Chapter Thirty-Three: What? The Crown Prince, Armored and Armed, Has Broken Into the Palace at Dead of Night

The night was as deep as water, and the third watch had long since passed. Throughout the entire city of Chang'an, even the Xuanwu Gate—which had been stirred into a restless bustle by the "Crown Prince's intrusion into the palace"—had succumbed to the silent dark of night.

However, within the Wei Prince’s Mansion, built adjacent to the Taiji Palace, the lights remained ablaze. Several exquisitely beautiful maids surrounded Li Tai, who reclined on a soft couch, carefully massaging his sore legs. Li Tai toyed with a warm, translucent mutton-fat jade pendant, listening listlessly as his trusted aide, Du Chuke, whispered reports of the latest news from across the capital. His demeanor was one of languid contentment.

Suddenly, a series of urgent, hushed footsteps disrupted the tranquility.

"...Your Highness." A man dressed in the uniform of a palace guard strode in. He was too hurried to even offer a formal salute, his face flushed with irrepressible excitement. "Your Highness! Monumental news!"

"It just came from the palace, and it is undoubtedly good news!"

Li Tai frowned, clearly displeased by the guard’s lack of decorum, but his interest was piqued upon hearing that the news came from the palace and was auspicious. He waved the maids away and lazily uttered a single word: "Speak..."

The guard leaned in closer, his voice trembling with agitation. "Reporting to Your Highness, the Crown Prince... he has actually led a large force of East Palace guards, fully armored and armed, to forcibly break into the palace in the dead of night!"

"He has entered the palace alone, and has not yet been seen coming out!"

As the words left the guard’s mouth, Li Tai abruptly straightened his bulky frame. The priceless jade pendant in his hand clattered onto the soft Persian rug, shattering into several pieces!

"What?!" The first emotion to erupt in the Prince of Wei’s eyes was utter disbelief.

But then, that shock receded as quickly as a receding tide. In its place surged a wave of ecstasy so overwhelming it threatened to drown him. His breathing grew heavy, and his fleshy face flushed a deep crimson from the sheer thrill of the moment.

"The Crown Prince broke into the palace at night, armored and armed?!" Li Tai’s voice was distorted with excitement. He stood up abruptly and began pacing the thick carpet, rubbing his hands together forcefully. "Good! Good! Excellent!"

"Li Chengqian, my dear elder brother!" The corners of the Prince of Wei’s mouth curved into a smile wider than a fully drawn iron-backed bow. "I had been racking my brains, trying to figure out how to completely topple you, the lame Crown Prince, and yet here you are!"

"You’ve handed the blade to Father Emperor yourself! Hahahahaha!" As he spoke to himself, Li Tai burst into maniacal laughter, his voice filled with an irrepressible sense of triumph and schadenfreude.

Standing to the side, Du Chuke was equally stunned, but his triangular eyes soon glinted with calculation.

A moment later, he spoke up sharply: "Your Highness, this is a heaven-sent opportunity!"

"The Crown Prince invading the palace—it is tantamount to treason!"

"And it happened at the Xuanwu Gate..."

"Exactly!" Li Tai stopped in his tracks, his eyes burning with a look of certainty, as if the position of the East Palace were already within his grasp. "That is the one thing Father Emperor hates most!"

"Because the events of that year have always been a thorn in Father Emperor’s heart that could never be removed!"

"Not only does he dare not touch it himself, but anyone else who dares to broach it will lose their head!"

"What that cripple did tonight is nothing short of seeking his own death!"

"After all, he is the Crown Prince!"

"No matter how much Father Emperor cherishes their bond, he will never tolerate a successor who leads troops to storm the palace and threaten the throne!"

The more he thought, the more excited he became. He could already see Li Chengqian deposed, imprisoned, and perhaps even executed.

He walked to the window and threw it open, staring greedily at the distant, flickering lights near the Xuanwu Gate. A look of undisguised contempt and mockery crossed his face. "My dear brother usually pretends to be benevolent, filial, and cautious, but look at him now—his true colors have finally been exposed!"

"It seems he was so stifled by my pressure that he has finally been driven to jump over the wall like a cornered dog!"

"Ha! A cripple is a cripple. Not only are his legs useless, but his brain is addled!" He vented his disdain for the Crown Prince to his heart's content, feeling the frustration that had weighed on him all day in court instantly vanish.

"Daring to suppress me in the imperial court!"

"Once you are imprisoned and awaiting judgment, I will show you how I can deal with you!"

Li Tai was so exhilarated he had already begun planning how to kick his brother while he was down.

Fortunately, his strategist Du Chuke was a more seasoned schemer. Suppressing his own excitement, he reminded the Prince of Wei, "Your Highness, you must remain calm!"

"His Majesty must be in a state of extreme fury at this moment."

"However, the final outcome for the Crown Prince is still unknown."

"To ensure absolute certainty, Your Highness should..."

"I understand!" Li Tai turned around, his face now composed in a look of calculated victory, though the fanaticism deep in his eyes remained clear.

He strode back to his desk, sat down, spread out a sheet of fine parchment, and picked up his brush. "Chuke, go immediately and contact Wei Ting and Chu Suiliang of the Censorate! And Cui Renshi, who has just returned!"

"Tell them to spend the night drafting memorials to impeach the Crown Prince!"

"The charges must be severe, and the impeachment must be fierce!"

"Conspiracy, attempting to force the palace, harborers of resentment, and colluding with outside officials!"

"Tonight’s intrusion is ironclad proof! The Imperial Guards at the palace gates are the witnesses!"

"At tomorrow’s morning court, with the force of a thunderbolt, we must nail this lame Crown Prince to the charge of treason once and for all!"

As he spoke, his brush moved like a dragon or snake across the paper as he dashed off several secret letters. His tone was resolute. "Tell them, this is my will!"

"Once this is done, I... no, the new Heir..."

"I will never treat them poorly!"

He had specifically emphasized the shift from "I, the Prince" to "I, the Heir," as if the position of the Crown Prince were already his for the taking.

Du Chuke took the letters and replied in a low voice, "Rest assured, Your Highness!"

"I will handle this personally to ensure there are no slip-ups!"

With that, he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Li Tai suddenly called him back, a look of hypocritical, feigned compassion appearing on his face, his tone shifting to one of "pained" sorrow. "Tell them that at tomorrow’s court, I... I must also submit a memorial."

Du Chuke was stunned. "Your Highness, you?"

Li Tai stood up, paced with his hands behind his back, and assumed an expression of heartbreak and fraternal concern. "Sigh... although the Crown Prince has committed such an outrageous and treasonous act..."

"He is, after all, my elder brother."

"And Father Emperor must be in a state of extreme rage and heartbreak right now."

"I fear that in his fury, Father Emperor might deal with my brother too harshly." He paused, his eyes darting back and forth. "As the Son of the Emperor, the Crown Prince’s own brother, and one deeply trusted and favored by Father Emperor, how could I sit by and watch my brother be sentenced to death?"

"If that were to happen, it would be a case of father and son, brother and brother, slaughtering one another!"

"Therefore, in the court tomorrow, I shall urge Father Emperor to consider the bonds of blood and brotherhood, and treat my brother... with leniency."