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

Chapter 246: Marrying the Prince of Jin Fails, Then Marrying the Crown Prince (Part )
In the Zhenguan Hall, light and shadow are mottled.

On the imperial couch, Li Shimin put down the memorial in his hand, looked at Zhangsun Wuji, who was kneeling on the side, and asked, "Where is the crown prince now?"

"Songshan!" Zhangsun Wuji bowed slightly and said, "The Crown Prince went to Songshan and offered sacrifices to the mountain god at the Zhongyue Temple in Songshan. He also visited Master Zizhen."

Master Zizhen Pan Shizheng inherited the art from Master Shengxuan Wang Yuanzhi, who was taught by Tao Hongjing, a direct descendant of the Maoshan lineage.

Li Shimin nodded and said, "The Crown Prince has always been close to Taoism, which is good, but I heard that he has also been close to Buddhism recently?"

Zhang Sun Wuji smiled, nodded, and said, "The Crown Prince went to the Longmen Grottoes and said he wanted to repair the Binyang North Cave. However, the Buddhist sect couldn't find a suitable repair plan, so it was temporarily shelved. However, this matter spread widely among the Buddhist believers in Luoyang. In addition, the Crown Prince went to the Longmen Grottoes to pray for blessings for three consecutive days, and the people of Luoyang all praised the Crown Prince for his filial piety."

"Although the Binyang North and South Caves are in disrepair, they were ultimately used by Qingque to pray for Guanyin's maid. The Crown Prince is reminding me to spare Qingque." Li Shimin shook his head and said, "A few days ago, he helped the King of Qi, and now he's helping Qingque again."

"The prince is filial and brotherly, this is a good thing." Changsun Wuji's expression calmed down, he looked up at Li Shimin and nodded vigorously.

The emperor raised his eyes and then nodded slowly.

"Well, it's time to resolve the Qingque issue." Li Shimin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief after he finished speaking. Then his expression darkened and he said, "I heard that the Wang family has been making quite a stir these past few days?"

"The Wang family wanted their daughter to be the Princess of Jin, so they approached the Dou family. However, Dou Dan was unwilling to step in, so it seems they're looking for someone else." Changsun Wuji shook his head and said, "I don't know how the news got out so quickly."

"They are using outside voices to force me to compromise!" The emperor's eyes suddenly turned cold.

"Not really!" Changsun Wuji quickly tried to persuade him, saying, "It's just that he wasn't careful enough, so the news got out. After all, so many people were paying attention to the matter of Princess Jin, so the news got out."

"That's perfect, let's resolve Zhinu's issue as well." After a brief pause, the emperor spoke, "Issue an imperial decree: Prince of Wei Li Tai is stripped of all official titles and ranks, demoted to a commoner, and confined to the Northern Garden of Chang'an to recuperate. Prince of Qi Li You is stripped of all official titles and ranks, demoted to a commoner, and ordered to become a monk at Taiqing Palace on Mount Mang, praying for the souls of the dead. He is not allowed to leave Taiqing Palace without imperial decree!"

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji breathed a sigh of relief. Li Tai's life was finally saved.

As for Li You's survival, it was because he was being used by others.

In addition, whether it was the case of Li Tai or Li You, there was no strong voice in the court demanding severe punishment.

After all, both of these incidents were settled in a very short time and did not affect the stability of the world.

Of course, Li Chengqian played a significant role here.

Especially since Li Chengqian stabilized everything in Chang'an and only a few people died, the impact was not significant and people's hearts were more at ease, so there was not much investigation into Li Tai and Li You.

"Issue an imperial decree to appoint the daughter of the Zhao family as the Princess of Jin. The Prince of Jin will get married on the ninth day of the eighth month. Zhao Shujian, the doctor of the Ministry of Revenue, will be transferred to be the Sima of Luozhou." The emperor spoke and looked at Zhangsun Wuji.

Zhang Sun Wuji was slightly startled, then bowed and accepted the order: "Yes!"

