Chapter 10 Undercurrents, Guangshen: The sun's out! Time to get up and get things done! ...
"Who is heavier, your brother or Grasshopper?" Li Shimin asked Changsun Qingjing this inopportune question as he helped Changsun Wuji, who was sitting on the gravel and crying out in pain.
"Don't compare me to a lynx, I'm not a lynx." Changsun Wuji was filled with hatred for lynxes. "Qingjing, be gentle, I've scraped my skin off."
"Don't you dare say lynx! I hate lynxes!" Changsun Wuji said bitterly, lying on his back on the ground.
Li Shimin helped him fasten his trousers, and couldn't help but laugh, "Actually, it looks quite similar..."
"My ribs must have been crushed by that female lynx... Qingjing, don't laugh!"
"I didn't mean to. I've already cried and apologized. I've even bandaged you up. Didn't I used to jump from the ginkgo tree into your arms like this?"
"You'll be locked up and have your savings confiscated," Wuji said, struggling to sit up from the rubble. "I mean what I say."
"Don't be so vindictive, brother. I can confiscate your savings, and I'll even write scriptures for you. You'll suffocate from being confined," Changsun Qingjing pleaded.
Unfortunately, his younger sister was too mischievous, and he couldn't even imagine what his friend was thinking these past two days, shaken by Changsun Qingjing's outrageous behavior. It seemed that if Changsun Wuji dared to propose a marriage alliance, Li Shimin would likely sever all ties with him.
"You lost the 'Qi Laws' that I painstakingly collected."
“I don’t like the law either; it was clearly eaten by the lynx.”
"Does your lynx have a different taste than most people's?"
"You stole my 'The Tale of the Goddess of Beauty'!"
"Just borrowing it for a moment."
"Which lady did you lend it to?"
Changsun Qingjing's expression changed drastically: "Please, I promise I'll be more obedient in the future."
"It's just a minor scrape and sprain. You're not going to make a scene so everyone knows, are you?" Li Shimin dusted himself off, sat up, and laughed. "My sister plays these kinds of boring games with me too. I get covered in dust myself if I'm not careful. You'll be fine in a few days. Why are you getting upset with your sister?"
“Exactly.” Changsun Qingjing nodded vigorously. “Dazhi will make up a bizarre story about your injury and laugh at you for a whole year.”
"Hmph." Changsun Wuji shrugged.
Li Shimin and Changsun Qingjing each helped Wuji up on one side.
"I can walk." Changsun Wuji pushed the two aside and took a few steps, but his expression was one of extreme pain.
"Don't be stubborn, come on up." Li Shimin bent down. "My father is meeting with the Emperor today, and he will definitely discuss important matters with my mother and me when he returns home tonight. I can't waste any more time with you."
...
Duke Li Yuan of Tang hurried into Taiji Palace. As he lingered and looked around, Lady Wang was greeted by her uncle.
Li Yuan greeted her, saying, "I am well, Shangyi!"
Lady Wang returned the greeting: "Is Your Excellency well, Lord Tang?" She then led Li Yuan into the inner palace. Along the way, the two evaded the palace's spies.
"Uncle, please speak freely. The two ladies behind me are my niece's confidantes." Wang Shangyi leaned closer to Li Yuan. "How has the family been?"
"Xuanba died a year ago, and your aunt has been suffering from occasional bouts of illness. Everything else is normal. After you wrote that secret letter last time, I went through quite a bit of trouble, feigning a serious illness for half a year, but unexpectedly I was reinstated during the second campaign against Goguryeo. These past few months I've been busy pacifying key areas involved in Yang Xuangan's rebellion..."
Wang Shangyi pulled Li Yuan aside, saying worriedly, "The Emperor's thoughts are unpredictable. It's said that he had nightmares after returning to Daxing from his westward journey, and he'll probably have to stay in Luoyang for some time. I've also heard several court ladies mention plans for a northern tour. This summons is likely for a new appointment. But my uncle has also heard that he was quite popular with the people when he was acting on behalf of the Emperor to spread his authority, which has made him suspicious. So he's going to play that old trick of testing the loyalty of his subjects again..."
