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

Chapter 307 Brothers and Brothers Respect
Inside the inner hall, Li Chengqian still said with some uneasiness, "Father, I think we should transfer Master Sun to Dingzhou..."

"No need." Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "I will be back in Chang'an soon. There is no need to trouble Master Sun to make another trip. Besides, Zhang Baozang is also a rare miracle doctor in the world."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded, and then he continued: "By the way, Your Majesty, when I was at the post station last night, the postmaster asked two maids to deliver medicine. I saw that the two maids knew nothing and should be innocent. In my opinion, they are much better than those here, Your Majesty.

In that case, why not send him to the Eunuchs for training, and then send him to serve Father the Emperor."

The emperor looked at Li Chengqian in surprise, then shook his head and said, "In a large army, this is enough."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed solemnly.

When the emperor set out from Luoyang, he did not bring any maids with him among the thousands of troops. When he transited through Dingzhou, he also had no maids with him.

It was not until he had established a firm foothold in Liaodong that he selected a dozen people from the Liaodong nobles to serve him.

Of course, after returning to Hebei, aristocratic families also sent their daughters to serve him one after another. However, these were either concubines from large families or daughters from small families, and there was nothing outstanding about them.

"And that postmaster, you can deal with him as well." Li Shimin waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian paused for a moment, but still lowered his head to respond.

The emperor had no intention of further investigating Li Zhi, and he didn't even intend to investigate the people who came after him.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but look thoughtful. It seemed that the emperor's decision not to pursue Li Zhi was not a good thing for him, but after thinking about it carefully, the emperor's words seemed to have another meaning.

"By the way, father, there is also the matter of Chang'an." Li Chengqian raised his head and looked serious.

"No need to say more." Li Shimin smiled bitterly and pressed his eyebrows together, saying, "Okay, let's stop here for today. You must be tired from traveling all the way. Go back and rest."

"I will serve you here, father." Li Chengqian looked at Li Shimin sincerely.

The emperor turned around, his back to Li Chengqian, and continued to wave his hands, saying, "Go, go, go. I rarely have a peaceful night. Go ahead and take care of other things as well."

"Yes!" Although Li Chengqian was helpless, he still bowed seriously and said, "Your son will take his leave."

Only after Li Chengqian completely left the hall did Li Shimin slowly turn around with a gloomy expression.

……

Li Chengqian left the hall and subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Then when he looked up, he saw Li Zhi kneeling on the ground.

Li Zhi knelt in the cold, his head knocking against the ground, his body trembling slightly, looking extremely pitiful.

Li Chengqian was slightly surprised and turned to look at Changsun Wuji and Zhang Ananda beside him.

Zhang Ananda bowed slightly to Li Chengqian, then re-entered the hall.

Changsun Wuji shook his head indifferently and looked at Li Zhi with a hint of hatred in his eyes.

Li Chengqian had a sad look on his face. He walked over to Li Zhi, squatted down, and said to him, "Zhi Nu, go back. The ground is too cold."

"I am guilty. If I had not acted recklessly, my father would not have been harmed." Li Zhi's voice choked with sobs and he knelt on the ground, but he refused to look up.

"Zhi Nu, this time, you are indeed a little willful." As soon as Li Chengqian said this, Li Zhi's body suddenly stopped.

Li Chengqian shook his head and said with some resentment, "I'm not talking about Father, but about you taking people away from Xingzhou without even saying hello... Three guards, you're really brave. From Xingzhou to Dingzhou, it's at least 300 miles, and you only brought three people. If something really goes wrong, what will I do, what will Father do?"

Li Zhi knelt on the ground, slightly dazed. He didn't expect that what Li Chengqian was talking about was actually this matter.

Many eunuchs and guards inside and outside heard Li Chengqian's words and frowned slightly.

Three people traveled three hundred miles from Xingzhou to Dingzhou. This is not courage, this is recklessness, this is greed.

