The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 40: The East Palace’s Money Bag
Xu Jingzong stroked his beard and said, "These things cannot be accomplished with the manpower of Jingyang County alone. According to the idea of ​​His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, we will also plant a large forest in the northwest of Jingyang, all the way to the west of Qilian Mountain in the Hexi Corridor."

If all this was for his own benefit, Shangguan Yi would go to the Eastern Palace to report Xu Jingzong even if it meant risking his life.

Considering that he has devoted almost all his time to the development of Jingyang, I will not break off ties with him for the time being.

An ambitious crown prince of the Eastern Palace always makes Shangguan Yi feel uneasy.

If the prince did not have such great ambitions, it would make people feel more at ease.

Shangguan Yi felt that he had really been taught a lesson by Xu Jingzong's way of being an official and his style as a county magistrate in Guanzhong.

In the Literary Museum of Chang'an City, Li Tai had to organize various classics, and he was busy sorting out various key points with a group of scholars.

Although the court was closed today, many officials in the Secretariat were still busy. They were still arguing about how to govern the Tuyuhun that they had just conquered, and some were also worried about the collection of taxes this year.

Since the seventh year of Wude, the collection of taxes in Guanzhong has always been a headache.

At the beginning, probably in the fourth year of Wude, the collection of taxes from all over the Central Plains still depended on the attitude of local tyrants or noble families. Not to mention that there were many villagers who didn't even know who the emperor was and had never seen which direction the door of the government office faced.

At least it's better now, but it's still a headache.

Just as some rain began to fall from the gloomy sky, the wind picked up a little, and heavy rain covered the entire city of Chang'an.

After being scorched by the scorching heat for several consecutive days, the roof was covered with mist when the heavy rain fell.

In the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian drank a few more cups of tea slowly and listened to Xu Xiaode telling about what he had seen and heard during his travels outside in the past few months.

Feeling thirsty after talking so much, Xu Xiaode took another sip of tea and asked, "Your Highness, why do you want to plant grapes in the East Palace?"

Li Chengqian took two steps toward the palace entrance, just enough for a few drops of rain to fall on him but not wet his clothes, and said, "Because my younger brothers and sisters like to eat grapes."

Suddenly he smiled and explained, "Perhaps I am too considerate of my brothers and sisters' feelings. In your opinion, I am too doting on them. Therefore, I should not waste manpower and resources just for a bite of grapes."

"Although it's just a small plant in the Eastern Palace, it's wrong to judge the big picture by the small. You are the Chief Historian of the Eastern Palace, and you are here to teach me according to my father's order. Even if you are criticizing me now, it's still right."

Xu Xiaode sighed in discouragement.

Li Chengqian reached out to catch some of the rainwater flowing down from the eaves and said slowly, "Do you know? The people in the Western Regions have made a fortune just by selling grapes to Guanzhong. The people in the Western Regions have been making money from the Central Plains. How can such a thing happen in this world?"

The rain gradually subsided, but the rumbling thunder was still exploding. Xu Xiaode bowed and said, "Your Highness, I will go back and investigate the market."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Li Chengqian said again: "Take some tea back."

"Thank you, Your Highness." He took out a cloth bag, put a small bag of tea in it, and quickly left Chongwen Hall.

Ning Er whispered, "Your Highness, have you had your meal?"

Li Chengqian nodded and sat down again, picking up the bowl and eating millet rice quietly.

In the evening, Jingyang sent another work summary of Xu Jingzong.

Because Xu Jingzong had become a cruel official in the eyes of the people in Guanzhong, the people in Jingyang County under his rule were all good people, and no one dared to do bad things.

This Xu Jingzong was Duke Xu who worked for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and was also an efficient official in the Eastern Palace.

Ning'er was sorting the books on the side, and occasionally looked at the prince who was writing a reply to see if he needed to be polished.

Xu Jingzong was an official in the Eastern Palace, and Du He was His Highness's money bag in Jingyang.

Then Xu Xiaode and Yu Zhining are the conscience of His Highness in keeping them in the Eastern Palace.

After writing the reply to Jingyang, Li Chengqian asked Xiaofu to arrange for the eunuchs in the palace to send it to Jingyang.

After his brothers and sisters came back from Lizheng Palace, Li Chengqian walked into the East Palace vegetable garden and looked at this terrible place.

Even in winter, this vegetable garden is still very pleasant.

When the season comes when there is no shortage of vegetables in Guanzhong, this place seems redundant.

Li Chengqian looked up at the grape rack and saw a light green spot. He pulled aside the leaves covering the fruit and saw a small bunch of grapes.

