The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 68 Have I made any progress?
Ning Er gathered up the towels and said, "It is now rumored in the court and the public that Your Highness has been practicing archery hard in the snow. His Majesty, mindful of Your Highness's hard work, could not bear to remove the bows and arrows in front of the Wude Hall. He said that His Majesty is tolerant and understanding towards my father and is pleased with Your Highness's diligence."

"Your Majesty is filial, the Emperor Emeritus loves his grandson, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is diligent and hardworking. This has become a good story in the court. Since it is a good story, the civil and military officials in the court will naturally support it and send these to the East Palace."

A filial father, a loving emperor, and a diligent prince, it is indeed a beautiful story.

Li Chengqian straightened his clothes, looked at the snowy scene outside the East Palace window, and whispered, "Is this what the rumors outside are saying?"

"Ah."

"Who spread it?"

"I don't know about this, but this is what is being spread across the government and the public."

"Okay, this is good too."

Ning'er smiled and nodded. She washed the towel and handed it to the palace maids outside the hall, asking them to hang it up.

Heavy snow covered the roof of every palace. Li Chengqian sighed and turned into a cloud of white mist in the cold air.

My father is still a respected emperor and a Khan with overwhelming personal charm.

His prince has tried very hard, but in the end he is just a tiny star under his father's personal brilliance?

After a long while, Li Chengqian sat down again and flipped through the book in front of him. He asked, "Has the letter from Jingyang arrived?"

Seeing that His Highness cannot find the letters, there are more and more books in the bedroom, and they will pile up if they are not sorted out in a day.

Ning'er took a roll of paper from the bookshelf beside her and said, "Your Highness, it's here."

Li Chengqian took over and said, "Sometimes I really can't find where something has gone."

The younger brothers and sisters in the Eastern Palace are one year older, and they are becoming more and more playful. As the emperor, I have many things to worry about, so sometimes I can't find a certain book, and most of the time I have to ask Ning'er.

Li Lizhi smiled and said, "Sister Ning'er is a good helper to His Highness. She knows best where everything in the Eastern Palace is."

Li Chengqian raised his aching arm and saw Ning'er busy packing up the medicine jars. He said, "Lizhi, please help me write a reply."

"it is good."

Still unable to hold the brush with his sore arms, Li Chengqian said, "Murong Shun was a Tang envoy who traveled to various places in the Turkic and Western Regions to record the local customs and culture. If the Tang people sang praises to the Heavenly Khan, they would inevitably be talking to themselves. Some words spoken by a Tuyuhun person are more convincing than those spoken by a Tang person."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "It will be enough to dispel his doubts."

Ning'er put the letter into a bamboo tube, and then used a piece of wood to hang some sealing wax on the edge of the lid of the bamboo tube and sealed it.

Li Lizhi walked out of the bedroom with her hands behind her back, in a good mood.

Li Chengqian walked up the stairs at the back of the bedroom. The stairs were not high, and when he stepped on them, he could hear the creaking sound of the old wood.

Because the terrain of the East Palace was not low, the second floor of the pavilion appeared very high. A chair was placed here, and Li Chengqian sat down with his hands in his pockets, putting his body weight on the chair.

Seeing His Highness just sitting there, Ning'er quickly put a cloak on him.

Looking from a high place, one could see from afar palace servants clearing the snow in front of each palace, and small paths appeared on the snowy ground.

Li Chengqian asked, "Did Wang Gui go to teach Qingque?"

Ning Er whispered, "I heard that he went there last night. People in the Prince of Wei's mansion said that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei had a long conversation with Mr. Wang Gui all night, and the Prince of Wei personally sent the old man back the next day..."

Hearing these words, Li Chengqian looked towards the front hall of the East Palace and saw Xiaofu tidying up the dishes.

"Is she still like this?"

Ning Er sighed, "I've taught her several times, but she still can't change."

Li Chengqian whispered, "Yeah, you can obviously put the dishes away while washing them."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had a hopeless look on his face.

Ning'er also gave up because Xiaofu was used to doing only one thing at a time and couldn't wash the dishes and put them in order at the same time.

On the third day after the heavy snow stopped, the court, which had been suspended for five days, was finally about to resume.

Li Chengqian was sitting in front of the East Palace eating a bowl of noodles. From the doorway he could see a group of officials hurrying towards the Taiji Hall.

He calculated that he would still have enough time to finish this bowl of noodles before going to the morning court, so he ate leisurely without paying attention to the gazes of the ministers.

Not long after, Fang Xuanling also came and asked Xiaofu to bring a bowl of noodles. Fang Xiang also sat down and ate the noodles.

In this way, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will not feel awkward having Prime Minister Fang by his side.

After a while, Li Ji also came. As agreed before, the prince's archery teacher also took a bowl of noodles from the East Palace.

So, at the gate of the East Palace, Prime Minister Fang, Li Ji, and the Crown Prince were all sitting at the gate of the East Palace.

Li Chengqian ate the noodles and drank another mouthful of broth, saying, "Prime Minister Fang, all the previous memorials have been arranged."

Fang Xuanling nodded and said, "They have all been distributed. Not all memorials can be delivered to various places on time. There are still many things that have to be put aside for next year."

There is no way around it. In this era, most people still rely on their legs for transportation.

General Li Ji actually had a good appetite. Before Li Chengqian had finished his one bowl, the general had already eaten two bowls.

When the time for the morning court session was almost up, the three people in front of the East Palace stood up.

As they walked toward the Taiji Hall, Li Ji asked, "How is your arm?"

Li Chengqian stretched his arms and said, "It's fine now. You can continue practicing today."

"It is my fault. Your Highness should be allowed to proceed step by step."

Li Chengqian continued to walk into the Taiji Hall and said with a smile: "I used to be weak, but now I need to strengthen my body and exercise my muscles. It is my duty. General, don't blame yourself."

Li Ji remained silent and followed the Crown Prince into the Taiji Hall.

This should be the last court meeting before the holiday. All the ministers in the hall were very happy and had smiles on their faces.

The seventh year of Zhenguan was spent in this bland life, neither busy nor leisurely.

The next ten years or so will be another decade of vigorous development and continued prosperity for the Tang Dynasty.

Inside the hall, Ma Zhou, who was then the Censor-in-Chief, was wearing a dark green official robe and his official uniform and boots were very neat.

His eyes were fixed on His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who walked into the palace.

Standing next to Ma Zhou was the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Cen Wenben, who was also one of Fang Xuanling's capable officials.

The two men stood together, watching the prince walk past the court officials, and then stand at the front of the court, near the bottom of the steps to the throne.

Cen Wenben asked, "Ma Yushi, have you heard about what happened recently?"

Ma Zhou said: "The Crown Prince is indeed outstanding in supervising government affairs. He can start from the details, adapt to local conditions, and come up with governance strategies."

Cen Wenben smiled and nodded.

Ma Zhou added: "But the crown prince is always the crown prince. These things are the responsibilities of the ministers. The crown prince cannot always do everything himself. It is not good for the ministers to blindly follow him."

Cen Wenben had no way of refutation to these words, and his expression when he looked at the prince became more complicated.

Ma Zhou continued, "From the perspective of supervising government affairs, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is a man who values ​​practical matters. Now His Royal Highness the Crown Prince practicing archery in front of the Wude Hall is being praised as a good story. You only know the good story but have not realized that the Crown Prince should pay more attention to etiquette."

When saying these words, Ma Zhou looked serious.

This man is like this, he always has a serious look when it comes to His Majesty or matters in the court. It is no wonder that Ma Zhou was able to serve as the Censor-in-Chief because of his vision, and thus was highly valued by His Majesty.

This country belongs to the Li family. Li Yuan was an expert archer back then, and your majesty was even better at archery back then.

Now let’s look at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, with three generations living together including grandfather, grandson, father and son. It seems that the crown prince’s talent in archery is mediocre.

Practice in the hottest days of summer and the third day of winter. As long as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is diligent enough, he will be able to master the art of archery.

Cen Wenben thought for a while and whispered, "I heard that after the Tibetan envoy Lu Dongzan returned to Tibet, he told the Tibetan king about the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty. Now Tibet has sent another envoy."

Ma Zhou asked, "What are you sending an envoy for?"

Cen Wenben held the tablet in his hand and whispered, "I don't know. I heard that they are on the way. The Turks also sent envoys this year."

As he was speaking, His Majesty had already walked into the Taiji Hall, and today's morning court session began.

The two men kept silent and bowed along with many court officials.

Li Chengqian stood in front of the court, with his hands in his pockets, listening to reports from various departments in the court. All preparations had been finalized since the autumn hunting period last year.

Listening to the reports from various departments, it didn't sound like a year-end summary, but more like telling the emperor that everything for this year had been done.

Li Chengqian listened with a frown. Logically speaking, it would be better to have a year-end summary, for example, to explain the various difficulties encountered this year and how these difficulties were overcome.

Is this a good idea?
This year, Donggong has at least tried hard.

Of course, everything has two sides. What if the year-end summary becomes another act of seeking fame and reputation?

It doesn't seem so necessary.

The reports in the hall were still going on. Li Chengqian thought about it and rejected his previous idea.

