A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 642 Death from Poison
Prince Qi, Li Yuanji's, residence occupied half of Longqing Ward.

Li Shimin arrived with his wife and children, including Princess Changsun, under the protection of the prince's family and guards from both the prince's residence and the inner palace. The people from the Qi Prince's residence immediately stepped forward to greet him.

Four-year-old Chengqian, the eldest son of the King of Qin, looked at the luxurious mansion and said, "Father, Fourth Uncle's mansion is bigger and more magnificent than ours."

Li Shimin picked up his son and frowned slightly as he looked at the luxurious Qi Prince's Mansion.

The family was welcomed into the Qi Prince's residence by the staff.
The interior of the Prince's Mansion was even more luxurious and magnificent, and in some places it was clearly excessive.

Numerous servants

The concubines and maids all wore silk and brocade.

"Erlang, come quickly."

A spirited noblewoman beckoned to Li Shimin.

"Third sister, I heard you haven't been feeling well lately. I just got back and was planning to visit you at your residence tomorrow."

The noblewoman was actually Princess Pingyang, Li Sanniang, who was Li Shimin's older sister from the same mother.

"It's nothing serious, but you've lost weight." Princess Pingyang looked at her younger brother with great concern.

Princess Consort Changsun came over and bowed to the princess. Pingyang took Chengqian's hand, took out a few pieces of malt candy, and said, "Share them with your younger siblings."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Li Chengqian happily accepted the candy and went to find his younger siblings, with Yang and the others quickly following behind.

“I heard that Yuanji and you two brothers had a very unpleasant argument when you went to fight in Hedong,” the princess sighed. “Silang is young and doesn’t know any better, so you, as the elder brother, should be more understanding. This time, he took the initiative to ask Father to host a family banquet, which is also his way of apologizing to you.”

Li Shimin shook his head and said, "Yuanji is a little older than Wuyi and a few years older than Daozong and Daoxuan, but his performance is far worse than the other three."

Let's not even mention the outrageous things he did a few years ago when he was stationed in Taiyuan; I was young then. But now I'm in my twenties, with several children; can I still say I was young and ignorant?
It's because he lacked discipline and was spoiled too much.

If he weren't a prince, he would have lost his head countless times for what he did.

The princess smiled bitterly, “My mother gave birth to four sons and one daughter. Sanlang is long gone, and my mother is gone too. Now, the four of us siblings must love each other even more.”

Yuanji knows he was wrong, so you forgive him. If he does something wrong again, you teach him to correct it…

“And another thing,” Pingyang hesitated, then took his hand and led him for a walk, “Second Brother, the Crown Prince is the eldest brother, and since the uprising began, he has also contributed a great deal to the country.”

"Now that your achievements and reputation are growing daily, do you really intend to compete with the Crown Prince for the throne?"

Li Shimin remained silent.

His sister, Princess Pingyang's, persuasion put him in a difficult position.

The emperor, accompanied by a group of concubines and young princes and princesses, arrived at the Qi Prince's residence.
The entire palace suddenly became lively.

"Yuanji, let's begin the feast."

The family feast prepared by Li Yuanji was very lavish, even a bit too extravagant.

There were a total of 108 dishes.
The dishes have extravagant names, use precious ingredients, and are exquisitely cooked, making them extremely luxurious.

There are cold dishes, stir-fries, barbecue, as well as noodles, soups, and desserts.

Delicious dishes were displayed, and the delicacies were piled up one after another.

Li Shimin looked at the dishes of food, one after another, but his mind was elsewhere.

The fighting on the border had just ended.

The rebellion in Jiangnan was only just quelled.

The border guards in the north lacked warm clothing, and many civilians were still poorly clothed and starving.
Yet the banquet held at the Qi family residence in Chang'an was so extravagant.

These delicacies are too extravagant.

There was even a dish on the table called "Vegetarian Steamed Sound Department," which was made of vegetarian dishes and steamed noodles to resemble a group of singing and dancing girls from Penglai. The set consisted of seventy-two pieces and was truly ingenious.

The emperor sat in the seat of honor.

Looking around the hall, one sees sons and daughters, along with their wives, husbands, and children—the whole family gathered together.
Li Yuan couldn't stop smiling.

The emperor ate heartily, enjoying the red ram's branch, the water-refined calf, and the roasted shrimp.

Li Shimin only ate some scallion and vinegar chicken.

After the hot dishes were served,

Li Yuan was almost full.

While I'm in a good mood,
He summoned his three adult sons, Jiancheng, Shimin, and Yuanji, to his presence.

"Si Lang, pour a cup of wine for me and Er Lang."

The wine is poured.

Li Yuan first picked up a cup and handed it to Li Shimin, then picked up another cup for himself.

"This cup of wine is a toast to Erlang, to fight the Turks in the north and defend our Great Tang!"

"It is all thanks to His Majesty's protection!" Li Shimin raised his cup.

Li Yuan raised his cup to drink, and Li Shimin drank it all in one gulp.

"Today, with the whole family gathered here for this family dinner, I'd like to announce something important," Li Yuan said with a smile.

Li Shimin's heart was pounding.

He looked at his father, as if he could already hear his father fulfilling his promise in public and announcing to everyone that he would be made the crown prince.

Although the possibility was perhaps only one in ten thousand, he could not give up this hope all the way south from Daibei.

No matter how much Li Yi hinted, the emperor would go back on his word, and might even suppress him; the crown prince and Prince Qi might even plot to kill him.
But he always held onto that sliver of hope.

Too excited
For a moment, his ears were ringing so loudly that he couldn't hear what the emperor was saying.

He tried hard to hear clearly, but the more he tried, the louder the ringing in his ears became, and he could hear nothing at all.

He saw the emperor's mouth opening and closing.

Countless eyes were fixed on him.

But the expressions on the faces of those who were looking at him made him uneasy.

Finally, the sound returned.

He was like a drowning person who finally surfaced and got a chance to catch his breath.

"Erlang?"

The emperor's voice rang in his ears.

"His Majesty?"

Seeing his second son's bewildered expression, Li Yuan reached out and patted his arm. "If you don't want to be enfeoffed as the ruler of Jiaozhi and Rinan, you can exchange fiefdoms with Yuanji."
He was enfeoffed in the south, establishing his fiefdom in Kunming, near Dianchi Lake.

Li Shimin felt a wave of dizziness. Wasn't the plan to change the crown prince?
Why was it the enfeoffment of Jiaozhi and Rinan?
Disappointment, utter disappointment.

There is no greater sorrow than a dead heart.
At that moment, even the last shred of hope vanished.

Li Shimin's face was ashen, and his eyes were lifeless.

"Second Brother, since ancient times, the eldest son has been chosen as heir, not the most virtuous; the son of noble birth has been chosen, not the eldest. You and Eldest Brother are brothers from the same father and mother. In the founding of our Great Tang Dynasty, both of you brothers made great contributions. Eldest Brother mainly assists me in governing the country in the court, while you have led troops into battle many times and made outstanding military achievements."

Now that the world is unified and the borders are pacified, I will naturally not forget your contributions.

I hereby bestow upon you the honor of being granted land and enfeoffment, and the privilege of establishing a new kingdom and vassal state.

"You may choose either Jiaozhi Rinan or Nanzhong Kunming to establish your kingdom, and your descendants may inherit the throne..."

Li Shimin wouldn't listen to a word he said.

Shaking his head, Li Shimin gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I am suddenly feeling unwell. Please forgive my rudeness. I will take my leave now."

Having said that, he ignored the emperor's surprised gaze.

He immediately bowed and withdrew.
His steps were unsteady, and he walked away.

Princess Consort Changsun led Chengqian over to apologize to the Emperor, and then followed him away.

The banquet, which was originally in full swing,

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

In fact, the atmosphere changed when the emperor announced that Li Shimin would be granted a fiefdom in Rinan, Jiaozhi.

Most people were also shocked to learn about this.

After all, the King of Qin had made unparalleled contributions.

But the emperor's policy of enfeoffment was more like an exile.

Li Yuan sat down.

He picked up his glass and took another sip.
The smile on his face was long gone.
He had considered many possible reactions from Erlang, but he hadn't anticipated this one.

He just left.

This son,

They're getting more and more arrogant.

He used to lead troops in battle and disobey orders. Now that he's back in Beijing, he can even turn around and leave like that at a family banquet.

The Crown Prince stepped forward. "Your Majesty, should we send the imperial physician to Prince Qin's residence to take a look?"

Li Yuan put down his wine cup. "Brother, fill it up for me."

"Si Lang, let the band continue playing. Er Lang isn't feeling well and has gone back first. Let's continue!"

The music started again.

Princess Pingyang came to her father's side.

"Father, when it comes to having Erlang establish a kingdom and set up a vassal state, there's no need to choose that remote and desolate frontier thousands of miles away."

Why can't we choose a better place for Erlang to establish his country?

To the south of Jiaozhi, to the south of Kunming,
That's all wilderness, no different from exile. This is too unfair to Erlang.

Li Yuan smiled and said to his eldest daughter, "I enfeoffed Erlang to the frontier because I value his military prowess and ability to pacify the border. He is a prince, and enfeoffing him to establish a fiefdom is also to protect the central government."

