203 Chapter 203

◎Unfair.◎

Li Shimin praised her greatly, "Excellent, Guanyinbi, you hit the nail on the head. Cheng Qian wouldn't dare mention it again for three to five months."

"I don't want Cheng Qian to worry about me, but I'm just too worried about him." Changsun frowned. "Erlang, you know Cheng Qian is always worried. How can I feel at ease if I don't keep an eye on him every day?"

Li Shimin sighed, "I feel the same way."

Changsun said, "It's just that it's against etiquette for the Crown Prince not to live in the Eastern Palace. I can't wait for three to five years to attend to the sick. I'm afraid that by then, Erlang will have trouble hearing about it."

Li Shimin waved his hands and said, "These are all minor matters. As long as Cheng Qian is fine, I'm happy to be bothered a little."

Chang Sun smiled and said, "I thank the Saint."

Li Shimin quickly reached out to support her: "You and I are husband and wife, why are we so polite?"

"The Crown Prince is the heir apparent to the throne. What you and I are talking about is not a private matter, but a matter between the monarch and his subjects. It is not considered excessive courtesy." Changsun said.

Li Shimin helped her to sit beside the couch. "Cheng Qian is indeed the crown prince, but does that mean I don't care about my love for you? Guanyin, I don't just treat Cheng Qian as the crown prince. He is also my son."

"I understand Erlang's intentions," said Changsun, her eyes softening. "But we should care for him when we should, but we should also supervise him when we should. When it comes to his studies and homework, Erlang, you must not act like a loving father. You must be strict and punish him when necessary. Don't be soft-hearted."

Li Shimin laughed and said, "If Cheng Qian heard what my mother said, he would be very sad."

Chang Sun waved for a female official to come over and remove the hairpins from her head. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "Isn't it for his own good? This child, I think it's Erlang who spoiled him. You should reflect on this."

"Okay, I'll reflect on it." Li Shimin smoothed her black hair, "But I'm not the only one who spoils him, Guanyinbi, you're also a little too doting."

Chang Sun smiled and said, "Strict father, kind mother. I am already a kind mother, and I will trouble Erlang to be a strict father. Otherwise, the children will become lawless."

Li Shimin pinched her earlobe after removing the earrings: "Okay, I have nothing to say to you. I will be the bad guy."

The couple talked before going to bed, but the next day neither of them could be the stricter one.

Li Chengqian didn't know about this conversation between his parents, otherwise he would have said that neither his father nor his mother could be strict. When it comes to doting on their children, they are tied for second place, and no one can compete for the first place.

…

There were two consecutive snowfalls in December, but fortunately, neither was heavy and did not cause any disaster. Instead, it was considered a sign of a good harvest.

Years ago, Li Shimin, thinking of the busy court this year, gave many rewards to his ministers. When he returned to Lizheng Hall, he also gave rewards to the children, which were all antiques, ornaments, calligraphy and paintings. The rewards given to Li Chengqian were especially generous.

Li Chengqian looked at the list and asked the three children to come over and choose two items each. Li Lizhi and Li Yuxiu were very excited. They looked at this painting, then that calligraphy, and then looked at the coral over there. For a moment, they couldn't choose the one that suited them best.

Li Tai seemed a little bored, and Li Chengqian naturally noticed it. He could probably guess the reason, which was that the child was feeling unbalanced, but given their relationship, he didn't want to go over and persuade him.

Li Chengqian didn't bother with the child, but thinking of what Li Tai had done in his previous life, he was afraid that if he spoke carelessly, his advice would turn into a provocation, which would only add fuel to the fire. Therefore, Li Chengqian decided to let nature take its course.

However, Li Tai came to find Li Chengqian.

He asked hesitantly, "Brother, how...how can I help relieve Aye's worries and make him happy?"

Good question, Li Chengqian thought, you can also live your life again.

Not really. Li Tai can get these things without having to live again. The one who has to live a whole life to get these things is himself.

It's obvious that he was born knowing how to please the Khan. This should be Li Tai's talent. Why is it his turn to ask himself now?

Is Li Tai not favored by the Khan now? Of course not, among the Khan's children, Li Tai is still favored.

It’s just that there was Li Chengqian before him.

Because of various changes, Li Chengqian undoubtedly received more attention from the Heavenly Khan.

Human hearts are never satisfied. They will not look at how much more they have than the person behind them, but only see what the person in front of them has more than themselves.

Poor child, Li Chengqian thought, whether it was the current Li Tai or himself in the previous life.

"Qingque, why do you want to make Aye happy?" Li Chengqian asked, "Is it because you also want a lot of rewards?"

Li Tai was stunned. He thought for a moment and said, "I want it, but..." He pursed his lips, not knowing how to continue.

"But what you want more is Aye's attention, right?" Li Chengqian continued with a smile.

Li Tai pinched his fingers and hummed for a long while before continuing, "It's not...it's not that I don't want Aye to love Big Brother, I just...I just want to be like Big Brother."

Li Chengqian looked at him: "Do you want to be like me? Qingque, what's so good about me?"

