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

Chapter 643 The Crown Prince Privately Mobilizes Troops
When the emperor's carriage arrived at Hongyi Palace,

A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder, and then a torrential downpour began.

Strong winds and torrential rain.

A large tree in front of Hongyi Palace had its top broken by the wind, almost hitting the emperor's carriage.

Li Yuan, worried about his son's safety, disregarded the heavy rain and rushed through the downpour into the Prince of Qin's residence.

"How is Erlang?" Li Yuan asked loudly upon seeing the obese Changsun Wuji, disregarding his soaked body from the rain.

Changsun Wuji, looking flustered and with a mournful expression, replied, "The Prince of Qin fell ill as soon as he returned; his throat feels like it's being pricked by needles. We must quickly fetch a physician."

Before the physician arrived, the King of Qin suffered from abdominal pain, burning throat, and difficulty breathing. Fortunately, the physician arrived in time and diagnosed him with Gelsemium elegans poisoning. He immediately induced vomiting and washed his stomach with medicine, and then administered a decoction made from Coptis chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, Phellodendron chinense, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis to detoxify him.

The symptoms had initially subsided after taking the medication, and the King of Qin had just breathed a sigh of relief when his condition flared up again. He had difficulty breathing, vomited a lot of blood, and fainted…

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan vomited blood and fainted, his face turning deathly pale.

"Erlang,"

Li Yuan cried out in anguish and staggered toward his son's room.

Thunder and lightning raged outside, accompanied by a violent storm.
In Li Shimin's bedroom,
The lights are bright,

Several doctors, some invited by the Prince of Qin's residence and others sent by the Emperor, surrounded the Prince of Qin's bedside.
Princess Qin held her husband's hand tightly.

But the King of Qin remained unconscious on his bed.
There was bloodstain on his clothes.

Li Yuan barged in.
Seeing her son like that, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

His son led troops at the age of sixteen.
A natural-born commander on the battlefield, invincible in every attack and victory, he prefers to use light cavalry for close reconnaissance and always likes to lead from the front in battle.
How many times have I been surrounded on the battlefield?

Many of his horses died on the battlefield.

Yet he survived the battlefield time and time again and won the war.

But now,
However, immediately after his triumphant return, and after attending his brother's family dinner,
He lies here, unconscious from poisoning.

Looking at that deathly pale face, and at that furrowed brow even in unconsciousness, Li Yuan felt a pang of heartache.

At that moment, he seemed to recall his time as the prefect of Xingyang.
Young Erlang Shimin suddenly contracted an eye disease, becoming blind and unable to see. His father took Shimin everywhere seeking medical treatment.

He is his son's eyes.

The father and son spent every day together.

Later, Erlang's eyes were finally healed, but Li Yuan could not forget those days. Even after he was transferred to various places, he always took Shimin with him.

However, ever since he established the Tang Dynasty and ascended the throne as emperor,
The relationship between father and son gradually became distant, especially in the last two years. In order to secure the position of the crown prince, he deliberately suppressed Erlang.

Even at a family dinner not long ago,
He also couldn't wait to announce that he would enfeoff Erlang in Rinan, Jiaozhi.

That's in the far south of Lingnan, truly the southernmost point of the world.

Not only did he fail to keep his promise to Erlang to change the crown prince, but he also worried that Erlang could now threaten him.

But now, looking at him lying there,

Li Yuan was heartbroken.

He's only in his early twenties.

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, he has been present and contributed to almost every major battle.

"Erlang, wake up, Father is here."

Li Yuan grasped Li Shimin's hand, and large tears fell onto his son's hand.

"Feng Yu, why haven't you immediately detoxified the King of Qin?"

The white-haired, senior imperial physician of the Imperial Pharmacy, the most renowned old imperial physician, hurriedly said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Qin has already been given the yellow decoction to detoxify him."

"Then why haven't you woken up yet?"

"The poison of Gelsemium elegans is extremely potent; although it was detected and treated in time,..."

Li Yuan understood the imperial physician's words.

Even with the antidote, the poison is too potent; whether or not the patient can be saved is entirely up to fate.

Li Yuan asked for a towel and helped the King of Qin wipe his face, carefully cleaning the bloodstains left from the corners of his mouth.

