"Li Yuangui, why did you collude with barbarian rebels to plot treason?"
Early in the morning, within the walls of the Great Peace Hall, the air was thick with smoke amidst scattered ruins. The assassins had set fire to the buildings and corridors near the western pavilion, nearly destroying the main hall of the Great Peace Hall. Only the eastern pavilion, located farther away, remained intact. The interrogation chamber where Crown Prince Li Chengqian came to demand answers was set up inside this eastern pavilion.
After Li Yuangui and his companions were summoned down from the watchtower, he quickly washed up and straightened his attire to prepare for an audience with the heir apparent while racking his brains to concoct a story: how he had been sleeping in Prince Wu's residence at the Seventeenth Prince's Residence when he was abducted by black-clad assassins at midnight, how he was forced to climb a cliff, how he was imprisoned in the watchtower... Yet upon entering the eastern pavilion, before he could even finish paying his respects, Li Chengqian hurled this accusation at him without preamble.
Perhaps it was just as well—it saved him the effort of weaving lies and engaging in tedious back-and-forth.
After fighting through the night, he was utterly exhausted. His legs felt as if they were weighed down by thousand-pound hammers, and his ears buzzed as if swarmed by bees or flies. Propping himself up on the ground from his kneeling position, Li Yuangui took a deep breath and noticed that apart from Li Chengqian seated solemnly behind the desk in front of the screen, there were only two young attendants standing guard at the door. No other officials were present in the room.
Li Chengqian had not brought any officials from the Crown Prince's Palace, nor had he allowed the garrison guard commanders to stay and assist in the interrogation. As Li Yuangui approached the steps of the eastern pavilion earlier, he had seen Garrison Guard General Zhang Shigui hurriedly leaving, his face pale and his mind clearly elsewhere—so much so that he hadn't even noticed Li Yuangui approaching.
This was also the Crown Prince's way of saying, "Cut the nonsense and don't waste my time." With such a major incident unfolding in the Great Peace Palace—the deaths of the Yin siblings, the Supreme Emperor's fright and near-miss—there was no way the news could be kept from the Emperor and Empress. Perhaps the imperial couple was already on their way to the Great Peace Palace at this very moment. Li Chengqian had rushed ahead precisely to prepare his explanation for his parents' inevitable questioning.
"May I ask Your Highness, how is the Crown Princess's injury?"
Li Yuangui sidestepped the accusation of "colluding with barbarian rebels to plot treason"—he couldn't deny it outright, so he shifted to the offensive. After all, hadn't the recent chaos in the Great Peace Palace stemmed from Li Chengqian's own collusion with Consort Yin and his reckless actions?
Asking a husband about his wife's condition was, in fact, highly improper. Li Chengqian's brows shot up in anger, but before he could react, Li Yuangui swiftly added, "How did Your Highness explain to the Hall of Established Governance the whereabouts of my seventeenth sister?"
The Seventeenth Princess had been abducted by barbarian rebels and had not returned to the Hall of Established Governance. The Crown Prince's Palace needed to provide an explanation for this, or else it would be impossible to hide from Empress Zhangsun and the Emperor. Li Chengqian frowned, hesitating for a moment before deciding that coordinating their stories was more important. Suppressing his temper, he replied:
"I reported to the Empress that the Seventeenth Princess and Su Shi were afflicted by yin energy during a memorial service at the Wangsheng Temple and fell ill on their way back. Fearing the illness might spread to the Hall of Established Governance, they are recuperating in the Crown Prince's Palace for now..."
"Did the Empress not send palace matrons or maids to the Crown Prince's Palace to check on them?" Li Yuangui asked.
"She did. They only saw Su Shi briefly before I found a way to send them away," Li Chengqian said darkly. "Where is the Seventeenth Princess? Where have you hidden her? Don't think you can use this to threaten me!"He had lied to his mother first, claiming "Uncle Fourteen dreamed of his deceased mother wanting to take his sister to perform sacrifices," then colluded with Yin Shi and her brother to abduct her midway, ultimately creating this mess. Even as he spoke of it, he felt guilty, short of breath, and flushed with anger. Li Yuangui stared at him, itching to mock him with a few sharp words, but alas—he lacked both the energy and the time.
