Seeing that Li Yuan still had not completely abandoned the idea of removing Li Shimin, under Li Yuanji’s suggestion, Li Jiancheng finally resolved to kill once more.

In the Eastern Palace.

Li Yuanji even declared that he would personally kill Li Shimin.

When Li Shimin received the news from the spies in the Eastern Palace, the last trace of sentiment in his heart completely vanished at that moment.

...

The ninth year of Wude, the third day of the sixth month.

Prince Qin’s Mansion.

The night dripped by moment by moment.

The candlelight flickered faintly in the bronze sparrow lamp, casting Li Shimin’s shadow onto the wall, swaying with the night wind, just like his wavering yet determined heart at this moment.

He was waiting for his confidants.

Just now, he had issued a secret order to summon those who had once held important positions in the Celestial Strategy Mansion of Prince Qin’s Mansion.

Although many of them had long been conquered by Li Jiancheng and thrown out of the Prince Qin’s Mansion,

Li Shimin still believed that they would come.

Time passed swiftly.

In the silent Prince Qin’s Mansion, figures appeared one after another.

Some wore Daoist robes, some dressed as ordinary people; almost everyone came in disguise.

They couldn’t be blamed for this, many of them had long been forbidden by Li Yuan from entering the Prince Qin’s Mansion again, under penalty of death.

But today, they had to come.

Because Li Shimin had made up his mind.

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness!"

Voices of greeting continuously resounded throughout the hall, and Li Shimin’s expression remained stern, never speaking a word from start to finish.

Only when everyone had arrived—

Did he slowly stand up, his sharp gaze sweeping over those present, and he slowly spoke: "Today, I received news that the Crown Prince and King of Qi have decided to kill me."

"Since matters are like this, words are meaningless."

He slowly picked up his sword, unsheathing it before the candlelight, and spoke lightly: "Brothers, are you willing to follow me, Li Shimin, to death?"

—Follow me, Li Shimin, to death!

The words were emotionless yet exploded in the hall like thunder!

Without the slightest hesitation, everyone present immediately knelt down, their expressions solemn.

They had long advised Li Shimin repeatedly.

But Li Shimin always hesitated.

Now that Li Shimin had made his decision, what was there left to fear?

"King Qin with a bow, we with the spear, what can even a million do to us!" Yuchi Jingde shouted once more the words Li Shimin had spoken facing Dou Jiande years ago.

Everyone’s spirits were high.

Li Shimin’s expression grew ever more serious, raising his hand to signal for silence, his gaze sweeping through everyone in the room, speaking in a deep voice: "This operation concerns life and death, and the Great Tang’s realm."

"Once we act, there is no turning back."

"..."

His expression remained cold as he laid out the strategies he had devised to those present.

Currently, his influence in Chang’an was extremely weak.

He couldn’t even match Li Yuanji, let alone Li Jiancheng.

The most crucial thing was—

Li Shimin also had to consider the Forbidden Army.

However, he still had a retreat plan. With Cheng Yaojin outside, even if things failed, as long as he could fight his way out of the city, he could rise again through Cheng Yaojin.

Li Shimin had already made comprehensive preparations for this.

Everyone listened intently, occasionally offering some suggestions.

But at that moment—

Footsteps suddenly sounded.

Without a moment of hesitation, Li Shimin halted his speech, drawing his sword as he moved directly toward the outside: "Who goes there!"

"Your Highness!"

A familiar voice immediately called out.

Immediately after, Gu Quan emerged from the darkness, looking completely unlike before, his entire body filthy and his clothing tattered.

"Ziyuan!" Li Shimin was completely stunned, extremely shocked, "What happened to you?"

He spoke while

simultaneously pulling Gu Quan inside without hesitation.

The tense atmosphere instantly dissipated.

Everyone present was utterly unexpected that it was Gu Quan who came, all of them extremely surprised.

"Your Highness, this humble general wishes to join you on the battlefield." Gu Quan said directly, without the slightest superfluous words, staring straight at Li Shimin.

