188 Chapter 188
◎ Move the palace. ◎
Changsun rubbed her eldest son's head and said, "Your father is still your father, Chengqian. While the relationship between ruler and subject must be upheld, the bond between father and son must never be forgotten."
Li Chengqian was stunned. He had always thought that his mother hadn't noticed anything, but it turned out that she saw everything. She just pretended not to know because they didn't say anything.
"Mother..."
"Cheng Qian, it's not easy to sit on the throne." Chang Sun held his hand, "But there is still mother."
Li Chengqian felt a lump in his throat. When his mother was around, no matter how much the Khan favored Li Tai, at least he didn't feel threatened.
"What are you mother and daughter whispering about?" Li Shimin smiled and hugged his two daughters.
Changsun pinched her eldest son's wrist and said with a smile, "What are you two whispering about?"
After chatting for a while, Changsun ordered the wet nurses to take their little masters to rest.
Li Chengqian suffered from insomnia again after returning to his room. He did have the idea of living seriously, but the night could easily make people depressed, especially when he realized the fickleness of fate, Li Chengqian became even more discouraged.
This mood lasted until the next day. In order to make himself look more energetic, he washed his face with cold water and practiced smiling in front of the mirror for a while before going to see his mother.
Li Chengqian was not sure whether Changsun Shi could see his true feelings, but his mother did leave him alone.
Tian Khan was very diligent and went to handle government affairs early in the morning. The three children were arranged by their mother to go out and play first.
"Cheng Qian, your uncle's name is on the list of officials for the Eastern Palace that your father-in-law has compiled. You must cross him off when the time comes," Changsun said seriously. "You and your uncle are naturally close, but it's not advisable to get too close right now."
Li Chengqian nodded: "Mother, I understand what you mean. It is precisely because I am close to my uncle that I don't need to act so deliberately."
Zhang Sun smiled softly and said, "Mr. Lu's account of the past few days has been quite helpful. Cheng Qian, you are now the crown prince, and you have to think deeply about many things."
"Don't worry." Li Chengqian held her hand. "Mother, don't worry about me. I know everything."
"Okay, mother knows." Changsun smiled and said, "It's getting late. Don't keep Mr. Lu waiting. Go now."
Li Chengqian bowed and retreated. Only when he was out of sight did Changsun sigh softly.
She had just come down from Xuanwu Gate, and she had to worry about the next Xuanwu Gate.
…
This time, when Li Chengqian came to see Li Yuan, no one stopped him. Li Yuan even raised his hand and asked, "How do you want to piss me off this time?"
Li Chengqian paused and said hesitantly, "Aunt, when you say that, I seem very unfilial."
"You just found out?" Li Yuan asked in surprise. "But it's not bad at all. At least you have some self-awareness. You have more conscience than your father."
Li Chengqian took the fruit from the retired emperor without any hesitation - being able to eat fresh fruit in winter was something that only emperors knew how to enjoy.
While eating, Li Chengqian said, "Even if my father has no conscience, you only have this one son left to rely on. Uncle, you will have to rely on him in the future. Stop complaining and just make do."
The person accompanying the emperor today was Concubine Yuwen, who gave birth to two sons for Li Yuan, one ranked eleventh and the other nineteenth. When she heard the prince's words, she couldn't help but glance at him.
The retired emperor still has a group of young sons. It's impossible that he can't even rely on them.
Li Chengqian noticed this, but he didn't care. He didn't even know who was accompanying the emperor.
Since the first year of Wude, Li Yuan had given Li Shimin fifteen younger brothers, but this was not Li Yuan's limit. His youngest son had not yet been born. Later, Li Yuanying, who ranked twenty-second, was the Prince of Teng mentioned in the famous article "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng".
Li Yuan snorted coldly, "Why should I rely on him? Don't you have any idea?"
Li Chengqian affirmed: "Because you are biased."
"You are here to irritate me again." Li Yuan slammed the table and stood up. Except for Li Chengqian, everyone else was so scared that they knelt down and kowtowed.
Li Chengqian held his hands and said, "Aunt, calm down. You've scared everyone."
Li Yuan said, "You are kind-hearted. Who started it? I scared them. Isn't it because of you?"
Li Chengqian tutted his words twice. "Auntie, your logic is amazing. Are you trying to convince yourself that my father was unfaithful and unfilial, so all the wrong things you did in the past can be covered up. The only person who is wrong is your son."
"I am the emperor and father, what have I done wrong?" Li Yuan said with his head held high.
Li Chengqian laughed and said, "Emperor Yang of Sui was also a ruler and father. From ancient times to the present, there have been many rulers and fathers. Aren't there many bastards?"
Li Yuan: “…”
He is really old and has a bad memory. He forgot that this kid has no respect for the emperor and his father, and doesn't care about loyalty and filial piety.
After all, he was a man who had rebelled and served as emperor. Li Yuan quickly counterattacked: "How dare you say these words in front of the King of Qin?"
"I'm talking to you, do you think the King of Qin doesn't know?" Li Chengqian rolled his eyes. "Auntie, you're so old, you can't be so naive, right?"
