The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 28 I will definitely envy your achievements in the future
Sun Simiao took the backpack from the donkey's back and hung it on his shoulders, then walked into the city gate of Chang'an wearing straw sandals.

Wei Chang guarded beside Immortal Sun in silence.

Sun Simiao sighed: "I haven't been here for many years, but Chang'an is still the same as before."

The entire Chang'an City faces north and south. Entering from the south gate, you will see Zhuque Street, which leads directly to the Zhuque Gate of the Imperial City. After passing the Zhuque Gate, you will reach the Chengtian Gate that leads to the Imperial Palace.

Wei Chang cleared the passers-by aside and asked them to stay away from the old immortal.

When the residents of Chang'an City learned that the Immortal Sun had come to Chang'an, they all went out to look, wanting to see what this immortal looked like.

Or maybe this god is different from mortals.

Many people came out of their homes and stood on both sides of the street, looking at the old immortal.

This great doctor Sun is nothing more than a pair of eyes and a mouth.

There were more and more pedestrians on both sides of the street, and Wei Chang frowned and looked at both sides of the road.

Along the way, Zhen Quan was still talking about the queen's illness.

Sun Simiao was walking and whispered, "Before I came here, your Imperial Medical Bureau arranged for people to come to see me every day. I have heard these words many times."

The news that the old immortal had arrived in Chang'an City soon reached the palace.

Ning Er walked quickly into the bedroom and saw His Highness sitting by the stove with his eyes closed. She came to the side and whispered, "Your Highness, Divine Doctor Sun is here and will soon arrive at Chengtian Gate."

Li Chengqian opened his eyes slightly and said, "Master Li Chunfeng is still very reliable."

"His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei is already waiting outside Chengtian Gate."

"My good brother is really proactive in his work." Li Chengqian straightened his clothes, stood up and said, "Let's go and meet this old immortal."

Her younger brothers and sisters were taking a nap, and Ning'er reminded them not to disturb the princesses and princes.

He picked up a wooden cup, filled it with boiling water, and covered it with a lid. Then Li Chengqian hung the rope on the cup around his wrist and walked out of the East Palace with his hands in his pockets.

At this moment, the atmosphere in front of Chengtian Gate is still solemn. No matter how busy the officials in the imperial city are, as long as they arrive at Chengtian Gate, they have to remain solemn enough.

Li Chengqian's steps were not fast. When he reached Chengtian Gate, he saw Li Tai standing there.

The fat brother was still looking towards the Suzaku Gate, trying to find the figure of the old immortal Sun.

Ning'er followed beside him, three or two steps behind the prince. When his royal highness the crown prince stopped, she also stopped and stood aside with her head lowered.

Her eyes occasionally looked at the back of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

In front of Chengtian Gate, Li Chengqian stopped.

There are two brothers in front of the door, one thin and one fat, one tall and one short.

Li Tai was obviously half a head shorter, but he was very fair and plump, with a face full of collagen.

The guards of Chengtian Gate stood like statues.

Of course, when the Crown Prince and the King of Wei stood together, all attention from Chengtian Gate was drawn to them.

"Qingque, I heard that you are compiling a comprehensive geographical record recently?"

I don't know how many guards at the door were there at this moment, listening with their ears pricked up and breathing lightly to what this brother would say next.

Li Tai nodded and said, "My brother, the Comprehensive Geography has only just been mentioned."

Li Chengqian nodded in understanding, then patted his shoulder heavily and said, "I also read books from time to time. Nowadays, there should be very few books specifically about geography. If the geography of the Central Plains is regarded as a subject, countless people will benefit from it."

Li Tai hesitated for a moment, then asked in confusion: "Subject? My brother wants to include this in the imperial examination?"

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and nodded, "Yes, our father is going to hold an imperial examination."

"Recently, there have been some insightful guests at my brother's palace. Don't worry, my royal brother."

Li Chengqian added: "That's fine. My East Palace also has a lot of descriptions of geography. I can send them to your house when the time comes."

Li Tai was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to respond.

"Qingque, geography is of great significance. It is not only a means to understand the environment we are in now, but also a means to understand the laws of change of the natural environment."

After a pause, Li Chengqian opened the lid of the water cup, took another sip of hot water, and continued, "It is very important to the country and the future. Well... geography is one of the oldest and most verifiable subjects. I am very happy that you have such an ideal, and I envy you very much."

Listening to his brother's heartfelt words, Li Tai's eyes fell on the water cup.

Li Chengqian explained: "This is a water cup I made myself in the East Palace. If Qingque likes it, I can make another one for you, but the craftsmanship is a little poor."

