The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 269 Su Xu
Emperor Li Shimin gestured to everyone to take their seats and the ceremony continued.

After Li Chengqian paid his respects to the concubines' families on both sides, Lizhi and Dongyang took the two newly married concubines to their mother's side. After giving them a few instructions, they were sent to the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian sat down next to his father and looked at the guests in the hall.

There are people of the same age as well as older people here.

In addition to those who could be invited from the royal family in Chang'an, many relatives of the Wugong Su family also came.

Sitting beside his father, Li Chengqian recognized each face, especially those sitting in the front row, and secretly memorized them in his heart.

Perhaps my father and grandfather had visited them a lot, but for a prince like me, except for a few familiar faces, I didn't recognize any of them.

The atmosphere of the wedding celebration that followed was much more relaxed, and each family congratulated the emperor and the Eastern Palace.

Then a group of palace maids walked into the Taiji Hall and danced.

Everyone started talking and toasting, and everyone put on their best attitude and words and deeds in front of the emperor.

Li Chengqian vaguely heard someone talking about Jingzhao Prefecture, and thought to himself that it was probably related to Xu Jingzong's recent behavior.

The policy of supporting education was indeed advised against by many censors of the Censorate, but Jingzhao Prefecture and Chongwenguan did not want to make any changes. They insisted on the previous policies and strategies, which only served to shut up everyone in the court.

The policy of supporting education is still being implemented. As the crown prince of the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian can understand this phenomenon. Not to mention his uncles and teachers in the Secretariat, they are still on his father's side after all.

But Jingzhao Prefecture is the backbone of the Eastern Palace, and when talking about the prince, Jingzhao Prefecture will definitely be mentioned.

The celebration was long, and many officials stood outside the Taiji Hall, shouting congratulatory speeches to the people inside. The emperor gave them all wine and silk.

From the afternoon until nightfall, even the queen mother took little Sizi away first.

A middle-aged man was walking towards them, he looked to be around fifty years old.

A palace maid immediately placed a wine jug on the table.

Li Chengqian noticed the wine jug beside him and immediately understood what he meant.

The other party came over with a wine bowl in hand and saluted, saying, "I am Su Xu, a scholar from the Academy of Literature, and I pay my respects to your majesty, your highness the crown prince."

Li Chengqian picked up the wine jug beside him, poured himself a glass of wine, and raised his glass with his father.

Su Xu stood to one side and said, "I wish the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess a happy marriage."

Su Xu is the Crown Princess' uncle and Su Tan's elder brother. He now works in the Prince of Wei's Palace and is one of the main compilers of the Comprehensive Geography of the World in the Literature Museum.

Li Chengqian said: "I should call you uncle."

"Your Highness, this is absolutely unacceptable." Su Xu stepped back and saluted again, saying, "I dare not accept this."

"I am very close to Qingque on weekdays, so I'm going to trouble you with the matter of Gua Di Zhi."

"I dare not neglect it."

Li Chengqian nodded.

Su Xu bowed again and returned to his seat.

During this time, the emperor did not speak. Li Chengqian put down the wine glass in his hand. The wine pot on the table was not filled with wine at all, but honey water. It looked a bit turbid and at first glance it was mistaken for wine.

Li Shimin looked at everyone with a smile, and occasionally glanced at his son beside him. Seeing that he seemed to be smiling, it seemed that Cheng Qian was more satisfied with the Crown Princess's family.

The banquet lasted until almost midnight, and the only guests left in the hall were a group of veteran generals and old guys with white hair and beards.

My father and grandfather each have their own friends, drinking.

Grandpa and his friends are waiting to dance and sing.

Li Chengqian walked out of the Taiji Hall, where several palace maids were standing.

Looking at the empty darkness outside the palace, the night wind was howling and the night sky was dark.

Walking into the darkness, the palace maids holding lanterns protected the prince from front and back.

They are palace maids arranged by the Queen Mother. The Eastern Palace needs more manpower.

In fact, the people around the Queen Mother are all smart. If they were not well aware of the rules and etiquette, they would not have been arranged to the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian was still wearing a red robe, and when he walked into the front hall, the rain began to fall.

The East Palace was very quiet tonight. Xiaofu was guarding the stove. Because the stove was burning, her face was flushed. "Your Highness, Princess Changle and the Queen have taken your Highnesses to the villa by the Taiye Lake."

It seems that my younger brother and sister want to give up the East Palace tonight.

Among the several palace maids that came along, three of them stood outside the bedroom holding lanterns, looking into the windows where candles were still lit.

Li Chengqian looked at the rain in the sky, standing in the silent East Palace, and now he had a wife.

It’s still a bit difficult to adapt to this change.

