The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 20 Loyalty without Extremes

Li Lizhi is good at mathematics, but talking about these things is too far away from her.

After his younger brothers and sisters had rested, Li Chengqian tidied up and went to bed early.

The next day, when Sister Ning'er woke me up, it was still dark.

Li Chengqian sat up from the couch and looked at the gray sky outside the window.

"Your Highness, the time has come."

Sister Ning'er was standing aside, having already prepared the clothes and boots she would wear to court today.

Li Chengqian got off the bed and walked barefoot to the window to breathe a breath of fresh air. Looking outside from here, the palace was very empty.

Li Chengqian refreshed himself and stroked his forehead, "What time is it?"

Ning Er said, "It's just the Mao hour, almost the quarter before the Mao hour."

"Has the toilet been delivered to the Prince of Hejian's mansion?"

"Your Highness, someone sent it there last night."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "That's good."

It was just when the dawn was appearing on the horizon and the moon was still there on the other side of the sky.

As soon as he walked out of the East Palace, Li Chengqian stopped and looked at the moon in the gray sky with his hands in his pockets.

Ning Er asked suspiciously, "What's wrong, Your Highness?"

"The moon is very beautiful and very close to us. It will be even more beautiful when it is full."

After hearing what His Highness said, Ning'er said, "The moon has always been like this."

"No, the moon is not always like this." Li Chengqian sighed helplessly and whispered, "In fact, the moon is moving away from us every year. Although it is not obvious in one or two years, it can still be felt on a scale of thousands of years."

Ning Er frowned and asked, "Then the moon is farther away from us now?"

"It's very beautiful." Li Chengqian said lightly. Many things are different on a time scale of a thousand years, not only the moon is different, but the environment is also different.

It can be seen in the files of the Eastern Palace that the Hexi Corridor is still a place with abundant grass and water, where flocks of lambs can be raised and many war horses can be raised.

The environment in Guanzhong, or even the entire Northwest, is not that bad.

At least it doesn't look so bad now.

It would be a wonderful thing if we could maintain the ecological environment of the Northwest, for example, by planting trees in the Hexi Corridor in the northwest or west of the Qilian Mountains, building a whole sand-proof forest, and turning the Gobi Desert into a forest.

If I were to ascend the throne in the future, I could start preparing in the next few years, spend three to five years building roads, and another six to seven years building some relatively simple mechanical vehicles. This would be a benefit to future generations.

But this will be very busy.

Thinking of this, Li Chengqian frowned again and remained silent.

After thinking again and again, what else can I do? I am still just a prince.

The Taiji Hall faces north and south. Just like yesterday, Li Chengqian followed a group of officials in a hurry to the Taiji Hall.

Everyone in the hall was still talking among themselves. Li Tai was just like yesterday. He seemed to have something in common to talk about with everyone.

Li Chengqian stood in his seat, closed his eyes and began to rest.

If you don’t get enough sleep, take every moment to rest.

"Brother, look at him, he is trying to please the court officials again."

"Yeah." Li Chengqian stood with his hands in his pockets and responded weakly, and then ordered: "Close your eyes and rest for a while. If there is anything unusual, remind me."

"Don't worry, my brother will cover for you." Li Ke nodded solemnly, and then said, "My mother said that I must obey my brother's words."

"Yes, your mother is right. We are all brothers. I will not harm you."

Li Ke's mother, Concubine Yang, was a princess of the Sui Dynasty.

His identity was very special, but this did not prevent the charismatic Tian Khan from loving his son.

The existence of Li Ke may also be a symbol of the emperor's kindness to the former ministers of the Sui Dynasty. After all, there are still many officials left over from the former Sui Dynasty in the court.

Emperor Yang of Sui was a dissolute emperor with a strong personality, but he had many famous ministers under his rule.

It’s a pity that Yu Wenzhi launched a mutiny in Jiangdu and killed many famous officials.

Looking at Li Ke's background and the power of his mother's line behind Concubine Yang, his maternal grandmother was from the Dugu clan, which was famous in the Central Plains at that time, and his maternal grandfather was Emperor Yang of Sui.

The relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty was intricately linked.

Li Ke was also an extremely loyal younger brother, and even his mother was loyal to the emperor.

From the previous dynasty to the present, and then to the Xuanwu Gate Incident, many disputes have occurred with unclear reasons and unclear relationships.

Putting all these aside, in this big family, Li Ke, the younger brother, is either extremely loyal or extremely disloyal to his elder brother, the emperor.

Li Shimin came into the hall and the morning court began.

Li Chengqian kept this state. It was not difficult to make a wood sculpture. As long as he didn't make any sound and didn't move, it would be fine.

