It's no wonder Li Shimin was so surprised; in fact, even Fang Xuanling was deeply shocked when he saw this number.

He lived through the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Each of the several epidemics at the end of the Sui Dynasty killed hundreds of thousands of people before they were quelled.

However, the fact that such a severe epidemic occurred in Chang'an, yet the cost was less than a thousand lives, is enough to make the Tang Dynasty famous for all time!

"Your Majesty, half of those who died from this epidemic were elderly, with fewer than a hundred young and middle-aged people among them!"

"this……"

Li Shimin became even more excited upon hearing this, and immediately got up from his seat and snatched the document from Fang Xuanling's hand.

After reading it, Li Shimin laughed heartily.

"May Heaven protect us, hahaha!"

Seeing Li Shimin so happy, Fang Xuanling immediately whispered a reminder.

"Your Majesty, the eldest grandson of the legitimate wife deserves much credit for the fact that this epidemic has been brought under control!"

"I know, hahaha!"

"I wonder how His Majesty intends to reward his eldest grandson?"

Li Shimin was taken aback upon hearing this, and then looked at Fang Xuanling meaningfully.

"Minister Fang, what do you think I should do to reward you?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuanling cursed inwardly. It seemed His Majesty had no intention of deposing the Crown Prince and instead appointing the eldest grandson as heir!

Otherwise, why would you ask me about something like this?

"Your Majesty, I think that rewarding the eldest grandson with more wealth would be enough?"

"property?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin felt a sudden toothache. The national treasury might not even be as rich as that grandson's private coffers. How could he possibly reward this grandson?

"Forget about the money, that grandson isn't short of money."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuanling made the suggestion again.

"Then shall we bestow upon them official titles?"

Li Shimin said with displeasure upon hearing this.

"He is already the Prince of Qin and the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. I can't possibly let him become the emperor while I go to the inner palace to become the retired emperor, can I?"

"this……"

"I really can't think of a way to reward you..."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin sighed in frustration.

"well!"

"I don't know how to reward you!"

"Why don't we ask that bastard what kind of reward he wants?"

Fang Xuanling was a kind-hearted man after all, and he immediately objected upon hearing this.

"Your Majesty, isn't this inappropriate?"

Li Shimin smiled awkwardly upon hearing this, realizing that it was inappropriate. But when he tried to think of something else to reward him with, he couldn't think of anything else.

"Forget about it for now. Have the Secretariat draft an imperial edict to announce this to the world and make a good public announcement about this matter."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuanling's eyes lit up immediately; he seemed to have guessed how His Majesty intended to reward Li Jue.

"Your Majesty, should the imperial edict specifically praise the eldest grandson?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin glared at Fang Xuanling.

What do you think?

"If I don't properly praise my grandson, what's the point of announcing it to the world?"

Fang Xuanling smiled awkwardly upon hearing this.

"Yes, yes, it was this old minister who was confused!"

"This old minister will take care of it immediately!"

While Li Shimin was busy announcing to the world and showing off his great grandson, Li Jue, the great grandson, was accompanying his elder brother Li Xiang to stroll around Qujiang Pool.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic in Chang'an, Qujiang Pool has been closed for half a month. Today, the imperial court officially announced the end of the epidemic, and Qujiang Pool is now open to the public.

As Li Xiang walked along the long corridor, looking at the dazzling lights emanating from the pavilions and towers, he felt as if he were in a dreamlike dragon palace.

"When did Qujiang Pool become so beautiful? When I came here with my parents a few years ago, it was just a stinky pond..."

"It was newly renovated this year. It cost me over ten thousand strings of cash to renovate this place!"

"Over ten thousand strings of cash?"

Where did you get so much money?

"Second brother, we can't compare to others. We don't have parents to take care of us, so please don't do anything that will attract attention!"

If there is one person in this world who truly cares for Li Jue and can earn Li Jue's unconditional trust, it seems to be only Li Xiang.

If it weren't for Li Xiang's cooperation, he would never have been able to escape from Qianzhou, let alone meet Li Er and have this good fortune today.

Therefore, even though Li Xiang's words were not very pleasant to hear, Li Jue still agreed with a smile.

"Don't worry, brother, I'm using other people's money!"

"It can't belong to anyone else either. We should return it quickly and give Qujiang Pool back to His Majesty to avoid bringing trouble upon our family!"

"Now it's just the two of us brothers left in our family. We must live well and work hard to ensure the continuation of our family line!"

"Family tradition..."

Upon hearing this, Li Jue revealed a wicked smile. He suddenly thought of something: Li Xiang's marriage.

Although this matter was discussed by Li Er and Li Tai, Li Jue had already learned about it through Zhang Gui, a double agent.

"Big brother, what are your thoughts on your future sister-in-law?"

"idea?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiang lowered his head in embarrassment.

"These things are all arranged by parents and matchmakers, what opinions could I possibly have?"

Li Jue said somewhat anxiously upon hearing this.

"I mean, do you have any fantasies, like what kind of girl you like?"

As Li Jue was speaking, he saw several maids walking by, so he immediately stopped them all and pointed to one of the round-faced beauties.

"Big brother, do you like this kind?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xiang shook his head, then looked at the others, and they all shook their heads as well.

"No, he has too much of a worldly air about him. He doesn't look like someone who can live a proper life."

Upon hearing this, Li Jue felt as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Brother, you know so much! You even know about the 'worldly' aspect?"

When Li Xiang saw his younger brother teasing him, his face immediately turned bright red with embarrassment.

"No, I just heard it from someone else..."

"Even if you don't marry a woman from a prestigious family, you should at least find a lady from a respectable family. It's ultimately inappropriate to marry a woman of the night."

"Not only has it disgraced our family, but it has also brought shame upon my father and mother in the afterlife."

Li Jue wasn't very familiar with the social customs of the Tang Dynasty, but since he disliked Li Xiang, he could only pull him into the Ziyun Tower.

Inside Ziyun Tower, Sizi was warmly inviting Li Erya and several of her close girlfriends to drink. Among them were Li Tai and his wife, and a young maid was standing behind them.

When Li Jue led Li Xiang into Ziyun Tower, he saw that Si Zi had already taken care of everything. He immediately glanced curiously at the pretty girl standing behind Li Tai.

"Yan Shu?"

Upon hearing her eldest grandson address her by name, Yan Shu immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"This humble woman pays respects to the eldest grandson and the Prince of Dunhuang!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue waved his hand and said.

"No need for formalities!"

"Thank you, eldest grandson!"

Li Jue had been watching Li Xiang's reaction. Seeing that Li Xiang kept staring at Yan Shu until she returned to her seat, he knew that the marriage was almost settled.

"Fourth Uncle, is Cousin Yan Shu married?"

Li Tai was taken aback when he heard this, thinking to himself, "How did this grandson know what I was thinking?"

But now that he's pointed it out, there's no need for me to keep it to myself.

"Never!"