Taking a deep breath, Li Chengqian walked to the front of the bedroom, pushed the door open, and closed it again.

After a night of storm, on the night of the prince's wedding, the curfew in Chang'an City was lifted and the night was bustling with activity.

It was morning, just as the sky was getting light.

The freezing rain that had lasted all night had just stopped. Li Chengqian walked out of the bedroom with a somewhat tired look on his face, straightened his clothes, and raised his head to walk towards the front hall.

Several palace maids walked quickly into the bedroom and began to tidy up the room skillfully.

Sitting down in the front hall, Li Chengqian drank a mouthful of hot porridge and felt better.

Soon, Concubine Su and Ning'er, who had their hair in buns, also came over.

The three of them were not wearing the red robes from yesterday, but were dressed in simpler clothes.

Last night, Ning'er said that although she was a concubine, she still took care of her daily life as before.

She is not a person who covets wealth and fame. She just wants to get along with others as before, the difference is that it is no longer a master-servant relationship.

"Are you still used to it?"

Concubine Su slowly sat down beside the prince, tucked up the hair by her ears, nodded and said, "Your Highness, please have mercy on me. I am fine."

"If you haven't rested enough, you can go to sleep for a while." Li Chengqian personally served her a bowl of millet porridge and continued, "This is the East Palace, and it is also your home. Don't feel restrained."

"Ah."

She responded softly.

They just had their marriage ceremony yesterday, so she still needs some time to adjust.

After the meal, Li Chengqian washed his face with cold water again, and then he felt a little more sober.

Two of the palace maids who had followed last night left, probably to go see the Queen Mother.

Li Chengqian packed up briefly, knowing that a lot of things had been delayed in Jingzhao Prefecture recently, and he would have to take care of some things today.

Now Xiaofu and all the palace maids in the Eastern Palace have to call Ning'er Concubine Ning.

Concubine Su put a coat on the prince and whispered, "But are we going to the Secretariat?"

"Well, there are some things that need to be seen in person." Li Chengqian took the umbrella from Ning'er and instructed: "This is your home, and you are the hostess here."

Concubine Su and Ning'er bowed together.

After dinner, the two of them walked together. Ning'er took Su Fei to take a good look at the Eastern Palace and talked about things about the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian walked out of the East Palace and came to the Chongwen Hall. He was relieved when he heard his grandfather's snoring. "When did grandpa come back?"

The eunuch replied, "Last night at midnight, after His Highness came back, he returned half an hour later."

Li Chengqian ordered: "Grandpa is old and drank last night. Let Dongyang come and take a look."

The eunuch nodded and said, "Yes."

After that, Li Chengqian held an umbrella and walked towards Chengtian Gate in the drizzle. By the Taiye Lake, Empress Changsun listened to the palace maid's report with a smile on her face, and said, "Send some food and clothing to Concubine Su and Concubine Ning, and let Li Zhi and the others return to the East Palace."

"Yes." The palace maid bowed.

Just after his wedding, when Li Chengqian walked through Chengtian Gate, a group of guards were a little surprised.

The wedding night had just passed, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince went to the Secretariat early to handle government affairs.

Li Chengqian walked to the Secretariat, opened the door and saw Xu Jingzong who was waiting there.

Today he was here to meet Zhining, and he never expected that the Crown Prince would come. He quickly bowed and said, "Your Highness."

Li Chengqian sat down at the top, which was the teacher's seat. The court was taking a break and there was no one else here. "Why do you still smell of alcohol?"

Xu Jingzong sniffed his clothes, smiled ashamedly, and said, "I drank with His Royal Highness the King of Wu last night and drank too much."

Li Chengqian swallowed the tea, looked at the drizzle outside with some snowflakes, and continued: "Brother Ke is usually a dull person, you really can drink with anyone."

"Your Highness, please forgive me for making a fool of myself."

"Everything was fine in Chang'an last night?"

"Your Highness, there was no theft, no fighting, everything is fine."

Li Chengqian took the memorial handed to him. It was still a little dark in here, so he lit the oil lamp beside him.

Xu Jingzong said: "I know that His Royal Highness the King of Wu has been traveling around the counties this year. After he came back, His Royal Highness the King of Wu pulled me aside and talked to me a lot."

"What did you say?"

Li Chengqian still looked at the memorial and asked calmly.

Xu Jingzong replied: "Your Highness King Wu said that supporting education is actually a very good strategy. It is beneficial to all villagers for the sake of the future. However, it encountered various obstacles during its implementation. These obstacles not only came from the obstruction of county officials, but also from the villagers' misunderstanding and precautions."

"Your Highness the King of Wu felt very sad. He felt that this was clearly a good thing, but it was so difficult. He was very sad and drank too much."

Li Chengqian flipped through the memorial and asked, "Have you read the list and the records of each county?"

