The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 175 Don’t waste your energy

In the past two years, more and more people have caused trouble to his uncle. Li Chengqian is worried that in two years, his uncle will be annoyed when he sees living people.

Gao Shilian took out a stack of white coarse cloth from his arms and said with a smile, "I heard that there is a good grape harvest this year, so I came to congratulate His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Sitting in front of his uncle, Li Chengqian asked curiously, "It's rare to see an uncle giving his grandson something."

Gao Shilian smiled and said, "Open it and take a look."

Spread out the white cloth in front of you, and you will see words written in regular script.

Gao Shilian smiled and said, "When it comes to judging people and planning things, I am good at that, but calligraphy is really not my forte, so I might as well give it to you."

Seeing the puzzled look on his grandson's face, Gao Shilian said, "I have never given anything to anyone in my life. Please accept this copy of calligraphy."

"Thank you, uncle."

Gao Shilian stood up again and said, "Wen Yanbo is still a conservative old minister. It is not a bad thing for the prince to have this old gentleman as his disciple. The old gentleman is highly respected, but we cannot listen to everything he says."

Li Chengqian put away the calligraphy in front of him and said, "I heard that Mr. Ouyang no longer writes calligraphy. Where did this uncle come from?"

Gao Shilian laughed and did not answer.

Li Chengqian asked suspiciously again: "Did you win it by playing cards?"

Hearing this, Gao Shilian sighed, looking somewhat ashamed. He wanted to sound profound, "Alas..."

There are not many authentic calligraphy works of Ouyang Xun circulating in the market now, and his calligraphy works have become even more valuable since he stopped writing.

"Just as my uncle said, we can't listen to everything Mr. Wen Yanbo says."

Gao Shilian asked, "I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has agreed to his expedition to the east?"

Walking to the gate of the Secretariat with his uncle, Li Chengqian replied, "I agree."

"When will the expedition to the East be launched?"

"I haven't promised him yet." Li Chengqian looked at the clear sky. "Uncle, this kind of promise concerns the country and cannot be swayed by a momentary emotion. It will be achieved sooner or later. There is no need to rush."

Seeing his uncle walking down the steps of the Secretariat, Li Chengqian stood there with his hands in his pockets and asked, "You're leaving now?"

Gao Shilian waved his sleeves to indicate that there was no need to see him off, and then quickly walked to a distance where Gao Lin was standing and waiting.

Li Chengqian stood with his hands behind his back, watching his uncle leave.

Ever since I met old man Gao Lin, he has always been like this, as if he has always been like this. He hasn't aged at all in the past three years.

Just like my uncle said, I'm already this old, how old can I be?

Perhaps this is why my uncle often gets annoyed when he sees some people, but Gao Lin is different. He can always reduce his presence to the minimum. Sometimes when I visit my uncle's house, I don't even know that the person is in the yard or right behind me.

If this kind of person were to carry out an assassination, he must be an expert.

No wonder, after so many years, my uncle is left with only an old man like this to take care of him.

Li Chengqian walked towards the East Palace with the calligraphy in his hand. When his uncle gets older, he will get annoyed when he meets living people.

"Eastern Palace", Li Chengqian was writing with a pen. His regular script was very beautiful, and the square, clean and neat font was most pleasing to the eye.

Li Lizhi came back with her three sisters. She asked curiously, "Is my brother practicing calligraphy?"

"Ah."

"Is this the original work of Mr. Ouyang Xun?"

"Yes, I thought about practicing." Li Chengqian looked down at his calligraphy and sighed, "It's still so bad."

Li Lizhi tried hard not to laugh out loud. Practicing calligraphy was her brother's top priority. According to rumors in the Eastern Palace, the prince was worst at writing.

Li Chengqian put down the pen in his hand and simply stopped practicing. He said, "Ning'er, put the copybook away. This is probably the copybook with the most characters left by Ouyang Xun in the world."

Li Lizhi looked at the handwriting and felt the texture of the rough cloth. She whispered, "I remember that my father also had this copy of calligraphy. It should have been written at the same time as the one in my brother's hand. I remember it was many years ago. At that time, Mr. Ouyang Xun was in his prime and his calligraphy was at its peak."

Listening to Li Zhi's story, one can imagine how badly Ouyang Xun lost at the hands of his uncle and how valuable this copy of calligraphy is.

Dongyang walked forward, took a look, and said, "Royal brother, there have been rumors recently that the royal brother and father are not on good terms."

Li Chengqian turned and looked out the window of the East Palace, and said, "I heard my father mention it. He said a few words briefly."

"Does the Emperor know about this, too?"

Li Chengqian placed one hand on the windowsill and whispered, "Dongyang, Lizhi, these are our family affairs. Don't let outsiders' words cause suspicion among family members, even if the rumors spread all over Chang'an."

