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

Chapter 144: Xuanwu Gate is indeed more convenient (First update)
It was the hour of Mao and it was still dark.

Cheng'en Hall of the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian opened his arms, and Su Shu stood in front of him, helping him to tidy up the last bit of his collar.

The New Year's Day court is coming soon. On the first day of the first lunar month, all officials will pay homage to the emperor. It is a new year and a new beginning.

"Your Highness didn't seem to sleep well last night." Su Shu paused for a moment, looked up and looked closely into Li Chengqian's eyes.

It's not obvious from a distance, but when facing each other, you can still clearly see that Li Chengqian's eye sockets are a little dark.

"After what happened last night, if everything goes as I expected, then three months later, after Qingque arrives in Luoyang and accompanies my father to visit the Longmen Grottoes, he will be transferred to a provincial post." Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I was just a little excited and couldn't sleep."

Although Su Shu didn't know everything about what happened last night, she was very clear that Li Tai was completely at a disadvantage when facing Li Chengqian.

Once Li Tai left Luoyang and took up a local post, Li Chengqian's position as crown prince would be more secure.

The Eastern Palace will also be more stable.

Su Shu naturally understood this truth. Not to mention anything else, right now, the people in the court and the public respect the Eastern Palace much more than at any other time.

But as a caring person, Su Shu understands Li Chengqian better.

She didn't say much, just looked at Li Chengqian straight.

Li Chengqian looked into her concerned eyes, sighed softly, and then waved his hand slightly to the side.

All the other eunuchs and maids in the hall retreated.

Li Chengqian then lowered his head, looking at the serious Su Shu in front of him, and said softly: "My beloved, tell me, would Qingque be willing to leave in such disgrace?"

"No!" Su Shu said with extraordinary determination, "Once the Prince of Wei leaves the capital to return to his fiefdom, it means he has completely lost his chance to compete for the crown prince position. He won't accept that."

Li Chengqian nodded with satisfaction. Su Shu understood all of this very thoroughly.

However, sometimes, losing the opportunity to compete for the position of crown prince does not mean losing the opportunity to compete for the throne.

It's two different things.

Of course, this is difficult in today's world.

Of course, it’s not like no one has tried it, and soon enough, they will.

……

Recovering his thoughts, Li Chengqian said, "Yes, Qingque will definitely do everything he can to stay by my father's side, and then wait for me to make a mistake. So, even though Qingque's chances of competing for the crown prince are very small now, I still have to be careful... At the same time, I'm actually thinking, is it better to give him another blow and send him to the underworld, or to keep him in Chang'an and force him to make more mistakes?"

"Your Highness?" Su Shu looked at Li Chengqian in surprise and said, "Of course we should give him a bigger blow and drive him away. If we leave him in Chang'an, what if he really finds an opportunity?"

"But how can I strike him down?" Li Chengqian sighed softly, looking outside the palace, and said softly, "Father said yesterday that everything that happened before ended last night. If I do anything against him again, it would be wrong of me. At least that's what Father would think."

Su Shu paused, leaned against Li Chengqian's arms, and murmured, "That's why my father confined the Prince of Wei to his house for three months."

Li Tai was under house arrest and he could not do anything, and Li Chengqian could not do anything to him either.

"If your Majesty can send Qingque to the place today, then perhaps the brotherhood between me and him will really be restored." Li Chengqian couldn't help but look towards the direction of Ganlu Palace.

His father, even unintentionally, still had a deep father-son relationship with Li Tai, which would instead harm him.

"That's the first reason." Li Chengqian's expression grew serious as he continued, "Secondly, although Qingque has been unsuccessful in everything he does over the past year, he still has a lot of support behind him, including many people in the court. If your father wants to send him to the lower realms, there will definitely be many who will stop him."

"Yan family?" Su Shu's face suddenly turned gloomy.

"It's not the Yan family." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Lord Yan Lide rarely interferes in the affairs of the Prince of Wei's Palace. Only the Junior Architect Yan Liben often pays attention... This isn't a case of betting on both sides. Lord Yan really rarely intervenes. For example, the recent Qingque incident, the Yan family didn't intervene, which makes me even more certain of this."

"Who is that?" Su Shu raised her head and asked.

"I don't know." Li Chengqian shook his head. In his previous life, many people supported Li Tai in his bid for the throne, but this time, after a year of open and secret struggles, Li Tai's favor with the emperor has decreased a lot. It is hard to say how many people are still willing to support him.

Retracting his thoughts, Li Chengqian said seriously, "So I can use this opportunity to see how many people still support Qingque."

"Yeah!" Su Shu nodded slightly.

"And there's a third reason." Li Chengqian sneered, "If Qingque falls, my father will definitely support others to counterbalance me. Some people don't like Qingque, but they will support others to oppose me. Rather than that, it's better to keep Qingque... Qingque is already a failure, and these people are my true rivals. So keep a close eye on Qingque and dig out all of them. Qingque is bound to fail, and these people will naturally be implicated."

Li Chengqian's thoughts quickly became clear.

Last night, Qi Zhixuan was arrested, the emperor was tidying up Hebei, and at the same time, he put Li Tai under house arrest, making it impossible for Li Chengqian to continue to attack Li Tai...

These required Li Chengqian to modify many of his previous plans.

In the current situation, neither Li Tai nor Li Chengqian's other brothers can pose a direct threat to his position as crown prince.

So, he began to take action against the root cause.

In the court, if those forces that did not support him very much were confirmed to be against him at this time, then Li Chengqian would take action against them.

