The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 146: Absence from the Morning Court
In December of the eighth year of Zhenguan, after the wind and rain stopped, the wind and snow came again.

Before we knew it, the eighth year of Zhenguan was almost over.

By the twelfth lunar month, production had stopped in most places in Guanzhong.

Only Du He's workshop continued to produce. In addition to looking for work in Chang'an City, many Guanzhong villagers who were seeking short-term income also went to Jingyang.

Jingyang is always short of labor, and Master Du He will give money even if you just plant a tree.

Du He also needed labor. Because of an agreement with merchants from Jiangnan, Du He needed to stock up a huge amount of soap to exchange with the merchants from Jiangnan.

Although there are no flower petals to make soap now, Du He has plenty of ways. He can make a lot of semi-finished products and store them. Then in the spring of next year, he can heat the soap slightly and add flower petals into the softened soap to make soap.

Therefore, the current labor costs are a drop in the bucket for Du He. In addition to spending a large amount of copper coins on labor, he also has to find ways to exchange the copper coins for silver cakes.

After Xu Jingzong sent off the last group of trade teams, he also took some time off in Jingyang. He often took Liu Rengui and Pei Xingjian to discuss the current situation in Guanzhong.

Li Chengqian looked at the letter in his hand. All these things were written in the letter.

He also planned to distribute more soap to the court this year. These officials could sell it or keep it for their own use. It would be considered a bonus from the court to them.

Li Lizhi and Ning'er were measuring the height of their younger brothers and sisters, and a palace maid was recording the height of the princes and princesses.

Look how much taller they have grown this year.

Li Shen stared at his brother's feet and said quickly, "Brother, you are not allowed to step on your feet!"

Li Zhi was unconvinced and said, "You obviously stepped on your feet too."

"I don't!"

The two brothers were about to quarrel, but Princess Gaoyang was still covering her mouth and laughing secretly.

Li Lizhi glared at them, and the two younger brothers gave up.

Li Zhi was still unconvinced and said, "Obviously I am half an inch taller than you."

Li Shen said: "My royal brother is obviously one inch shorter than me."

Li Lizhi took a deep breath, picked up the rattan stick beside her and swung it down, hitting one person.

The two princes then stopped talking.

As an elder sister, Li Lizhi would really beat her younger brothers and sisters if they were disobedient.

When they are disobedient, just whip them and they will behave.

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets, looking at the falling snow and listening to the noise behind him.

Li Shen walked up to his brother and whispered, "Brother, I want to visit mother."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Go ahead."

Li Shen turned around and said to Li Lizhi and Li Zhi, "Sister and brother, I'm going to visit mother."

After saying this, he walked happily into the snow.

Although these two younger brothers are noisy, they are usually very loyal.

The two younger brothers sometimes secretly ate the braised beef and covered it up for each other.

Li Chengqian saw it all, but he didn't expose it.

Children need to be given some space of their own in their childhood, but they should not be supervised too strictly.

A eunuch came over quickly and said, "Your Highness, the Minister of Rites is here."

Hearing this, Li Chengqian walked out of the East Palace.

Li Baiyao stood outside the East Palace and saluted with a smile.

The weather was very cold. Li Chengqian took him into his grandfather's Chongwen Hall. Seeing that his long hair was almost gray, he asked, "Why do you have so many gray hairs?"

Li Baiyao's smile had deep wrinkles on his face. He bowed and said, "I am old."

"Have you decided when to retire?"

"I haven't thought about it yet." Li Baiyao looked around again and asked, "Why can't I see the emperor?"

Li Chengqian took a knife beside him and cut the hemp rope that bound the letter, saying, "Grandpa went to play cards with Father and Mother."

Li Baiyao asked again: "Didn't His Royal Highness the Crown Prince go?"

“I don’t like this game.”

The letter was opened and it was sent by Lu Dongzan, the Prime Minister of Tubo. This year, the Tubo delegation came to Chang'an and had a fight with the officials of Honglu Temple.

No matter how you look at it, the Tibetan delegation is not in the right in this matter.

Li Chengqian carefully looked at the content written on the silk cloth. It said that Lu Dongzan hoped to reconcile with the Tang Dynasty, put aside all previous misunderstandings, let Sambuza apologize to the Tang officials, and was willing to send more cattle and sheep to express his apology to the Tang Dynasty.

Lu Dongzan admitted defeat and hoped that the Tang Dynasty would put aside past grudges and misunderstandings and continue to live in harmony.

"Have the cattle and sheep sent by the Tibetans arrived?"

"Your Highness, the sheep were delivered, but there were no cattle. Instead, we received five stone of beef jerky."

Li Chengqian looked tangled and said, "It's good that he didn't send cow dung."

"I heard that cow dung is very precious in Tibet."

"Yes." Li Chengqian whispered, "That's the case for the Tibetans."

