People in the Tang Dynasty, Jian'an style

……

The East Palace is located to the east of the Taiji Palace. It is the long-term fixed residence of the Crown Prince. The space scale and layout of the East Palace imitate the imperial palace, but it is slightly smaller - about 1 li from east to west, 2 li and 270 steps from north to south, and a circumference of 6 li and 54 steps.

Mingde Hall, Jiade Hall and Chongjiao Hall are the front three halls; Lizheng Hall, Guangtian Hall and Cheng'en Hall are the back three halls, which are where the Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and his concubines lived.

As Li Shimin was his own younger brother, Li Jiancheng would naturally not choose to entertain him in the front three halls.

The carriage from the Prince of Qin's palace stopped only when it reached Cheng'en Palace.

As soon as he got off the carriage, Li Wenbin saw a man in an apricot-yellow dragon robe standing on the high steps, looking at Li Shimin in front of him with a smile.

This man looks 50% similar to Li Shimin, and he is the current crown prince, Li Jiancheng.

"Second brother, you're here." Li Jiancheng smiled when he saw Li Shimin, and reached out to pull him in a very intimate manner.

"Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Li Shimin saluted the Crown Prince first.

Zhangsun Wugou bowed, and Li Wenbin also knelt on one knee: "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Hey, stand up, stand up." Li Jiancheng stepped forward and helped Li Shimin up. "Second brother, why are you being so polite to me? We are brothers."

Li Shimin said modestly: "Although we are brothers, we are also monarch and subject."

"Hey, you're like this, always so serious... what's this?"

Li Jiancheng smiled, then saw Li Wenbin and asked curiously.

"Your Highness, this is Shimin's eldest son, Li Wenbin, who is now fifteen years old. Wenbin, why don't you pay your respects to your uncle?"

Just now I was meeting the prince, and our discussion was between the ruler and his subject; now I am meeting my uncle, and our discussion is about relatives.

"Wenbin has met uncle."

"Oh, good, get up. Wenbin, Wenbin..." Li Jiancheng felt that he had heard of this name. After thinking about it carefully, he looked at Li Shimin fiercely, "Second brother, isn't he the one..."

Li Shimin was embarrassed: "Brother, it is..."

"Humph, you actually kept that slave's son?" Li Jiancheng no longer had the warmth he had before, and his eyes were full of disdain as he looked at Li Shimin. "Second brother, second brother, I'm not saying anything bad about you. When mother beat that slave to death, you shouldn't have kept this evil child!"

Li Wenbin only felt a surge of hot blood rushing to his head.

He knew that Li Jiancheng was talking about him.

In his eyes, I am just a bastard, a bastard that should not exist in this world!

Li Wenbin's face turned blue and white, as if he had practiced the Zixia magic skill.

What he wanted to do most now was to pull out the dagger from his boot and die together with this bastard.

Li Shimin took a quick step and stood between Li Wenbin and Li Jiancheng, blocking their sight, and then said sternly: "Brother, be careful with your words. After all, Wenbin is my son. Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, so how could I do such a thing?"

"As for my mother...so many years have passed, I guess she won't blame Wenbin anymore."

Li Shimin's mother had been dead for more than ten years, so naturally anyone could say anything about her now. Li Jiancheng didn't want to hold on to this, so he just flicked his sleeves in dismay, turned around and left.

Li Shimin smiled bitterly and hurried to catch up. Zhangsun Wugou fell behind intentionally or unintentionally and whispered to Li Wenbin: "Wenbin, remember, a little impatience will ruin a big plan. Do you understand?"

Li Wenbin had recovered from his recent anger and realized that what she said was good and sincere.

Even if he really wanted to fight Li Jiancheng to the death, not to mention whether he could succeed, even if he succeeded, what would he do afterwards?

After Li Jiancheng's death, the biggest beneficiary was naturally Li Shimin. But even so, after Li Shimin became the crown prince, he had to kill Li Wenbin to thank the world and give an explanation to everyone.

Because he wanted to make it clear, or at least make a gesture - it was not me who instructed my son to assassinate the prince.

He had to do it whether anyone believed it or not.

By that time, Li Wenbin would have no choice but to die.

Changsun Wugou had just seen Li Wenbin's face turn pale, and he had tried to draw his weapon several times, so she said this later.

