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

However, Li Mao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He knew his plan was about to succeed; all he needed to do was add fuel to the fire and completely crush the mad old man.

A moment later, reinforcements arrived, and the fire gradually subsided.

Li Mao immediately ordered, "Everyone, brave the flames and go in to search! Rescue Master Taizhen!"

However, all they found was a shriveled, charred corpse.

Two pieces of burnt Taoist robe remained on the body, indicating that it was Yang Yuhuan's remains.

Li Longji stared at the corpse before him, seemingly lost in thought.

His eyes gradually became vacant, and his body began to tremble violently.

"How could this happen...how could this happen!"

He only wanted to possess Yang Yuhuan and never intended to kill her.

Thinking this, he glared angrily at Li Mao: "You—"

But at that moment, he felt a surging power rise within him, seemingly rampaging through his body. He suddenly realized the danger, clutched his chest, and cried out in pain, "I...I..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly collapsed to the ground, his limbs twitching and his eyes rolling back.

The guards immediately rushed forward, but Li Mao gestured for them to step back, saying, "Don't touch him, observe him for a while."

Li Longji's body gradually calmed down, but he was clearly in a semi-conscious state. A trickle of saliva dripped from the corner of his mouth as he murmured Yang Yuhuan's name.

Li Mao sighed and said to the Imperial Guard beside him, "Return to the palace and summon the imperial physician to treat Father Emperor immediately."

He then turned to the young Taoist boy and whispered, "Quickly clean up the scene and make sure everything goes according to plan."

The young Taoist priest nodded in agreement and hurriedly began to clean up the mess.

However, a moment later, in a hidden basement of the Taizhen Temple.

Yang Yuhuan had already safely escaped the fire and changed into simple clothes.

She clung tightly to Li Mao's arm, her eyes filled with hope: "Your Highness, we succeeded! We succeeded!"

Li Mao hugged Yang Yuhuan and watched her wipe a tear on her clothes.

Li Mao was also very excited that the faked death had been carried out so successfully.

In addition, Li Longji gave him an unexpected surprise.

—The old man couldn't take it anymore and suffered another stroke, collapsing to the ground.

People who suffer repeated strokes will experience a progressively worsening of their health until they die.

Even if Li Longji manages to wake up this time, his physical condition will likely be severely compromised. Forget about coveting Yang Yuhuan; whether he can even regain his former strength is questionable.

However, Li Mao did not appear overly excited.

Li Longji was just one of many people he had to deal with. He was already old and in poor health, so he was not the strongest opponent for him.

Now, if Li Longji were to fall completely...

Then Li Heng will become Li Mao's most formidable opponent.

Seeing that Li Mao's expression was somewhat solemn, Yang Yuhuan said considerately, "Your Highness, go back to your residence and get some rest tonight. Now that your major worry has been removed, Your Highness can finally get a good night's sleep."

Indeed, Li Mao had been spending a lot of time with Yang Yuhuan and hadn't had much rest.

Looking at the beautiful woman before him so considerate, Li Mao felt that everything he had done was worthwhile.

He smiled and said gently, "I will send someone to take you away tonight, lest things get complicated and you cause trouble if you stay in this godforsaken place any longer. Once everything has settled down, I will bring you back so we can live happily ever after."

Yang Yuhuan blushed upon hearing this.

Li Mao always had this ability to easily say things that stirred her heart.

The two embraced one last time, and Li Mao left without looking back.

Li Longji remained unconscious for a day and a night, only waking up early the next morning.

Upon hearing this news, Li Mao cursed, "That old man Deng, he's really lucky to be alive."

It was thought that Li Longji would never recover from this illness, but unexpectedly, good people don't live long, while evil people live a thousand years. Another stroke did not take Li Longji's life!

Now that Li Longji has woken up, Li Mao must go to the palace to pay his respects.

Not only that, but they also had to admit their mistakes to Li Longji and get a good scolding from him.

But... it doesn't matter.

As long as Yu Huan is completely free from the clutches of this old man, it's worth sacrificing some things for herself.

Li Mao didn't bother to delay and went straight to the palace.

Upon entering the bedchamber, one sees Li Longji lying on the bed with needles stuck in his wrists and forehead, looking quite comical.

When Li Longji saw Li Mao, his eyes were filled with resentment.

His lips trembled as he struggled to utter a few words: "You...you...what...crime...you deserve!"

Li Mao quickly knelt on the ground and whispered, "Your subject greets Your Majesty. Your Majesty, Yu Huan's death was an accident, and I did not wish for it to happen, but the deceased is gone, and we can only look forward. There are so many beautiful women in the world, and your subject will find a woman ten thousand times more beautiful than Yang Yu Huan for Your Majesty. Please take good care of your health, Your Majesty, and look forward to the future!"

Upon hearing that Li Mao would find him a better woman, Li Longji's gaze softened slightly, but his resentment remained.

"You...you...you'd better watch yourself!"

After struggling to finish his last sentence, Li Longji waved his hand weakly, signaling that Li Mao could leave.

After kowtowing and paying his respects, Li Mao left the bedchamber.

People who are half-dead are so easy to fool.

After leaving the palace, I looked up at the sky and realized it was still early.

Since Li Longji was in such a terrible state, there was nothing that could be done to him, so Li Mao decided to take a stroll around the palace. Perhaps he could run into Ya Ru and inquire about her health; pregnant women are prone to emotional and other emotional problems.

If I could offer her some words of comfort, she would feel better.

However, things didn't go as planned. Li Mao circled the Imperial Garden twice but didn't see Ya Ru.

Perhaps because pregnant women don't like to be active, Ya-ru didn't go out for a stroll today.

Instead, they encountered a woman dressed in a plain-colored dress who looked exceptionally thin. She was alone, appeared to have just been crying, her eyes were slightly red, and there was a hint of resentment between her brows.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the Crown Princess, Lady Wei, who was so thin she looked unrecognizable!

Upon seeing Li Mao, Lady Wei quickly composed herself and stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Your Highness, Prince Shou."

Li Mao returned the greeting: "Sister-in-law, how have you been? How have you been lately?"

Lady Wei nodded slightly, trying to keep her tone calm as she said, "It's alright, thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

Li Mao knew perfectly well that the Wei family's influence in the court was not what it used to be, and with the Crown Prince's cold attitude towards her and even his infatuation with someone else, Wei's life was bound to be difficult.

Although Wei's current tragic situation is mostly due to Li Mao, it does not prevent Li Mao from feeling sympathy and pity when he sees the beauty shedding tears.

Who could blame him, Li Mao, for being a man who cherishes women?