The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 390 Shangguan Tingzhi
In the quiet imperial city, the fragrance of ink can be smelled in the wind, and the students who are writing their test papers are reflected in Duke Zheng's eyes.

Li Chengqian still held Duke Zheng's hand and whispered, "If you feel tired, why don't you just close your eyes and take a rest?"

Duke Zheng let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.

Li Chengqian looked at the old man, then slowly let go of his hand and looked at Wei Shuyu beside him.

After the other party understood what he meant, he pushed Duke Zheng down from the palace wall.

At this time, Duke Zheng was very quiet. He just sat there with his eyes closed, and a faint smile could be seen on his face.

Dongyang turned his back and didn't look at the crying faces of the crowd.

Li Chengqian walked at the end of the crowd, taking one step at a time.

My father had been waiting outside the palace wall.

Li Shimin hurried forward, rushed to the wheelchair with red eyes and held back tears, and looked at Duke Zheng who had closed his eyes.

Until Duke Zheng took his last breath, he sat in the sun and slowly lowered his head.

Li Chengqian patted Wei Shuyu on the back.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for letting my father see this moment."

Li Chengqian consoled him: "People will not forget Duke Zheng."

Wei Shuyu bowed and saluted.

"Let Father talk to him for a while."

Under the palace wall, Li Shimin was talking to Duke Zheng, but this time Duke Zheng would never answer back, nor would he open his eyes again.

As more and more ceremonial officials arrived, Wei Shuyu led his men to push the body of Duke Zheng away.

The imperial examination was conducted quietly. When today's exam was over, the students walked out of the Suzaku Gate.

It was not until Li Chengqian issued the edict that people knew that Duke Zheng had passed away.

The emperor ordered that Zheng Gongkong be granted the title of governor of Xiangzhou and the posthumous name of Wenzhen.

Duke Zheng died at the age of sixty-eight.

The next day, before daybreak, Li Chengqian stood on the Drum Tower with his father, watching Duke Zheng's coffin leave Chang'an City. The entire journey was covered with white cloth.

Li Shimin said slowly: "The strong branches are destroyed by the frost, and the good ministers are killed when they lose their positions... I can only cry on the cloud platform, facing my figure in vain..."

Li Yuan sat behind the Drum Tower. The 82-year-old emperor looked depressed. He leaned on a cane, looked up at the sky and said nothing.

Li Lizhi supported him and said, "Grandpa, don't be too sad."

"At my age, I have already let go of life and death. Li Zhi, how old are you this year?"

Li Lizhi smiled and said, "My granddaughter is twenty-four now."

Li Yuan said: "Great, you are all in the prime of your life."

This funeral was held in accordance with the request of Duke Zheng. Everything was kept simple, with only white cloth and curtains used to decorate the plain carriage carrying the coffin. Wei Zheng's family also refused all rewards from the court, except for the posthumous title.

"There will never be another person like Duke Zheng in this world. I will never meet him again."

My father grabbed the railing of the Drum Tower with both hands, his eyes closed and tears streaming down his face.

Li Chengqian said: "The people who come after me will remember Duke Zheng, and I will not let the spirit of Duke Zheng be forgotten by the people."

Seeing his father nodding with his eyes closed, Li Chengqian looked up at the entire Suzaku Street and instructed the eunuch beside him, "Give the order, the court will be suspended today, and each department in the court will do its own thing."

"Here."

Whenever the imperial examination was held, it was the busiest time in Chang'an City and also the time when the largest crowds of people gathered.

The imperial examination had become a festival in Chang'an, so people had more and more festivals.

People were discussing how many children from Guanzhong would be admitted in this imperial examination and how many students from other places would be admitted.

Every time the results are announced, it is the thing people talk about the most.

After so many years of teaching, more students from Guanzhong have been admitted than students from other places.

Because the teaching in various parts of Guanzhong were first influenced by Chongwenguan, and were subtly influenced by the counties, as well as various government decrees from the court, differences gradually emerged in the strategic examination papers.

Although this situation became more and more obvious, among the officials who entered the officialdom through the imperial examination every time, children from Guanzhong accounted for half.

Li Chengqian felt that this situation was bound to happen.

I accompanied my father to the Lingyan Pavilion again, where the portraits were.

The portrait of Duke Zheng appears to be very kind. In the painting, Duke Zheng is not so aggressive. He is just a very gentle old man, stroking his beard and smiling.

Who would have thought that a man with such a gentle smile would dare to point at the emperor and curse him in the court.

Li Chengqian escorted his father to the village next to Beiyuan, where the Hundred Cavalry Guards also lived. They farmed here for a living and also to protect the retired emperor and the empress dowager.

