Chapter 11 Farewell (1) I'll study these useless lessons later...
Tang State Mansion.
Li Shimin, while unfastening his sword and removing his barbarian clothes, ran like the wind through several gates. He shouted, "Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Fourth Brother! I've had such a wonderful day!" The faint, muffled sound of the evening drum echoed in the stagnant air.
Dressed in plain clothes, Changsun Renpei, like a kitten that had suddenly appeared, cried out "Uncle" and fell into his arms.
The girl held up a damselfly hairpin and showed it off to him, saying, "My grandmother gave it to me."
Fourth sister Li Longyue stepped forward and told her daughter, "Don't show off your jewelry to everyone."
"Fourth Sister is here too." Li Shimin teased his three-year-old niece, somewhat surprised.
"Xiaozheng's birthday celebration has passed, and his parents have allowed me to bring my daughter back to the Li family home for a short stay," Li Longyue sighed. "Sister Qiongxi wrote that she'll come to visit me in a few days..."
"Is Lingwu coming?" The girl caught the most important message in her mother's conversation with her uncle.
“Come here.” Li Longyue nodded with a smile.
Changsun Renpei happily slid from her uncle's arms to the ground and ran into the courtyard to look at the peacocks.
"Does she know?" Li Shimin pointed at Changsun Renpei, his words carrying a hidden meaning.
"Mother, Uncle, the peacock is displaying its plumage!" Changsun Renpei pointed at the peacock and announced to her elders.
Another girl who has lost her father. Li Shimin frowned. His nose felt a little sore.
Madam Dou's tone was not stern; it was purely a joke. She then turned to the direction of the peacock spreading its tail feathers and said, "Look at Renpei, isn't she getting more and more beautiful?"
“Of course, she looks more and more like her maternal grandmother as she grows up.” Li Shimin gave a mischievous smile.
Li Longyue beckoned her eldest grandson Renpei back to the house: "Mother, second brother, you two talk about important matters..." Her expression suddenly turned serious again, as if she had fallen from the relief of about to completely remove her mourning clothes into another kind of ominous premonition.
"His Majesty has finally given Father an important position? What a joyous occasion!" Li Shimin hurriedly changed his boots. "Mother, today..."
He felt that today was a double celebration: his father had been promoted and he had the good fortune to meet a beautiful woman! He and his mother had always been very close, and he was determined to brag about the girl who had commented on his poems and accompanied him to watch the solar halo, hoping to win his mother's favor.
Dou gestured for silence: "But your father's current position came with a price..." She paused slightly, hesitating on how to phrase it without too provoking her son, who had never left his parents' side since childhood: "As one of the conditions of loyalty, you must remain by His Majesty's side under the name of Kuzhi, accompanying him to the Eastern Capital. Shimin, you should understand His Majesty's intentions. Your father and I will also try to arrange for you to return home as soon as possible... Never mind, let's not talk about these uncertain matters for now... With your temperament, I wonder if you'll get along with high-ranking officials and nobles?"
In earlier years, upon hearing that the emperor intended to keep her son by his side, Lady Dou would have certainly urged him to flatter the emperor and secure a bright future for himself. Now, seeing the world engulfed in war, the emperor incompetent and foolish, and Li's name a prophecy, Lady Dou inevitably harbored ulterior motives and was unwilling to let her son serve Yang Guang as a hostage or a sycophant.
"So, in other words, my freedom as the son of a Duke of Tang who cannot inherit the title has been exchanged for Father's new appointment? Now Father has valiant soldiers, the power of discretion, and the opportunity to win over talented people?" Li Shimin asked his mother with a smile.
"Yes." Madam Dou didn't know why the child was so excited.
"Then just send me out to get a better official position! It's just that my father was so dedicated in Zhuojun, and His Majesty only gave me a warehouse post, not even a captain. That's too stingy," Li Shimin replied with a childlike complaint.
"You talk too much! Ku Zhi was just saying that offhand; there was no official appointment." Madam Dou lightly tapped her son's head with her fan. She thought to herself, "This is truly my beloved son; he always puts his family first. Do you know what you should do?"
Li Shimin pondered for a moment and said, "Yes, I understand." The death of Li Xuanba had deeply affected Dou Shi, and her illness frequently flared up. At this moment, acting like a child would probably be too much for her to bear.
Li Shimin then confidently promised his mother, "Mother, don't worry. It's just eating, drinking, having fun, and hunting with His Majesty. I'm good at all of those things."
Seeing that Lady Dou glared at him, he quickly added, "When I have the honor of meeting the Emperor, I will naturally express my gratitude to His Majesty every day for my father's loyalty to the country. If any villains slander him, I must fight to the death to defend my father and never act rashly."
Looking somewhat weary, Dou sat back down on the cushions: "I feel bad that you were the last to know about this. However, your elder brother, Bishamon, is timid and doesn't dare to stand up for what's right. I'm afraid he'll be bullied by treacherous people. When Xuanba was still healthy, he would have been very suitable to be a chess and poetry official, but unfortunately, he didn't live long. Sanhu is ugly, and even I dislike him. Sending him to His Majesty's side would probably cause trouble for your father. Zhiquan is young and also the son of a concubine, so he's not qualified. The royal family would think that Li Shi was deliberately disrespecting him. After thinking it over, since a treacherous person has informed the emperor that you are the beloved son of the Duke of Tang, and the emperor has specifically requested you to go to Luoyang, there's no reason for us to switch you out."
Li Shimin knelt beside Dou Shi and said, "It's alright, Mother. This is a sure-fire deal for Father. I'll be careful. Just make the preparations for me. Also, I've had my eye on a white falcon in the city for a long time, and I've begged Father for ages not to buy it. Please grant my request this time as compensation."
