“Who else could it be passed to if not to eldest brother? I and Li Shimin…” Before he could finish, Li Jiancheng had already said coldly: “Don’t forget, Father Emperor doesn’t have just us three sons; the other few, though young, are still royal blood after all. Most importantly, they haven’t made mistakes!”

With him saying this, Li Yuanji gradually calmed down, saying helplessly and unwillingly: “Then what do we do now? Really wait three days before coming for confrontation?”

“Three days…” Li Jiancheng sneered: “Do you really believe Father Emperor’s words? Three days is just his delaying tactic. If I’m not mistaken, he’s already instructing the secret guards to investigate us, to see which of us is real and which is fake.”

Li Yuanji’s eyelids twitched, and he blurted out: “Then could Father Emperor really discover…” He glanced around and lowered his voice: “Your affair with Noble Consort De?”

Li Jiancheng pursed his lips without speaking. What he worried about most was exactly this matter. Once verified, forget about the Crown Prince position – even whether he could keep his life would be questionable.

“Eldest brother, is there any way to bribe the secret guards?” Faced with Li Yuanji’s words, Li Jiancheng scoffed: “We don’t even know who the secret guards are or where they’re located. How can we bribe them?”

Li Yuanji said irritably: “This won’t work, that won’t work either – are we just to resign ourselves to fate?”

Li Jiancheng turned around to stare at Taiji Hall, saying coldly: “No, there’s still one method.”

Hearing this, Li Yuanji perked up and hurriedly said: “What method?”

Li Jiancheng didn’t speak, but mounted his horse and headed straight for the Eastern Palace. Li Yuanji, having his appetite whetted, naturally wouldn’t give up just like that. He quickly mounted his horse and gave chase. Upon entering the Eastern Palace, before his bottom had even touched the seat, he impatiently said: “Eldest brother, speak quickly – what method exactly!”

Li Jiancheng paid him no attention, but said to Xue Wanche: “Go request Noble Consort Ji to come.”

Li Yuanji pursued him: “Eldest brother, speak up quickly – don’t keep me in suspense.”

Li Jiancheng took the tea handed to him by a serving girl and said leisurely: “When Rong’er arrives, you’ll naturally know. Come taste this tea – it’s newly delivered new tea.”

Seeing that Li Jiancheng still refused to speak, Li Yuanji could only patiently sit to one side. As for the tea, he had no mind to drink it at all, only constantly looking toward the doorway. In his left and right glancing, he finally saw Jirong arrive. Upon seeing her, he immediately jumped up from his chair: “Good, good, Noble Consort Ji is here – eldest brother, speak quickly!”

Jirong bowed to Li Jiancheng and asked curiously: “What does Prince Qi want Your Highness to say?”

After dismissing all palace servants except Xue Wanche, Li Jiancheng said: “Rong’er, how is that matter I had you handle these past few years?”

Hearing this, Jirong’s expression immediately became solemn, and she said softly: “Everything has been carried out according to Your Highness’s instructions. Though the numbers aren’t many, they should be usable!”

Li Jiancheng nodded: “How many in total?”

“Two hundred and eighty-nine people.” Faced with the number Jirong reported, Li Jiancheng said slowly: “The people we can mobilize from the residence number over one hundred and seventy. Adding those from Yuanji’s side, the total should be around seven hundred.”

“Eldest brother, what exactly are you talking about? The more I listen, the more confused I become. And what’s this about Noble Consort Ji’s two hundred and eighty-nine people?”

“Starting from three years ago, I had Rong’er search for orphans without fathers or mothers, train them, and create a force of personal guards that truly obeys only me.”

Li Yuanji thought for a while with his head down, then said hesitantly: “The personal guards eldest brother speaks of – are they like Father Emperor’s secret guards?”

“More or less, though I had limited time and resources here, so they can’t compare to Father Emperor’s secret guards. Actually, I originally planned to use them after ascending the throne, but now… Li Shimin has forced me into a corner with no way out. I can only deploy them early to help me… force the palace!”

As soon as the words “force the palace” came out, everyone was shocked, staring at Li Jiancheng in horror. If they hadn’t heard it with their own ears, they would never dare believe it.

Jirong was the first to recover, saying with a trembling voice: “Your Highness, you just said… force the palace?”

“Correct.” Li Jiancheng roughly recounted what had happened earlier in Taiji Hall, saying gravely: “No matter how we cover it up, Father Emperor’s people will find traces. By then, even if Father Emperor doesn’t execute us, he’ll strip me of the qualification to inherit the throne. If I want to ascend to Taiji Hall, this is the only path left!”

“But… but that’s Father Emperor! He commands hundreds of thousands of troops, while we only have seven hundred people. How can we fight him? How can we force him to abdicate?”

By this time, Jirong had already calmed down, saying in a concentrated voice: “Though Father Emperor commands hundreds of thousands of troops, they’re all outside the city and can’t be mobilized in a short time. If we strike by surprise, we might not lack opportunity.”

“Exactly. If we win, from then on, the Great Tang realm will belong to us, and we’ll never need to fear anyone again.” Saying this, Li Jiancheng turned his gaze to the contemplative and silent Li Yuanji: “How about it? Are you willing to take this gamble with me?”

Li Yuanji pressed his lips tightly together. He had never actually thought about dealing with Li Yuan, but now… just as Li Jiancheng said, there was no way out. Once Li Jiancheng fell from power, as the closest member of the Eastern Palace faction, he would also find it hard to escape accountability!

Thinking of this, he steeled his heart and said through gritted teeth: “Rather than sit and wait for death, better to fight desperately. Wherever eldest brother goes, I’ll go!”

“Good!” Li Jiancheng forcefully patted his shoulder: “I’ll remember this loyalty in my heart. From now on, as long as I live, I’ll never shortchange you.”

Li Yuanji nodded: “When does eldest brother plan to act?”

“Naturally the sooner the better, but before that, we need to confirm one matter.” Saying this, he said: “I remember that Xuanwu Gate’s commanding general Chang He has a good relationship with you, right?”

“He worked under me for a while before. Though he was later transferred to serve Father Emperor, we often hunt together and get along well.”

“Good. Go find Chang He now and make sure to bring him to our side. But remember, before Chang He clearly states his position, you absolutely cannot reveal our business to him – not a single word.”

Li Yuanji asked in confusion: “Why do we need to bring Chang He over for no reason?”

Jirong said from the side: “Prince Qi has forgotten – Chang He controls the palace’s Imperial Guards. If we’re blocked by his Imperial Guards before we can rush into Taiji Hall, all our efforts will be wasted. So no matter what we promise him, we must win this person over.”

“I understand now, but what if Chang He refuses?” Faced with Li Yuanji’s words, Li Jiancheng said coldly: “If he won’t drink the toast, then we’ll have to force him to drink the penalty wine.” After a pause, he said: “Everyone has emotions they can’t abandon – whether family or lovers. I believe Chang He is no exception.”

“So that’s what you mean.” Li Yuanji understood and said: “I know some things about Chang He. He’s a filial son, extremely devoted to his parents. His first wife was divorced by him because of her arrogant nature and disrespect toward his parents. It was several years before he remarried. His current wife, knowing his character, is exceptionally filial to his parents.”