Li Lizhi thought for a moment and replied, "He is someone with ulterior motives who wants to create discord between our family."

Li Chengqian nodded with satisfaction.

Being busy proving yourself will only lead you into the other party's self-proving trap, and the originally united family will only sink deeper and deeper.

Individuals will also fall into endless internal friction because of such things.

When self-consumption reaches a certain stage, it will be easy to lose control. People should remain sober and rational so as not to be exploited.

It's best to laugh it off and never fall into the other party's trap.

Li Chengqian took a deep breath of fresh air and said with a smile, "Sister Ning'er."

Ning Er bowed and said, "I am here."

"Send someone to the Prince of Wei's mansion and tell them that I have something to do with Qingque tomorrow morning."

"Here."

The next day, morning.

Li Tai came to the East Palace. He saw his brother moving his limbs from a distance, "Brother."

Li Chengqian patted his brother on the back and said, "You should lose weight."

"My brother is right, but..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Chengqian started running and said, "Run."

Li Tai ran beside his brother, feeling confused.

After the two brothers ran around the East Palace twice, Li Tai felt exhausted and had difficulty breathing.

By the third lap, Li Tai felt dizzy while holding onto the wall, and he vomited because his throat felt sour.

Li Chengqian patted him on the back and said, "Can you still spit it out?"

Li Tai had not eaten anything before coming to the East Palace. His face turned red and he felt very uncomfortable with the sour feeling in his stomach.

The brothers sat down by the wall of the East Palace, and Li Chengqian said, "The Queen Mother told you to exercise more."

Li Tai wiped his mouth and said, "Thank you, my royal brother."

Li Chengqian put his hand on his shoulder and said with a smile: "Are you worried about anything recently?"

Li Tai lowered his head and shook it.

"You have something on your mind, but you don't want to talk about it."

Hearing this, Li Tai's breathing became much smoother. He wiped the sweat off his face and replied, "Brother, the teacher always taught us that if you are poor, you should be able to take care of yourself."

Li Chengqian asked, "Are you feeling better?"

Li Tai took a deep breath, felt his strength, and nodded, "Much better."

Given his size, it was difficult for him to stand up.

Li Chengqian stretched out his hand.

Li Tai hesitated for a moment, then avoided his gaze and reached out to hold his brother's hand.

With a huge pull, Li Tai managed to stand firm.

"Have dinner in the East Palace, and then go see Father, the Emperor, and Mother, the Empress."

"Okay." The East Palace had already prepared breakfast. Li Lizhi handed over the bowl and chopsticks and said, "My emperor, please have your meal."

"Xie Lizhi."

Li Tai is one year older than Li Lizhi.

The three of them sat in front of the East Palace gate and ate. Soon Dongyang, Qinghe, Linchuan and Runan also woke up.

"Qingque, your father and mother are at Taiye Lake to escape the summer heat, and you seldom go out. Your mother wants you to go out for a walk. We have so many brothers and sisters in this family that we cannot alienate each other."

"My brother is right."

Looking at the smiles of his brother and sisters, Li Tai ate the bone porridge in the bowl, drinking it mouthful after mouthful.

Li Li asked, "Xiaofu, is this pork bone porridge?"

Xiaofu shook his head, "Your Highness, this is porridge made from sheep bones. Sheep are cheap now, and we can't eat the pigs raised in Jingyang anymore. Jingyang said they won't sell pork anymore. If they continue to sell pork, they will kill the piglets."

Dongyang sucked the bone marrow and said, "Mutton is also good."

Xiaofu cleaned up the kitchen quickly. He placed some dishes and chopsticks in front of the kitchen so that he could disinfect them when the sunlight could fully shine on the East Palace.

She didn't know what disinfection meant, she only knew that the dishes and chopsticks would feel warm after being exposed to the sun.

After breakfast, the brothers and sisters left the East Palace.

By the Taiye Lake, Li Shimin was still looking at the files that had been sent to him. When his children came, he just looked up and then his eyes continued to fall on the books.

I thought I had gotten away with Li Zhi's homework, but I still had to watch it.

Li Lizhi saw that her father was reading a book. She asked with a smile on her face, "What did your father read today?"

Li Shimin picked up another scroll and said, "Now I can understand a little better."

Li Lizhi smiled with satisfaction.

Seeing Xiao Sizi running over, Li Lizhi picked her up again and asked, "Mingda, are you still going to practice breathing today?"

Little Sizi nodded and said, "Yes, the Taoist priest said that my sister can practice on her own."

"Really? Mingda is amazing."

Little Sizi grinned, then she sat cross-legged on the edge of Taiye Lake in her Taoist robe, facing the rising sun in the east, meditating with her eyes closed, breathing rhythmically again and again.

"Royal brother, what is Mingda's congenital deficiency?"

