Yunyi brought the cooled porridge to his lips. “Princess Pingyang is truly a heroine among women, earning this subject consort’s great admiration.”

After a moment of silence, Li Shimin suddenly said, “Where is Li Jiancheng?”

“This subject consort has imprisoned him in the side hall. After Your Majesty’s dragon body recovers, you can personally interrogate him.” As soon as Yunyi finished speaking, she heard Li Shimin say, “I want to see him now.”

“Your Majesty…” Yunyi had only said two words when Li Shimin raised his hand to interrupt. “I can manage it. Don’t worry.”

Seeing Li Shimin’s firm attitude, Yunyi could only nod in agreement and ordered someone to bring Li Jiancheng from the side hall.

Soon, Li Jiancheng, bound hand and foot, was brought to the inner hall. Although he knew that with the antidote, the epidemic poison in Li Shimin’s body could surely be cured, when he actually saw Li Shimin sitting safely on the bed, Li Jiancheng still felt disappointed. After all that effort, he still couldn’t take Li Shimin’s life—how hateful!

He blamed himself for being careless. Knowing something was wrong, he hadn’t thought carefully enough, allowing Yang Yunyi to seize the only antidote!

After staring at each other for a while, Li Jiancheng was the first to break the silence. “Congratulations, you won.”

Li Shimin straightened his body and said coldly, “Yes, I won, but the cost was tens of thousands of lives, and I myself nearly died by your hand.”

Li Jiancheng stared at him for a moment, then suddenly laughed. “You’re implying that those tens of thousands died by my hand, right?”

“Wasn’t that the case?” Before Li Shimin finished speaking, Li Jiancheng had already shouted loudly, “Of course not! On the contrary, they all died by your hand. If you hadn’t usurped my imperial throne and killed my wife, how would I have come to this point? Li Shimin, all of this was forced upon me by you—by you!” By the end, he looked almost insane, his face twisted and terrifying!

Yunyi said coldly from the side, “Still unrepentant even facing death!”

“Shut up!” Li Jiancheng glared at Yunyi with bloodshot eyes and shouted fiercely, “When did the Li family’s affairs become the business of you, this fallen kingdom’s demon woman? I haven’t settled accounts with you for Yuanji yet!”

“The Li family?” Yunyi said mockingly, “How are you and Li Yuanji worthy of being Li family descendants?”

Li Jiancheng gritted his teeth and said nothing. After a long while, he turned his gaze to Li Shimin. “Do you know that Yuanji is dead?”

“I know.” Li Shimin’s answer made Li Jiancheng’s pupils suddenly contract. “He was born from the same mother as you, yet now that he’s dead, you only have these two words ‘I know.’ Li Shimin, you truly are heartlessly cold.”

Li Shimin lifted the brocade quilt, apparently intending to get out of bed. Yunyi quickly said, “Your Majesty, you’ve only just begun to recover. It’s not suitable to get out of bed.”

“I’m fine.” Seeing his insistence, Yunyi could only help him up and walk to Li Jiancheng. “How are we not born from the same mother? How was Zhiyun not your brother as well? When you dealt with Zhiyun and me, did you show mercy?”

Li Jiancheng said with eyes full of hatred, “Li Zhiyun was born to that vile woman Wan Shi and deserved to die. As for you… didn’t I give you chances? But you were bewitched by this demon woman and insisted on being my enemy. What could I do? Either you die or I perish!”

Li Shimin blurted out, “I never wanted you to die!”

A subtle look flashed in Li Jiancheng’s eyes as he said coldly, “You never wanted me to die, but what about this person beside you? Has she never wanted it either? Don’t forget, both Xuanba and Yuanji died by her hand.” Saying this, he laughed bitterly. “Shimin, you keep saying I harmed you, that I don’t value brotherly affection, but the first person to forget brotherly sentiment was you. Back then in Honghua Commandery, it was you who, for personal feelings, disregarded Xuanba’s blood vengeance and let her go.”

Li Shimin shook his head. “Regarding Xuanba’s matter, I’ve explained it to you many times, but you never listen. All these years, I’ve yielded to you again and again, but in return, you’ve pressed me step by step.”

