212 Chapter 212

◎Teaching children.

"Huh?" Li Chengqian crossed his arms and asked dissatisfiedly, "My martial arts class is going well, why does it have to stop?"

Li Shimin smiled and said, "I just want you to reduce the number of hours you practice each day to just half an hour. Then, you can come to the Taiji Hall. Didn't you say that Aye wants to be your teacher? I'll teach you, what do you think?"

Li Chengqian snorted and said, "It's nothing. Didn't I tell you, Father, that you'd take over Mr. Lu's job? Mr. Lu is doing well now, but you're so impatient. This isn't good."

Li Shimin stopped laughing and asked seriously, "Cheng Qian, a number of medical schools have recently been built. It was you who originally proposed this. I'm preparing to select people from the Imperial Medical Bureau to teach at these institutions. Don't you want to know who I've chosen?"

Li Chengqian shook his head: "No, your abilities are obvious to all, there's no need for me to add unnecessary details."

"How is that superfluous?" Li Shimin couldn't help laughing. "Chengqian, Grandpa is teaching you these very skills. Studying is one thing, but being able to accomplish these things and also the ability to control the ministers, Grandpa can teach you both."

These words sounded very tempting. In his previous life, Li Chengqian did not have the opportunity to receive hands-on teaching from Tian Khan.

This is what Li Zhi had when he was the crown prince.

But... such an opportunity is really rare, and what Tian Khan can teach him is indeed what Li Chengqian lacks.

Li Chengqian thought for a while, and Li Shimin sensed the boredom and confusion in his furrowed brow, so he did not say anything to disturb him.

The silence in the Taiji Hall lasted for a quarter of an hour before Li Chengqian slowly said, "Okay..." He bowed again and said, "Thank you, Master, for teaching me."

Li Shimin quickly stood up, took Li Chengqian's hand and said with a smile: "Okay! Come, Chengqian, sit next to Aye."

Li Chengqian hurriedly tried to move away: "I can't sit next to you..."

Li Shimin was extremely happy. He had strength in his hands and directly pressed his eldest son down. He sat down and said with a smile: "As long as we are here, there will be no problem."

Then he ordered that a case be set up under him, which would be the position of the crown prince in the future.

"You can read and write here, and I don't always have time to teach you." Li Shimin said with a smile, "Also, I asked someone to warm up the milk for you. Isn't that your favorite?"

Li Chengqian's mood was very complicated. He hummed and said, "Thank you, Aye."

Li Shimin smiled and asked, "Cheng Qian, what else do you want? Tell Aye that we will get everything for you at once, and don't let you feel wronged by missing anything."

"I'm not wronged..." Li Chengqian lowered his head and straightened his sleeves, "I'm fine."

For a long time afterwards, Li Chengqian believed that he had been bewitched by Tian Khan. It was obvious that the so-called teacher's words were just perfunctory to him. Who knew that for some unknown reason, Li Chengqian really became a student of Tian Khan.

But this is not shameful. There are so many people who have been bewitched by the Heavenly Khan, and Li Chengqian is just a drop in the ocean.

…

A new case suddenly appeared under the emperor. Even the dumbest person could guess who it belonged to. But was the prince going to participate in politics before he even got crowned? That would be fine, but the sage did not say a word about it.

The court officials all had this doubt, but they had never seen the prince in the Taiji Hall. Only the inkstone, paper and other items on the desk were occasionally moved, and the small and exquisite glass ornaments were diligently replaced. These were enough to prove that the prince did stay in the Taiji Hall, but they could not see him.

The sage had no intention of answering the question on his own initiative, so the only person who could ask this question at this time was Changsun Wuji. So when there was no official business that day, Changsun Wuji met the sage alone and asked about his doubts.

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Didn't I say a while ago that Cheng Qian is young and needs my guidance as a father?" He stood up and said, "Fuji, you know I'm busy every day and can only teach Cheng Qian in small amounts. I can't let him run back and forth all the time, so I'll just set up a case here. When I'm busy, I'll let Cheng Qian study and write here."

Changsun Wuji stood up and was shocked after hearing these words. Children from ordinary families are taught by teachers, let alone children from the royal family?

"You, the sage, have toiled so hard for the Tang Dynasty, and your guidance of the Crown Prince is certainly not to be underestimated. However, there are still many renowned teachers and scholars in the world. Sage, why not hire a few more teachers for the Crown Prince? What do you think?"

Given the extent of the saint's doting, Changsun Wuji really doubted the level and quality of his teaching of his children.

But Li Shimin was very persistent. He waved his hand and said, "Don't try to persuade me again, Assistant Minister. Is there anyone in the world who understands the way of being a monarch better than me?"

Changsun Wuji understood the meaning of these words. There were indeed many sages throughout history who had explained the ways of being a king in great detail, but it was obvious that they could not teach the prince the ways of being a king that the sage wanted to teach him.

As the prince's relative, Zhangsun Wuji was naturally delighted that the sage valued the prince so much, so he had nothing else to say.

For Changsun Wuji, the trouble now is not about the prince or the saint, but the fact that the prince really does not want to be close to his uncle from the bottom of his heart.

