214 Chapter 214
◎ Losing sight of the essential and pursuing the trivial. ◎
Li Chengqian took some time to deal with the Khan, and he thought the matter was over. However, he did not expect that the next day Changsun also brought up the Qixi Festival.
"The Qixi Festival is the day when girls pray for cleverness and skill. I thought of summoning a few girls to the palace the day before yesterday and rewarding them with some scissors, needles and thread. Cheng Qian, you should come and take a look then." Changsun said with a smile as she sorted the silk threads in her hand.
Li Chengqian: "..."
"Mother, on the Chinese Valentine's Day, girl, is there something wrong with me?" Li Chengqian pointed at himself.
Changsun chuckled softly and said, "The Crown Prince's wedding involves many events, and preparations are already cumbersome. The selection of the Crown Princess requires even greater care. Even if we start looking now, we might not find someone we like in two or three years."
Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said, "Mother, who do you mean by 'favored'? Father? You? Or me?"
Chang Sun looked at him and smiled, "Of course it's you, Cheng Qian. No matter what, I can't go against your will."
Li Chengqian stood up and clapped his hands, saying, "That's easy. Mother, when I find someone I like, I'll let you know!"
Chang Sun nodded and smiled, "Okay."
Li Chengqian continued, "So I won't come on the Chinese Valentine's Day!" After saying that, he raised his leg and ran away, almost bumping into Li Shimin who had just returned.
"Aye, hello, I'm leaving!"
"Hey!" Li Shimin was baffled and reached out to stop them, but was a step too slow. He had no choice but to come in and ask, "Guanyin, what is Cheng Qian doing?"
Chang Sun shook her head and smiled, "He thinks we are annoying and doesn't want to talk about getting married. That's all. Sometimes he looks like an adult, but in reality he's still a child. Since he doesn't have the heart for it, let's wait another two years."
Li Shimin smiled and said, "Then wait, wait another two years. We are not in a hurry. I am afraid Cheng Qian will be anxious to come to us for help."
Changsun smiled and nodded in agreement. As for the fact that two years later, only the Emperor and Empress would be anxious while the Crown Prince was not, they would not think about it for the time being.
…
The summer solstice falls before the Chinese Valentine's Day, so Li Chengqian wants to hold a banquet in front of his mother. Fortunately, as the crown prince, he has many privileges. For example, he does not have to worry about all the matters related to the banquet himself. As long as he gives an order, the officials of the East Palace will take care of it.
But Li Chengqian still participated in one thing, which was the formulation of the menu. After all, in terms of eating, he was far superior to everyone in the Zhenguan Dynasty.
Li Shimin has tasted many new dishes from the Shangshi Bureau in recent years, all of which were the prince's ideas. This time, he saw that many new dishes had been added, so he asked the Shangshi Bureau to make them for him to try before the banquet even started.
After Li Chengqian learned about this, he said earnestly, "Father, you are already thirty years old. It's time to learn how to take care of your body."
Li Shimin laughed: "I am in good health now, how can I take care of myself?"
Li Chengqian said, "Your eating habits are very unhealthy. You need to control the amount of oil and sugar and eat more light foods."
Li Shimin refused: "I am not a horse, why should I eat grass?"
Li Chengqian said, "To avoid suffering in the future, you should eat more grass, otherwise you will get the same rheumatism as my grandfather."
"Really?" Li Shimin was unconvinced. "This... I'm healthy and strong, how could I get this disease?"
Li Chengqian thought for a moment, then gestured as he explained, "It might be related to genetics. Grandfather's disease is hereditary, meaning you're born with it. It's not noticeable when you're young, but if you don't pay attention, and your recent battles took a toll on your body, the disease will take advantage of that opportunity to creep in."
Li Shimin nodded and said, "Mr. Sun once said that the injuries I received in battle when I was young may not seem serious now, but I'm afraid they will come back to haunt me after I'm over forty."
"Mr. Sun is indeed a miracle doctor!" Li Chengqian praised. "So, listen to the miracle doctor and take care of your health from now on!"
Li Shimin sighed, looked at the young prince in front of him, thought about his pregnant wife in the harem, and the foreign enemies who were eyeing the Tang Dynasty covetously. How could he dare not take care of his health?
"I'll call the imperial physician tomorrow... No, I'll go summon the imperial physician right now!" Li Shimin clenched his fists.
Li Chengqian was a little confused. He was just taking care of his body, so why did it seem like he was going to the battlefield to kill the enemy? Could something have happened that he didn't know about?
Tian Khan's health and fitness plan was quickly finalized. At the same time, the first formal banquet in the Eastern Palace was also held.
As the host, Li Chengqian made very thoughtful arrangements, from tea to dishes to singing and dancing, nothing was bad, except that he was too quiet and never took the initiative to talk to anyone.
Everyone knew that the reason for this banquet was that the Sage wanted the Crown Prince to interact with the court officials, but the Crown Prince just sat there and didn't talk to anyone. Could that be considered interaction?
Fearing that the sage would be displeased, everyone could not help but think about it in their hearts, but when they looked at the crown prince who was on the throne, they saw that he was enjoying his meal very much.
