The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 148 Letter from Xuanzang

"Now, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince leaves Chang'an every two or three days to travel between counties in order to inspect the people's conditions in each county. Your Highness has appointed county magistrates in Guanzhong counties and has come to inspect them frequently. This is not what a gentleman does."

Li Chengqian sighed and said, "I just came out to fish to relax."

Li Ji asked, "Do you want me to explain?"

"no need."

"Here."

Li Chengqian heard laughter coming from the other side of the river. He looked up and saw three girls playing in the distance. They grabbed handfuls of snow and threw them at each other.

Judging from her appearance and dress, she should be a girl from a powerful and noble family, and she just happened to appear in the prince's sight.

Li Ji asked, "Do I need you to chase them away?"

Li Chengqian said: "No need, this is more like the life of ordinary people."

Li Ji stepped aside again.

The three girls were not very old, but they were having a lot of fun. Li Chengqian could see their cheeks and necks were red from the cold.

Having practiced archery for many years, Li Chengqian was very confident in his eyesight.

As if noticing the gazes from the other side, the three girls saw the young man surrounded by a team of guards.

They all bowed and then ran away quickly, leaving the river beach.

When these girls left, all that was left was the lifeless post-snow scenery.

In the icy snow, no fish were seen taking bites. Li Chengqian looked back and saw the Gaochang envoy who had brought the letter was still standing behind him, bowing respectfully.

He was so cold that he couldn't hold his hands tightly when bowing, and his feet were trembling.

Li Chengqian took the kettle from the stove beside him, poured a bowl of hot tea and drank it by himself.

After a long time, he picked up the letter beside him and started reading.

"It's been so many years since Xuanzang came out of seclusion. Has his hair grown back now?"

"I don't know what will happen next."

Li Chengqian opened the cloth, looked at the words written on it, and said, "Bring the messenger here."

"Here."

Li Ji gave a look and Xue Wanbei brought the Gaochang envoy to him.

Li Chengqian glanced at him and said, "King Gaochang sent you?"

The envoy was led by the Tang man by the collar and nodded, "Yes."

"I want to ask you, did Monk Xuanzang grow hair when he left Gaochang?"

The messenger shook his head.

"Isn't this right?" Li Chengqian asked suspiciously, "He should have grown hair."

The messenger said: "There was a Tibetan with Xuanzang. He was Xuanzang's follower. He said he wanted to go to India with Xuanzang. He had a knife in his hand that could shave his hair. Later, when Xuanzang left Gaochang, he left behind the people who wanted to follow him. When Xuanzang left, some people cried and saw him off."

Li Chengqian whispered, "Xuanzang is a Tang person. He will certainly reach India safely and then return safely. If he dies, no matter where he dies, he will be an enemy of the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang army will crush them to death."

The Gaochang envoy listened to the prince's words, which were filled with gloomy murderous intent, and lowered his head and forced a smile.

Seeing the fish taking the bait, Li Ji stepped forward, picked up the fishing rod, caught a fish, put it into the fish basket, then hung the earthworm on the hook again and put it into the hole on the frozen river surface.

Li Chengqian looked at the book in his hand. Xuanzang's handwriting was very beautiful.

Seeing the title of Tang Crown Prince in his letter, Li Chengqian asked again: "Is there a country ruled by a woman in the distant Western Regions?"

The messenger thought about it, and while Xue Wanbei was still holding his collar, he thought about it tremblingly and replied, "No."

"Alas, it seems that you Gaochang people don't have a broad vision."

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Your Highness."

In his letters, Xuanzang described his whereabouts after he came out of seclusion, and he was even very happy to learn that Popo had passed away.

Because Bopo went to see the Buddha, his death made Xuanzang more determined to travel west.

He also thanked the Crown Prince of Tang for the news he had sent, and said that after he returned to Tang, he would come to the East Palace in person to thank the Crown Prince.

In the letter, Xuanzang did not talk about the geographical conditions of the Western Regions, nor did he say how the Tang Dynasty should conquer the Western Regions. It was just a simple letter and had no strategic value for the Tang Dynasty.

Compared to Popo, Li Chengqian felt that Xuanzang was a person who lived a more innocent life. He was very clean and had no other thoughts.

The only way is to reach India and live for his own ideals.

It is rare to find such a person who is determined and lives purely.

But Li Chengqian didn't like Xuanzang's addressing of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, he called him the Crown Prince of Tang.

Li Chengqian sighed, "So this is Xuanzang's philosophy."

Li Ji asked, "What do you mean by that, Your Highness?"

