The Imperial Clan Court’s prison cells were quite good—at least very clean with ample sunlight. In the enormous jail, only the three of them were confined. Li Chengqian lay on the bed coughing incessantly. Li Tai laboriously squatted on the ground brewing medicine for his elder brother. Yun Ye lay on thick straw with a stalk of straw in his mouth, humming a tune with considerable enthusiasm.

“We were beaten so miserably, and you still have the mood to sing?” Li Chengqian coughed twice and asked Yun Ye with difficulty.

“Now I finally understand why Little Elephant is so impulsive—because he has an even more impulsive father. Back when you asked me whether His Majesty might achieve immortality with the barbarian monk’s help, didn’t I already tell you it was completely impossible? Why did you still act? You truly didn’t leave your father even half a shred of hope for immortality.”

Li Tai also threw the firewood in his hands heavily onto the ground. The fury in his heart was certainly no less than Li Er’s. He’d only helped because he couldn’t bear to see his elder brother in trouble. Li Chengqian’s behavior truly wasn’t what a son should do. Standing in his position, he naturally hoped his old man would live as long as possible. If he could be emperor for a thousand years, he could protect his son until old age and death.

Li Chengqian turned his head shamefully toward the wall and said faintly: “At the time, I saw that old monk could revive dead fish and make dead withered grass turn green again, so I believed he truly had such abilities. When I asked you back then, you said there was absolutely no such method and wouldn’t even listen to me describe the strange things I’d witnessed. Later you seemed to think of something, your expression changed drastically, and you left in a hurry. That’s why I thought this old monk was no simple matter and hastily made my decision without enough thought.”

“I know doing this would make you look down on me, but I truly want to be emperor. Half my life has been spent striving toward this goal. I don’t want it to be in vain. I don’t want to die still just a Crown Prince. If that happened, my entire life would have no value whatsoever.”

“I have the patience to slowly wait until Father Emperor grows old, but I don’t have the patience to wait a thousand years, or even longer.”

Knowing Li Chengqian was crying—strong people generally don’t shed tears, only in front of those they trust most would they weep. His confession would only be made to Li Tai and Yun Ye.

Li Tai sat cross-legged on the straw and cupped his hands toward Yun Ye: “Good thing I’ve given up such thoughts. This is luck! If I had to wait a thousand years, I’d also find life meaningless. Elder brother is truly pitiful.”

Yun Ye cackled: “Pitiful my ass! Let me tell you something crazy—forget it immediately after hearing it, and no one is allowed to speak of it. I’m telling you, Chengqian did absolutely nothing wrong in this matter. Heh heh! If Chengqian hadn’t acted so recklessly, His Majesty would be in real danger. If he ate those damned mineral pills refined by that monk, if nothing unexpected happens, I’ll give you my head!”

Li Chengqian started in alarm and suddenly stood up. Accidentally pulling at his injuries, he grimaced in pain and asked urgently: “Is this truly so?” Li Tai also stood up, looking at Yun Ye in disbelief.

“Over the past three days, I continuously knocked at the palace gates. I even broke into the palace once, though I was thrown out. But I’d already done my utmost. So in these past few days, I arranged my family affairs. When the red-plumed urgent messenger arrived at my door last night, he nearly scared me to death. I thought something had happened to His Majesty. The edict His Majesty gave me—at one point I thought it was from Chengqian, which is why it bypassed the Central Secretariat and Censorate. Along the way, it made me shed tears twice.”

“What do we do now? Father Emperor will still go find that demon monk!” Li Tai began to panic, shaking the prison door and shouting for someone to release him. Li Chengqian sat dumbly on the bed, saying nothing.

Yun Ye looked at Li Chengqian with interest, wondering what he was feeling at this moment. Yun Ye only wanted to know whether, in his heart, the throne was more important or his father’s life was more important.

Fortunately, Li Chengqian didn’t disappoint him. After being stunned for a while, he started screaming madly just like Li Tai. He shouted so loudly that blood began flowing from his mouth again.

He’d been miserable for three days while these two bastards hid in the palace—one leisurely for three days, the other plotting to kill monks for three days. Now it was their turn to be anxious.

A jailer wearing bright red clothes approached with an apologetic smile and cupped his hands: “You three gentlemen, please stop shouting. No one dares release you. This time, the order to confine you three was issued by both His Majesty and the Empress. Please have pity on this humble one who has elderly above and young below. Don’t lose your temper. If you’re truly angry, this humble one will bring his face close so you can beat it to vent your anger.”

Li Tai raised his fist to smash into the jailer’s face, but suddenly turned to see Yun Ye eating something. He withdrew his fist, kicked the jailer into a somersault, then sat down and ate with Yun Ye. From last night until now, he hadn’t eaten a grain of rice either.

Li Chengqian hollowly shouted twice more before thinking of something. He returned to lie on the bed, and his whole person seemed to have vitality. At least the guilty feelings that had tormented him just moments ago had mostly dissipated.

Yun Ye had already told the Emperor to his face that the monk was a fraud. The Emperor would absolutely not easily take the monk’s pills. Although Yun Ye had just been beaten together with him, when it came to trust, even if that demon monk worked himself to death trying to flatter, he’d be hard-pressed to match it.

