The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 198: Chicken feathers all over the place

However, although the relationship between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty is somewhat stalemate now, at least this cousin has not yet married.

Li Chengqian asked in a low voice: "Jingheng, I don't usually see you walking around."

Li Jingheng replied: "Your Highness, my father is very strict and rarely goes out on weekdays."

"You should go out more often. If you don't know where to go and want to make some friends, you can go find Chongyi."

Li Jingheng replied respectfully: "In fact, Brother Chongyi is also very busy. He is the Shaoqing of the Zongzheng Temple and is busy managing the affairs of the imperial clan."

Li Chongyi smiled awkwardly and said, "When I have some free time, I'll take Jing Heng out for a walk."

Li Tai said: "Brother Jingheng can come to the Literature Museum and help Qingque organize the books."

At this point, Li Jingheng nodded and said, "Since it is His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei who has asked, I naturally dare not refuse."

While a few of them were talking, the rest of the cousins ​​were silent. Some of them also relaxed and started discussing recent events in Chang'an.

But the atmosphere here is still pretty good, but I could hear some noise coming from the pavilion ahead.

Li Chengqian turned around and saw his father arguing with several uncles.

Li Chongyi said: "It is probably because of the Fengshan event at Mount Tai."

"Taishan Fengchan?"

Li Chongyi nodded and said, "I remember that when Your Majesty first ascended the throne, someone mentioned this matter, but due to the war with the Turks at the time, it had to be abandoned."

Li Chengqian hesitantly put down the tea bowl in his hand.

This made the young men lose interest in drinking, and instead they looked towards another waterside pavilion where a dispute was taking place.

Li Tai whispered, "The last time I talked about Fengshan at Mount Tai was probably five years ago, and my father refused."

Now the topic of Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai is being brought up again, and it is brothers who are asking the emperor to do so.

Fengshan at Mount Tai is the highest honor for an emperor, such as the First Emperor of Han and Emperor Wu of Han who performed Fengshan at Mount Tai.

Chongyi whispered, "Now that we have recovered the four counties in Hexi and conquered Tuyuhun, some people are talking about the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai. If this matter were to be reported to the court, there would surely be another debate in the Taiji Hall."

Seeing his father waving his sleeves and leaving Qujiang Lake in dismay, and his mother following suit, Li Chengqian stood up and said, "Everyone, please do as you please."

A few drops of rain fell with ice particles.

The good mood I had originally had disappeared completely, and today's banquet was cancelled.

Li Chengqian left the sight of this group of people, and walked through the gazes of a group of uncles with an expressionless face.

When I came to a staircase, I saw my grandfather chatting and laughing with his aunts.

Li Yuan smiled and asked, "Why are you here?"

Li Chengqian stood aside and said, "I came to ask Grandpa to return to the palace. Father and mother have already gone back. It is going to rain today."

Li Yuan came to his senses and said to his daughters, "You should go back soon. These kids are really... How can they talk about Mount Tai?"

Li Chengqian walked beside his grandfather and asked, "Father, don't you want to be enthroned at Mount Tai?"

Li Yuan walked towards the carriage they had come from and said, "Of course your father wants to be enthroned on Mount Tai. Just think about how people in the world would view your father if he were to be enthroned on Mount Tai so easily."

Li Chengqian helped Grandpa onto the carriage and said, "General, please return to the palace."

Li Ji clasped his fists and said, "Yes."

In the carriage, Li Yuan said with some sorrow and anguish: "Your uncles are too ambitious. They want your father to be enthroned as a god, and they also want to improve their status. Your father refused it back then, and now he has finally gotten along after a few years. If someone brings it up again, Erlang will not agree."

Li Chengqian sat in the carriage, watching the curtains being blown up by the wind. Under the rain, he saw many people walking out of Qujiang Lake and getting on their own carriages.

Li Chengqian saw the Jingheng siblings and the Hejian Emperor's uncle boarding the carriage back home, and asked in confusion, "Why didn't I see the Hejian Emperor's uncle today?"

"He, he had an argument with your uncles last night. They wanted to invite Xiao Gong to persuade your father to perform Fengshan."

As he spoke, he saw his grandfather's palm on the back of his hand. Li Chengqian patted his grandfather's rough hand and said sternly: "Grandpa, don't worry. Your grandson will not be like these uncles."

Li Yuan whispered, "If the Central Plains is pacified, the Western Regions are recovered, and Liaodong is pacified, it will not be too late to discuss Fengshan. Your father respects Fengshan, so I dare not speak lightly."

"My grandson understands."

A banquet ended abruptly because of a sentence about Fengshan at Mount Tai, and because of the rain, everyone at the banquet looked a little embarrassed.