I sat with my son for a while, but he still didn't wake up.

He walked out of the bedroom.
Upon arriving at the outer veranda,
The wind was strong and the rain was heavy.
Rain blew into the covered walkway.
Li Yuan stood there, letting the rain and wind batter him.

The emperor was furious and also felt guilty.

"Father, let's go back inside," Jiancheng advised from the side.

Li Yuan turned his head, looked at Jiancheng, his gaze icy, and said, "Eldest son, are you satisfied with this result?"

The Crown Prince felt uneasy under the Emperor's watchful eye. "Father, I am deeply saddened by Erlang's poisoning. I will definitely send people to thoroughly investigate this matter."

"Investigate? How will you investigate? Who will you investigate?" Li Yuan asked three questions in a row.

Jiancheng cannot answer.

Li Yuan turned his head to look at Yuan Ji, who was standing behind the Crown Prince.
Suddenly, he took two steps forward and slapped his fourth son hard across the face.

Yuanji was caught off guard by the slap and stared at his father in astonishment, covering half of his face.

"You wicked beast!"

"When you were born, you were weak and ugly, and everyone said you wouldn't survive. It was your mother's maid, Chen Shanyi, who secretly took you in and raised you, which is why you didn't live."

She was your wet nurse and your savior, yet later, simply because she stopped you from doing something reckless, you actually ordered your men to kill her in a fit of rage.

Li Yuan glared at his ugly son with his pointed mouth and monkey-like face. Perhaps it was right for his wife, Dou, to abandon him when he was born.

Born a bad seed.

He killed even his savior and wet nurse, Chen, back then, so it's no wonder he dares to poison his own brother now.

What is there that this beast wouldn't do?

"If anything happens to Erlang, you wicked beast, you will be buried with him!"

Yuanji wanted to retort, but when he opened his mouth, the pain on the half of his face that had been slapped became even more intense. "What does my brother's poisoning have to do with me?" he said, his voice growing softer and softer.

Li Yuan raised his hand and pointed angrily at him.
"Duke of Xun!" Li Yuan summoned Qian Jiulong.

"Imprison this wicked beast within the Secretariat, forbidding him from leaving even a step, and forbidding him from seeing anyone."

Qian Jiulong approached Yuanji and said, "King Qi, please."

The wind and rain continue.

Li Yuan summoned Lu Kuan again, "How is Pei Xuanyan's family? Has the imperial physician gone?" "Your Majesty," Lu Kuan replied, "I have already arranged for physicians from the Imperial Pharmacy to go. I just received a report that Pei Xuanyan and his wife's symptoms have improved."

However, his servant Shenghuan had indeed died despite all efforts to save him.

Upon hearing this news, Li Yuan's heart trembled.

"Have the Imperial Guards from the garrison keep a close watch on the Pei residence, and make sure Pei Xuanyan is not silenced."

As he said this, the emperor glanced at the crown prince.

Li Jiancheng's throat was dry.

He is now convinced that the poisoning of the Prince of Qin and Pei Xuanyan was done by Yuan Ji.

That guy was originally planning to have an assassin kill the King of Qin during the family banquet; there's really nothing he wouldn't do.

This is outrageous!

My mind is in turmoil.

Yet, there was also a faint hope that the King of Qin would never wake up again.

Li Yuan snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves, and left to go see the Prince of Qin, leaving Li Jiancheng alone standing under the corridor.
Wind and rain.

Li Yuan stayed by the sickbed all night.

Despite everyone's attempts to persuade him, he refused to leave.

"His Majesty?"

Li Yuan vaguely heard a voice, opened his eyes, and found that it was already dawn.

"Erlang?"

Li Shimin woke up, opened his eyes, and looked at him with a somewhat blank expression.

What is Your Majesty doing here?

"Don't you remember? Yesterday, after returning from the family banquet, you suddenly suffered a poisoning attack and were unconscious all night." Li Yuan held his son's hand, full of relief. "Imperial physician,"

The two imperial physicians who were guarding the corner quickly came over.

Taking the pulse

Examine the tongue coating and ask about the patient's physical symptoms.

After a thorough examination,

The imperial physicians breathed a sigh of relief.
The King of Qin's poison has been neutralized, and his symptoms have improved. There are no major problems now; he can continue to take medication to recuperate.

