The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 33: Dr. Sun

Not long after, the old servant of my uncle's family bought a big box of zongzi.

Li Chengqian took it with a smile and said, "Thank you for the trouble."

The old servant smiled and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to say these things. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Taking another look at his uncle's expression, he saw that he had already put down the cards. It was already dusk, so Li Chengqian stood up and said, "It's getting late. If I don't go back, my brothers and sisters won't know what to eat tonight."

Gao Shilian supported his waist and stood up and said, "Go back. I will be satisfied if Your Highness can sit comfortably in the East Palace."

Li Chengqian smiled in surprise and said, "You made it sound as if my grandson would not sit quietly in the East Palace."

A cool breeze blew in the evening, and Gao Shilian shook his head and said, "Let's go back."

After bowing to his uncle, Li Chengqian led Li Ke out of the mansion. The gentle sunlight of dusk shone on Chang'an City, stretching people's shadows very long.

Leading Li Ke towards Suzaku Street in the sunset, Li Chengqian said, "You see, my uncle is actually a very easy-going person."

Li Ke whispered, "My brother's little game is quite interesting."

Just as Concubine Yang said, if the Eastern Palace could help Princess Changle when she was in trouble, then they would definitely help other brothers and sisters when they were in trouble in the future.

It was precisely because of this that Concubine Yang allowed Li Ke to get close to the Eastern Palace.

In fact, Li Chengqian and Li Ke had a very good relationship in the past.

An honest child like Li Ke will definitely have friends.

The two walked to Suzaku Street and headed towards Suzaku Gate. There were many pedestrians walking on the street.

In ancient times, character was also a very important asset.

This is inevitable. During the thousands of years when conditions were limited, character was also an important part of a person's resume.

After entering Chengtian Gate, Li Ke said again: "Thank you, brother, for introducing Duke Xu today."

Li Chengqian sighed, "How about we go to the East Palace for dinner together?"

"No, I still have to go see my mother."

"Alright."

The two parted at Chengtian Gate.

A group of children in the East Palace were still looking forward to their brother's return. When they saw his figure in the sunset, Li Zhi was the first to run over and said, "Brother, what are we going to eat tonight?"

"Eat more vegetables tonight."

"Hmm? What is this?" Li Zhi sniffed hard and said, "It's Zenggao!"

Li Chengqian handed him the box and instructed, "Share it among everyone. Anyone who dares to eat too much and skip dinner will have to wait for the cleanup."

Li Zhi smiled, revealing his newly replaced teeth, and happily ran into the East Palace holding a box of zonggao.

The children were still innocent, and a bite of zonggao made them squint their eyes with happiness.

In Chang'an, the residence of Duke Xu, Gao Shilian looked at the cards in front of him, sorted them out, and then spread them out one by one.

When the old servant brought a bowl of millet, some stewed mutton, and a dish of wild vegetables, he whispered, "You can have your meal now."

The mansion was very quiet. Gao Shilian asked, "Gao Lin."

The old servant bent down and said with an equally old face, "What do you want me to do?"

Gao Shilian's eyes seemed to be filled with memories, and he whispered, "Is there any more news from Shu?"

Gao Lin straightened up and frowned, "It's been six years, and there has been no news. You were in charge of Shu for so long, are you still worried about it?"

"Yes." Gao Shilian nodded and said, "Go and invite these two old guys, Yu Shinan and Wang Gui, and tell them that I want to play cards with them."

"Here."

When the night completely enveloped the city of Chang'an, Yu Shinan and Wang Gui arrived at Duke Xu's mansion together.

The three of them sat around a table, and Gao Shilian was explaining the rules of the game to them.

Rumor has it that Yu Shinan was a great calligrapher of his time, as famous as Ouyang Xun.

However, among the current calligraphy fonts, starting from the Wude period, the two emperors of the Tang Dynasty preferred Ouyang Xun's regular script.

Another old man, Wang Gui, was a famous official of the former Sui Dynasty. He went into seclusion several times and was asked to come out again. Now he is the emperor's counselor and is involved in all internal affairs of the court.

Gao Shilian whispered, "The three of us are all senior officials in the court. We have seen so many things going on in the court and have long been powerless."

Wang Gui said, "That's right. At your age, it's time for you to leave the court. Sooner or later, the court will be handed over to the Secretariat headed by Fang Xuanling and Cen Wenben."

Yu Shinan sat aside without saying anything.

The three of them are from the older generation in the court, and were retained by Emperor Li Shimin several times, and remain in the court until now.