Everyone: “…”
As the saying goes, one should not talk while eating. After the banquet was over, Changsun Wuji finally couldn't hold back and started talking: "I see that your Highness's cotton is growing very well. I believe you must have taken good care of it."
"I don't have much time to take care of it. Zhao Jiu and his men are in charge." Li Chengqian said, "If you want to ask for his experience, I'll call him over later."
Zhang Sun Wuji paused and said, "Your Highness...Okay, thank you."
Li Chengqian added, "But I have experience in growing garlic and making allicin. If you're interested in that, I can teach you."
What else could Changsun Wuji say? He could only say again, "Your Highness."
But he remained standing, so Li Chengqian could only ask again, "Anything else?"
Changsun Wuji opened his mouth, but he couldn't wrap his mind around the prince's illogical answers. He forgot all the words he wanted to use to praise the prince.
Du Ruhui stood up and bowed, saying, "I also have a question, and I would like to ask the Crown Prince to clarify it for me."
Li Chengqian nodded: "Please speak."
Du Ruhui said, "Your Highness is the one who printed it. I think that although it is convenient to print one copy per book, if one character is engraved incorrectly, the entire copy will be ruined. It is really very time-consuming. I would like to ask Your Highness if there is a cheaper way?"
Changsun Wuji took the opportunity to sit down.
"Yes," Li Chengqian said, "This is woodblock printing, and there is also movable type printing."
"Movable type?" Du Ruhui pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, "If you take the characters apart, wouldn't that make them alive?"
Li Chengqian gave him a thumbs up and said with a smile: "That's right, Right Prime Minister, you are very smart. Don't forget to tell the Saint about this."
Although no one knew what the thumbs-up sign meant, everyone saw the Crown Prince's expression. Du Ruhui smiled and said, "Your Highness is too kind. After all, Your Highness is extremely intelligent. I will report the truth to His Majesty."
After this start, people stood up one after another to ask Li Chengqian questions. Some were about the previous things, and some wanted to ask him about the classics, history, and literature. Li Chengqian answered the former, and for the latter, Li Chengqian asked them to look up questions in the books themselves.
"You are not my teacher, so you cannot test me; you are not my student, so I don't have to teach you."
The man wanted to argue, but was immediately interrupted: "Your Highness, I heard that Mr. Lu uses a blackboard and chalk in his classes. Could you tell me how they are made?"
Li Chengqian tilted his head, not quite understanding what this meant. He was now prepared to be the crown prince, so as long as others did not find fault with him, he would certainly not deliberately make trouble. But it seemed that they treated the Eastern Palace as a press conference today and asked him questions crazily.
Li Chengqian tapped his drinking glass—his own glass was filled with juice—and spoke in a rising voice, "Very well. I'll give you the blackboard and chalk tomorrow. Before you leave, please register your name and official title so it's easier to find someone. Goodbye, everyone. I have to go to Lizheng Hall to pay my respects to my mother."
Everyone was stunned, but the prince had already stood up and left the table, moving so fast that it seemed as if there were jackals, tigers and leopards chasing him.
Zhang Sun Wuji said, "The Crown Prince has always been straightforward and never beats around the bush. He also cares about the Queen, which shows his extreme benevolence and filial piety."
Fang Xuanling patted his shoulder sympathetically. The prince was outstanding, but it was really not easy to be the king's uncle.
Du Ruhui smiled and said, "We just have too many questions."
"Hey." As soon as this was mentioned, someone said, "I was wondering if the prince could make a telescope, or if he could make a close-up telescope!"
In short, the banquet in the Eastern Palace ended in a happy atmosphere. The court officials who left all had smiles on their faces. Li Shimin immediately breathed a sigh of relief. When he spoke privately with Zhangsun Wuji, he asked the court officials about their opinions. The result was very good, which made him even more satisfied.
The prince was still impolite in his words and still not perfect in terms of etiquette, but the court officials saw more of the prince's strengths. After this incident, everyone praised the prince and no longer mentioned his imperfections.
Li Shimin was very pleased, but Li Chengqian said, "They are really realistic."
"What do you mean?" Li Shimin asked in confusion.
Li Chengqian explained, "They realize the value of the Crown Prince and what he can bring to the Tang Dynasty. If they insist on picking on those minor faults, wouldn't that be missing the point? Father, your ministers are all intelligent people and would not do such a foolish thing."
Li Shimin was silent for a moment, then said, "I can't deny that they don't have such thoughts, but as you said, Cheng Qian, they do value the country and the people of the Tang Dynasty. For a ruler, this is something that should be joyful."
Li Chengqian thought for a moment and smiled, "That's true. I only focus on myself, so I'm inevitably stuck in a rut. I should also take a longer-term view."
So, the Heavenly Khan is the Heavenly Khan. Li Chengqian thought, I am really far behind.
"It's not easy to have a long-term vision..." Li Shimin said with a smile, "Aye, let me teach you."
"I've been planning the attack on the Turks recently. Cheng Qian, it's a good opportunity for you to come over and listen."
Li Chengqian scratched his chin and said, "Isn't this a bit...forcing the issue?"
Li Shimin shook his head and said affirmatively, "It's just the right time."
Li Chengqian nodded solemnly: "Okay."
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