Chapter 24: Chain Reaction

"Haha!"

Zhao Mu curled the corners of his lips slightly, eyeing Li Chengqian. "Alright, Your Highness, there is no need to be so cautious."

"Since there is no one else here, we are just talking. What is there to fear?"

"Brother Zhao..." Li Chengqian started to speak but stopped, his gaze fixed on Zhao Mu as if pleading.

"What? Your Highness, are we not even allowed to speak of it?"

Seeing Li Chengqian looking so timid and cowardly, Zhao Mu teased him with a wicked grin. "Didn't you almost join forces with General Hou Junji to rebel? Why are you still so terrified at the mere mention of His Majesty?"

"Brother Zhao!" Li Chengqian's face turned dark at this.

"Alright, I won't tease you anymore!" Zhao Mu regained his composure, though he was laughing uncontrollably inside. He picked up his wine cup and took a sip to suppress his mirth, lest he burst into laughter and break Li Chengqian's fragile composure.

Li Chengqian straightened his expression and said, "Brother Zhao, it is not that I do not wish to tell you, but some things are best left unspoken between us. Once said, they invite disaster. After all, walls have ears. And the person we are discussing is no ordinary man."

"Yes, yes, I know. Is that enough?" Zhao Mu nodded earnestly, though his tone remained casual. "If it is as I suspect, then the whole affair becomes quite interesting."

"Why do you say that, Brother Zhao?"

"Isn't it simple?" Zhao Mu leaned back against the couch, speaking languidly. "That gentleman released Hou Junji from prison, then immediately stirred the grass to startle the snake, scaring Hou into moving incriminating evidence, only to catch him red-handed."

At this point, Zhao Mu suddenly thought of something and sat up straight. "Your Highness, tell me... is there a possibility that he released Hou Junji simply to use him?"

"Use him?" Li Chengqian looked bewildered. "If that is true, what would he use him for?"

"Your Highness, think carefully," Zhao Mu lowered his voice, guiding him. "What has Hou Junji done since his release? If my suspicions are correct, one of the things Hou did after leaving prison might be exactly what that person wanted to see!"

"Hiss!" Li Chengqian gasped, looking at Zhao Mu with horror and disbelief.

He stammered, "You mean to say... he was inciting me to... rebel?"

"I didn't say that; those are your own deductions!" Zhao Mu chuckled, distancing himself from the claim.

Although Zhao Mu did not say it explicitly, Li Chengqian now knew exactly who the mastermind behind the scenes was. The realization terrified him. He collapsed onto the couch in despair, his face turning sallow, his eyes filled with profound despondency.

"Father... Father, why would he do this?" Li Chengqian sat there, completely dazed. He had forgotten his earlier warning to Zhao Mu about being cautious, and he muttered to himself, "Only this morning in court, he looked at me with such appreciation, almost as if he had a newfound respect for me. How could he, in the blink of an eye, use that scoundrel Hou Junji to goad me into rebellion? Does he despise my growth so much? Or does he look down on me that little?"

As Li Chengqian rambled on, a flame in the candle holder nearby flickered and popped. The movement cast shifting shadows across his face, seemingly serving as a reminder to Zhao Mu.

Zhao Mu turned to look at him and smiled. "Your Highness need not belittle yourself. The reasons may not be as you imagine."

Li Chengqian, usually so obedient to Zhao Mu, did not take it in. Instead, his heart grew more bitter. Zhao Mu's words reminded him of his life with his father since childhood. When he was a boy and had just memorized the Thousand Character Classic, he had excitedly shown it to his father, only to be rebuked for being arrogant at such a young age. Years ago, when he fell from his horse and broke his leg, he had cried in his father's arms like a child, only to be scolded for being cowardly and unfit for his position. These memories flashed before him like a montage.

Li Chengqian shook his head bitterly. "Brother Zhao does not know, but my father has always..."

"Enough!" Zhao Mu, unable to bear his despondency, slammed his wine cup onto the table. "That His Majesty is strict with the Crown Prince is known to all! Have you never considered that he is, first and foremost, an old father wearing dragon robes?"

"Your Highness, believe me, regardless of his motives, he is surely sitting in the Ganlu Palace right now, ears pricked, waiting!"

"Waiting?" Li Chengqian asked.

"Yes, waiting!" Zhao Mu said with confidence. "Waiting to see if you will become a bird frightened by the mere twang of a bow, trembling in fear; or if you will continue to hide this, pretending nothing happened like an ostrich with its head in the sand; or perhaps... you will unleash a roar that shakes the heavens!"

"Brother Zhao, you mean..." Li Chengqian suddenly understood. "Is Father doing this just to test my reaction?"

"What else?" Zhao Mu rolled his eyes at him. "Do you truly think your own father would watch you act like a fool and join Hou Junji in a rebellion to seize the throne? Don't forget, when it comes to rebellion, His Majesty is the ultimate expert!"

"If you and Hou Junji really were to act, it would only earn His Majesty's mockery. He could crush you both without breaking a sweat!"

Zhao Mu spoke with absolute confidence. He understood this Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, a ruler for the ages, too well. Hou Junji had just stepped out of the Dali Temple prison, and armor appeared in his residence. The Jinwu Guards were so vigilant that they would track a stray cat passing the palace gates, yet today, they allowed Wang Meng to cart a load of black iron armor out of the Duke of Chen’s residence on Zhuque Avenue? If the mastermind behind that masked warrior wasn't Li Shimin, who else could it be?

If one connected these events, the answer was self-evident.

Li Chengqian gripped the newly replaced dragon-patterned jade pendant at his waist until his knuckles turned white. Suddenly, he grabbed his wine cup and drained it, ignoring the burning sensation in his throat, and growled in a low voice: "Father... why must he force me to this extent!"

"Force?" Zhao Mu raised an eyebrow and smiled. "His Majesty is not forcing you. It is just that the old whetstone was becoming worn out, so he decided to provide you with a better one! Isn't that foolish brute, Hou Junji, the perfect whetstone to test a Crown Prince?"