Compared to the three older men, Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji and Wei Zheng are in their prime and are the most solid force in the court.

Although the people in front of them still hold the most important positions in the court, they will have to hand over these positions sooner or later and return all power to the emperor.

And that day is not far away.

Gao Shilian explained: "This game was thought up by Cheng Qian. He always said he had nothing to do. This kid doesn't make progress on weekdays, but fortunately he is sensible. Alas..."

The three continued playing cards.

It was late at night, but the lights were still on in Duke Xu's mansion.

Normally, these three old people go to bed early, but it is rare that they have not fallen asleep yet at almost midnight.

The families of Yu Shinan and Wang Gui all came and waited outside the door to take their old man back.

But inside the house, the game between the three people is still going on.

"Hahaha! I win again!"

Yu Shinan's loud laughter was heard from inside the house.

Life is getting more and more exciting as we get older. The three of them have been playing until this hour and are getting more and more excited.

Gao Shilian also won several games. He said with a smile: "This game is still very interesting, but I can't play it with my grandchildren."

The card game continued until the next morning. The three old men still had cards in their hands, their eyes bloodshot from not sleeping all night, and were still fighting on the card game.

Until he really couldn't hold on any longer, Gao Shilian invited the two to stay.

After all, card-playing partners are hard to come by, so Yu Shinan and Wang Gui also agreed. At the moment, no state affairs are as interesting as the fight at the card game.

Wang Gui stroked his beard and said, "When I wake up, I will compete with you guys."

At noon, Sun Simiao came to the palace again to take Empress Changsun's pulse.

After the morning court session, Li Chengqian went to the East Palace to dry pickled mustard greens. There are many ways to cook pickled mustard greens, they can be made with dried rapeseed or dried cabbage.

The East Palace uses mustard greens, which are pickled and dried and are best used for stewing meat.

The East Palace now looks more like a farmyard. The land where the locust trees were planted was very fertile, so many vegetables were planted under the trees. There is also a vegetable garden to the north of the East Palace. The huge East Palace now looks like a farmyard.

There is no way around it. I have so many younger brothers and sisters, and as they grow, their appetites are getting bigger and bigger, and they need a balanced diet.

The transition from spring to summer is the best time to dry pickled mustard greens.

Ning Er reported from the side: "I heard that His Royal Highness the King of Wu was listening to the discussion of the war with Tuyuhun in the Secretariat today."

Li Chengqian continued to observe the pickled mustard greens, picked out some of the inferior leaves, and continued to listen to Ning'er's story.

"Your Highness the Prince of Wei has been discussing with many scholars these days, collecting ancient books scattered around, compiling a comprehensive geographical record, recruiting famous officials, and also told Your Majesty that he would open a literary museum."

After finishing the pickled mustard greens, Li Chengqian sat down with his hands in his pockets and said, "Everyone is very busy."

Ning Er nodded with a smile, poured a bowl of hot water for His Highness, and said, "The memorial sent by Xu Xiaode will be back from Tongguan in two days. It was delayed for a few more days due to the matters instructed by His Majesty, but it will be back to the East Palace in half a month at most."

This spring is about to pass. Most people were very busy this spring. The court was busy, and the counties and towns were busy. They were busy farming and busy working for the country.

Li Chengqian drank water and looked at the pickled mustard greens in front of him.

The East Palace is not busy at all. On the contrary, time seems to pass very slowly in the East Palace.

Xiaofu walked over quickly and reported: "Your Highness, Dr. Sun is here."

Thinking that Doctor Sun would come to check his mother's pulse today, Li Chengqian stood up and walked out of the East Palace to greet him. Seeing this old immortal was like looking at a treasure.

"I thought you would come later."

"The Queen's condition has improved, so the old Taoist came to the East Palace earlier."

Invite this old immortal into the East Palace. Now my younger brothers and sisters have gone to the Imperial College for classes, and it is also a quiet time in the East Palace.

If these little devils come back, who knows what will happen.

It was a bit messy outside the hall because of the dried plums drying there, but it was still very clean inside.

It should be said that it is so clean that people dare not set foot in it.

Ning'er handed over two pairs of wooden shoes.

After changing his shoes, Li Chengqian took the old immortal into the hall.

Not only was the hall clean, but the windows were open. Even the air here was more comfortable than other places in the palace. There was no smell of candlelight, except for some faint scent of ink. Everything was appropriate.

