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

Chapter 206: The King of Wei is Still No Match for the Crown Prince (Part )
"Your Highness, something has happened." Li Anyan hurried into Cheng'en Hall. Seeing Li Chengqian emerging from the inner hall, he bowed and said, "Your Highness, just an hour ago, the King of Wei attacked the King of Qi beneath the Xian Mausoleum."

Li Chengqian was stunned and asked in disbelief, "Did he hit her?"

"Yes, they did." Li Anyan bowed and said, "Today at 9:00 PM, the kings offered sacrifices at the Xian Mausoleum. After leaving the mausoleum, I don't know what the King of Wei and the King of Qi said, but the King of Wei slapped the King of Qi in the face. The King of Qi then lunged at him and tried to fight him, but fortunately the Kings of Jing, Han, and Han pulled them apart in time."

"The King of Qi didn't hit Qingque, right?" Li Chengqian asked quickly.

"That's not the case." Li Anyan shook his head and said, "But the news has spread throughout Chang'an City. After all, today's sacrifice to Xianling is a matter of concern to the people of Chang'an."

On New Year’s Eve, the kings offered sacrifices to the tomb.

This itself is a major highlight of the Chang'an Community Fire on the 30th.

The people gathered on both sides of the street and watched as all the kings wore dragon robes and paraded through the Chunming Gate under the escort of the Jinwu Guards.

This is a lot of fun in itself.

Now there is the matter of Li Tai beating Li You, which makes the situation even more lively.

"Is there any news from my father?" Li Chengqian walked to the main couch and sat down.

Li Anyan shook his head slightly and said, "The news should have just been transmitted to the harem. His Majesty has not yet summoned the King of Wei and the King of Qi to the palace."

"Let's go out and take a look. We should have news soon." Li Chengqian raised his hand.

"Yes, I'll go now." Li Anyan immediately bowed, then turned around and left quickly.

At this time, Su Shu walked out from the inner hall, walked to Li Chengqian, frowned at him and said, "Your Highness, this has nothing to do with the medicine that the Eastern Palace sent to the various princes' palaces the other day, right?"

"What connection could there be?" Li Chengqian smiled and said, "There's no medicine that can stop Qingque from attacking people, let alone the medicine sent by the Eastern Palace to the Prince of Wei's Mansion. Whether Qingque dares to use it is another matter."

"I don't believe it." Su Shu walked over to sit beside Li Chengqian, picked up the tea on the table in front of her and handed it to Li Chengqian. At the same time, she said, "The Prince of Wei performed the sacrifices at Xianling on Your Highness' behalf, but then he assaulted the Prince of Qi at the foot of Xianling. Now, the little bit of public support that the Prince of Wei had worked so hard to build with this incident has been completely shattered... And yet, Your Highness sent medicine to the Prince of Wei's mansion just a few days ago."

"But that medicine is for Princess Wei." Li Chengqian turned sideways to look at Su Shu, then said seriously, "What does this have to do with me?"

"There must be something wrong!" Su Shu looked at Li Chengqian with a firm gaze.

"Haha!" Li Chengqian couldn't help but laugh, then he hugged Su Shu and whispered, "My beloved, do you still remember the Princess of Qi?"

"Remember." Su Shu nodded. Although the Princess of Qi married the King of Qi, the relationship between the couple was not very good.

"For the past few days, the Prince of Qi has been taking his wife to the Imperial Censor's house every day... This is my order." Li Chengqian chuckled and said, "And those drugs are actually used to ignite a romantic relationship. If the couple didn't see each other often, then nothing would have happened. But they happened to be together day and night these past two days, and a spark... BAM!"

Su Shu nodded in realization, then she asked, "What does this have to do with the King of Wei?"

"After sex, there are bound to be some traces, especially this morning. The other kings were up early, so it was inevitable that the King of Qi would show some traces." Li Chengqian explained, "Today, during the sacrifice ceremony at the Xian Mausoleum, the King of Qi was right next to the King of Wei, and they looked face to face..."

