The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 24: Uncle Still Loves the Prince

If you go further, you will no longer see pedestrians, and occasionally you will disturb three or two cats wandering around.

Ning Er took a step forward, stretched out her hand to stop him and said, "Your Highness, why don't you go any further?"

Li Chengqian looked at the quiet alley and frowned, "Is it still unsafe?"

Ning Er explained, "If it were in a busy city, no one would cause trouble, but in these dilapidated streets, there are bound to be bad guys."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "When will anyone clean up these dilapidated houses and streets?"

Ning Er held the hilt of the horizontal sword with one hand and said seriously, "The court will arrange it."

"Yeah." Li Chengqian nodded and turned around. He didn't look at the quiet streets behind him, but walked back into the busy city. He looked a little more relaxed and said with a smile, "This Chang'an City is pretty good. I like it very much."

Ning Er also laughed and said, "What Chang'an City will look like in the future is still up to His Highness to decide."

"In the future..." Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and looked worried. He sighed, "I don't know what Chang'an will be like in the future."

As he spoke, Li Chengqian said, "Why not go to the West Market and take a look?"

Ning Er nodded and said, "Your Highness, let's go this way to the West Market."

"Oh..." Li Chengqian turned around and followed Ning'er's footsteps across Suzaku Street.

On the other side of Chang'an City, in the residence of Duke Xu, Gao Shilian did not attend the morning court today, nor did he deal with the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel.

Gao Shilian not only controls the Ministry of Personnel, but is also the uncle of the current emperor. Even if this old man does not attend court for the next two days, no one will say anything as long as the emperor does not say anything.

Besides, Duke Xu had already intended to resign.

Gao Shilian looked at the pot of asparagus fern in front of him. The bamboo was only about one foot tall. He observed the color of the branches of the asparagus fern. He waved his sleeves, put his hands on his knees, stroked his beard with the other hand, and nodded continuously. "I like to grow bamboo now that I am old. I wonder if my eldest grandson likes it."

Gao Shilian frowned and looked at Zhuzi and said, "Have you found out about Princess Changle's marriage?"

"I have inquired clearly. I heard that Li Chunfeng showed a picture to Your Majesty and informed him of the whereabouts of Dr. Sun. That's why Your Majesty postponed the wedding date."

"Is there nothing about the prince here?"

The servant was also old, with white hair and beard. He had been following Gao Shilian since he was young and has been with him until now in his old age. In terms of scheming and scheming, he had some of Gao Shilian's abilities.

Even if Changsun Wuji were here, he would have to call this servant uncle.

Hearing the patriarch's question, a shrewd look flashed in his eyes, and he bowed and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince met Li Chunfeng half a month ago."

Gao Shilian pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and said, "My eldest grandson doesn't like this marriage?"

The servant replied: "It seems so."

Gao Shilian plucked a branch of the asparagus fern with his fingernails.

Ever since Gao Shilian had a long talk with the prince in the East Palace, his words were full of praise.

Perhaps because the queen's condition improved, Gao Shilian was more satisfied with the prince.

In the final analysis, the connection between the Li family, the Changsun family, or the Gao family is all through the Queen and the Crown Prince.

"I also heard that the Crown Prince sent the princess and the princes to the Imperial College to listen to the class today, and then the Crown Prince went to Chang'an City for fun. He is now strolling in the East Market."

"East Market?" Gao Shilian was a little confused. He opened his mouth and looked up slightly, looking a little confused. Suddenly he smiled and said, "This child is young and ignorant. Find a few capable people in the mansion to take care of the eldest grandson."

"I'll do it now, little man."

Gao Shilian stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "It seems that my eldest grandson has been worried these days, and he must be in a dilemma. My time in the court is running out, so I will help him out this time."

The servant smiled with relief and said, "Then do as you wish."

Gao Shilian placed the pot of asparagus fern on a corner of the table. Thinking of his eldest grandson's living conditions, he said, "Send some rice, flour and salt to the East Palace."

"Here."

Then he thought of what Cheng Qian had said about him and Li Xiaogong, so he ordered, "Go and invite the Prince of Hejian to come, and tell him that I have a jar of good wine, and I want to drink with him."

"I'll arrange it right away."

After giving these instructions and waiting for the master's nod, the elderly servant hurried away.

Gao Shilian felt a little tired, so he curled up on the couch, closed his eyes and rested, and muttered to himself in a confused manner: "I am old, and thinking about one or two things too much will make me tired."

After mumbling to himself, the old man rubbed his temple again and said in distress: "Alas... Cheng Qian is a child that no one loves. It's rare. He lives soberly. There are fewer and fewer people in the world who are so sober."