Listening to the sound of rain falling on the carriage, the grandfather and grandson fell silent again.

After returning to the palace, Li Chengqian stood in front of the Chongwen Hall and watched his grandfather go back to rest accompanied by Li Zhi.

"I'm going to see my father."

Ning Er handed over an umbrella and said, "Your Highness, be careful not to catch a cold. The rain in this season is very cold."

Li Chengqian took the umbrella. Raindrops carrying ice particles fell on the umbrella. Soon the ice particles were almost more than the raindrops.

Li Chengqian walked alone in the palace, and for a moment no one could be seen in the empty palace.

Along the way, we walked past the Wude Hall, Lizheng Hall, and then the Taiji Hall.

The Li family has many relatives. Once there are too many people, there will be some discordant voices when they gather together, and if there are too many, it will just be a mess.

When he reached the outside of Ganlu Palace, Li Chengqian looked inside and saw his father drinking alone.

"Come in."

After hearing his father's words, Li Chengqian handed the umbrella to the eunuch beside him and walked into the hall.

Li Shimin looked at his son and said, "The new clothes your mother made fit you very well."

Li Chengqian took the wine pot and placed it on the other side of the table. "Father, drinking alone is bad for your health."

Li Shimin took the hot towel handed to him by the eunuch and wiped his face with it, and most of the drunkenness was gone.

"Is your grandfather back?"

"I have brought grandpa back."

Li Shimin took a deep breath and said, "Haha, although our Li family has many brothers and sisters, people's hearts are also complicated."

Li Chengqian stood aside with his hands in his pockets, looking at the rain outside, "I am thinking about the question that the emperor mentioned last night."

"You said."

"If we want to conquer the Western Regions, we have to take Tubo into consideration, and there is also Gaochang in the Western Regions."

Li Shimin nodded.

"It's true that the Gaochang king and his son are cowardly people, but once the Tang Dynasty sends troops to attack, it will inevitably face the alliance of Gaochang and the Western Regions, as well as the tribes near the Ili River."

Li Shimin motioned to his son to continue.

"Father, do you still remember the small country of Khotan in the Western Regions?"

"Of course I remember."

"Khotan owes me a huge favor. Father can use this opportunity to order them to rebuild the four Anxi towns. Make friends with distant countries and attack nearby ones. Is this how father dealt with Jie Li?"

Li Shimin looked at his son and thought that it would be better not to tell him some things. Once he told him, the boy grew up very fast. He analyzed the pros and cons, found clues from past events, and even added some new practices.

As soon as Empress Changsun and her little daughter arrived at Ganlu Palace, they heard her son and her husband talking. They were talking about state affairs, with questions and explanations in their conversation.

When it came to increasing city taxes, the father and son had another argument.

"Mother, aren't you going into the palace? My royal brother is here too." Little Sizi was very sensible and did not disturb the conversation in the palace, but asked in a low voice.

I originally thought that my husband was probably very unhappy, and wanted to ask Sizi to help comfort him.

Looking at the situation now, Empress Changsun felt that her worries were unnecessary. The father and son began to discuss state affairs and soon got out of the boring mood of Qujiang Lake.

She picked up her little daughter and said, "Let's go to the East Palace to have dinner with mother."

The conversation in Ganlu Palace continued, and the eunuchs had already delivered the food.

Li Shimin was in a much better mood and was eating.

Li Chengqian bit a chicken wing and continued, "Father, you shouldn't hold a banquet in the Taiji Hall. Just let them come in groups of three or four."

Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "In the future, if Liaodong and the Western Regions are not conquered, don't talk about Mount Tai lightly."

"Well, I promised my father that I would not talk about Mount Tai until the great cause is accomplished."

The father and son made this agreement while eating.

The Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai is a role model and a professional achievement that an emperor must achieve.

"I am thinking about whether to let Mr. Wen retire and return to his hometown to enjoy his remaining years."

"He is old and can't travel around, so he stays in Chang'an."

"I heard he has a lot of disciples. Don't you want to take advantage of them?"

Li Chengqian ate dumplings and frowned, "Now the population of Chang'an is increasing, not to mention the millions of people in Guanzhong. Isn't it a matter of great significance to govern this area? I know how valuable what I do is."

Li Shimin patted his son's shoulder heavily and said with a smile: "One day, I will still rely on you."

Li Chengqian hesitated and said, "Father, please don't hold such a big banquet in the future. I advocated that we should continue to be frugal before the rest period. This time I was negligent. Next time I will tell my mother."

"you……"

"I have no intention of blaming you, Father. This is just advice."

After the meal, Li Shimin looked at his grown son. He wanted to scold him but didn't know where to start, so he could only say, "I'm tired, you can go back."

"My son, please retire."