"It turns out that in Xuanzang's view, whether they are Tang people, people from the Western Regions, or Tibetans, they are all just people, not different in status. As long as they are a person, they can become a Buddha. He thinks that Popo has become a Buddha after his death."

"I am very disappointed." Li Chengqian said slowly.

"Should we send troops to capture Xuanzang?"

"He has gone too far. He has long left the territory of the Sai people. We can't catch him. It takes a whole year to go back and forth. It's not easy at all."

Li Ji lowered his head and agreed with the prince's words. It would not be easy to capture Xuanzang now.

The Gaochang envoy who was being held by Xue Wanbei was very nervous. He did not feel that he was a prisoner of the Tang people. He was an envoy, an envoy sent by the King of Gaochang to meet the Heavenly Khan.

Li Chengqian put away his fishing rod and said, "No need to look for him, Xuanzang will come back on his own."

"Here."

After cleaning up the place, Li Chengqian was about to walk towards the carriage when he saw the Gaochang envoy and asked, "I heard that your Gaochang King worships Buddha?"

The Gaochang envoy nodded continuously.

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and said, "Let him go."

Xue Wanbei threw the Gaochang envoy heavily to the ground.

The Gaochang envoy screamed after being thrown to the ground and got up from the ground in panic.

Originally, Xue Wanbei was a military man. He had no face for such foreign envoys and was very rude.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I didn't expect the King of Gaochang to be so pious. It turns out there is a lot of gold and silver in his palace. I really admire Xuanzang more and more."

The prince got on the carriage, Li Ji reorganized the troops, and returned to Chang'an in the snow and ice.

The official road was a bit bumpy along the way, especially when passing through Sanyuan County.

The official road becomes smoother as you get closer to Chang'an.

Li Chengqian looked at Xuanzang's letter again and again and confirmed that Xuanzang did not leave any code in the letter on how to conquer the Western Regions.

This is just an ordinary letter, and it even uses the death of Monk Popo to express his aspirations and ambition to travel far away.

If Xuanzang didn't come back in another four or five years, Li Chengqian would suspect that Xuanzang might be a person with poor direction.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince finally returned to Chang'an. Li Tai was relieved when he heard the news. He thought that several county officials would be beheaded when his brother went out.

There are many people in this court who have a hard life for half of their lives, just like Li Baiyao's first thirty years of life.
Or it could be Xu Jingzong’s previous life.

Or maybe Shangguan Yi, Pei Xingjian, or Liu Rengui.

They are all people who have experienced suffering.

Li Baiyao had a rough life, Xu Jingzong had an unsuccessful life, and Shangguan Yi lost his father in the war when he was young and lived under someone else's roof for many years.

Pei Xingjian lost his brave brother and father.

And Liu Rengui. If we say that the sufferings of these people are all related to the previous social order.

Now, the sufferings of the county officials in Guanzhong counties are only related to the current crown prince.

Li Chengqian returned to the imperial city. There were not many people in the imperial city. Everyone was recuperating during the rest period.

A few days ago, after playing cards all night, Wei Zheng pointed at the emperor's nose and scolded him again.

Seeing that the door of the Secretariat was open, Li Chengqian walked in and saw General Li Jing sitting with his uncle.

"Meet the General, Uncle."

Changsun Wuji said, "The old man and the pharmacist were talking about what happened back then."

Li Jing smiled and said, "Your Highness, have you returned from your outing?"

"Yeah." Li Chengqian responded and sat down, warming his hands by the stove, and placed two pancakes next to the stove.

Not long after, it started snowing outside again, and some snowflakes drifted in through the slightly opened door with the wind.

Chang Sun Wuji asked, "How was the scenery during the outing?"

"It was good. I met a few girls."

"Your Highness is acquainted with them?"

Li Chengqian put Xuanzang's letter aside, took off his heavy cloak, and said, "She is most likely a girl from a powerful family in Chang'an."

Chang Sun Wuji asked, "Whose family?"

"I watched from a distance, and they ran away when they saw me."

Li Chengqian picked up the roasted walnuts beside the stove and asked, "I've seen the general come here often recently."

"During the holiday season, there aren't many people here, so it's more comfortable to walk here."

Or maybe it was because after the military guards were restructured, the general felt relieved and became happier.

Li Chengqian is more willing to believe the latter reason.

Watching the prince peeling walnuts, Li Jing said, "If Your Majesty plays all night again, Your Highness the Crown Prince must advise him more."

"As a son, I should indeed advise my father. The Censorate is my backbone. If I cannot persuade him, I will ask Lord Zheng for help."

Changsun Wuji laughed out loud.

In this way, the emperor's suffering is also related to the prince.

