The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 62 Right or Wrong
Everyone was talking about Cheng Yaojin's ridiculous behavior.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Chu Mo, it's not easy for you either."

Cheng Chumo sniffed in grievance, thinking that it was not easy for him, and said, "Thank you, Prince, for your understanding."

Li Chengqian continued, "What guest made General Cheng Yaojin so drunk that he even delayed coming to greet His Majesty today?"

Cheng Chumo whispered, "I don't know. The door was always closed and the boy was not allowed to see it."

Li Chengqian handed him a cake and said, "You haven't eaten yet? Eat some."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Cheng Chumo took a cake and ate it while standing aside. He added, "It's delicious. There are fillings."

Li Chengqian said: "This is stuffed with mutton and green onions, eat slowly."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Cheng Chumo said while eating.

Changsun Wuji closed his eyes and continued to wait for His Majesty's carriage to arrive in Chang'an City.

Someone came hurriedly and whispered something in Fang Xiang's ear. Fang Xuanling walked forward and whispered, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian understood and walked aside, saying, "What do you want, Minister Fang?"

Fang Xuanling whispered, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei has not arrived yet."

"Has anyone been sent to deliver the message?"

"I told you last night, but His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei insisted on waiting for Your Majesty in front of Ganlu Palace."

Li Chengqian sighed with his hands in his pockets, "Send someone to persuade him again."

"Yes." Fang Xuanling waved his hand and asked someone to pass on the message.

Another hour passed, but there was still no sign of any carriages or horses coming from Mount Li, not even a shadow of them.

From time to time, a cool breeze blew past the Xuanwu Gate, and everyone stopped talking or arguing, but continued to wait quietly.

Fang Xuanling received the words and walked up and said, "Your Highness, the Prince, the King of Wei is still waiting in front of the Ganlu Palace and is unwilling to come."

Li Chengqian stood straight with his hands in his pockets and urged: "Go and persuade them again."

Fang Xuanling nodded and asked someone to go again.

Around three quarters past noon, someone spoke loudly.

Everyone looked up and saw the soldiers in the distance. The long team finally walked from the high slope to a low slope, and the team finally appeared in front of everyone.

Everyone was delighted and became interested in chatting again.

Li Chengqian stood at the front of the ministers with his hands in his pockets, glancing at Chu Mo standing beside him. The boy stood very straight and his posture was quite good.

We were almost at Xuanwu Gate, and the team in the distance was also moving faster.

After waiting for another half a minute, the sound of horse hooves could be heard and the army stopped in front of the Xuanwu Gate.

The general who led the army was Weiwei Qing Liu Hongji. He dismounted first and said, "Your Highness, I have 25,000 soldiers under my command to escort the prince and princess."

Upon hearing this, Changsun Wuji nodded without saying anything.

"Royal brother!" A childish voice came from a distance. It was the younger brothers and sisters who got off the carriage and ran towards here.

Li Zhi was running in the front, Li Shen was a little behind, and his two younger brothers were running very fast, even raising some dust behind them.

Worried that the two younger brothers might fall, Li Chengqian stepped forward.

Li Zhi rushed over quickly, hugged his brother's legs, and laughed.

Li Shen put his hands on his knees and breathed out, "Brother! My brother is back."

After that, a group of younger sisters followed, they were more polite.

The ministers in the rear have begun to talk because they have not seen Your Majesty return.

Li Chengqian looked at his brothers and sisters and said, "Count."

Listening to their loud and childish voices counting, and confirming that no one was missing, Li Chengqian felt relieved.

Li Chengqian asked, "Zhi Nu? Is there any trouble in Mount Li?"

Li Zhi raised his head and said, "No."

Li Shen said: "My brother is making trouble, crying and making a fuss all the time."

"If they don't give us boiled water to drink, they will make trouble," Li Zhi said unconvinced.

An old eunuch had stood behind the ministers without knowing when. He said in a loud voice, "His Majesty has ordered that you all return to your respective posts in the court to handle government affairs. He also ordered that Prime Minister Fang, Duke Zhao, Prince Hejian, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince come to Ganlu Palace to meet with the Emperor."

All the ministers bowed in response to His Majesty's order, and then could only disperse.

Li Chengqian first let Ning'er take his younger brothers and sisters back to the East Palace, and then followed Prime Minister Fang and others to see his father.

Chang Sun Wuji said with a straight face all the way: "It turns out that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei had long expected that he would wait in Ganlu Palace."

Li Chengqian walked ahead with his hands in his pockets, whispering, "Actually, Qingque is quite smart. He figured out that my father would not enter the city through the Xuanwu Gate."

Chang Sun Wuji said in a deep voice: "The will is the will."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Qingque is still young and not calm enough."

