The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 43 Overnight
Empress Changsun whispered, "Your father always thinks a lot, so it would be good for him to go hunting this time to relax."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Let the brothers and sisters go out and play too."

The queen looked up at her son again, slowly put down the bowl and chopsticks in her hands, and said, "I can take care of the family affairs for you, but you and your son must keep a close eye on the state affairs."

"Don't worry, mother."

Empress Changsun withdrew her gaze, nodded, and ate the food in front of her.

Li Chengqian was chewing celery and saw that his sister Li Lizhi's attention was all on Xiao Sizi.

This little sister can only take a few unsteady steps, but her silly look always makes people happy.

"My father conquered the world in those days. Now that the army has returned victorious, he must think about riding his horse and galloping. Time waits for no one. If I don't indulge myself for a few more years, I will get old."

After hearing her son muttering to himself, Empress Chang Sun frowned again and remained silent.

After dinner, Li Lizhi continued to stay with her mother in Lizheng Hall.

According to the Queen Mother's order, he had to go to his uncle's house. As soon as Li Chengqian walked outside the palace, Empress Changsun held out a coat and said, "Put it on, don't catch a cold again."

Li Chengqian took the brocade robe and found out that his mother had already prepared new clothes.

Under the gaze of his mother, Li Chengqian put on his coat and said, "I'll go visit my uncle first."

Empress Changsun was still holding little Sizi in her arms and nodded with a smile.

After her brother left, Li Lizhi begged, "Mother, I don't want to go on the autumn hunt."

Empress Changsun nodded and said, "Okay, Mother won't go either."

"Yes." Li Lizhi hugged her mother's arm and said, "My daughter will stay in the palace to accompany her to recuperate."

The autumn rain stopped for half a day, and the ground, which had just become a little dry, was greeted by another wave of autumn rain.

The whole Guanzhong was wet.

When Li Chengqian arrived at the East Palace, Ning'er was already waiting outside. She whispered, "The Queen sent someone to deliver a message saying that Your Highness is going to visit Duke Xu?"

"Well, let's go."

"Here."

Ning'er first signaled with her eyes, asking Xiaofu and the others to look after the princes and princesses, then she hurriedly followed His Highness with an umbrella in hand.

The emperor was going to go hunting in autumn, and many generals led their troops to Mount Li.

Li Chengqian walked along the way, watching teams of soldiers leaving from Chunming Gate, which was the east gate of Chang'an. Going eastward was Mount Li.

The whole court has begun to prepare for the autumn hunt. The military generals are the busiest, with troops heading to Mount Li to make preparations.

However, the civil servants did not have much influence.

When we arrived at Duke Xu's mansion on Zhuque Street, the door was open.

Li Chengqian stood outside the door and did not see any doorman to greet him. In fact, his uncle's family did not have other servants to take care of their daily life. There was only an old servant who had been taking care of them.

"What are you standing outside for? Why don't you come in?"

After hearing the voices in the mansion, Li Chengqian stepped in.

Ning'er still held the umbrella and followed His Highness's footsteps.

Gao Shilian was brewing tea. He whispered, "Gao Lin went out for something today, and there's no one else at home."

Li Chengqian bowed slightly and said, "My grandson really didn't see him."

As he spoke, Li Chengqian looked at the man standing behind his uncle. The man looked to be about thirty years old and had his head lowered.

Gao Shilian also looked behind him, stroking his beard and saying like an old naughty boy: "Xingxing is a fool, you don't have to treat him as a human being."

"Your Highness, I am honored to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Seeing his son saluting, Gao Shilian said with an unhappy look: "Go away, I am upset when I see you."

"..."

"roll!"

Hearing his father's shout, Gao Luxing responded timidly and hurriedly, then left in a hurry.

Gao Luxing felt very aggrieved at his father's attitude of loving only his grandson and not his son. Hearing his father driving him away, he felt extremely distressed and had to lower his head and leave quickly.

Gao Shilian continued to brew tea, put on a kind smile, and said, "He has been a loser since he was young. He will be like this when he grows up. He will never become a talent. You don't need to associate with such a person."

Li Chengqian smiled awkwardly, and had a better understanding of his uncle's family tradition. He nodded and said, "Uncle is right."

Not long after, Gao Lin, the old servant of my uncle, came back. He sat beside the basin with a basket and started washing vegetables.

"I have received the tea sent by the East Palace, but even at my age I still prefer to brew tea this way. The brewing method is too simple, lacking the necessary background and etiquette."

Tea is easy and convenient to brew, and my uncle was an old nobleman, so naturally he behaves in the manner that an old nobleman should behave.

In my uncle's opinion, it is too convenient to drink tea leaves after brewing them, which is not in accordance with etiquette.

