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

After receiving the task assigned by Li Mao, Wu Xin and Wu Zhong immediately took action.

Following Li Mao's instructions, they recruited many former soldiers and laborers from villages around Chang'an.

The preparation of warhorses, however, proved to be somewhat tricky.

However, Wu Xin does have some connections.

Through these connections, and after spending a great deal of money, Wu Xin successfully acquired a batch of plump and strong Turkic horses.

At the same time, Wu Zhong spared no effort in searching for many beautiful young women in Chang'an.

With the increasing number of warhorses and the allure of beautiful women, the number of visitors to the racecourse grew rapidly in just a few days, making it a popular entertainment destination for princes, ministers, and wealthy merchants in Chang'an.

All of this was recorded by the Bad People who were secretly monitoring Li Mao and reported to Gao Chen.

Looking at the statistics in his hand, Gao Chen's face grew increasingly gloomy.

Ever since the incident involving the imperial edict, he had harbored resentment towards Li Mao and had been secretly seeking an opportunity for revenge. "What use is all those warhorses to him?"

He muttered to himself, his face full of disdain.

"What use is a warhorse with three grooms?"

"That's just too extravagant!"

Gao Chen muttered to himself as he continued reading.

When Gao Chen saw in the report that Li Mao had asked Wu Zhong to find a large number of beautiful women, his expression froze.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Prince Shou really knows how to enjoy himself, he actually managed to find so many beautiful women."

"It seems that although he gave the money to the Emperor, his real purpose was probably just to use this as an excuse to indulge in pleasure!"

"This is a golden opportunity. If we report this to His Majesty..."

Realizing this was a perfect opportunity for revenge, Gao Chen did not hesitate for a moment and quickly returned to Xingqing Palace to report the matter in detail to Li Longji.

Li Longji, sitting upright on the dragon throne, did not find anything wrong with what Gao Chen said.

In his view, Li Mao's gathering of numerous beauties was nothing more than an attempt to transfer his affections to another woman and forget Yang Yuhuan.

This is not a bad thing. This Eighteenth Prince is self-aware enough not to dare to disobey me.

Yang Yuhuan will fall into my hands sooner or later.

Seeing that Li Longji was not angry, Gao Chen, who was a close attendant, was slightly disappointed, as this was not the effect he had hoped for.

If the Emperor does not get angry, how can I avenge myself against Prince Shou?

Unwilling to give up, Gao Chen secretly glanced at Li Longji. After confirming, he stepped forward and said sarcastically, "Your Majesty, this servant believes that although Prince Shou has made contributions, he is still a prince. If he indulges in pleasure so much, the other princes will surely follow suit when Your Majesty turns a blind eye."

"His Majesty should punish him severely."

Upon hearing Gao Chen's words, Li Longji, who had been feeling smug, nodded slightly, his expression becoming solemn.

After pondering for a moment, he felt that Gao Chen's words made a lot of sense, so he leaned back on the dragon throne and casually waved his hand.

"Go, summon Prince Shou to the palace."

Upon hearing this, Gao Chen felt secretly pleased and quickly bowed to accept the order, saying, "This servant obeys the decree."

Prince Shou, let's see how you try to deny it this time!

Full of self-satisfaction, Gao Chen, carrying Li Longji's imperial edict, led a team of Imperial Guards straight to the Prince of Shou's residence.

Meanwhile, inside the Prince Shou's residence, Li Mao sat in his study, his expression focused, sometimes nodding slightly, sometimes frowning in thought.

Wu Xin and Wu Zhong's voices echoed in the study, detailing the racecourse's revenue, the horses' condition, and the feedback from princes and ministers.

Li Mao listened attentively, unconsciously twirling a calligraphy brush in his hand.

"Recently, the number of customers at the racecourse has been stable, and the grooms have also learned how to take care of the warhorses under the guidance of the veterans."

Li Mao nodded slightly.

"The maintenance of those warhorses should not be neglected; they are the key to the racetrack."

Upon hearing this, Wu Xin nodded quickly, "Yes, Your Highness."

Then, Li Mao looked thoughtfully at Wu Zhong beside him.

"Second Uncle, how's the matter I asked you to handle?"

Faced with Li Mao's question, Wu Zhong took a step forward with a solemn expression.

"Your Highness, the person has been found and secretly brought into the Prince's residence."

"She learned those things very quickly too."

Upon receiving Wu Zhong's reply, Li Mao smiled calmly.

"Then I can rest assured. As for the racecourse, do you two uncles have anything else to say?"

Wu Xin and Wu Zhong exchanged a glance and then continued to report on some other trivial matters.

Li Mao listened patiently and gave instructions one by one.

However, at that moment, Li Mao's trusted servant rushed in.

"Your Majesty, it's not good!"

"That eunuch who delivered the imperial edict last time is here again!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Mao frowned. This dog eunuch still hadn't learned his lesson!

They've come here again, probably to cause me trouble.

“Let’s go, uncles, accompany your nephew to meet that dog eunuch.”

With that, Li Mao stood up and led Wu Xin and Wu Zhong out of the study.

As soon as Li Mao stepped outside, he saw Gao Chen standing in the courtyard with a squad of Imperial Guards, looking quite smug.

Upon seeing Li Mao emerge, Gao Chen eagerly stepped forward, his venomous eyes fixed intently on Li Mao.

“Prince Shou, His Majesty has decreed that you must enter the palace immediately to meet him.”

The sharp sound shattered the silence in the courtyard, carrying a hint of schadenfreude.

A strong urge to kill suddenly surged in Li Mao's heart.

He understood that his father's sudden summons to the palace was most likely related to Gao Chen, that treacherous and cunning scoundrel.

Having this scheming guy watching me like a persistent ghost is no good. I have to find a way to get rid of this damned bastard!

A resolute glint flashed in Li Mao's eyes, before he quickly regained his composure.

But beneath that calm lay a fury and determination as fierce as a volcano about to erupt.

Seeing that Li Mao did not reply for a long time, Gao Chen's eyes turned cold and his face darkened.

"Prince Shou, don't stand there."

"Come with me to the palace to meet the Emperor now, don't keep him waiting!"

"If Prince Shou dares to delay any further, I will certainly report to His Majesty and punish you for the grave offense of disrespect!"

Li Mao simply smiled at Gao Chen's tough stance.

"The king knows."

At the same time, he lowered his voice and gave instructions to Wu Zhong beside him.

"Second Uncle, go and bring that woman named Xianglan here. I want to bring her to meet Father Emperor."

Upon seeing this, Wu Zhong turned and retreated.

Before long, Wu Zhong returned to the courtyard, followed by a beautiful figure wearing a bamboo hat.

Seeing this, Gao Chen sneered, thinking to himself, "This Prince Shou really doesn't know what's good for him!"

How dare they so openly bring a woman into the palace to meet the Emperor!

But this is fine too, it just confirms the fact that he was licentious and pleasure-seeking.

Prince Shou, I'd like to see how you're going to explain this to His Majesty later.

Under Gao Chen's sinister gaze, Li Mao, accompanied by the woman wearing a bamboo hat, boarded a carriage and headed towards Xingqing Palace.