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

Chapter 69 There are some things Li Chengqian can do, but Li Tai can’t

The 30th day of the twelfth lunar month is New Year's Eve.

At noon, the morning bell rang.

Li Chengqian subconsciously opened his eyes, and the confusion in his eyes disappeared in an instant.

In the darkness, he gently turned sideways and looked at Su Shu who was lying on his side, with a trace of pity in his eyes.

Li Chengqian gently hugged Su Shu with his right hand, carefully touched her lower abdomen, and felt the special beating.

With a "嘤" sound, Su Shu finally woke up and spoke subconsciously: "Your Highness!"

"Yeah!" Li Chengqian responded.

"Your Highness, don't you have to get up early today?" Su Shu blinked her confused eyes and finally woke up.

"Today is New Year's Eve, and the entire court is on holiday." Li Chengqian smiled lightly.

"But don't we have to go to the Xianling Mausoleum to offer sacrifices today?" Su Shu had completely woken up, with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"No need. Since I am not here for the sacrifice today, the Prince of Xiangyi will lead it. It will not be the turn of Qingque or the Prince of Jing." Li Chengqian looked cautious.

Li Shenfu, Prince of Xiangyi, was the grandson of Taizu Li Hu, the cousin of Li Chengqian's grandfather Li Yuan, and the younger brother of Li Shentong, Prince of Huainan.

He is the oldest among all the princes in the royal family.

Li Tai was naturally Li Chengqian's biological brother, while Prince of Jing Li Yuanjing was the eldest son of Li Chengqian's grandfather Li Yuan, except for Emperor Li Shimin.

Li Tai had the ability to threaten Li Chengqian's position as Crown Prince, while Prince of Jing Li Yuanjing threatened the throne of Emperor Li Shimin.

Even if this threat is small, it still exists. Therefore, in his previous life, Li Yuanjing was involved in treason in the early days of Li Zhi's reign and was sentenced to death.

"Are you really okay?" Su Shu was still a little worried.

Li Chengqian hugged Su Shu in his arms and whispered, "When I was young, the kings often took my place at the Xianling Mausoleum. Now that I'm unwell, it's no big deal if the kings take my place again. As long as it's not Qingque, it's fine."

"Yeah!" Su Shu finally relaxed completely.

Offering sacrifices to the Xianling Mausoleum is not a trivial matter, but compared to offering sacrifices to the Xianling Mausoleum, Li Chengqian is more worried that someone will tamper with the journey from Chang'an to the Xianling Mausoleum.

In Chang'an City, no matter what happened or not, he could blame it on Li Tai, but once he left Chang'an City, the world was vast and he had no one to blame.

There were many people who wanted to see him depose the crown prince, not just Li Tai.

After a moment of tenderness, Li Chengqian whispered, "Shu'er, today's affairs should be done according to our agreement."

"Okay!" Su Shu nodded seriously.

……

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Li Tai, dressed in a purple dragon robe, finally returned to the Prince of Wei's Palace.

In the main hall, Fang Yiai stood up to greet him, and at the same time bowed and said, "Your Highness, how are you today?"

"Not very good. My brother didn't go after all." Li Tai allowed the maid to come forward and help him take off the seven-beam crown on his head. Then he looked at Fang Yiai and said, "But what happened with Li Ke is true. My brother drafted a memorial in his own name, as well as the names of Li Ke and the King of Han. He requested that the Zongzheng Temple assess the princes' personal farming starting next year."

"Plowing the fields personally." Fang Yiai frowned, then said, "Your Highness, if His Majesty is willing to do this, what about the other kings? This will definitely happen. Can we submit a memorial in advance?"

"I have thought that if this matter succeeds, it will inevitably offend the kings. My brother can use the position of crown prince to suppress the dissatisfaction of the kings, but I can't do that. The kings will not respect me so easily." Li Tai shook his head slightly. He had read a lot of books, so it was not difficult for him to see through these things.

He was not the crown prince yet, so there were some things that Li Chengqian could do but he couldn't.

"Then let's use the same method as before. What is King Wu's attitude towards this matter?" Fang Yiai looked serious.

"Although the King of Wu tried his best to appear indifferent, it can be seen that he is somewhat dissatisfied in his heart. I made a few sarcastic remarks. As for what will happen in the end, we have to wait and see tonight." Li Tai sneered slightly.

New Year’s Eve banquet, of course, involves eating and drinking, and even getting drunk at the end.

Once a person is drunk, he or she will act out of control.

Even the slightest provocation from others can immediately lead to a raging fire.

"That's the matter of King Wu. As I mentioned before, how is the matter of sending New Year gifts to the palaces of the kings and dukes going?" While speaking, Li Tai waved his hand slightly, and the maids in the hall on both sides immediately retreated.

"Duke Chen has been staying at the official residence in Yongzhou recently. There is no point in sending him to his home." Fang Yiai shook his head solemnly.

