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

Chapter 228: My Royal Brother, Why Won’t You Die in Peace? (Part )
Li Tai felt that everyone's eyes were on him in an instant.

He knew he was slow to react.

Someone has noticed something is wrong.

But he couldn't help but feel infinite anger rising in his heart.

He had clearly prepared everything, so why was Li Chengqian unwilling to do as he had planned, drink the palace's wine, get drunk, and finally complete everything easily?

My royal brother, why won’t you just die in peace?
Li Tai smiled and looked up, then bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Thank you for the generous gift, my Royal Brother. I'll save this wine for later. I've already prepared some fine wine today, so I can't use your Royal Brother's stuff at this hour, can I?"

Li Chengqian looked at Li Tai and said with the same smile, "Good wine is meant to be drunk at the right time. Could there be a better time than today? As for whether to drink yours or mine, don't worry about that. Whichever wine is better, we'll use it... Come on, pour each of you a glass."

As soon as Li Chengqian said this, the maids on both sides immediately came forward and filled every glass of wine on the table with their own wine jugs.

Li Chengqian also had a cup in front of him, as did Li Tai, Hou Junji, Zhang Liang, Fang Xuanling, Yu Zhining, Chu Suiliang, Ma Zhou and others.

Li Chengqian raised his glass, looked at Li Tai seriously, and said, "Qingque, I must say this again. You are now the father of two children. You need to grow up and think twice before doing anything. If you feel wronged, just bear it for now. Later, tell your father or me. Both your father and I will do our best to help you resolve it."

Li Tai was stunned by Li Chengqian's words.

The people sitting below also looked at Li Chengqian in surprise.

Many people nodded in satisfaction.

Yu Zhining, Chu Suiliang, Ma Zhou, and Li Daliang all looked more surprised.

Everyone knows that the King of Wei's affair is inevitable by now, but the Crown Prince still seems to be trying to make amends.

Brother, brother, the King of Wei is far inferior to the Crown Prince after all.

Gao Shilian sat calmly below Fang Xuanling and raised his glass gently.

Seeing Li Chengqian drink up a glass of wine, everyone else in the hall followed suit and drank it all.

"Good wine!" Many people drank the clear wine with great joy in their eyes.

Li Chengqian took a quick look and found that most of these people were from the north and military generals. Those from the south and the elderly could not help but frown.

Compared with the rice wine commonly drunk by wealthy families, this kind of distilled liquor is not so easy for people to adapt to.

Li Chengqian turned around and looked at Li Tai. Li Tai drank the wine in the glass and savored it carefully. He wanted to say something but didn't know how to say it.

"It's hard to get the prince's wine. Why not drink the prince's wine first, and then drink the wine from the palace to enjoy it to your heart's content." Chai Lingwu stood behind Li Tai and bowed with a smile.

Chai Lingwu was the consort of Princess Baling, the second son of Princess Pingyang, and the Sima of Prince Wei under Li Tai.

As soon as he opened his mouth, Li Chengqian smiled and nodded.

Li Tai's expression immediately softened, and he nodded to Li Chengqian and said, "Thank you, my Royal Brother."

"Okay, everyone, take a seat." Li Chengqian smiled and sat down in the main seat.

Li Tai looked at this scene and his face turned slightly cold, but he had no choice. After all, the prince was the king and he was the subject.

"By the way, Gao Yang, Cheng Yang and the others have gone to the backyard, right?" Li Chengqian immediately changed the subject. Li Tai nodded in agreement and started chatting.

……

Half an hour later, Li Tai and the ministers in the courtyard respectfully saw Li Chengqian off.

Watching Li Chengqian leave under the escort of hundreds of Jinwu Guards, Li Tai shook his head dizzily.

To be honest, although there was no drug in Li Chengqian's wine, it was still very strong.

This made Li Tai breathe a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Fang Xuanling, who was standing to one side, bowed and said, "Your Highness, I, this old minister, will take my leave. There are still many political matters to attend to at court."

Li Tai immediately bowed and said, "Go slowly, Duke. If you feel you've drunk too much, just go back home and rest. I don't think my brother will blame you for anything."

Fang Xuanling laughed. What was the King of Wei talking about? The prince was only the prince now, and he was the regent. If he wanted to rest, who could stop him?

"I'll take my leave." Fang Xuanling bowed with a smile, then walked towards the carriage beside him.

Looking at Fang Xuanling's back, Li Tai's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't know why Fang Yiai hadn't come back yet. Could it be that he really had to go directly to Fang Xuanling's mansion tonight and kidnap him as Hou Junji said?

"Your Highness!" Gao Shilian appeared before Li Tai and said, "This old minister will return first."

"Uncle, please stay a little longer." Li Tai bowed quickly. Gao Shilian did not go to Luoyang with the emperor, but stayed in Chang'an to recuperate. Li Tai had finally invited him today, and he was also a backup.

"No, I've had enough fun today." After a brief pause, Gao Shilian said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince's words do make sense. Your Highness might as well listen to them."

After saying that, Gao Shilian bowed and left quickly.

Li Tai's heart was stirred for a moment, but in an instant, a feeling of indifference rose in his heart, and then he suppressed everything in his heart. Now he had only one way to go, and any other distracting thoughts could not disturb him.

Gao Shilian glanced at Li Daliang, Yu Zhining, Chu Suiliang and others who followed him away, and nodded calmly.

Today is March 18th, not a day off.

Although you can drink a little when the King of Wei is entertaining guests, and no one will mind too much when the emperor is not around, it is your own fault if you get drunk.

Sitting in the carriage, Gao Shilian couldn't help but think of the prince's words and actions today. Suddenly, he whispered, "They are indeed father and son. Their every move is so similar."