……

Mount Song is quiet and the autumn wind is slightly cold.

Li Chengqian sat in the Sanqing Hall of Songyang Temple. He looked across at Pan Shizheng and asked curiously, "I heard that the Immortal has an elixir called the Nine Yang Revitalizing Elixir. Can it prolong my life?"

Master Pan nodded and said, "That's the elixir that my senior brother Liu Daohe refined. However, that medicine requires a large amount of precious medicinal materials such as ginseng, ganoderma lucidum, snow lotus, etc., and it needs to be taken year-round to give people a second chance when a sudden change occurs. However, if it is taken suddenly, I'm afraid the effect will not be fully exerted for a while."

tonic!

Li Chengqian immediately understood that the so-called Nine Yang Pill was actually the medicinal effect of the medicinal materials themselves. Of course, it was also due to the Taoist harmony of dragon and tiger.

"I originally thought that Taoist alchemy used gold, silver, lead, mercury and other strange things, but I didn't expect that they were actually plant medicinal materials." Li Chengqian couldn't help but sigh.

"For the elixirs owned by the world, they should be plant-based medicinal materials with mild medicinal properties. Other gold, silver, lead, mercury, and even elixirs made from strange things are nothing but poisonous drugs, which do more harm than good." Master Pan was explaining the key points to Li Chengqian in detail.

At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall. Li Chengqian frowned slightly and looked outside the hall.

Chang Sunxiang walked quickly into the hall, then bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty has just issued an edict. The King of Wei is demoted to a commoner and confined to Chang'an. The King of Qi is also demoted to a commoner and becomes a monk in Mangshan. The daughter of Zhao Shujian, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, is to be the consort of the King of Jin. Zhao Shujian is transferred to the post of Sima of Luozhou. At the same time, the King of Jin will be married on the ninth day of the eighth month."

Li Chengqian was not surprised by the emperor's handling of Li Tai and Li You, and it was also within his expectations that Zhao Shujian's daughter would become the Princess of Jin.

However, Li Chengqian was a little puzzled by the fact that Zhao Shujian was the Sima of Luozhou.

Does the emperor want Li Zhi to train manpower in Luoyang?

If this is the case, then Li Chengqian's current plan will be affected...

No, wait.

If Li Zhi really started to manage Luoyang, it would not be a bad thing for Li Chengqian.

At worst, just like what happened to Li Tai.

Moreover, Li You stayed in Mangshan, so Li Chengqian had someone to rely on.

Even if that's the case, then in the end, don't blame him for being ruthless...

No, no, that's not right. Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes, looked at Changsun Xiang and asked, "My cousin just said that Zhinu was getting married on the ninth day of the eighth month. Is that in Luoyang?"

"Yes!" Chang Sun Xiang immediately thought of something and nodded solemnly.

"I see." Li Chengqian looked at Pan Shizheng and said, "No wonder father asked me to arrive in Luoyang a month in advance. No wonder father wanted me to stay in Luoyang and not return to Chang'an. So..."

"What happened?" Pan Shizheng couldn't help but ask. He had clearly seen the change in the prince's expression just now.

However, he could also understand that the emperor had just resolved the issue of King Wei and immediately appointed King Jin's father-in-law as Sima of Luozhou. Even he felt for a moment that the emperor had done something wrong.

Aren't you obviously trying to provoke the prince?
But it seems that this is not the case. The prince's expression immediately calmed down. There is a secret in this.

"This is a secret of the imperial court." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian bowed his head and said to Pan Shizheng, "Master, I was a little rude just now. I hope you can forgive me."

"It's human nature, no problem." Master Pan nodded gently.

Li Chengqian's expression became more relaxed, and he said, "Master, let's talk about the elixir again."

"Yes!" Master Pan nodded slightly.

Li Chengqian smiled meaningfully.

……

In Luoyang City, Imperial Censor Liu Shi followed Wang Renyou and rode towards Princess Tongan's villa.

Neither of them spoke much.