Li Chengqian sat down first, and when he saw his uncle bringing a basin of dried dates, he took a few in his hand and put one in his mouth.

Gao Shilian took a bowl of tea from the pottery pot, took a sip and said, "Your Majesty has recently trusted a civil official named Ma Zhou."

"Well, my grandson heard about it and appointed him as the Censor-in-Chief."

"I heard that he is a good writer."

Li Chengqian chewed a date and frowned, "What do you mean, uncle?"

Gao Shilian added: "Young talents like Ma Zhou will definitely be given important positions."

"Are there not enough young talents in the Tang Dynasty? Young talents like Ma Zhou, Cen Wenben, and Chu Suiliang are almost worthless."

Gao Shilian suddenly laughed and said, "Isn't this a good thing?"

"It's a good thing. It would be a good thing if they were all loyal to the Tang Dynasty."

Gao Shilian took out a piece of paper and said slowly, "This is the account sent by Du He. He said that according to the order of the East Palace, he would give me a profit of 300 strings of cash. He also said that part of it was from your uncle Fu Ji. Considering that I and Fu Ji are family, he sent it here together."

Li Chengqian spat out the date pit and put another dried date into his mouth. Guanzhong dates are still very sweet.

"Three hundred strings of cash? Do you think I would take this little money from you? I was thinking of letting your mother scold you, but when I knew you were here, I realized that I was reluctant to give it to you."

Li Chengqian smiled awkwardly.

"If Guanyin was willing to scold you, she wouldn't have let you come here."

"Uncle, I have no other intention in asking Du He to share the profits with you. We should also settle accounts clearly. Regardless of the fact that you helped Donggong get started, this money should be regarded as my filial piety."

"Filial piety?"

Li Chengqian bowed and said, "The two words filial piety are what my grandson will never forget in his life."

As soon as he finished speaking, the old servant who was washing vegetables at the side suddenly laughed, and then walked to the other end of the yard to pickle the vegetables with salt.

The rain outside was getting heavier, but the grandfather and grandson were still talking inside the house.

"Grandson has one more thing to ask Uncle."

"You tell me." "How to make Uncle Li Dao Zong give up his military power."

"Li Dao Zong?" Gao Shilian snorted coldly, "Is he feeling uneasy now?"

"Mostly yes."

Gao Shilian was half lying down and moved lazily, with his hands tucked into his sleeves like his grandson, and spoke in a low voice.

After the heavy rain outside stopped, Li Chengqian left his uncle's house and returned to the Eastern Palace in the evening.

As soon as soap came out, it caused quite a stir in Chang'an.

In the beginning, soap was only available in the palace. Later, with the reward from His Majesty and the Queen, soap also appeared in the homes of the rich and powerful in Chang'an City.

After a summer and into autumn, vendors selling soap began to appear in Chang'an City.

The Tang Dynasty did not collect production taxes, which gave Jingyang ample loopholes to exploit.

Jingyang only engages in production and does not engage in sales, but the market taxes of merchants in Chang'an will be voluntarily paid by peddlers, and this is not Jingyang's cost.

In this way, Jingyang took advantage of another loophole.

Xu Jingzong was an expert in this area. After some guidance from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he was able to do everything.

Once soap was sold, it became popular in Chang'an. A piece of soap costing fifty to sixty coins was not expensive and even slightly wealthier families could afford it.

Both Jingyang and Duhe made a fortune, and copper coins were delivered to Jingyang in carts.

At Du He's mansion, Xu Jingzong was too lazy to count the money. Most of the time he would just weigh it to keep track of the amount.

Du He didn't care about Xu Jingzong. He just did what His Highness asked him to do.

Li Yifu came over in a hurry and said, "Minister Xu, Master Du, something happened. The wood we were going to use to make chairs was seized by Lantian County as soon as it passed through Chang'an."

Hearing this, Xu Jingzong rolled up his sleeves and said angrily: "What a good old Lantian County Magistrate! I will go and fight him!"

After saying this, he hurried out of the house.

With Xu Jingzong's ability, this little thing would naturally not be difficult for him.

Du He is not worried about this.

Xu Jingzong was only worried about whether he could arrange the things assigned by the Eastern Palace, while Du He was worried that the workshop would not be able to continue. Even though they were making a lot of money now, their goals were different.

Shangguan Yi sighed in frustration, fearing that Xu Jingzong would get into trouble, and hurriedly bowed and said, "Mr. Du, I will go there too."

Du He nodded without saying anything and continued writing the letter.

Not long after, the concierge came with a roll of paper and whispered, "Sir, this is a letter from the East Palace."

Before the letter was sent out, the Eastern Palace had already made new arrangements.

