Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 103: Marrying the daughter of the General of the Left Guard to the Crown Prince Liangti? (Part )

May, Renshen, is the Dragon Boat Festival.

After a strict inspection, the purple-canopied carriage slowly drove into the palace and finally turned east into the Prince's Palace.

The carriage stopped in front of Cheng'en Gate.

Su Shu stepped forward and helped her mother, Lady Feng of Jiang County, out of the carriage.

"Slow down!" Feng looked at Su Shu, who was already five months pregnant, and then slowly stood up. She looked at the dozen or so carriages parked around her and asked curiously, "Are there many people coming to the palace today?"

"Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. Officials of Chang'an City above the fifth rank and their families have all gone to Qujiang Pond, while officials of the third rank and their families have all gone to Beiyuan, where my daughter will receive them." Su Shu sighed softly and said, "At the end of March, a plague suddenly broke out in Zezhou. By the time it reached Chang'an, it was already mid-April. The Crown Prince and Prime Minister Wei worked very hard to prevent the plague from spreading from Zezhou."

The plague broke out suddenly in Zezhou in March, but the Zezhou Governor's Office responded very slowly.

When the plague was out of control, the news was sent to Luoyang, and it was already mid-April when it arrived in Chang'an.

In panic, Li Chengqian and Wei Zheng dispatched a large number of manpower to block the road from Yongjikou in Puzhou to Yongzhou, thus preventing the plague from spreading.

Of course, the emperor and his ministers responded quickly, and a large number of medical officers and medicinal materials were sent to Zezhou.

At the same time, the prince formulated a method of dividing the land and isolating the people according to the advice of his personal physician Li Qin.

No one is allowed to enter Zezhou but not leave.

Other neighboring states are keeping a close eye on the intersections leading into Zezhou. At the same time, if these states and counties want to leave the area, they need special documents issued by the states and counties.

Of course, the internal exchanges between these states and counties are not controlled, but in this situation, who would allow others to easily come and go in their home?

Even the states, counties and villages have already exercised control over it themselves.

In addition, the roads from Bingzhou to Chang'an and Luoyang were strictly inspected.

Otherwise, if the plague spread to Chang'an and Luoyang, things would really get out of hand.

Su Shu supported her mother as she went to see her two sons. Feng then whispered, "The news that you are going to marry Prince Liangti to the Crown Prince has spread throughout Chang'an."

"My daughter did it on purpose." Su Shu glanced around and said, "Only after my daughter's memorial is sent to Luoyang will the emperor approve it."

"Your Majesty, will you agree?" Feng looked at Su Shu in surprise.

The Crown Prince's concubine is different from the Crown Prince's concubine. She must be a good woman from a certain family background.

"My daughter is marrying a concubine for the crown prince and expanding the royal family. Why doesn't my father agree?" There was a hint of resentment in Su Shu's eyes as she spoke.

She was really scared by what happened last year. There were rumors inside and outside the palace at any time that the prince would be deposed.

The situation was originally better this year, but the emperor suddenly transferred Princess Pingyang's second son Chai Lingwu to the Prince of Wei's Mansion. Although Li Chengqian did not say much, his seriousness was clearly visible.

Although Ma Sanbao, Pan Ren, and Master Qiu are dead, their descendants are still around.

Although Chai Lingwu's help to Li Tai was not as great as Fang Yiai's, he had the support of Princess Pingyang, and the pressure on the Eastern Palace came again.

"There is some truth in what you said. After all, you are the Crown Princess, and His Majesty always needs to be considerate of you. But these things should only be done once, not a second time." Feng couldn't help but shook her head.

"My daughter knows." Su Shu smiled happily.

"Tell me, whose daughter do you like?"

……

On Suzaku Street, a golden carriage with a red canopy, pulled by four tall black horses, slowly headed towards the imperial palace.

Li Chengqian sat in the carriage and handed the document to Wei Zheng, saying, "Divine Doctor Sun has arrived in Zezhou. The epidemic in Zezhou may be eliminated soon."

