The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 225 Extraordinary Talent
Of course the golden carriage given by his mother had to be well preserved. Li Chengqian pulled the golden carriage into a warehouse in the West Pond Courtyard of the East Palace, tidied it up, closed the warehouse door and then went to rest.

Ning Er asked, "When does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince plan to use this golden carriage to travel?"

Li Chengqian said, "Listen to my mother and make arrangements later."

She smiled gently and followed His Highness's footsteps silently.

The next day, Li Chengqian saw the Taoist priest standing in front of the East Palace gate with dark circles under his eyes.

Li Chunfeng stood motionless under the morning sun.

"Master Li, how about having a meal?"

Seeing the bowl of wontons and a pancake handed to him by the prince, Li Chunfeng sat down and ate his meal.

Li Chengqian asked: "Master Li, how is Mingda doing in her studies recently?"

"Uh-huh……"

Li Chunfeng had his mouth full of food and kept nodding.

Li Chengqian put the empty bowl aside and said, "Master Li, you must have something important to tell me so early, right?"

Li Chunfeng sighed, "Your Highness, please go with me to the Imperial Observatory."

At this time, Grandpa also woke up, yawned with his mouth open, and said: "Cheng Qian, what are you going to do so early in the morning? Aren't you going to take a rest?"

"My grandson and Taoist Li will go to the Imperial Observatory."

"What happened?"

Li Chengqian said, "It's probably not the Purple Star phenomenon or something like that, Taoist Li? Right?"

Li Chunfeng bowed and said, "I still have some questions, please help me, Your Highness."

In the East Palace, Li Lizhi lifted Li Zhi by the back of his collar and brought his brother out, saying, "Brother Royal wants to go to the Imperial Observatory with Taoist Li. You should go too."

"Sister..." Li Zhi said timidly, "What is my brother doing at the Imperial Observatory?"

"It will be good for you to sit in on the class." Li Lizhi kicked her ignorant brother again.

Li Zhi looked around curiously and asked, "Is there any strange phenomenon on Ziwei Star?"

Li Zhi hurriedly asked, "Why else would Taoist Li ask my brother to go?"

Seeing his sister's gloomy expression, Li Zhi was afraid of being beaten, so he compromised and said, "Brother will go right away."

After that, he ran all the way and shouted again: "Brother! Wait for me."

Li Yuan stroked his beard and looked at his grandson's brisk steps, saying, "You run very fast, young slave."

Li Lizhi said disdainfully: "He is running for his life."

Knowing what the siblings were thinking, Li Yuan couldn't help laughing, "Haha, you guys are really..."

If there were a long-distance running competition, Li Zhi's current physique and athletic ability would definitely be up to standard, because they were trained through three physical education classes a month and physical fitness tests a month in the Eastern Palace.

Walking into the quiet Imperial Observatory, Xiao Sizi was wearing a Taoist robe and meditating with his eyes closed.

Li Chengqian walked in, looked around and asked, "Where is Taoist Yuan?"

"Master Yuan has gone on a long journey and will be back in the fall of this year."

As for the secret of whether Taoist Yuan was a member of the royal family of the Sui Dynasty, not many people in the court or the public knew about it, as Yang Jian had been dead for so many years.

Even if Yuan Tiangang is really a descendant of the Sui Dynasty, since the current emperor treats the former Sui people so well, this Taoist priest is willing to do everything he can for the emperor.

Little Sizi followed his brother Li Zhi and asked questions in a low voice.

Li Zhi answered in a disjointed manner.

The conversation between the brother and sister was about what to eat in the East Palace today.

In fact, Li Zhi had no idea what Donggong ate. He just said that Xiao Sizi practiced Taoism to cure diseases. Her meals were sometimes arranged by Taoist Li Chunfeng. Occasionally, Taoist Li would ask people in the Taoist sect to give Xiao Sizi some rare herbs.

Recently, little Sizi has been learning a kind of pace, which implies the meaning of the Big Dipper.

It may also be that the Big Dipper was used when she was enlightened, so Taoist Li felt that Xiao Sizi's fate was related to the Big Dipper.

Of course, these statements have some different meanings when explained using Taoist terms.

Li Chengqian could understand that it was a step to exercise body balance.

Walking past the huge armillary sphere, this armillary sphere with the ecliptic added has a total of three layers, and according to the standard base, there are six levels.

Then the four of them walked into a small hut where there was an object. This object was very large and consisted of three spheres connected by tracks.

These tracks are movable.

Li Chunfeng moved a smaller ball in a circle and said, "Your Highness, is this circle the four seasons?"

The tracks are not parallel, but have ups and downs.

Li Chengqian said: "Most likely."

