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墨書 Inktalez
Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Yuanji took their leave and departed. Once outside the palace, Li Shimin headed back to his Tian Ce General's Mansion. This mansion was formerly known as Prince Qin's Mansion, and people still commonly referred to it as such; I will do the same from now on.
Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji walked together.
"Brother, why did you defend Li Shimin in front of Father just now?" Li Yuanji asked, puzzled.
"Fourth Brother, do you really think Father believes that your second brother would say such things?" Li Jiancheng countered.
"Second Brother has always wanted to be the Crown Prince; surely he could say something like that," Li Yuanji replied, appearing convinced.
Li Jiancheng shook his head. "I believe Li Shimin would not say that. Thinking it is one thing; saying it is another. Your second brother is not that foolish. Father wouldn’t believe he would say such things either."
"Then why did Father ask you?" Li Yuanji pressed further.
"Someone slandered Li Shimin in front of Father, and he suspects I am behind it. His question was merely a test of me," Li Jiancheng explained.
"What if you had said that Li Shimin would speak such rebellious words? What would Father have done?" Li Yuanji continued to inquire.
"In that case, Father would feign anger towards Li Shimin and hand him over to the Law Enforcement Agency. However, deep down, he would be disappointed in me. Li Shimin would only go through the motions at the Law Enforcement Agency and would soon be released without any real consequences," Li Jiancheng assessed.
"Oh, then it's fortunate that you are so clever, Brother," Li Yuanji said. Yet in his heart, he thought it was a pity that both Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin had come out unscathed from this incident.
Li Jiancheng paid little attention to how Li Yuanji felt; he was preoccupied with his own thoughts.
Before long, they arrived at the Eastern Palace's entrance. As it was lunchtime, Li Yuanji felt awkward following Li Jiancheng inside and had to take his leave.
After lunch, Li Jiancheng went to take a nap on his bed—a habit he had developed in modern society. However, today he found himself unable to sleep as he pondered an important question: it seemed that Yuwen Shiji from Prince Qin's Mansion could potentially be swayed.
During yesterday’s hunting event, when Li Shimin was thrown off his horse, only Yuwen Shiji was nearby—he was the closest person to him. If Li Shimin had said anything at that moment, only Yuwen Shiji would have heard it.
The fact that what Li Shimin said reached their father’s ears indicated that Yuwen Shiji was certainly worth considering. He could not directly report to their father; so through whom? It was clear it would be through his sister Yu Wen Zhao Yi. After the hunt ended and they returned home, the Yuwen siblings walked together.
Was Yuwen Shiji intentionally or unintentionally speaking about this with his sister? That was difficult to determine. If it were intentional, then this person would definitely be worth winning over. If unintentional, it would be harder to judge.
Yu Wen Zhao Yi was not an ordinary woman either. Their father had once intended to make her empress but she firmly refused. This indicated she understood the principle of "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down." She was very low-key and cautious!
With such a character, Yu Wen Zhao Yi would likely not directly mention anything about Li Shimin to the Emperor. It was highly probable that she communicated through Yin De Fei for the information to reach the Emperor’s ears—and by then, the message might have been distorted. In the harem, Yin De Fei harbored great animosity towards Li Shimin; she was most likely to slander him.
Yu Wen Zhao Yi's close relationship with Yin De Fei and her discussion of Li Shimin indicated a deliberate action on her part. This suggested that although Yu Wen Zhao Yi did not openly favor me as the Crown Prince, she secretly wished to show goodwill towards me.
Her brother, Yuwen Shiji, should be able to be brought into the fold. The informant Du Yan, who had been placed in Prince Qin's mansion, had already been dispatched by Li Yuan. Now, it was urgent for her to develop a new informant within Prince Qin's mansion, and that person would be Yuwen Shiji!
With this decision in mind, Li Jiancheng closed his eyes for a moment.
After the afternoon nap, Li Jiancheng called Ma Qiang. "Let's go for a stroll in the streets."
"Sure!" Ma Qiang replied eagerly.
The two of them left the Eastern Palace and headed out onto the street.
"Ma Qiang, do you know where the nearest Blacksmith Shop is? Let's go take a look!" Li Jiancheng said to Ma Qiang.
"I know. Your Highness, follow me!" Ma Qiang answered.
Li Jiancheng nodded, and Ma Qiang led the way down a path. Gradually, the sound of clanging metal filled the air.
"Your Highness, why are we going to the Blacksmith Shop? Are we going to forge weapons?" Ma Qiang asked curiously.
Li Jiancheng nodded slightly. "Yes. As the Crown Prince, I have too few military achievements. I plan to go to battle more often in the future, so I want to get a reliable weapon. Ma Qiang, have them forge me a knife identical to yours."
"Huh? Weren't you using a spear before? Why switch to a knife? Besides, as Crown Prince, even if you lead troops into battle, you don't need to fight on the front lines yourself," Ma Qiang said with growing curiosity.
"I find that using a knife is more convenient. Regardless of whether I will personally charge into battle or not, I should always carry a weapon," Li Jiancheng replied.
"That's true," Ma Qiang agreed with a slight nod. The Crown Prince had changed so much recently; switching weapons seemed like a minor change in comparison.
Sometimes, Ma Qiang even wondered if this Crown Prince was an imposter.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, he quickly suppressed it. Jia Jian would later have him impersonate the Crown Prince; it was clear that His Highness had summoned him for that purpose.
Shaking off his thoughts, Ma Qiang and Li Jiancheng headed straight for the Blacksmith Shop.
Li Jiancheng didn't genuinely want a knife; he could easily find one in the Eastern Palace. What he truly wanted was to see how skilled these blacksmiths were at forging iron.
He had already thought of something great: Tool Alloy Steel!
Using this type of steel to forge weapons and equipping it to the soldiers in the Eastern Palace would make battles feel like cutting through vegetables!
Even so, even the Three Thousand Imperial Guards could match tens of thousands of Imperial Guards. However, this Tool Alloy Steel is too hard! Relying on manpower alone, I don't know how many blacksmiths we would need to meet the demands of the Eastern Palace and the Three Thousand Imperial Guards. This is a tough challenge. But we have to give it a try; let's see what happens!
Soon, the two arrived at the Blacksmith Shop. Inside, several shirtless blacksmiths were busy forging agricultural tools. Each of them had well-developed muscles, clearly fitting the image of strong men. Next to the bellows, a dark-faced man was operating the bellows.
Upon seeing the man at the bellows, Ma Qiang suddenly exclaimed, "Brother Hua Ying?"
Hua Ying turned his head at the sound of Ma Qiang's voice. He was about to respond when he noticed Li Jiancheng and coldly said, "You’ve mistaken me for someone else!"
Ma Qiang quickly stepped forward and confidently replied, "No, I haven't. We used to see each other often back in Wagang!"
"You've mistaken me for someone else!" Hua Ying repeated, continuing to work the bellows without paying further attention.
Ma Qiang was about to say more when Li Jiancheng stopped him and asked, "Do you know him?"
"Yes! He was one of the guards of the former Single Leader," Ma Qiang replied.
"Oh, I see!" Li Jiancheng nodded in understanding.
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