To ensure Zhang Anan had no qualms, Li Shimin also sent away all the nearby guards, keeping them a hundred paces away from the Ganlu Palace.

"Can you talk now?"

"well……"

Zhang Anan sighed upon hearing this.

"Your Majesty, this servant truly does not wish to gossip behind people's backs..."

“But since Your Majesty has asked, then this servant will dare to speak. His Highness the Crown Prince’s childhood playmates, wet nurses, and servants have changed several times, but I have never seen the Crown Prince be particularly close to anyone. Even when his wet nurse passed away, he did not show much sadness.”

"Moreover, everyone in the palace knows that Princess Jinyang is ill. But ever since His Highness the Crown Prince moved out of Lizheng Palace, he has rarely visited Jinyang, and he didn't even know that she had been away from the palace for a long time..."

"this……"

Li Shimin was startled by these words, wondering to himself how he hadn't noticed!

"Your Majesty, have you heard this proverb?"

"What?"

"You can tell what a person will be like at three years old!"

"Zhi Nu has been estranged from family since childhood, showing little affection for people or things. People in the palace say in private that Zhi Nu is the most heartless child..."

"this?"

Li Shimin was stunned when he heard this. He never imagined that the crown prince he had chosen would have such a reputation for being ruthless!

"Who are saying this?"

"There are so many people!"

"For example, people who served the crown prince, the son of a wet nurse who breastfed the crown prince, and so on."

"Oh, by the way, since the wet nurse died, the Crown Prince has never given any reward to her family, and he has never even seen them..."

Li Shimin was completely shocked upon hearing this. He had no idea that Zhinu was such a person!

"I will send people to investigate what you have said!"

"If it's not as you told me, I...I..."

"This servant is at Your Majesty's mercy!"

Li Shimin smiled bitterly upon hearing this.

"How could I bear to punish you? Even after I die, I'll still need you to guard my gate!"

"Your Majesty, this servant..."

"We're old buddies, there's nothing we can't talk about. It's okay even if you're wrong!"

“I know you like Li Jue, and I like him from the bottom of my heart too, but he is too young.”

"If what he says is true, and I only have a few years left to live, I'm afraid I won't have time to raise him into the most outstanding crown prince of the Tang Dynasty..."

"Your Majesty, this must be a lie, please don't believe it!"

Li Shimin shook his head helplessly upon hearing this.

"I hope this is false, but what if it is true?"