Chapter 47: Li Chengzong's Rashness

Wei Zheng stroked his beard and smiled slightly. "Your Highness, rest assured. Even if the Imperial Grandson were to truly suffer some unexpected misfortune, the blame cannot be pinned upon Your Highness."

Li Jiancheng looked at Wei Zheng curiously. "Why is that?"

"Your Highness has done all that ought to be done, has you not? Rather than dwelling on this, Your Highness should concern yourself with the foundations of the Eastern Palace. The raising of cavalry brooks no delay."

Li Jiancheng nodded. Now that external threats had been pacified, Li Shimin's spearhead would soon be turning toward him.

Whether through a direct falling-out or a future rebellion, he, Li Jiancheng, must possess his own loyal core of followers—a trusted force capable of utterly crushing Li Shimin's personal faction.

"Very well. I leave this matter in your hands, Master Wei. Remember, you must select fierce and battle-hardened generals to help the Eastern Palace train this elite troop."

"Understood. By the way, Your Highness, I have also looked into the woman who is on close terms with the Imperial Grandson. Her name is Su Qingyue, and she is the proprietor behind most of the pleasure houses in Chang'an."

"She possesses vast wealth and maintains close dealings with the Mansion of the Prince of Qin."

Hearing this, a murderous glint flashed in Li Jiancheng's eyes. "Close to the Prince of Qin? Then..."

"Your Highness need not worry. On the contrary, we can utilize this woman to keep the Prince of Qin's faction in check."

"Explain."

"Su Qingyue is a merchant, and a woman at that; she is bound to care little for sentiment and much for profit. We need only bribe her handsomely... and we can bring her into the service of the Eastern Palace."

"Moreover, the Imperial Grandson lingers there day after day, and presumably shares some friendship with Su Qingyue. We can take advantage of this to have her feed false intelligence regarding our Eastern Palace to the Prince of Qin's Mansion."

Li Jiancheng pondered for a moment and nodded. "Good! We shall follow Master Wei's plan. Send someone to see her tomorrow—courtesy first, force of arms later."

Before he could finish speaking, Xue Wangche hurried in frantically. "Your Highness, disaster has struck."

"What is it?"

"The Prince of Pingyuan left the manor with fifty personal guards half an hour ago to silence all the witnesses—the Imperial Kitchen chef and the guard who were beheaded today, along with their families. Even the neighboring children who witnessed the event have..."

"That second brother of mine is truly a fool! Today I expended every ounce of effort to deflect suspicion onto the Prince of Qin's Mansion, yet he goes and silences witnesses by night, as if he's afraid the whole world doesn't know he tried to murder his elder brother today!"

"Your Highness, matters have reached this point. Our priority must be to protect the Prince of Taiyuan."

Like Li Jiancheng, Wei Zheng actually favored Li Chengzong, the Prince of Taiyuan, to be the Imperial Grandson.

Therefore, he naturally would not waste thought on Li Chengche. For this reason, at this very moment, he spoke of how to protect the Prince of Taiyuan rather than seeking justice for the Imperial Grandson who was on the verge of dying from illness.

"Protect him? With him acting like this, who can protect him? I truly wish he had actually died a few years ago, so he wouldn't be causing such a monumental disaster now!"

"Report! Your Highness, this is bad! On his way back, the Prince of Taiyuan was captured by General Su Lie of the Prince of Qin's Mansion!"

Su Lie, styled Dingfang, was a formidable general under Liu Heizha who had defected to Li Shimin after Liu Heizha's pacification.

This man was fierce, valiant in battle, and uncompromising in his enforcement of the law. This truly spelled trouble. "Master, I must pay a visit to the Prince of Qin's Mansion. Carry out our agreed-upon plan."

"Yes," Wei Zheng replied, cupping his hands.

Meanwhile, in the main hall of the Prince of Qin's Mansion, Li Shimin sat upright, staring straight at Su Lie. "Duke of Yinguo, are you certain? Was it truly the Prince of Taiyuan who took men to slaughter the innocent?"

"This subordinate saw it with his own eyes. They killed thirty-seven people in total, all law-abiding citizens of Chang'an, along with the family members of several subordinate officials from the Crown Prince's Mansion."