Turning his head to look at Changsun Wugou, and seeing the calm look in her eyes, Li Wenbin took a deep breath and nodded silently.

"Thank you, Princess. Wenbin has learned a lot..."

Yes, why am I angry now?

In one year, that bastard Li Jiancheng will be killed, and not even one of his six sons will survive!

Just wait, I will definitely take revenge for today's mistake!

"Well, I hope you can calm down."

A hint of admiration flashed in Changsun Wugou's eyes - you are brave and resourceful, not just a cowardly person. You must not let this princess down, only then can you become Cheng Qian's powerful arm in the future.

"Wenbin, you can go back home directly. I will talk to your father."

Facing Zhangsun Wugou's kindness, Li Wenbin smiled and said, "Don't worry, Princess. Wenbin won't take those words to heart anymore. Besides, doesn't His Royal Highness the Crown Prince want to see me? I will just hang around in front of him. Let's see what he can do to me! If he has the ability, he can just kick Wenbin out!"

If they did that, it would be almost like slapping Li Shimin in the face, and it would also be equivalent to completely tearing the relationship between the two brothers apart.

Li Jiancheng now doesn't dare to do such a thing.

Because he hasn't finished his layout yet.

"Okay." Zhangsun Wugou nodded, and then said, "This princess appreciates you more and more."

Li Wenbin also whispered: "Thank you for your praise, Princess. I really don't deserve it."

The two men said nothing more and followed Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin into the Lizheng Hall. As Li Wenbin said, when Li Jiancheng saw that he did not leave but followed them, he looked as if his father had died and his face was very ugly.

But even so, he didn't say much and could only pretend that he didn't see Li Wenbin.

Everyone sat down. Li Jiancheng first glared at Li Wenbin fiercely, then smiled at Li Shimin and said, "My second brother, you must have worked hard on this expedition to the Turks. Come, let's drink to our victory!"

Chapter 18: Crown Princess

"Drink victory!"

Li Shimin raised his glass and drank with Li Jiancheng.

"Hahaha, that's great. Second brother, drink more!" Li Jiancheng seemed to have forgotten what happened just now. He was in a very good mood and kept raising his glass to drink with his brother.

But don’t think that their alcohol tolerance is so great - Li Wenbin knows that most of the wine at that time was low-alcohol, with an alcohol content similar to modern beer.

I wonder if they could be so generous if they had a few jars of distilled strong liquor.

Li Wenbin thought with some malice in his heart.

Here, no one paid any attention to him either - the prince treated him as a nobody and refused to even look at him. Naturally, the officials in the Eastern Palace would not bother themselves by chatting with Li Wenbin.

However, he had become accustomed to such days and did not take it to heart at all. He just drank, ate and amused himself, feeling quite contented.

All of this fell into Changsun Wugou's eyes, and his evaluation of Li Wenbin couldn't help but improve one point - not being surprised by honor or disgrace may be easy for a politician, but if it happens to a teenager who is only fifteen years old, it is a bit rare.

Not only Changsun Wugou, there was another person watching Li Wenbin at this time.

Li Wenbin was still enjoying himself when he felt his gaze looking over.

This man was wearing the uniform of a fifth-rank official. He had a handsome appearance, a dignified appearance, delicate features, and a graceful demeanor. People couldn't help but like him when they saw him.

After thinking for a while, Li Wenbin raised the glass in his hand to signal. He didn't expect to get a response from the other party, but he didn't expect that the man also raised his glass, smiled at him, and then drank the wine in the glass.

He thought this person was very interesting.

Other officials in the Eastern Palace tried to avoid Li Wenbin, but he dared to respond.

Interesting, really interesting...

At this moment, music suddenly sounded, and several dancers in cool clothes began to dance gracefully.

At that time, the Tang Dynasty was open-minded and only some vital parts of the dancers' bodies were covered, leaving their white arms and thighs exposed. As they danced, their chests surged as if they were about to break free from the restraints of their bras and jump out.

Naturally, Li Wenbin liked this much more and enjoyed watching it very much.

Suddenly, the music rhythm changed to a more cheerful beat, and several dancers also started dancing the Hu Xuan.

Their passionate and unrestrained dance quickly won applause from the audience.

Li Wenbin's eyes were almost sunk into the deep ravines on the chests of those Hu girls.

