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Li Jiancheng hurried to the council hall, where the Crown Prince's Horse Master Wei Zheng, the Crown Prince's Secretary Wang Gui, the Left Guard Commander Wei Ting, the Crown Prince's Attendant Xu Mo, and the Registrar Zhao Hongzhi had already gathered. Since they were all in the Eastern Palace, they arrived quickly.
"Your Highness, what is the urgency?" Wei Zheng asked first as everyone settled in. His keen eyes noticed that Li Jiancheng's expression was off, and he had a vague sense that something serious had occurred.
"Take a look at this!" Li Jiancheng handed them the imperial edict.
The edict stated that Er Zhu Huan and Qiao Gong Shan had accused Crown Prince Li Jiancheng of conspiring to transport a batch of armor and weapons to Gyeongju, intending to collude with Governor Yang Wengan to rebel. It ordered Li Jiancheng to go to Ren Zhi Palace for an explanation!
Upon reading the contents of the edict, everyone gasped. Rebellion was a capital offense! Even the Crown Prince was not exempt! If it weren't for the Royal Princes and Grandsons, anyone else committing such a crime would face extermination of their entire clan!
"Your Highness, you cannot go! The Emperor is furious; if you go, it would be a matter of life and death!" Xu Mo spoke up first, his expression anxious and his tone filled with concern.
"Shi Mo, what should I do then?" Li Jiancheng asked. Shi Mo was Xu Mo's courtesy name.
"Now that the Emperor, Prince Qin, and Prince Qi are all out of Chang'an, why not take this opportunity to raise troops and seize power for yourself?" Xu Mo boldly suggested. He believed that since Li Yuan, Li Shimin, and Li Yuanji were currently at Ren Zhi Palace on Yuhua Mountain, 300 miles north of Chang'an City, Li Jiancheng could take advantage of this chance to occupy Chang'an and forcefully ascend to the throne, potentially escaping his current predicament.
Xu Mo's suggestion had some merit, and Li Jiancheng felt a stir in his heart. However, having just crossed over into this world without fully grasping the situation yet, he dared not take such a risk. He turned to the others and asked, "Is that feasible?"
Zhao Hongzhi quickly shook his head. "Your Highness, no! Although you are in Chang'an, you cannot mobilize troops. The power to command the army lies with the Emperor; most generals are close to Prince Qin and Li Shimin—they will not listen to you at all. Currently, you only command the Three Thousand Imperial Guards in the Eastern Palace; what can such a small force accomplish? Even if Yang Wengan outside responds, it won't shake the foundations of the Tang Dynasty." Zhao Hongzhi analyzed clearly; he understood the distribution of military power well and knew that raising troops at this time was an extremely unwise choice.
"Are you suggesting that His Highness should go to his death?" Xu Mo immediately retorted against Zhao Hongzhi's opposition, somewhat dissatisfied with his viewpoint.
Zhao Hongzhi replied promptly, "Shi Mo, if His Highness follows your advice, that would indeed be a dead end." He then turned to Li Jiancheng earnestly and said, "For now, Your Highness should go alone with minimal attendants to sincerely admit your mistakes before the Emperor. Given their father-son bond, he will surely spare your life. As for maintaining your position as Crown Prince, it may be difficult."
Wei Zheng added, "Your Highness is right; Mr. Zhao is correct. You currently lack the strength to raise troops. Gaining the Emperor's understanding is the best strategy. While you must admit your mistakes before him, you should also prepare a backup plan." His gaze was deep as if he had already thought of a countermeasure.
"Backup plan? What kind of backup plan?" Li Jiancheng asked eagerly. This Wei Zheng was renowned in history; he believed he must have some genuine strategies.
Although Zhao Hongzhi's words made sense, Li Jiancheng was reluctant to go alone before the Emperor to admit his mistakes. After all, he was afraid—what if that cheap father of his, Li Yuan, killed him out of anger? That would be disastrous!
Wei Zheng responded, "The backup plan I speak of is for Your Highness to bring two people with you to Ren Zhi Palace. As long as these two are by your side when facing the Emperor, it can ensure your safety!"
"Bring two people? Didn't Mr. Zhao say I should go alone?" Li Jiancheng's eyes lit up at Wei Zheng's words but felt puzzled—were there really two people in his Eastern Palace whom even the Emperor feared?
"What Mr. Zhao meant was that Your Highness shouldn't bring anyone from the Eastern Palace. The two I mentioned are not from there!" Wei Zheng clarified.
"Oh? Who are these two?" Only then did Li Jiancheng realize he had misunderstood.
"One is Consort De; the other is Lord Feng. Both have always supported you and can speak on your behalf before the Emperor. If he intends to harm you, they will never stand by idly!" Wei Zheng explained.
Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this. They all knew Consort De and Lord Feng held significant positions in Li Yuan's heart and understood that these two might indeed help Li Jiancheng through this crisis.
"Alright then; I will follow Lord Wei's advice and send someone to summon these two!" Li Jiancheng agreed that this plan seemed viable.
Li Jiancheng did not know much about Feng Deyi, but he had a certain understanding of Yin De Fei. In Li Yuan's harem, there was no Empress, only consorts. This was because Li Yuan's first wife, Dou, had passed away before he ascended to the throne. After becoming Emperor, Li Yuan posthumously honored Dou as Empress Tai Mu. The other concubines could only be titled as consorts.
Yin De Fei held a position in the harem that was second only to Consort Wan. However, Consort Wan was aging and no longer favored by the Emperor. Thus, it was actually Yin De Fei who had a voice in front of Emperor Li Yuan. Moreover, Yin De Fei had a history with Li Shimin; an unpleasant incident had occurred between them.
Yin De Fei's father, Yin A-Shu, was arrogant and overbearing. When Du Ruhui, an official from Prince Qin's mansion, passed by his residence, several of Yin A-Shu's servants dragged Du Ruhui off his horse, beat him up, and even broke one of his fingers while arrogantly declaring, "Who do you think you are to dare pass by my door without dismounting?"
Fearing that Li Shimin would report this to Li Yuan, Yin A-Shu instructed Yin De Fei to falsely accuse Li Shimin of bullying her family. Consequently, Li Yuan became furious and reprimanded Li Shimin. Despite Li Shimin's repeated attempts to clarify himself, Li Yuan remained unconvinced.
This incident sowed mutual resentment between Li Shimin and Yin De Fei. She absolutely did not want Li Shimin to become the crown prince. Deep down, she knew that if Li Shimin ascended to the throne, her future would be bleak.
Thus, Yin De Fei was undoubtedly aligned with Li Jiancheng. In fact, most of the concubines sided with Li Jiancheng as well. After all, he was the crown prince and destined to become emperor. They cultivated good relations with him in hopes that their own sons would receive preferential treatment in the future.
This was understandable; who wouldn't want to plan for their own future? Unfortunately for them, fate had other plans, and history ultimately saw Li Shimin become emperor. As a result, both Yin De Fei and her son, Li Yuanheng, met unfortunate ends.
Now that Li Jiancheng has changed the course of events, history will inevitably follow suit.
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