The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 14: The Partial Father

This is also because the stories in later history books are too interesting. Both Xu Hui and Wu Zetian are special women who rarely appear in history books.

The current situation is that Xu Xiaode neither dares to offend the Eastern Palace nor brings his daughter to the Eastern Palace.

It was indeed impolite to speak to a little girl like that.

It’s no wonder that Xu Xiaode would be wary. After all, she is someone else’s daughter.

Late at night, Li Chengqian was still correcting the homework of his younger brothers and sisters. A group of children around ten years old, they started late and made numerous mistakes in addition and subtraction within 100.

Ning'er sat next to His Highness, also correcting homework. His Highness seldom wrote himself, so she was the one correcting the literacy part.

After correcting the homework, Li Chengqian put a few pieces of dried tea leaves into a bowl, poured in the freshly boiled water, and watched the dried tea leaves float on the boiling water.

Qianqian took a sip of the tea. It tasted so bad that she wanted to curse. She said angrily, "Damn it, they put tea leaves and medicinal herbs together."

Ning'er stood with three palace maids in the hall, watching His Highness lose his temper, and then poured all the dry tea leaves in a small basin into the stove.

In fact, His Highness also has a temper, but his temper is very strange.

When Ning'er walked outside the palace to get dinner, Xiaofu whispered, "Sister Ning'er, His Highness hasn't lost his temper for a long time."

Ning Er said in distress: "Yes, no matter how difficult the matter is, His Highness will not be angry. He would actually be angry for a few dry leaves."

Xiaofu looked into the palace again and said, "Your Highness seems to be getting more and more worried since he left the East Palace recently."

This was a timely reminder. Ning'er thought about it carefully. When did His Highness start to frown more and more? It should be after he left the East Palace and got involved in more affairs outside, which caused him more distress.

Ning Er said, "Your Highness is the crown prince, so naturally you have to worry about many things."

Xiaofu nodded in a daze. The cold wind made her cheeks flush and she grinned.

The dinner in the Eastern Palace was simple. Li Chengqian ate a bowl of wontons filled with mutton.

Li Chengqian scooped up the clear soup with a spoon, tasted it carefully, and looked at the book in front of him. Now the only people the Eastern Palace could trust were Gao Shilian and two officials of the Eastern Palace.

Since Gao Shilian helped the Eastern Palace to cover up Mr. Cao's affairs, he should be a person who firmly believes in the eldest son's succession to the throne, and he is also the uncle.

He is a person who supports the East Palace, at least that's what it seems like now.

There are also Yu Zhining and Xu Xiaode. Both of them are officials under the Eastern Palace. From the moment they were appointed by imperial decree, their future and lives have been tied to the Eastern Palace.

The good or bad of the East Palace will be ruined along with them.

After His Highness had finished eating the wontons, Ning'er reached out to take the bowl and chopsticks on the table and whispered, "Your Highness, I heard that Du He has recently recruited many craftsmen, and Jingzhao Yin has asked about it."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Yes, I understand."

Li Chengqian looked up and saw Ning'er still standing beside him. "Sister Ning'er, you don't have to worry about me."

Ning Er frowned and said, "It's not that I'm worried about Your Highness, but I'm worried about the papermaking technique."

"Papermaking is not important to me. Even if Du He cannot keep the papermaking technology, I can find another capable partner. Besides..." After a pause, Li Chengqian picked up a bowl of boiled water, looked at the darkness outside the palace, and whispered, "Besides, what I want is a business channel. Papermaking may not make you rich, but those who use paper will definitely become rich."

Li Chengqian took a sip of water and whispered, "Dream of Red Mansions hasn't been finished yet."

Ning Er nodded and said, "So it turns out that His Highness was just using Du He."

Li Chengqian waved his sleeves, sat down with his hands in his pockets, and replied: "If he can handle this matter well, it will be fine. If not, it will not be a loss for me, after all, the capital is his."

Ning'er nodded with relief.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I understand Sister Ning'er's concerns."

Ning'er has become accustomed to His Highness calling her sister, but she still finds it difficult to accept it in her heart.

"I am the richest second-generation rich man in the Tang Dynasty. As the saying goes, we are not afraid of second-generation rich men squandering their wealth, but we are afraid of second-generation rich men starting businesses. I will be cautious."

Ning Er asked in confusion: "Is there such a saying?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Most likely, they are just common sayings summarizing life experiences."

The Eastern Palace hasn't put out any capital so far, and Ning'er felt relieved after thinking about it.