Li Chunfeng stroked his beard and swung another smaller sphere to the other side, saying, "So this is a solar eclipse?"

Li Chengqian did not reply immediately.

Then Li Chunfeng continued to push the three spheres, and fixed the sphere in the middle in a position, saying: "I use the current distance between the sun and the moon and the stars to infer that the current position is the current season."

Taoist Priest Li had a great ability to understand things, and he explained the movement between the sun, the moon and the earth by using a large compass full of tracks.

Li Zhi and Xiao Sizi walked outside the house and listened to the conversation between their brother and Taoist Li.

This conversation lasted for three hours, and Li Chunfeng and Li Chengqian discussed for a long time in the house.

It was not until Taoist Master Li Chunfeng came out of the house that he seemed to have an epiphany. He was looking at the armillary sphere, thinking and digesting the insights he had just gained.

When Li Chengqian was about to leave with his brother, Li Chunfeng bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for giving the Dao Sect another blessing."

"This is what Taoist Priest Li has realized. This is the creation of Taoism."

Li Chunfeng smiled and said, "As long as it does not violate morality and the principles of this poor Taoist, I will do my best to help you if you have any requests in the future."

Li Chengqian waved his hand nonchalantly and led his brother and Xiao Sizi away.

Li Zhi asked, "What did my brother say to Taoist Li?"

Li Chengqian explained: "Master Li said there is always someone better than you."

“What is the sky outside the sky like?”

"He said that outside our heaven and earth is a huge ball, and all the stars in the sky are in this ball, which is constantly rotating, and the stars in the sky are also rotating with it."

Li Zhi replied: "I didn't understand."

"Well, I know you don't understand."

"You will understand later, little brother." Li Zhi held the little Sizi's hand and asked, "Sizi, do you understand?"

She shook her head and said, "My sister doesn't understand either."

Today Li Chunfeng walked out of the palace and summoned many Taoist people.

Li Chengqian never thought of changing Taoism, and Taoism would not change because of this.

It would undoubtedly be a good thing if I could gain more niche knowledge in the future.

This summer is unusually cool, so the emperor plans to go hunting. There are not many hunters this time, and they are hunting near the Wei Mansion in Longshouyuan.

Li Chengqian agreed to the hunting trip and let his father go out to relax. There were not many people, but only one thousand soldiers and horses to escort him. However, what Li Chengqian did not expect was that even he, the prince, would go hunting, and even his sister Dongyang and Li Lizhi would go with him.

In front of Chunming Gate, Li Chengqian looked at the tall warhorse in front of him and said, "Father, I have to guard Chang'an City."

Li Shimin had a confident smile on his face and said, "I will return to Chang'an before dark."

Li Chengqian climbed onto the horse. The tamed warhorse was very docile. He rode on the Dayuan horse and said, "Let's go."

Yuchi Gong waved his hand and shouted loudly, and the team moved out slowly.

The location of this hunting trip was Longshouyuan. Under the current trend of frugality, the emperor's hunting team was reduced to one thousand people.

If my father were to stay in the palace all day, dealing with all these state affairs, he would become bored in the long run.

Li Lizhi and Dongyang rode on more docile ponies and followed behind their brother.

The team was moving very slowly, and the horses were also walking at a leisurely pace. Li Shimin asked, "I heard that Li Chunfeng asked you to go to the Imperial Observatory yesterday?"

Li Chengqian said: "Master Li has some questions for me, all of which are about the discussion of heaven and earth."

Li Shimin nodded slightly.

After the team arrived at Longshouyuan, Yuchi Gong ordered the army to disperse and patrol the surroundings.

The two younger sisters rode their horses beside them. Li Lizhi was wearing a red long dress and looked very dashing as she rode her horse. Dongyang rode closely behind her.

Li Chengqian rode his horse over a bush, drew his bow and shot an arrow at a wild boar in the distance. The arrow flew through the air and pierced straight into the wild boar's throat.

The wild boar ran for some distance and then fell in a pool of blood.

Yuchi Gong said in a clear voice: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is good at archery."

Li Lizhi, dressed in red, rode her horse past her brother. Although her horse was shorter, its speed was not slow at all.

She drew her bow and arrow, aiming at an eagle in the woods.

As the horse approached, the eagle flapped its wings and was about to fly away.

Li Lizhi shouted: "Dongyang!"

The sister behind him had already drawn the bowstring and aimed at the eagle. Seeing that it was about to fly high into the sky, Dongyang shot an arrow but failed to shoot the eagle down.

But this arrow caused it to change direction and fly lower.

This was Li Lizhi's purpose. She let the horse continue to drive the eagle, watching it fly out of the forest and into an open area, and staring at its flight path which was approaching a straight line.

