The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 27: Rumors in Chang'an
It was so quiet in the Xingqing Hall that you could hear the sound of breathing.

The story of Dream of Red Mansions runs through the rise and fall of two large families, Rongguo Mansion and Ningguo Mansion. The emperor father would ask this question, and so many people in the Tang Dynasty who read Dream of Red Mansions would naturally ask the same question.

The chapter of Dream of the Red Chamber dedicated to the Emperor's uncle mentioned the Lantern Festival Banquet at Rongguo Mansion, but the ending has not yet been reached.

Seeing that his son was slow to respond, Li Shimin whispered, "It's just a story. I won't care."

After that, Li Shimin continued to observe his son, and then said: "I prefer the eldest son to inherit. I hope Mr. Cao can write so."

Li Chengqian, who was sitting with his hands in his pockets like a wooden sculpture, spoke slowly, "My father also said that this is just a story. There is no Rongguo Mansion or Ningguo Mansion in this world."

Li Shimin suddenly smiled, picked up the wine beside him, listened to the sound of the wine pouring into the bowl, and then said: "Originally, I didn't plan to fight a war this year, but I postponed Li Zhi's marriage, so I have the time and energy to settle accounts with Tuyuhun."

"Your Majesty is wise." Li Chengqian replied quickly.

Originally, the Tang Dynasty's war against Tuyuhun was supposed to take place next year, but the butterfly in the East Palace flapped its wings, causing the war to come earlier.

"Sun Simiao sent someone to tell me that the best age for women to give birth is 20 years old, just like he encouraged people not to drink raw water. No one has ever taken it seriously."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "From a practical point of view, Dr. Sun has a far-sighted vision, but he sees too far ahead. It is already very difficult for most people to take care of the present."

"I am very pleased that you can see my painstaking efforts."

The conversation between the emperor, his minister, and his son was very calm, so calm that it made several eunuchs standing by feel uncomfortable.

It is impossible for an ordinary conversation between father and son to be so calm.

Li Shimin forced a smile again and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. I heard that the messenger sent by Tubo came to see you?"

Li Chengqian frowned and said, "That messenger is a proud man. He thinks that one day, Tubo will be able to compete with Tang Dynasty, or he wants to be on equal footing with Tang Dynasty."

"Hehehe..."

Li Shimin smiled coldly and said, "We are equals. He is so arrogant."

Li Chengqian continued, "The Tubo is now considering the war between the Tang Dynasty and Tuyuhun. If the Tang Dynasty wins this war, the Tubo will come to provoke the Tang Dynasty. If the Tang Dynasty loses, the Tubo will also attack Tuyuhun, reaping the benefits while challenging the Tang Dynasty."

"I also heard that he went to see Qingque?"

Li Chengqian took a deep breath and continued, "Everyone in the court knows that there is a crown prince in Chang'an, and there is also a most favored prince, that is my younger brother Li Tai. The messenger's actions are nothing more than a clever trick to please both sides. I despise such means."

Another eunuch came to refill His Majesty's drink, but when he saw that the bowl of wontons in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had gone cold, he took it away.

This strange atmosphere between father and son made the eunuchs in Xingqing Palace tremble with fear, fearing that any noise would cause the emperor or the prince to draw their swords, and the Tang Dynasty would be finished.

The eunuchs prayed in their hearts that this conversation would end quickly.

If this continues, they will go crazy first.

After removing the bowls in front of him, the table was finally clean, and Li Chengqian's expression also felt a lot more relaxed.

"What do you think of Tuyuhun's chances of winning this battle?"

Li Chengqian frowned and asked, "What do you think, Father?"

Li Shimin smiled coldly and said, "We will definitely win this battle."

"I think so too." Li Chengqian nodded and said, "For the brave and warlike Tang people, conquering Tuyuhun is a matter of course."

"What exactly does Songtsen Gampo's messenger want to do when he sees you?"

Listening to his father's question, which was still echoing in the hall, Li Chengqian sighed helplessly and said, "What else can it be for? How powerful the future Tang Dynasty will be depends on the future generations. They are proud and arrogant to speculate what the future Tang people will be like."

At this point, Li Chengqian said again: "Songtsen Gampo has evil intentions."

"I heard that Tubo also wants Princess Shang?"

Discussing youth with the emperor?

This is a very difficult thing. Using marriage to exchange for peace? If I talk about this topic too much, I will want to slam the table and curse.

Li Chengqian suppressed his anger and stood up and said, "Father, I have something else to do in the East Palace, so I'll take my leave now."

Hearing this, Li Shimin was a little surprised.

But the prince just stood up and walked out of Xingqing Hall.

