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

Chapter 13: My brother is injured, so he should rest. Let Qingque do everything for him.

Under the cover of night, Yan Liben quickly walked through the quiet pavilion and corridor and headed towards the study in Prince Wei's mansion.

The candlelight flickered. Yan Liben had just walked to the door of the study when an inkstone flew out directly from the study.

With a "bang", the inkstone hit the stone slab outside the door and instantly broke into four pieces. A large amount of ink splashed everywhere, almost directly splashing onto Yan Liben's official robe.

Yan Liben's face darkened instantly.

"Uncle!" Li Tai, who was furious in the study, was startled when he saw the thrown inkstone almost hit Yan Liben. He quickly stood up and bowed solemnly to Yan Liben, saying, "Uncle, are you okay? Qingque lost her composure. Please forgive me, uncle!"

Yan Liben took a deep breath, stepped into the study, and looked up at Du Chuke on the side.

Du Chuke shrugged helplessly.

What else could the King of Wei be angry about? Of course, it was the Crown Prince.

The prince appeared before the ministers today, dispelling their speculation that the prince was lame.

The prince's targeting of Tubo today reminded the ministers of the majestic and wise prince from before.

Especially at the end, the prince's mention of hearing complaints was even more intimidating.

During this day, the public opinion of the Crown Prince in Chang'an had completely changed, and few people were talking about changing the Crown Prince.

It’s no wonder that King Wei was angry. The Crown Prince just made a simple move and almost destroyed their efforts of half a year.

"It is I who should confess my guilt." Yan Liben bowed earnestly to Li Tai, then said, "I have been so busy with official duties today that I have only just come to pay my respects to Your Highness. I am at fault."

"Uncle, what are you talking about? Please take a seat!" Li Tai breathed a sigh of relief, then led Yan Liben to sit at the upper left.

……

Brown couch, celadon, bookshelf painted with thick ink.

Yan Liben looked around the corners of the study and said calmly, "All of you go out."

The maids in the shadows in the corners stood up and bowed slightly to Li Tai. Li Tai sat down in the main seat and waved his hand. Then the four maids retreated from the study.

With a "squeak" sound, the door closed.

Li Tai subconsciously looked at Yan Liben.

"If Your Highness is troubled by what the Crown Prince said and did today, I think there is no need to be." Yan Liben looked up at Li Tai and Du Chuke, and said calmly, "Everything the Crown Prince did today was fundamentally to create the illusion that his injured leg was not that serious and that recovery was possible, so the ministers changed their minds. But what if the Crown Prince's injury is still serious?"

Li Tai and Du Chuke couldn't help but raise their eyebrows at the same time.

Yan Liben was right. The reason why Li Chengqian was able to gain the respect of the ministers for what he did today was that the court officials saw a prince who had somewhat returned to normal.

A prince who could properly handle all state affairs when Emperor Taizong was on tour.

But what if Li Chengqian’s legs were not as good as they thought, or even as they knew at the beginning?

What about a broken leg or a lame foot?
In this way, the pressure on Li Tai and others was completely relieved.

"Uncle, please explain in detail." Li Tai breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Yan Liben seriously.

Yan Liben nodded and said, "I have been standing at the back today and didn't notice anything wrong until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince walked to the steps of the Taiji Hall and took a step onto them. Only then did I realize that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was dragging his right leg while his left leg was being dragged..."

"Isn't this a limp?" Li Tai couldn't help but interrupt Yan Liben in surprise, and then said, "But that's not right. You can't tell from the outside that he's lame!"

"I guess that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince may have made some kind of mechanism to support himself to walk normally, but his leg is still injured, or even more seriously." Yan Liben turned his head to look at Du Chuke.

Du Chuke nodded directly and said, "His Royal Highness's injuries must be serious, otherwise he would just rest and recuperate. Now doing this can only mean that His Royal Highness's leg injuries may be more serious than we initially expected." As Du Chuke spoke, he couldn't help but get excited.