If I don't have this life again...

Now that the conversation had begun, Li Tai had nothing to hide: "Father treats my elder brother the best."

The way Li Tai looks at Li Chengqian now is just like how Li Chengqian looked at Li Tai in his previous life. The two brothers are so alike.

Perhaps because of this, the two brothers were destined to fight to the death.

"Qingque..." Li Chengqian said, "Go tell Aye that you don't want him to ignore you because of your elder brother. He might..."

He suddenly couldn't continue. In his previous life, Li Chengqian also wanted to grab the attention of the Heavenly Khan, but he never succeeded. He only received more and more excessive favor from the Heavenly Khan for Li Tai.

He may not have done better this time, but because he could provide advanced knowledge beyond this era, Tian Khan could not help but look at him differently. After all, the country and the people were the first priority in Tian Khan's heart.

However, Li Tai was different from him. Li Tai didn't need to do anything and he was born to be favored by the Khan.

"Go and tell Aye." Li Chengqian repeated.

Li Tai hesitated and said, "I'm afraid Aye will be angry."

Li Chengqian found it a little funny: "Have you ever seen Aye angry?"

Even when Li Tai said that he would kill his own son and pass the throne to King of Jin after a hundred years, Tian Khan never got angry with him.

Li Tai was stunned for a moment. He glanced at his elder brother and said uncomfortably: "I..."

Li Tai wasn't an ignorant child. He had already understood many things, including the fact that he shouldn't have said these words today, but...

Because of his father's doting and his elder brother's kindness, Li Tai felt that he could ask for more, so he said that he wanted to be like his elder brother.

The eldest brother is the crown prince, they can’t be the same.

Li Tai just felt that... it was too unfair.

Li Chengqian rubbed his brows and said tiredly, "Qingque, if you want Aye to love you more, you have to find a way yourself. I'm afraid my elder brother can't help you."

Having said that, Li Chengqian didn't want to talk anymore. As for whether he and Li Tai would repeat the events of their previous life in the future, he would let him do whatever he wanted...

Can he still control Li Tai's thoughts?

Li Tai was a little dumbfounded. Did he seem to have angered his elder brother? But his elder brother clearly never got angry.

What should I do? Li Tai thought, do I have to go find Aye? If my eldest brother goes to find Aye first, will...

My eldest brother is not the kind of person who would complain or gossip, but... my eldest brother was not angry before.

Li Tai hesitated for a while, and after a while, Li Lizhi came over and said, "Fourth brother, the eldest brother asked you to choose two things quickly so that he can ask others to come and choose."

Although the eldest brother treated them particularly well, he was also good to other sisters and brothers. Li Tai absentmindedly picked up two calligraphy and paintings.

Should he go find Aye?

…

Three days later, the court officially began to rest, and Li Shimin also had some free time. He first called all his children over and talked to them, and then met with several concubines.

Li Chengqian didn't care what Tian Khan did. At this moment, he was making allicin in his own studio, which was a room he specially prepared after the garlic harvest.

He drew the blueprints and arranged for people to make a series of glassware. All kinds of tools were also available. Liu Ju had already synchronized the steps with him. Li Chengqian had also successfully put them into practice and handed them over to Sun Simiao for use.

Li Chengqian found that this process required special concentration, which meant that he could stop daydreaming. Therefore, from then on, he would go into the studio to work whenever he had time.

Of course, he also gave the method of preparing allicin to Tian Khan. In addition, Sun Simiao also had a copy, and Li Chengqian also gave him a set of equipment.

"Where is the prince?" Li Shimin asked when he was welcomed into the bedroom but did not see his eldest son.

It can't be that he went to the retired emperor. Although Li Shimin's relationship with the retired emperor is not so stiff now, he still doesn't like his eldest son to get too close to the retired emperor.

The palace servant replied, "Your Majesty, His Highness is in the west room."

The room on the west side was Li Chengqian's studio. Li Shimin certainly knew what he was doing in there, so he frowned when he heard it.

Allicin is certainly important, but there are specialized people to do such tricks. It is not good for the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty to spend all his time thinking about these things.

But Cheng Qian took this matter very seriously, so Li Shimin couldn't bear to blame him for it. Thinking about what he was going to say next, he rubbed his eyebrows and thought, "It's really hard to be an father."

Li Shimin did not send anyone to call the prince. He sat and waited for nearly half an hour before the prince appeared in front of him.

Li Chengqian bowed and said, "Greetings, Father."

"Sit down." Li Shimin said with a smile, "Cheng Qian, are you tired?"

"No." Li Chengqian leaned back and asked lazily, "What's the matter?"

Li Shimin straightened his legs and said, "If it's all right, Father, can't I just talk to you? I've been very busy lately. How long has it been since we last spoke?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Father, let's stop being polite and get straight to the point."

Li Shimin paused and said, "After the New Year, I plan to give Qingque, Ke'er, and You'er new titles."

Originally, there was no need to discuss this matter with the crown prince, but Li Shimin was still thinking about the conflict between brothers, so he thought of telling his eldest son in advance.