Li Tai bowed and said, "Thank you, my royal brother."

Li Chengqian patted his shoulder again, continued to look forward with his hands in his pockets, and said: "If my brothers and sisters can achieve success in these practical things, my father and I will be very pleased. At least I will definitely envy your achievements in the future."

As they were talking, an old man, surrounded by a crowd of people, was walking towards Chengtian Gate.

Li Tai went forward first and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Immortal Sun."

Sun Simiao stroked his beard and said, "I've said it so many times, you don't deserve the word immortal."

Zhen Quan introduced: "This is His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei."

The divine doctor Sun bowed first, then looked around and asked, "Where is the Crown Prince?"

Zhen Quan led him to the front of Chengtian Gate and bowed again, saying, "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Sun Simiao's gaze fell on the young man in front of him with a lazy smile on his face. He looked a little thin, and his face was pale, but his eyes were full of energy.

"Dr. Sun, I have been waiting for a long time."

Sun Simiao smiled and said, "I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince never drinks raw water?"

Li Chengqian nodded, "Ever since I recovered from my serious illness, I have been drinking boiled water."

Li Tai stood behind the crowd with a conflicted look on his face. It seemed like his royal brother and Doctor Sun were good friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time?
The sky was clear half an hour ago, but now it is overcast again, and it is probably going to rain.

Li Chengqian added: "Go check on the Queen Mother's condition first, Dr. Sun."

The Crown Prince seldom interacted with people in the court and the public, and rumors in the court and the public said that His Royal Highness was a solitary person.

Now it seems that the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace's speech and demeanor are not at all like those of a solitary person. Instead, they make people feel warm and relaxed.

Everyone was in a hurry. Li Tai followed behind them, frowning and saying nothing. His brother's words made him still hesitant at the moment, just like what he said, "I will definitely envy your achievements in the future."

What does this mean?
He continued walking, still feeling upset, his fat face looking very twisted.

When they arrived at the Lizheng Palace, Ning'er stopped everyone's way and bowed, saying, "Godly Doctor Sun and Supervisor Zhen, please enter the palace."

Sun Simiao nodded and looked at the prince beside him, as if he had something to say.

Li Chengqian said, "You go and see our mother first." "Okay." Sun Simiao rolled up his sleeves, took off the backpack on his back, took out a roll of coarse cloth, took out a bronze mirror and a thin thread, and walked into the hall.

Li Chengqian and everyone else had to wait outside.

When he saw his father come out in person to greet him and invite Divine Doctor Sun in, he could no longer see what was going on inside the hall.

The doctors from the Imperial Medical Bureau who came with Dr. Sun also left one after another, leaving only Li Chengqian and Li Tai standing outside the hall.

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and said, "Sister Ning'er, how do you think the braised pork tastes these days?"

Ning Er replied: "The princesses all said that the pork they bought recently was not fat enough."

Li Chengqian sighed, "They are still young, and their digestive ability is far from being able to handle such greasy meat."

"Your Highnesses still like fatty meat very much. According to your Highnesses' instructions, two cans of soy sauce were just delivered to Prince Hejian and Duke Xu today."

“I hope they both like it.”

"Sister Ning'er? Have you gained weight recently?"

"Is there?" Ning'er frowned, stroked her cheek, blinked, and looked confused.

"It's better to be a little fatter."

"Your Highness, please don't make fun of this servant."

While waiting outside the hall, Li Chengqian and Ning'er chatted with each other.

Instead, Li Tai was the only one waiting anxiously outside the hall, sometimes walking back and forth, sometimes looking inside the hall.

Li Chengqian stood with his hands in his pockets, leaning against a locust tree, and saw his father talking to Sun Simiao in the hall.

The emperor chatted with Doctor Sun for a long time. Finally, the doctor bowed and put on his backpack again.

Observing my father's expression again, he looked embarrassed and seemed to be hesitant to speak. It seemed that this conversation was not a pleasant one.

When Doctor Sun left the Lizheng Palace, Li Tai hurried forward and asked, "Old Immortal, how is the Queen Mother's condition?"

Sun Simiao nodded and said, "It's not too late."

"What else?" Li Tai asked anxiously in his heart.

It was normal for him to be so anxious. After all, his mother was the leader of such a big family and his brothers and sisters were all worried about him.

Sun Simiao's expression still seemed calm, and he added: "I have told your majesty and Zhen Quan everything I should say."

Li Tai invited him again, "Why don't you invite the miracle doctor to come to my palace and talk to him over a meal?"

