The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

Chapter 170 Marriage Alliance

"Your Highness! Absolutely not!"

Seeing that Li Xiang had already raised his hand to dip in ink and was about to put down the paper to continue writing, the clerk was so frightened that his soul almost flew away. His legs went weak, and he fell to the ground with a "thud" on the blue bricks. He crawled half a step on his knees and hurriedly interrupted Li Xiang's actions.

"I beg Your Highness's mercy! If such words are written into a memorial and submitted, His Majesty will surely be furious, and the consequences will be dire, one that no one can bear!"

"Confucius said to achieve benevolence, and Mencius said to uphold righteousness. When the ruler is at fault and the people suffer, how can we remain silent?" Li Xiangyi said sternly.

He merely glanced at the kneeling, trembling clerk, without pausing his writing: "You need not be afraid. Since it was I who submitted the memorial, I will bear all the blame myself, and it will not implicate you in the slightest."

The official lay prostrate on the ground, his back stiff, filled with nothing but utter helplessness.

How can this grandson of the emperor be so stubborn?

"Your Highness the Imperial Grandson—" another official said cautiously, "Longqing Ward is an old residence from the previous dynasty, formerly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Agriculture."

"Even if repairs are needed, it should be the responsibility of the Directorate of Works, and has nothing to do with our Ministry of Rites."

"How is it unrelated?" Li Xiang raised an eyebrow and lectured, "Your ideological awareness still needs improvement. As citizens of the Great Tang, you should have a sense of ownership! The Great Tang does not belong to the emperor alone, but to you and me, the people of the Great Tang."

"As citizens of the Tang Dynasty, there is nothing here that cannot be spoken of! If injustice is seen, how can one remain silent?"

"If neither you nor I speak out, the Tang Dynasty will deteriorate further, and the world will deteriorate further."

"If we remain silent when others suffer today, who will be willing to speak up for us when we ourselves suffer in the future?"

"—" The official retreated, speechless. This imperial grandson, how could he speak so eloquently?

But it seems to make a lot of sense?

The official took a half step back, seemingly lost in thought.

Li Xiang continued writing, and the last clerk hesitated for a long time before saying, "That—Your Highness the Imperial Grandson."

"Even if you submit a memorial now, I'm afraid the current Directorate of Works will not have the resources to repair the houses in Longqing Ward."

—”

"Oh?" Li Xiang's attention was finally drawn in. He put down his pen and asked, "Why?"

"Could it be that His Highness the Imperial Grandson is unaware?" The official asked, somewhat surprised.

"Recently, the Xueyantuo tribe of the grasslands once again sent envoys to the court, earnestly requesting Your Majesty to fulfill your previous promise and marry our newly emerging princess."

"The Xueyantuo envoy is currently residing at the Honglu Temple. The entire court is also busy preparing for this event."

"The Imperial Workshop has already been stretched thin, with countless manpower and resources being diverted to rush the production of the princess's ceremonial regalia, ceremonial objects, carriages, and dowry for her distant marriage. It is unlikely that they have any spare manpower or resources to handle the repair and miscellaneous tasks in the market."

"What?" Li Xiang was taken aback. He hadn't paid attention to what was happening outside these past few days while he was in the neighborhood.

In an instant, two words flashed into my mind that I had only ever seen in history textbooks in later generations:

A marriage alliance!

A summer breeze, carrying cool, moist air, swept across the vermilion gates and black tiles of Princess Chang Le's residence.

Princess Chang Le, the emperor's eldest daughter, preferred quiet, and thus her residence was always tranquil and elegant. Only because the princess was deeply in love...

Having been bedridden for many days, everyone in the household held their breath and acted with utmost caution, daring not to make the slightest noise.

The flowers in the courtyard were in full bloom, but when they fell, they made the entire mansion seem even more desolate and lonely.

The fragrance of herbs wafted gently through the inner room.

The intermittent sobs and cries had been going on for quite some time by the bedside.

"Don't cry, Aning. Crying for too long is bad for your health."

On her sickbed, Princess Chang Le leaned against a soft cushion, her face pale and weak, her brows showing the pallor of someone who had been ill for a long time.