At this moment, the carriage in front turned north and headed towards the Suzaku Gate. The moment the carriage turned the corner, Gao Shilian and Fang Xuanling happened to look at each other, and both nodded calmly.

……

The sun sets in the west and the evening drum begins to sound.

Fang Xuanling returned to Duke Liang's Mansion early, as the wine he drank today did have some aftereffects.

Sitting in the middle hall, Fang Xuanling asked wearily, "Has Dalang returned?"

The butler hurried forward and said, "Not yet."

"Go and urge them to see what's going on..." Before Fang Xuanling finished his words, a sound was heard in front of the door. Fang Xuanling frowned and looked at the housekeeper on the side.

The steward immediately bowed and left, but soon returned and bowed to Fang Xuanling and said, "Master, it's someone from the Secretariat. They said there's something urgent!"

Fang Xuanling immediately became serious and nodded, saying, "Please invite them in."

Fang Xuanling drank a lot of wine today and felt a little unwell, so he left half an hour early.

Unexpectedly, someone came over as soon as I got home.

Soon, a young official in a green official robe came in with four sturdy guards wearing golden armor and holding swords.

After the first glance, Fang Xuanling frowned and asked the young official, "Who are you? Why have I never seen you before?"

Fang Xuanling's words made the manager standing beside him look at the few people nervously.

At the same time, rustling sounds were heard on both sides of the main hall.

Fang Xuanling was the prime minister and the minister of works, so he was naturally protected by the Jinwu Guards and the Qianniu Guards.

The young green-robed official took out three badges from his body and handed them to the butler. The butler took a look and saw that they were badges of the Imperial Guard, the Ministry of Palace Affairs and the Ministry of Central Secretariat.

The housekeeper quickly placed the three badges on the table beside Fang Xuanling.

"I am Guo Tong, the Chief Clerk of the Imperial Guards. I greet Prime Minister Fang." Guo Tong bowed and then said calmly, "I am here on orders from the Crown Prince, Prime Minister Yu, the Grand General, and the General of the Household to invite the Duke to the palace immediately. I have an important matter to discuss."

"Prime Minister Yu, Crown Prince, Grand General, and General of the Imperial Household?" Fang Xuanling keenly grasped the order of events. He couldn't help but ask, "When did Yu Zhining become Prime Minister? Why didn't I know about it?"

"Eight days ago, the General of the Central Army read out the emperor's secret decree in the Wude Hall, appointing Yu Zhining, the Imperial Secretary, as Vice Minister of State Affairs, to assist in state affairs and granting him the power to make decisions on the spot." Guo Tong bowed and said, "The General, Lord Chu, and the Chief Censor will all receive the decree."

The general is naturally Li Daliang.

In fact, according to the emperor's order, Fang Xuanling was the regent minister and the top official under the crown prince, and the only person below him was Li Daliang, the general of the left guard.

Since Li Daliang approved the emperor's secret decree, it means that there is nothing wrong with this secret decree.

Fang Xuanling suddenly looked up, stared at Guo Tong and said, "Is it the King of Wei?"

Guo Tong bowed and said, "The Crown Prince has instructed that if Prime Minister Fang asks, I should tell him that the Duke of Xiangyang left the city at noon today and stopped the Prince Consort at Ziwu Pass... The King of Wei sent someone to Songzhou a few days ago to summon the Prince Consort back to the capital, and he happened to return today."

Fang Xuanling looked up, and for some unknown reason, his whole body felt cold.

Li Tai had been planning today's events for several days. If Fang Yiai arrived in Beijing today, and there was something fishy about the wine in the Prince of Wei's mansion today...

Fang Xuanling's face turned ugly in an instant. He wanted to slap himself right away. How could he not realize that the King of Wei was going to take action today?

In an instant, what Guo Tong had just said echoed in Fang Xuanling's mind again.

The emperor's secret decree was given to Li Daliang, Yu Zhining, Chu Suiliang, Ma Zhou, and the crown prince, but not Fang Xuanling, nor Hou Junji and Zhang Liang.

Right now, the prince has sent someone to invite him, which means that he no longer has any problems.

Then it goes without saying who assisted the King of Wei in his rebellion.

Fang Xuanling nodded, turned around and said, "Have Madam take Sanlang and Silang to the Lu Mansion. If anyone asks, tell them that there's an urgent document from the Secretariat and I'm going back to the palace to deal with it."

The butler immediately bowed solemnly and said, "Yes!"

Fang Xuanling raised his head, looked at Guo Tong and said, "Let's go."

"Yes!" Guo Tong immediately bowed and then took the lead to go out of the mansion.

The four guards he brought with him, as well as several other guards of Fang Xuanling, escorted him out of the Fang Mansion.

But soon, Fang Xuanling realized that they were not on the way to the palace. He couldn't help but ask, "Where are we going?"

"Fanglin Gate. From Fanglin Garden, enter Xuanwu Gate, and then go to Zhuque Gate." Guo Tong briefly explained, then said, "Zhuque Gate is already under surveillance. Anyone entering or leaving will be discovered, so enter Zhuque Gate from Xuanwu Gate."

Fang Xuanling frowned and said nothing more, because he knew that without the emperor's order, the prince could not command the imperial guards.

Today in Fanglin Garden, Fang Xuanling is safe.

As they walked, a carriage appeared behind Fang Xuanling.

Fang Xuanling poked his head out, frowned, and asked, "Who's behind that?"

Guo Tong cupped his hands and said, "It's the Duke of Wei."

"Li Jing?" Fang Xuanling blurted out in surprise. A familiar face popped out from the carriage behind.

(End of this chapter)