The banquet at Qujiang Lake was not a pleasant one. The next day, news came out from the palace that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace advised the current emperor not to hold large banquets anymore, as this trend must not be allowed to continue.

The prince's wisdom was praised by both the court and the public.

Li Daozon did not attend the banquet as he was busy with official business in Jingzhao Prefecture yesterday.

The freezing rain stopped last night and today it is snowing lightly in Chang'an.

Li Daozon arrived at Jingzhao Prefecture early and saw Di Zhixun pouring some soy sauce into a bowl of millet porridge and drinking it with great enjoyment.

"Now you have to add soy sauce to everything you eat, right?"

Di Zhixun held the bowl and explained, "You may not know that most people in Chang'an are frugal. They can add some soy sauce to the porridge with rice to make it very delicious. Would you like to try it?"

As he spoke, he asked his son Di Renjie to serve a bowl of porridge to the prefect.

Li Daozon followed suit, poured a few drops of soy sauce into the bowl, stirred it with chopsticks, and took a mouthful of the porridge to savor the taste.

Di Zhixun added: "Soy sauce is cheap, only 40 coins a pot. One pot of soy sauce is enough for a family to use for a month, and it can also save salt."

Li Daozon drank the porridge in big gulps, thinking about the benefits of this way of eating.

Soy sauce is a dipping sauce, but it can also bring salty taste to people.

I remember that the soy sauce just brewed in Jingyang was very salty. Li Daozon tasted it and found that it tasted better after adjusting the recipe several times.

Just three or two drops of soy sauce added to water can give a bowl of soup a salty and fresh taste.

Di Zhixun added: "This is a beautiful thing that people in rural villages do when they eat. It makes the food more delicious. Isn't this also a blessing to the world?"

Di Renjie, a small man, also sat aside and drank porridge. He said, "I heard from King Jin and King Ji that eating is the most important thing."

Li Daozon did not deny these words. He stared blankly at the snow-covered sky and couldn't help wondering in his heart, could it be that he, the only idle person in Jingzhao Prefecture, had accomplished such a great achievement inexplicably?
On second thought, it doesn't make sense. Soy sauce was first discovered in the Eastern Palace, so the credit should be given to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

The territory of Taiyuan was divided into seven states by Li Yuan during the Wude period when the Tang Dynasty was founded.

Among the aristocratic families, the Wang family of Taiyuan was divided into two branches, Qi and Jinyang, which did not interfere with each other.

In Qi County, a middle-aged man stared at the dismembered body in front of him with his eyes wide open for a long time without saying a word.

Cui Renshi said: "I have tried my best."

Wang Chong pushed away the sanctimonious Cui Renshi in front of him, walked forward and hugged the body, he cried out: "Son! It was your father who killed you."

Cui Renshi looked calm and watched the scene coldly.

Having just experienced a grand wedding, hearing such tragic news, it would be hard for anyone to accept it.

Of course, it was not their family that married the girl from the Cui family, but another family.

They are just relatives, so naturally they are of the same blood.

"Your father shouldn't have let you go to Luoyang to be an official. I shouldn't have done that!"

Originally, Cui Renshi didn't want to help. After all, Wang Chong's family had been in poverty until now, and it took a lot of connections to get the body back.

Based on the principle of gain and loss, it concerns friendship and reputation, and also concerns one's own reputation. Even if the emperor knows about it later, what does it matter?
Wang Chong sat in the snow, his lips trembling. He slowly lowered his head, tears streaming down his red eyes.

People shouldn’t cry when they reach the age of 40, because it’s really unbearable to watch them crying.

Wang Chong, who lost his son in middle age, buried his son's body.

Cui Renshi asked, "Do you hate the Li family?"

Wang Chong looked at his son's tombstone, and at this moment he was unusually calm. He squatted down, looked at the words on the tombstone, and said, "In fact, I expected that he would end up like this. This child always wants everything. If he can't get it, he will try every possible way and use every possible means to get it. It's all my fault. I taught this child bad things. His character has harmed himself."

Cui Renshi stood in the snow and said, "Please accept my condolences."

Wang Chong stroked the tombstone with trembling hands.

Cui Renshi left, walking alone in the wind and snow. Now that his business here was done, it was time for him to leave.

A disciple standing beside the carriage asked, "Where are you going, sir?"

Cui Renshi walked into the carriage and said, "Fan Yang."

"Aren't you going to take Mr. Wang with you?"

"no need."

The carriage moved slowly. Wang Chong's lineage had fallen to such a state and was no longer valuable.

"It's against the rules to have someone bring the body back to the village for burial."

"The emperor's family has a lot of troubles, and they can't take care of me." Cui Renshi's calm words came from the carriage.

(End of this chapter)