166 Chapter 166
In June of the ninth year of Wude, Emperor Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty issued an edict to appoint Prince of Qin Li Shimin as the crown prince.
Despite the fact that he had already made up his mind, and even every word of the imperial edict was read by Li Shimin before Li Yuan issued it, Li Shimin still breathed a sigh of relief after holding the imperial edict in his hands.
All the officials in the Qin Palace came over to congratulate His Highness the Prince of Qin. Laughter filled the entire courtyard. The Princess Changsun waved to the children, wanting them to follow her to the backyard.
Everyone moved, except Li Chengqian, who seemed to be rooted to the ground. Changsun Shi had no choice but to go over and pat her eldest son's shoulder, then lean over and whisper in his ear, "Chengqian, what's wrong?"
Li Chengqian came back to his senses and looked at his mother. He hadn't seen his mother for more than a thousand years, but he had never forgotten her appearance.
"Mother..." Li Chengqian hurriedly supported her arm, "Don't bend over, or your back will hurt again."
From the second year of Wude to the fourth year of Wude, my mother gave birth to me, Li Tai and Li Zhi in succession, which caused great damage to her body. One of the problems was back pain.
Chang Sun smiled and said, "Cheng Qian has grown up. What were you daydreaming about just now?"
He simply thought this scene was incredibly amusing, but of course he couldn't tell his mother about it. So, Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Mother, I'm curious about what an imperial edict looks like."
"What's so curious about this?" Seeing them standing there motionless, Li Tai came over and said, "Brother, we have a lot of imperial edicts in our mansion."
Li Tai has never been thin since he was a child. Now he looks like a fat baby, but he is actually quite likable. It is much better than when he grows up and becomes so fat that he can't even walk.
Oh, I forgot, no matter how fat or old Li Tai is, in the eyes of Tian Khan, his Qingque is still cute and adorable.
Thinking of this, Li Chengqian retched. It was so disgusting.
"Brother, what's wrong with you?" Li Lizhi also came over and asked hurriedly, "Did you have a stomachache?"
Changsun also asked with concern: "Chengqian, what do you feel is wrong? What did you eat today?"
Li Chengqian smiled and said, "No, mother, I'm fine. Let's go back. You must be tired too. Go and rest."
Li Tai saw that they were all concerned about his eldest brother. As a child, he instinctively wanted to compete for his mother's attention. Hearing this, he also said, "Yes, mother, you were sick just last month. Qingque was so distressed when he saw you!"
Li Chengqian tilted his head. It turned out that the fight between brothers... had already started so early?
Now the little boy just wants his mother to look at him more, praise him more, and care about him more. As he grows up, he will want more and more, and it just so happens that his father does show extraordinary love for him.
"Qingque is a good child." Changsun touched Li Tai's head, took Li Chengqian's hand, and said to Li Lizhi with a smile, "Lizhi, go hold your sister's hand."
Princess Yuzhang Li Yuxiu was the sixth daughter of Li Shimin. Because her mother died early, she was raised by Changsun since childhood. Because Changsun treated her like her own daughter, Li Shimin also favored this daughter.
Li Lizhi then took her little sister's hand, and together with Li Shimin's other children, they all returned to the backyard.
As for the people headed by King Qin, only a few days had passed since the Xuanwu Gate Incident, and they still had a lot to do.
Back in the backyard, Changsun ordered the wet nurses to take the children back to their rooms and not let them run around.
In recent days, the children have become accustomed to hearing such words and followed their wet nurse away without making any noise.
After the crown prince was enthroned, everyone in the Qin Palace had to move to the East Palace. As the princess consort, Changsun Shi did not have to do it herself, but there were still many things she needed to worry about.
Li Chengqian was not a child, so he naturally knew all of this, so he quietly turned back to help his mother.
Chang Sun smiled and said, "Mother knows Cheng Qian has grown up and become sensible, but you can't help with these matters, so go back."
Li Chengqian said seriously, "Mother, you don't know what I can do yet. Just watch me do it. If it doesn't work, you can let me go back, okay?"
Chang Sun frowned, looked at her eldest son carefully, and said, "Cheng Qian, what's wrong with you?"
Li Chengqian knew that his change was too sudden and strange, but he had no way to explain it, nor could he disguise it for long. He could only pretend nothing had happened and wait for his mother to get used to it so that she would not be surprised.
"Mother, I'm fine." Li Chengqian stood on tiptoe and looked behind his mother. "Mother, what are you busy with? Can you tell me?"
Changsun nodded slowly, thinking of keeping her eldest son to observe him, so as to find out why he suddenly changed.
Because he is the eldest son, Li Chengqian is indeed not as fond of acting like a spoiled child as Li Tai, but he is just a child who has always been spoiled. Today he is too considerate and sensible, and Changsun Shi can't help but be shocked.
After helping his mother, Li Chengqian returned to his room. Li Ying was pretending to be busy, and when she saw him come back, she winked at him repeatedly.
Li Chengqian found a comfortable position to sit down, then asked the wet nurse and servants to leave, and then slowly asked, "What do you want to do?"
Li Ying choked before he could say a word. He took a deep breath and said, "You... don't you have anything you want to ask? For example, why did you come here suddenly? Prince Wei was curious at the time..."
"Then do you know why?" Li Chengqian asked, looking at the roof.
