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

Chapter 328 Xu Hui: Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is Benevolent and Filial (First Update)
In the Liangyi Hall, a low table was placed just below the steps.

Li Chengqian sat behind a low table and calmly dealt with the memorial.

There was no one sitting on the imperial couch on the steps behind him.

The emperor is now in the harem.

Li Chengqian sat in the Liangyi Hall to handle state affairs on behalf of the emperor.

Ma Zhou, the Minister of the Secretariat, sat behind the curtain on the left, with Xu Jingzong, the Attendant of the Court, and Shangguan Yi, the Recorder, sitting below him.

Yu Zhining, the Imperial Court Assistant Minister, sat behind the curtain on the right, with Lai Ji, the Imperial Secretariat Secretary, and Gu Yin, the Secretary, sitting below him.

Behind the columns on both sides, there are more than a dozen guards in full golden armor guarding the hall.

Everything is just as it was when the emperor was alive.

However, the one sitting in the palace now handling government affairs is the crown prince.

……

A rush of footsteps sounded outside the hall.

Then, the eunuch Dou Zhijie stood in front of the palace gate and bowed to Li Chengqian, saying, "Your Highness, Prince Yangtong has arrived."

"Pass it on!" Li Chengqian raised his head indifferently.

Dou Zhijie immediately turned around, looked outside the hall, and shouted, "Call Prince Yangtong to Mount Kailash!"

A moment later, Mount Kailash, wearing a crimson robe and a black hat, walked in from outside the temple, with some snow still on his body.

Although the snow has become much lighter now, it is still falling.

For some reason, there is more snow this year than in previous years.

Kailash Kailash walked into the hall and bowed deeply to Li Chengqian: "Prince Yangtong Kailash, I pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Stand up." Li Chengqian raised his hand calmly, then looked at Mount Kailash with scrutiny.

She has bronze skin, a straight nose, and sharp eyebrows. If you don't look closely, you can't tell that she is a woman.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Kailash stood up and bowed earnestly to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian nodded calmly and said, "Your Majesty has been busy with state affairs recently and has been feeling unwell, so you have given me full authority to handle the matter of Yang Tong. Do you have any objections?"

"I dare not!" Kailash immediately bowed and said sincerely, "It is a blessing for Yang Tong and for the little prince that His Majesty the Khan of Heaven has paid attention to Yang Tong's affairs."

Li Chengqian couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile. Looking at the serious face of Gang Rinpoche, Li Chengqian nodded and said, "The Tang Dynasty is also paying attention to the matter of Yang Tong. Since you arrived in Chang'an, the Tang Dynasty has sent people to Tuyuhun to investigate. Recently, a piece of news was sent back."

"Your Highness!" Mount Kailash couldn't help but look at Li Chengqian with some concern.

"Some things need to be made clear before we discuss matters." Li Chengqian looked up and down at Mount Kailash and said softly, "As the Buddhists say, there is no self, no person, no sentient being, only the image of my life.

The self-image, the true image, and the mind-image—which is true and which is false—all need to be clarified.”

Kailash shuddered inexplicably and couldn't help but bow and said, "Your Highness."

Li Chengqian stood up calmly, then walked towards Mount Kailash with an indifferent expression.

"Gang Rinpoche" subconsciously took a step back. At this time, he realized that Li Chengqian had actually walked directly to his side.

"Should I call myself Prince Yangtong or Princess Yangtong?"

Li Chengqian said this and "Gang Rinpoche" was so frightened that he immediately fell to his knees with a pale face.

Li Chengqian waved his left hand, and the next moment, the unbleached hat on Mount Kailash fell off instantly.

His black hair was also knocked down directly.

In an instant, "Gang Rinpoche" changed from a handsome foreign prince to a charming foreign princess.

"Your Highness!" "Gang Rinpoche"'s face was full of horror. Li Chengqian directly exposed her identity, which made her feel an inexplicable fear for a moment.

Li Chengqian looked outside the hall and said calmly, "No one is blind. Not to mention me, even Prime Minister Fang and Yuwen Siqing are both well-informed people. If they had taken a closer look at you, all the suspicious points about you would have been exposed. From now on, it's all a matter of investigation."

"Investigation?" "Gang Rinpoche" was startled and looked up and asked, "Your Highness, what did you find out?"

"Your brother is injured. There is a smell of medicine coming from the backyard of the embassy, ​​but that's all." Li Chengqian looked up outside the hall. The air was cold.

A pure white blanket fell across the entire city of Chang'an.

The foundation of the Liangyi Hall is very high, 18 feet higher than the outer city wall.

Li Chengqian stood in the hall and could clearly see the entire Chang'an city.

Standing in the palace, encompassing all directions.

Li Chengqian turned sideways, looked towards Mount Kailash, and said calmly, "Although you have done some minor things, your status is basically the same. The Tang Dynasty still has to maintain etiquette. But what happens next depends on your brother's health. So, what is his current condition?"

Kailash hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "When we were leaving Tuyuhun, we encountered the largest wave of assassinations. Although we managed to break free, most of our guards were killed or wounded. My brother... my brother was shot in the back, and he never got up again."

"Paralyzed." Li Chengqian couldn't help but frowned. He had gotten into so much trouble just because he broke his leg. This guy was shot by an arrow in the back, which must have injured his spinal cord and left him half paralyzed. It would be much more difficult for him to stand up again than it was for Li Chengqian back then.

Seeing Li Chengqian's expression, "Gang Rinpoche" couldn't help but look a little nervous.

"Have you seen a doctor?" Li Chengqian's eyes were somewhat gloomy.

"I have." "Gang Rinpoche" nodded, then said: "When we were in Tuyuhun, we didn't dare to trust any Tuyuhun people. When we arrived in Shanzhou, we were immediately sent to the post station. Many people were injured. Brother pretended to be my guard and asked the doctor to examine him. The doctor said that with your injuries, you are lucky to survive."

