The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 143 Loyal Minister

Whether to kill Liu Rengui is a very complicated issue. First of all, the killing must be worthwhile.

Killing him can calm the army's morale.

But now Liu Rengui, as the lieutenant of Chencang County, is deeply loved by the people of Chencang County.

If he was not killed, the emperor would win the hearts of the people.

Zhang Xingcheng said in a clear voice: "Your Majesty has decreed that Liu Rengui has made great contributions to the governance of Chencang County and is deeply loved by the villagers. He is hereby appointed as the magistrate of Xianyang County. I hope he will maintain his style and be resolute and upright."

Liu Rengui said in a clear voice: "I accept your order."

"Your Highness, I will take my leave now."

Li Chengqian bowed and said, "Thank you for your help."

Zhang Xingcheng patted Liu Rengui's shoulder heavily and walked away with big strides.

Xianyang County was Xincheng County in the Han Dynasty. It was located on the Xianyang Plain, between Jingyang County and Shiping County. It was a county that was re-demarcated during the Wude period. It was one of the important counties in Jingji Province and was under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Prefecture.

Moreover, it is adjacent to Chang'an, an important place in Guanzhong, and a key point connecting Jingyang, and is located in the upper reaches of the Wei River.

"I won the bet this time."

Suddenly, he heard the Crown Prince whisper something. Sun Fujia frowned and asked, "What did your Highness just say?"

Li Chengqian said: "Nothing."

Liu Rengui held the official seal and official uniform in his hands, his hands trembling with excitement.

Sun Fujia said: "Mr. Liu, you don't have to worry about whether you will die now."

He slowly placed his official uniform and seal on the ground, walked quickly to the outside of the Dali Temple, bowed in the direction of the Taiji Hall, and said loudly: "Your Majesty is wise and wise, and I will live up to your trust!"

His voice was very loud. At that moment, he was still wearing prison clothes, standing in the sunset, and passers-by looked at him.

Then he hurried in again, holding the official uniform and seal in his hands.

Li Chengqian said: "County Magistrate Liu, take a rest for the night and take up your post tomorrow."

Noting that he was wearing thin prison clothes and probably had no place to live, Li Chengqian added, "There is a kind man in Chang'an City named Du He."

After taking another look, Li Chengqian said, "Du He is my good friend. If you can't find a place to stay, you can stay with him for one night. I..."

After some hesitation, Li Chengqian was ready to leave and said, "Du He is a kind man anyway, so it would be good for you to go."

Sun Fujia saw the prince off and seeing Liu Rengui still standing outside the Dali Temple, he had the door closed and he also left his shift early.

Night was about to fall on Chang'an City. Liu Rengui asked a few passers-by and found out the residence of Du He, a great philanthropist in Chang'an.

It turns out that the great philanthropist that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was referring to was Du Ruhui’s child.

Liu Rengui explained the reason clearly in front of the door.

In fact, County Magistrate Liu's reputation had already spread when he was taken to the Dali Temple, and he was later appointed as the County Magistrate of Xianyang County.

This rumor spread like wildfire throughout the court and the ears of the dignitaries in Chang'an City.

The servant led Liu Rengui in.

The decoration of Du He's mansion was very expensive, and it showed the rules everywhere. There was even a big cloth bag filled with copper coins in the yard.

Even the servants here were dressed in expensive clothes. Looking around, there were barrels of grape wine, jade cups, and even the ground was covered with precious agate and jade.

"This……"

The servant explained, "Master Du He is very annoyed by these jades. He wants to sell them but they are hard to sell, so he uses them to pave the road. If the guests here like any of them, they can pick some and take them away. If they can take all of them away, Master Du He will give them some wine as a thank you."

Liu Rengui wiped his forehead with his sleeve and felt sweaty, but there was clearly no sweat.

The servant led him to a yard where there was also a lot of grape wine. On the stone table were emerald green jade bowls and chess pieces carved from jade.

Xu Jingzong, Shangguan Yi and Sun Simiao are here, and they are playing cards at the moment.

The servant said, "Master Du He knew that County Magistrate Liu was coming, so he specially arranged a room for him. What do you think of this one?"

"No!" Liu Rengui took a step back.

"Don't you like it?" The servant was surprised at first, but then said with relief: "It's okay, there are better rooms in the mansion."

Liu Rengui said: "No, this house is too good. I can't live in it."

Xu Jingzong, who was playing cards, glanced at the person who came and whispered, "Is he Liu Rengui?"

Shangguan Yi said: "That's him."

"You have to concentrate on what you do!" Sun Simiao played the last five cards, stroked his beard and smiled, "I won."

Xu Jingzong sighed and sorted the cards.