The Queen is fine, they have been siblings for many years and understand each other's temperament. Changsun Wuji knows that she is trying to avoid suspicion, and she is still concerned about her brother and the Changsun family. But the Crown Prince is different. He has only shown that he does not want to get close to the Changsun family.

However, although the prince lived in the Eastern Palace, he rarely had dealings with the previous dynasty. Changsun Wuji was unable to delve into the matter and could only wait patiently.

After Changsun Wuji asked, with Li Shimin's tacit approval, all the court officials knew about the saint's love for the prince by personally teaching him, and all the speculations stopped.

Later, some court officials also encountered the scene of the prince studying under the sage when they met the emperor. I don’t know what other people’s psychological process was, but at least in Fang Xuanling’s view, the prince was handsome, with a straight posture and serious expression when reading. He looked very diligent and studious, which really changed his impression of him.

——Unfortunately, Fang Xuanling didn’t know that what the prince was reading was actually a travelogue.

Of course, there were also unpleasant things that happened. One day, Yu Zhining ran into the prince sitting with his legs crossed and eating double-skin milk. He immediately went up to him and started to lecture him, starting with etiquette and speaking passionately, as if if Li Chengqian ate double-skin milk, the Tang Dynasty would perish the next day.

Li Chengqian rolled his eyes as he listened, but Li Shimin listened patiently to the end, then refuted Yu Zhining's words one by one, severely criticized him for exaggerating a small matter, and said that it was okay to give advice, and he and the prince would accept it, but this did not mean that the advisers could act unreasonably.

Yu Zhining had not expected that his frank advice would have such a result. He was greatly shocked. He wanted to argue with the sage again, but he felt that he had nothing to say, so he had to leave in a daze.

"This is just the beginning. He can't bear it even once. How come this person's ability to withstand blows is not as strong as mine?" Li Chengqian muttered in a low voice.

Li Shimin asked in confusion, "What are you mumbling about?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Father, you've gotten yourself into big trouble. This matter is definitely not over yet. Just wait, they will definitely not let you go at the court meeting the day after tomorrow."

The job of the ministers of remonstration is to make a living from this, and this job is handed to them by the emperor. In their eyes, Li Shimin's behavior today means that the emperor wants to destroy their jobs. They certainly cannot let him do this, and they have to struggle at least.

Although Li Shimin had no intention of blocking advice, some people just liked to exaggerate, and Li Chengqian was deeply touched by this.

Li Shimin laughed and said, "I have brought great trouble upon myself? Who brought this trouble upon me?"

Li Chengqian shrugged and said, "So what did I do wrong? I just ate a bite of food. If eating is wrong, then we'll all starve to death starting tomorrow."

Li Shimin was at a loss for words: "Didn't you hear what Yu Zhining said? You have lost the manners of a prince and have no manners in front of the saint, and..."

"Please don't repeat it to me." Li Chengqian blocked his ears, "Otherwise, every time I eat Shuangpi milk, I will remember these words and I won't be able to eat it."

"That's perfect. This thing should be eaten in summer. It's already August, and you still insist on eating it. If you get diarrhea and your mother scolds you, I won't plead for you." Li Shimin nodded at him.

Li Chengqian said, "Isn't that because I didn't remember the recipe in the summer? Well, forget it, if I don't want to eat it, then I don't want to eat it. I'm really not sure if my small body can handle it."

Li Chengqian still had self-knowledge. Even if he exercised diligently, his health condition was not very good. Given the medical conditions in ancient times, he had better not take any risks.

Li Shimin had the bowl taken away and said, "For the next two days, you can go with your mother to look after the cotton business. I will take care of this here."

Li Chengqian encouraged him: "Come on, Aye!"

"What oil do you want to add?" Li Shimin didn't understand what was said, so he shook his head and smiled.

Li Chengqian asked again, "Father, can I sit in on the class?"

Li Shimin shook his head again: "It's inconvenient for you to be here, but you can have someone pass on a message for you."

"Then let's not do that. Delivering messages isn't very reliable." Li Chengqian also shook his head. "I'd better go find my mother. She's been here a lot lately, and I've spent much less time with her."

Li Shimin laughed and said, "When did you miss Father so much?"

Of course, Li Chengqian was also concerned about Aye. He was mainly concerned about how this matter would develop in the future, but the Khan held a court meeting every three days, so he had to wait.

Time passed quickly. When Li Chengqian was busy accompanying his mother, he heard the result of the debate of the previous dynasty. Yu Zhining spoke in a grand manner, talking about the etiquette of the crown prince, the Chinese etiquette, morality and righteousness, but Li Shimin only had one sentence.

Can the prince eat in the presence of the saint?

Li Chengqian nearly spat out a mouthful of water onto the spinning wheel. He quickly dodged it, choking a few times before patting his chest vigorously and asking, "Really...did the saint really say that?"

The palace attendant who was speaking nodded repeatedly: "That's what the sage said."

Li Chengqian laughed out loud: "Very... quite good."

Of course, good advice should be listened to, but the ministers of advice should not be paranoid and find fault with everything they see. That would be an abuse of power.