Li Lizhi let go of the bowstring and the arrow whizzed out, hitting the eagle that was fleeing in panic.

The eagle was shot by an arrow and fell to the ground, its breathing rising and falling rapidly.

Li Shimin looked at his daughter's heroic figure and praised loudly, "My good daughter!"

By noon, Li Chengqian no longer had the heart to hunt, as horseback archery was not as simple as target shooting. Xiaofu prepared the meal at noon.

Eating well is a rule that Donggong has always adhered to, and it also applies when going out.

Li Lizhi and Dongyang came with a fawn that had a wound on its leg. It was a very small sika deer, only reaching Lizhi and Dongyang's knees.

"Brother, I want to keep it." Dongyang looked at it with pity.

Li Lizhi didn't care at all. She took the porridge brought by Xiaofu and drank it happily.

"Let's keep it in Taiye Lake. We can't keep it in the palace. The environment of Taiye Lake is more suitable for it."

"Thank you, brother." Dongyang was still a little hesitant and looked at his father who was talking with the generals in the distance.

"You don't have to worry about your father." Li Lizhi said frankly.

Dongyang stroked the little doe's head and smiled with joy.

This little deer is very human-like, and therefore feels inexplicably close to Dongyang.

On the way back, the little deer followed Dongyang and was not afraid of the escorting army.

The emperor returned with a great load of prey from hunting, including a lot of Li Lizhi's catch.

However, her archery skills were still not sophisticated enough. If she encountered large prey, such as a wild boar, she could not shoot through its fur with one arrow like her brother.

After returning to the palace, Li Lizhi began to practice with the longbow. The bow was very long, a full five feet, only slightly shorter than that of Princess Changle.

Practicing archery is a very hard job, and as expected, Li Zhi and Li Shen gave up halfway.

Moreover, the arrows of the longbow are larger than those of the horn bow.

Therefore, more strength is required. When hunting and riding, Li Lizhi used a lighter horn bow.

She pulled the longbow with all her strength, and the heavy arrow was released, hitting the target thirty steps away, and the target fell to the ground.

The power of this longbow is so great that it can penetrate wooden boards. If the force is strong enough and the bow is fully drawn, one arrow is enough to penetrate the enemy's leather armor.

However, Li Lizhi did not fully pull the bow before releasing it. Her strength was limited, and she could not pull the bow a second time in a short time.

Li Chengqian sat next to his grandfather and sighed, "Li Zhi's talent is better than mine."

Li Yuan said: "There are not many children who are as hardworking as you."

"According to grandpa, my grandson's hard work can be considered a kind of talent." Li Chengqian smiled ashamedly.

"You must not say that." Li Yuan said patiently, "There are people with extraordinary talents in this world, but there are also people who become ordinary people after their extraordinary talents. However, there are very few people who can persevere and work hard, and there are many people who give up halfway. People who can work hard and do one thing well for a long time often achieve great success later in life, and their achievements will also exceed those people with extraordinary talents."

"If my father is the one with extraordinary talent, then my grandson is the ordinary person who worked hard to be a good crown prince."

Li Chengqian said to himself, "Uncle Hejian said he became a father at the age of fourteen. I think he is also gifted."

Dongyang came with a backpack, and the little deer was always with her. She would let it go to Taiye Lake to be raised at night.

"Brother, Dr. Sun sent someone to deliver the news that Mr. Wen is on his deathbed."

Li Yuan put away his smile and said, "Cheng Qian, he is the head of your Chongwen Hall and also a subordinate of your Eastern Palace. You need to go there for this matter."

"Grandson will go right away."

Together with Dongyang, I went to visit Mr. Wen Yanbo who was on his deathbed.

He was not like the Emperor or the Queen Mother who could still recover. When the old man came to Chang'an, his body was already as withered as a wisp.

Li Chengqian walked into the house.

Dongyang is accompanied by a sika deer, which is not afraid of strangers but is very attached to its owner.

The two brothers of the Wen family and their family members gathered in front of the house. Some of them were sobbing, and some looked depressed.

Wen Ting said: "Yesterday my father was full of energy and said he wanted to drink. I knew he didn't have much time left. Now after one night..."

"do not talk."

Li Chengqian calmed him down.

Sun Simiao walked out of the house and said, "Your Highness, please go and see the old gentleman for the last time."

Walking into this dim little room, just like last year, the old man was lying on the hospital bed, his cloudy old eyes looking at me.

Li Chengqian walked to the bedside and asked, "Does the old man have anything to say?"

Wen Yanbo opened his mouth slightly and said: "Liaodong..."

Sorry for being late, I will update at the usual time tomorrow, okay.

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(End of this chapter)