"Does the King of Wei still have feelings for the Princess of Qi?" Su Shu looked at Li Chengqian in disbelief.

"The facts have proven it." Li Chengqian raised his eyes and thought to himself, "Of course, there's more to the truth than that. First, someone has to push Li Tai's mentality up, make him inflated... That's another matter."

"Then how will this matter be handled?" Su Shu looked at Li Chengqian with some curiosity.

"Look at my father!" Li Chengqian looked outside the hall, and Li Anyan had already walked in quickly.

Standing in the hall, Li Anyan bowed and said hurriedly, "Your Highness, Crown Princess, His Majesty has decreed that the Prince of Qi be confined for seven days for offending his brother."

"That's all?" Su Shu couldn't help but look surprised when she saw Li Anyan didn't continue talking.

"It can only be done this way." Li Chengqian sat to one side and shook his head slightly. "No one will pursue the details here, but the distinction between seniority and inferiority is ultimately the fault of the King of Qi."

"So he should just be beaten without fighting back?" Su Shu couldn't help but feel a little angry.

"That's the way it should be done in person, especially since the Prince of Wei is representing me and my father today." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "If it were somewhere unobservant, the Prince of Qi could do whatever he wanted with Qingque, but in front of everyone, the Prince of Qi can't offend the Prince of Wei. That's the rule... Of course, how the Prince of Qi retaliates later is another matter."

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled. Su Shu and Li Anyan looked at him, feeling as if he was planning something.

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled and said, "For example, if Qingque offends me, I will slap him and he will have no choice but to take it.

Besides, Father will not let this go. At today's New Year's Eve banquet, who knows what will happen!"

……

New Year’s Eve, a grand banquet.

The palace lanterns are bright and there are laughters and joys.

The emperor calmly walked in from the west wing of Liangyi Hall, followed by the imperial concubine Wei.

All the princes, princesses, prince consorts, and dukes in the hall stood up.

When Li Shimin sat down on the imperial couch, everyone bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects to you!"

"No need for formalities. Today is a family dinner, so please be casual." The emperor raised his hand with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The ministers then stood up.

The emperor's gaze fell on Li Tai's side, and he frowned and asked, "Qingque, why are you here? Where are Wan'er and Xin'er?"

Everyone in the hall also looked at Li Tai. Today, Yan Wan and Li Xin, who usually followed Li Tai, were not there.

Li Tai quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the princess suddenly felt unwell before leaving, so I left her at home, with Xin'er taking care of her. I also asked you to apologize to your Majesty." Li Shimin nodded in understanding and said, "Wan'er is over seven months pregnant, right?"

"Yes!" Li Tai cupped his hands and said, "The delivery date will be at the end of February or the beginning of March."

"Yes!" Li Shimin nodded and said, "Since you are feeling unwell, would you like me to send an imperial physician to take a look?"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have already asked the imperial physician to come and see him. I just received news that he is not seriously injured." Li Tai bowed gratefully.

"Then don't move." Li Shimin pressed his hand and said, "Okay, everyone sit down."

"Here!" Everyone sat down together.

Li Chengqian sat down, then looked up at Li Tai with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Yan Wan became pregnant when the emperor ordered Li Tai to go to the vassal state. At that time, Li Tai was in Xingyang and was ill there.

When Yan Wan suddenly became pregnant, he rushed back to Luoyang.

It was as if Li Tai was waiting for the news that Yan Wan was pregnant. Is there something wrong here?

"My Lords!" the Emperor's voice boomed from above. Li Chengqian quickly turned around to see the Emperor, holding a wine jar, saying with a chuckle, "It's New Year's Eve, a time for reunion. Let's raise our glasses and wish the Tang Dynasty peace and prosperity, and a year of good weather and harmony."

"I wish the Tang Dynasty peace and prosperity, good weather and harmony in the coming year!"

……

A light red dress, cloud-like hair and a smiling face.