"But..." Zhang Sun Wuji was about to say something, but stopped himself. He wanted to say that the Crown Prince was only fifteen years old. The words came to his lips but he didn't say them. He only sighed and said, "The King of Wei's temper will cause trouble."

Everyone had no choice but to go back through Xuanwu Gate and go to various departments in the court to do their own things.

Li Chengqian, Fang Xiang, his uncle, and the emperor's uncle Li Xiaogong followed the old eunuch.

Several people stood in front of Ganlu Palace. They could still hear the emperor's laughter in the palace. It seemed that the emperor and Qingque were having a very happy chat in the palace.

The old eunuch who led the way walked into the hall and bowed to report: "Your Majesty, everyone has arrived."

The laughter in the hall stopped, and Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "Go into the hall."

Upon hearing this, everyone walked into the Ganlu Hall. Li Chengqian walked at the front of the group and stood still to salute.

Fortunately, my father did not really turn into a savage and can speak normally.

Li Chengqian glanced at his father out of the corner of his eye. His beard had grown thicker and his complexion looked rather bad. Perhaps he hadn't gotten enough rest in the past two days?

Looking at Cheng Yaojin and Yuchi Gong standing in the hall, they also had bad expressions on their faces.

Li Chengqian's eyebrows jumped, it really is...

Li Shimin glanced at everyone present, handed over an urgent report, and said, "Fu Yun's son is coming. Tell us what to do with him."

The old eunuch handed over the general report, and Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling passed it around.

It was not until his uncle handed over the military report that Li Chengqian saw the contents of the report. In addition to the things that Li Ji had said before, the military report also said that Hou Junji was beheaded and displayed to the public, and his body was hung in Qinghai.

This incident caused a lot of discussion among people in the Western Regions. Duan Zhixuan was worried that the Gaochang people had been moving around the Western Regions frequently recently and there might be unusual movements.

After reading the memorial in his hand, Li Chengqian handed it to his uncle beside him.

Li Xiaogong just glanced at it without looking at it carefully and handed it to the eunuch beside him.

It was very quiet in Ganlu Hall. Li Shimin took a sip of tea and said, "I have repeatedly told Hou Junji not to kill too many people, but he never changes his ways."

Fang Xuanling said: "Your Majesty, General Hou did make great contributions in the battle against Tuyuhun."

Zhang Sun Wuji said: "If Fang Xiangruo and the people of the Western Regions think that the Tang army is killing and plundering without restraint, wouldn't that damage the reputation of the Tang army?"

The Tang army has always been a just army, with a legitimate reason. The reason and face of the battle against Tuyuhun were clear, and the Tang Dynasty was definitely on the side of justice.

Li Xiaogong said: "Your Majesty, the people of the Western Regions have always been barbaric. If it weren't for Hou Junji's actions to intimidate the remaining Tuyuhun tribes, there might be chaos again."

Cheng Yaojin said: "I second the proposal! Hou Junji had no choice but to do so."

Li Chengqian stood aside with his hands in his pockets, silent. It was obvious that the emperor's uncle and Cheng Yaojin were speaking for Hou Junji.

As a son and a prince, he watched the dispute in the Taiji Hall with a learning attitude.

Li Tai, who had been standing by, interrupted the discussion and said, "Father, I think that General Hou Junji's merits and demerits are equal, so confinement is sufficient."

Li Chengqian looked outside the Taiji Hall. The weather was gloomy today.

Silence returned to the hall. In fact, what Li Tai said was not very accurate, because it was not good to have a preconceived notion that Hou Junji was wrong.

The right or wrong of this matter has not yet been determined.

It's called confinement, how long? Half a month, three months, a year?
Soon, Cheng Yaojin said: "Your Majesty, the soldiers are fighting outside. If their merits are taken away, it will be a bit chilling for the soldiers."

Li Chengqian nodded and thought to himself that General Cheng's words were still very pertinent.

Li Shimin's gaze moved from Cheng Yaojin to the prince. This son had not said a word from the time he entered the palace until now.

He even had the leisure to look at the scenery outside the palace.

Li Shimin stared at the prince and took a sip of tea, but the boy didn't react at all.

Fang Xuanling said again: "Your Majesty, I..."

"Forget it." Li Shimin said disappointedly, "We can discuss this after Hou Junji and Duan Zhixuan come back. Let's all leave now."

"Yes!" Everyone stood up and responded.

Li Chengqian turned around and followed everyone out of the hall.

"Prince, stay!"

Suddenly, he heard his father's words from behind. Li Chengqian stopped, with one foot raised and the other still in the hall. He stood there stiffly for a while.

Li Xiaogong turned around, gave a big smile, and walked away quickly.

With his hands in his pockets, Li Chengqian retracted his steps, forced a smile, and said, "Father."

Li Shimin pointed to a chair beside him and said, "Sit down."

Seeing the new Lishan chair, Li Chengqian's smile stiffened a little. He sat down and said, "Thank you, father."