Grandpa still lives in the palace, but it seems that my father is no longer so concerned about it.

There are a lot of wheat planted in the fields. When the wind blows, you can see the wheat, surging like waves.

Li Chengqian saw his son running in the fields. The child seemed to be having a lot of fun playing with some country kids.

Li Shimin said: "He has never claimed to be the crown prince, and I do not allow him to tell others about my identity and his identity."

"Thank you, Father."

Li Shimin nodded, looked at his grandson and walked back with a smile.

Watching the emperor about to pick up Yu Tu, the grandfather and grandson walked in the village talking and laughing.

Li Chengqian stood at the gate of Beiyuan for a while, and then he saw a small figure running out. It was Xiao Queer.

She was wearing a red robe, cloth shoes and had a smile on her face.

Li Chengqian opened his arms and his daughter threw herself into his arms.

Little Magpie sat in his father's arms and said, "I learned a lot of words today."

Li Chengqian asked: "Hmm? What characters did you learn?"

"My daughter can recite the first chapter of the Analects now."

"Okay."

Listening to their seven-year-old daughter reciting the Analects, the father and daughter walked back to the palace hand in hand.

On the fifth day after Duke Zheng passed away, Doctor Sun returned to Chang'an again. No one knew how old Doctor Sun was, but in the eyes of the world, he seemed like a real god.

There is a rumor in Chang'an about the Immortal Sun.

The imperial examination had just ended. Di Renjie looked at the distraught Zhang Jianzhi and asked, "As expected, you failed again."

Zhang Jianzhi raised his head and said, "My ambition is not to become an official."

The fourteen-year-old Di Renjie smiled and said lightly, "I thought you would say that this year's imperial examination questions are difficult."

Zhang Jianzhi turned his grief and anger over failing the exam into appetite and was eating voraciously.

"I am not old enough to take the imperial examination yet." Di Renjie sighed again, "It's a pity that Brother Jianzhi failed the imperial examination three times."

Zhang Jianzhi asked, "What should we do next? Should we go back to Luoyang to find the King of Jin?"

Di Renjie said, "My father is busy with court affairs and may not be able to take care of me. Let's go to Luoyang. I heard that the King of Jin has made a new friend."

"What friends?"

Di Renjie said, "The letter sent two days ago was from a Youzhou native named Lu Zhaolin, who is about my age." Zhang Jianzhi said, "Okay."

After they had their meal, they left together through the Suzaku Gate.

As they walked along, Zhang Jianzhi asked, "Has Doctor Sun really become a god?"

Di Renjie was wearing a dark green round-necked robe and was still very fat. He said, "I don't know."

When the two men arrived at the city gate, they saw a monk being interrogated by soldiers.

"I am Xuanzang, a monk from Shazhou. I am a prisoner pardoned by Your Majesty."

"Prisoner?" The officer examined the scriptures and asked, "Are you the monk who returned from India?"

Xuanzang nodded in agreement.

Di Renjie and Zhang Jianzhi glanced at each other and then rode towards Luoyang.

Xuanzang was finally allowed into Chang'an City by officers and soldiers. He was pulling a cart of scriptures and saw the prosperous scene on Zhuque Street. On the crowded Zhuque Street, there were constant shouting and cursing.

As he could not bring the donkey into the city, Xuanzang had to leave the donkey outside the city and pull the cart into the city himself.

But as soon as Xuanzang entered the city, some people looked unhappy.

He was pulling a cart, causing considerable inconvenience to pedestrians on the congested Suzaku Street.

Sweat was dripping down Xuanzang's forehead. The city of Chang'an had changed a lot. The streets were flat and there were many soldiers and officers walking around.

People were wearing cotton-padded clothes that had never been seen before, and some were squatting on both sides of the street eating soup noodles.

Xuanzang vaguely remembered where Shengguang Temple was, so he turned into a street corner. He asked several passers-by and fortunately found that Shengguang Temple was still there.

Passing by a series of markets, Xuanzang, pulling a cart of scriptures with difficulty, arrived at the gate of Shengguang Temple alone.

When Xuanzang explained his identity and purpose to the monks here.

Someone immediately went to the temple to inform them, and then more monks came out. They confirmed that these scriptures were sent from India, and they also confirmed from the pardon documents that the person in front of them was Xuanzang.

However, the monk Popo who had guided Xuanzang to travel to India had already passed away.

Xuanzang could only see the monk's robe that Popo had worn. When he returned to Chang'an, everything had changed and the people from that time were no longer there.

He sat cross-legged and chanted the Buddha's name.

Nowadays, more and more people are returning to secular life, and there are no longer so many monks in Chang'an.