"Oh, right." Li Chengqian pointed to the letter placed aside and said, "This is a letter from Xuanzang to me, sent by the Gaochang envoy."

Zhang Sun Wuji took the letter and read it, saying, "Does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince care so much about a monk who traveled west?"

"When I was seriously ill in the Eastern Palace, it was Monk Bopo who prayed for me. Now that he has died of old age, I asked the Gaochang people to send a message to Xuanzang, and he later replied."

"He is just a monk traveling west. Your Highness, don't worry about him."

"That's what my uncle said."

For my uncle, if Xuanzang's journey to the West had nothing to do with the country and the people, then it was not a big deal.

The wind and snow outside became stronger, so my uncle and Li Jing walked into the wind and snow and left the imperial city.

This imperial city would be boring without people, so Li Chengqian closed the door of the Secretariat and left.

As soon as I arrived in front of Chengtian Gate, I saw King Wu Li Ke standing there bowing and paying respect.

"What's wrong with you?"

Li Ke stood upright and said, "My brother, I went out for a walk with Gao Luxing today, and our horses ate some of the county residents' platycodon."

"Well, are you here to be punished?"

"Exactly."

Li Chengqian looked around and asked, "Where's Gao Luxing?"

"My dear brother, Gao Luxing was beaten up by Liu Rengui. I heard that his leg was broken. He probably won't recover without three to five months of rest."

Li Chengqian looked up at Chengtian Gate with his hands in his pockets and asked, "Is it your horse or Gao Luxing's horse?"

Li Ke replied, "It was Gao Luxing's horse. Since my brother was also present, he was also involved in this matter. Gao Luxing also tried to bribe Liu Rengui, and his leg was broken on the spot. After that, Gao Luxing was thrown into Jingzhao Prefecture. Father has already known about this matter, and my brother came to accept the punishment."

When something happened, Li Ke did not try to escape but came directly to receive the punishment, which was quite good.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Hasn't the emperor spoken yet?"

"My brother is waiting for Father's reply."

"You are not careful in choosing friends. In the future, you should avoid associating with people like Gao Xing. It is only a matter of time before problems arise when you are with people who have problems."

Li Ke said with a serious expression: "My brother is right."

After saying that, Li Chengqian walked into Chengtian Gate. His father should be in Ganlu Palace now.

He had not seen his father during these days of rest. When he was about to reach Ganlu Palace, Li Chengqian saw a woman leaning forward and standing in front of the palace.

She was dressed in luxurious clothes, standing in the snow, bowing and letting the wind and snow fall on her body.

There were several palace maids around her.

Li Chengqian asked the eunuch beside him, "What is Concubine Yang doing standing here?"

The eunuch whispered, "I am here to accept the punishment for His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu."

The whisper was a little loud and fell into Yang Fei's ears. She turned around and bowed again, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian nodded awkwardly and said, "Brother Ke will stand outside Chengtian Gate and accept the punishment."

Concubine Yang whispered, "Ke'er likes hunting. As his mother, I had anticipated that he would definitely get into trouble. As Ke'er's mother, I failed to teach him well, so you should be punished."

Li Chengqian glanced at the snow and wind and said, "In fact, Brother Ke is not a bad person. He just made the wrong friends."

"This is also because I, as a mother, did not teach my son well, and he made the wrong friends." Concubine Yang faced Ganlu Palace and said, "Your Majesty! I am guilty of an even greater crime."

These matters in the harem are usually taken care of by the queen mother.

I don't know what it means to be a prince.

This Concubine Yang looked to be of the same age as her mother, and her eyes were sometimes downcast.

When Li Chengqian walked into Ganlu Palace, he saw his father who was working on a jigsaw puzzle.

"Are you here to plead for Ke'er as well?"

"I came to visit my father."

"Well, let that kid stand outside Chengtian Gate."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Knowing that Xianyang County is Liu Rengui's territory, it is really stupid to go there and cause trouble."

"Your Highness is right, Your Majesty! I have not disciplined my child well, Your Majesty, please punish me."

This Concubine Yang had really good hearing. Li Chengqian whispered, "Father, my uncle has been admonishing me a lot lately."

"What's wrong with you? Does the auxiliary machine want to persuade you?"

"My uncle said that it is wrong for the emperor to have fun all night long, and asked me to persuade him. This is also what the Censorate wants."

"Hahaha..." Li Shimin laughed strangely, "You can't even manage yourself, yet you come to advise me?"

"Yes, I think so too."

"Father, don't worry about the IOU."

Seeing that His Majesty paused, the eunuch suddenly knelt on the ground and cried, "Your Majesty, I didn't hear anything. I will leave the palace tomorrow and never come back."

(End of this chapter)