Li Shimin poured tea and said, "The children in Chang'an are all worse than the others. Who is the most intelligent one among your generation?"

Li Chengqian smiled and replied, "Of course it was Qingque. Qingque was the only one who thought that the emperor would not come back from Xuanwu Gate."

The old eunuch brought the tea poured by His Majesty to the Crown Prince, then stood aside with a smile and dismissed the rest of the eunuchs in the hall.

Li Chengqian took a sip of the tea. This was the tea from the Eastern Palace. His father had not finished the tea he had given to his mother.

"Is this child Du He very close to you?"

"I have known Du He since childhood and have always been in contact with him."

Li Shimin put the military newspaper aside and acted as if he wanted to chat with his children. He continued, "I was hunting in Mount Li in autumn. Du He came to Mount Li every day to buy prey from my soldiers. He almost bought all the fat meat and fat."

"Oh..." Li Chengqian nodded belatedly.

"Do you know how Du He's workshop is doing now?"

"I heard that Du He made a lot of money."

Looking at his son carefully again, Li Shimin continued, "These days, I have been in Mount Li and have often asked about the political affairs of Chang'an. The civil and military officials in the court have praised you a lot."

"That's all thanks to Prime Minister Fang and Duke Zhao's good teachings."

Li Shimin suddenly smiled, reached out and patted his son's shoulder, and said, "You didn't say anything in the hall just now. Now I ask you, do you think Hou Junji is wrong?"

Li Chengqian put the tea bowl on the table beside him, looked up at his father, and said, "Just talking about right and wrong will only make things more confusing. This is what I think."

"Well, you go back."

"Yes." Li Chengqian stood up, bowed slightly, and walked out of Ganlu Hall quickly.

Sitting in the Ganlu Hall, Li Shimin took out a form from a pile of files and looked at it. It was sent from Li Daozon's Jingzhao Prefecture, with a smile on his face.

A report came from outside the palace, "Your Majesty, the Queen is here."

Li Shimin nodded slightly.

Empress Changsun came over with a food box and said, "Your Majesty, you haven't eaten yet."

Li Shimin looked up from a pile of files and said, "I am indeed hungry."

As the fresh dishes were placed before her eyes, she continued, "These are all meals cooked by the palace maids of Chengqian East Palace. Li Zhi always delivers them to us."

Seeing his wife handing him a hot pancake, Li Shimin's annoyance was relieved. He took a bite of the pancake and chewed it, saying, "Scallions? Lamb... Yeah, delicious."

Seeing His Majesty wolfing down his food, Empress Changsun smiled and said, "Eat slowly."

Li Shimin chewed the biscuit and said, "I asked two children today."

"Chengqian and Qingque?"

"Hmm." Li Shimin took a sip of soup and said, "Qingque thinks we should talk about right and wrong first, but Chengqian says we should not talk about right and wrong."

"Alas..." Empress Changsun sighed, "There are so many important matters, and in the end it is still Your Majesty who makes the final decision. Why should you embarrass these two children?"

Li Shimin smiled and said, "This cake is very good, you can try it too."

"I have eaten."

Inside the Ganlu Palace, the couple were talking.

The few people who were just in Ganlu Palace walked out of Chengtian Gate and saw that King Wei had walked away.

After much thought, Changsun Wuji finally asked Yuchi Gong, only to find out that the emperor had arrived in Chang'an yesterday and stayed overnight at Cheng Yaojin's house.

Cheng Yaojin, Li Xiaogong, Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji and Yuchi Gong walked together.

After listening to the story, several people exchanged what they knew and understood the whole story.

Fang Xuanling did not stop and whispered, "Did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also find out yesterday that His Majesty has returned to Chang'an?"

Cheng Yaojin said in a deep voice: "According to what the old fox Changsun said, as long as the prince goes to Li Daozon's house to verify it, he can reveal where Your Majesty is."

Li Xiaogong asked curiously, "Changsun, old fox, please tell us! Has the prince exposed it?"

Hearing the constant calling of "Changsun the old fox" was very irritating, Changsun Wuji said: "The prince returned to the East Palace with a basket of duck eggs."

After saying this, he looked unhappy again, waved his sleeves and said angrily: "You gave me an egg."

Several people shook their heads and smiled bitterly, bowed to each other, and then went about their own business.

The emperor returned to the court, and the backbone of the entire Chang'an city also returned. On the official road from Longxi to Chang'an, passing through Jingyang, there was a group of soldiers marching.

The cold wind made the horses snort continuously. Hou Junji and his troops remained silent. This army of 300 people was also escorting a prison cart.

Thanks to the leader of the Potato Head Fried Potato! Thank you for your support and recognition!
The May Day holiday is too busy, Xiao Zhang will definitely update more after these two days!
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(End of this chapter)