In the Tai Chi Palace in Chang'an, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji came to the Harem to visit his father as usual. If Li Yuan gave up his military power last time and was somewhat unwilling to face reality, then this time he fell ill was that his condition was already serious and critical.

The two brothers were waiting uneasy in front of the Yangxin Palace. The eunuchs had already gone to report, but they had been there for nearly a quarter of an hour and there was no news yet, which made them a little anxious.

After escaping from Hanzhong, Li Yuanji was extremely uneasy. He turned all the responsibility on Luo Yi. He faithfully implemented his father's secret order. As for the reason for the internal conflict, it was also because he discovered that Luo Yi was working together outside and was preparing to offer the city to the Sui army. A fierce battle broke out when he was stopped.

From common sense, Li Yuanji's explanation has no loopholes, which is reasonable. Luo Yi did surrender to the Sui army after an internal strife. As for the subtle details in the middle, no one can know the truth except Li Yuanji's aide Qian Rong, and this aide Qian Rong was also missing during the chaos in the city.

It was precisely because Li Yuan felt guilty of the secret decree that he did not hold Li Yuanji responsible. He just said, "The minister's heart is unpredictable" and wiped out all Li Yuanji's responsibilities lightly.

At this time, Li Yuanji was also afraid that something might happen to his father. If his father had any problems, the King of Qin would lead his troops into the city, and the first thing he would do was to kill him.

"Brother, my father will not be surprised!" Li Yuanji asked in a low voice.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Li Jiancheng glared at his brother, "Don't say such things again in the future."

Li Yuanji was so scared that he dared not say anything again. At this time, the chief imperial physician Wang Jianhua in the palace hurried over and bowed to salute, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, Your Highness the King of Qi, I have something to talk about."

Li Jiancheng felt a bad feeling in his heart. He nodded and pointed to the room not far away, "Go and talk there!"

The three of them walked into the room and sat down. Wang Jianhua sighed and said in a heavy mood: "The situation is not good, I hope your highness will make the worst plan."

Li Jiancheng's heart suddenly tightened, and he took a deep breath, "How long can Father last?"

Wang Jianhua lowered his head and pondered for a while before slowly saying: "As long as one month, at least half a month, he has poisoned himself into his internal organs. There is no cure to save him."

"poison!"

Li Yuanji jumped up suddenly, grabbed Wang Jianhua's clothes, his eyes widened, and he shouted: "What poison has my father been poisoned?"

Wang Jianhua was so scared that he trembled all over and hurriedly explained: "Your Highness the Crown Prince knows about this."

Li Yuanji turned around and stared at his brother with bloody eyes. Li Jiancheng sighed and waved his hand, "You let go of Doctor Wang, it has nothing to do with him."

Li Yuanji pushed Wang Jianhua away, turned around and asked in a deep voice: "Brother, what's going on?"

"This was done by a pharmacist in the palace a few months ago. He secretly applied a chronic poison to his father, which would only occur after a few months. But the poison has entered the internal organs and cannot be saved."

Li Yuanji gritted his teeth and said, "Where is this pharmacist? I want to cut him into pieces."

"He has hanged himself, and his wife and several sons are not missing. He has not found any clues for several months."

"Hmph! How can there be such a cheap thing?"

A thought suddenly flashed through Li Yuanji's mind, and he looked at Li Jiancheng in shock, "Brother, is it..."

Li Jiancheng didn't allow him to continue talking, "No one knows about this, stop talking nonsense."

He stood up and bowed to the imperial physician Wang Jianhua. "I'd better ask the imperial physician Wang to save his father as much as possible and prolong his life."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. This is my duty, I will do my best."

Li Yuanji was not so easy to talk to. He glared at Wang Jianhua viciously, "If my father has many shortcomings, I will bury you with you!"

Wang Jianhua was so scared that he went tremblingly. Li Yuanji was about to ask again, but Li Jiancheng waved his hand, "This is not a place to talk, go to the East Palace to talk!"

Li Yuanji nodded and followed Li Jiancheng back to the East Palace. As soon as he entered the gate of the East Palace, Li Yuanji couldn't wait to ask: "Brother, is he really doing it?"

Li Jiancheng had a gloomy face and said nothing. After a long time, he said, "I'll take you to see someone first."

The two rode their horses all the way to Juwen Pavilion in the East Palace, which was the treasure of the East Palace. Several confidant guards led the way in front and walked into the pavilion, but walked towards the basement. The guards led the way with torches in front. The basement of Juwen Pavilion is also a place where documents and archives are placed, and they are composed of small stone rooms.

Li Yuanji was full of doubts and wanted to ask several times, but the emperor's face was as gloomy as water, so he had to swallow the words to his mouth. The two of them came to the innermost stone chamber. Several guards stood at the door of the stone chamber. Seeing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince arrive, the guards bowed together, "See Your Highness!"

Li Jiancheng nodded and pointed to the stone chamber, "How is the person?"

"Fortunately, it's been a little quiet in the morning, but it's going to be a little more later."

The guard opened the door and pushed it in. Li Yuanji was puzzled and followed the emperor into the room. Then he found a woman sitting on the bed in a corner of the room, with her feet tied up by iron chains. The woman was about forty or fifty years old, with her hair disheveled and her expression was terrifying.

