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

Chapter 51 From Prime Minister to Prisoner, a Thin Line Between

The twenty-ninth day of the winter month is Gengshen.

A cold wind blew from the northern grasslands.

It crossed the Yellow River, Hetao, and the 1,400-li Guanzhong Plain, and fiercely swept into the city of Chang'an on the banks of the Wei River.

……

Yankangfang, Prince Wei's Palace.

The morning light shines on the windowsill, and the light frost gradually melts away.

Li Tai lay quietly on the bed in the inner room, with a wet silk covering his forehead.

A burst of hurried footsteps sounded outside, and Fang Yiai's voice came in: "Greetings, Princess."

"It's Erlang!" Princess Yan of Wei's voice rang out, and then she continued, "The last time I went to the palace, I heard that the emperor is going to arrange a wedding for Erlang and Gao Yang next year. From now on, you will have to address me as the emperor's sister-in-law... Okay, the prince is inside, you can go in."

"Here!" Fang Yiai responded, and then a sound of footsteps faded away. Li Tai then saw Fang Yiai walking in with an embarrassed look on his face. He couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Haha..."

"Your Highness!" Fang Yiai looked helpless.

"Okay, I won't tease you anymore." Li Tai calmed down a little, then looked around and said, "All of you go down... ahem!"

"Your Highness." Fang Yiai hurried forward, looking at Li Tai's pale face, and asked worriedly, "Your Highness, are you okay?"

"Nothing." Li Tai waved his hand and said, "The palace physician has examined him. The weather turned cold last night, and I, the prince, was not paying attention. I have caught a cold, but I have a high fever. We will see how he fares. If he doesn't get better this afternoon, I will have to trouble the Chief Secretary to write a memorial to the palace. Tomorrow, I will go to the suburbs to pick up Duke Chen, and I'm afraid my brother will have to go."

"Yes!" Fang Yiai's expression became serious.

……

Li Tai raised his head slightly. All the maids in the room had left. Only Li Tai and Fang Yiai were left in the room.

Li Tai's eyes fell on the doors and windows, and in a voice that only the two of them could hear, he asked softly, "Have you made all the arrangements?"

"It's settled." Fang Yiai nodded heavily.

Li Tai didn't ask any more questions and said, "This year has really been unlucky. I'm sick, and my brother is sick too. By the way, Erlang, how is the research on my brother's second medical case going?"

Half a month ago, Nestorian missionary Li Qin examined Li Chengqian. Although he produced a medical record on the spot, it was very brief.

To sum it up, there is only one sentence: the prince will definitely recover.

In order to prevent people from completely turning to the Eastern Palace, Li Tai instructed Fang Yiai to ask Xie Jiqing to ask the Eastern Palace for a second medical record.

This one is much more detailed.

"Your Highness." Fang Yiai bowed slightly, then whispered, "Thank you, Doctor Xie. After several days of research, he has concluded that the Crown Prince's injured leg has absolutely no chance of recovery."

"Is it really so?" Li Tai raised his eyebrows. He knew that once Li Chengqian's legs were healed, with his ability to handle state affairs, no one in the court would be on his side. Therefore, he had to confirm the exact condition of Li Chengqian's injured leg.

But Xie Jiqing didn't diagnose Li Chengqian's leg at all this time, and could only make inferences based on the two medical records provided by Li Qin.

"Xie Yiling said that although a key step was missing from Li Qin's medical case, it was clear that it was quite imaginative." After a brief pause, Fang Yiai said, "Xie Yiling also said that the Persians' methods were crude, and in the end, it was hard to say whether they would heal or destroy the patient!"

"Oh!" Li Tai raised his eyebrows and said thoughtfully, "Royal brother, it seems that he is playing the trick of confusing the mysterious things again... Oh, that Li Qin, can you meet him?"

"Outside, they are escorted by people from the Eastern Palace. Inside, the Persians are a separate group, and outsiders are not allowed to enter at all." Fang Yiai bowed, his face a little grim as he said, "Also, they are rather rigid and only recognize the Crown Prince."

Li Tai's brows immediately frowned.

He knew that the Persians' situation was special and they were treated differently in the Tang Dynasty, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Li Tai pondered for a moment and said, "We still need to ask Xie Jiqing to find a way to have some kind of medical exchange or something like that... After all, Xie Qing is Master Sun's disciple."

"Yes!" Fang Yiai bowed slightly.

Li Tai took a deep breath and said, "You will personally handle the matter here. Also, tomorrow, Duke Chen will return to the court. I did not personally welcome him. Please apologize to me and Duke Chen. And to be honest, if tomorrow's matter goes through, it will not be very good for Duke Chen."

