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Two individuals caught the attention of Li Jiancheng: Imperial Censor Mo Jianyou and Imperial Academy Chancellor Liu Xu. Li Jiancheng had a deep impression of them because of their sons, Mo Hongkuo and Liu Hui, who had interacted with each other. Although Li Jiancheng privately referred to the group of Talented Scholars at Qunfang Garden as jackals, Mo Hongkuo and Liu Hui stood out among them, indicating that their elders were not lacking in merit.
After the New Year greetings to the Crown Prince concluded, the civil and military officials hurriedly departed. Why linger? Were they expecting to dine at the Eastern Palace? Li Jiancheng was not that generous!
Even though he did not invite the officials to stay for a meal, Li Jiancheng still arranged several tables for lunch, gathering his family along with the Eastern Palace staff, guards, and some servants for a hearty feast. This further solidified the warm atmosphere within the Eastern Palace.
Why not hold it in the evening? Because Li Jiancheng had other plans for dinner—he was going to visit the troops.
In fact, the troop visits began in the afternoon. While dinner would be served later, the visits needed to start early. After all, the Changlin Army consisted of three thousand soldiers. Although it wasn't necessary to greet each one personally, every barrack had to be visited.
After a brief rest following lunch, Li Jiancheng took Ma Qiang and Niu Fu to the Training Ground. As for why he never brought other guards, including Jia Jian, his explanation was that those guards were meant to protect his family's safety and thus remained at home.
The Changlin Army had also been given a break from training these past few days; everyone was in their barracks.
Naturally, they were greeted by Feng Li, the commander of the Changlin Army, along with his two deputies, Hua Ying and Yu Minjie. The three led Li Jiancheng around to visit each barrack.
Gifts were essential for these visits. This time, Li Jiancheng brought something special—over a dozen blades, which Ma Qiang and Niu Fu carried half each. He first presented one blade each to Hua Ying and Yu Minjie before distributing one to each of the other leaders. The Patterned Steel Blade was a prized weapon for warriors of the Tang Dynasty; those who received it could hardly contain their joy.
Dinner took place at the Training Ground with hundreds of tables set up, creating a magnificent scene.
Li Jiancheng drank alongside them. However, due to the large number of attendees, he couldn't toast each person individually and instead offered a collective toast. Only commanders and a few leaders had the privilege to toast him; otherwise, how could Li Jiancheng manage?
The drinking capacity of several leaders was quite impressive. Initially, they hesitated to toast Li Jiancheng too often because Feng Li and a few veteran commanders from the Eastern Palace knew that the Crown Prince's drinking capacity was not on par with theirs.
But gradually, Feng Li and others noticed something unusual. To their surprise, after several cups of wine, Li Jiancheng seemed completely unfazed!
Encouraged by this revelation, Feng Li and others boldly raised their cups again to toast him. Li Jiancheng accepted each toast with a smile. Even he found it strange that since crossing over into this world, his tolerance for alcohol had become seemingly limitless. This made things much easier; he would never embarrass himself at any banquet again!
Hua Ying and Yu Minjie were unaware of Li Jiancheng's previous drinking habits; they assumed he naturally had a good tolerance for alcohol and admired him greatly!
The military banquet continued late into the night. Fortunately, it was held within the Eastern Palace, allowing Li Jiancheng to return to his room afterward for some much-needed rest.
On the Third Day of the New Year, there were no court sessions.
During this time of year! Civil and military officials were typically granted seven days off. Additionally, Li Yuan showed consideration by announcing that court would resume only after Chujiao.
This arrangement pleased both officials and Li Yuan himself since it allowed him some extra sleep!
The days leading up to New Year's Eve and New Year's Day had been quite busy for Emperor Li Yuan. By the second day of the new year, he finally caught a breath of relief. On the Third Day of the New Year, he planned to sleep in a bit longer before getting up.
Last night, his beloved concubine Yin De Fei had kept him company in bed.
Yin De Fei was not as exhausted as Li Yuan; she woke up earlier than him. Seeing that the emperor was still asleep, she decided not to wake him. Instead, she turned her eyes thoughtfully as she contemplated how to speak ill of Li Shimin in front of him.
After a while, Li Yuan woke up to find that the sun was already bright. He turned to the woman lying beside him, Yin De Fei, and asked, “My Consort, have you been awake for long? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Oh, Your Majesty,” she replied with a playful tone, “there’s no need to wake you so early today since there’s no court session. I enjoy lying here with you a little longer.” As she spoke, her delicate hands began to wander over Li Yuan's body.
Li Yuan felt immensely comfortable and quickly said, “Alright then. Today is only the Third Day of the New Year; I’ll indulge in a little more rest with my Consort. Once court resumes after Chujiao, we won’t have this luxury.”
Yin De Fei pouted playfully, “Your Majesty, the realm is at peace now; there’s no need for such an early court session. It wouldn’t be too late to resume after the Lantern Festival!”
Li Yuan immediately shook his head. “That would be too late. I’ve already given them time off before the New Year; I can’t extend it any further now. Although the realm is generally peaceful, there are still many matters of governance to attend to. Besides, establishing a crown prince is quite a headache for me!”
Upon hearing this, Yin De Fei became anxious and asked, “Your Majesty, you’re not considering deposing Li Jiancheng from his position as crown prince, are you?”
“Rest assured, my Consort; I would never do that,” Li Yuan quickly reassured her.
“Then what is there for Your Majesty to worry about?” Yin De Fei inquired.
“Ah, I’m just worried that the second prince won’t be content!” Li Yuan sighed.
“The second prince? Li Shimin! Why should he be discontent? Besides, as long as Your Majesty doesn’t support him, it won’t matter how he feels!” Yin De Fei said indignantly. The mention of Li Shimin always irritated her.
Faced with his Consort's naïve question, Li Yuan was at a loss for words. Why should he be discontent? Because of military merit! Most of the realm was conquered by Li Shimin; how could he not have ambitions for the throne? While Li Yuan did not support him, he feared that Li Shimin might resort to forceful means to seize power!
However, these thoughts were not something Li Yuan would share with Yin De Fei. In the harem, perhaps only Yu Wen Zhao Yi could see that Li Shimin might attempt a coup. The women in the harem were all beautiful, but only Yu Wen Zhao Yi was clever enough to remain neutral in her attitudes toward both Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin while secretly flattering both sides.
Women like Yu Wen Zhao Yi would fare well regardless of who ascended the throne in the future. In contrast, some consorts—especially Yin De Fei and Zhang Jieyu—believed that since Li Jiancheng was the crown prince, he would surely inherit the throne. Thus, they focused solely on pleasing him while actively offending Li Shimin.
If Li Shimin were to seize power one day, both Yin De Fei and Zhang Jieyu—and their sons—would face dire consequences. This was also one reason why Li Yuan was reluctant to let Li Shimin become crown prince! Even if he made promises to Li Shimin about being crowned prince later on, once he ascended the throne, who could restrain him? Would promises hold any weight then?
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