He abandoned the prince and a large group of people in Xingzhou and came to the Dingzhou Palace in advance. His purpose was naturally to show off in front of the emperor and to speak ill of the prince in front of the emperor in advance.

There are some things that Li Chengqian and Changsun Wuji don’t know, but the eunuchs and guards all know.

Of course, the Prince of Jin had his own ambitions, but the distance from Xingzhou to Dingzhou was three hundred miles. If something really happened, none of the guards following Li Zhi would survive, and even three clans would be implicated.

Prince Jin is so cruel!

They don’t know how other people feel, but for these eunuchs and guards, for those who specialize in guarding, the most annoying person is someone like Li Zhi.

Only care about yourself and not others.

Their eyes swept slightly towards Changsun Wuji next to them and the hall. The emperor could clearly hear all the sounds outside.

……

"As for the matter of father, you don't have to blame yourself too much. First, you didn't know about it and it was not intentional. Second, it's only this time. As long as you take good care of yourself, you will be able to recover." Li Chengqian patted Li Zhi's shoulder comfortingly.

Li Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good, but this is all my fault. I should kneel here and ask for your forgiveness, and pray to God for your speedy recovery."

Li Chengqian looked at Li Zhi, who was still kneeling on the ground without looking up, and sneered in his heart, but turned his face gently and said, "Come here, why don't you quickly bring a cushion and a cloak? It's winter now, and the ground is cold. What if the King of Jin injures his legs and body?"

At Li Chengqian's command, the eunuch couldn't help but look at Changsun Wuji. Changsun Wuji nodded slightly, and the eunuch then went to get the cushion and cloak.

Li Chengqian took the cloak and put it directly on Li Zhi, then placed the cushion in front of him and whispered, "Lift your legs."

"Your Majesty, that's not necessary." Li Zhi pulled his cloak off his back, raised his head, looked at Li Chengqian and said, "This humble servant is at fault. I deserve to be punished. If Your Majesty won't punish me, please let me punish myself."

Li Chengqian was a little stunned.

Li Zhi forced a smile and said, "I know that you, my brother, are concerned about me, but please leave me alone. Now... now, only in this way can I feel at ease."

"Alright." Li Chengqian sighed helplessly, placed the cloak on the futon, and said, "I'll leave it here for now. If you feel any discomfort in your legs or body, remember to use it. Don't let yourself get frozen."

"Thank you for your concern, my royal brother." After saying this, Li Zhi kowtowed heavily to the ground.

"Alas!" Li Chengqian sighed, then stood up, bowed slightly to Zhangsun Wuji, and then turned and left. Li Zhi rested his forehead on the ground, his eyes unable to help but look at the cushion and cloak on the side.

I don’t know what he was thinking, but in the end he just bowed his head and kowtowed to the ground.

……

Li Shimin lay quietly in the hall, and he could clearly hear every word that Li Chengqian and Li Zhi said outside the hall.

When the outside was completely quiet, Li Shimin raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and then said lightly: "Child, you are still too naive!"

Zhang Ananda stood at the temple gate, with his head down and silent.

Li Shimin sighed and said, "It seems that the news was indeed sent to Zhinu."

Zhang Ananda bowed and said, "The prince's men in the army have made no attempt to test him. Instead, they are..."

Li Shimin waved his hand slightly and Zhang Ananda stopped immediately.

After a brief pause, the emperor turned sideways and asked, "Did the Crown Prince know about the Xingzhou incident in advance?"

Zhang Ananda bowed and said, "Li Wu reported back that the Crown Prince left immediately after handing over various matters in Chang'an. He did inquire about Your Majesty's health, but he did so in public. He didn't say anything in private. After leaving everything behind, he headed north to Dingzhou. As for the matter in Luoyang..."

"how?"

