223 Chapter 223
◎Crown and sick.◎
Li Shimin wasn't entirely sure of the exact profits from Li Chengqian's shops, but based on the dividends he received each year, he could estimate them fairly accurately. He chuckled and said, "That's right. I'd forgotten that Chengqian is now a wealthy man, a small fortune."
Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and smiled, "That's not bad. If I save for another two years, I can still give Yuxiu another dowry."
Li Shimin laughed and said, "Fortunately, Zhinu is not a girl, otherwise there would be another one waiting for you."
Li Chengqian thought to himself, according to my previous life, I should have three more sisters, but this time Zhinu was born too late, I don’t know if those sisters can come again.
Compared with his sisters, Li Chengqian still hopes that his mother will be healthy and pain-free, so even if he does not have the next few sisters, he will not regret it.
While the dowry is still being prepared, the large ship for sailing has been successfully built and has undergone preliminary tests. After reporting to the emperor, it can be put on the voyage.
The specific matters concerning the voyage had already been discussed by the court, and the navy had been trained. Now that the ship was built, everything began to proceed in an orderly manner.
The first voyage was mainly for trial and had no main purpose. The only thing to remember was not to lose the dignity and reputation of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Shimin attached great importance to this matter and personally took Li Chengqian to the seaport. After seeing the big ship, Li Chengqian's eyes lit up.
When the fleet set off, Li Chengqian looked at the sea and murmured, "I want to go too..."
The wind was strong at the seaside, so Li Shimin didn't hear what he said, but he could tell what he meant by looking at his expression.
Li Shimin pulled Li Chengqian away from the beach. Seeing that Li Chengqian kept looking back, he asked, "Do you want to go out to sea too?"
Li Chengqian didn't answer but asked, "Don't you want to?"
Li Shimin's heart moved, but he still shook his head: "I can't go."
Li Chengqian smiled: "It's okay, Aye, you don't have to feel sorry. Wait until they come back. Next time we go out to sea, I'll go in your place."
Li Shimin couldn't help but laugh: "That's not necessary, Cheng Qian, because you can't go either."
The emperor cannot go, the prince cannot go, and the son of a wealthy family cannot sit in the hall.
Li Chengqian curled his lips, obviously very dissatisfied with this statement, but he did not intend to argue with Tian Khan. Instead, he asked someone to pick up some beautiful and strange shells for him while he could still stay at the beach.
When he returned to Jiucheng Palace, Li Chengqian distributed the specialties he brought back to his mother and sisters. Everyone got a share of shells, and Li Tai's children, as the youngest children in the royal family, naturally got some as well.
Li Tai knew that this was not a gesture of goodwill from the prince, because that was the prince's way of doing things. