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

Chapter 70 Princess Wencheng
The lights are on and the Hongmen Gate is prosperous.

In Taiji Palace, the night is still long.

Under the cover of night, a sedan chair slowly approached from the direction of the East Palace.

Li Chengqian was wearing a light yellow python robe and a silver crown, sitting calmly on the sedan chair. Beside him was his Crown Princess Su Shu, who was wearing a red and green phoenix robe, looking quiet and elegant.

Li Chengqian was holding his eldest son Li Xiang in his arms. Li Xiang, who had just turned three last month, was four years old in real life, but after tonight he would be five years old in real life.

Li Xiang was born in November of the eleventh year of Zhenguan, and now it is December of the fourteenth year of Zhenguan.

Su Shu was holding his second son Li Jue in her arms.

Li Jue was wearing a small black Pu hat, and looked much more childish and cute than the much smarter Li Xiang.

Li Jue was born in October of the 12th year of Zhenguan. He was two years and two months old. After the Chinese New Year, he was four years old.

Li Xiang was very quiet in Li Chengqian's arms, but Li Jue was twisting and turning in Su Shu's arms, giggling from time to time, which made people feel happy.

Li Chengqian raised his head and looked outside the palace.

The crackling sound of firecrackers came from outside the palace, and one could even clearly see that patches of the sky were lit up red by lanterns.

New Year's Eve, New Year's Day.

Li Chengqian's face was full of anticipation as he looked at Su Shu, "Shu'er, when will you find time to ask your father for permission to take Dalang and Erlang for a walk outside the palace and see the bustling and bustling Chang'an City?"

"Hasn't Your Highness gone to see it?" Su Shu looked at Li Jue, who raised his head curiously, and looked at Li Xiang and Li Chengqian who were still calm.

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Ever since I became the Crown Prince, it's been difficult for me to leave the palace. The most I can do is stand on the Suzaku Gate and look out at the night view of Chang'an."

"Then how about asking father for permission tonight to accompany the two children to the Suzaku Gate to take a look?" Su Shu said, gently holding Li Chengqian's hand.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, a hint of sadness flashing in the depths of his eyes.

……

New Year’s Eve banquet, bright lights.

Over the years, Li Chengqian was always the first to arrive.

Because he is the prince.

It is impossible for the emperor to come out to welcome the kings in person.

As the crown prince, Li Chengqian had to welcome the kings in the Liangyi Hall. Of course, there was not only him, but also Li Tai and Li Zhi.

Li Chengqian had just gotten off the sedan chair, supporting Su Shu and his two sons. Across the street, a purple-covered carriage was approaching Chengtian Gate.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but smile, looking at the carriage and said, "The King of Wei is here."

The kings arrived at Chengtian Gate at different times.

You can't get in just because you come early.

Looking at the approaching purple-covered carriage, Su Shu's face instantly became solemn.

Of course she knew that the person who had put the most pressure on her husband over the past year was Prince Li Tai of Wei.

At the same time, since Li Chengqian started attending court in late October, the most he has done is to disintegrate Li Tai's power.

Li Chengqian gently held Su Shu's hand, then whispered, "Relax a little. Princess Wei will be here soon. Talk to her and take care of her health.

In recent years, she has not had any children other than Li Xin. I suspect that giving birth too early may have harmed her health."

In fact, Li Tai got married before Li Chengqian, and the second son got married before the eldest son. Li Chengqian is not clear about what exactly happened.

However, in the seventh year after Li Tai got married, she gave birth to Li Tai's eldest son Li Xin, who was also the emperor's eldest grandson.

The emperor's fondness for Li Tai was partly due to Li Xin.

Because in the year their mother, Empress Changsun, died, it was Li Xin who often lived in Lizheng Hall.

However, that also brought some jokes. In the tenth year of Zhenguan, Li Xin was three years old, but according to local customs, he was counted as four years old.

Therefore, when later generations read in history books that Li Xin was already four years old in the tenth year of Zhenguan, they said that he was Li Tai's eldest son out of wedlock, which caused a lot of jokes.

……

The purple-canopied carriage slowly stopped in front of the palace gate. Li Tai got off the carriage first, followed by Yan Wan and his eldest son Li Xin.

Li Tai was wearing a purple dragon robe and a black jade hat. Beneath his gentle smile, there was a depth that was hard to see through.

On the contrary, Yan Wan had a bright and cheerful look, with no thoughts in his eyes.

Taking a step forward, Li Tai and Yan Wan, along with Li Xin, saluted Li Chengqian and Su Shu at the same time and said, "Greetings, my brother and my sister-in-law."

"No need to be so polite." Li Chengqian raised his hand with a smile, then took out a longevity figurine from his sleeve and handed it to the seven-year-old boy Li Xin, saying, "It's just a little toy. Have fun with it."

"Thank you, Uncle." Li Xin immediately took it happily.

Li Tai, who was standing on the side, narrowed his eyes slightly.

The unshakable old man of longevity.

tumbler.

During the last few days of the year, the Crown Prince gave this indelible longevity figurine as a return gift to everyone who visited the Eastern Palace. On the surface, it symbolized longevity and good fortune, but in reality, it was telling everyone that the Eastern Palace would never fall.

The prince will not fall.

Li Tai originally would not care about such a little trick, but when Li Chengqian handed such a little thing to him, a nameless anger suddenly surged in Li Tai's heart, and his fists clenched instantly.

