Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Ultimately, the Military Officials looked down on Li Jiancheng. After all, the foundation of the Tang dynasty was laid by Li Shimin and the Military Officials. They believed that Li Jiancheng's position as Crown Prince was merely handed to him.
There was no way around it; in fact, it was true, and it was no wonder the Military Officials thought this way. Li Jiancheng, however, seemed unconcerned. The closer the Military Officials were to Li Shimin, the more worried his father, Li Yuan, would become. The more anxious Li Yuan became, the more he would seek ways to weaken Li Shimin's military power.
By the eighth day of the new year, officials came to the Eastern Palace to pay their respects daily. Li Jiancheng was busy handling their visits, but fortunately, he managed well enough.
These officials shared a common impression: Crown Prince Li Jiancheng appeared more refined and capable than ever before. Moreover, the atmosphere in the Eastern Palace was markedly different from that of other government offices. There was a sense that everyone in the Eastern Palace wore genuine smiles.
This was quite rare.
If previously some officials had worried that Li Jiancheng's position as Crown Prince might be snatched away by Prince Qin, Li Shimin, after this round of New Year visits, most officials concluded that Li Shimin could not take it away.
As for Li Yuanji, hardly any official believed he could become Crown Prince.
Thus, in recent days, the Residence of Prince Qi had been relatively quiet, with few officials visiting to pay their respects.
Li Yuanji could only stay cooped up in his residence playing Mahjong and occasionally visit Qunfang Garden. His purpose for going to Qunfang Garden was not to pursue women but rather to test whether Dan Bingbing had discovered "Young Master Wang's" true identity.
Dan Bingbing, true to her name, was sharp-witted and continued to call Li Yuanji "Young Master Zhang." Therefore, Young Master Wang remained Young Master Wang; she showed no signs of having figured out their true identities.
Dan Bingbing also asked Li Yuanji to bring one hundred taels of silver to Young Master Wang as a token from their last encounter on the flower boat when she had forgotten to give it while learning how to play Mahjong.
Before long, it was the day of Chujiao again; court was about to convene. Li Jiancheng had to wake up early once more, which he found quite unpleasant!
Having not attended court for a long time, there were indeed many matters to attend to that day. The grand assembly on the first day of the new year was merely ceremonial and did not involve any actual business.
With many matters at hand, court sessions would be longer. However, most of these issues had little connection to Li Jiancheng; he simply stood quietly in his place listening.
Finally, just as everyone thought they would adjourn without further incident, Li Yuan suddenly spoke up: "Li Shimin! Li Yuanji!"
Li Shimin and Li Yuanji quickly stepped forward: "Your humble son is here!"
"I mentioned on New Year's Eve that I wanted you both to do something. Do you remember?" Li Yuan asked.
"Your humble son does not recall; I hope Father Emperor can remind me!"
"I too feel ashamed; I do not remember what Father Emperor said!"
Both Li Shimin and Li Yuanji pretended to be confused; they simply did not want to go.
"Last time I merely mentioned it casually; perhaps you didn’t take it seriously. This time in court, I will say it officially: I want both of you to travel incognito to Jiangnan on my behalf. Do you understand?" Li Yuan raised his voice slightly, clearly showing a hint of anger.
"Your humble son understands clearly. However, there are still some questions I do not quite grasp—what is Father Emperor hoping for us to achieve? And even if we are traveling incognito, under what identities should we go to Jiangnan? What are the approximate locations we should visit? How many people should we bring?" Li Shimin asked first.
"What is your purpose? I just want to send you away and deal with your subordinates one by one!" Li Yuan thought bitterly.
But he couldn't say that, especially since he was the emperor and the other party was his own son.
"I have heard that there is a martial arts sect in the Jiangnan Tanzhou area called Hao Tian Men. You two brothers should go there, find this organization, and join them under assumed names to see if they have any political intentions. You will pose as ordinary citizens, so choose names for yourselves, but keep the essence of being brothers. Since you are going undercover, you shouldn't bring anyone with you—absolutely no one!" Li Yuan instructed.
"What? Not even one person?" Li Yuanji exclaimed upon hearing this.
"What's wrong? You and Shiming are both martial artists, and you're brothers together. Do you really need anyone else? Are you afraid someone will kill you?" Li Yuan shot a disapproving glare at his fourth son.
"Alright, Father. When do we leave?" Li Shimin replied obediently. He didn't particularly want to travel all the way to Tanzhou, but since Father had said so, what could he do?
"After the Lantern Festival! You two don't need to attend court for the next few days. If you want to say goodbye to me before you leave, feel free; if not, just go without saying anything," Li Yuan stated.
"Yes, Father!" Both Li Shimin and Li Yuanji agreed helplessly.
"Li Jiancheng doesn't need to attend court these days either. Dismissed!" Li Yuan declared.
Li Jiancheng felt a surge of joy. He hadn't expected that during court today, he would receive such good news—his two younger brothers were being sent to Jiangnan, and he wouldn't have to attend court for the next few days!
With court dismissed, the officials hurried home as it was getting late.
Li Jiancheng walked out of Wu Gate with a light step, while Li Yuanji followed behind with a heavy heart. Seeing Li Jiancheng about to mount his horse, he quickly called out, "Elder Brother, wait for me!"
"What is it?" Li Jiancheng turned back.
"Elder Brother, do you have any plans for this afternoon? I want to visit your Eastern Palace! It's noon now; I need to go home for lunch first," Li Yuanji said.
"I have no plans this afternoon. If you want to come over, I'll wait for you!" Li Jiancheng nodded in response.
With that, Li Jiancheng mounted his horse and headed back to the Eastern Palace.
In the afternoon, just after Li Jiancheng had taken a short nap, Li Yuanji arrived.
"Fourth Brother, are you reluctant to go to Jiangnan?" Li Jiancheng knew well what was on his mind. It seemed that Li Yuanji had come over mainly to complain.
"Yes. Elder Brother, do you want to go? I see that Second Brother doesn't want to go either!" Li Yuanji said with a frown.
Li Jiancheng shook his head. "Of course I don't want to go; besides, Father didn't call me."
"Elder Brother is the Crown Prince; Father certainly wouldn't send you out. Sigh, I actually wanted to go with you; I didn't expect Father would send me with Second Brother instead," Li Yuanji sighed.
"Isn't it good for you to go with Second Brother? His martial skills are better than mine; it would be safer for you," Li Jiancheng said playfully.
"It's not a matter of safety. Two big men shouldn't pose a danger to each other. I just can't get along with Second Brother!" Li Yuanji said.
"What’s there not to get along with? Didn't we spend a lot of time together when we were kids?" Li Jiancheng asked, feigning confusion.
"That was then. Now he harbors ill intentions towards Eldest Brother, and I just can't stand him. Eldest Brother, don't we want to kill him?" Li Yuanji continued.
"That's our plan to harm him; he hasn't done anything to you! He doesn't even know you want to hurt him. So just pretend nothing has happened and act like brothers with your Second Brother, just like when we were kids," Li Jiancheng replied.
"Since you put it that way, I guess I have no choice but to do that," Li Yuanji said helplessly.
Comment 0 Comment Count