In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

Shortly afterward, the woman was taken away from the pavilion.

The scene was extremely quiet.

The candlelight flickered in Li Yuanchang's eyes.

He was pretty sure it was true. He had already felt that Jisaburo's reaction was strange, and on the way here, he had indeed noticed that his place was being watched.

With Tanaka Chishima's personal testimony, no further irrefutable evidence is needed; the logical loop is already complete.

That bastard Jisaburo is definitely up to something!

At this point, Tanaka Chishima continued.

"Your Highness, you should believe me. I have no reason to risk my life to lie. I am the only one here who is honest with you."

Li Yuanchang smiled knowingly, reached out and pinched her chin, lifting it up.

Under the candlelight, the two looked at each other. Chishima felt an overwhelming sense of pressure, and a hint of tension appeared deep in her beautiful eyes.

Li Yuanchang said, "Everyone speaks according to their needs, and everyone has their own interests to consider. What about yours?"

"And what is your purpose?"

Chishima braced himself on the ground, leaned forward, and said without resistance, "Your Highness, my purpose is to cooperate with you."

"Cooperation? Cooperate on what?" Li Yuanchang scrutinized.

"Of course, it's what His Highness wants to cooperate with. You rescue your people and ships, and I will defeat the Nakatomi clan." Chishima replied without hesitation.

"you?"

"Why would a woman like you defeat Nakatomi?"

"My husband died at their hands." Tanaka Chishima glanced back at the memorial tablet, her face filled with hatred again. "And that coward Jisaburo didn't dare to seek revenge; he only wanted to secure his own position!"

Li Yuanchang then asked, "Then what do you have to offer for cooperation with me?"

"I remember that Jisaburo is the head of the family, and you, it seems, don't even have the ability to leave this place."

Tanaka Chishima's eyelashes fluttered.

"Therefore, I need Your Highness's help to seize control of the family first. Once I have power, I can immediately send people to act together with Your Highness to deliver the heaviest blow to the Nakatomi clan."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang smiled.

"Mrs. Chishima, you're trying to get something for nothing."

"You're even better at talking nonsense than Jisaburo!"

"No, I'm not trying to get something for nothing! I have people, I have my own power, and I can act alongside Your Highness."

"I haven't been waiting for nothing all these years. As long as Your Highness is willing to join us and take action, the two of us working together can take control of the entire Ōtomo clan in just one night at most!" Tanaka Chishima said in a deep voice, his eyes revealing a hint of cunning and ruthlessness.

Li Yuanchang quickly realized that since this woman was able to plant spies in Jisaburo's bedside, she probably had planted many people within the Otomo clan and turned them against each other.

Judging from her appearance, this woman already possessed some strength.

"To take it down in one night?"

"How are you going to take it?"

Tanaka Chishima knew that he only had one chance, so he did not hide anything and told her everything: "I have some confidants in the shogunate. No one knows about their existence. They can cut off the gates from the military camp to the shogunate at critical moments and cut off Jisaburo's reinforcements."

"The entire shogunate has only about three hundred samurai, of whom I have bribed twenty-eight, who may betray me if necessary."

"In addition, there is a group of my friends imprisoned in the shogunate's water dungeon. They harbor deep resentment towards Jisaburo. I can release them; there are about seventy of them."

"In addition, I also have a detailed map of the shogunate."

"Everything is ready now, except for Your Highness joining us."

"If the two of us join forces, we can definitely take down the shogunate!" Tanaka Chishima tried his best to win him over.

Li Yuanchang was slightly startled.

This is a mini version of the Xuanwu Gate Incident; they bribed so many people.

If true, then it definitely has potential.

"You've explained the plan in such detail, it seems you're certain I'll join you?"

Tanaka Chishima smiled and said, "Your Highness needs me, and I need Your Highness. Only the two of us can cooperate and achieve a win-win situation."

"Your Highness is a wise man."

Li Yuanchang raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying.

"But what happens after we take over the shogunate?"

"Can you command an entire family, and will people everywhere acknowledge you?"

"Can you mobilize the army?"

Tanaka Chishima smiled again, her red lips curving upwards, a confident yet cunning expression on her face: "Yes!"

"I have been waiting for this moment for years. As long as they are all dead and Your Highness supports me, I can take over the family."

As she spoke, Li Yuanchang saw a hint of lust for power in her eyes.

This woman probably wants more than just revenge; she wants to seize power.

It's best to keep this kind of woman under control.

Those that cannot be suppressed must never be approached.

"One last question."

"Why should I believe you?"

"To put it bluntly, you want to use me to help you ascend to the throne, that's fine, but how can you guarantee that you will help me after it's done?"

As Li Yuanchang spoke, he stood up, looking down at the viewer.

Tanaka Chishima remained kneeling, but her head was lowered, and she prostrated herself at Li Yuanchang's feet.

"Your Highness, you can rest assured. If the Thousand Islands Project succeeds, the long-term control of the family will depend on Your Highness's external support, namely the support of the Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, it will be difficult to maintain our position."

"Even if Chishima is stupid, she wouldn't be stupid enough to remove her own pillar."

"If Your Highness is worried, Chishima may recognize Your Highness as her master and from now on obey her every word."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang smiled.

"You're quite clever, woman. You're not satisfied with using me once; you want to use me long-term."

"By clinging to my coattails, you gain the Tang Dynasty's approval. With this advantage, do you dare to challenge the Emperor?"

Tanaka Chishima was seen through, but she wasn't embarrassed at all. Instead, she looked up, her beautiful eyes serious.

"I will not let Your Highness suffer any loss."

"While Your Highness supports me, I will also fully support Your Highness. I am loyal to Your Highness alone."

Li Yuanchang didn't speak, but stared intently into the other person's eyes.

This is just like investing; you invest in whoever has potential. And without a doubt, Tanaka Chishima is someone worth investing in. Given the current situation, with only a four-day window left, Li Yuanchang really has no other choice.

"Mrs. Chishima, words are not enough to prove anything."

Tanaka Chishima frowned slightly, trying to figure out what Li Yuanchang meant.

boom!

Li Yuanchang suddenly threw down a medicine bottle: "This is poison. Without my antidote, you will die from intestinal perforation."

"Eat it, and we'll cooperate."

Tanaka Chishima's beautiful Japanese face changed slightly.

"If you truly believe you are loyal enough to acknowledge me as your master, then you should not hesitate," Li Yuanchang said calmly.

Tanaka Chishima hesitated for a couple of breaths, then swallowed the medicine without saying a word.

Then, she knelt down and called out, "Master."