"I hope so." Wei Zheng sighed softly, put down the document and said, "Your Majesty always demands perfection in Fengshan. There was an assassination in March and a plague in April. If something goes wrong again in the future, I'm afraid Your Majesty will have to cancel the Fengshan ceremony."

"Your Majesty..." Li Chengqian didn't know what to say for a moment. He felt that the emperor's idea was right. Things like Fengshan were about respecting heaven and earth. If there was any disobedience, it would be difficult to be sincere in one's heart. In this case, from the emperor's point of view, it was imperfect.

Of course, Li Chengqian couldn't say these words.

Logically, he should have advised the emperor that even if it was imperfect, the Fengshan ceremony must continue, but he knew that a comet was about to hit Taiweiyuan and the Fengshan ceremony would soon be stopped.

At this moment, it is best to pretend that you see nothing and say nothing.

The emperor did not reveal his intention to stop the Fengshan ceremony, so Li Chengqian's random guesses at this time would easily arouse the emperor's anger.

"By the way, I heard that His Highness sent people to Ruzhou?" Wei Zheng's sudden and light words made Li Chengqian's expression suddenly change sternly.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and explained cautiously, "I feel something is amiss. The construction of Xiangcheng Palace took seven months, nearly 10,000 craftsmen, and over 20,000 laborers from various states, with even more material resources. Yet, because of a few poisonous insects, Yan Lide was dismissed from his post, and all the bricks, tiles, wood, and stone of Xiangcheng Palace were given to the people..."

"This is Your Majesty's grace." Wei Zheng interrupted Li Chengqian and asked, "So, Your Majesty, have you found anything?"

"Xiangcheng Palace is now in ruins. Nothing remains." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said cautiously, "However, Yan Lide, after being dismissed from his post, returned to Luoyang and began to help the King of Wei supervise the construction of the Longmen Grottoes. However..."

"But what?" Wei Zheng stared at Li Chengqian.

"But besides my men, it seems that there are other people watching Yan Lide." Li Chengqian frowned slightly.

"If that's the case, then why don't you withdraw your men from Luoyang?" Wei Zheng said softly, his eyes already looking out of the carriage. "Hmm?" Li Chengqian was slightly startled, then nodded in understanding. "Then I'll follow Prime Minister Wei's orders."

Wei Zheng smiled, looked at Li Chengqian and asked, "Where is Princess Wencheng now?"

"Lanzhou." Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "We will set off for Shanzhou in a few days. We will rest in Shanzhou for half a month. The ancient capital of Tuyuhun is Qugou ahead."

Qugou is located south of the Nanshan Mountains in Qinghai Province and north of the Huan River. Beyond the 300-mile grassland is the Maji Snow Mountain.

Princess Wencheng, as well as 10,000 elite Tang cavalry and 20,000 mobilized Tuyuhun cavalry, will be sent to marry the princess to Tubo.

In name, Princess Honghua and Princess Wencheng were sisters, both daughters of Emperor Taizong.

Tuyuhun King Murong Nuohebo and Tubo King Songtsen Gampo became brothers-in-law in the future.

Of course, this kinship could not stop the Tibetans from coveting Tuyuhun.

"Your Majesty will depart for Taiyuan in a few days." Wei Zheng had just finished speaking when Li Chengqian looked up in astonishment: "Isn't your Majesty afraid of the plague?"

The shortest way from Luoyang to Taiyuan is to go from Luoyang through Zhengzhou, go north to Huaizhou, and then go straight to Zezhou, Luzhou, and Bingzhou, which is Taiyuan.

"Your Majesty will not go through Zezhou, but go around Taihang Jingxing from Hebei and enter Taiyuan." Wei Zheng shook his head. Even if the emperor was willing, the officials would not be willing.

"That's good." Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Everything is going smoothly. It all depends on when the Tibetan king will invade Tuyuhun... Prime Minister Wei, I've asked Dai Zhide to help investigate criminal cases in various states..."

