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As soon as Li Yuanji left, Li Jiancheng's expression turned serious.
"Is it really that good? Arranging the assassination of Li Shimin at his Prince Qi's Residence! Even if it succeeds, Father will punish him!" Having experienced modern society, Li Jiancheng understood one principle: no profit comes without effort. Why was Li Yuanji so eager to kill Li Shimin?
Could it be that this was Li Yuanji's plan to kill two birds with one stone? After succeeding, he could frame him and make him bear the blame for killing Li Shimin. In this way, not only would Li Shimin be eliminated, but Father would also depose him as the Crown Prince.
It must be like that! Li Jiancheng thought to himself. Naturally, he had to stop Li Yuanji's plan to assassinate Li Shimin. But having just agreed, how could he thwart his plans?
After pondering for a while, Li Jiancheng came up with a solution. He summoned the advisors of the Eastern Palace to the conference hall, stating that there was an important matter to discuss. Among these advisors were Wei Zheng, Xu Shimo, Zhao Hongzhi, and others, including Feng Li, the General of the Imperial Guards of the Eastern Palace, and Xie Shufang from the Left Charioteer’s Office. Even Wang Zhe, who held a minor position as an Assistant Officer, was called in this time for some unknown reason.
Once everyone had gathered, Li Jiancheng spoke up: "I have an important matter to discuss with you all. Prince Qi just came by and asked me and Prince Qin to go to his Prince Qi's Residence for drinks the night after tomorrow. Prince Qi wants me to help him persuade Prince Qin—Li Shimin—to drink more. When Prince Qin is drunk, the assassins that Prince Qi has hidden will come out and kill him. What do you all think? Is this feasible?"
Upon hearing this, Wei Zheng nearly fainted! This was indeed a major issue, but did such a matter need to be discussed with them? How could such a confidential plan be spoken of in front of so many people in the hall?
However, he couldn't reprimand the Crown Prince and could only say, "Prince Qi's plan is quite clever! But this matter must be kept secret; it cannot leak out."
Prince Qi was indeed resourceful. Just a few days ago, he had persuaded the Crown Prince to eliminate Prince Qin—Li Shimin—and now action was about to be taken. The key point was that the assassination of Prince Qin was planned at Prince Qi's Residence. If it had been at the Eastern Palace, he would certainly have opposed it, Wei Zheng thought.
"Yes, this matter must certainly remain confidential! Otherwise, if Prince Qin finds out, he won't go and the plan will fail. Does anyone have any other opinions?" Li Jiancheng continued.
Xu Shimo, Zhao Hongzhi, Feng Li, Xie Shufang, and others all shook their heads. What opinions could they have? Such matters as assassinating Prince Qin should not even be known to them. What was wrong with the Crown Prince for calling them in to discuss this?
Wang Zhe naturally shook his head as well. His position was the lowest; how could he have any say? Though outwardly calm, he felt a storm brewing inside: Prince Qi actually wanted to collaborate with the Crown Prince to assassinate Prince Qin? Fortunately, the Crown Prince had informed everyone about this matter; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable!
"Since no one has any objections, let's disperse! Be sure to keep this confidential!" Li Jiancheng said.
Confidential my foot! Li Jiancheng thought to himself as he discreetly glanced at Wang Zhe hurrying away and smiled smugly.
The others left the conference hall with heavy steps. Although they knew that Prince Qin coveted the position of Crown Prince and should be eliminated sooner rather than later, he was still a prince; assassinating him would undoubtedly be a grave crime they could not associate with. They shouldn't even know such news.
Yet the Crown Prince had chosen to tell them! This was truly... frustrating! They wondered if they would get dragged into this later on!
But they couldn't oppose it just now either. Everyone knew that Prince Qin—Li Shimin—was eyeing the throne; now someone wanted to eliminate him—how could they possibly object?
Wei Zheng wasn't afraid of being implicated and thus expressed his support since he had already suggested getting rid of Prince Qin to the Crown Prince before. His only frustration was that the Crown Prince had been careless in involving so many people; this might lead to failure!
Wei Zheng, Xu Shimo, Zhao Hongzhi, Feng Li, Xie Shufang, and others hurried back to their respective places without noticing Wang Zhe hastily exiting the Eastern Palace toward Prince Qin's mansion.
It turned out that Wang Zhe had long been bribed by Prince Qin—Li Shimin—and was an informant placed in the Eastern Palace by him. Li Jiancheng knew this well; hence he deliberately called everyone in to discuss assassinating Prince Qin while also inviting Wang Zhe along. The purpose was for Wang Zhe to relay this information back to Li Shimin so that he could figure out how to avoid this assassination attempt against him.
Just after sending off Li Yuanji, Li Shimin received Wang Zhe's urgent report and finally understood what was happening! He felt an overwhelming rage building inside him.
He knew that the Fourth Brother also harbored ambitions, and on the surface, he would stand by the Eldest Brother. However, he never expected Li Yuanji to want him dead so soon, and to choose to assassinate him at Prince Qi's Residence!
If the Eldest Brother wanted to do this, it could be understood, after all, during the Yang Wengan Incident, he had nearly put him to death. But Li Yuanji's actions truly surprised Li Shimin.
Earlier, Li Yuanji had come to invite him to drink at his Prince Qi's Residence the night after tomorrow. The first reason he gave was the so-called brotherly bond, which Li Shimin naturally did not believe. However, the second reason seemed genuine; Li Yuanji was very fond of hunting. Due to various incidents recently, he hadn’t been able to hunt for a long time. It was entirely reasonable for him to want to hunt now. So, Li Shimin agreed.
Now that he knew this was a conspiracy, Li Shimin had to think about how to respond.
Should he find an excuse not to go? That didn’t seem wise! If he backed out right after agreeing, they would definitely suspect that there had been a leak. Would they end up exposing Wang Zhe, their informant? Wang Zhe was far too important; he couldn’t be exposed!
So what should he do?
Ah! Regarding Li Yuanji's second reason—wasn’t it about discussing with their father when they could all go hunting together? Why not just invite their father directly? With their father present, Li Yuanji would definitely not dare to carry out an assassination. It would be tantamount to signing his own death warrant! Moreover, with the emperor’s guards always by his side, no assassin could succeed.
That settled it! Li Shimin decided to visit the palace.
However, he didn’t go that day but chose the next day instead. This way, he could think about how to persuade their father to go to Prince Qi's Residence without mentioning any assassination intentions. Additionally, it would prevent Prince Qi or the Crown Prince from noticing his movements; going to the palace that day might raise suspicions.
After the morning court session on the second day, while others were distracted, Li Shimin did not leave the palace but entered the Two Instruments Hall to find Emperor Li Yuan. As a prince, it was relatively easy for him to move around in the palace.
“Shimin, what brings you here?” Emperor Li Yuan asked upon seeing Li Shimin enter.
“Father, tomorrow night Fourth Brother has invited Your humble son and Eldest Brother for drinks. Your humble son would like to invite Father to join us!” Li Shimin stated his intention directly.
“Oh, you three brothers want to spend some time together. There’s no need for me to join you,” Emperor Li Yuan replied pleasantly upon hearing this. He hoped for harmony among his three legitimate sons.
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