In fact, the morning court in the Tang Dynasty did not have too many complicated etiquette. After everyone paid their respects, each department began to report on matters.

Li Chengqian listened quietly as they talked about various important matters such as compiling clan records or the imperial examinations.

However, as I closed my eyes and entered a state of meditation, the sounds in my ears began to become hazy.

I don’t know how much time passed, but the noise in my ears became louder.

Li Shimin sat on the throne, listening to the arguments of his ministers, his eyes falling on his three sons who were attending the morning court.

Li Tai was very focused from beginning to end, so focused that he didn't want to miss a single word.

Li Ke stood straight. Due to the military training, his posture was very correct and there was nothing unusual about his expression.

Finally, Li Shimin's eyes fell on his eldest son, Crown Prince Li Chengqian, and he couldn't help but clench his fists. This kid closed his eyes, lowered his head, and stood in a shabby manner.

Looking at his shaky appearance, did he fall asleep while standing?

I thought that there were so many role models in the court, whether it was Cheng Yaojin or Li Daliang, who would learn from such a bunch of bastards and sleep while standing in the court.

Seeing that Li Chengqian was about to fall backwards, Li Ke on the side actually helped to support him.

Sitting on the throne, looking down at all the officials in the court, he could see every move they made clearly.

When it was Fang Xuanling's turn to speak, Li Shimin withdrew his gaze and continued to listen to everyone's reports.

Today's morning court session ended earlier than yesterday's grand court session.

"Brother, the court is dismissed."

Li Chengqian slowly woke up, looked around first, and finally looked at the empty throne, relaxed his back and said, "What time is it?"

Li Ke said quickly: "It's almost noon."

"Thank you for covering for me."

"You don't have to say that, brother."

Li Chengqian took out a piece of soap and handed it to Li Ke, saying, "Give this to your mother on my behalf. Tell her that I am the eldest son of this family and will take good care of my brothers and sisters."

Li Ke quickly said, "Thank you, my brother."

"It's okay. You and I are brothers. I just figured out what Yang Fei meant. You and I brothers must work together."

"Yes." Li Ke smiled naively again.

Li Chengqian responded and walked out of the Taiji Hall with his hands in his pockets, leaving Li Ke standing there with a touched look on his face.

Li Tai had disappeared long ago, and no one knew where he had gone. He glanced around and then walked towards the East Palace.

Just as he passed by the Chongwen Hall, Li Chengqian stopped and took a closer look. There were quite a few people in the hall. In addition to Li Xiaogong, there were Gao Shilian, Yu Zhining, and Xu Xiaode.

"Your Highness!" Yu Zhining stepped forward quickly and said, "Duke Xu and Prince Hejian have been waiting for a long time."

Gao Shilian set up the chessboard, stroked his beard and said, "Let's play chess!"

Li Chengqian responded, sat down in front of his uncle, and smiled at the other people in the hall.

Gao Shilian was not polite, he played black first, placed a piece and said: "I haven't played chess for a long time, I don't know if my hands are fresh."

The game I played with Gao Shilian was Go. Fortunately, in my previous life, I often played Go with a group of old men in the hospital.

Yu Zhining and Xu Xiaode stood aside and watched.

The prince's white pieces attacked fiercely and were about to capture Duke Xu's black pieces.

Gao Shilian was also an old hand at chess, but facing the 15-year-old boy in front of him, he was caught in a dilemma for a while.

"Uncle, how is the soap?"

Li Xiaogong, cooking ramen, replied, "Very good, the woman at home kept sniffing at someone last night."

The prince still had the leisure to talk to others, while Gao Shilian's black chess piece had a hard time making any moves and barely placed one piece.

Li Chengqian responded by placing another white piece and continued talking with Li Xiaogong beside him.

The situation on the chessboard made Gao Shilian look even more unhappy, so he asked, "Who did Your Highness play chess with before?"

Li Chengqian replied: "Most of the time I play chess with myself."

Gao Shilian looked solemn, "Your Highness's chess moves are full of murderous intent and you are experienced in chess. You shouldn't be so murderous at such a young age."

Seeing that Li Chengqian wanted to continue talking with Li Xiaogong.

Gao Shilian shook his head, put down the chess piece in his hand, and simply lay aside without playing.

Li Xiaogong cooked a big pot of noodles and asked everyone in the Eastern Palace to take their own bowls and chopsticks so that they could eat together.

The East Palace is becoming more and more like a noodle shop...

The atmosphere here is very good, everyone is talking and laughing, and after the morning court, you can have a bowl of rice in the East Palace and rest for a while before going home.