Finally, Liu Rengui retreated all the way to the gate of Du He's mansion. He did not choose the house that Du He had prepared for guests, but lived in a small house next to the gate, which was where the gatekeeper of the mansion lived.

Moreover, he was sleeping on the ground holding his official uniform.

The servants in the mansion couldn't bear it and covered him with bedding anyway.

He slept on the ground all night, and at dawn Liu Rengui fled from the Du family's mansion as if he was escaping for his life.

When Du He woke up, he was wearing only a single layer of clothes and was going for a morning jog, and then he was going to practice archery.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has to practice every day, so morning exercises have become Du He's habit. There is still some frost on the ground, and the early morning in late autumn is very cold.

Du He's archery skills were very poor. He drew his bow and aimed at a target fifty steps away. He shot the arrow, but the arrow didn't hit the target at all.

The servant told him about Liu Rengui, and he said anxiously, "Sir, this County Magistrate Liu is too weird."

Du He put down the bow in his hand, washed his hands in the golden basin, and said: "Since it was arranged by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, everyone in the mansion must take good care of it."

"Sir, please don't embarrass me. I made very thoughtful arrangements, but he just doesn't appreciate it."

"So what if our Du family is wealthy? All of this was given by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Even if I have a lot of money, for the Crown Prince, it is only the Crown Prince's words to make the Du family rich, and it is also the Crown Prince's words to make the Du family poor."

Du He added, "The wealth given by the Crown Prince will be remembered by everyone in the Du family. It is our fault that we did not take good care of County Magistrate Liu. I will apologize to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The servant stood aside feeling aggrieved.

Du He glanced at him and said, "You will go to Xianyang County starting today. Bring enough money with you. If Liu Rengui needs anything, you will arrange it. If you still can't arrange it, you can go to Jingyang to make soap."

"Yes." The servant responded hurriedly and left quickly.

After finishing all these, Du He had his meal, wrote a letter of apology and asked someone to send it to the Eastern Palace, then followed Xu Jingzong to Jingzhao Prefecture. There would be another trade fair this winter, and Jingyang County would still be the largest share of the trade, so there were some things that Du He had to discuss together.

The emperor was still a wise emperor who was able to accept loyal criticism and even if a captain died, he could still promote a loyal minister.

This is the best choice for the emperor and the most cost-effective from the perspective of interests. It will not only win the hearts of the people, but will also be beneficial to the officials in the court.

At today's morning court session, Li Chengqian noticed that many loyal ministers such as Wei Zheng, Ma Zhou, and Zhang Xingcheng looked at his father with more respect.

After the morning court session, he returned to the East Palace and read the letter from Du He while eating noodles.

Li Xiaogong ate his noodles with great noise. He felt that the sauce of the noodles was not enough, so he scooped another large spoonful of sauce, put it into the bowl, stirred it, and swallowed it. While eating, he asked, "I heard that His Highness and His Majesty had a bet, and His Highness the Crown Prince won."

Li Chengqian's eyes were still on the letter, and he asked, "How did the emperor's uncle know this?"

Li Xiaogong said: "His Royal Highness Prince Wei told Mr. Wang, and then everyone in Prince Wei's Mansion knew about it, and that's how I heard about it." Li Chengqian put Du He's letter aside. In fact, Du He made a good arrangement. Maybe Liu Rengui was afraid of wealth and honor in his heart. After all, he was not like Xu Jingzong and Shangguan Yi.

"What does the letter say?"

"Liu Rengui spent a night at Du He's house, and he actually slept in the servants' room, and he slept on the floor, just under the eaves."

Li Xiaogong said: "This Liu Rengui is truly a loyal minister."

Li Chengqian said: "And he is very loyal."

While eating noodles, I saw Xu Xiaode walking towards here.

Ever since he became the Minister of the Ministry of Works, he has rarely been in contact with the Eastern Palace.

"Your Highness, the budget for repairing the Lingyan Pavilion has been prepared. Yu Zhanshi has also reviewed it. The total amount is 20 strings of cash."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Go and make the arrangements. We'll start work today."

"Here."

The construction of Lingyan Pavilion has finally started. His Majesty has been in a good mood recently and was very satisfied when he saw the drawings of Lingyan Pavilion.

"Cheng Qian is not going to make things difficult for Your Majesty, but everything needs to be calculated carefully." Empress Changsun said as she helped Xiao Si put on clothes.

"He is very good at calculating and would like to spend every penny as if it were a penny."

Little Sizi also repeated: "Be thrifty."

Empress Changsun smiled and said, "Yes, your brother is a calculating man."

Li Shimin put down the blueprint and sat outside the Lizheng Hall. He was still upset about losing the bet with his son.