Of course, if Erlang really doesn't want to go to those two places, he can choose another fiefdom. How can you call it exile? He is my second son, and he has rendered great service to the country.”

"Father, I remember that Prime Minister Xiao also discussed the enfeoffment of princes before. That time, Prime Minister Xiao proposed to enfeoff Erlang in the Hehuang Valley of Longyou to establish a fiefdom, right?"
Even establishing a vassal state in Longyou and Hehuang is better than Jiaozhi and Nanzhong.

Li Yuan chuckled and said, "Good, good, good. I'll discuss it with Erlang later. As long as he's willing, it's fine for him to establish a kingdom in Longyou and Hehuang."

Upon hearing this, Crown Prince Li Jiancheng frowned.

Without the King of Qin's family banquet,

The atmosphere was a bit strange.

"His Majesty,"

Lu Kuan, the supervisor of the palace, looked hurried.

"Your Majesty, something happened."

Li Yuan put down his wine cup.

Lu Kuan leaned close to the emperor, lowered his voice, and tried to keep it from being overheard by others, "After returning to Hongyi Palace, the Prince of Qin suddenly fell ill, feeling as if his throat was being pricked by needles, suspected of being poisoned."

The Queen Consort of Qin quickly summoned a physician, who diagnosed her with poisoning from Gelsemium elegans.

"what?"

Li Yuanteng stood up, accidentally knocking a wine glass off the table and onto the floor.

Clang clang clang,

The emperor's loss of composure drew countless stares.

Li Yuan had sharp eyes.

The attack swept directly towards Crown Prince Jiancheng and Prince Yuanji of Qi.

"Quickly dispatch the Imperial Pharmacy's physician to Hongyi Palace to treat the Prince of Qin."

Li Yuan summoned the Crown Prince and Yuanji, and asked them to accompany him to Hongyi Palace to visit Shimin about his illness.

"How could he suddenly be poisoned?" Li Yuan seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps interrogating the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi beside him.

When Jiancheng heard that Li Shimin had been poisoned, he instinctively looked at Yuanji. This action, however, was noticed by the emperor.

Li Yuanji was also taken aback when he heard about the poison of Gelsemium elegans.

He had someone send Pei Xuanyan a poisonous substance called Gelsemium elegans. How could the Prince of Qin have been poisoned by Gelsemium elegans so soon after leaving his family banquet?

Did Yuwen Bao or Xue Shi act on their own initiative without consulting him?

A faint excitement welled up inside me.

If it poisons them to death, that would be perfect.

On the way from the Qi Prince's Mansion in Longqingfang to the Hongyi Palace in the west of the palace garden, General Qian Jiulong, the Right Supervisor of the Gate, reported the latest news.

“Pei Xuanyan and his wife, along with their two maids, have also just been poisoned by Gelsemium elegans. One of the male servants has already died from the poison.”

Qian Jiulong whispered to the emperor, "Pei Xuanyan was originally a clerk in the Prince of Qi's mansion, but he was dismissed by the Prince of Qi a few days ago. He has now been newly appointed as a military advisor in the Prince of Qin's mansion, and he just received his official document from the Ministry of Personnel this afternoon."

Li Yuan frowned. "How did Pei Xuanyan get poisoned?"

"It is said that Pei Xuanyan was promoted today, and many people went to his home to give gifts and congratulate him. The Prince of Qi also sent his secretary with many gifts, including a box of top-grade Solomon's Seal."

Pei Xuanyan and his wife had a habit of fasting by eating Solomon's Seal rice, and today they experienced symptoms of poisoning after consuming the Solomon's Seal rice sent by the King of Qi.

"The symptoms of the poison that Pei Xuanyan was poisoned by Gelsemium elegans are almost exactly the same as those of the poison that the King of Qin was poisoned by."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan couldn't help but grit his teeth and curse, "Yuanji, that wicked beast!"

At that moment, he recalled Erlang claiming to be unwell and leaving early at the family banquet, his steps unsteady as he walked.

When Lu Kuan reported that the King of Qin had been poisoned by Gelsemium elegans, the Crown Prince, who was standing nearby, looked at Yuan Ji after hearing this. Yuan Ji was stunned for a moment, and then looked secretly pleased.

In addition, Pei Xuanyan, a former clerk in the Qi Prince's mansion, was newly transferred to the Qin Prince's mansion. As a result, he ate the Polygonatum given to him by the Qi Prince and was poisoned by the same Gelsemium elegans as the Qin Prince.

Li Yuan believed he already knew the truth.

(End of this chapter)