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

Chapter 178 Li Tai: Father is on guard against him (Part )
On March 23rd, the sun was mild.

Su Shu sat on the imperial couch at one side and fed Li Chengqian the bone soup in the bowl. She said, "The princess came to the palace yesterday and brought Yan'er with her to play with Xiang'er and Ju'er."

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian finished drinking the bone soup, nodded, and then said: "With the imperial sister here, I don't worry about anything happening in the East Palace."

"Look at what Your Highness said, what could happen in the Eastern Palace?" Su Shu gave Li Chengqian a cold look.

That is the Eastern Palace, located within the imperial city. If something happens in the Eastern Palace again, the emperor will also be in danger.

"The Emperor is on his eastern tour today, having left Chang'an. He should be on the Wei River by now." Li Chengqian looked towards the east of Chang'an City and said softly, "As soon as the Emperor left Chang'an City, the guards at the Imperial Palace relaxed a bit. Even if the Eastern Palace is extremely vigilant, they will eventually relax. If someone is scheming against the Eastern Palace and keeping a covetous eye on it..."

"King Wei!" Su Shu nodded solemnly.

In today's world, the only one who dares to say that he is eyeing the Eastern Palace covetously is Prince Li Tai of Wei.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "Only Qingque. I've had An Yan clean up the Eastern Palace for so long, but it's hard to say whether there are still outsiders' spies in the Eastern Palace. If there really are still people who are desperate..."

The last time Li Chengqian broke his leg, it was Lu Hu who did it. Although Lu Hu is dead, it is hard to say whether there will be another Lu Hu in the Eastern Palace.

"Besides, if my leg can fully recover this time, the one I least want to see is Qingque." Li Chengqian sneered and said, "Before my leg is healed, he might try every possible means to make me get into trouble again... His people can't enter the Wude Hall, but if anything happens in the Eastern Palace, I have to leave the Wude Hall..."

"He would fight with Gui'er and Ju'er, but with the princess here, he would never dare to do anything wrong." Su Shu gritted her teeth and nodded.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, then said, "This is the only way I can think of that Qingque can use against me. Other than that, no matter what he has in mind, I have nothing to fear."

……

On the Wei River, there are many sails.

Li Tai pushed open the cabin door and walked into the cabin.

Chai Lingwu and Liu Xiaosun followed in.

Li Tai walked to the clothes rack, and the maid came forward to help him take off his coat and hang it up.

Li Tai breathed a sigh of relief, then walked to the low couch on the inside of the cabin and sat down.

Liu Xiaosun and Chai Lingwu knelt on both sides.

The maid beside them came forward and poured a glass of water for each of the three people, then bowed and left the cabin.

Li Tai glanced at Liu Xiaosun, then smiled and said, "Sima, I heard that my brother's leg has been completely healed. I don't know what his current situation is. I originally planned to go to the palace to see my brother, but my father didn't allow it."

The news that Li Chengqian needed to have his leg treated had been circulating for over half a year.

Li Tai used various means, but in the end he failed to find out the true situation of Li Chengqian's leg injury treatment.

Now, on March 15th, Taiyi Qinghua Temple opened for business, and on March 16th he suddenly resumed treatment.

As for the results of the treatment, there was much discussion within the government and the public, but there was no accurate answer.

Liu Xiaosun was a fourth-rank counselor, and his information was much better than that of others.

Liu Xiaosun was wearing a crimson robe, with a stern face and a serious expression.

He looked up at Li Tai, his eyes glancing at Chai Lingwu, and then he spoke, "His Royal Highness's leg injury has indeed been re-treated. I'm not sure of the specific method, but after this treatment by Divine Doctor Sun, the Crown Prince's leg will heal and he will no longer be lame."

Li Tai's face suddenly darkened.

Liu Xiaosun pretended not to notice and continued, "The reason why His Majesty did not allow Your Highness to enter the palace to visit the Crown Prince may be because His Highness's leg has not yet fully healed. Once His Highness has fully recovered, Your Highness should be able to see His Highness."

Father is on guard against him.

Li Tai clenched his fists urgently under the low table.

Li Tai smiled and looked at Liu Xiaosun and said, "Please Sima Duo investigate the specific situation. After all, he is the Crown Prince, and I am still concerned about him."

"Yes!" Liu Xiaosun nodded slightly. Seeing Li Tai holding up the water cup, Liu Xiaosun's eyes flashed, and then he bowed and said, "Your Highness, please be busy first. I still have to go back to sort out all the documents in the palace, so I won't disturb Your Highness."

"Sima, please!" Li Tai nodded gently.

Liu Xiaosun stood up, then bowed and said, "I'll take my leave."

After watching Liu Xiaosun walk out of the cabin and close the door, Li Tai looked at Chai Lingwu and said, "Cousin, how is your investigation going?"

"Although Your Majesty has made some arrangements, too many people know about this incident." After a brief pause, Chai Lingwu said, "Officials from the Eastern Palace, as well as those from the Imperial Hospital and the Shang Pharmacy, are all involved. No one spoke up before, but now that the Crown Prince's matter is over, I have finally been able to gather some information."

"Cousin, please speak."

"The prince's leg was broken and he became lame. Since then, he has been using a set of rattan armor to support his body, so no one can discover the truth." Chai Lingwu shook his head with emotion.

"Rattan armor!" Li Tai nodded slowly, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes.

"This time, Master Sun treated the Crown Prince by actually re-breaking his leg bones, removing the broken bones, and then reconnecting them." Chai Lingwu looked up at Li Tai and said, "I don't know how the process went, but this time, it was truly successful. Once the Crown Prince's leg is healed, he will no longer be lame."