Li Ying opened her mouth: "...I don't know."
Li Chengqian spread his hands and said, "If you don't know, just let it go. You'll find out sooner or later."
"Give up...give up?" Li Ying was horrified. "You can't give up!"
Li Chengqian was not a normal person. After being reminded by Fusu and Liu Ju, he had already prepared himself mentally. Moreover, in the group chat, Li Chengqian's ambivalence about returning to the Tang Dynasty was very obvious. Sometimes he didn't want to go back, sometimes he wanted to go back and do something big, and sometimes he didn't want to go back again... No one knew what was going on in his mind.
Li Ying almost went up to shake his shoulders: "You must have a lot of regrets? Try to make amends! Don't you have anything you want to do? Think about the Four Great Inventions..."
Li Chengqian said expressionlessly, "The Tang Dynasty already has a Khan, so there's no need for me to add unnecessary details."
Li Ying scratched the air. "Although the Heavenly Khan is unprecedented and unrivaled, the Tang Dynasty still has some shortcomings. We can do something to add icing on the cake!"
"I don't want to add any more." Li Chengqian said decisively.
If you don’t want to, then don’t. What about my internship? Li Ying almost collapsed, but fortunately, at the critical moment, he had a flash of inspiration and thought of something.
"The Weishui Alliance, it's almost here! This isn't just icing on the cake; it's a timely help!" Li Ying said hurriedly, "Let's work hard, flap our butterfly wings, change the course of history, learn from Fusu and Liu Ju, and start a new life as soon as possible!"
Li Chengqian said leisurely, "Why rush? In the fourth year of Zhenguan, Jie Li Khan will be captured and brought to Chang'an to dance."
Li Ying: “…”
Tian Khan, you are so powerful that you have caused great obstacles to my work!
Li Ying struggled and said, "Although, your father and your Tang are still very embarrassed at this moment!"
Li Chengqian twirled his teacup and said slowly, "My father's reputation will be restored on its own. I don't need to meddle in his affairs. The Tang Dynasty belongs to Li Zhi and his descendants. What does it have to do with me?"
Li Ying tried again, "But we are all Han Chinese. We have to give face to the Han Chinese."
Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and said, "I suspect you are inciting ethnic confrontation and discriminating against ethnic minorities."
Li Ying collapsed and said, "Hey, stop accusing me... Oh, I forgot, you love the Turks. No wonder you are unwilling to think of a way to deal with the Turks in advance."
Li Chengqian rolled his eyes: "Provocation doesn't work on me."
Li Ying was at his wit's end. He squatted down, covered his face and said, "It's over. My third part is gone."
Li Chengqian kindly comforted him: "Failure is the norm in life."
"You are very experienced." Li Ying said speechlessly.
Li Chengqian shrugged and said, "If, 350 out of 365 days a year, someone were picking on your faults and telling you how much of a failure your life was, you wouldn't be able to be inexperienced."
Li Ying put his hand down, then raised it again and scratched his head, then said awkwardly, "Well, I..."
"If you want to offer words of comfort, there's no need," Li Chengqian said nonchalantly. "In their eyes, I'm unfit to be the crown prince of the Heavenly Khan anyway."
Cheng Qian was so foolish that even the Holy Father could not change him. This is how history books evaluate him.
In everyone's eyes, the biggest stain in the life of the perfect Tang Dynasty Khan, Emperor Taizong Wen, was that he had an incompetent and unfilial son, Li Chengqian.
Li Ying pondered these words and said, "If you give up, they'll still pick on you three hundred and fifty days a year, just like in your previous life, right?"
Li Chengqian sneered, "They'll always find fault with everything."
Li Ying clenched his fist, the direction was right!
"Oh, so you owe them. They have been picking on you for more than ten years in your previous life, and now they are picking on you again in this life." Li Ying tried to make her tone sound nonchalant.
Li Chengqian frowned: "What you said..."
"Can you stop being the crown prince? Can you stop them from picking on you?" Li Ying asked twice in a row.
Li Chengqian: "..."
He can't!
If he doesn't become the crown prince, he will have to confront the Khan. He is not afraid of this because he has experience of failure. But his mother is still alive and he doesn't want to make her sad, so he cannot confront the Khan openly.
As for those ministers who claimed to be giving advice but were actually looking for trouble, the Heavenly Khan encouraged them to do so.
Li Chengqian scratched his hair, but even if he scratched his hair into a mess, he still couldn't do anything.
He has to be the prince, and he can't control those who are looking for trouble.
Then, what happened next was very clear. He did not change his ways despite repeated warnings, which disappointed the Heavenly Khan and those ministers who advised him. Li Tai still enjoyed the favor of the Heavenly Khan. Then his rebellion failed, Li Tai was demoted, and Li Zhi was made the crown prince. The Heavenly Khan had learned from the last lesson and would carefully teach the new crown prince, but Li Tai would be promoted again by the Heavenly Khan who was reluctant to part with his beloved son.
Tian Khan had a beloved son and a qualified crown prince, Li Tai was favored and honored after his death, and those so-called ministers of remonstration also gained a good reputation.
Everyone has a bright future.
What a perfect ending.
Li Chengqian sneered, but he was not a good man. He was the incompetent prince of Tian Khan. He couldn't stand such a perfect ending and wanted to make them unhappy.
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