Without these people, even if the emperor wanted to support others to compete with him, it would be difficult for others to do so.

This is the way to remove the firewood from under the cauldron.

In this way, his position as crown prince was truly secure.

"But." Su Shu looked at Li Chengqian with some concern and said, "After all, the Prince of Wei is your Highness's younger brother and your Majesty's legitimate son. If he seizes the opportunity and gambles everything..."

"He won't have any chance." Li Chengqian grabbed the long sword that was placed aside, then held Su Shu's shoulder and said, "He has supporters, and I have even more supporters, especially my uncle. He won't give Qingque any chance, not even my father."

"What if something unexpected happens?" Su Shu was still a little worried. "That would be the end." Li Chengqian gripped the hilt of the sword and flicked it lightly, causing the blade to immediately jump out.

Li Chengqian said with a slightly cold look in his eyes, "If that time really comes, my sword may not be at all disadvantage."

……

Watching Li Chengqian's back holding a sword disappear outside Cheng'en Gate, Su Shu stood at the door of Cheng'en Hall, and the worry in her expression was clearly visible.

Although Li Tai has been gradually suppressed, his position in the Eastern Palace is still not absolutely stable.

Su Shu knew in her heart that the real problem was not somewhere else, but right next door.

"That's fine. Staying with King Wei will make it easier for me to do many things." Su Shu took a deep breath and looked to the side: "Someone come!"

"Your Highness!" Su Shu's wet nurse, Mrs. Hu, came over from the side and bowed slightly.

"Things arranged before should be done according to the original plan." Su Shu's eyes were slightly cold.

What she was talking about was Su Xu's matter.

Su Xu is the Sima of the Prince of Wei's Palace. If Li Tai still stays in Chang'an, then Su Xu, the Sima of the Prince of Wei's Palace, must be removed.

At least we have to win him over to the East Palace.

"Yes!" Mrs. Hu responded immediately.

"Also," Su Shu raised her head and said calmly, "Today is the grand court session, and after that there will be a banquet. When the banquet is halfway through, report Zheng Liangti's pregnancy to the emperor."

"Yes!" Mrs. Hu bowed again.

……

The sedan chair was lifted up and slowly moved towards Chongde Gate.

Li Chengqian was sitting on the sedan chair, thinking about something, with Li Anyan following on his left and Helan Chushi following on his right.

As soon as he arrived at Chongde Gate, the Eastern Palace Left Guard, led by Lang Jiang Pang Tongshan, stepped forward and said with a bow, "Your Highness, the palace has just conveyed His Majesty's oral order, ordering Your Highness to enter the palace through Tongxun Gate today and wait for your arrival at Ganlu Gate."

Li Chengqian was slightly stunned and subconsciously asked, "Tongxunmen?"

"Yes!" Pang Tongshan took a step back and bowed, "Your Highness, please!"

Li Chengqian was surprised and raised his hand and said, "Let's go."

The sedan chair immediately turned, turned west from Chongde Gate and headed towards Youyongfu Gate. After passing Youyongfu Gate, it went forward to Tongxun Gate and directly into the imperial palace.

Normally, the training door is closed.

Even when Li Chengqian went to court on weekdays, he had to leave the East Palace from Jiafu Gate, then walk along the palace road to Chengtian Gate, and then enter the palace and go straight to Taiji Hall.

However, if necessary, Li Chengqian could also pass through Tongxun Gate, enter Gongli Gate, pass through Menxia Province, go to Qianhua Gate, Lizheng Gate, exit Xianli Gate, and go to Ganlu Hall to receive orders.

This is a shortcut, but all the keys to the palace gates along this route are in the hands of the emperor.

Once closed, it will be difficult to even get close, let alone pass through.

Moreover, the palace gates in the middle are numerous and heavily guarded, and getting close to the emperor from here is harder than climbing to the sky.

In comparison, Xuanwu Gate is indeed more convenient.

Li Chengqian didn't know why the emperor asked him to leave here today, but this was undoubtedly a good thing for him.

Because even as the crown prince, since he moved to the Eastern Palace, he only had the opportunity to enter the palace through the Tongxun Gate during the years when his mother was still alive, and he never had the chance again after that.

……

At Chengtian Gate, Changsun Wuji glanced at King Jing Li Yuanjing on the other side, then looked towards the East Palace with some surprise.

The Crown Prince didn’t come, and the King of Wei didn’t come either. It’s interesting.

But after just one glance, Changsun Wuji looked at Wei Zheng who was standing behind Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian and Yang Shidao.

Wei Zheng's face was still pale and he coughed from time to time, but his eyes were very energetic.

Today, the biggest event is Wei Zheng's retirement.

The old friend who had been together for more than ten years was retiring today, which made Changsun Wuji feel complicated.

Wei Zheng retired, there was nothing he could do about it.

His body was no longer able to support him and he needed to stay in bed for a long time to recuperate in order to survive this year. The longer this went on, the more difficult Wei Zheng's life became.

But no matter what, after leaving the court, Wei Zheng can really take a good rest.

I just don’t know if anything will change drastically in the court without Wei Zheng’s supervision.

Especially the emperor. When Wei Zheng was around, he would listen to Wei Zheng's advice. But if Wei Zheng was gone, no one knew what would become of him.

Changsun Wuji couldn't help but sigh softly.

At this moment, the Chengtian Gate in front opened.

The eunuch Zhang Ananda walked out quickly, flicked the whisk in his hand, and said loudly: "In the sixteenth year of the Zhenguan reign, the New Year's Day court was held, and all the ministers paid homage."

(End of this chapter)