When she saw Li Jiancheng coming in, she rushed up like a mad woman, but was pushed down by the guards. Two guards, one left and one right, put her gloves into the iron ring on the wall, making her unable to move.

"Brother, who is she?" Li Yuanji asked in confusion.

"This person is the wife of the poisoning pharmacist and was caught by us in Bashu."

Li Jiancheng sneered, "I also searched for a letter on her. It was a letter left by the pharmacist, and the evidence was very conclusive."

Li Yuanji was surprised. It turned out that the eldest brother had already had evidence, so...

Li Jiancheng knew what he wanted to say, so he quickly winked at him. Li Yuanji understood and stopped talking. The two left Juwen Pavilion again and returned to Li Jiancheng's study to sit down. The palace maid served two cups of tea. Li Jiancheng waved his hand to the eunuchs and palace maids around him, "You all retreat!"

Several eunuchs and palace maids retreated one after another, and Li Yuanji asked impatiently: "Since the evidence of the emperor is conclusive, why not report it to his father?"

Li Jiancheng smiled bitterly, "The situation of the war is so tense now. I don't want a brother's internal struggle at this critical moment, so I have been enduring it."

Li Yuanji disagreed and said coldly: "The emperor's words were surprised. It is different from the tense situation of human relations. Can't this battle be fought without him? I think he is the root of all crises. The two losses in the Central Plains War were his responsibility. Yang Yuanqing sneaked into Guanzhong, but he was reluctant to return, which led to the loss of the military and people's hearts. He defeated a dying Wang Shichong, and he was regarded as a great achievement by him. His father repeatedly forgives him, but he bribed the pharmacist and poisoned him. It was just for him to ascend the throne. I dare to assert that if we let him do whatever he wants, our brothers will die in his hands."

Li Jiancheng was upset, and he shook his head, "Let's talk about this matter! It's time to be stable but not messy now, so don't worry more."

A fierce light flashed in Li Yuanji's eyes, and he didn't say anything more. At this moment, a guard outside the study reported, "Report to Your Highness, the King of Qin sent Yuwen to deliver a letter, saying that there was important military information."

Li Jiancheng nodded, "Let him come in."

After a moment, Yu Wenshi, led by two guards, walked into the study. Yu Wenshi bowed and bowed, "I'm going to see Your Highness!"

"You don't have to be too polite to join the army. What's the situation ahead now?"

"Report to Your Highness, the 150,000 Sui army is now deployed in Luojiao County, Shangjun, and has not launched an offensive yet, and the two sides are still in a confrontation."

After Yu Wenshi finished speaking, he took out a letter from his arms and presented it to Li Jiancheng, "This is a handwritten letter from His Highness the King of Qin to the Crown Prince. Please check it out."

Li Jiancheng took the letter and looked aside, frowned slightly. In the letter, the King of Qin asked the Chang'an defenders to be transferred out 30,000 to defend Guandong and Tongguan Road. Chang'an lacks troops to replenish them with new recruits, which made Li Jiancheng a little embarrassed.

The Qin King’s requirements are indeed understandable. The front line lacks troops and requires additional troops to defend. This requirement is normal, but...

Li Jiancheng pondered for a moment, then said to Yuwen and said, "Join Yuwen, go down to rest first, let me think about it, and then reply to the army."

Yu Wenshi said again: "Your Highness, although the Sui army has not launched an offensive yet, this matter cannot be delayed. It must be arranged as soon as possible. Please understand the crisis of the situation."

"I understand, you can step down first!"

Yu Wenshi bowed and retreated. Only then did Li Jiancheng hand over Li Shimin's letter to Li Yuanji, "You have a look first."

Li Yuanji took the letter and read it quickly, and was furious, "The emperor's brother must not agree. This is he who is seizing the military power in the capital in disguise."

In fact, Li Jiancheng's hesitation was also because of this concern. The defense of the capital was replaced by new recruits, and he had no combat effectiveness at all. He was defeated in one battle and was difficult to command. Li Jiancheng was also a person who led the troops. He was very clear about this truth, but the situation was here. The defense on the Eastern Front was indeed relatively weak, and he could not ignore it, which made him feel very embarrassed.

Li Jiancheng sighed, "I think we should take into account the overall situation and send 30,000 troops to the Eastern Front and the Tongguan Road. The new recruits stayed to defend the city. Since he wrote me a handwritten letter, it means that he is still sincere and I should believe him."

"The emperor is confused!"

Li Yuanji said anxiously: "Did the emperor forget about Li Zhiyun back then? His father was critically ill. Don't he know? At this critical moment, he wrote a letter to ask for military power. Sima Zhao's heart is known to everyone. Emperor brother, elder brother! There is only one throne, and it would be too late if he doesn't rob it at this time!"

Li Yuanji was so anxious that he was sweating profusely, and tried his best to persuade him, but Li Jiancheng was unmoved. He only said, "The Sui army is in a hurry, and the overall situation should be the priority."

............

Li Yuanji left the East Palace, and he felt extremely hatred in his heart. He looked back at the East Palace and said to himself coldly, "Brother, since you don't want this throne, I have to be polite."

"Go to the Palace of Harmony!"
Chapter completed!