He didn't know what time it was. Feeling sleepy, Li Chengqian went to bed and slept until dawn. When he woke up, he didn't know what time it was. He looked at the sun and it was probably noon.

We have been living like this these days. Not long after the cold winter passed, Guanzhong was hit by another late spring cold snap.

Recently, the court has begun to prepare for the grand court meeting. Although no one has gone to the Taiji Hall to attend the court meeting, many civil officials in the imperial city have already started to get busy.

Ning'er and Xiaofu took out all the books in the Eastern Palace and looked at them.

The princesses and princes are still on vacation, and their next class will not be until after the grand court meeting.

His Highness was very busy today. Under Ning'er's puzzled gaze, His Highness collected the wood ash, boiled it, filtered it, and poured the ash-water slurry into a wooden basin.

Xiaofu bought a lot of lard from outside.

No one knew what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was going to do. After boiling the lard, he put the oil in a large bowl, let it sit, and then ignored it.

In the evening, His Highness poured the slurry of wood ash into the oil, stirred it for a while, put it aside and went to rest.

Ning'er recorded the daily life of the Eastern Palace as usual, but the fact that His Highness collected wood ash today was not written in the diary.

If she had concealed something for His Highness once, she would have done it a second time. Even Ning'er herself came to her senses and realized that she had concealed a lot of things for His Highness.

The next day, the big bowl of strange stuff that His Highness had had began to solidify. In the eyes of many palace maids in the East Palace, it was just a bowl of strange stuff.

Li Chengqian slept until noon and woke up, washing up with sleepy eyes.

Originally, my younger brothers and sisters should have been in Lizheng Hall at this time, but today they came to the East Palace early.

They said they came to the East Palace to study, but in fact they came there to play. They fought over the seesaw, the swings and the shuttlecocks, and three or two of them were playing Gobang.

Along with them came three or two palace maids from the Lizheng Palace.

Ning'er followed His Highness's footsteps, helping him put on a warm cloak while continuing to walk, "The Queen was worried that the East Palace couldn't take care of them, so she arranged a few more."

As he was talking, Li Zhi came running over. He had just changed his teeth and his speech was a bit lisp. He took out a paperweight and said, "This is what father usually uses."

This paperweight is made of gold and is quite heavy, about the size of a palm.

I don’t know what my father would think if he knew that these heartless people take things from him every day.

Xiaofu walked over quickly and bowed, saying, "The King of Shu is here, saying that His Majesty wants to invite Your Highness to dinner."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "I will go there right away and take good care of my brothers and sisters."

Ning'er smiled and nodded.

After walking out of the noisy East Palace, Li Chengqian finally felt much more comfortable and his ears were quiet.

Li Ke stood at the door of the East Palace with a silly smile on his face.

Seeing that he was still looking at him, Li Chengqian said impatiently, "Let's go, where are we going to eat?"

Li Ke then said, "It's in Xingqing Palace."

After a short pause, Li Ke continued, "Brother, please go ahead." Li Chengqian smiled gently, "No need, you go ahead. I still need you brothers and sisters to take care of me from now on."

Hearing this, Li Ke's expression perked up and he strode ahead, like a general leading the way.

There were still cold winds in the palace, but even though it was a sunny day today, one could still feel the warmth of the sun.

There were many guards standing in front of Xingqing Palace. Li Ke walked quickly to the front of the palace and said, "Tell my father that my brother and I are here."

The guard replied, "Your Highnesses, please enter the palace."

Seeing that Li Ke seemed to be in a dilemma, Li Chengqian stepped into the hall first.

Inside the palace, Li Tai was reading an article aloud in front of his father.

Li Chengqian first led Li Ke to bow and salute, and then he found a seat and sat down.

Li Tai read the words "Xian You Yi De" from Shang Shu, and his voice was still childish, but his bearing and manners were very upright.

Li Ke, who was sitting next to him, didn't say anything. He looked at Li Tai, who was about fourteen years old and quite fat. After reading aloud, he saluted to his father.

Before Li Shimin could speak, Li Chengqian said with a smile: "Qingque is well-read, but I have neglected my studies."

Under Li Shimin's gaze, Li Tai replied: "My dear brother, please forgive me for making a fool of myself."

Li Ke said: "My brother's studies will be delayed because..."

Li Ke stopped talking when he realized that his royal brother patted him on the back halfway through his words. Feeling his royal brother's trust and care, Li Ke felt very warm in his heart.

In fact, why did the prince delay his studies? Didn't Qingque know it himself?
It’s all because of the pressure from his father and his favoritism towards Qingque.

Of course, if these words were really said, we would really fall out on the spot.