A simple sentence, yet it clearly conveyed his attitude.

It wasn’t easy for him to return this time secretly.

He had made many preparations to prevent being discovered by others.

If it weren’t for his excellent skills and the help of Xue San, he wouldn’t have been able to even scale the walls of the Prince’s Mansion.

In an instant, everyone was stunned again, followed by overwhelming joy.

They knew of Gu Quan’s bravery.

How could they not be delighted?

Only Li Shimin frowned at this moment and immediately grabbed Gu Quan’s hand, saying seriously, "Ziyuan, how can you..."

He still had some worries—

Though Li Shimin was very confident in himself.

At this moment, he also had to consider leaving capable people for the world.

But before he could finish speaking.

Gu Quan, without any hesitation, took out that short blade in front of him and slashed it across his own face.

One cut;

Two cuts;

Three cuts;

This scene was completely unexpected for everyone.

Before anyone could react, Gu Quan had already made three full cuts.

His martial arts skills were extraordinary.

This act was merely to scar his face and not too heavy-handed.

But seeing the blood continuously dripping, everyone was still stunned.

"Your Highness, I cannot betray the family, but I also cannot stand by and watch you take risks. Today, I destroy my face to accompany you, regardless of victory or defeat, the former Gu Quan has already died on the battlefield."

Gu Quan had not stopped; even his tone had not changed.

Only at this moment.

Li Shimin finally reacted, hastily grabbing Gu Quan, speaking with red eyes and a trembling voice: "Ziyuan, why do you go this far?"

"I... never planned to see you, perhaps Ziyuan still doesn’t understand my intentions?"

The eyes of the others were also gradually turning red at this time.

As Li Shimin’s confidants, they naturally understood how much Li Shimin valued Gu Quan.

It was precisely because of this.

They had also been displeased by it.

After all, Gu Quan had not provided help when Li Shimin was repeatedly threatened.

But now... that feeling had completely disappeared.

Compared to them, Gu Quan indeed had a much harder position.

Before Gu Yu came to the capital.

As the eldest son of the Gu Clan, he represented the entire Gu family.

Subsequently, he could not betray the whole family.

"Your Highness need not say more, I believe you are the true ruler of the prosperous age!" Gu Quan broke free, then again wielded the blade towards his face.

Drip after drip of blood kept falling.

It was clear that Gu Quan had done a lot of preparation for this, and after his face was completely ruined, he directly took out the prepared medicine from his pocket.

Only at this moment—

His breaths became somewhat heavy.

Such pain is unimaginable to others.

A single scar might be nothing, but after ten or a hundred, it becomes different.

Everyone’s expressions were complex, and Li Shimin had already shed tears.

Only at this moment.

They truly realized the loyalty of the Gu clan.

This family’s rise to today was not just talk; they were capable of doing things others dared not even think of, contributing to the family with all this.

Gu Quan was indeed dead—

But as long as the great matter could be accomplished, with Li Shimin’s character, they couldn’t even imagine how he would treat the Gu Clan.

This, too, wasn’t all for the family?

The Gu Clan was slowly weakening.

Now, Gu Quan, as the eldest son of the Gu Clan, was using everything he had to add to the family, and also for his own conscience.

"Huh~"

Li Shimin let out a long sigh, once again reaching out and grabbing Gu Quan, taking the medicine bottle from his hand, personally applying medicine to Gu Quan.

Everyone watching this scene had no dissatisfaction in their hearts.

At the very least—

If they were placed in Gu Quan’s position, they would absolutely not have the courage to act this way.

Because regardless of who wins or loses.

The status of the Gu Clan would not be affected at all.

——————

"The Dictionary of Chinese · Sacrifice of Appearance for Principle"

——Definition: Refers to the willingness to destroy one’s appearance or identity to protect beliefs more important than life (such as cultural heritage, national righteousness).

The allusion originates from the Tang dynasty’s Gu Clan son disfiguring himself to aid Li Shimin, literally meaning "burning one’s face to preserve manuscripts," extended to mean "sacrificing appearance to safeguard the essence."