"Let me go," he said tersely. "I know who has Seventeenth Sister. The sooner I go to rescue her, the better the chances."
"She’s not in your hands?" Li Chengqian asked suspiciously. "Those foreign assassins who attacked Great Peace Palace—they were clearly your accomplices!"
He knew these black-clad assassins had appeared at Gongren Slope that night. Li Yuangui realized that perhaps Crown Princess Su Shi had told her husband after waking. As for the other "collusion" details, he might have pieced some together, but there was likely no solid evidence.
"Those foreign assassins wanted me dead—does Your Highness not know this?" Li Yuangui retorted. "I was careless, captured by them, and used as a human shield—hardly intentional..."
As he spoke, he saw Li Chengqian lean back against the armrest, his handsome face twisting into that mocking smile that seemed to say, Do you think I’m stupid? This nephew was actually two years older than Li Yuangui, had been named Crown Prince at eight and taken residence in the Eastern Palace, and in recent years had acted as regent, wielding imperial authority. His arrogance and imposing demeanor were a youthful mirror of the current Son of Heaven.
Under his scorching gaze, Li Yuangui didn’t bother spinning too elaborate a tale—he, too, was guilty and short of breath. "How does Your Highness intend to report last night’s incident at Great Peace Palace to His Majesty?"
"Truthfully," Li Chengqian said coldly. "The fourteenth son of the Supreme Emperor, Prince Wu Yuan-gui, colluded with Tuyuhun foreign rebels, using the Inner Sanctum Female Taoist Chai Shi and palace maid Wei Shi as inside agents to launch a nighttime assault on Great Peace Hall in an act of treason. By the grace of Heaven and the protection of the Supreme Emperor’s divine favor, the imperial guards fought valiantly, thwarting the traitors. Consort Yin Shi and others died in service to the throne, and I shall request the court to posthumously honor them."
Li Yuangui considered this and found the account not entirely inaccurate. It was impressive how much Li Chengqian had managed to extract in such a short time after arriving early that morning.
"As a brother of His Majesty, I trust the Son of Heaven’s boundless mercy will grant me an audience to plead my case," he said, struggling to mask the exhaustion and hoarseness in his voice. "I dare not deceive His Majesty. Consort Yin Shi abused and tormented my mother and siblings, driving my late mother to a resentful death. I took Seventeenth Sister to the Hall of Established Governance to be raised under the Empress’s kindness—all of this, His Majesty already knows. The Emperor and Empress have always pitied my siblings’ plight. If I offended the Eastern Palace to save my sister and was then falsely accused, the Son of Heaven will surely uphold justice. Seventeenth Sister is now missing, fallen into enemy hands—this shames the imperial family and tarnishes His Majesty’s filial virtue. The Emperor and Empress cannot… stand idly by…"
He didn’t expect his fabricated tale to convince Li Chengqian. His only recourse now was a direct threat: If you dare accuse me of treason, I’ll tell your parents that you deceived them and lost your aunt.
But… the weight of these two accusations and their consequences were hardly equal.
Sure enough, Li Chengqian let out a derisive snort through his nostrils."Very well. Let's both bring our lawsuits before the Emperor and see whom His Majesty believes—even if he believes us both, the worst I'll face is the charge of mishearing rumors and failing in familial harmony. I'd simply be responsible for finding our seventeenth aunt again. But you? Conspiring with enemy assassins in rebellion and treason, attempting patricide and regicide—what charge would that be? What punishment awaits?"
What punishment? At most, extermination of three generations or nine kinship groups... Then my own elder brother, the current Son of Heaven, and his legitimate heir should also lose their heads... Li Yuangui suddenly felt an absurd urge to laugh. All this back-and-forth, all these accusations—in the end, it was still just family members slaughtering each other.
"Your Highness's failure in familial harmony isn't limited to just my sister and me, is it?" Li Yuangui sneered through clenched teeth. "That Blood Jade Thumb Ring in Princess Linfen's dowry chest at the Temple of Common Vocation—has Your Highness forgotten it so quickly?"
Throughout their argument, Li Chengqian had maintained an expression of scornful disdain. But upon hearing these words, his countenance abruptly changed. He leaned forward, elbows pressing into the desk:
"What did you say?"
OpenNovel