncle Xia Hou.” Besides being skilled in physiognomy and bone-reading, Xia Houduan was also deeply versed in medical arts. Years ago, Li Yuan had survived Yunyi’s exotic Western poison thanks to Xia Houduan’s help.

Upon hearing this, Xia Houduan’s heart skipped a beat. Without bothering to ask more questions, he stepped forward to carefully take Li Shimin’s pulse. Before long, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Seeing his expression was wrong, Zhao Jin tentatively asked: “Master Xia Hou, what’s wrong with His Highness?”

Xia Houduan withdrew his hand: “Immediately prepare ink – I need to write a prescription for His Highness. Some of the medicines may be difficult to find, but I don’t care what methods you use – you must find them all before dawn.”

Seeing the gravity in his tone, Duan Zhihong immediately fetched water to grind ink. Taking advantage of this moment, Zhao Jin asked again: “Master Xia Hou, His Highness is…”

“His Highness has been poisoned with datura flower poison.” Xia Houduan’s words made Zhao Jin turn pale with shock as he blurted out: “Poisoned? How is that possible? His Highness seems perfectly fine right now.”

Xia Houduan sneered: “His Highness seems fine now, but if we don’t gather all the medicines I’m prescribing before dawn, he’ll die from the poison.”

While Duan Zhihong and Zhao Jin were horrified, Xia Houduan said puzzledly: “Your Highness specifically summoned me here, so you must have known early on that you were poisoned. May I ask where Your Highness contracted this poison?”

Before Li Shimin could speak, Duan Zhihong said urgently: “I know – it was Prince of Qi! It must have been him!”

Xia Houduan’s expression changed. The ink was now ready, and knowing that time was like life itself for Li Shimin, he suppressed his questions and went to the desk to write the prescription. After writing the final medicinal ingredient, he handed the prescription with still-wet ink to Duan Zhihong: “If you don’t want your master to die before tomorrow, gather all the medicines listed here as quickly as possible!”