"How about we talk about where you went wrong? I think that would be a good way to pass the time."
Li Yuan glared at him and said, "I don't want to talk anymore."
Li Chengqian said, "You keep calling me 'I' and 'Aunt' all the time. Honestly, that's a bit pretentious. Look, I'm the crown prince, but I don't keep calling you 'Gua Ren' or 'Gu' all the time. It's so awkward."
Li Yuan rubbed his forehead and said, "zh...I'm almost mad at you."
"Calm down." Li Chengqian moved forward, squeezing Yuwen Zhaoyi's seat. He smoothed Li Yuan's chest and said, "Ah, people should have the courage to admit their mistakes. If you weren't biased, my father wouldn't have come to this point."
Li Yuan glanced at him and said, "If I am not partial, I am afraid my position will be unstable."
Li Chengqian was shocked and said, "Wow, you spoke your mind!" Before Li Yuan could get angry, he continued, "But without the King of Qin, my father, your kingdom will not be stable."
The King of Qin conquered many countries and made outstanding contributions. In Li Yuan's eyes, his achievements were so great that they threatened the emperor, so he acquiesced and favored the Jiancheng faction and allowed Li Yuanji to slander the King of Qin's faction.
But think about it the other way around, if the King of Qin had not been so powerful that he threatened the emperor, how could he have had a stable kingdom?
Li Yuan certainly understood this principle, but he always believed that as a son, this was the responsibility of the King of Qin. If Li Yuan felt threatened by this, it was the King of Qin's fault.
But the King of Qin proved to him with practical actions that it was not his responsibility and that he would take what belonged to him with his own hands.
At that time, Li Yuan was only afraid and did not dare to vent his anger until Li Chengqian rushed in and said some harsh words. Only then did he lose his temper and lose his mind without any scruples for the first time.
Thinking of this, Li Yuan looked at Li Chengqian. In a sense, this kid did more than just do something to make him angry.
If Li Yuan got angry at other times, Li Shimin might not tolerate it, but since it was his son who started the rebellion, Li Shimin had to endure it even if he couldn't.
So what if he became the emperor? There were still people who could control him.
Erlang, Li Yuan thought, you don’t have only one legitimate son.
Emperor Wen of Sui once proudly declared that his five sons were born of the same mother and there would be no conflicts among the brothers. But what happened later?
With the throne in front of everyone, brothers and fathers and sons will eventually become enemies.
"Cheng Qian," Li Yuan suddenly asked, "Why did you come here? Just to piss me off?"
Li Chengqian said frankly, "I've come to discuss the matter of moving to another palace with Grandfather. It's almost New Year's Eve, Grandfather, you can't let the new emperor receive New Year's greetings in the Eastern Palace? It would be so inappropriate for the ministers to see it."
Li Yuan said, "What's so outrageous about this, Cheng Qian? Hasn't the absurdity of our family, the quarrels between father and son and brothers, been known to the world long ago?"
Li Chengqian said, "We talked about this last time, Uncle, everyone has to hide behind something."
Li Yuan laughed twice, stretched out his arm, and said, "Help me up."
Li Chengqian didn't understand what was going on, but he helped him up and walked around the hall a few times. Then he heard Li Yuan say, "Hongyi Palace is nice. I'll move there."
Li Chengqian was a little confused: "Aunt, you agree? But I still have a lot to say..."
"Then go on." Li Yuan said calmly, "I'm listening."
Li Chengqian: "..."
"I may not be able to speak today... Aung, do you want to see a doctor? I think something is wrong with you." Li Chengqian said as he observed.
Li Yuan said, "I want to make myself feel more comfortable and live a few more years."
"How many children do you want to have?" Li Chengqian asked subconsciously.
Li Yuan: “…”
Li Yuan's smile this time was somewhat helpless and somewhat sad: "I want to see... later."
Can the tragedy of the Tian family end in the next generation of the Li family?
Li Chengqian felt his emotions. Although he didn't know what he was thinking, he didn't say anything more. He just sat with Li Yuan for a while and then went back to the East Palace to tell Tian Khan the result.
Li Shimin had not yet received the report from his subordinates. He was still quite shocked that his eldest son could persuade the retired emperor. Even after getting the content of their conversation, this shock did not disappear.
Could it be that the emperor finally realized how much trouble his partiality had caused?
Li Shimin didn't believe it.
This doubt really made Li Shimin very uneasy, so when he was escorting the retired emperor to move to Hongyi Palace, Li Shimin asked about it.
At that time, they were the only two people in the hall. After listening, Li Yuan looked at the incense burner and said, "Your elder brother used to like this incense the most."
Li Shimin pursed his lips and said nothing.
"Erlang." Li Yuan said again.
Li Shimin looked at the retired emperor. This was a title he had not heard for a long time. Given his relationship with the retired emperor, this title was indeed not appropriate between them.
"You are my son after all, and your sons are my grandsons after all." Li Yuan looked at him. "Listen to what Aye says, Erlang. Teach your sons well. Don't... don't be like Aye. Don't make the same mistakes as Aye."
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