Sun Simiao did not reply, but looked at the prince. It would be bad to reject either of the two princes in front of him.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian took down Doctor Sun's backpack, put it on his shoulder, and said with a relaxed look: "I have arranged a place for Doctor Sun to live, why don't you stay here first?"

"This……"

"Don't worry, I won't live in the East Palace, I'll live in Chang'an City."

"Alright, alright."

Sun Simiao's expression finally relaxed a little and he quickly agreed.

Li Tai also followed his brother's footsteps and followed behind.

Li Chengqian personally led the old immortal out of Chengtian Gate and whispered, "Qingque, don't blame Divine Doctor Sun for talking about something else. This matter involves the Queen Mother's illness, so it naturally cannot be known to outsiders, and Divine Doctor Sun cannot tell you and me. This is a taboo. It's fine for ordinary families, but our Li family is a royal family, so we can't easily tell outsiders."

Li Tai still kept his head down and continued to follow.

Looking at this still somewhat ignorant brother, Li Chengqian smiled and said, "If one day Father wants us to know, he will naturally tell us. Now that Divine Doctor Sun said that Mother's condition is still in time, isn't that enough?"

Li Tai's pace slowed down, but his conflicted expression remained.

Li Chengqian said, "Goddess Sun, am I right?"

Sun Simiao smiled with relief, "Your Highness the Prince of Wei has a brother like the Crown Prince, which is a blessing for His Majesty and the Queen."

Li Chengqian raised his hand and said, "Of course."

Ning'er had a smile on her face. She knew very well that although the prince did not show it usually, his demeanor and conversation were still brilliant, and this light would sooner or later shine on the future of the Li Tang dynasty.

Walking out of Chengtian Gate and through the busy imperial city, many officials came to pay their respects along the way.

Walking out of the imperial city and out of the Suzaku Gate, the bustling outer city is right in front of you, with a constant stream of pedestrians on Suzaku Street.

"Dr. Sun!" Wei Chang, who was waiting outside the Suzaku Gate, saluted hastily. His eyes fell on the two young men in brocade clothes beside him, and he saluted again and said, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei."

Wei Chang was a man with good eyesight. He remembered the prince as soon as he saw him from afar on the bank of the Wei River. Then he looked at the young man beside the prince. His figure, age, and clothing, according to rumors, who else could it be but the King of Wei.

Li Chengqian said, "Qingque, you should go back first. It won't be too late for you to visit me again after I have settled down Divine Doctor Sun."

"I understand, brother. Thank you for your teachings today."

Li Tai first bowed, and then left with the servants of his mansion with an anxious look on his face.

It was not said before that this miracle doctor Sun would come today. There was no preparation in advance. How could we think of where to arrange this miracle doctor?
After thinking about it, I thought of Du He. There are no empty rooms in the East Palace, so his house should be quite big.

When Du Ruhui died, he was granted the title of Duke of Lai and posthumously awarded the title of Sikong. Du Ruhui's son Du He lives here now.

The mansion of Duke Lai is not difficult to find. To be more precise, the mansions of several dukes of the Tang Dynasty are not difficult to find. Walking along Zhuque Street, you can see one mansion after another.

Li Chengqian walked along and asked, "What did Divine Doctor Sun say to Father in Lizheng Palace? It seemed like the conversation was not pleasant."

Sun Simiao explained, "Your Majesty wanted to keep me in the Imperial Medical Bureau and gave me many generous rewards. I understand your Majesty's worries, but how many people in this world need medical treatment? It's just that I'm used to living in a place without a fixed place and have developed a casual temperament, so I declined all your Majesty's kindness."

"Everyone with knowledge in this world should be valued. I think my father's original intention is good. People like Dr. Sun are treasures of the country."

"Your Highness, what you say is really interesting." Sun Simiao smiled in surprise, "I also have many questions in my mind that I would like to ask Your Highness, such as bean sprouts?"

As they were talking, they had already reached the Du He family's residence. Li Chengqian said, "This is the residence of a good friend. Doctor Sun can stay there for a while."

"Pindao..."

Seeing that Sun Simiao was about to say something else, Li Chengqian said, "I will discuss this with you another day. How about staying here for a few days to rest?"

Sun Simiao glanced at his backpack still hanging on His Highness's shoulders and nodded silently.

Wei Chang immediately went to knock on the door of the mansion.

The heavy wooden door opened, and the doorman asked, "Who is it?"

Wei Chang bowed and replied, "Please tell Master Du that the Crown Prince is here."

(End of this chapter)