The emperor made Zhao's daughter the Princess of Jin instead of their own daughter, which was somewhat embarrassing for them.

Especially a while ago, for some unknown reason, the news that their daughter was going to be the Princess of Jin spread.

Don't know what's going on.

At this moment, the conversation between two pedestrians on the street vaguely reached his ears: "...I heard that the prince went to the farmland of Sinong Temple today. I heard that because of the prince's efforts, Guanzhong's autumn harvest this year is 20% higher than last year's average. 20%!"

"Yes, the prince is in Luoyang now. Maybe the autumn harvest in Luoyang next year can increase by 20%." The two men walked forward with longing on their faces.

The sound became increasingly inaudible.

Liu Shi's expression couldn't help but become serious. The prince had devoted a lot of effort to farming in the past two years. The people of Chang'an benefited the most and were very grateful to the prince.

Especially after the incident with King Wei, no one challenged him and the position of the crown prince became more and more stable.

Although there is the matter of Prince Jin now, Prince Jin is too young. Liu Shi glanced at Wang Renyou sideways and had a plan in mind.

Soon, the two of them met Princess Tongan together.

"Perhaps we were wrong from the beginning about the Prince of Jin." Princess Tong'an shook her head and sighed, "Your Majesty is a strong-willed person. If he hasn't made up his mind, then he might give me some face. But if he has made up his mind, I'm afraid my going there would be counterproductive."

"Aunt, are you saying that Your Majesty has already decided to make a daughter of the Zhao family the Princess of Jin?" Wang Renyou was slightly stunned.

Princess Tongan looked at Liu Shi, who said, "The consorts Your Majesty has chosen for the Prince of Jin this time are mostly from Hebei families, with few from Jingzhao and Hedong. Although the Wang family can exert influence in Hebei, they are not as direct as the Hebei families."

"I know this, but I just don't understand. Is Your Majesty going to change the strategy towards Hebei?" The reason why Wang Renyou made the bet this time was because he knew that the Tang Dynasty's strategy for dealing with the affairs in Hebei was mainly based on suppression and control. Now that a Hebei woman has become the Princess of Jin, the meaning has changed.

"After all, he is just the Prince of Jin." Liu Shi shook his head slightly, looking emotional.

Wang Renyou was stunned for a moment, then he understood.

"By the way, Renyou, how is Lan'er doing?" Princess Tongan couldn't help but talk about Wang Youlan.

Wang Renyou's brows suddenly furrowed. He looked at the Grand Princess of Tong'an and said, "Aunt, too many people know that Lan'er wanted to be the Princess of Jin. Now that it hasn't happened, I'm afraid there will be rumors..."

"Let Lan'er go back to Taiyuan and stay in her hometown for two years!" Princess Tongan shook her head helplessly.

"Although it is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution, there is nothing we can do about it." Wang Renyou sighed uncomfortably.

"Princess, brother-in-law, I do have an idea." Liu Shi looked at Princess Tong'an and Wang Renyou turning around and said softly, "You want to marry into the royal family anyway. Since marrying the Prince of Jin doesn't work out, how about marrying the Crown Prince?"

"Crown Prince, Crown Prince Liangyuan?" Wang Renyou shook his head and said, "No, if it's Crown Prince Liangti, it's fine, but Crown Prince Liangyuan won't work."

"Brother-in-law." Liu Shi held Wang Renyou down and said, "There are only five people in the Crown Prince's harem now: the Crown Princess, Zheng, Wei, Su, and Zhang. Zhang is already the Crown Prince's concubine, and she's also implicated in the witchcraft incident. If Lan'er can become the Crown Prince's concubine, when the Crown Prince ascends the throne, she can at least become one of the Four Noble Consorts. The Four Noble Consorts are of a higher rank than the Princess of Jin. If she can have children..."

"That's it." Princess Tong'an nodded directly and said, "I will make His Majesty agree to this matter even if it means risking my reputation."

(End of this chapter)