"Gang Rinpoche" herself is a Tubo prince, and the guards around her are all Yangtong nobles, so there is no problem in concealing her identity.

"Come here, order Li Qin, the Imperial Censor of the Eastern Palace, to go to Yangtong Posthouse and check on everyone's injuries." Li Chengqian looked at Mount Kailash and said, "You go back with us. If anyone asks you, just say it was the grace of the Tang Dynasty." "Yes!" Mount Kailash stood up and bowed to Li Chengqian, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace!"

Li Chengqian waved his hand, and "Gang Rinpoche" bowed and took his leave.

Li Chengqian stood in front of the palace gate, watching "Gang Rinpoche" gradually enter the snow fog and finally disappear completely on the palace road.

……

Snow and fog covered the entire imperial palace, Chang'an, and even the entire Guanzhong area.

In the distant city of Lanzhou, a group of Tibetan envoys were rushing towards Chang'an in the snow and fog.

In Chang'an City, a Qianniu Guard quickly ran into the palace from Guangdefang and went straight into the Liangyi Hall.

Li Chengqian frowned after receiving the memorial, then turned and left the Liangyi Hall and headed towards Ganlu Gate.

At Ganlu Gate, the eunuch returned and then bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty has summoned you."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, then followed the eunuch into the harem.

Countless palaces were hidden in the wind and snow, and it was impossible to see how many palaces there were.

Li Chengqian rarely came to the emperor's harem. Even when he was young, he spent his time in Lizheng Hall.

Lizheng Hall is located to the east of Liangyi Hall. It is actually the emperor's private palace. However, his mother moved to Lizheng Hall so that she could take care of his father more conveniently, and it became the queen's bedroom.

However, Li Chengqian rarely visited the harem.

Especially after he became an adult...

Outside Ganlu Palace, Li Chengqian stopped.

Zhang Ananda happened to appear in front of the palace gate and bowed slightly to Li Chengqian.

Only then did Li Chengqian walk up the stairs and enter the Ganlu Hall.

The warm atmosphere, the curtains everywhere, and the soft sound of the piano made Li Chengqian's expression relax.

His eyes swept across the veil on the left, and he saw a palace concubine in an egg yolk long dress playing the piano softly.

……

Firm footsteps came from the inner hall, and Li Chengqian lowered his head solemnly.

The emperor walked out of the inner hall and sat down on the short couch in the central hall.

Li Chengqian immediately bowed earnestly and said, "Greetings, Father."

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian calmly and asked, "Is Prince Yang Tong completely paralyzed?"

"Yes, Imperial Physician Li Qin personally diagnosed him." Li Chengqian lowered his head and sighed, "Li Qin reported that the meridians were damaged. Even with his full strength, he can only survive for five or six years at most. This is even more serious than I expected."

"That is to say, he is useless to us." Li Shimin frowned slightly.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian carefully looked at Li Shimin and said, "Father, but he has a younger sister!"

Li Shimin raised his head, glanced at Li Chengqian with a half-smile, then waved his hand and said, "I said, you can arrange this matter."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian lowered his head in surprise, then he saluted and said, "Father, according to Yang Tongren, they encountered an attack by the Tibetan Guang army in Qugou, the old capital of Tuyuhun. They also believe that the Tibetan infiltration of Tuyuhun far exceeds the Tang Dynasty's imagination."

"Let Xi Junmai investigate." The emperor waved his hand and said, "In two years, appoint him the position of Inspector General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard. In the future, all matters related to counter-infiltration and assassination in Tuyuhun will be handed over to him."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian bowed. Seeing that the emperor's expression was a little gloomy, he quickly bowed and said, "Your son will take his leave. Take care, father."

"Yeah!" Li Shimin nodded calmly.

Only then did Li Chengqian bow and leave Ganlu Hall.

Li Shimin kept looking at his back.

Before I knew it, the song was over.

Xu Hui walked out from behind the curtain, came up behind the emperor, gently pressed his shoulders, and whispered, "Your Majesty!"

"That's all right." Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief, looked out of the palace, and said softly, "Zhang Baozang suggested that I go to Cuiwei Palace to recuperate, but, looking at this, can I really leave Chang'an?"

"Cuiwei Palace is not far from Chang'an. Your Majesty, why don't you summon one or two prime ministers to your side and then let the crown prince govern the country?" Xu Hui looked outside the palace and said softly, "I have been in Chang'an for the past two years. Although I don't know much about what goes on outside the palace, I know that the crown prince is very filial."

Li Shimin looked at Xu Hui and nodded with satisfaction. Although Xu Hui was a concubine in the harem, a lot of news from Chang'an was reported back to the army by her.

Or to be more precise, the emperor had many secret agents inside and outside the palace who were keeping an eye on Chang'an City.

Needless to say, outside the palace, there is the virtuous concubine Xu Hui.

"Although the Crown Prince is filial, he has no control over many things." The emperor turned around and hugged Xu Hui's plump body into his arms. He shook his head and said, "Especially now, with the wind and snow, and traffic is blocked. If something happens, I'm afraid I won't know anything if I'm outside."

Looking through history books, the emperor and the crown prince were not allowed to leave the palace easily.

Even a semi-founding emperor like Li Shimin was very cautious.

"Maybe in March next year. The weather is warm in March, and even if something happens, the news can be delivered to me immediately." Li Shimin sneered softly and said, "This will in turn deter some people from taking any rash action, and this will ensure stability."

"Yes!" Xu Hui nodded slightly while sitting in the emperor's arms, but there was some doubt in her eyes.

From the emperor's words and deeds, it seemed that he was not warning the prince, but warning others.

who?

(End of this chapter)