Li Shimin held his mother's cold hand and smiled, "It's nothing serious, I'll tell you another day. It's getting late, Mother, you should rest early and take care of your health. I'll ask Father and Brother what they want to say tonight."
Perhaps this was a prophecy of the seven-colored halo? The boy pondered cautiously, for fortune and misfortune are intertwined, and his parents' worries might just be his own destiny.
"Tomorrow, I'll first deliver the stones from Zhongnan Mountain to Xuanba's tomb, then go to Wang Wude to buy a white falcon, and then say goodbye to her." Thinking of Changsun Qingjing, his heart felt like it was being gently scratched by a cat's paw, which was very pleasant.
"There's plenty of time. My parents are currently very worried about me. My father just saved the whole family from a deadly disaster, and my mother has recently been suffering from a mental illness. If I rush to bring her up tonight, it would seem neither considerate of my parents nor respectful to her. I should wait until I return home safely before telling them about Qingjing. Ah, perhaps by the time I return home I will have already achieved military merit and been promoted to a sixth-rank captain. Then I can go to her in style and ask my parents for her help openly and honestly, without being presumptuous towards the beauty. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Thinking of this, he walked with a whirlwind, and the last trace of gloom in his heart dissipated.
The next morning, shortly after the bell rang, in the most prestigious falconry shop in the metropolis, the owner, Wang Wude, was inspecting rows of birdcages, oblivious to his surroundings. Li Shimin followed closely behind.
"Name your price," Li Shimin said, teasing the white falcon with a calm and confident air.
"Wait a moment, my lord!" Li Shimin clapped his hands, signaling his servants to bring the generous gifts. Two people veiled in black were led into the room. "I know Your Highness cherishes the 'General,' but my love for it is no less. I will never be as perfunctory as the Yuwen family. Today, I present this token of my sincerity."
Jia Sheng pulled down the black veil covering the "generous gift," revealing a Silla maid with skin as white as snow and a Kunlun slave with dark skin.
"What is this?" Wang Wude subconsciously swallowed.
Li Shimin sincerely said, "This is my sincere offer. You must have heard of the name 'Green-haired Rabbit', right?"
Wang Wude exclaimed, “How could I not know? That’s the ‘green-haired rabbit’ from Liren Market, a prominent figure who presented Silla maids and Kunlun slaves to the royal family. I’ve heard that rabbit has a strange habit: it only sells young boys and girls captured from Linyi and Silla to officials of the third rank and above for them to keep and show off. Those below the third rank are out of the question. If you can get the slaves from the ‘green-haired rabbit,’ you can be arrogant among your colleagues in the two capitals for several days. No wonder all the high-ranking officials are chasing after that short-tailed rabbit like crazy.”
Li Shimin laughed heartily: "I will not discuss these idle rumors with Wang Lang, but let's get down to business. I am truly enamored with your white falcon and am willing to exchange the two maids I obtained from 'Green-haired Rabbit' for 'General'. To be fair, this would not be an insult to 'General' or you. What do you think?"
Wang Wude was both surprised and excited. He was drunk as if he were intoxicated. He circled around the two maids, one in black and one in white, several times. After a moment of contemplation, he waved his hand with difficulty and said, "Let me think it over."
"You've thought this through. I do have urgent business to attend to and will be leaving the capital soon. My love for eagles and my offer are certainly not something you would feel wasted. Furthermore, since the Yuwen family has their eyes on your white falcon, and you've resolutely refused, you're bound to incur their wrath. If someone were to directly report to His Majesty that you possess treasures, you might end up losing both your money and your falcon. If you think highly of Shimin, then please stop making excuses. Wouldn't it be better for everyone to be happy?"
"Alright! It's settled then." Wang Wude gritted his teeth, picked up the white falcon, and said, "Take good care of it..." Both of them were as happy as foxes who had stolen a chicken, and smiled knowingly. But they were also extremely afraid that the other party would suddenly change his mind, so they hurriedly said goodbye.
On Zhuque Street, Li Shimin and his servant rode slowly forward, one on each horse.
Li Shimin instructed the domesticated bird trainer, "I'll only give you ten days to let the 'General' get used to the journey from the Eastern Capital Villa to the Zhongnan Villa. Logically, there shouldn't be any major problems, right?"
"Um?"
"My lady specifically instructed the young master to return to the manor as soon as he finished this matter and try on the fashionable banquet clothes of the palace; afterwards, he should not forget to read another volume of His Majesty's poems and essays, preferably memorize them, so that the eldest son can test him on them in the evening; Mr. Zhang Houyin said that other classics studies can be put aside for now, and he should learn Wu dialect with him recently; the Duke said that the emperor likes to write poetry, so the second son should also learn to write poetry recently, just enough to be able to compose in response, as long as he can't out-write the emperor, he won't be in danger of being killed because of this..."
"You're not allowed to laugh at my poems!"
"These are the Duke's exact words."
"Wait a minute," Li Shimin said, feeling dizzy from the noise, and tightened the reins. "Besides my foolish younger brother, is there anyone in the family more composed than me?"
"Isn't Mr. Zhang from Kunshan?"
Kunshan belonged to Wu County.
"You are truly knowledgeable and have a remarkable memory." Li Shimin turned his horse around. "I'll study these useless lessons later. I'll go to the Gao family's villa in Nanshan to relax first."
Jiasheng asked anxiously, "What will I say if my wife asks?"
A note from the author:
I'll keep updating! If you like it, please bookmark it and leave a comment!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
