Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 89 Li Xian's Random Thoughts

Liu Jianjun really entrusted Guangshun and the others to Liu Neyan for instruction.

Li Xian was initially a little worried.

After all, he knew best how well Liu Neyan taught people, and he was somewhat worried that his three sons would be raised to be like him.

But Liu Jianjun said this: "Our current Confucianism is still working. It teaches people to be good and guides them to be righteous. It's fine to use it to teach Guangshun and the others. As for you... it's not Liu Neyan who corrupted you, it's the environment."

Li Xian didn't understand, but if Liu Jianjun said there was no problem, then there must be no problem.

……

Three days.

Liu Jianjun is indeed a man who can't stay idle.

According to his wishes, during the final period of the struggle between his mother and Li Xian, it was best for the Prince of Pei's residence to keep a low profile, so he himself rarely left the Prince of Pei's residence.

So he couldn't stay idle.

He fenced off a small plot of land, about ten feet square, right next to his house, and built a wooden shed by climbing up and down the steps.

They said they were going to use it to grow cucumbers.

Li Xian has also had nothing to do these days.

Although the Prince of Pei's mansion was large, it was actually no different from the original Furong Garden. It was more of a royal garden for appreciating hibiscus flowers. The recreational facilities that a normal prince's mansion would have, such as horse farms, polo fields, archery ranges, falconry and dog kennels, and courtyard hunting areas, had not yet been built.

The only place where construction began was on Liu Jianjun's land in Nanyuan.

Spring has just begun, and there is still some time before the hibiscus blooms, so there are not many places to enjoy oneself in the Prince of Pei's mansion.

Li Xian has some free time.

But unlike Liu Jianjun, he was not very active. He spent his days writing and painting, and thinking.

The longer Li Xian spent with Liu Jianjun, the more he felt the importance of "thinking".

Over the course of three days, he realized he had come up with something horrifying.

The late emperor's edict.

Looking back now, that will seems to have provided convenience for the Empress Dowager.

If the emperor had not included the line "In matters of state and military affairs that are indecisive, the emperor shall consult the empress dowager" in his will, would Li Xian have been controlled by his mother?
It should at least be better than it is now, right?

Is it possible...

It's a forged imperial edict!?

Even Li Xian didn't dare to delve any deeper into it.

Because he immediately thought of what Princess Taiping had said: "Father's illness has relapsed, he is so weak that he can't get out of bed, and he can't even see." He wondered if his mother might be taking advantage of his father's condition...

even……

shudder.

Li Xian felt he couldn't think any further. Those thoughts were like the "delusional mind" described in the Diamond Sutra, impossible to subdue. He needed to find his own Prajna Paramita method to break through the delusions.

We arrived at Liu Jianjun's courtyard.

In three days, Liu Jianjun's tent was almost finished.

Of course, calling it a shed is a bit of an exaggeration. It was just a wooden frame made of dozens of bare logs held together by hemp ropes, with a half-foot gap between each log. It could neither block the wind nor keep out the rain.

Liu Jianjun seemed to have just finished his work. Leaning against one of the thick wooden pillars, sweating, he grinned at Li Xian and said, "Later, I'll plant cucumbers under each wooden frame. The cucumber vines will climb up the frames and create a shady canopy!"

After saying that, he turned to look at his shed, a satisfied look on his face: "When the weather gets hot, those cucumbers should be ripe and hanging down from the trellis. I'll lie under this shed and pick one whenever I feel like it..."

"By the way, let's drill another well here, so we can have drinking water and also water those cucumber seedlings."

Li Xian chuckled. Liu Jianjun's wish was truly simple.

He sat down next to Liu Jianjun, thought for a moment, and asked, "There are so many mosquitoes in Chang'an in the summer. Aren't you going to stay in your room and just feed the mosquitoes outside?"

Liu Jianjun's excited expression froze, and he turned to glare at Li Xian: "Why are you such a spoilsport!"

Then, he stared at his shed and began to think. Sometimes he would hold his palm in front of his eyes to measure something, and sometimes he would squat under the wooden stakes and gesture towards the position of the shed roof, as if he was thinking about how to put a mosquito net over the shed.

Li Xian thought for a while and decided it would be better to speak directly, so he asked, "Liu Jianjun, actually, there's something I haven't been able to figure out these past few days."

"What's the problem?" Liu Jianjun asked without turning his head.

"The Emperor's last edict."

"Oh?"

This time, Liu Jianjun became interested and stopped paying attention to Li Xian's shed. He sat down next to Li Xian and teased, "It's rare for you to take the initiative to think about these things. Tell me, what's the problem?"

Li Xian said, "Actually... I'm very curious why my father would issue such a will."

Let me elaborate.

"Taiping mentioned before that Father's health had deteriorated to the point of near blindness. I'm wondering... could that imperial edict be..."

Li Xian paused, but didn't say the words "forged imperial edict".

He thought Liu Jianjun should be able to understand.

Liu Jianjun nodded: "Go on."

"According to what you said, from the perspective of interests, the power that Father Emperor gave to Mother Emperor in his will was too great. In all matters of military and national importance, if there is any indecision, Mother Emperor's opinion should be sought. If Father Emperor really did not trust his younger brother, why did he not appoint a regent for him, but instead let Mother Emperor make the decision?"

"Not bad, your brain is visibly working better now!"

Liu Jianjun smiled and praised him, but Li Xian glared at him angrily.

Every time Liu Jianjun praised him, it meant that he had guessed wrong again.

"Is it not?"

"Definitely not! That imperial edict was definitely issued by your father himself!"

"Why?" Li Xian asked, puzzled.

He felt that his speculation made a lot of sense.

"Let's talk about Xianzi first. He's too useless. A crown prince who only knows how to fight cocks all day long is too disappointing to your father. So, for the sake of the stability of the country, your father will definitely appoint a regent. Can you understand that?"

Li Xian nodded.

"Alright, now that we've confirmed there's definitely a regent, let's determine who that regent is."

"This has to do with your father himself."

"The Emperor himself?" Li Xian asked, puzzled.

"Think about when your father ascended the throne. Emperor Taizong arranged for Changsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang to be his regents. How much suffering did he endure? When he was emperor, he was deeply controlled by his regents. Would he want his son to continue down the same path?"
"Therefore, from this point of view, this will fully reflects your father's personal will and is absolutely not fake."

"Besides, you yourself said that most of the prime ministers at that time were promoted by your mother. Not only were they short-term and inexperienced, but more importantly, they were your mother's people. Your father entrusted them with important tasks, so it would have been better for your mother to take charge directly!"

Li Xian nodded.

Liu Jianjun continued, "Finally, and most importantly, your father trusts your mother."

At this point, Liu Jianjun suddenly sighed: "To be honest, I don't quite understand what kind of spell your mother cast on your father to make him trust her so much... Sigh, is the relationship between your father and mother really that good?"

Liu Jianjun suddenly looked at Li Xian with a curious expression: "Do you want to tell me some gossip about your mother and father?"

……

(End of this chapter)