He is not distracted by complicated things and all his actions are in preparation for becoming emperor, so this eldest grandson is worth cultivating.

Gao Shilian muttered to himself again in a daze: "The clearer a person is, the simpler his life will be."

After mumbling a few more sentences to himself, Gao Shilian seemed to have fallen asleep, lying on his side on the couch, not moving, with only the rising and falling of his breathing.

Half an hour later, footsteps were heard outside the door. The old servant came back again. He walked to Gao Shilian and leaned over to say, "The Prince of Hejian is here."

"Hmm?" Gao Shilian opened his eyes in a daze.

Li Xiaogong strode into the house and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Duke Xu."

Gao Shilian also stood up and saluted, saying, "I greet the Prince of Hejian."

Seeing this, Li Xiaogong, who usually behaved in a carefree manner, humbly lowered his posture.

A pot of wine was placed on the table, and the two men began to discuss the matter concerning the prince.

The elderly servant was guarding outside the house, not letting outsiders get close. He stood in the sun with a smile on his face, looking straight ahead and listening to the conversation inside the house.

In Xishi, Li Chengqian frowned as he looked at the five people who followed him.

"Your Highness, we are here to protect you under the orders of Duke Xu." After saying this, the leading guard handed over a badge.

Ning Er took a look and confirmed it, then said, "Your Highness, it's someone from Duke Xu's Mansion."

Li Chengqian sighed, "I originally wanted to go among the people and gain a deeper understanding of their living conditions. How can I integrate with the people if you follow me like this?"

"This……"

The guards looked at each other.

"Forget it. Anyway, there aren't many common people here to chat with me today." Li Chengqian said in distress, "It's because I'm not dressed simply enough."

Li Chengqian raised his head again in annoyance and said, "Failure, such a failure."

Ning'er covered her mouth and chuckled. His Highness wanted to talk to someone, but when she saw that it was a young man in brocade clothes, she didn't have time to avoid him. When His Highness continued to walk in the West Market, the five guards from Duke Xu's mansion followed behind him, always alert to their surroundings.

Now, no one dared to approach Li Chengqian within five steps.

The West Market is different from the East Market. The East Market is full of people from Guanzhong, while the West Market has many people from the Western Regions and Turks. Not all envoys from various countries have left, some of them still remain in Chang'an City. Although they are called envoys, many of them actually come to do business.

At first glance, the appearance of the West Market is much more sturdy than that of the East Market. There is an old man holding a knife, prying into a man's mouth.

With a muffled groan, the old man took the knife out of the man's mouth and then wiped the knife calmly.

It was not until the person sitting there spat out a tooth that they realized they were having a tooth extracted.

Some blood splattered on the face of the old man who had his tooth extracted.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but take two steps back and whispered, "I must brush my teeth well next time."

Seeing that the old man was about to extract a tooth for another person, Li Chengqian turned his head away from watching the fierce scene.

Li Chengqian saw a few wilted cabbages, so he squatted down, picked up one and examined it carefully. The outer leaves had turned yellow, but the heart of the cabbage was still in good condition.

Cabbage was originally a crop from Central Asia. It is a very ancient vegetable. Now that the Tang Dynasty has been pacified, many merchants from the Western Regions have come to the Tang Dynasty.

Because the dynasty had just begun this year, there were still many Persians in Chang'an.

These crops also entered Chang'an.

It is said that after Zhang Qian brought garlic, walnuts, pomegranates and carrots to the Western Regions, more and more people in the Western Regions, and even Persians, knew that there was a wealthy dynasty in the East.

There is no need to send envoys to the outside of the Great Wall to bring these crops to Guanzhong. Now these Western merchants will take the initiative to bring pepper, cucumbers and grapes to the wealthy Orientals in exchange for better salt, iron or cloth.

Li Chengqian took out some copper coins and bought all five cabbages.

I bought some bean paste on the way, which I can take back to Donggong to try to make some soy sauce.

Seeing that the time was almost up, he returned to the Imperial College.

After returning to the Eastern Palace with his younger brothers and sisters, Li Chengqian learned that his uncle Gao Shilian had sent a lot of rice, flour, cloth and silk again. The Eastern Palace took out a few bars of soap as a return gift.

Guanzhong entered April from March, and until mid-April, the warm wind finally blew, and the whole Guanzhong began to enter spring. The warm sunshine made people feel comfortable.

It is the season when everything flourishes, and even my younger brothers and sisters are growing taller at this time.