"Is he still investigating that matter?" Li Tai's face darkened instantly, and he asked in a cold voice, "What's going on in Luoyang?"

"Your Highness, don't worry. We are hiding very secretly. They won't be able to find us." Fang Yiai nodded calmly, and then said, "If Su Dingfang hadn't also gone to Luozhou and mobilized the Luoyang Jinwu Guards and the Luozhou Prefecture, our people would have left Luoyang long ago.

But it's New Year's Eve now. Even if Su Dingfang doesn't rest, the people of the Jinwu Guards and Luozhou Prefecture also need to rest. Not to mention, there are also personal relationships to attend to. Su Dingfang might already be on his way back to check."

"What if he doesn't come back?" Li Tai asked with a serious face.

"Before the Lunar New Year, many people entered Luoyang. After the Lunar New Year, many people will leave Luoyang. He won't be able to stop them." Fang Yiai nodded seriously and said, "Besides, tomorrow is the New Year's Day court session. As a General of the Left Golden Guard, a fourth-rank official, he is required to attend the court session according to the regulations."

Having said that, Fang Yiai paused, and then said with a slightly cold face: "If he doesn't even care about the New Year's Day court, then I will find a way to make some noise in Chang'an..." "So be it." Li Tai nodded seriously. If Su Dingfang didn't even care about the New Year's Day court and wanted to investigate the case, it meant that he was determined to go against the Prince of Wei's Mansion.

"Yes." Fang Yiai bowed and said, "Then I will go back first. I will also go to the palace tonight."

Li Tai smiled, nodded, and said, "By the way, Gao Yang will also show up tonight, so dress up nicely."

"Yes!" Fang Yiai bowed somewhat embarrassedly.

……

Outside the Prince of Wei's mansion, Fang Yiai was riding on his horse, his face darkening.

He did not tell King Wei about the silver ingot.

This matter is very troublesome.

Fang Yiai never thought that the prince could actually connect the silver ingot in Xie Jiqing's house with the silver ingot in Zhou Cang's place of residence.

If it was just a matter of silver ingots, it would be easy to solve. We could just send someone to Xie Jiqing's house to exchange the silver ingots. But the problem is that Xie Jiqing is still a way for the Prince of Wei's Mansion to spy on the Eastern Palace. It would be fine if the Eastern Palace found out, but the problem lies with Your Majesty.

Once Your Majesty knows that Prince Wei's Mansion has been spying on the Eastern Palace through the Imperial Physician's Order, he will inevitably wonder: What about the palace?

Will the King of Wei spy on the palace through the imperial physician's order?
Not to mention the hundreds of officials, especially Duke of Zhao Zhangsun Wuji and Duke of Zheng Wei Zheng.

Therefore, Xie Jiqing must die, and the silver ingot in his hand must be recovered or even destroyed.

The Eastern Palace is not important, and its power outside the palace is insufficient.

but……

Before he knew it, Fang Yiai had appeared in the official residence of Yongzhou Prefecture.

Outside the official residence, a team of personal guards stood guard solemnly.

……

"Goodbye, Erlang." Hou Junji stood at the door of the backyard and watched Fang Yiai leave. The smile on his face turned cold in an instant.

What a little brat, coming to him to spy on information.

Fang Yiai obviously received the message from Xie Jiqing. Next, he would try every means to make Xie Jiqing shut up.

In the matter of Xie Jiqing, the biggest threat was not to Li Tai, but to Fang Yiai.

According to the emperor's habit, when encountering such a thing, he would naturally not hit his own son's butt.

In this kind of thing, the only one who would be unlucky would be Fang Yiai.

Hou Junji couldn't help but shake his head. How could a man like Li Tai dare to compete with the prince for the position of crown prince?

Du Chuke was banished from Chang'an, and Yan Liben had forbidden him from getting involved in the affairs of King Wei. The only person around King Wei who could give him advice was Fang Yiai.

If he is not unlucky, who will be unlucky...

Hou Junji was suddenly stunned.

First it was Du Chuke, then Yan Liben, and now it's Fang Yiai, all of which were the prince's tricks...

"Hiss!" Hou Junji couldn't help but gasp. The prince's method...

Clear the wings first, then attack the dragon directly.

Carefully calculate and plan every step, and by the time you react, it's already too late.

Hou Junji couldn't help but shiver again.

How many of those previous events, those cases, and those pieces of evidence were the prince's doing?

Thinking of Helan Chushi coming to see him again and again, Hou Junji now feels that every time Helan Chushi appears, there is the shadow of the prince behind him.

"Someone come here." Hou Junji raised his head, looked outside the door, and said loudly, "Go and see immediately where Su Dingfang, Zhang Wenguan, Li Yifu and the others are."

"Yes!" A voice came from outside, but Hou Junji's face became more gloomy.

……

In Chang'an City, there is no curfew on New Year's Eve.

The lanterns are bright and the firecrackers are blasting.

The crowd is crowded and murderous intentions are lurking.

(End of this chapter)