……

Beiyuan, beside the Longshou Pond.

The green trees are shady and the lake is shimmering.

Outside the Dragon Head Hall, a dozen or so concubines who did not go to Luoyang, their children, and the families of officials of the third rank and above in the court were all sitting and chatting in the pavilions and corridors.

Many of them are relatives.

Concubine Shu and Concubine Zheng accompanied Su Shu along the way to greet the concubines and the families of princes and nobles.

Many of these families are even their own relatives.

Suddenly a groan came from the front. Concubine Zheng looked at Su Shu, and Su Shu nodded slightly.

Concubine Zheng Shu stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Cousin, what's wrong?"

Cui, the wife of Zheng Rentai, the Duke of Susong County and the General of the Left Guard, had been sitting in the hall, mourning over her feelings. Upon hearing the voice, she instinctively turned around and saw Consort Zheng and the Crown Princess. She quickly stood up and said, "Greetings to the Crown Princess, and to Consort Shu."

"What's wrong, cousin?" Concubine Zheng asked with some concern, "Today is the Dragon Boat Festival, there's no need to be so sad."

"It's not sadness." Cui looked at Concubine Zheng and Su Shu helplessly and said, "It's about Sanniang."

"Sanniang." Concubine Zheng was slightly startled. She glanced at Su Shu and said, "Isn't Sanniang discussing marriage with Chen from Gushi?"

"The marriage is off." Cui shook her head and said, "In March, Chen's son was exiled to Anxi and stationed there."

Su Shu's expression changed slightly. "Why, are they related to the Lishan incident?"

"Chen's son is the Thousand Oxen Guard who is responsible for guarding His Majesty." Cui shook her head helplessly. In the incident of the Lishan attack, not only were the two guards who shot arrows directly at the emperor's bedroom executed, but also the dozen or so Thousand Oxen Guards and Thousand Oxen Guards who were not on good guard against the emperor's bedroom were all exiled.

"If one marriage doesn't work out, we can just find another one." Concubine Zheng comforted her cousin's wife and said with a smile, "There are many young, unmarried men from various families coming to Beiyuan today. If you like any of them, I'll contact them for you."

Cui shook her head slightly and said, "The King of Zhao has just been engaged to the Duke of Ying."

"Prince Zhao?" Concubine Zheng was slightly stunned. Although she finally understood that she didn't need to worry about such marriage matters at all, as they had their own connections, it was a pity that Cui had chosen two targets and neither was the right one.

"Could it be that King Zhao has something to say?" Concubine Zheng suddenly realized something.

"I don't know who is spreading this rumor." Cui's face couldn't help but darken.

Although Cui did not say who it was, since Prince Li Fu of Zhao was engaged to the daughter of the Duke of Ying, it must be the Duke of Ying.

The Palace Supervisor, Duke of Ying, Yuwen Shiji, although he is often ill and bedridden now, if he does something, I'm afraid...

"I heard that Duke Ying's health has not been very good." Su Shu added briefly.

Concubine Zheng immediately understood the meaning.

Yuwen Shiji was arranging the follow-up matters. No wonder King Zhao was engaged at the age of eleven.

"Sister-in-law, please wait a little longer." Concubine Zheng said soothingly, and at the same time said with a wry smile: "Not to mention my cousin's wife, even the Crown Princess is currently selecting a suitable Crown Prince Liangdi for the Crown Prince, and she can't find a suitable candidate."

"I originally wanted to marry into the Pei family of Hedong, but I didn't expect to be a step too late." Su Shu smiled helplessly.

It is no longer a secret that the Crown Princess chooses a good match for the Crown Prince. Everyone admires the Crown Princess's virtue, and many people are willing to marry their daughters into the Eastern Palace, but there are not many who can really catch Su Shu's eye.

"Your Highness!" Cui suddenly raised her head, looked at Su Shu and said, "How about you and me..."

(End of this chapter)