"Yes!" Fang Yiai's expression suddenly became serious.

The Grand Commander of the Jiaohe Road Army, the Minister of Personnel, and a participant in government affairs, the Prime Minister Hou Junji, is not someone to be trifled with. ...

The afterglow of the setting sun gently fell on Wugong County, which was only a hundred miles away from Chang'an.

On the east side of the county town, the noise gradually died down.

The densely packed military tents spread out, with no end in sight.

Countless soldiers came in and out, all in an orderly manner.

Hou Junji, dressed in black and golden armor, wearing a lion-head helmet, with a face full of flesh and cold eyes, returned from patrol on a tall warhorse.

The long sword with a black sheath at the side of the horse swayed slightly, and a broad palm could fall on the hilt at any time.

A whole team of personal guards accompanied him on the tour.

The horse reins were suddenly tightened, and Hou Junji had already dismounted. He stood in front of the east gate of the military camp, his eyes fixed on Chang'an City, which was a hundred miles away.

The Wei River is quiet and the wind is blowing.

For a moment, even Hou Junji himself didn't know whether the thick black shadow he saw at the end of his sight was the Chang'an City he longed for day and night.

"Pass the order down, everyone except the patrol officers and soldiers should go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow we will enter Chang'an and present the captives to the Taimiao. Please do it quickly for me. If they really embarrass themselves, I will skin them alive." Hou Junji glanced sideways, and the general behind him immediately bowed, then turned around and left quickly.

Hou Junji breathed a sigh of relief and looked towards the direction of Chang'an City. While he looked excited, a hint of worry flashed in the depths of his eyes.

He originally thought that the Crown Prince would come to welcome him tomorrow, but the imperial decree came down that it would be the King of Wei who would come.

King of Wei, why was it the King of Wei who went to welcome him outside the city instead of the Crown Prince?
How many things happened in Chang'an City during the year he was away?
Hou Junji had been fighting in Anxi for a year. Although he had received news from the court, he did not have much time to care about it. But now, Hou Junji had to consider it.

Once he returned to Chang'an and presented the captives to the Taimiao, he would quickly resign from all his military posts, resign from his position as Minister of Personnel, and then take a further step.

Perhaps he could be a Shizhong, or he could be promoted directly to Zhongshu Ling.

As the prime minister, the crown prince of the Eastern Palace, and the King of Wei, these adult princes, he, a senior official who has come all the way from Xuanwu Gate, must take them into consideration.

The Wei River flows by my ears and horses neigh softly beside me.

Hou Junji's gaze followed the afterglow of the setting sun, passed over hundreds of miles of winter fields, and fell into Chang'an City.

……

In the East Palace, in front of the Chongjiao Hall, Li Chengqian, wearing a light yellow python robe and a white jade waist, looked at the beautiful sunset in the west with a solemn expression.

Hou Junji's name had already popped up in his mind.

Former General of the Right Guard, former Minister of War, hero of Xuanwu Gate, Minister of Personnel, Commander-in-Chief of the Jiaohe Road Army, participated in court affairs, prime minister, Duke of Chen Hou Junji.

He himself probably would never have imagined that returning to Chang'an would lead him to fall into a nightmare step by step, and even to the execution of his entire family in the end.

Li Chengqian lowered his head and watched the golden sunlight fall into his palm.

What should he do this time?
A continuous sound of footsteps suddenly sounded at the gate of Chongjiao. Li Chengqian looked up calmly and saw Yu Zhining with an angry face, Li Anyan with a solemn expression, and Gao Zhenxing with a somewhat panicked look, walking towards them quickly.

"Greetings, Your Highness." Yu Zhining and others bowed solemnly.

"What's the matter?" Li Chengqian asked calmly.

Yu Zhining took a deep breath, then solemnly bowed and said, "Your Highness, something has happened. The King of Wei has just submitted a memorial stating that he caught a cold last night and is unable to get up. He is afraid he cannot take care of the reception for the Duke of Chen tomorrow, so I am reporting to Your Highness, requesting that Your Highness go in person tomorrow."

"The memorial has just been delivered, and it was delivered at this very moment." Li Anyan bowed with a heavy face and said, "Your Highness, the King of Wei did this on purpose. In another quarter of an hour, the palace gates will be locked, and nothing can be changed."

"Nothing is unchangeable." Li Chengqian shook his head calmly, then pulled out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it over, saying, "Send this memorial to Liangyi Hall immediately."

"Your Highness." Yu Zhining was stunned.

　I don’t like the Hou Junji in the picture very much. I like the one who ruled the Zhenguan era, but unfortunately, I can’t find the picture of his black armor, so I can only use this one.

　　This one is too domineering, while that one still has a hint of scheming.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)