The emperor looked dazed and surprised.

The old and young eunuchs standing by were sweating profusely.

Finally, Li Shimin clenched his fist, placed it on the table, and said in a deep voice: "How did I, the father, not satisfy him? Does he think it's a waste of words to talk to me?"

The old eunuch smiled apologetically and said in his heart, of course not, but he felt bitter in his heart and his face was stiff as he wanted to say, is there anyone who knows?
The prince walked into the sunlight and could no longer be seen.

Li Shimin was still sitting in the hall. He took a sip of wine, feeling a little depressed, and slowly looked at the old eunuch beside him.

After retracting his gaze, the emperor picked up the Red Mansion beside him and started reading it.

A young eunuch hurriedly left Xingqing Palace and told the palace maid what had happened in the palace.

The palace maid then delivered the news to Lizheng Hall.

Empress Changsun had just finished comforting little Sizi to sleep when she heard the words brought by the palace maid.

When Your Majesty first ascended the throne, my father lived in the Wude Hall. Not to mention that the relationship between my father and Your Majesty has only eased in recent years.

Because of Li Zhi's marriage, the relationship between Cheng Qian, the son, and his father seemed to become strained.

Empress Changsun sighed, "I don't know what evil the father and son of this family have committed."

The maid standing aside said: "Queen, in fact, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is very sensible."

Empress Changsun nodded and said, "Yes."

"Your Majesty should also like His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Empress Changsun was sorting out the sundries in Lizheng Hall, and when she saw the soap sent by the Eastern Palace, she said sadly, "I wonder how Cheng Qian's Eastern Palace is doing now."

"I will ask for the Queen."

"No need." Empress Changsun picked up the soap, put it in the basin and washed her hands, then said, "Lizhi will come to Lizheng Hall every morning, so let Chengqian take them."

"Yes." The maid lowered her head and stepped aside.

Recently, the warmth has returned to Guanzhong, and the feeling of the sun shining on the body is very comfortable. Li Chengqian is walking alone in the palace.

Life is not all bad. When Li Chengqian returned to the East Palace, he saw that some soy sauce had been produced from the jar of bean paste, which was something to be happy about.

Li Chengqian picked up the spoon hanging nearby, scooped up some soy sauce and tasted it; it was very salty.

"Brother Emperor, what is this?" Li Zhi asked as he ran over with curious eyes.

"This is soy sauce." Li Chengqian put the bowl down and frowned as he looked at the situation in the jar. It looked like it needed to be dried for a while longer. Li Zhi held the bowl of soy sauce in both hands and took a big sip. The moment he took a sip, his face suddenly turned bitter.

Li Shen also came up and sniffed hard, "Brother, is it delicious?"

Li Zhi handed him the bowl and asked, "Try it?"

"Okay, okay." Li Shen nodded continuously, took the bowl and immediately took a big gulp, then his face turned bitter, and after swallowing it, he said, "It's so salty."

Dongyang held a book in his hand and looked at the behavior of his two stupid brothers. He felt like he wanted to die, so he turned his head away and tried not to look at the behavior of his two stupid brothers.

Li Chengqian said: "Soy sauce is a condiment, not a drink."

As he spoke, he took out three clay jars and scooped out three cans of soy sauce. Just in case, he wrote the word "seasoning" on the jars with an ink pen to prevent his younger brothers and sisters from secretly drinking them all.

Li Lizhi is the class monitor of a group of children in Donggong. She is also a good helper to Sister Ning'er and often corrects homework for her younger brothers and sisters.

He is also one of the few people who can enter his brother's bedroom to read books.

At this moment, she was sitting in her brother's bedroom. The furnishings here were very simple. Over the past two months, there were more and more papers and books in the bedroom, all scattered on the table.

Dongyang walked into the bedroom carefully. The bedroom where his brother rested was very clean. Even the floor was so clean that it seemed to reflect light.

Just like the floor of Tai Chi Hall.

After walking a few more steps into the bedroom, I saw my imperial sister sitting at the table reading a book.

Li Lizhi looked at an article written by her brother, raised her eyes and said, "Dongyang, why are you here?"

Dongyang then stepped forward and said, "Lunch will be served soon. My brother has brewed soy sauce, so I will cook it myself today."

When Li Lizhi heard that it was her royal brother who was going to cook the meal, her face was full of longing again, because her royal brother’s cooking skills were the best.

Dongyang looked at the rolls of paper on the table and frowned, "So there are so many papers in the East Palace."

Li Lizhi explained: "I heard that it was sent by Du He."

As for why Du He gave so much paper to the Eastern Palace, only Sister Ning'er knew. Normally, Sister Ning'er would not explain it in detail. For the current Eastern Palace, there is as much paper as needed.

