My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 77: Falling Cup as a Number
Du He also had to raise horses, and Shangcheng Fengyu was responsible for managing the carriages for the emperor's travels.

But he has much more free time than others. Unless the emperor goes out, he has nothing to do.

Even if the emperor wanted to go out, he didn't necessarily have to be on a special occasion, and in most cases, he didn't need an escort.

So most of the time, I'm either slacking off or fishing.

When Li Anyan arrived, Du He was fishing in the East Inner Courtyard.

"It's a disaster."

Li Anyan hurriedly walked to Du He, looked around, and said quickly.

Du He put down his fishing rod. He knew that Li Anyan’s arrival must be no small matter.

"Your Majesty's side."

Li Anyan hurriedly told Du He what he had just heard.

After hearing this, Du He became anxious.

"I'll go to the East Palace to see the prince now."

Li Anyan quickly grabbed Du He, his face solemn, and said in a deep voice: "Please tell the prince that I will bring all my trusted brothers with me. Those guarding outside the palace are all our own people. If there is really trouble, we can only fight to the death."

"The prince has a leg disease. I will prepare a war horse for him. With the prince leading us, we can accomplish great things."

"I will be outside the palace by then, and listen to the prince using the breaking of the cup as a signal."

Du He's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He tightened Li Anyan's hand and said seriously, "Okay."
-
East Palace.

Not long after Li Chengqian returned, news of Hegannuo came.

When the eunuch Wen Zhong heard the news, he immediately became furious.

"Your Highness, what should we do?"

The eunuch would definitely be executed for the crime of treason, and no one involved would escape.

"No hurries."

Li Chengqian said calmly, not worried at all about the matter.

"Your Highness, this is a serious crime of treason."

"Although Hegannuo is one of our men, he is on the side of Your Majesty, so it is impossible for him to change his previous words."

"The King of Wei suddenly took him there, he must have had a proper plan."

"I remembered."

At this critical moment, the eunuch Wen Zhong's mind was working quickly.

"Last night, Fang Xuanling entered the palace to meet the emperor late at night. It must be Fang Xuanling who was involved."

"Everyone knows that Fang Xuanling is the best at planning. He must have helped the King of Wei prepare the evidence to slander the Crown Prince, and with the help of Hegannuo's testimony."

At this point, the eunuch Wen Zhong's eyes turned fierce.

"Your Highness, our only option now is to kill Hegannuo halfway."

"He is the only witness. As long as he dies, the King of Wei's plan will not succeed. No matter how much evidence there is, it will be useless."

"Your Highness, the time is urgent. Please make a decision as soon as possible."

Li Chengqian looked at the eunuch Wen Zhong with some surprise.

He was an ordinary man, always acting timid and submissive in front of her.

I didn't expect that at this time, I still had some determination.

"Look at you, you're in a hurry."

"You don't have to worry too much about this matter. I have made arrangements."

Li Chengqian's abnormal attitude calmed the eunuch Wen Zhong down.

The prince has done this twice in a row, could it be that he is really sure?

But even so, the eunuch Wen Zhong was very anxious.

I really want to ask, but I don’t dare to ask.

Seeing Wen Zhong's anxious look, Li Chengqian just smiled and said nothing, obviously not intending to tell him about this.

Things are done in secrecy, so what is the difference between telling one person and telling two people? Once some things are said, it is easy to cause problems. Only when no one is told can it become the real trump card.

It’s not that Li Chengqian didn’t trust the eunuch Wen Zhong, but some things were unnecessary.

As a prince, if he wants to command the people around him, he also needs to maintain a certain sense of mystery.

So is the prince, so is the emperor.

Otherwise, how could kings be called lonely and widowed since ancient times?

At this time, Du He had also arrived at the East Palace.

The first thing he said when he arrived was, "Your Highness, there is no time to explain. Please send someone immediately to Chengtian Gate to kill Hegannuo."

The eunuch Wen Zhong was stunned for a moment.

Li Chengqian laughed loudly, pointing at Du He and Wen Zhong and said, "You two, you actually thought of the same thing."

Du He was confused and couldn't help asking, "Has Your Highness sent someone over?"

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly: "What are you thinking about? Killing the Prince of Wei and his entourage at Chengtian Gate, right under your Majesty's nose, is no different from treason."

Du He said anxiously: "But what if Hegannuo meets His Majesty and accuses Your Highness of treason?"

Li Chengqian calmly replied: "Does he have any evidence?"

"Also, how do you know that Hegan Chengji was executed because he knew about my rebellion?"

"Have you forgotten that he has always known about this? Why did I only sentence him to death recently?"

The eunuch Wen Zhong also understood at this time that His Highness must have made some arrangements. In order to stabilize Du He's heart, he also helped and said: "Hegannuo is not the King of Wei's man, but His Highness's man."

"It was His Highness who instructed him to go to the Prince of Wei's Palace."

After listening to this, Du He's anxious heart finally calmed down.

In this case, the worst result would be to arouse your majesty's suspicion, but it would not lead to a direct rebellion.

He just said earnestly: "Your Highness is confused. How could such evidence be given to the King of Wei?"

"Not to mention Fang Xuanling's help, the King of Wei was able to forge evidence with this. Even if nothing is found, how can Your Highness completely clear himself of suspicion?"

"Your Majesty has suspicion in his heart, which is the biggest disaster. I know that Your Highness wants to command the army against Goryeo. If this continues, how can His Majesty hand over the command to Your Highness?"

Li Chengqian replied: "If you can think of it, why can't I think of it?"

"What happened to Fang Xuanling was beyond my expectation. He is indeed an old fox, so shrewd and cunning."

"Originally, I planned to have Hegannuo infiltrate the Prince of Wei's palace. Given the Prince of Wei's temperament, he would surely fabricate false evidence to frame me. Then, I could use the forged evidence to accuse the crown prince of his crime and bring the Prince of Wei down from power."

“Now, it’s a bit of a pity.”

"As for your worries, there is no need to worry. If I didn't have a backup plan, how could I let Hegannuo go to the King of Wei?"

"People's minds are unpredictable. Apart from you and me, I don't even trust Hegannuo."

Hearing this, Du He asked doubtfully, "Your Highness, are you sure you can completely dispel His Majesty's doubts?"

"In this matter, if there is even a little suspicion and it cannot be completely cleared, it will be a thorn in the heart of Your Majesty."

"Even if he doesn't say it openly, His Majesty will strengthen his defense against Your Highness."

Li Chengqian felt a little helpless. In fact, he really didn't want to explain too much.

But in this situation, I can only comfort her: "Don't worry, just put your heart at ease and be safe."

How could Du He feel at ease? It was just that since the prince said so, at least there wouldn't be any major problems.

After thinking about it, even if I can't get the command of the troops against Goryeo, there is still a backup plan, at least it won't be too bad.

Thinking of it this way, my heart is at least half relieved.

"Okay, let's go back to Taiji Palace. You are the Shangcheng Fengyu. It is inevitable that you will arouse suspicion by coming to my East Palace while on duty."

"Yes, Your Highness."

After understanding the situation, Du He also hurried to leave. Since the prince was so confident, he had to reassure Li Anyan first. If something went wrong, it would be terrible.

Before leaving, Du He told the prince about Li Anyan's preparations, which made Li Chengqian laugh and cry.

On the other side, the people led by King Wei Li Tai had also arrived at the Suzaku Gate.

(End of this chapter)