At this moment, a graceful figure suddenly appeared on the stage.

When the six Hu girls saw someone coming on stage, they danced and stepped back tacitly, leaving a large space for her.

The woman was in her twenties and looked pretty and charming, as beautiful as a flower swaying in the wind. In terms of appearance, although the other foreign girls on the stage had the advantage of exotic charm, they were still obviously inferior to her.

The woman stopped and turned around. When she saw Li Wenbin's gaze, her eyebrows couldn't help but slightly raise. She looked so energetic and indescribably playful and cute.

She swayed her body slightly to the drum beats, waiting for the next piece of music to begin. The accompaniment music of the Hu Xuan dance was brisk, vigorous and powerful, and was composed of percussion instruments such as the 羯鼓 and 棒子. When the musicians on the side of the stage saw the guests coming on stage, they also came to join in the fun. Suddenly, an interlude was played and the Hu Xuan dance music started again.

The heart responds to the strings, the hands respond to the drums,

At the sound of the string drum, the woman raised her sleeves high.

The green sleeves slipped down, revealing half of the white wrist.

Before anyone could get a clear view of her slender and beautiful white arms, her body began to sway and dance like snow in the wind.

Sometimes she floats in the air like a snowflake, and sometimes she dances in the wind like a tumbleweed. Her charming body curves are perfectly displayed in her rotation.

When the drum beats reached their most rapid, the woman put her feet together, touched the ground with her toes, and began to spin like a top.

The drumbeats became more frequent and urgent, and she spun faster and faster, spinning like the wind.

Everyone watched with bated breath, until they had difficulty breathing and had to take a deep breath, the drumbeats suddenly stopped and the woman's graceful spinning figure suddenly froze there.

At this time, she stood on tiptoe, put her left hand on her slender waist, and raised her right hand high.

The hem of her skirt swirled like an arc and had not yet completely fallen down. The woven ribbons wrapped around her arms were flying in the air as if blown by the wind. At this moment, she looked like a fairy who had descended from the sky and had just set foot on the earth.

"Okay! Okay!"

There was thunderous applause all around.

The woman's chest heaved, the two blushes on her cheeks became brighter and deeper, and she walked towards the stage with a smile on her face.

Unexpectedly, although her dancing posture was graceful and she completed the entire dance movement perfectly, she was still dizzy after this rapid spin.

She was clearly heading towards the stairs, but her steps were unsteady and she actually went in the wrong direction.

The woman took a few steps to the edge of the stage, but her footing was unstable and she stepped on empty air and fell onto the stage.

As luck would have it, she fell into Li Wenbin's arms.

Li Wenbin almost subconsciously stretched out his hands to catch it, and then he felt as if a piece of warm and soft jade fell into his arms, and a fragrant breeze followed, making him intoxicated.

In just a moment, he had already felt the warmth from the other person. It seemed that all the things he had experienced before could not compare to this moment.

Li Wenbin just felt that if he could spend a night with this woman, he would rather give up everything he had.

He had never thought that he would have such an idea.

But there is no way, this woman is just too attractive...

However, all this beauty came to an abrupt end when Zhangsun Wugou called out "Crown Princess".

"Crown Princess, are you okay?" Changsun Wugou asked with concern on her face.

Crown Princess?

The woman in my arms is the Crown Princess?

I just gave the Crown Princess to...

weixie?

Oh my god, isn’t this going to kill me?

Forced to weixie the Crown Princess, I guess fifteen days of detention won't do the trick...

When Li Wenbin learned that the woman in his arms was the Crown Princess, he felt as if he had been stung by a scorpion and quickly helped her up respectfully.

He didn't behave like this just because this stunning woman was the Crown Princess, but mainly because her husband was right next to her.

Li Wenbin has always considered himself a pure love warrior, and he would never be willing to play a role like this yellow-haired character.

Fortunately, although Li Jiancheng saw this scene, he did not take it seriously - I don't know whether he really didn't care or was drunk and didn't see clearly, he just waved his hand.

"My dear, you have drunk too much. Please go back and rest."

The Crown Princess squatted down and said softly, "Yes."

Then he nodded to Li Shimin and Zhangsun Wugou, turned around and left.

But just as she left, she gave Li Wenbin a meaningful look.