Tang Dynasty: To win Yang Guifei, they asked Emperor Xuanzong to die.

Li Mao looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man in black walking out from beside the willow tree.

The person's face was covered with a black cloth, and he was dressed in night clothes, clearly indicating that he had been carefully disguised.

Li Mao looked at him coldly and asked, "Who are you?"

Regardless of this person's purpose or who sent him, Li Mao was certain of one thing: he was up to no good. If he came with good intentions, why bother with all this sneaking around and sending letters? Wouldn't it have been better to just show up and explain the situation?

The man in black didn't speak, but suddenly knelt down on one knee.

He said respectfully, "This humble servant greets Your Highness Prince Shou. This humble servant is willing to follow Your Highness to the death!"

Upon hearing this, several more men in black appeared and knelt down, all saying the same thing. An uninformed observer might have thought Li Mao was gathering his men to prepare for an uprising.

Li Mao instantly sensed something was wrong and said sternly, "Don't pretend in front of me. I never fall for that. Speak your mind if you have something to say, or if you have nothing to say... then come back to my residence with me. I have some questions to ask you."

The men in black were not afraid of Li Mao's threats at all.

Instead, they adopted a righteous and fearless attitude, saying, "We are willing to serve Your Highness. If Your Highness refuses to accept us and wants to kill us, we are willing to die."

"Yes! Now the country is shattered, and the Emperor is unjust. We live in constant fear under the oppressive power of the Emperor. It is Your Highness's majesty that has spread far and wide, and we have spontaneously formed our own forces so that one day we may recommend Prince Shou to be the new emperor. We beg Your Highness to grant our request!"

"Please grant my request, Your Highness!"

At that very moment, in a carriage hidden by the roadside in the distance, Guo Ziyi's pupils dilated in shock: "What... what exactly is going on?"

He then looked at Gao Lishi, only to find that Gao Lishi's face was expressionless.

Guo Ziyi immediately said, "Eunuch Gao, don't misunderstand. These people don't know His Highness Prince Shou at all, and their actions are certainly unrelated to His Highness. They keep saying they want to follow His Highness, but they actually have ulterior motives."

If Li Longji were to hear what happened today, his suspicions about Li Mao would likely deepen.

However, Gao Lishi was clearly different from Li Longji. He shook his head and said, "General Guo, don't be anxious. I find this matter very interesting... I hope His Highness Prince Shou can think of the same thing as me."

The explanation was so vague that Guo Ziyi didn't understand it.

Seeing that Gao Lishi did not suspect Li Mao, he felt a little relieved.

He continued to nervously glance at Li Mao and the crowd not far away, thinking that if these people bothered His Highness, he would step forward to help His Highness out of the predicament.

However, to his surprise, Li Mao's expression gradually softened as he listened to their persuasive arguments and reasoned explanations. In Guo Ziyi's view, he was even somewhat moved by their suggestions!

Guo Ziyi was startled and had no idea what to do.

On the other side, Li Mao said to the men in black, "You've gone to such lengths just to make me replace the Crown Prince? But do you know that you're doing more harm than good, causing my father to suspect me time and again!"

"Please forgive us, Your Highness. We did not consider things carefully enough. The residence where Your Highness and your party are staying is where my ancestors lived. I have the key to that residence. Fortunately, one of us is from the southwest and is skilled with concealed weapons. Taking advantage of the opportune time, place, and people, we sent him to assassinate the Crown Prince... Unfortunately, he was killed."

"Even though he sacrificed himself, our child... should His Highness Prince Shou give the order, we would gladly die for him!"

Li Mao looked at these people in front of him, spouting nonsense with such a straight face, and secretly wanted to laugh.

But seeing how serious they all were, as if they were really talking about it, I couldn't help but feel a little sad.

What tricks are our opponents playing?

In any case, we've now established a connection with the other side.

Although the other party's attitude was ambiguous, it was still better than being completely clueless like a headless fly before.

Li Mao did not directly reject these people's "submission." He frowned slightly, having already made up his mind.

After a moment, Li Mao said coldly, "You are so 'loyal,' but I need to think it over carefully. We'll meet again here in three days. If I make a decision then and accept you, you will have to obey my every command from now on."

The men in black, as if they were well-trained, replied in unison, "Yes, Your Highness!"

After saying this, the people quickly retreated and disappeared into the night.

Li Mao mounted his horse, and the carriage behind him quickly followed.

It was already past midnight when they returned to the mansion, and the three of them gathered again in the room in the courtyard to discuss matters.

Guo Ziyi looked anxious: "Your Highness, what... what's going on? What those people said sounds like a serious crime of rebellion! If the Emperor finds out, the consequences will be unimaginable! Why doesn't Your Highness arrest them on the spot and interrogate them severely?"

He didn't think Li Mao wanted to use anyone's power to ascend the throne.

A man like Li Mao, who desires the throne, would surely seek other means and wouldn't be led by the nose by these scoundrels who appeared out of nowhere.

"Eunuch Gao, what do you think of this matter?" Li Mao gestured for Guo Ziyi to calm down, then turned to look at Gao Lishi.

Gao Lishi smiled slightly, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes: "This matter is indeed quite interesting. General Guo, His Highness Prince Shou's actions are actually reasonable. Although those men in black are rebellious, as long as we maintain contact with them, we will always have a link with the mastermind behind the scenes. His Highness Prince Shou, by feigning agreement to their request and bringing them under your command, we can see what they plan to do next."

“I guarantee that if this matter comes to light, I will be the first to stand up and negotiate with His Majesty. If His Majesty suspects Your Highness, he should first suspect me.”

As a veteran minister who had rendered meritorious service in supporting Li Longji, Gao Lishi was confident that he could persuade Li Longji.

Guo Ziyi still looked dissatisfied: "But if..."

Li Mao interrupted him, saying in a deep voice, "Don't worry, I trust Eunuch Gao. Besides, if we directly refuse them, it might alert them and make them suspicious. Then it will be even harder to find the person behind them."

As he spoke, Li Mao remembered something and said with a smile, "This man seems fierce and ruthless, but he is actually very naive. He actually came up with such a ridiculous thing to deal with me. Does he think I would believe such nonsense?"

“Some people believe such things themselves and fantasize all day long about having someone support them like that. So he judges others by his own standards and thinks that His Highness Prince Shou is also such a person,” Gao Lishi said.

It seemed he had a guess about the identity of the person behind the scenes.

Li Mao and Guo Ziyi asked in unison, "Who is it?"