Li Chengqian folded his hands and said, "I don't know. The people from the Imperial Medical Bureau also said that we can only know when Sizi's illness breaks out."

Then, the brother and sister looked at Dongyang beside them.

Dongyang looked at Xiao Sizi's back and observed her. She thought about it for a while and didn't say anything.

Li Lizhi asked again: "Can Taoist Li really cure Xiao Sizi?"

Li Chengqian thought of the special features of Taoism. "It is true that Taoist Li Chunfeng has some unique skills. The generals in the army have seen his skills sometimes. They wanted me to learn some and get a glimpse of some of the skills, but he was always unwilling to teach."

Li Lizhi speculated, "Could it be that the abilities of Taoist Priest Li and Taoist Priest Yuan must be cultivated from childhood to be effective?"

In the garden, Li Tai bowed and said, "Mother."

Empress Changsun cooked a bowl of fish porridge and said, "Qingque, did Chengqian take you running today?"

Li Tai stood aside and said, "So it was the Queen Mother's order."

"My mother has never told Cheng Qian to do this." She scooped out a bowl of fish porridge and said, "Eat it."

Although he had already eaten in the East Palace, Li Tai still took the bowl and ate the fish porridge.

"Brothers, you are the one that I am most worried about." Empress Changsun held her son's hand and said patiently, "You often go to the Literature Museum and sit there for the whole day. I know all these things."

Li Tai lowered his head and watched his mother's hands helping to straighten her clothes.

Empress Changsun smiled and said, "You must not delay the compilation of the Literature Museum. Come visit father and mother more often in the future."

Li Tai stood there and nodded slightly.

Looking at her son, Empress Changsun said, "Whether it's Chengqian or Ke'er, you are still the smartest among the three older brothers."

Li Tai felt his nose a little sour, but he nodded anyway.

"Well, mother rarely cooks by herself. How does it taste?"

Li Tai nodded and said, "Very good."

Empress Changsun ordered the porridge to be brought out and given to Gao Yang, Xiao Sizi, Zhinu and Shen'er.

By the Taiye Lake, Li Chengqian and his younger brothers and sisters were making mooncakes.

As soon as Li Tai walked out of the villa, he was pulled by Li Zhi and Li Shen to help him make the stuffing.

The mooncakes are filled with red bean paste.

Gao Yang looked at his brother who was kneading dough and said, "Sister wants to eat mutton and green onion stuffing."

Li Chengqian's action of kneading the dough obviously paused for a moment.

Li Lizhi said, "Okay, you can make the mutton and green onion stuffing yourself and eat it yourself."

When it comes to fillings, my younger brother and sister gave full play to their imagination.

Li Zhi was particularly avant-garde in thinking of putting cooked duck eggs into mooncakes.

Xiaofu and Ning'er also brought the stove from the East Palace.

Li Tai watched his family busy together with a smile on his face.

"Royal brother, Zhinu's duck has not laid any eggs yet."

"is it?"

"Yeah." Dongyang whispered, "I looked around the shore of Taiye Lake but couldn't find any duck eggs. My sister hasn't eaten roast duck for a long time."

Li Chengqian said: "It's still too small now. It will taste better if it is fatter."

Dongyang looked back at the young slave who was still fiddling with the stuffing, nodded with a serious expression and said, "My royal brother is right, fatten him up before killing him."

Today, Li Tai put aside all his work at the Institute of Literature and stayed with his brother, the emperor, and his younger brothers and sisters. They played the game of passing the flower while beating the drum.

This is the game that the princes love to play the most.

At dusk, a mooncake was out of the oven.

Gao Yang took a bite of the mooncake stuffed with mutton and green onions and said aggrievedly, "It's not delicious."

Li Lizhi said: "You made the mooncakes yourself, so you must eat them all by yourself."

Gao Yang felt so wronged that she wanted to cry, but she still endured it and ate the mooncake.

Perhaps many years later, when brothers and sisters get together again, they can still recall the laughter they had when they made mooncakes for the first time.

Li Chengqian and his father were walking along the Taiye Lake. The father and son were eating mooncakes and talking in low voices as they walked.

This conversation between His Majesty and the Crown Prince lasted for a long time, and it is unknown what was said between the father and son.

In the second half of the ninth year of Zhenguan, a series of imperial edicts were issued from the imperial palace. Township heads were appointed in each county and township in Guanzhong, the position of county magistrate was restored, and each county added county lieutenants and county secretaries.

Evaluated by Jingzhao Prefecture and the Ministry of Personnel.

Imperial decrees were continuously sent to Jingzhao Prefecture.

In fact, it is also conceivable that Guanzhong grapes will have another bumper harvest this year, since the prince has been in charge of the court expenses and supported the strategy of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.

The Jingzhao Prefecture has always been in charge of open source affairs. With such achievements, it is only right that it should be given greater power.

(End of this chapter)