Lu Dongzan had been to the Tang Dynasty. He had seen the Tang people's lifestyle and had also seen that they did not use cow dung to make fire to cook.

At this time, the Tibetans needed to use cow dung to make fire for heating.

Li Chengqian returned the letter to him after reading it.

Li Baiyao asked, "Your Highness, do you want to reply?"

"I won't reply. Please stay for dinner."

"Here."

After another thought, Li Chengqian ordered the eunuch standing beside him, "Call the Prince of Hejian, the Prince of Jiangxia, Yu Zhanshi, and Xu Shilang."

"Here."

Half an hour later, everyone arrived at the Chongwen Hall one after another.

Since his grandfather is not here, Li Chengqian plans to use this place as his office and finish what he needs to do today.

A bowl of braised pork was placed on the table, and the first thing everyone picked up was the braised pork.

Thousands of years passed, until the Tang Dynasty.

Finally someone realized that pork can be so delicious.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would give orders while eating, and he would give orders at any time regardless of the occasion, even though it was not in accordance with etiquette.

Li Chengqian said as he ate his meal, "Next spring will be the busiest year for Jingzhao Prefecture and the counties in Guanzhong. The emperor's uncle must arrange everything well and order Xu Jingzong not to make any mistakes even if he is a little tired."

Li Daozon kept nodding while chewing a piece of cake.

"Prince Gaochang, are you here this time?"

"Not here." Li Baiyao replied.

"Yu Zhanshi, the salaries of all the departments in the court can be distributed this year."

"Here."

"Xu Changshi, the Lingyan Pavilion is being built soon, you must personally oversee it."

Xu Xiaode said: "Don't worry, Your Highness. Even if someone puts an extra piece of jade in Lingyan Pavilion, I will fight him."

The Lingyan Pavilion, which displays portraits of the founding heroes of the Tang Dynasty, is as simple as possible.

I hope it can become a simple and hard will.

Instead of becoming a place with carved railings and jade bricks.

No matter what others think, this is entirely Li Chengqian's own idea. If the place where the portraits of the founding heroes are displayed is decorated with carved railings and jade, it should be luxurious and even filled with gold, silver and jade.

This made Li Chengqian think that the Lingyan Pavilion might have become a den of horse thieves.

After giving these instructions, everyone had their meal and left.

Li Chengqian finally finished giving instructions, the last thing to do in the eighth year of Zhenguan.

Then Li Xiaogong put down his bowl and chopsticks.

"Is your uncle not enjoying his meal?"

"What about me?" Li Xiaogong pointed at himself. "Ah..." Li Chengqian said after realizing it, "I just want the emperor's uncle to come here for a meal."

"A meal? Don't you have anything else to ask for?"

"No."

Seeing his nephew calmly facing him, Li Xiaogong pointed at himself and then at the few people who had just left, and turned back and asked, "You asked me to come to the East Palace just to have a meal?"

Li Chengqian also put down his bowl and chopsticks, washed his hands in a basin beside him, and said, "Uncle, enjoy your meal."

Li Xiaogong pressed the issue: "Are you going to write the ending of Red Mansions or not?"

"I'm not free recently."

Li Xiaogong finished all the noodles in the bowl, and then ate all the dishes on the table in no time, feeling very satisfied.

Quickly following his nephew's footsteps, Li Xiaogong said anxiously, "Red Mansions are not selling well these days."

“That’s normal.”

"Why do you think it's normal?"

Palace servants had already started clearing the snow, but the heavy snow was still falling, and the road that had just been cleared was covered with snow again.

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets, sighed in the cold air, and then turned into white mist. He whispered: "What do most people rely on to spread books now?"

Li Xiaogong frowned and thought.

The emperor's uncle was a rough man and didn't think so much.

Li Chengqian explained: "Most people circulated the book by hand copying it, which means that when most of the books in the hands of the emperor's uncle were sold, several copies had actually been circulated in the market."

"If the uncle wants to ensure that it is unique, he can ask Mr. Ouyang Xun to make a copy. That would be worth a fortune."

Li Xiaogong looked disappointed, "Ouyang Xun no longer gives me calligraphy to copy."

Ever since Ouyang Xun wrote the four words "Kaiyuan Tongbao", they have become almost unique in the Tang Dynasty, and it can be said that these four words were bought out by Li Tang.

"I heard that there is a book circulating in the palace now?"

"what book?"

"A Collection of Stories from the East Palace."

Li Chengqian said with an annoyed look: "What was supposed to happen has happened. It's just as I expected."

Li Xiaogong asked: "Can this story collection..."

Li Chengqian moved his feet and walked towards the Wude Hall.

The card game in the Wude Hall was still going on, and outside the hall there was a lot of wind and snow.