“I admit that at the time, I went too far, but ultimately, you still forced me to it. I am Father Emperor’s legitimate eldest son. As soon as Father Emperor ascended the throne, he made me Crown Prince, but not only could I not feel the honor of being Crown Prince, I was constantly suppressed by others, and that person was you—Li Shimin!”

Li Jiancheng took a deep breath and continued, “They all believed your military achievements and prestige surpassed mine, that you should be the Crown Prince of Great Tang. Do you know how I felt when I heard these things?”

Li Shimin said painfully, “So you tried every means to put me to death?”

“If you truly had no designs on the imperial throne, I might not have treated you that way, but you did have such ambitions, so you had to die!”

Li Shimin looked at him and said heavily, “Is power truly so important to you?”

Li Jiancheng gritted his teeth. “Yes, because it’s the only thing that can prove I’m stronger than you, yet you insist on taking it away. Li Shimin, why couldn’t you leave me a way to live? Why?!” He roared hysterically, biting his teeth desperately. “Since you won’t return it to me, I can only snatch it back myself. From the moment I decided, I told myself to try my best. If I still lost in the end, I would accept it, but… I never thought this decision would cause Yuanji’s wrongful death. Everything was done at my instigation. The one who should die is clearly me, but instead… I’m sorry to Yuanji!” At this point, he couldn’t help but shed tears. At this moment, Li Jiancheng looked both pitiful and pathetic.

Li Shimin remained silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “If time could reverse and events could start over, what would you do?”

“If events could start over…” Li Jiancheng murmured, repeating these words. After a long while, he looked up at Li Shimin and slowly said, “I would still hate you, but I would hand over the antidote before Yuanji was killed. Yuanji… shouldn’t have died because of me.”

Yunyi’s eyes narrowed slightly as she said coldly, “Do you think saying this will make His Majesty spare you?”

Li Jiancheng shook his head. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m very clear that this time I’ve completely and utterly lost, with no possibility of reclaiming the imperial throne. Even if I lived, it would just be a wretched existence. Rather than that, it’s better to die cleanly—it would be a kind of liberation.” Saying this, he turned his gaze to Li Shimin with unusually calm expression. “If you want to kill me, go ahead. I only ask one thing of you.”

Li Shimin looked at him with some surprise. “What is it?”

“Father Emperor… I know you hate him, but he is, after all, the Father Emperor who gave birth to and raised you, and he’s already advanced in years. So I beg you, treat him kindly.”

Li Shimin said indifferently, “He is the Great Tang’s Grand Emperor. How would I dare not treat him kindly? But you… are you truly willing to die like this?”

Li Jiancheng laughed bitterly. “Rong’er is dead, Yuanji is dead. What do I have left to be reluctant about? This life… consider it compensation for those dead soldiers. As you said before, they were innocent but died because of my selfishness. It’s truly pitiful. Please… take good care of their families.” After saying this, he closed his eyes and spoke no more, truly appearing disheartened and seeking only death.

Li Shimin silently watched him. After an unknown amount of time, laughter escaped from his pale lips, growing louder and louder, making Yunyi extremely puzzled. Even Li Jiancheng opened his eyes and looked at him in amazement. “What are you laughing at?”

Li Shimin gradually stopped laughing and said in an extremely sarcastic voice, “You keep saying life holds no attachment and you hope death will bring liberation, but in fact, you don’t want to die at all—you never have!”

Li Jiancheng’s expression changed slightly as he frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“Every word you just said wasn’t from a sincere desire for death, but rather to stir my compassion and make me spare you. After all, only by living is there any possibility of making a comeback.”

Li Jiancheng’s eyelid twitched violently. “I’ve already been forced into a desperate situation by you, and even Yuanji is dead. What could I use to make a comeback?”

“You may have lost your support, but you still haven’t given up. Even if you can’t seize the Great Tang’s territory, you still want to find a way to take my life. Li Jiancheng, am I wrong?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I truly…”

“Enough!” Li Shimin interrupted him, saying disappointedly, “I’ve listened to your lies for a full ten years. I don’t want to hear them at the final moment!”

The four words “final moment” struck Li Jiancheng like a heavy blow, making his face suddenly turn pale. Li Shimin… truly intended to kill him?