The food and wine were good—products from the palace’s imperial kitchen. Whether tasty or not, they at least looked good. After Li Tai ate a few bites, he filtered the medicinal liquid from the pot with hemp paper, poured it into a porcelain bowl, let it cool slightly, then supported Li Chengqian’s waist and back to help him drink the medicine.

“You clearly already sent assassins into the palace. Why didn’t you wear soft armor when you went to the palace? If you’d had soft armor, why would you have been beaten so miserably?”

Hearing Yun Ye’s words, Li Chengqian coughed violently several times. He extended his hand to lift Yun Ye’s clothing and immediately saw a dark golden silk soft armor. He coughed twice more and lifted Li Tai’s robe to look—the same soft armor appeared before him. He also had such a piece of soft armor…

“Stop provoking him. If he vomits more blood, he won’t survive.” Li Tai carefully placed Li Chengqian back on the bed, complained to Yun Ye, then lay down on the straw pile to sleep.

When Zhangsun came, the scene she saw nearly angered her to death. Li Chengqian lay on the bed sleeping, and two snoring fellows lay in the straw pile. Where was even half a bit of remorse?

With trembling hands, she demanded the whip from the jailer, opened the cell door, and mercilessly struck the three heartless beasts without regard for head or face. She beat the three men into running circles around the cell before throwing down the whip and sitting on the straw to weep.

Zhangsun’s favorite was Li Tai. Yun Ye and Li Chengqian together pushed Li Tai before Zhangsun. Coaxing Mother should originally be the youngest son’s job anyway.

“Mother Empress, there are some things your son cannot say well right now. In a few days you’ll know that what elder brother did was entirely for Father Emperor’s good. None of us want to oppose Father Emperor—we didn’t before, we don’t now, and we won’t in the future. Look, we’re not heartless people either. If our hearts weren’t at peace, who could sleep?”

Zhangsun had never been someone who could be deceived with two or three sentences. Hearing Li Tai’s words, she raised her head. Her two eyes no longer held tears but were filled with an empress’s dignity: “Explain clearly!”

Yun Ye sucked in cold air while rubbing his buttocks. Zhangsun struck people differently from Li Er—she aimed for the lower regions. His legs had no soft armor protection, so naturally they were beaten painfully sore.

“Your Majesty, you shouldn’t find that demon monk’s tricks strange at all. I just can’t understand how a strange-looking barbarian monk who puts a dead withered plant in his bosom for a day and makes it come back to life—this trick could make you and His Majesty believe he has the ability to resurrect the dead. We have this broken thing in Great Tang too—it’s called Nine Deaths Resurrection Grass. You can find it at any medicine shop. Get a plant and I’ll put it in my bosom. After warming it for two days, it’ll also come alive. Moreover, it can treat illness, perfect for my current symptoms—my nose bled from your slap.”

Zhangsun felt slightly guilty for a moment, then immediately ordered a palace maid to find the Nine Deaths Resurrection Grass Yun Ye mentioned. Grinding her teeth with a crunching sound, she said: “Even if you knew that barbarian monk harbored ill intentions, couldn’t you have remonstrated through other channels? Did you have to employ assassins?”

“This has nothing to do with me and Qing Que. It was Chengqian whose heart was clouded by confusion. It’s unrelated to us. I knocked at the palace gates three times and was thrown out three times, so I had no way to remonstrate.”

Zhangsun was silent for a while, then asked Yun Ye: “What about those fish? Left outside for three days, completely dead, but after the monk chanted scriptures to deliver them, they came back to life. How do you explain this?”

Yun Ye laughed so hard he nearly died. Li Er wanted immortality so badly he was going crazy. Someone brought a few lungfish from Africa and could deceive them to this extent. Who knows where their usual intelligence and wisdom had gone?

“Your Majesty, bring those fish over and let me kill them again. See if the demon monk can still revive them. That kind of fish can survive four years out of water—what does three days matter?”

Looking at Yun Ye squatting before her, laughing so hard he swayed back and forth, Zhangsun was half-dead with anger at Yun Ye’s abominable attitude. She slapped his neck. Though angry, she was no longer heartbroken. She now had sufficient reasons to explain Li Chengqian’s strange actions to Li Er. For this son who was Crown Prince, she was extraordinarily concerned.

The Nine Deaths Resurrection Grass was brought over. They confirmed this thing was completely dead because the eunuch had taken it from the medicine chest—all medicines delivered to the palace this year.

Yun Ye took the Nine Deaths Resurrection Grass, took a mouthful of water and sprayed it on the withered yellow plant. Under Zhangsun’s gaze, within half a watch period, that plant slowly unfurled its curled branches and leaves. It truly came alive.

Zhangsun ordered someone to take away that plant and left in a hurry. Yun Ye loudly advised her from behind that this plant would only turn green tomorrow and needed to be planted in a flowerpot early.

After Zhangsun left, the three men had many more purple-blue bruises on their legs. Looking at those burning painful bruises, Yun Ye didn’t even know what evil he’d committed to become brothers with these two bastards.