Xuanzang listened to them telling the story of Bopo. Bopo prayed for the seriously ill prince, and later the prince recovered.

Since then, Popo has loved eating bean sprouts.

Xuanzang ate millet rice and picked up some bean sprouts and put them into his mouth.

The old monk at the side said: "You only need a few beans to grow a lot of bean sprouts. This is the dish that the master brought from the East Palace."

After his meal, Xuanzang piously chanted the Buddha's name again.

This time, Xuanzang returned to Chang'an City quietly.

His deeds were not widely publicized, and only a few officers and soldiers knew that Xuanzang had returned.

At this time, people in Chang'an City were focusing on the imperial examination, and a monk who came from afar was not worthy of their attention.

Then he recited scriptures for Po Po. He had a very ancient map in his hand, which was the route he took from Gaochang to Tianzhu.

After chanting sutras for several days, Xuanzang, accompanied by monks from Shengguang Temple, came to the house where Popo had lived before.

The house was covered in dust and looked like no one had lived in it for years.

The old monk at the side said: "Before the master passed away, he went to see the prince again and had an agreement with the prince."

"I heard a lot of stories when I came to Chang'an."

"What's the story?"

"I heard that there was a man named Guo Luotuo who was deeply loved by the people of the Western Regions. When I came to Chang'an, the people of the Western Regions were building statues for Guo Luotuo and Tian Khan."

Xuanzang added: "There is also the Tang army sweeping across the Tianshan Mountains, and the Anxi Protectorate that commands the Western Regions. It seems that there is a gentleman's agreement between Songtsen Gampo and Your Majesty, and the Tubo prime minister is still in Chang'an."

Looking through the objects here, Xuanzang recalled the Indian scripture that Bopo had just shown him.

Until now, looking back, Xuanzang felt that he had experienced many life-and-death situations, and now that he was really back, he himself could hardly believe it.

Xuanzang was standing in the room in a white monk's robe. He looked at the scriptures on the bookshelf, flipped through them for a long time, and asked, "Is there a volume missing?"

"Po Po said that he gave one of the scrolls to the then crown prince, now His Majesty."

Xuanzang said: "That scroll is very important. It is the most important opening chapter of the Treatise on the Way of the World."

The old monk explained, "Master Popo said when he was nearly 70 that he would not see you return, and if the scriptures could be left behind, they should be handed over to someone who could preserve them. Popo said that he and the prince had an inexplicable fate. When Your Majesty was still the prince, Master Popo felt that you also had some connection with the prince."

"But what secrets are there? These secrets have been buried with Popo. I am afraid no one will ever know what Popo said to the prince. We don't know why Popo gave the scripture to the prince."

Xuanzang said, "I want to see your Majesty."

The old monk said again: "Your Majesty, can you see him just because you want to?"

Xuanzang picked up a wooden hammer, looking lost.

This trip lasted nineteen years, and Xuanzang has now forgotten what Po Po looked like.

In the second half of the first year of Qianqing, the current emperor personally wrote the inscription for Wei Zheng when the funeral of Duke Zheng was completed.

Li Chengqian came to the Xianyang Bridge, holding a fishing rod and said, "Now, Liu Rengui will not come to disturb my mood."

"Your Majesty, I heard that Liu Rengui has been busy with the affairs of various counties since he took office as the Shao Yin of Jingzhao Prefecture. Recently, he has been hosting running competitions in various counties."

Listening to Xue Wanbei's story, Li Chengqian threw the fishing hook into the river.

The prince back then is now His Majesty. There are more guards on the riverside, and the people on Xianyang Bridge can only retreat temporarily.

Li Chengqian ate the fruits sent from the Western Regions and stared at the calm river surface in a daze.

"Your Majesty, there is a monk who wants to see you."

Li Chengqian looked a little more unhappy.

The guard saw this and said quickly, "I will drive him away right away."

There was a quarrel from the back, and the guards drove away the monk who came to meet him.

But his mood had been disturbed, so Li Chengqian picked up his fishing rod and got on the carriage back to the palace.

Xuanzang stood in place. He only saw the back of his majesty from afar. He was stopped outside by the guards, and he looked up.

His Majesty's back is very tall and he looks very young.

A group of soldiers escorted the emperor's carriage away.

After everyone left, Xuanzang was still standing there in a daze, looking at the fishing platform where the emperor had stayed half an hour ago.

"Are you here to see His Majesty as well?"

The voice came from behind, Xuanzang turned around and saw a young man.

Xuanzang looked at the man and bowed, "May I ask who you are..."

"I am Shangguan Tingzhi, and my father is the Imperial Censor Shangguan Yi."

(End of this chapter)