Sitting in the hall, in such an environment, Sun Simiao relaxed. He took out a piece of light yellow paper from his arms, on which was written "Microbial Theory": "Your Highness, I have read this article."

Li Chengqian personally poured a bowl of hot water for the old immortal, "What do you think?"

"Your Highness, the microorganism you are talking about is a very small insect?"

"I guess so." Li Chengqian sat down with his hands in his pockets and replied, "I believe that there are many things in this world that cannot be seen by the naked eye, and these things are closely related to our lives."

Sun Simiao clicked his tongue and said, "So this is why Your Highness doesn't drink raw water?"

As he spoke, the old man picked up the bowl and took a sip of hot water.

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said, "Old Immortal, people often have stomach upsets or abdominal diseases. Most of the time, it is related to their daily life. Some diseases are related to their living habits. Young children often have stomachaches because the water they drink is not clean enough."

"This situation gets better as we get older, simply because our stomachs and intestines are stronger, but even in the prime of life, both men and women, abdominal problems still occur from time to time."

Sun Simiao nodded and said, "Your Highness, do you think that boiling water before drinking it can kill the microorganisms in the water?"

Li Chengqian continued: "To be honest with you, I haven't read many medical books, so my wording is a bit inappropriate."

Sun Simiao whispered, "Your Highness is right. The principle is the same. Since Suiren drilled wood to make fire and ended the practice of eating raw meat and drinking blood, people's habits have changed. People began to eat cooked food and cooked meat, and as a result, people's lifespans have become longer and longer."

“There are fewer and fewer diseases, and people who eat cooked food and cooked meat are getting stronger and stronger, which keeps people away from many diseases.”

Li Chengqian smiled knowingly and said, "That's why I never drink raw water. However, I can only ask the people around me to stop this habit. If I want to influence more people, I can only rely on you, the old immortal."

"May I ask where do microorganisms come from, Your Highness?"

"People live by the river. We cannot live without water, but so do all living things in the world..."

Upon hearing this, Sun Simiao was silent for a long time. Not to mention how many people would accept the "Microbiology Theory" of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, the way of argumentation was also quite strange.

Ning'er stood aside, listening quietly to the discussion between His Highness and Doctor Sun, from microorganisms to trace elements needed by the human body.

An hour later, Sun Simiao stood up and prepared to leave.

Li Chengqian rummaged through the bookshelf and found an article, which stated that it was the development plan for Jingyang County in the next three years.

After carefully looking at the plan and confirming that there was nothing missing, he said, "Please stay, Doctor Sun."

Sun Simiao, who had just walked outside the palace, stopped and asked, "Your Highness, do you have any other instructions?"

Li Chengqian handed over another piece of paper and said, "Please ask Dr. Sun to give this article to Du He and Xu Jingzong."

Without even reading the contents of the letter, Sun Simiao put the paper in his arms. He was very satisfied with this conversation and gained a lot.

I have a feeling that I am not alone in this world.

When everyone is busy, the crown prince of the Eastern Palace has a lot of free time.

The Queen looked at the daily records of the East Palace these days and said, "Cheng Qian also met with Divine Doctor Sun today, and the two had a very pleasant conversation."

As the emperor, and the real head of the family inside and outside the palace, Li Shimin frowned and said nothing, because the more leisurely the prince lived, the more uncomfortable he felt as a father.

If Li Chengqian was like other children at this age, it would be normal for him to play and fool around in groups of three or five with the children of some powerful and wealthy people or others.

Besides, it would be nice to be as diligent and studious as Li Tai and Li Ke.

But he is neither naughty nor studious.

Even if it causes trouble, that is normal.

The maid outside the palace quickly walked into the Lizheng Palace and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, Queen, Duke Xu has gone to the Wude Palace."

Li Shimin clicked his tongue and said, "Did my uncle go to see the emperor?"

The palace maid responded, "It seems that they brought a game and are playing it in the Wude Hall."

"I'll go to the Wude Hall to take a look."

I don’t know when it started, but more and more strange things happened inside and outside the palace.

Ever since Donggong published three articles on production relations, I haven't received any other articles recently. I am worried about him, but I can't ask my son for them directly.

When Li Shimin and Empress Changsun walked outside the Wude Hall, they heard laughter from inside the hall. His father was laughing happily.

Empress Changsun whispered, "It's rare to see Father so happy."

Li Shimin sighed in frustration and walked into the Wude Hall.

As soon as he stepped in, he heard Li Yuan say again: "I only have five cards left. What can you use to win this time?"

(End of this chapter)