After the last report from the Ministry of Rites was finished, Li Shimin said in a deep voice: "This year, envoys from various countries are coming to the court, and the Ministry of Rites will receive them."

His Majesty then turned his gaze to his three sons standing in the hall.

Li Tai stood there with a calm expression.

Looking at Li Ke again, he was standing straight, looking straight ahead. No matter how you looked at him, he looked like a guard on duty for the prince.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw Zhangsun Wuji stand out from the court and say, "Your Majesty, recently the Crown Prince has often discussed with me the affairs of merchants outside the Great Wall."

Finally, Li Shimin's eyes fell on the prince who was closest to the throne.

The prince had his hands in his pockets, his brows furrowed, and he looked like he was deeply troubled.

After Duke Zhao finished speaking, the hall was silent for a long time.

No one else spoke.

The prince didn't say anything either.

Li Shimin nodded and said, "What does auxiliary machine mean?"

Changsun Wuji lowered his head and glanced at the crown prince beside him, and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to help the Ministry of Rites host the reception of envoys from various countries, and I also invite the crown prince to observe the academic affairs."

Li Shimin nodded and said, "Crown Prince?"

Li Chengqian bowed slightly, still with his hands in his pockets, and said, "Your son obeys my order."

Today, Cheng Qian looked like he was at the mercy of others. Has this child suffered any injustice?
Li Shimin smiled and said, "Today's work is over. You can take a break and visit your relatives during the winter."

All the ministers bowed and bid farewell to the emperor.

The morning court was over, but Li Chengqian was still standing in his original position.

Li Ke asked: "Brother, what's wrong with you?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Is everything alright, Qingque?"

"Ah, Royal Brother." Li Tai bowed quickly.

"You should compile the Comprehensive Geography well." Li Chengqian reminded him.

"Yes." Li Tai also felt that his brother was acting strangely today. He was suspicious but did not ask too many questions when he saw Duke Zhao approaching.

Li Ke and Li Tai took their leave together.

"Your Highness." Changsun Wuji, still holding the tablet in one hand, stepped forward and asked, "Do you still want to go to the Wude Hall to practice archery?"

"Diligence brings success while laziness leads to failure." After saying this, Li Chengqian walked out of the palace.

The ministers walked out of the Taiji Hall feeling relaxed. The seventh year of Zhenguan had finally passed peacefully. After the court rested, many things would be discussed next year.

Everyone likes to have a holiday, and officials in groups of three or four even agree on whose family to go to for dinner.

Li Chengqian walked outside the palace, and General Li Ji was waiting there. He clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, please come in."

The snow on the ground had melted long ago. After being exposed to the sun and the wind, the originally wet ground became dry.

Li Chengqian walked to the front of the Wude Hall and continued to ask the general to correct his posture as before.

Li Ji said: "In the past, the arrows shot by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince only hit the target. The force of that arrow could only cause superficial injuries at best."

Hearing this, Li Chengqian looked at the target and shot an arrow. The arrow hit the target and he heard the movement and the tail of the arrow shaking.

It looked very good, but Li Ji said, "Your Highness, the strength is still not enough."

Li Chengqian sighed and continued to practice his arm strength.

Changsun Wuji stood in front of the Wude Hall. Li Ji was very strict in teaching the prince to practice archery. Even the prince did not relax at all.

Li Yuan woke up at this time. He stretched his body and walked outside the hall. When he saw the person standing in front of the hall, he asked, "Why are you here?"

Zhang Sun Wuji explained: "I came to visit Your Majesty, and then wait for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to finish his archery practice."

Li Yuan asked, "Is there something important waiting for my grandson to do?"

"The court is closed, and envoys from various countries are on their way to the court. I would like to ask Your Majesty to allow the Crown Prince to observe the reception of envoys from various countries."

Li Yuan stretched his back, tapped his shoulder, and asked unhappily, "Which envoys?"

"From the northern desert, the Turks, the Tibetans, the Western Regions, Gaochang."

"Humph, you're really making things difficult for the prince by letting him participate in such an important matter." Li Yuan looked at his grandson and said, "My grandson has a hard time."

Zhang Sun Wuji whispered, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is the heir to the throne, and there are things he must face."

Li Yuan snorted coldly and ignored him.

Changsun Wuji had no choice but to keep silent.

The prince's archery practice often ended at noon, so Li Chengqian took Li Ji, Zhangsun Wuji, and the emperor to the East Palace for dinner.

Li Chengqian walked in front with his hands in his pockets, relaxing his shoulders as he asked, "General, have I made any progress?"

Li Ji said: "Yes, but it's not obvious."

(End of this chapter)