Li Yuan broke out in a cold sweat: "In your opinion, is His Majesty plotting to kill me, or is he deliberately giving me a warning?"
"Uncle!" Wang Shangyi grabbed Li Yuan's elbow, repeatedly urging, "No matter how harsh the conditions His Majesty offers, as long as it doesn't endanger your life or fortune, you must agree to them without hesitation to plan for the future..."
Li Yuan nodded helplessly: "Of course, please inform them on my behalf."
In a corner of a side hall of the Taiji Palace, Yang Guang sat cross-legged, teasing the newly presented peacocks. Li Yuan bowed deeply but could not rise. A wisp of blue smoke wafted from the outer wall of a gold filigree sachet suspended in mid-air, and the emperor's face was faintly visible in the swirling smoke.
Li Yuan prostrated himself and echoed, "Your Majesty is absolutely right."
Yang Guang feigned surprise: "Shude is here!" He gathered up Xue Daoheng's poems and his complaints about himself, and approached him with sleepy eyes: "Quickly, quickly, no need for formalities. We brothers haven't seen each other for a long time, and you've become more distant from me. It really makes my heart ache."
Li Yuan said, “When Your Majesty went on a western tour, I was ill and could not accompany you, so I was unable to witness Your Majesty’s majesty. When Your Majesty went on an eastern expedition, I wished I could lead Your Majesty’s horse and hold your stirrups, and be the vanguard. It is a pity that I was responsible for supervising the grain supply and could not personally attend to Your Majesty’s journey. This is a regret I will carry for the rest of my life.”
Yang Guang rubbed his weary face and said, "Because of the Xuangan incident, I have no choice but to personally return to Xijing to investigate these rebellious ministers. Daxing is truly a place that reeks of decay... Taiji Palace, Daxingshan Temple, Xuandu Temple, Qujiang, Renshou Palace are all filled with this nauseating stench... Yes, Renshou Palace, Renshou Palace..."
He suddenly grabbed the sachet and shook it frantically. "No matter how much benzoin I burn, I can't get rid of this putrid stench!"
He roared, wildly agitated, shaking his trembling cousin, “Can you smell it? It’s stench, it’s rotten! Can you smell it? Guards, bring me all the spices from the Imperial Bedchamber’s storehouse and pile them up in the Taiji Palace! Light them! Light them all!”
The peacock beside him was so frightened by the sharp and eerie roar that it let out a long cry, flapped its wings, and jumped onto the screen.
Li Yuan prostrated himself at Yang Guang's feet, bowing his head and pleading, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Your Majesty must take care of your health. This feeling is probably due to Your Majesty's hard work for the country and the fatigue from riding horses..."
Sweat dripped from Li Yuan's forehead onto the scarlet carpet. He thought of He Ruobi, Yu Qingze, and Xue Daoheng, and wondered how to plead with the emperor to allow him to bid farewell to his wife and children in a dignified manner.
"When Your Majesty personally led the expedition against Goguryeo, I prayed for Your Majesty and the Sui Dynasty at every moment, thanking Heaven for bestowing upon the people a wise and virtuous ruler comparable to Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang... I have accompanied Your Majesty since my childhood, and even if I were to die ten thousand times, I would have no regrets!" The Duke of Tang spoke with utmost sincerity, wishing he could lay bare his heart to prove it.
Yang Guang bent down and patted his cousin on the back: "Is this really true?"
"Your Majesty, my loyalty is as clear as day!"
The two men stared at each other, locked in a long standoff. Yang Guang wore a smug expression. Li Yuan was convinced he had once again gotten away with it. The emperor's cousin's arrogance triumphed over his intuition, over the true and false prophecies. Time was once again on the side of the Duke of Lai Tang.