Grape fruits are very small, about the same size as beans and only slightly larger than sesame seeds.

After picking the bunch of grapes, Li Chengqian used it as seeds for the next season's grapes, and then dismantled the grape rack in front of him.

This grape rack has been planted from spring to summer, but no grapes have been seen. Everyone in the East Palace has spent a lot of effort here.

Three or two palace maids watched the scene, and His Highness did not care whether his clothes would get dirty.

Xiaofu asked worriedly, "Sister Ning'er, could His Highness be angry?"

Ning Er said calmly, "Look at the smile on His Royal Highness's face. He must be very happy."

Xiaofu whispered, "How can I be happy if the grapes haven't grown yet?"

"Yeah." The rest of the people thought so too.

Another hour passed, and the entire grape trellis was dismantled by His Highness. The vegetable garden then looked much wider and more comfortable.

The season has passed, and when autumn comes in Guanzhong, it will no longer be possible to grow grapes.

If successful, Donggong would be able to make countless money just by selling grape seeds.

The bunch of "miniature" grapes that were just picked can be used as seeds. Of course, you can't tell what the grapes grown from these seeds will be like next year just by looking at their color.

Li Chengqian picked out some drier grape vines and used them to grill meat, while his younger brothers and sisters sat around the fire.

Li Zhi slyly took out a wine jug from his room and whispered, "Brother, this is grape wine."

Li Chengqian asked curiously while grilling the meat, "Where did you get the grape wine?"

"My father hid it, and my brother brought it to me."

"Yes." Li Chengqian put the grape wine on the table beside him and said, "You are not allowed to drink it."

Li Zhi still glanced at the wine pot with envy and muttered, "I want to have a sip."

Li Chengqian stroked his temple with one hand, sat sideways and said, "Then take a small sip."

"really?"

"You'll have a test tomorrow. If you pass 60 points, you'll get a drink."

Li Shen on the side smiled softly.

Li Zhi said unhappily, "What are you laughing at?"

Li Shen whispered, "I'm afraid it's difficult for my royal brother to even get 30 points."

"you!"

Seeing that Li Zhi and Li Shen were about to quarrel again, Li Lizhi glared at them, and the brothers became much more obedient.

The meat was almost cooked, and Li Chengqian brought up some cooked asparagus and celery, and ordered, "One bite of meat and one bite of vegetables. Everyone must eat vegetables."

In fact, Li Chengqian was still very happy. The grapes he planted this year were not in vain. At least he got seeds that could bear fruit.

Ning'er left a few better pieces of grape vines and burned the rest.

Out of sight, out of mind. These grapes make Your Highness upset. It would be better to burn them. After burning them, you won’t be upset anymore, and that will be very satisfying!
At night, people would have some free time, and Li Chengqian would read a book.

Ning'er put away the East Palace, took out some tea leaves from the pot beside her, and said, "Your Highness, you can have some tea now."

Li Chengqian said, "Don't drink before going to bed." Ning'er nodded and put the tea leaves back into the pot.

The books written by ancient sages all teach people how to be good people.

These books will become boring and make you sleepy if you read them for a long time.

Li Chengqian held the book in his hands, changed his sitting position, and read by the oil lamp. He then said, "Prepare some tea leaves for Father, Mother, and Grandfather Emperor, and send them to Uncle tomorrow."

Ning Er asked again, "Don't you need to send it to the Prince of Hejian?"

"No need, he will definitely come to eat tomorrow."

"Here."

The emperor loved playing cards. He liked this game that involved some luck and gambling.

In recent days, I often play with my father in the Wude Hall until very late.

This is also the reason why Your Majesty only made a brief appearance at Qujiang Lake on the seventh day of July.

The emperor and the empress sat in Qujiang Lake for a while, then came back to play cards with the emperor.

Inside the hall, the card game was going on and Li Shimin was dealing the cards himself.

Soon, Ning'er, the head lady of the East Palace, came over with small steps. She was holding a plate with three jars on it.

Arriving at the card table, Ning'er said, "Your Majesty, this was sent by His Highness."

Li Shimin was still sorting the cards in his hand and didn't say anything.

Empress Changsun gave her a look.

After Ning'er understood, she put the plate aside, brewed three bowls of tea, then left the Wude Hall in silence and quickly returned to the East Palace.

The card game in the Wude Hall was still going on. In the eyes of the people in the palace, it was the best thing that the emperor and his son could sit down and play cards calmly. Both the concubines and the palace maids were happy for His Majesty.

Li Yuan was very cautious in every move he made. He said in a deep voice, "I heard that Tuyuhun won a great victory?"