The drums and music are festive and the wine is fragrant.

After the dance, the dancer in the hall bowed slightly and then quickly retreated.

Li Chengqian stood up, and the other princes and princesses in the hall also stood up.

Li Chengqian held the wine bottle in both hands and said seriously, "New Year's Eve warms the year, and the festival is celebrated. Your son and all the royal brothers and sisters wish your father good health and a strong spirit. We also wish the Tang Dynasty a prosperous and fruitful year ahead!"

The princes and princesses all joined in the chant, "We wish our father good health and a strong spirit. We also wish the Tang Dynasty a prosperous and fruitful year ahead, and all industries will flourish!"

"No need to be so polite!" The emperor waved his hand, holding up the wine jar and said, "I wish you good health and success in the coming year."

"Thank you, father!" Li Chengqian raised the wine jar and drank it first, followed by the kings and princesses.

The emperor finally drained the cup and put down the wine bottle. His eyes fell on Li Chengqian and he said with a smile: "Prince, happy New Year! I have become accustomed to looking forward to your New Year's gift!"

Li Chengqian paused for a moment, then smiled wryly and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am incapable of this. I hope your Majesty will forgive me."

Li Shimin didn't say anything and continued to look at Li Chengqian with a smile.

Li Chengqian bowed, then looked behind him and said, "The first gift I present is the 'Complete Prescriptions for Women', sponsored by the Eastern Palace.' It was compiled by Master Sun and many famous doctors in the capital, especially female doctors. It can help women with childbirth. Even if a hundred women can successfully give birth to one more baby, it will be a great merit to the world."

"That's right." Li Shimin nodded. A eunuch had already hurried in and brought the medical box to the emperor. Li Shimin looked at it and nodded, saying, "Keep a copy in the inner palace and circulate it throughout the country."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed, then stood up and said, "The second gift I present is a plow, a tool improved from the plow cart, used for weeding in the fields. It can save the people three days of labor a month."

The people's manpower can produce three days of labor in a month, which can save one month in a year.

"That's right." The emperor looked at the raised hoe and nodded, saying, "Indeed, I was right to let you get involved in farming."

"The third gift I present is a set of armor." Li Chengqian bowed and said, "It took the same amount of time to create as normal armor, but its defense is three times stronger."

Li Shimin's eyes fell on the armor carried in by two soldiers, and he murmured, "This is too wasteful!"

Li Tai stood at one side, looking at the emperor's appearance, and the picture of the Huashan immortals in his sleeve suddenly lost its appeal.

……

After midnight, the banquet ended and the emperor went to Lizheng Hall.

Li Chengqian was pushed by Zhang Ananda and followed beside him.

Li Shimin, feeling the cold wind and the smell of alcohol, said calmly, "Cheng Qian, you and Wu Ji told me that you wanted me to stay behind the battlefield more often."

When the emperor was conquering Goguryeo, Li Chengqian advised Zhangsun Wuji that the emperor should stay in the rear more often.

"Famous generals in ancient times planned their battles from within the tent and won victories thousands of miles away." Li Chengqian bowed slightly and said, "The battlefield is treacherous, so I don't need to explain. I'm actually more worried about the weather. The weather in the northeast is extremely cold, especially on the joints of the hands and legs, which has a significant impact. Father..."

Li Shimin waved his hand. He knew that his own body was injured and he was bound to feel unbearable in the severe cold.

"I will consider it carefully." Li Shimin nodded, then looked at Li Chengqian and said, "You should have noticed tonight that Duke Shen is not here today."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed.

"His health is not good. Tomorrow, I will allow him to retire." Li Shimin waved his hand and went straight to the Lizheng Hall.

Li Chengqian was pushed toward Tongxun Gate back to the East Palace, his face still full of surprise.

Duke of Shen Gao Shilian, Shangshu You Pushe, is retiring?
So what about Shangshu Zuo Pushe Fang Xuanling?
(End of this chapter)