Ning'er measures their height every morning and keeps records.

Li Chengqian planted carrots and cabbages in the East Palace, and tried to build a grape trellis and grow some cucumbers.

Unlike other people who farm, the prince always keeps records when farming, recording the daily growth of crops.

The soy sauce has not been dried yet, so I can only wait. I don’t know what the soy sauce dried in this season will taste like?
These days, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has not seen Yu Zhining and Xu Xiaode, and he almost forgot about the existence of these two ministers in the Eastern Palace.

Recently, a piece of news was sent to Chang'an that the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo conquered the Yangtong tribes, and the Yangtong tribes lost their pastures and territories several times.

Later, in order to govern Yangtong, Songtsen Gampo supported a tribal king of Yangtong and married his sister to him.

As a result, Tubo actually controlled a large tribe.

This news was brought by Ning'er from Lizheng Palace.

Tubo, which was initially ignored by everyone in the court, is growing stronger step by step.

Li Chengqian listened to the story while observing the vines on the grape rack.

Ning'er said, "The Tibetan envoy brought a letter from Songtsen Gampo. Would Your Highness like to see him?"

Li Chengqian frowned and stood up and said, "Go to Chongwen Hall to meet him."

"Here."

The envoy who came to Chang'an this time was not Lu Dongzan, nor was he a real envoy, but he came to see the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty specifically because of the friendship between the Eastern Palace and the Tubo Prime Minister.

Li Chengqian walked into the Chongwen Hall and saw a young man who looked to be in his early twenties. He was wearing a tall hat and clothes that were unique to the Tibetans.

When he saw the prince of the Tang Dynasty, he bowed respectfully, handed over a scroll, and said, "Your Highness, the prince of the Tang Dynasty, this is a letter from the Zamp to you."

Li Chengqian took the Tibetan cloth file from his hand, opened it and read the text inside.

Seeing the look of surprise on the crown prince's face, the Tibetan envoy said with a smile: "Our king has always longed for the wisdom of the Central Plains. In order to express Tibet's respect for the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, all that is written is in the Central Plains language. This is not a Tibetan official letter, but a letter from the king."

Li Chengqian still looked at the letter and whispered, "What is the name of this envoy?"

"Foreign minister Sambuza."

According to historical records, there was a century-long dispute between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo, so Tubo cannot be underestimated now, but the court is not interested in Tubo's bitter and cold land.

Li Chengqian heard the other party's words and whispered, "Tumi Sambhota?"

Sambuza was also surprised that the prince of the Tang Dynasty could call out his full name. He bowed and asked, "Did the Prime Minister mention the foreign minister to His Royal Highness the prince?"

Li Chengqian neither nodded nor shook his head. Lu Dongzan had never mentioned this person. The reason he remembered this person's name was because he was one of the Seven Wise Ministers of Tubo.

Of course, the Seven Wise Ministers of Tubo were quite famous, but that was all in the future.

But the Tang Dynasty also had the Twenty-Four Heroes in the Lingyan Pavilion.

Seeing that the prince was silent, Sambuza thought that he was not polite enough, so he continued to bow and said, "The Zamp likes books from the Central Plains very much, especially the history books from the Central Plains. Now the Zamp wants to imitate the Central Plains system, formulate Tibetan laws and regulations, formulate weights and measures, and incorporate them into the tax system."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "So he likes reading history books."

Sambuza added: "Our Zamp is a man who loves books. He is also the wisest man in Tubo. He also appreciates people who are wise and heroic, just like the current Emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

"His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is a hero. Our Tibetan Zamp has now unified the Zangbo River and conquered Yangtong, and he is also a hero."

Li Chengqian put down the scroll in his hand. The letter contained nothing but greetings, and interrupted the messenger, "Your Zanpu's Chinese characters are not well written. You need to practice more in the future."

Upon hearing this, Sambhota's expression froze, and he quickly added: "I was born in the Zangbo River and have followed the Zamp since I was a child. In the future, Tubo will also have a better writing system."

Li Chengqian smiled gently and said slowly: "I also like Tibet very much. I like its eagles and snow-capped mountains, and I like its lakes and pastures even more."

Ning'er was standing outside the hall and could vaguely hear the conversation inside. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was talking to the envoy in a very friendly manner, but the Tibetan envoy did not know that what His Royal Highness said about liking the Tibetan snow-capped mountains actually meant something else. Whatever His Royal Highness liked, he would definitely do everything he could to take it away.

This Tibetan envoy was young and ignorant, so he shouldn't have said that Tibet had better writing.

(End of this chapter)