Li Shimin let out a cold laugh. "Interesting... Did the Prince of Pingyuan state why he did this?"

"He gave no explanation, only kept shouting for this subordinate to release him."

"Release him? With a matter this grave, how could he simply be let go? Take me to see this nephew of mine."

"Yes!"

"Your Highness, wait!"

At that moment, Cheng Zhijie strode in from outside. "Brother Cheng, what is the matter? Can it not wait until I have seen my worthy nephew Chengzong?"

"If Your Highness waits until after you've seen that boy, it will be too late. Old Cheng here caught wind of something outside the city today."

"Today, Imperial Grandson Li Chengche suddenly fell gravely ill. After a thorough investigation by the Crown Prince, he had the chef on duty in the Eastern Palace kitchens last night and the Eastern Palace guard who delivered the medicine to Li Chengche executed."

"The families of the subordinate officials whom Li Chengzong slaughtered today belong precisely to those two men."

Hearing this, Li Shimin immediately burst into laughter. "I had previously heard that my sister-in-law disliked my eldest nephew. Today, it seems those rumors were not false."

"Nephew Chengzong couldn't wait even a moment after nephew Chengche fell gravely ill, committing such an act... This illness of Chengche's came at a most opportune time, dragging all the scandalous secrets of the Eastern Palace out into the light."

Beside him, Changsun Wuji gently waved his folding fan, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Your Highness is perceptive. The Imperial Grandson feigning illness to show weakness and draw the enemy in has indeed caused the brothers of Li Chengzong to lose their composure and strike first. Now that the Prince of Taiyuan has fallen into our hands, he serves as a sharp blade to sever the foundations of the Eastern Palace. It seems we all underestimated this Imperial Grandson."

"Indeed, brother-in-law... Let us go and see my good nephew."

In a side room, Li Chengzong was ranting furiously, though it was unclear whom he was cursing. "How dare you! I am the Prince of Taiyuan, the own nephew of your master! How dare you treat me thus!"

"My nephew is quite spirited."

With these words, Li Shimin stepped through the doorway to find Imperial Concubine Yang cleaning up a porcelain cup that Li Chengzong had smashed.

"Nephew, is this how your father taught you? Imperial Concubine Yang is, after all, your aunt by marriage. How can you be so discourteous?"

"It was merely a momentary lapse in judgment on my nephew's part; Uncle, please forgive me. Yet Uncle is acting quite unreasonably tonight—why have your subordinate generals brought me here?"

Li Shimin let out a cold snort. "A fine question from my nephew. You butchered thirty-seven innocent citizens; should I not intervene? If I did not, and the Court of Judicial Review took charge instead, do you know how your crime would be dealt with?"

Li Chengzong was, after all, still a child. Frightened thus, he instantly panicked. "How... how would it be dealt with?"

"Death by a thousand cuts, dismemberment by chariots, or death by boiling—take your pick. You killed thirty-seven people..."

As they spoke, Changsun Wuyou walked in. "Husband, eldest brother has arrived."

Li Shimin sighed. "Today's affair, your uncle will bear the responsibility for you. I must go meet your father first, and shortly he will come to fetch you himself."

Hearing this, all the color drained from Li Chengzong's face. He knew the incident tonight was far too massive; Li Jiancheng would certainly not let him off lightly.

When Li Shimin emerged, Li Jiancheng's face was etched with exhaustion, his garments dusted with grime, no doubt from rushing over in haste.

"Eldest brother has visited in the dead of night, and I failed to welcome you from afar."

"Shimin, spare me the jokes. My second son is here with you, isn't he?"

"Indeed. Eldest brother, the crime he has committed this time is no small matter—thirty-seven human lives. You must supervise him strictly. If such a thing happens again, His Majesty will strip him of his royal title. 'The Son of Heaven commits crimes against the law just as commoners do' is no idle jest."

"I know. It was my fault. I shall take him back right now for strict discipline..."

Li Shimin nodded. "There is one more matter: you must also address the boy's actions against his elder brother. A younger brother murdering an elder sibling violates all human ethics. That matter is likewise of grave consequence."