"Very well." The bloodthirsty desire subsided temporarily, but extravagant greed began to fester. "When I was in power, I always felt that I would decay day by day. Now I plan to take the route through Luoyang, and then tour the northern frontier to demonstrate my might. Afterwards, I will take action in Liaodong, letting those sharp-tongued troublemakers see who truly is the great ruler who 'unifies the four cardinal directions and reigns over the universe, comparable to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.' As for you, choose a day to go to Longyou to appease the powerful clans and share my burdens. In short, tell those powerful clans that the Xuangan incident is over, and as long as they are loyal and devoted from today onwards, the emperor will forgive and forget..."
"Your subject will certainly devote himself wholeheartedly to this task, even unto death!" Li Yuan was almost moved to tears, and he did his utmost to thank the emperor for his grace.
"However, I have a difficult and important matter here that requires Uncle De's assistance," Yang Guang began to probe again in a pretentious manner.
"If Your Majesty would give me a word, I would go even if it meant facing a million men!" Li Yuan responded to his cousin with the same affected manner.
"Don't think of my instructions as something so shocking! I am about to go to Luoyang. The court banquets and hunting trips are lively and interesting with young people... I have heard that Shude's second son is skilled in riding and archery and is also eloquent. I like him very much, so I want to take him with me and let him travel with me to Luoyang and the northern frontier. Firstly, it will show my favor to the Duke of Tang; secondly, it will facilitate our travel; and thirdly, I hope that he will broaden his horizons and become a pillar of the country in the future... What do you think?"
Li Yuan mentally reviewed the behavior of all his cronies and sycophants but found no clue. He muttered to himself, "Could this be the emperor's own idea? That couldn't be worse."
He felt that he and his son were in grave danger, and he frowned, bowing his head and saying, "But my son..." Thinking of his family and relatives in Guanzhong and Hedong, he finally hardened his heart and changed his words, "My son has always been unruly, and it is truly an honor that he has been promoted by Your Majesty! How dare I disobey Your Majesty's decree!"
"I'm just meeting with a close relative, what's with all this talk of happiness and misfortune? I remember seeing this child at my mother Empress Wenxian's place when he was little. By the way, what's your second son's name again?"
"Shimin".
"Which two words!"
Li Yuan inwardly admitted that the name carried a hint of ambition that was somewhat incongruous with his status, but it wasn't overly ostentatious. However, he still swallowed back his original intention of "saving the world and bringing peace to the people."
He now loathed folk songs like "The sun and moon shine on the dragon boat, the Huai River flows against the current, sweeping away the fallen willow catkins, the emperor Ji will be headless" even more than Yang Guang himself. Every time he heard his colleagues in court talking about the prophecy "Li will become emperor," he wished he could cover their mouths.
At this moment, he only wanted to ease the emperor's suspicions as much as possible, and used all his quick wit to cover up a lie: "It is a quote from the *Yanzi Chunqiu*: 'Ying was a commoner of Qi, but he did not observe his conduct, did not recognize his faults, and could not stand on his own.' Your Majesty may have heard your ministers laugh at me, saying that since the birth of my eldest son, I have had five daughters in a row, and have been waiting for a second son for a long time. Now that I have this child, there are new worries. My second son cannot inherit the title, and I really dote on him, so I have always fantasized that this child will become a prime minister like Yan Ying, the prime minister of Qi. This name is indeed somewhat laughable."
Yang Guang was amused by this seemingly honest analysis: "You not only look like an old woman, but your mind is also so fussy! Haha, but the love of parents for their children should not be ridiculed. Hmm, 'If you don't observe their actions, you won't recognize their faults, and you can't stand on your own.' I can't help but like this saying. Here's what we'll do: let this child be a storekeeper for now, prepare well, and accompany me to the Eastern Capital. It'll be good for him to keep the princes and grandsons company along the way... I'm also tired, so let Yun Dingxing, Yuwen Huaji, and Shude discuss the details further." With that, he waved for Li Yuan to leave.
Li Yuan, who was rushing along, almost bumped into the female official from the Imperial Bedchamber who was carrying various spices and sachets.
"Another member of the royal family has survived another day? Who escaped from the jaws of death this time?" the outspoken young lady muttered.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