Li Yuan also breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Shimin asked, "Your Majesty, what exactly is going on?"

Li Yuan sighed deeply, unsure how to explain it to his son.

"I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and give you an explanation."

"You should rest at home and recuperate. As for the matter of enfeoffment and establishing fiefdoms, put it aside for now."

Upon hearing the news, Princess Consort Changsun brought Chengqian to visit her husband.

"He also carried a food box."

"Father must be hungry after keeping watch all night. I have prepared black chicken and ginseng soup. Father, drink it while it's hot."

Li Yuan accepted the chicken soup offered by his eldest grandson, feeling increasingly guilty.

"Chengqian, you drink with Azu."

He then asked the imperial physician if Li Shimin could drink the water, and upon learning that he could not drink it for the time being, he had someone feed his son water.

After finishing the chicken soup, Li Yuan spent some more time with Li Shimin.

"Take good care of yourself and get well soon,"

When Li Yuan left, his face was full of anger.

Get into the imperial carriage,

He then summoned Qian Jiulong.

"What was found?"

"We found the Polygonatum sibiricum sent by Prince Qi in Pei Xuanyan's house, and it did indeed contain Gelsemium elegans poison. Following this poisonous Polygonatum sibiricum, we arrested Rong Jiusi, the secretary of Prince Qi's residence. He confessed that the Polygonatum sibiricum and other gifts were arranged by Xue Shi, the guard of Prince Qi."
We arrested Xue Shi as well.

"After inquiring with Pei Xuanyan, it was learned that the Prince of Qi had secretly ordered the military officers Xue Shi and Yuwen Bao to recruit fugitives and hide them in various wards of Chang'an, plotting to assassinate the Prince of Qin. Pei Xuanyan advised the Prince of Qi but was dismissed from his post. After Pei Xuanyan was transferred to the Prince of Qin's residence..."
The King of Qi then sent him a promotion gift, including a dose of Solomon's Seal.

Although Xue Shi was stubborn and had no way of admitting it,

However, based on the information obtained from Pei Xuanyan, Qian Jiulong sent people to follow the clues and successfully captured a group of fugitives recruited by the Prince of Qi.

Li Yuan's face was cold, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"What a courage."

“If Xue Shi won’t confess, then use torture. Torture Yuwen Bao as well, and make them spill everything they know.”

“Take a thorough investigation of all officials in the Qi Prince’s Mansion, from top to bottom.”

Anyone involved in this poisoning case will be executed, the mastermind will be stripped of their official position and exiled to Lingnan!

Li Yuan ordered Qian Jiulong to continue the investigation and dig to the bottom of it.

"What else did you find out?" Li Yuan asked, noticing Qian Jiulong's hesitation.

Like Fan Shixing, Qian Jiulong was originally a noble general of the Sui Dynasty, but was later convicted and demoted to slavery, and was sent to Li Yuan as a slave.

Now they are all dukes, and they all hold the important position of Grand General of the Imperial Guard, and they are all highly trusted by Li Yuan.

Qian Jiulong whispered, "We found out that Xue Shi and Yuwen Bao recruited fugitives, and Ke Dazhi, the Right Commander of the Eastern Palace, was also involved. Ke Dazhi also secretly transferred three hundred elite cavalrymen from Li Yi, the Prince of Yan in Jingzhou, and dispersed them back to Chang'an. They are now secretly housed in several wards east of the Eastern Palace..."

Li Yuan's breathing quickened.

The King of Qi recruited fugitives to hide in the capital, while the Crown Prince secretly mobilized elite border troops to the capital.
These have all crossed the emperor's forbidden territory.

Adding to the fact that the King of Qin was poisoned at a family banquet, Li Yuan's hands were trembling.

These two rebellious sons are incredibly audacious.

"You shall immediately lead the Imperial Guards to arrest Kedazhi and the three hundred Youzhou cavalrymen who were secretly transferred to the capital. Kedazhi, Yuwen Bao, and Xue Shi shall all be executed."

Qian Jiulong cautiously reminded the emperor that all three of them came from noble and powerful families in the Guanzhong region.

"After interrogating the three men, they shall all be exiled to Lingnan and Jiaozhi, never to return!" Li Yuan instructed.

(End of this chapter)