Li Chengqian smiled at Li Tai.

This made Li Tai, who was about to retort, feel inexplicably uncomfortable. He wanted to get angry but couldn't.

The three brothers were so angry when they met. Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Ke'er, how are you doing in the army recently?"

Li Ke replied: "I followed General Li Daliang and learned military orders in the army."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "I have something to tell you today."

After saying this, he asked the eunuch beside him to take out the imperial edict.

The decree was read out, and it was nothing more than a change of titles, changing Li Tai to King of Wei, and changing King of Shu Li Ke to King of Wu. The decree also allowed Li Tai and Li Ke to attend court to attend government affairs.

The only thing this decree did not mention was the crown prince.

Li Ke felt sorry for his brother.

Li Tai also looked suspicious.

No matter how well the Crown Prince performed, His Majesty always treated Li Tai well, and this favoritism was known to almost everyone in the court.

The decree was to raise the rank, but the crown prince was not mentioned, and the atmosphere in the palace suddenly became strange.

I wonder if it’s because Princess Changle’s marriage was postponed that caused His Majesty to be biased against the Crown Prince?
Before the three brothers left Xingqing Hall, the news spread through the eunuchs who walked out of the hall.

Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "I originally planned to change your titles after all three of you were crowned and given names, but now that we are about to hold a grand court meeting, I thought it would be better to give it to you a year earlier."

Li Tai and Li Ke bowed together, "Thank you, Father."

The guard came quickly, saluted first, and then whispered a few words into His Majesty's ear.

Li Shimin nodded, put down his chopsticks and left.

The three brothers were left in the hall looking at each other.

Li Chengqian looked at the food in front of him. The food in the Tang Dynasty was always so monotonous, a bowl of mutton and a bowl of bean sprouts. In the past, there might not even be bean sprouts.

Li Ke said dissatisfiedly: "Why didn't you give any reward to my brother?"

"It doesn't matter. I am already the crown prince. What other rewards do I need?"

"But……"

Li Chengqian added: "Besides, I can attend court and listen to government affairs just like you. What I have is enough."

Li Tai, who was sitting opposite, was drinking wine and eating bean sprouts, looking like he was enjoying himself.

Li Ke sat cross-legged, put his hands on his knees, and whispered: "Brother, you are really..."

Li Chengqian added: "I am the eldest brother, how can I complain to my father over such a small matter? It's not easy for us brothers and sisters, we should help each other in the future."

Li Ke nodded heavily, "My brother is right."

I sat in the Xingqing Palace for an hour, but my father didn't come back.

Behind the Xingqing Palace, Li Shimin was looking at the military report sent from Liangzhou. The situation at the border was urgent, and this kind of urgent report must be read first, and the court must respond as soon as possible.

An elderly eunuch walked quickly to the side of His Majesty and spoke in a low voice.

Li Shimin put down the military report in his hand and asked, "Did Cheng Qian really say that?"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's words seemed like those of an elder brother. Even the old eunuch in the inner chamber felt gratified. It was a blessing for the Tang Dynasty to have such a sensible crown prince.

Another guard came quickly and said, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Fang and General Yuchi are waiting outside the palace."

Li Shimin sighed and said, "Let the three brothers go back first, and call Xuanling and Jingde into the palace to discuss."

"Here."

The three brothers were still sitting in the hall. Li Ke had already finished eating the mutton and bean sprouts on the table. Seeing that his brother didn't eat any, he finished his brother's portion as well.

The eunuch who had just announced the decree came over with a smile and said, "Your Highnesses, please go back."

Hearing this, Li Tai stood up and left first.

Li Chengqian stood up and just walked out of the hall with Li Ke, they saw Fang Xuanling and Yuchi Gong.

Facing the two civil and military leaders in the court, Li Chengqian bowed and said, "Greetings to Prime Minister Fang and General Yuchi."

The two of them were about to say something to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Li Chengqian said with his hands in his pockets: "State affairs are more important, I will go back first, you two can quickly enter the palace."

Fang Xuanling breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and then he entered the palace with Yuchi Gong.

On the way back, Li Ke was still complaining, "Father is too partial. He should at least give more silk to the East Palace. My brother wore this cloak last year."

Li Chengqian still had his hands in his pockets, looking up at the sky and said, "We have so many brothers and sisters, it's no wonder that our father is partial to anyone. Why should I care about that? We are all so old, do we still need our father to be partial to us?"

Li Ke let it go and put his hands in his pockets. He nodded and said, "My brother is right."

"If we continue to argue with Li Tai, we will be the villains."

(End of this chapter)