"You two brothers can play, while your uncle and your father can chat." Li Chengqian pulled Li Xin to the side next to Li Xiang and said, "Xiang'er, Jue'er, call me brother."

"Brother." Li Xiang and Li Jue saluted subconsciously, and Li Xin immediately nodded subconsciously: "Two younger brothers."

Compared to his two younger brothers who were only two or three years old, Li Xin was much more mature. As soon as he opened his mouth, a familiar atmosphere naturally arose.

Li Tai, who was standing nearby, relaxed his clenched fists instantly when he saw his son looking happy.

Li Xin is an only child and usually only has his mother to accompany him, so he feels very lonely.

"Let's go!" Li Chengqian grabbed Li Tai and said, "Qingque, I recently worked with the King of Wu and the uncle of the King of Han to get a copy of 'Encouraging Agriculture'. Qingque, you have great literary talent. Please come and take a look at it for me."

Li Tai was about to say something when he saw the Crown Princess and Yan Wan standing together and whispering.

"Let's go." Li Chengqian smiled and pulled Li Tai into Chengtian Gate.

The three children walked in the middle, with Su Shu and Yan Wan following behind them.

They look like brothers who are friendly and respectful to each other, and the family is harmonious.

……

Li Chengqian walked slowly along the palace road. He took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it to Li Tai, saying, "When a member of the imperial clan serves as a provincial governor, he has no local experience and is unskilled at first. It's even inevitable that something might go wrong. So I was thinking about how to help members of the imperial clan become familiar with local government affairs more quickly, and I came up with a bad idea."

Li Chengqian smiled lightly. Li Tai looked at the memorial in front of him but didn't want to take it at all.

Li Chengqian had poor legs and feet, and the palace road from Chengtian Gate to Taiji Hall was quite long. Li Tai wanted to speed up a little to make things difficult for Li Chengqian, but when Li Chengqian handed him the memorial, Li Tai couldn't go any faster even if he wanted to.

Li Tai took the memorial calmly, opened it and read it, and his face instantly became serious.

"This... this was written by Yu Zhanshi." Li Tai turned to look at Li Chengqian with surprise on his face.

"It's Zhang Xuansu, the Crown Prince's Junior Secretary. Mr. Zhang has served as a local household official and has a deep understanding of the sufferings of the people." Li Chengqian shook his head slightly and looked at Li Tai. "Does Qingque think it's okay?"

"That's great." Li Tai nodded seriously.

"Okay, let's go into the Taiji Hall later and ask the eunuch to find a pen, and Qingque will also sign his name." Li Chengqian nodded with a smile.

Li Tai was startled, and subconsciously looked up, then lowered his head to look at the contents of the memorial. He looked up, forced a smile and said, "Qingque will not take away the credit for this matter."

As he spoke, Li Tai was about to hand over the memorial.

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Qingque, take this memorial first and think about it carefully."

Li Tai's brows frowned instantly. What did Li Chengqian mean by this?
Li Chengqian's gaze passed over Li Tai and fell on Li Xin, Li Xiang and Li Jue, and he said softly, "Qingque, have you ever thought about having another child? Xin'er will be very lonely alone.

If you have any concerns, you might as well go and see Doctor Xie. He is very skilled and attentive. If that doesn't work, there's also Doctor Sun."

Li Tai was stunned. What did Li Chengqian mean by this?
Xie Jiqing?
Sun Simiao?

Li Tai couldn't help but frown. Could it be that he knew about that matter?

Li Chengqian smiled, then turned around and walked towards the Liangyi Hall.

While Li Tai was looking doubtful, Li Chengqian had already gone far away, and even Su Shu and Yan Wan had surpassed him.

It seemed that at this moment, Li Tai heard Su Shu also talking to Yan Wan about "conditioning the body" or something like that, and Li Tai's face instantly turned red.

He strode towards Li Chengqian, and unknowingly, he had forgotten about the memorial.

Li Chengqian stood at the entrance of Liangyi Hall, looked at Li Tai who was catching up, and nodded: "Qingque, it's getting late, and the emperor will be here soon."

Li Tai looked towards the door of the east wing of Liangyi Palace and said, "Father is in Lizheng Palace now, right?"

……

Li Shimin, dressed in a scarlet and yellow dragon robe, walked out of the east wing of the Taiji Hall with a calm expression, followed by several people.

Standing on the three steps of the flat throne, Li Chengqian, Su Shu, Li Xiang and Li Jue saluted at the same time.

Standing behind a low table opposite Li Chengqian were Li Tai, Yan Wan and Li Xin, all three of them bowed at the same time.

Beneath the red steps stood the royal family, princesses, Gao Shilian, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Yang Shidao and other people and their families.

By the way, there is also Lu Dongzan, the envoy of Tubo.

The emperor walked up to the throne calmly, and standing beside him was the imperial concubine Wei, the head of the four concubines.

Behind them are Prince Jin Li Zhi, Princess Chengyang, Princess Jinyang, and Xincheng...

Huh?
Li Chengqian was stunned. The person following Princess Jinyang was not his sister, Princess Xincheng, but a strange woman with a beautiful face, cautious expression, and a hint of worry in her eyes.

No, not unfamiliar, that is Wencheng, his cousin and now his nominal adopted sister.

Princess Wencheng Li Xueyan.

(End of this chapter)