Kyoto City, at the entrance of the Yao residence.

When Sun Jian and Gu Hu arrived on horseback, Crown Prince Li Gancheng's entourage had just arrived at the gate of Yao Tianzheng's government office.

After Sun Jian led Gu Hu to pay their respects to Li Gancheng, the two exchanged a few pleasantries and then went inside hand in hand.

Li Gancheng, accompanied by Liu Jin and his guard Li Zigeng, walked at the front, while Sun Jian, accompanied by Gu Hu, walked on the right rear side.

Li Gancheng kept bringing up topics, but Sun Jian only gave perfunctory responses.

Li Gancheng, with his exceptional intelligence, immediately sensed something was amiss. He frowned and glanced at Sun Jian, saying, "Brother Sun, you seem a bit off today."

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's question, Sun Jian swallowed his words.

At this moment, Liu Jin and the Crown Prince's bodyguard Li Zigen were both present. Although both of them were trustworthy, it was better to have as few people as possible for such matters.

Instead, since everyone was in the corridor, it wasn't appropriate to talk about the locust plague at that moment.

Let's wait until we get to the inner study and meet Governor Yao before we talk about it at a more appropriate time.

"There is indeed something wrong."

Sun Jian sighed softly and continued, "But it's not a small matter, Your Highness. Let's discuss it after we meet with Governor Yao."

"This matter is important, but it can't be rushed!"

"good!"

Li Gancheng agreed.

He knew in his heart that something that made Sun Jian take it so seriously could not be simple.

Under the care of the Yao family steward, Sun Jian and Li Gancheng were led to a pavilion in the back garden.

Yao Tianzheng had already prepared hot tea and was waiting for a long time.

Upon seeing His Highness the Crown Prince and Sun Jian arrive, Yao Tianzheng hurriedly paid his respects.

Despite Li Gancheng's repeated requests that Yao Tianzheng not be overly polite, Yao Tianzheng refused, arguing that etiquette should not be disregarded.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the three of them sat down.

Sun Jian originally intended to dismiss his servants and directly address the locust plague, but unexpectedly, Yao Tianzheng began to recount the events that occurred in the court that day.

Everyone was present that day, and the events in the imperial court are still vivid in my memory.

The Prefect of Kyoto, Xiong Juzheng, reported on the investigation. The assassins and the woman were all the work of the Deputy Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who in turn had close ties with Liu San, the Vice Minister of Works, and a large amount of unexplained money involved.

It was basically decided in the court that day that the person who instigated the black-robed assassins to kill Sun Jian was Liu San.

But just as they were about to confront the emperor in court, they learned that Liu San and Eunuch Zhang had both hanged themselves.

With no one left to testify and no way to investigate, the case reached a stalemate. If Governor Yao hadn't brought Wei Xian to light in court, the matter would likely have remained unsolved and never been resolved.

Everyone is well aware of the above situation.

However, His Majesty's actions and words before leaving court left people somewhat puzzled.

He acted haphazardly, trusting Wei Xian while simultaneously ordering a thorough investigation of the suspects, and also promoting Sun Jian to the position of Deputy Commander of the Tiger Guard.

"Your Highness, sir, do you now understand His Majesty's purpose in doing this?"

Yao Tianzheng looked at Sun Jian and Li Gancheng with his bright eyes.

Two days passed, and in fact, not only Sun Jian guessed His Majesty's intentions, but Li Gancheng had also guessed them long ago.

We are all intelligent people. Given the right amount of time to think alone, we can quickly unravel the mystery and have an epiphany.

Sun Jian and Li Gancheng nodded in unison, then exchanged a glance and smiled slightly.

"Then please speak first, Your Highness."

Yao Tianzheng was very satisfied with the performance of Sun Jian and Li Gancheng.

His original intention was to take this opportunity to test the two of them, and seeing that they both had their own conclusions, he wanted to hear them as well.

Since they were all his own people, Li Gancheng showed them no courtesy whatsoever.

"Let's talk about the real motives and purposes behind this."

"The other party was able to attack Brother Sun, through assassination and framing, with the intention of weakening the strength of my Eastern Palace. Brother Sun is a genius, and the other party felt threatened by this, so they wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible, so as to cut off my left and right arms."

After Li Gancheng finished speaking, Yao Tianzheng nodded in satisfaction, his face full of relief: "Your Highness is exceptionally intelligent, what you said is correct, every word hits the nail on the head."

Li Gancheng remained calm and composed, continuing to address Sun Jian and Governor Yao: "Whether it's Liu San, the Vice Minister of Works, or Zhang, the Deputy Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, these people are all insignificant."

"They are all pawns, discarded pieces."

"I think even Wei Xian, the Minister of War who instigated these events, is just a henchman."

"The real mastermind, the one who orchestrates everything, is probably one of my brothers."

As Li Gancheng spoke, a rare ruthless glint appeared in his eyes.

Because all of this was for his own sake, for the position of Crown Prince.

He had only a few brothers. His fourth brother led troops in the field, guarding the border between Da Gan and Da Xia. Although he held a large army, he never asked about politics.

The sixth brother was only seven years old and still a young child, while the ninth brother was still an infant.

The only one left is the second brother, the second prince Li Chengru.

Although Li Gancheng was certain of his guess, he didn't even have any dirt or evidence on his henchman Wei Xian, let alone the Second Prince Li Chengru.

"Ah, Your Highness is right."

Yao Tianzheng sighed and continued, "This is also because Liangzhou has never been completely recovered and is still in the war zone. My country is at war with Da Zhou and Da Xia in the east and west at the same time, which means that as the second prince of Liang, I cannot go to my fiefdom and can only stay in the capital."

"In addition, the Second Prince holds multiple positions and also leads the Ministry of Justice, which has led to his growing ambition."

Upon hearing these remarks, Sun Jian frowned and said, "That's not right, Lord Yao. How could His Majesty not know that the Second Prince... the Second... the Second Prince has done these things?"

"Since the Second Prince has always coveted the position of Crown Prince, why doesn't His Majesty find a pretext to send him away, or send him to guard another fiefdom?"

"Even if it's just to let him learn from the Fourth Prince and guard the frontier, that would be fine! Wouldn't keeping such a person in the court be a disaster?"

Yao Tianzheng sighed again: "This is a long story. His Majesty is wise and powerful, and naturally knows the Second Prince's ambition. But the matter of enfeoffment was decided at birth, how can it be changed arbitrarily as if it were child's play?"

"How can one govern a country, or be a ruler, if one's policies are changed from morning to evening?"

"Furthermore, the Second Prince is also His Majesty's son. Both are equally dear to him. Our speculation and evidence are two different things. If the Second Prince has not committed any misconduct, wouldn't demoting him to the border without any reason only fuel his resentment? In the end, if he holds a large army, wouldn't he become an even greater hidden danger in the future?"

Sun Jian expressed his incomprehension and continued to argue, "Then we can keep him away from the border, or send him on a mission. As long as he avoids political and military power, that will be fine, right?"