"Hmm? This article..." Dongyang took another look and frowned, "I've never seen it before."

"This is an article explaining production relations. It is a bit difficult for you to understand its content."

Dongyang stood next to the imperial sister and watched carefully.

Just as she was watching intently, Li Zhi came running over and said anxiously, "Royal sister, Royal sister, it's time to eat."

Hearing this, Dongyang's face turned unhappy again. She also wanted to read more of these articles. It was better than watching Li Zhi and Li Shen fooling around all day long.

Under the guidance of Li Lizhi, the younger brothers and sisters had to wash their hands first, and then sit down to eat.

I made a rare braised pork today, but I didn’t add sugar and didn’t fry it to a very good color, so it tasted more salty.

Just think of it as a little consolation in the Tang Dynasty where material needs are weak and eating a bite of this not-so-good braised pork.

Gao Yang suddenly said, "We beat the second place. What place are we in now? Zhinu, answer first."

Li Zhi chewed the braised pork and said with a mouthful of fat, "Of course it's number one."

Hearing this, the children laughed again.

Li Zhi looked around, still chewing meat, and said, "Isn't that right?"

Gao Yang smiled and said, "I beat the second place, so of course I am still the second place."

Li Zhi scratched his head and doubted himself again: "Is that right?"

This kind of story is full of common sense, and children always enjoy asking and answering questions to each other.

As for the issue of his father, all the inheritance issues of the eldest son and the second son were thrown out of his mind.

Ning'er watched the princes and princesses laughing as they all started to laugh. Even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was enjoying it. The current Crown Prince was not the same as before and was becoming more and more energetic.

Compared with the ambition and diligence of Prince Li Tai of Wei, although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince became increasingly lazy in government affairs, life in the Eastern Palace was better.

Recently there has been a new rumor in Chang'an City, saying that Du He, the son of Jingzhao Du family, has mastered the papermaking technique and made a lot of paper, which he often dried at home. Now, the paper can no longer be dried at home, so he has taken it to a village in Weinan, asking the villagers there to help dry the paper.

The strange thing is that according to this rumor, Master Du He did not try to make a profit from this and never sold the paper to anyone else.

Logically speaking, a person who owns so much paper needs to sell it or give it to others.

There is another incredible thing. Mr. Cao, who is said to have written the Dream of the Red Chamber, has not been caught yet, and the Dali Temple has almost searched the entire Chang'an.

Except for a few "Mr. Cao" who impersonated others and ate and drank for free, after investigation by the Dali Temple, it was found that these people were not the real bosses.

On this day, there was an old man riding a donkey and walking towards Chang'an City.

As more and more people passed by on the official road, the donkey became more and more impatient, and kept braying.

The old man picked up a stick and hit the donkey on the head, and the donkey stopped braying.

Then, the old man with white hair and beard and ragged clothes closed his eyes, shook his head listlessly, hummed an unknown tune, and let the soldiers in front of him lead the donkey and take him away.

Wei Chang was in his early twenties and had a rough appearance. If you didn't look closely, you would never know that he was a young man. He was leading a donkey and taking the old immortal Sun Simiao towards Chang'an City.

Behind Wei Chang were three or four soldiers and a group of guards.

Wei Chang said that he had met the Crown Prince twice, on the banks of the Wei River and on the streets of East Market. His fellow travelers did not believe him.

As for the two soldiers' explanation to Wei Chang that he had indeed seen the prince, but only at a distance, few people believed it and it was probably a fabrication.

The two soldiers helped Wei Chang explain, most likely because they were bribed by him.

When they arrived in front of Chang'an City, Sun Simiao lazily got off the donkey.

When the old man stood on the ground, it was discovered that the miracle doctor was not tall, and his ragged clothes looked like pieces of rags sewn together.

If I really have to say what is special, Doctor Sun is the cleaner. His hair and beard are as white as snow, his eyes are bright, and even the spaces between his fingers and nails are clean.

"Hmm..." Sun Simiao looked at Chang'an City and stroked his beard, saying, "This Chang'an City really hasn't changed at all."

Soon, officials came to greet them at the city gate. Zhen Quan, the doctor from the Imperial Medical Bureau, quickly saluted and said, "Goddess Sun, you are finally here."

Sun Simiao sighed: "I am not worthy of the title of immortal."

"We are all looking forward to your coming."

If it were any other miracle doctor, he might have come to Chang'an immediately to treat the queen's condition, but Doctor Sun was different. He always adhered to the spirit of treating patients equally in front of a doctor, so he waited until Bashang's malaria was cured before coming to Chang'an.

(End of this chapter)