Duan Zhihong gritted his teeth and said, “Please forgive this subordinate’s frankness, but His Highness the First Prince repeatedly persecuted you before. Today’s circumstances are all the retribution he deserves. If he truly cannot be cured, then it’s his fate!”

“No!” Li Yuanji in the opposite cell, hearing their conversation, hurriedly said, “Big brother didn’t truly want to harm you, it’s just…”

Duan Zhihong coldly interrupted him, “Just what? Don’t tell me someone forced you to harm His Highness?”

Li Yuanji stared at him for a while, then said through gritted teeth, “Indeed no one forced us, but big brother and I were both terrified of second brother.”

Li Shimin asked in surprise, “Afraid of me? Why?”

“Afraid of your military achievements, afraid of the generals under your command, afraid of your reputation as a war god. From the moment the Great Tang was established, we were terrified of you.” Before Li Shimin could speak, he continued, “I know what you’ll say – that you had no intention of competing with big brother for the Eastern Palace position, right? But what about those under you? Liu Hongji, Du Ruhui, Zhangsun Wuji, and this Duan Zhihong – can you guarantee they didn’t have such thoughts?”

“Big brother sat in the Eastern Palace position for seven years, but he never sat securely, especially after your military achievements accumulated higher and higher. To big brother, you were like a mountain pressing down on him until he couldn’t breathe, so he had only one choice – to eliminate you!”

Duan Zhihong dismissed his words with contempt, “Sophistry!”

Li Yuanji ignored him, staring at Li Shimin, “If you want to vent anger, if you want to establish authority, just go ahead and kill me. As for big brother… he has nothing left now. Even his beloved woman and two sons were killed by Zheng Shi. He can no longer pose any threat to you. Please show mercy and spare him. He is, after all, our big brother. I beg you! I beg you!” With these last four words, he actually knelt down in supplication.

Afraid that Li Shimin would be swayed by his words, Duan Zhihong hurriedly said, “Your Highness, they…”

“Enough.” Li Shimin interrupted him, saying in a heavy voice, “Just as Yuanji said, he is after all my big brother. I don’t want to be too extreme. Do as I say.”

Seeing that Li Shimin’s mind was made up, Duan Zhihong had no choice but to leave to arrange for a carriage, then returned with the driver to carry the unconscious Li Jiancheng out.

Since Li Jiancheng was no longer Crown Prince, he naturally couldn’t continue living in the Eastern Palace. Li Shimin settled him in a garden estate in the western part of the city, then had someone fetch medicine from the Imperial Medical Academy. Although they fed him the medicine, he remained unconscious until Li Shimin left.

The next day, after Li Shimin finished with court affairs, he came to the garden estate again. This time, Li Jiancheng was awake, taking medicine with a servant’s help. His complexion was better than yesterday – it seemed his fever had broken.

After the servant left, Li Shimin walked to the bedside and looked at him, “Are you feeling better?”

“I won’t die.” Li Jiancheng replied coldly, then said, “Why didn’t you let me die in prison?”

Li Shimin said in a heavy voice, “You are my big brother. Naturally I wouldn’t stand by and watch you die.”

“Big brother…” Li Jiancheng murmured, repeating these two words with a complex expression, “You still acknowledge me as your big brother?”

Li Shimin didn’t answer his question, but instead said, “Rest and recover here. If you need anything, just tell the steward. He’ll do his best to accommodate you.” After a pause, he said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first.”

Seeing him about to leave, Li Jiancheng hurriedly said, “You still haven’t answered my question?”

Li Shimin stopped and smiled bitterly, “How do you want me to answer? All along, it’s been you who wouldn’t acknowledge me.”

“I…” Li Jiancheng was at a loss for words. After a pause, he said quietly, “These past two days, in my confused state, I kept dreaming of the past, especially those years when mother was still alive. Back then, we brothers were truly happy, but all of that completely changed after Yunyi appeared.”

Li Shimin’s eyes dimmed slightly, “Big brother, even now you still think everything is Yunyi’s fault?”

Li Jiancheng gazed at some point in the void, slowly saying, “After learning that Yunyi had caused Xuanba’s death, I indeed hated her to the bone. If she had been in front of me then, I would have killed her with one stroke. Later, when I returned from Hedong and guessed that you had let Yunyi escape, I began to hate you too, thinking you were bewitched by feminine beauty and didn’t even care about your brothers. Combined with the Liu Hongji incident, it made me want to eliminate you. Liu Wen was one attempt, Yang You was another.”

Li Shimin’s expression changed as he stared at him, “So Yang You was indeed killed by you?”

This time, Li Jiancheng no longer concealed anything, stating directly, “To be precise, Yang You was killed by Xin’an, but it was all a scheme I arranged. However, like the Liu Wen incident, it didn’t succeed. Later, to avoid suspicion, I had Xin’an pin everything on Wang Shichong and Duan Lishen.”

Li Shimin pressed his lips tightly together. Seeing him like this, Li Jiancheng said bitterly, “Are you speechless about me?”

Li Shimin slowly said, “I just never imagined you hated me to such an extent!”

Faced with his words, Li Jiancheng laughed, “Not to mention you – even when I think back on it myself, I find it terrifying. During that period, my hatred for you had become my inner demon. I had to kill you!”

“So you sent the Yin family and the others into Taiji Palace?”

“Correct. Since I couldn’t eliminate you myself, I would make father detest you. That way, no matter how high your military achievements, you couldn’t advance another step. The result…” Li Jiancheng smiled bitterly, “I still underestimated you. Liu Wuzhou attacked Shanxi, Yuanji was defeated, Pei Ji was defeated, even Li Jing was defeated. Finally, father had no choice but to employ you again, and you became the war god in all the soldiers’ hearts, became the court’s Grand General of Heavenly Strategy, and once again became my greatest threat.”

Li Shimin said coldly, “So you used the opportunity of Yuanji’s birthday to poison my wine?”

“That was Yuanji’s idea, but he did all this for me.” Speaking of this, Li Jiancheng looked at him earnestly, “Shimin, may I ask you for something?”

“What is it?” A trace of surprise flashed through Li Shimin’s eyes. This was the first time in years that Li Jiancheng had used the word “ask,” not even when he was captured and imprisoned.

Li Jiancheng took a deep breath and said solemnly, “All the wrongs are this big brother’s fault. Yuanji was instigated by me to treat you that way. Actually, his nature isn’t bad. For the sake of our brotherhood and in mother’s memory, could you spare his life and not kill him?”

“When you were gravely ill in prison, he begged me to save you. Now you’re asking me to spare him. You two truly think of each other.” As he said this, Li Shimin’s eyes showed a look of loss.

Once upon a time, the brothers were inseparable, all willing to give up their lives for each other. Now Xuanba was dead, and the three of them had become enemies. Although he had won the imperial throne, he was still the loser, because he no longer had even a single brother by his side.