"I have seen it."

"Do you find it difficult to find Yu Zhining now?"

Xu Jingzong replied: "Jingzhao Prefecture is short of manpower, and I would like to ask Minister Yu to give me a document to mobilize some civilians."

Li Chengqian put down the memorial, picked up the file from Luoyang and started reading it, saying, "Let Wei Chang take the bad guys with him. If you really can't force them, then don't embarrass the villagers."

"Here."

As soon as Xu Jingzong left, the Secretariat returned to silence, and footsteps were heard coming in again.

Li Chengqian looked up, picked up his pen and wrote on the document, saying: "Minister Du is a busy man. Yesterday, I got married, and all the officials in the court who could come came, but I didn't see you."

Du Zhenglun took a bag of cakes, held them in both hands and placed them in front of His Highness's table, and said, "Congratulations to His Highness the Crown Prince on his wedding."

I first looked at a bag of pastries, which didn’t look very expensive.

However, Du Zhenglun's salary was only enough for his family's living expenses.

Li Chengqian said: "Du He is quite rich."

Du Zhenglun said with a smile: "Your Highness, please don't make fun of me. Du He is rich, but I am the Imperial Censor in the Palace, so I cannot have any dealings with merchants."

"Why? Did you, the Jingzhao Du family, split up?"

"Du He is my uncle's child, and I have received my uncle's teachings, but I am unable to discipline Du He. I am really ashamed." He bowed and sighed, "I am ashamed."

"In the future, you will admire Du He."

"Then I look forward to Du He's future achievements."

Li Chengqian opened the yellow paper wrapped cake, picked up a piece and ate it, and asked: "Every time I see you, nothing good happens. What happened this time?"

Du Zhenglun stepped forward and whispered, "The prince got married yesterday, and someone went to meet Su Xu and Su Tan early this morning."

Li Chengqian chewed the cake in his mouth and nodded, "It looks like a simple cake, but it tastes good. Go on."

"Go and see Su Xu and Su Tan, who are the chief clerks under King Peng."

"Prince Peng?" Li Chengqian thought for a moment and then asked, "He is my uncle again. Has the Su family had any contact with Prince Peng before?"

"As far as I know, there is none."

Li Chengqian asked again: "Does the emperor know about this?"

Du Zhenglun smiled and continued, "I haven't informed His Majesty yet."

Li Chengqian frowned and said, "Tell Uncle Wang of Hejian about this. Just pretend that I have never told you. I will never meet you."

Seeing that he was still standing there, Li Chengqian asked unhappily, "What? Is there anything else?"

Du Zhenglun smiled awkwardly and asked, "Is Li Yifu a member of the Eastern Palace?"

"Isn't he in Luoyang?"

"Half a month ago, Li Yifu beat up a man in Luoyang. He was Zhang Xuanbi, a disciple of the current Dongyi great scholar. Even his son Zhang Jianzhi was beaten up. Now he is on his way to Chang'an and said he wants to sue Your Majesty. This matter..."

Li Chengqian put down the file, put his hand on his temple and asked, "Why does he always like to complain?"

Du Zhenglun cleared his throat and asked, "How should this matter be handled?"

"Minister Du?"

"I am here?"

"Now I know why my father thinks so highly of you?"

Du Zhenglun replied: "Because I am an upright person, loyal and outspoken, and I am dedicated to the country."

"I didn't think you were thick-skinned before."

"This is... the standard for my life."

"If you don't leave, I will have someone throw you to the Western Regions to dig a karez."

"My minister retire."

Li Chengqian took a sip of tea. Sometimes when one becomes powerful, troubles are unavoidable. The reason why his father values ​​Du Zhenglun is because there are some things that can be solved by him.

If one has to deal with these trivial matters while handling government affairs, one will most likely be exhausted both physically and mentally.

Du Zhenglun did not say it explicitly, but hinted that having a few capable ministers was not enough, and someone was needed to handle some troublesome matters.

He did not recommend himself, and was loyal only to his father.
"Someone is coming."

The lazy voice of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was heard from the Secretariat. A guard stood in front of the door, his armor still wet, and said, "I am here."

"Go and invite the Prince of Hejian and the Prince of Jiangxia to come, and tell them that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace invites them to dinner."

"Here."

After the words were spoken, at noon, the two uncles did not come, but Li Chongyi and Li Jingheng did come.

They didn't come over in person, but asked their son to come over.

"Your Highness." They both saluted.

"Please sit down." Li Chengqian sat by the stove and invited the two to sit down.

"My father said that the prince had just gotten married, and if he summoned him, it must be for something important. My father drank too much and is now bedridden."

The two did not sit down immediately, but stood here and explained the reason.

(End of this chapter)