Li Tai said with a sneer on his face: "So, this is what they did in the West City Manor before."

"Master Sun personally performed the operation, and even borrowed the Persian medical skills of Li Qin, the personal physician, before he finally succeeded." Chai Lingwu shook his head slightly and sighed, "The Crown Prince must have carefully prepared for this day for a long time, using various means to avoid our detection, but in the end, he succeeded." Li Tai fell silent and sighed softly, "What a pity! I had hoped to steal my brother's limelight, but who could have imagined that once his leg was healed, everything I did would be useless."

The fundamental reason why Li Tai had the opportunity to compete for the throne was that Li Chengqian had a lame leg.

The emperor's attention shifted to him.

Seeing the opportunity, the ministers also began to approach Li Tai.

But now Li Chengqian's leg is getting better, and after he recovers, he will no longer have any defects.

The emperor would no longer have the idea of ​​deposing the crown prince, and Li Tai’s chance was gone.

No matter how many books he edited before, it’s meaningless now.

"Your Highness!" Chai Lingwu thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Your Highness knows the Crown Prince's character. Even if he doesn't make a mistake now, he will make one in the future. Your Highness needs to wait patiently. There will always be a day when the Crown Prince makes a mistake."

"No matter when I make a mistake, my royal brother will not give me a chance easily, especially after this time." Li Tai shook his head slightly.

Before Li Chengqian broke his leg, Li Tai had the opportunity to compete for the throne, but it never came to the fore. Li Chengqian didn't care, and the relationship between the two brothers was good.

But it is different now.

Li Tai's fight for the throne will not only harm Li Chengqian's interests, but also the interests of the officials in the Eastern Palace.

Before, because Li Tai suddenly emerged, no one could react, and because Li Chengqian was lame, the people in the Eastern Palace were shaken.

Now, after Li Chengqian's leg has healed, he is a perfect prince without any flaws.

If Li Tai takes action again, the officials in the Eastern Palace will also begin to guard against him.

It’s even starting now.

"Cousin, how much does Sima know about the prince's affairs?" Li Tai looked outside the cabin.

Chai Lingwu fell silent. Liu Xiaosun and Su Xu were completely different.

Su Xu was the kind of person who was willing to help Li Tai fight for the throne.

After all, he had been in the Prince of Wei's Mansion for a long time and had a close relationship with Li Tai. Later, they experienced the time when the prince became lame and Li Tai's hope of becoming the crown prince came, and they worked together again.

Although Liu Xiaosun was one of the eighteen scholars in the Qin Palace, he was an old-fashioned person and a typical ruler-ruler and minister-minister type of person. He would not agree with Li Tai's competition for the throne.

He might even become someone who hinders Li Tai's fight for the throne.

"Three things." Li Tai looked at Chai Lingwu and said, "First, the unveiling of the Buddha statue at the Longmen Grottoes must be grand. We must invite as many important officials as possible, as well as royal relatives, to attend. We must make sure that the emperor feels my filial piety... Filial piety is my best chance of gaining his mercy."

"Yes!" Chai Lingwu nodded seriously.

"Secondly, it's about Xiangzhou. The Chief Secretary is now the Governor of Xiangzhou, and we need their support." Li Tai looked outside the cabin and said softly, "What I'm most worried about now is that my father will appoint Sima as Chief Secretary and completely transfer him out of the Prince of Wei's Palace."

In the Prince of Wei’s Palace today, Du Chuke is still the Chief Secretary of the Prince of Wei.

Du Chuke was born into the Jingzhao Du family. Although Du He was at odds with him, the Jingzhao Du family was very supportive of Li Tai.

Especially since Du Chuke is still the governor of Xiangzhou, although he has not returned to Beijing for several years, the correspondence is still going on.

If Liu Xiaosun was made the Chief Secretary of the Prince of Wei and Du Chuke was completely transferred out of the Prince of Wei's Palace, Li Tai would suffer a great loss.

"I understand." Chai Lingwu nodded.

"Third, it's about my uncle." After a brief pause, Li Tai sighed and said, "This time, because of me, my uncle was only transferred to the position of Director of the Imperial College. I am sorry for my uncle."

Li Tai originally thought that Su Xu, who compiled the "Guo Di Zhi", would be transferred to the positions of Junior Secretary of the Nine Temples and Vice Minister of the Six Ministries, but he did not expect that in the end he would only be the Director of the Imperial College.

"I will make it up to my uncle in the future, but right now, the Imperial College is also a very good place. There are important officials in the court and outstanding scholars all over the world. I don't know how many people are studying in the Imperial College. If I can win over a group of people, it will be of great benefit to me." Li Tai clenched his fists tightly.

"Yes!" Chai Lingwu nodded seriously.

"There's one more thing." Li Tai lowered his voice, then looked at Chai Lingwu and said, "We must thoroughly understand the situation with my royal brother. What is his condition and how is his recovery progressing... We must especially see if we have any chance."

"Yes!" Chai Lingwu nodded solemnly.

Li Tai stood up and said, "This is the foundation of everything we do. If there are no problems here, I'm afraid we will only get half the result with twice the effort."

Chai Lingwu looked at Li Tai with a gloomy expression and was about to say something when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Li Tai looked up.

Liu Xiaosun walked in solemnly, bowed slightly to Li Tai, and then said, "Your Highness, His Majesty has just issued an edict to appoint Princess Nanchang's daughter Su Yi as the Crown Prince's concubine, and to enter the palace immediately."

"What!" Li Tai couldn't help but stand up, his face full of horror.

(End of this chapter)