"Who did you say leaked the information? Who sent the news about Chencang to Chengqian in advance?"

Empress Changsun packed up Little Sizi and said, "Your Majesty, why are you still upset?"

Li Shimin looked somewhat dissatisfied, feeling that he was being tricked by his son. "I don't know what demands this kid will make if he wins."

"No matter what your request is, Cheng Qian will not make it difficult for Your Majesty."

"He doesn't embarrass me?" Li Shimin was full of disbelief and said, "Hasn't that kid always made things difficult for me?"

Soon, Li Lizhi and Dongyang appeared outside the palace. They came to see the queen mother. Today, the two sisters dressed up because they were going to meet some female relatives of powerful families with their mother.

Empress Changsun held Xiao Sizi in her arms and led a group of palace maids and her two daughters out of Lizheng Hall.

The emperor was left alone, staring at the fallen leaves on the ground in a daze.

In a corner of the West Garden of the Imperial Palace, there is a garden where the Queen met with the wives of several dukes of the time.

As soon as Li Lizhi walked here, she attracted a lot of people's attention. This Princess Changle rarely appeared in public.

It's been a long time since I last saw her. Her Royal Highness the Princess has grown a lot taller.

Li Lizhi and Dongyang wore waist-length skirts and cloth shoes, and bowed respectfully to the women in front of them.

The queen sat down in the seat of honor and began to talk with several women.

Li Lizhi walked with Dongyang, and then there were several other little girls walking together.

"I didn't see Her Royal Highness the Princess during the autumn garden tour."

The speaker was the granddaughter of Kong Yingda.

Li Lizhi said, "We are with our mother, the queen, and our father."

"No wonder I didn't see Her Royal Highness the Princess." Another girl said, "But I did see the Crown Prince by the Qujiang Pond."

Li Lizhi smiled and asked, "What do you think of my brother?"

"His Royal Highness..."

The girls looked at each other, smiled very forcedly, and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is very handsome."

Li Lizhi said: "I know, you all don't like my brother."

Several people of similar age shook their heads and dared not say that.

One girl whispered, "His Royal Highness is indeed very kind, but..."

Seeing that the other party was hesitant to speak, Dongyang asked again: "Just what happened?"

"We all think that His Royal Highness is...very dangerous."

"Danger?"

"Hmm." Someone praised, "The Crown Prince's eyes are very dangerous. I dare not look directly at him."

Li Lizhi folded her arms in front of her and walked among a cluster of withering flowers. In fact, this place is very beautiful in spring, with many flowers.

Due to my mother's health, I can only come here in autumn.

Whether it is pollen or smoke, it will make the Queen Mother uncomfortable.

Dongyang whispered, "You all have not spoken to my brother, but you think he is in danger."

Li Lizhi knew in her heart that the brothers and sisters in the Eastern Palace were all protecting their brother, the Emperor.

Even if outsiders say something bad about the emperor, his younger brothers and sisters will be unhappy.

Dongyang's words made all the girls lower their heads and dare not say anything more.

Afterwards, Li Lizhi was unwilling to walk with them, and sat next to her mother.

Empress Changsun drank a bowl of tea and asked, "Lizhi, how did your conversation with them go?"

Li Lizhi said with an unhappy look: "These people don't like my brother. They also said that my brother is dangerous and they are very scared."

Sometimes Cheng Qian’s unintentional look is indeed unforgettable, as it does not seem like the look one would have at this age.

Dongyang said: "My brother only met briefly at Qujiang Lake, and they have already concluded that my brother is wrong. These girls are just following the crowd."

After sitting here for half an hour, Li Lizhi and Dongyang each held a book and read by themselves, while the sound of their mother and several other women talking could be heard around them.

When their mother was about to leave, the two sisters looked at the girls who were paying their respects with disdain and followed her away.

As they walked along, Empress Changsun whispered, "Lizhi, if they really say something offensive in the future, don't show it in front of others."

"My daughter knows."

The two sisters were trying to protect their royal brother. There was a lot of talk about the current crown prince in the court and the public, some good and some bad.

It’s a good thing that the children can unite as one, and it makes the queen feel much more relieved.

Li Lizhi asked, "When does mother plan to let my brother get married?"

Walking along the path in the palace and passing by the Taiji Hall, Empress Changsun whispered, "Wait until your brother is twenty years old."

Li Lizhi felt relieved and said, "Then my brother still has a few years to think about it slowly."

When he returned to the East Palace, his elder brother was giving lectures to his younger brothers and sisters in the front hall. As the court had been idle recently, his elder brother had some free time to teach his younger brothers and sisters personally.

(End of this chapter)