Chapter 477 Favoritism
"The two ladies in the back courtyard were recently sent to another residence by the Prince..."
The carved lattice doors of the Qin Prince's Mansion were half-closed, letting in a few rays of slanting sunlight.
Empress Zhangsun leaned against the couch, her pale face accentuated by her plain white undergarments, and her earrings swayed gently with her nodding.
After listening to the servant finish reporting on the affairs of the inner courtyard, she ran her fingertips along the edge of the brocade quilt for a long while before softly saying, "Since the Prince has not given any orders, no one is allowed to speak recklessly. Issue a decree that anyone in the manor who is gossiping should be punished with twenty strokes of the cane and expelled from the manor."
Although the voice was soft, it carried an undeniable authority.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than familiar footsteps came from under the eaves.
Li Shimin strode in, protecting the swaddling clothes, his dark robes billowing in the wind, a smile almost spreading across his lips: "Guanyinbi, look!"
He carefully moved the baby Chengqian forward in his arms. The baby's delicate face was fast asleep in the swaddling clothes, and his chubby little hands were still clutching Li Shimin's clothes.
Empress Changsun smiled and said, "I've been carrying you all the way, why haven't you put Erlang down yet?"
Li Shimin gently touched little Chengqian's hand, proudly puffing out his chest: "Chengqian can't bear to part with me, he insists on being held by me before he'll sleep."
“If you continue to spoil them like this,” Empress Changsun shook her head helplessly, but her eyes were full of tenderness, “you’ll suffer in the future.”
She watched her husband carefully teasing the child, but swallowed her words—one was willing to give, and the other was willing to receive, so why should she say anything more?
Li Shimin suddenly stopped smiling, his eyes turning deep: "I have already sent those two Yang women from the backyard to the villa. Although the matter of the palace banquet was not explicitly mentioned, they are descendants of the former Sui imperial family..." He paused, his voice turning cold, "Better to kill the innocent than to leave a threat."
Empress Zhangsun's heart tightened, and she subconsciously said, "But they are pregnant..."
“That’s precisely why we can’t keep him!” Li Shimin said firmly, looking down at Chengqian in his arms, his eyes full of tenderness and love. “I will never allow anyone to threaten Chengqian.”
When Guanyinbi was pregnant, he experienced the novelty of becoming a father for the first time. But he was more concerned about Guanyinbi, so he didn't care if other women in the backyard were pregnant.
But it was only when Li Shimin truly held Chengqian in his arms and watched him change day by day that he felt the worry and responsibility of being a father.
This is his child with Guanyinbi, his eldest son, and the continuation of his bloodline.
He had never considered the women in his backyard as family before; the descendants of the former Sui imperial family were more like his spoils of war. Now, in order to protect his little family, even the spoils of war had to be put aside.
Empress Zhangsun opened her mouth, but swallowed her words of advice, for ultimately, the mother and son were the beneficiaries. She lowered her eyes to look at the affectionate appearance of the father and son, and a warmth rose in her heart, but then worry surged into her mind again.
Looking at the undisguised affection in Li Shimin's eyes, Empress Zhangsun suddenly thought of many things, and her fingertips unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes—she was unsure whether this favoritism would be a blessing or a curse for Chengqian's future.
Unaware of his wife's concerns, or even if he had, Li Shimin would have simply told her to worry unnecessarily. He would have said that Chengqian was so good, so what was wrong with showing a little favoritism?
Throughout the Tang Dynasty, everyone knew that the Prince of Qin favored his eldest son, Li Chengqian.
First, for the sake of this eldest son, two pregnant concubines were sent away;
Later, because the Queen Consort of Qin became pregnant again, the King of Qin raised his eldest son in the front yard and never neglected his daily affairs.
It was precisely because of this favoritism and attention that Li Shimin was the first to discover his son's extraordinary qualities.
The unusual phenomena at Li Chengqian's birth were not forgotten. However, Li Jiancheng's side did not want to give Li Shimin any credit, so they kept it a secret; Li Shimin and his wife were also worried about attracting covetousness, so they never spread the word.
So, gradually, everyone just regarded it as a coincidental anomaly.
Until Li Shimin discovered a "cat" vying with him to be his father.
The warm sunlight streamed through the window lattice, enveloping Li Shimin and Xiao Chengqian in a gentle glow.
Li Shimin knelt before the bed, his long, slender fingers gently tapping the tip of little Chengqian's chubby nose, his voice full of doting affection: "Chengqian, call me Father, come here, Father—"
Little Chengqian stared at him with his big, grape-like eyes, not blinking, but refusing to open his mouth.
Li Shimin repeated it patiently, and finally, after Li Shimin said it countless times, Xiao Chengqian softly uttered an "hmm," as if in response to him.
Li Shimin was instantly amused by his own association and poked his son's little cheek, "What a bold move! Does he want to be my father?"
Unexpectedly, with this gentle poke, Xiao Chengqian's eyes instantly reddened, and large tears welled up in his eyes, but he only shed tears silently. His aggrieved appearance made Li Shimin's heart ache.
"What happened? Did Father poke you and hurt you? It's all Father's fault!"
Li Shimin hurriedly took the little Chengqian into his arms, gently rubbing his cheek against the baby's face, his eyes filled with panic and heartache. He comforted the baby while loudly summoning the imperial physician.
Soon after, the anxious physician from the prefectural hospital rushed over.
Looking at the young master's fair and tender face, and when Li Shimin asked if he wanted some medicine applied, and even tried to bring the imperial ointment, she quickly spoke up to stop him.
Is it the young master who needs medicine? It's more likely the King of Qin will need medicine, isn't it?
The speechless, teasing look brought Li Shimin back to his senses, realizing he had overreacted. However, he still repeatedly confirmed with the imperial physician that Chengqian was alright before he was truly relieved, mainly because Chengqian had stopped crying.
After coaxing Chengqian to sleep, Li Shimin worried that Guanyinbi would be concerned if she found out, so he hurriedly went to the main courtyard.
Having finally refused Guanyinbi's plan to take Chengqian back, Li Shimin, worried that his son would be heartbroken if he woke up and couldn't see him, hurriedly returned to the front courtyard, leaving Empress Zhangsun shaking her head helplessly.
Before he even reached the door, a childish "Father!" reached his ears. Li Shimin's heart warmed, his steps became lighter, and his face was filled with uncontainable joy. But before he could respond, a cat's meow suddenly came from inside the house.
"?" Li Shimin was filled with doubt. How could there be a cat in the house? Worried that the cat would scratch his son, Li Shimin pushed open the door with a heavy heart.
Then he saw a snow-white cat lying next to Chengqian, its tail wagging happily, its little paws gently patting Chengqian's chest. Every time Chengqian called out "Aye," the cat would meow, as if it were calling him.
"..." Li Shimin's face instantly darkened. His son's first "Father" was for him! For him! Where did this cat come from, daring to snatch it from him!
Li Shimin took a few steps over and tried to grab the cat, but his hand unexpectedly passed right through the cat's body, as if brushing against the air, and the white cat's figure disappeared right in front of him!
"!" Li Shimin rubbed his eyes and looked over in disbelief. Apart from Chengqian, there wasn't a single cat hair on the small bed.
“Father.”
Upon hearing Chengqian's call, Li Shimin grinned and hugged his son, then his smile vanished in an instant. Was he imagining things?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