Li Chengqian, Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

Only if the crown prince is deposed and the King of Wei takes a step forward, can he, the King of Wei's chief secretary, take a step forward and become the crown prince's secretary.

Li Tai was still somewhat sober. Although he was still excited, he couldn't help but look at Yan Liben: "Uncle, is this really the case?"

Yan Liben nodded slightly, then said, "The reason I arrived a little late today is because I have been carefully investigating the activities of the Eastern Palace in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Works. Although there is nothing unusual in the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Works, someone in the Ministry of Finance has secretly taken two sets of rattan armor."

"Tengjia, Donggong?" Li Tai made the connection instantly.

"That should be the case. I don't know how His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did it, but there is no doubt that someone in the Eastern Palace used these two sets of rattan armor to transform a mechanical device that can support His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to walk. However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's legs are still not in good shape." Although Yan Liben said it implicitly, he was already saying directly that Li Chengqian was lame.

There is no lame prince in the world, so Li Chengqian's position as prince will eventually be abolished.

Li Tai breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but clench his fists, and punched them twice with force.

"But we still need to let everyone know about this." Du Chuke was the first to react. He looked at Li Tai and said, "Your Highness, things in the world should be as they are. It is wrong for the Crown Prince to deceive the court officials like this."

"That's right. My royal brother is injured, so he should rest. Let Qingque take care of his other matters." Li Tai looked up at Yan Liben.

Yan Liben shook his head slightly and said, "Although His Royal Highness is in poor health, no one knows the exact condition. The first thing we should do is to find out the extent of His Royal Highness's injuries.

If His Highness gets better in the future, if we spread rumors now, not only will the world think we are disregarding our brotherhood, but we might even be framing him."

"What should we do then?" Li Tai's voice became inexplicably hoarse.

"Let His Royal Highness create his own flaws." Yan Liben pondered for a moment, then said, "Although the thing in His Royal Highness's hand can help him walk, it's not very fast. Moreover, as His Royal Highness himself said, it also has problems with riding, sitting, lying down, and performing formal ceremonies."

"Horseback riding?" Li Tai raised an eyebrow and looked at Du Chuke. "Chief Secretary, Duke Chen will be back in a month and a half, right?"

"It should be the first day of the twelfth lunar month, just in time for offering sacrifices to the Imperial Ancestral Temple." Du Chuke's eyes suddenly lit up, and he nodded and said, "The general is returning to the court, and the crown prince will personally welcome him. He must ride a horse, and then he will kowtow and perform the rituals at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Unless the crown prince refuses to go..."

"Doesn't that just confirm that his leg is injured?" Li Tai couldn't help laughing.

"It's better not to go than to have my injuries exposed." Yan Liben shook his head and said, "If it were me, I would definitely not go."

Li Tai's face suddenly darkened. In that case, even if he went to replace the crown prince and the voices of officials questioning the crown prince became louder, it would still be difficult to completely depose the crown prince.

In the future, as long as Li Chengqian appears in front of people wearing his suit, what Li Tai does will be useless.

"We have to destroy that thing." Li Tai couldn't help but grit his teeth.

"So, it's best to let the Crown Prince go and have the Imperial Rites Temple set etiquette to prevent him from kneeling." Du Chuke narrowed his eyes and said, "If someone accidentally sweeps the Crown Prince's left leg with a long spear, breaking the mechanism, the Crown Prince's limp will be exposed to the world."

Li Tai's eyes suddenly lit up. Yan Liben frowned and said, "Isn't this too harsh..."

A burst of hurried footsteps came from outside the door, and Yan Liben immediately stopped talking.

……

The chief eunuch of Prince Wei's palace stood in the study and handed over a secret letter.

Li Tai opened it with suspicion, took a quick look, and immediately closed it. He then handed it to Yan Liben and Du Chuke and said, "This is news from the palace. The Crown Prince reported to my father that Tubo is very likely to prevent the Tang princess from getting pregnant because they don't want her descendants to have the chance to inherit the Tubo throne."

Yan Liben and Du Chuke's faces immediately darkened.

(End of this chapter)