Du He opened the letter and frowned as he looked at it. Then he put the letter down with a serious look on his face and ordered, "Ask Chu Mo from General Cheng's family to come over and tell him that I need his help with something."

"But General Chumo has always been domineering. I really am..."

Du He added: "He has spent so much money on my Du Mansion these days, so he will still help with this little thing."

"Here."

Sun Simiao went to treat patients again. The old immortal was not at home most of the time. He would only come back at night to rest. Anyway, people were used to it.

As long as His Highness stops sending guests to the Du Mansion, Du He will feel a little more relaxed.

The autumn hunting in Mount Li was prepared for half a month. As Guanzhong entered deep autumn, Monk Popo, who had been in seclusion for a long time, finally came out.

The Indian monk became even more taciturn.

The monk seemed to have suffered a huge blow from the visit to Qujiang Lake. Even if someone spent tens of thousands of dollars, he was unwilling to discuss Zen with the donor.

It was late autumn and the persimmons in Guanzhong were just ripe. Li Shimin listened to Wei Zheng's story. The Censorate found out that someone had sent one hundred bars of soap to Li Daozon, Prince of Jiangxia, hoping to send his relatives to the army.

"Is this true?" Li Shimin's good mood for autumn hunting was immediately extinguished. He angrily said, "Why are all my brothers..."

Wei Zheng said: "Someone submitted a petition to the Censorate, and sent someone to check and confirm that this matter really happened."

Li Shimin stroked his forehead and said gloomily, "Duke Zheng, what do you think I should do about this matter?"

Wei Zheng was silent for a moment, then bowed and said, "The King of Jiangxia returned with a great victory, and also captured Tuyuhun Khan Fuyun. Considering that he only accepted money and property, and has not yet acted in a personal capacity, I will first remove his military power and send him away."

"Somebody come!"

The guard standing outside the Xingqing Palace clasped his fists and said, "I am here!"

Li Shimin glanced at the person outside the palace, who was Liang Jianfang recommended by Yuchi Gong, and ordered: "Go and bring Li Daozong to me."

Liang Jianfang bowed and said, "Yes."

The news of Prince Jiangxia soon spread throughout the army, because Li Daozon returned with a great victory and took all the credit. People like him had a very good reputation in the army. Not only did he not accept money or property, he also never drank alcohol in the army. He was a general with strict military discipline.

No one expected Li Daozon to do such a thing.

When Prince Jiangxia was brought into the palace, many people pricked up their ears to get the news.

Perhaps it was because of his great achievements that Li Daozon became too proud and lost his mind?
I waited until nightfall, but no news came from the palace, and I didn't know how His Majesty would punish Prince Jiangxia.

It has always been very sensitive for royal family generals to hold military power.

In the Xingqing Hall, Li Daozong placed a hundred bars of soap in front of His Majesty and explained, "Your Majesty, when I received this bundle, I was told that it was just meat and vegetables from my hometown. It was only when I opened the bundle that I realized I had been deceived."

"Cheat?!" Li Shimin shouted angrily, "Then you still want to be partial? What's the difference between collecting soap and so-called meat and vegetables!"

Li Dao Zong lowered his head quickly, sweat dripping down his forehead, and said quickly: "This general..."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Why, there is no way to explain it?"

An old eunuch came hurriedly and whispered something in Your Majesty's ear.

Look at this brother who once fought together on the battlefield to kill enemies, now he is hanging his head.

Li Shimin calmed down and said slowly, "Xiaogong is the same, and so are you. It was not easy for us brothers back then. I also want you to enjoy the wealth and prosperity of this peaceful world."

Hearing this, Li Daozon prostrated himself on the ground, choking with sobs.

The old eunuch walked out of the hall and closed the door.

As for what His Highness and Prince Jiangxia said next, there is no way of knowing.

All I know is that Your Majesty talked with Li Daozon all night.

The next morning, Li Chengqian stood in front of the court to listen to government affairs as usual. He did not see his uncle at the court this morning.

After the court session, an imperial decree was delivered that Jiangxia County Prince Li Daozon had accepted money and property from others, and was dismissed from his military post and fined five years' salary. However, considering that he had made contributions earlier, it was considered as misconduct and he was confined to his home for half a month.

He was originally a general in the army, in charge of a thousand bulls and two guards, with thousands of soldiers under his command. Now he lost his military position overnight.

Your Majesty still considers the brotherhood and Li Daozon's contributions.

All the generals were ready to go on the autumn hunt happily, but with only a few days to go, something like this happened to spoil their fun.

Li Chengqian sat in the East Palace with his hands in his pockets, drinking tea and enjoying a moment of leisure. He said slowly: "If I were to supervise the government, should I stand in the Taiji Hall or sit in the Taiji Hall?"

(End of this chapter)