"Luozhou Sima Zhao Zhongjian sent people to Qinghe after the Crown Prince and Prince of Jin left Luoyang. The Qinghe Zhao family found a postmaster whose father and son were deeply favored by the Zhao family. Then he used medicine in the post station's kitchen and arranged for two daughters of criminals to serve him in bed." Zhang Ananda calmly told everything that happened at the Luozhou post station.

The cause of the incident was in Luozhou. The news from the army first reached Zhao Zhongjian, the Sima of Luozhou, and then Zhao Zhongjian told them when Li Chengqian and Li Zhi left Luoyang.

In addition, Luoyang is actually not that far from Xingzhou.

In other words, no matter what, Li Chengqian could not know Li Zhi's important matters in advance.

Li Shimin was worried that Li Chengqian had already known Li Zhi's plan in advance and was going along with it.

Just like what happened to Li Tai back then.

Li Shimin nodded calmly and asked, "At the post station, did the prince really only discover he had been drugged when he entered?"

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda nodded and said, "There are people in the Eastern Palace who are always watching the kitchen. Everything the postmaster brings into the kitchen has been carefully checked. His every move is watched. After leaving the kitchen, neither he nor his two maids have opened the ginseng soup again.

Normally, someone around the Crown Prince should have tasted the medicine beforehand, but because the Crown Prince's household steward had to leave for something, no one was watching, and the Crown Prince didn't pay much attention, so he almost took it."

"Hmm!" Li Shimin raised his head and said softly, "Judging from his medical skills today, he can detect fast-acting poisons that won't hurt him, and he can also taste slow-acting poisons. This way, I won't have to worry about him being drugged in the future."

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, countless emperors were poisoned to death.

Even Li Shimin himself was on guard against these things on a daily basis.

Suddenly, Li Shimin said, "Pass the order down. Starting today, the imperial physician will taste the medicine and food every day!"

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda immediately bowed.

"One last thing." Li Shimin's expression turned cold, and he asked, "Did the Prince of Jin really burn the floating bridge on the Hutuo River?"

"That's right." Zhang Ananda bowed and said, "Before the Crown Prince, there was only the Prince of Jin, and the Prince of Jin crossed the bridge smoothly."

"This rebellious son." Li Shimin clenched his fists suddenly, and his eyes were full of coldness as he looked outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, should the Sima of Luozhou be dealt with?" Zhang Ananda looked up calmly.

Zhao Zhongjian knew too many things. Once he spoke carelessly, he would drag Li Zhi into it and eventually expose the brothers' fight for the throne.

The emperor is most concerned about his reputation, so it is best not to expose such things if possible.

Therefore, Zhao Zhongzhong was dealt with in advance.

Li Shimin fell silent, thinking for a long time. He calmly shook his head and said, "Let him be for now. He is my relative after all. Now is not the time to deal with him. Oh, go call Si Tu in."

"Yes!" Zhang Ananda immediately bowed and left the room.

……

Zhang Sun Wuji entered the hall with a serious expression, bowed earnestly to Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty!"

"Wuji, someone has revealed my illness to outsiders." Li Shimin looked outside the hall with some sadness.

Changsun Wuji gritted his teeth and nodded, "Yes, I am wrong."

At the beginning, the emperor asked him to be in charge of both internal and external affairs and prohibited any news from leaking out, but in the end, the news still leaked out.

So much so that today, something like this happened.

So Changsun Wuji cannot escape responsibility here.

"It's none of your business." Li Shimin waved his hand calmly and said, "Go and investigate, Wuji. Find out the truth about this matter and then report to me."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji bowed solemnly and immediately turned and left.

Just as Zhangsun Wuji walked out of the hall, Li Shimin's deep voice rang out: "If it's like this today, what about tomorrow?"

Changsun Wuji's face became completely gloomy. As he walked out of the hall, he glanced at Li Zhi who was kneeling on the ground, then walked past him with an expressionless face.

In the palace, the emperor's expression was unusually calm, with a hint of indifference flashing in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)