She listened quietly to her sister's sobs beside her, her heart aching unbearably. She had tried to comfort her countless times, but she knew that no amount of gentle words could soothe her sister's despair at the prospect of being sent to a desolate wilderness.

Princess Li Wanning, the fifteenth daughter of Emperor Taizong of Tang, the Great Khan Li Shimin.

She had a tragic past. Her birth mother was just an ordinary palace maid who died during childbirth. Li Wanning lost her mother's protection when she was still an infant. Without a mother to rely on, she became introverted, sensitive and timid.

Fortunately, Empress Zhangsun was virtuous and kind, and took pity on the orphans and children in the palace, showing great care for the motherless princes and princesses born out of wedlock. Li Wanning also received much tender care and attention from the Empress during her childhood.

However, Empress Zhangsun suddenly passed away in the tenth year of the Zhenguan era, and the princes and princesses of Li Shimin in the deep palace completely lost their most secure support.

Princess Li Lizhi, who was a little older at the time and had a gentle and kind nature, took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility of being the eldest sister and took good care of her younger siblings.

The imperial palace was cold and desolate. Li Shimin's paternal love was authoritative yet distant. Even his eldest son, Li Chengqian, dared not get close to him, let alone his other children born out of wedlock. But Li Lizhi, with her gentle nature and noble status, was the most reassuring refuge for all of them.

Even after Princess Changle married and moved to her residence, her younger siblings would often find opportunities to leave the palace and visit her at the residence to relax. Even the spoiled and lively Princess Gaoyang did the same. The lonely and helpless Princess Xinxing, Li Wanning, regarded this residence as her only safe haven.

Li Wanning's shoulders trembled, her eyes were blurry with tears, her long, wet eyelashes clung to her reddened eyelids, and her voice was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind, filled with boundless confusion and piercing fear: "Sister, people in the palace are saying in private that the Xueyantuo barbarians have no morals or etiquette, and still retain the primitive customs of eating raw meat and drinking blood—"

"I've also heard that Zhenzhu Khan is over fifty years old, and his temperament is violent, fickle, and unpredictable—"

"Sister, I'm scared—I'm really scared!"

Having lived in the capital city of Chang'an for a long time, I was immersed in the Chinese culture of etiquette, music, poetry, and wine from a young age, and heard the elegant music and the gentle teachings of etiquette.

Although the high walls of the palace confined her body, the land of China and the nation of etiquette still nurtured her soul.

As she grew older, she secretly hoped that one day she could marry a virtuous and talented gentleman, live a peaceful life together, and thus escape the prison of the deep palace and seek a stable and free life.

But she never expected that her only way out of the deep palace prison would be to be pushed into the even more terrifying, desolate iron cage in the vast northern desert by an imperial edict, where she would never be able to return!

As early as the sixteenth year of the Zhenguan era, the Xueyantuo dominated the northern deserts and their power was difficult to control. They even detained the Tang general Qibi Heli.

In order to win back his important ministers, pacify the northern frontier, and gain the submission of the Xueyantuo, the great Heavenly Khan Li Shimin personally promised to send Princess Xinxing to marry a foreign ruler.

As the imperial edict was about to be issued, all the civil and military officials praised it, saying that His Majesty's virtue, peace and border security were a wise and long-term strategy to end wars and benefit the country.

However, no one cared about her wishes as an orphan, no one pitied her young and fragile life, and no one cared whether she would be buried in the desert or fall into barbarism.

For a full year! Li Wanning lived in constant fear and tears. She dreaded the day she would be forced into a carriage and sent far away to marry Hu Chen!

For a full year, in the vast and majestic Chang'an, in the magnificent Tang Dynasty palace, among countless nobles and officials, not a single person uttered a single word of pleading for her.

She prayed to Buddha daily, hoping for a change in the marriage arrangement. But all she received was the arrival of the Xueyantuo envoy in the capital; the day she was to marry the old Khan was fast approaching!

In utter despair, the only person Li Wanning could turn to for comfort and confide in was her ailing eldest sister.

>