"Yeah." Li Shimin responded, then picked up the tea bowl beside him, took a sip of tea, frowned and looked at the cards in his hand, and was reluctant to put down the tea bowl.

He lowered his head and looked at the tea leaves floating in the tea bowl, remaining silent for a long time.

No one spoke in the hall. The palace maids and eunuchs stood quietly by, not daring to make a sound.

After another round of cards, Empress Changsun stood up and said, "It's getting late, and I still have to go take care of Sizi. This child can't fall asleep without someone to coax him."

Li Shimin stroked his forehead and nodded, then asked the old eunuch beside him to replace the queen.

The card game lasted until late at night. Li Shimin and Li Yuan both discovered something strange: they were not sleepy at all. Instead, they became more energetic as the game went on.

After brewing the tea several times, the tea leaves in the bowl had no taste, so I changed some tea leaves and brewed another bowl.

After midnight, the eunuchs beside them were drowsy, and some palace maids had even fallen asleep leaning against the pillars in the hall.

The Emperor and His Majesty are still fighting over the card game.

The next day, when it was daybreak, all the ministers were already in the palace.

Li Chengqian stood in his position and it was another day of joking around.

Looking at Li Tai again, he is still the same as before, and everyone in the court seems to be his friend.

Noticing Changsun Wuji standing in the court, Li Chengqian smiled politely at his uncle.

There were no words, and the uncle and nephew only exchanged glances for a moment.

Li Ke asked from the side: "Brother, didn't you go to the garden tour that day?"

Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets and said, "I went, but I returned to the East Palace very early."

"That's such a pity. I didn't know how unrestrained Li Tai was that night." Li Ke said, glancing at Li Tai who was still chatting and laughing with the court officials.

In his eyes, it seemed that Li Tai was so arrogant because the prince did not go to the garden.

Li Chengqian whispered: "What have you been doing recently?"

Li Ke said: "I am shooting arrows in the army, and General Yuchi Gong is teaching my brother how to march."

Li Chengqian nodded pertinently and said, "Study hard."

"Here."

At this point, Li Chengqian added, "Don't worry about Li Tai."

Li Ke said with a straight face, "Yeah."

It is clear that these two younger brothers are not on the same track. Li Tai is a pure liberal arts student, while Li Ke has been training in the Wei Mansion. Is there any comparison between these two?
Li Chengqian glanced at the throne in distress.

Soon, with a loud shout from the eunuch, all the ministers fell silent and bowed together in salute.

My father walked slowly to the throne, then waved his sleeves and sat down.

Li Chengqian noticed that his father didn't look very good this morning. Did he seem to have stayed up late?
The morning court started normally. Today's morning court was very peaceful and the emperor was not in high spirits. After the three provinces and six ministries finished their reports, the morning court ended hastily.

If every morning court session could end so smoothly, with plenty of time to go back and take a nap, it would be even better if we could be given a holiday every now and then.

As soon as he arrived at the East Palace, the emperor's uncle Li Xiaogong came hurriedly.

The Emperor's uncle is one of the money bags of the Eastern Palace. If he doesn't come to the Eastern Palace, something big will happen.

Now I can still walk briskly, it seems that the situation is very good.

"Have you heard? I don't know what happened to the old Indian monk in Shengguang Temple recently. He always says that his sins are serious and he needs to repent for half a month. He won't see anyone."

Li Chengqian asked curiously, "How did the emperor's uncle know this?"

Li Xiaogong walked into the Chongwen Hall and sat down as usual, cooking noodles while saying with a smile: "Chang'an City is not big, how could I not know it?"

Li Chengqian nodded without saying anything.

Li Xiaogong took out five more silver cakes and said, "The Red Mansion has not yet ended. Someone wants to bribe me, saying that if there is an ending, I must give it to their family first. I feel uneasy holding these silver cakes by myself. You should take some too."

Li Chengqian took the silver cake silently, handed it to the palace maid beside him, and whispered, "Give it to Ning'er."

Li Xiaogong slammed the table and said with emotion: "I heard that your majesty played cards all night in Wude Hall last night. Wei Zheng found out about this. The old man was in Ganlu Hall, pointing at your majesty's nose and scolding him."

Finally, Li Chengqian became interested and asked quietly, "Didn't you sleep all night?"

"I don't know which bad person spread the news. There are too many bad people in this palace. I can't kill them all."

Li Xiaogong frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "This matter is a bit strange."

"How is it weird?"

"It's ok that your majesty played cards all night, but the old man in the Wude Hall also stayed up all night. He shouldn't be like this at his age. Did he take some strong medicine?"

Li Chengqian said: "Haha, how would I know?"

(End of this chapter)