Just as everyone was puzzled and couldn’t make sense of it, a eunuch rushed in, knelt down and held up a memorial high above his head, “Your Majesty, urgent eight-hundred-li report from Liangzhou!”

Hearing about an eight-hundred-li urgent report, Wu Yu didn’t dare delay and quickly took the memorial to present to Li Shimin. After reading what was written in the memorial, Li Shimin’s face had already turned iron-blue, with veins visibly throbbing at his temples.

Liu Hongji, seeing the change in his expression, said, “Your Majesty, what has happened?”

Li Shimin threw the memorial heavily onto the long table and said coldly, “Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji have escaped from the Liangzhou horse grounds, whereabouts unknown!”

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked. Yin Kaishan was the first to speak, “How is this possible? They are exiled prisoners. Outside the horse grounds, there must be soldiers standing guard, and the Liangzhou garrison commander Yu Antai has over ten thousand troops. How could they possibly escape from Liangzhou?”

“Because it wasn’t just the two of them!” Speaking thus, Li Shimin threw the memorial at their feet and said coldly, “See for yourselves.”

After reading the memorial, everyone’s faces became unpleasant. Du Ruhui was the last one; he closed the memorial and said gravely, “According to the memorial, there was a Türk force of a thousand men that rescued Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji.”

Yin Kaishan frowned deeply, “Why would the Türks come into our Tang territory to rescue those two? I’ve never heard of them having any relationship with Jieli.”

Liu Hongji pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, “Your Majesty, I now know who Jieli is waiting for, and I also know why he only besieges without attacking.”

Li Shimin’s eyelid twitched, and he said coldly, “You mean Li Jiancheng?”

“Yes.” Liu Hongji bowed and said, “After Jieli discovered that Zhao Jin had escaped and that his plan to attack Chang’an had likely been leaked, he sent people to find Li Jiancheng, wanting to use his identity as the deposed Crown Prince to shake the hearts of our Tang military and civilians. Once Li Jiancheng arrives, they will quickly launch their attack.”

Li Shimin pressed his lips tightly together without speaking. The reason he hadn’t killed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, merely sentencing them to exile, was because he thought Li Jiancheng had truly repented. Now it seemed he had been too naive.

A leopard cannot change its spots!

Yin Kaishan said hatefully, “This Li Jiancheng! Your Majesty kindly spared his life, yet he actually colluded with the Türks. He’s simply seeking death!” Speaking thus, he bowed to Li Shimin, “Your Majesty, please allow this general to lead fifty thousand soldiers out of the city. This general will certainly capture Li Jiancheng and bring him before you!”

Li Shimin stared at him and said, “Do you think fifty thousand men can defeat the Türk army?”

Yin Kaishan was left speechless by his question. After a long while, he said, “This general will do his utmost and not disappoint Your Majesty’s expectations.”

“This matter cannot be solved by momentary courage. We must plan carefully!” Although Li Shimin deeply hated Li Jiancheng’s repeated betrayals, he didn’t lose his reason because of it. For him, defending Chang’an and protecting Tang territory was most important.

Zhangsun Wuji frowned, “Your Majesty, although Li Jiancheng has long been deposed, he was Crown Prince for seven years after all and has some prestige among the people and even in the army. If he comes forward, it will be very unfavorable to us. We must think of a solution!”

Liu Hongji agreed and said, “Actually, I’ve thought of a method, but I don’t know if Your Majesty is willing to try it.”

His words made Li Shimin’s spirits lift, and he hurriedly said, “Please speak, sir.” Although he had ascended to the throne, he still maintained the same respect as before for Liu Hongji, who had supported him all along, never calling him by name directly.

“As long as the Great Emperor comes forward to denounce the deposed Crown Prince for various crimes of treason, rebellion, and forcing the palace into chaos, Li Jiancheng will naturally become a useless chess piece, unable to shake the people’s hearts in Chang’an anymore. The only trouble is whether the Great Emperor is willing to come forward for this.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhangsun Wuji said, “This would probably be very difficult, since the Great Emperor has always favored the deposed Crown Prince.”

“But this is the best method. Otherwise, we can only fight head-on. The casualties that hundreds of thousands of valiant Türk troops would bring—I don’t need to say it, Lord Zhangsun should be able to imagine.”

Li Shimin was silent for a moment, then said, “I will discuss this matter with Father Emperor. Before that, you must closely monitor the movements of the Türk army outside the city. Report immediately if there are any unusual signs—absolutely no delays.”

After everyone left Xiande Palace, Li Shimin suddenly swept the memorials on the table to the floor with his hand. Wu Yu was startled and quickly knelt down, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”

Li Shimin’s chest heaved violently. After a long time, he said coldly, “Convey my decree: Yu Antai failed to properly guard Liangzhou, allowing Türk soldiers to enter as if into uninhabited territory and take away Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. He is hereby demoted one rank and his salary reduced by half for six months!”

“This slave obeys the decree.” When Wu Yu left Xiande Palace, he happened to meet Yunyi, who smiled and said, “Eunuch Wu, where are you going?”

Wu Yu looked back and said softly, “This slave is going to the Hanlin Academy to convey the decree.” Speaking thus, he kindly reminded, “When Your Ladyship enters, please be careful. His Majesty is not in a good mood right now.” After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he established Zhangsun Shi as Empress of the central palace and conferred the title of Noble Consort upon Yunyi, the highest of the four first-rank consorts.

“Is it because of the Türks besieging the city?” Faced with Yunyi’s question, Wu Yu shook his head, “If it were just that, His Majesty wouldn’t be this angry. Something happened in Liangzhou.”

Yunyi was startled, then thought of something and said solemnly, “Is it related to Li Jiancheng?”

Wu Yu nodded, “Yes, both Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji escaped from their place of exile, and those who helped them escape were the Türks.”

Yunyi’s face changed in horror, “Such a thing actually happened?”

Wu Yu sighed, “It was stated in the eight-hundred-li urgent report sent by the Liangzhou garrison commander. It shouldn’t be false.”

Yunyi suppressed her shock and nodded, “This consort understands. Thank you, Eunuch.”

After Wu Yu left, Yunyi entered with Ruyi. The hall was in chaos, with memorials from various places scattered on the floor. Li Shimin sat in his chair with his hand supporting his forehead, not saying a word.

Yunyi curtsied, then bent down to silently pick up the memorials. After picking up just a few, she heard Li Shimin’s voice, “Don’t pick them up.”

Yunyi didn’t stop because of his words and continued picking up the memorials one by one. This action made Li Shimin inexplicably angry. He rushed over and knocked the memorials from her hands, shouting, “I told you not to pick them up! Are you deaf?”

Yunyi sighed softly, “Even if Your Majesty throws these memorials into the river or even into fire, what would it accomplish? Can it solve Your Majesty’s problems?”

Li Shimin pressed his somewhat pale lips tightly together. After a long time, he finally spoke, “That time, after Li Jiancheng woke up, he said many things to me and even brought up past events. I thought he had truly repented and would reform from then on. I never expected he was acting all along, deceiving me!” Speaking to this point, he said mockingly, “Yunyi, am I very stupid, being deceived again and again?!”