Yuchi Fan naturally knew that His Majesty was anxious; otherwise, he wouldn't have kept changing riders but not horses all the way, causing more than a dozen horses to die.
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
"The eldest grandson...is not dead..."
"Not dead?"
"Very good!"
"I knew it! How could there be such a similar person in the world? That little fellow who calls himself Shi Dakai is my eldest grandson!"
"Tell me quickly, why doesn't my eldest grandson recognize me?"
Li Shimin always knew and believed that the person was Li Jue, but he couldn't understand why Li Jue suddenly didn't recognize him.
"Your Majesty... I learned through interrogation of the servants of the former Crown Prince's residence that His Highness the Imperial Grandson had... had a high fever on the way to exile. The accompanying imperial physician thought he was going to die, but the Imperial Grandson was incredibly lucky and survived..."
"But... but he doesn't remember anything from before, he's even forgotten who he is..."
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin suddenly realized why he hadn't seen any panic or hesitation in Li Jue's eyes. It turned out that the little fellow had truly forgotten about his grandfather...
However, the thought of his eldest grandson nearly dying from a high fever on the way to exile filled Li Shimin with regret and self-blame.
I deserve to die! Why did I have to exile such a young child!
Why couldn't I keep him in Chang'an and let him go to his fiefdom when he grew up?
"well!"
"This is all my fault!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Anan quickly offered some words of comfort.
"His Majesty acted in accordance with the law and even sent imperial physicians with him, but unexpectedly, the grandson fell ill halfway through the journey..."
"I should have insisted a little longer back then, at least until the imperial grandsons were older!"
After blaming himself for a while, Li Shimin pulled Yuchi Fan aside again and asked.
"Who is in the coffin, and how did the fire start?"
"Tell me the whole story!"
"promise!"
"Your Majesty, through the coroner's examination of the body, I have learned that the person in the coffin was burned after death, which does not match the fact that the imperial grandson was burned to death in the fire."
"Based on this fact, I re-interrogated the servants of the former Crown Prince's residence. From them, I learned that ever since the Imperial Grandson arrived in Qianzhou, he has been subtly expressing his desire to visit Chang'an. He even said that if he doesn't see His Majesty and remember His Majesty's face, he is not worthy of being a son of the Tang Dynasty..."
Li Shimin was moved to tears upon hearing this. "My grandson only missed his grandfather and wanted to see what his grandfather looked like, which is why he risked his life to come to Chang'an!"
If anyone in the court dares to convict the imperial grandson, I will have him skinned alive!
"Then what……"
"No one knows what happened after that, but I interrogated Cao Bin, the clerk in the household registration department of Pengshui County. Cao Bin confessed that he did indeed accept bribes and issued a travel document for a servant in the Crown Prince's residence, as well as for an eight-year-old boy..."
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin nodded secretly, having basically figured out Li Jue's escape plan.
"That's right. Without proper etiquette, a mere child and a servant could never have made it from Qianzhou to Chang'an..."
"My grandson is truly clever; he actually prepared the travel documents long ago, hehehe!"
At this point, Li Shimin no longer wanted to punish Li Jue; he even felt a sense of pride in having such a clever and quick-witted grandson.
"This humble servant has drawn a portrait based on Cao Bin's confession. Please take a look, Your Majesty!"
Li Shimin was so excited when he saw the portrait handed to him by Yuchi Fan that he slapped his thigh.
"It matches up!"
"Isn't that Pan Hu, the one who serves our imperial grandson?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Anan quickly craned his neck to look, and after seeing it, he also exclaimed in the same amazement.
"It's so similar! This portrait is exactly the same as Pan Hu!"
"Your Majesty, the case is solved! It must have been His Highness the Imperial Grandson who instructed Pan Hu to handle the transfer documents!"
Li Shimin chuckled upon hearing this.
"Do you even need to tell me?"
"My grandson is just like me, he's been so smart since he was little, hahaha!"
“Your Majesty, I have also learned from my investigation that a ten-year-old child in Xiayang Township, Pengshui County, died of diarrhea. Although he was buried, only his clothes and hat were buried; there was no body in the grave.”
"After interrogation by myself and my colleagues in the Hundred Cavalry Division, we learned that the owner of the house sold the corpse to the person in the portrait!"
"Also, it's said that after the imperial grandson recovered from his illness, he had an enormous appetite, and his height and weight increased rapidly. In just a few months, he was like a completely different person..."
"This humble servant showed the portrait of the person His Majesty saw on Zhuque Avenue to the people of the Crown Prince's residence, and they all identified him as His Highness the Imperial Grandson!"
Li Shimin smiled happily upon hearing this.
"No wonder I almost didn't recognize you, it turns out you've gained weight from overeating after recovering from your illness, hahaha!"
"Now all the evidence proves that His Highness the Imperial Grandson did not die at all. He merely staged a self-immolation to deceive the world, and then followed his servant Pan Hu from Qianzhou to Chang'an..."
"However, the imperial grandson Li Xiang resolutely refuses to admit it. I have not received the emperor's order and dare not use torture on the imperial grandson. I can only return to report first!"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin sighed sadly.
“It’s not that Li Xiang is unwilling to admit it, it’s that he can’t admit it.”
“If he confesses, Li Jue will have committed a capital offense. If it were me, I would also deny it to the death!”
"Zhang Anan, prepare the carriage!"
"I want to see my eldest grandson, hahaha!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Anan quickly replied.
"Your Majesty, the eldest grandson is not in Chang'an; he has moved to Xianyang."
"ah?"
Li Shimin was taken aback when he heard this. It took him a while to remember that he had conferred the title of Baron of Xianyang County on Li Jue two months ago and given him a new name.
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