Li Xiaogong slammed the table and said, "I'm so used to eating the ramen here, Your Highness. I can't eat anything else after I return home."

"Didn't you ask the emperor's uncle to take a basket back?"

Li Xiaogong shook his head and said, "That basket is enough for me to eat for one meal, but not for the next."

Li Chengqian sighed: "Not only was the emperor's uncle gifted when he was young, but now he is also gifted in his appetite."

Ning'er brought a few books and placed them in front of Li Xiaogong.

After eating the noodles, Li Xiaogong opened a volume and took a look. After confirming it, he put the volumes into his bag and left quickly.

Yu Zhining, who was standing nearby, had sharp eyes and saw that it was the sequel to the story of Dream of the Red Chamber when Li Xiaogong opened a volume.

Looking at the Crown Prince's expression again, Yu Zhining understood and his expression became more understanding.

Gao Shilian was still lying there, seemingly asleep, with his breathing rising and falling steadily.

His Highness obediently covered Duke Xu with an outer coat.

Then put the heater aside to prevent the uncle from catching a cold.

Then, Li Chengqian stood up, put his hands in his pockets and said, "You two, let's go out and talk."

"Yes." The two of them bowed together and walked out of the hall first.

Li Zhi was asked to bring a stool from the East Palace, and the three of them sat down against the wall.

Xu Xiaode bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness Prince Jin."

Li Zhi also returned the greeting politely.

Li Chengqian took the wontons handed to him by Xiaofu and ate them while looking forward.

His Highness was having dinner, and the two officials from the Eastern Palace were silent.

Suddenly, His Highness sighed.

Both Xu Xiaode and Yu Zhining felt their scalps tighten and looked nervous.

After finishing the wontons in the bowl, Li Chengqian gave the bowl back to Xiaofu, signaling that she could leave. He waited until they were far away before he spoke, "How have you two been lately?"

Yu Zhining replied, "I have been busy with various matters in the court, and only now have time to come and see Your Highness."

Xu Xiaode said: "I just went to the Censorate recently and sorted out the things there, and I came here now."

In fact, the court session had just begun yesterday and everyone was very busy. Li Chengqian did not blame these two people for neglecting the Eastern Palace.

But as their immediate superior, a word or two from him would make them think too much.

Yu Zhining whispered, "Your Highness, did Mr. Cao leave the Red Mansion behind?"

Li Chengqian replied: "Yes, I give them all to you."

"The Dali Temple is now looking for Mr. Cao, and people are asking who this Mr. Cao is."

If they want to investigate, let them investigate a person who doesn't exist.

Li Chengqian nodded without saying anything.

Yu Zhining asked again: "Your Highness, are you still planning to tell us all the stories after Red Mansions?"

Li Chengqian whispered, "This is what I promised Mr. Cao."

The sun shone on the main entrance of Chongwen Hall. The warm sunlight felt very comfortable on the body. Li Chengqian suddenly asked, "Xu Changshi, how is your daughter these days?"

Hearing this, Xu Xiaode quickly stood up and saluted, saying, "Your Highness, my daughter is doing well at home."

Ning'er, who was standing not far away, couldn't help but look solemn when she heard this conversation. The more His Highness said this, the more likely it was that Xu Changshi would not bring Xu Hui out.

After all, not all families are willing to send their daughters to the palace.

Now, Xu Xiaode stood with his head lowered, his face full of embarrassment.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "That's good. If Xu Changshi has to deal with the court and can't take care of the family, you can send Hui'er to the East Palace. I have so many brothers and sisters here, one more won't be too much."

"I am deeply moved, but my little girl has always been shy."

"It's okay. The children here are her age. I've also thought about it these days. I want my brothers and sisters to go to the Imperial College to listen to lessons every day. Children need to have a complete childhood and need to be in contact with their peers."

"If Xu Changshi's daughter also wants to enter the Imperial College, I can arrange for someone to send her there as well."

This time, Xu Xiaode hesitated to speak. It was a good thing for his children to enter the Imperial College, but if the prince...

"Your Highness is so considerate of me. How can I repay you?"

Yu Zhining finally smoothed things over, easing the tense atmosphere a lot.

At this point, three more palace maids came out from the East Palace, each holding a plate, on which were pieces of soap as white as jade.

Rumor has it that this soap came from the harem and the emperor's concubines all used it to take a bath.

Rumors about the royal family will naturally affect the common people. Chang'an City is very big, but also very small.

As long as the news is related to the royal family, its dissemination efficiency has always been very high.

Today's update is a bit late, I'm really sorry, Xiao Zhang thanks everyone for their support!
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(End of this chapter)