The uncle and nephew walked into the Wude Hall, where the emperor, the queen mother, and the grandfather were still fighting over cards.

Doctor Sun was also there, and he was taking grandpa's pulse.

It was just that the way Grandpa played his cards with one hand and asked Dr. Sun to check his pulse with the other hand looked very wild.

Then, Sun Simiao nodded and said, "The emperor has been recovering very well recently."

Li Yuan smiled and said, "So how many more years can I live?"

Sun Simiao added: "If you continue to quit drinking, you can live ten more years without any problem."

Li Yuan laughed out loud.

His Majesty and the Queen also had smiles on their faces.

Everyone in the Wude Hall had a smile on their face.

Only Li Chengqian was absent-minded. He looked at the pillars of the Wude Hall and occasionally at the roof.

Even after the eunuchs escorted Dr. Sun out of the Wude Hall, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still looking around.

Li Xiaogong leaned closer and whispered, "Did your highness lose something here?"

Li Chengqian said: "Yes, it's not easy to find."

"What are you two talking about behind my back?" Li Yuan asked loudly, his tone full of energy.

"The emperor's uncle and grandson said they wanted a collection of stories from the East Palace."

Li Shimin had long known about the dealings between the Eastern Palace and Li Xiaogong, and signaled to the Guanyin maid beside him with his eyes.

Empress Changsun received the look and said, "Give the scroll to the prince."

"Here." The palace maid put down the tea bowl she was holding in both hands and handed over a book.

Li Chengqian took the book, looked through it and confirmed that it was indeed the story he told in the Eastern Palace. He had told it to his brothers and sisters in fragments before, but he did not expect that his mother had recorded it in such detail.

Li Xiaogong took the scroll, looked at its thickness, and said, "It is said that the Crown Prince of the East Palace can tell stories from dusk to dawn. He is indeed a great talent. I have learned a lot from him."

"Uncle, please forgive me for making fun of you. These are just stories for my younger brothers and sisters."

After saying this, Li Xiaogong put the book into his arms, bowed to the four most distinguished people in the Tang Dynasty, and left quickly.

When the prince was about to leave, Li Shimin said, "Cheng Qian, please stay."

Li Chengqian stopped walking with his hands in his pockets and closed his eyes.

At this moment, thinking with a strand of hair, my father wanted to play cards with me.

"Father, I don't like this game."

Li Yuan said: "If the child doesn't like it, don't force him."

Li Shimin did not say anything, but instead sorted the cards with a stern face.

Empress Changsun sighed, "Chengqian, just sit here for a while."

"Since the Queen Mother has said so, I will stay."

Picking up the persimmon cake hanging on the side, Li Chengqian continued to eat the cards his grandfather dealt him while sorting them out.

Three generations of the Li family sat together, playing cards fiercely.

His Majesty is a serious person, and when facing his father and son in the game, he looks at the cards in his hand with murderous eyes, as if his eyes are going to emit light that will burn through the cards.

The fact is that the emperor's eyes cannot shine, and he cannot burn through the cards.

The fighting lasted from noon till night, and it seemed as if the eighth year of Zhenguan had passed in this way.

Li Shimin waved the cards in his hand heavily and played four fives.

Even the candle flame on the candlestick next to it flickered a few times.

Li Chengqian casually crushed his father to death by the explosion.

Li Shimin was so angry that his face turned red, and he shouted, "You dare to bet on my cards?"

Li Chengqian finished playing the cards in his hand and said, "I win."

He originally wanted to win some money. The emperor also had his own small treasury, but this treasury was not big, and the few copper coins in front of him fell into his son's hands.

Li Shimin's chest rose and fell as he breathed, "I don't believe I can't beat you once!"

Li Yuan laughed and said, "Rumor has it that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace has never lost this game."

The wind and snow outside the palace became stronger, and some snowflakes were blown into the palace by the wind. The palace maid closed the heavy door of the palace.

This way, no cold wind blew in, making the hall much warmer.

I don't know when little Sizi fell asleep in his mother's arms, and you can still see some saliva left by her while she was sleeping.

The queen handed her little daughter in her arms to a palace maid beside her.

Outside the Wude Hall, the wind was still howling and the snow and wind were getting stronger. It was probably impossible to go back at this time.

The next day, during the morning court session, all the ministers were waiting in the Taiji Hall. Occasionally, a few coughs were heard in the quiet hall.

It was almost time for the morning court session, but no eunuch came to call for the start of the court session, nor did the crown prince come to attend the session.

In the past, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince never missed
Just as he was thinking about it, a eunuch said loudly: "Your Majesty is in poor health today."

Upon hearing the news, Li Tai was stunned. "My brother is not here either, who will preside over this morning court?"

The eunuch added, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is also ill."

Inside the Tai Chi Hall, everyone was silent for a long time.

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(End of this chapter)