Li Jiancheng paid him no heed, only gazing at the silent Li Yuan with pleading eyes. “Father Emperor…”

Li Yuan raised his hand to stop his words, saying to Li Yuanji, “What exactly did you hear?”

“That day, during the hunt in the suburbs, your son was competing with Second Brother in horsemanship. When Elder Brother saw that your son was riding the blood-sweating horse Father Emperor had bestowed, he feared Second Brother couldn’t compete, so he lent his own horse to Second Brother. But that horse didn’t recognize him and threw Second Brother off. Second Brother then said that Elder Brother deliberately wanted to get him killed, and that he had heavenly protection and the Mandate of Heaven, which prevented Elder Brother from succeeding. Father Emperor, tell me—isn’t this infuriating? After your son told Elder Brother about this, he kept preventing me from speaking of it. These past days, it’s truly been suffocating me.”

“Even so, Second Brother showed no gratitude whatsoever. On your son’s birthday, both Elder Brother and Second Brother were present. Second Brother said to Elder Brother’s face that although he was the Crown Prince, he had no military achievements or battle records, making his position in the Eastern Palace unworthy of the name. He also said that even if Elder Brother ascended the throne as emperor, he couldn’t defend this Great Tang realm and would sooner or later lose this entire territory, ruining Father Emperor’s life’s work. The more your son listened, the angrier I became. In a moment of rage, I took the opportunity of fetching wine to put wind nightshade poison in Second Brother’s drink.” Speaking thus, he kowtowed heavily to Li Yuan. “Your son knows he deserves death ten thousand times over, but forgive my bluntness—Second Brother forced your son to this!”

Li Yuan stared at him for a long while, then said, “Did Shimin truly say such things?”

Li Yuanji solemnly raised his hand, “Your son swears to the ancestors of the Great Tang—if there’s even half a false word, may your son die a horrible death!”

“Shimin…” Li Yuan slowly pronounced these two characters, his face dark as ink. He never would have imagined that Shimin, who had always been humble and gentle before him, would be so audaciously presumptuous behind his back. It was truly infuriating!

Li Jiancheng urgently said, “Father Emperor, no matter what Shimin has done, he is still your son’s brother. Besides, these matters are in the past now. Please don’t pursue them further.”

Consort Yin said gravely, “If it were truly in the past, that would be fine, but I fear… this is all just the beginning.”

Li Yuan turned around, his gaze sharp as he said, “What do you mean by that?”

Consort Yin seemed startled by his look, quickly lowering her head. “Your subject spoke out of turn. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”

“I forgive you—continue speaking!” Seeing him say this, Consort Yin lifted her head, saying softly, “If the Prince of Qin truly has developed covetous thoughts toward the throne as the Prince of Qi described, then what the Prince of Qi sees as intolerable disrespect and arrogance will only be the beginning, unless…” She glanced at Li Yuan, her voice becoming even more subdued. “Unless Your Majesty passes the throne to him, otherwise… he will never give up!”

Li Jiancheng’s eyelid twitched as he quickly said, “Shimin would never do such a thing.”

Consort Yin sighed, “The Crown Prince is kind-hearted, but not everyone is as kind as the Crown Prince. Since the Prince of Qin has developed such thoughts, he will never watch the Crown Prince ascend to the throne. While Your Majesty is still here, he dares not act rashly, but once Your Majesty returns to the great sea and the Crown Prince succeeds, the court will surely fall into chaos and unrest!”

As she spoke, Li Yuan’s cheeks twitched continuously. The worries that had been dispelled by Wang Yuanzhi’s words now surfaced again, even more fiercely than before.

Li Yuanji wept, “Your son was wrong to try to kill Second Brother, but if I didn’t kill Second Brother, in the future, Elder Brother would be harmed by him. Is this what Father Emperor wishes to see?”

Li Yuan ignored his words, instead asking, “How is Shimin now?”

Li Jiancheng answered for him, “Your son and Yuanji went to see Shimin. His poison has been cured, though when we went, he was still unconscious. According to his wife, he’ll be fine after resting for a few days.”

Li Yuanji muttered, “It’s all because that Xia Houduan meddled. If not for him, there wouldn’t be need to worry about these things.”

Li Jiancheng glared at him, “You still have the face to say that! It’s fortunate that Uncle Xiahou has excellent medical skills, otherwise not only you, but I would never have peace of mind for the rest of my life!”

Li Yuan frowned, “What are you saying? Xia Houduan?”

Li Jiancheng cupped his hands, “Yes, your son heard that it was Uncle Xiahou who cured the wind nightshade poison, enabling Shimin to turn danger into safety. However, your son doesn’t know why when we went, whether it was his wife insisting that Shimin had a sudden illness, or later when a servant from the Prince of Qin’s mansion accidentally let slip, your son only then learned that Shimin had been poisoned. Seeing Yuanji absent-minded, I pressed him for answers and learned the truth.”

His words made Li Yuan’s brows furrow even more tightly. “It was truly Xia Houduan who cured the poison?”

“That’s what the servant said. Uncle Xiahou’s medical skills are even better than the imperial physicians. Yuanji said that wind nightshade was an incurable poison, yet Uncle Xiahou still managed to cure it. Your son remembers that when Father Emperor was poisoned years ago, it was also Uncle Xiahou who cured it.”

“Is he close to Shimin?” Hearing this, Li Jiancheng secretly sneered—Father Emperor was indeed beginning to suspect. He feigned bewilderment, “I haven’t seen them have much contact in daily life. It should be just ordinary, I suppose.”

Li Yuanji snorted, “If it were just ordinary, why would Second Brother immediately seek out Uncle Xiahou upon discovering he was poisoned? By all reason, he should have called for the imperial physician first.”

Li Jiancheng stared at him, “You talk the most! No matter what, the important thing is that Shimin is fine.”

Li Yuanji, scolded thus, lowered his head and said nothing. As for Li Yuan, after a moment of silence, he said, “I understand this matter. You may withdraw.”

Li Yuanji dared not rise, probing, “Father Emperor, then your son… doesn’t need to be punished?”

Li Yuan snorted coldly, “You used poison on your own brother—how could there be no punishment? However, considering you still have remorse and Shimin suffered no great harm, I’ll deal with you leniently. From today, you’re confined for one month, and your food allowance is halved. Is that clear?”

Li Yuanji quickly said, “Your son understands! Thank you for Father Emperor’s mercy!” For the error he had committed, this punishment was neither here nor there—it could hardly even be called punishment!

After signaling for them to leave, Li Yuan sat back in his chair without a word, his expression unusually grave. Consort Yin carefully said, “Your Majesty, are you still angry with the Prince of Qi?” Seeing Li Yuan remain silent, she continued, “The Prince of Qi is still young after all. When he acts, he inevitably fails to consider all consequences. I believe you understand this point, which is why you didn’t punish him severely. Your subject believes that after this incident, the Prince of Qi will never commit the same error again.”

Li Yuan sighed deeply, “I’m not thinking about Yuanji, but about… Xia Houduan!”

“Lord Xiahou?” Consort Yin’s beautiful eyes turned as she said, “Your subject is not familiar with him. I only know that before Your Majesty raised your army, he had advised you!”

Li Yuan flicked his sleeve, “Yes, it was because of his repeated urgings that I finally decided to raise my army. All along, I thought he was on my side, but unexpectedly…” His lips curved slightly, revealing a cold smile. “He changed long ago.”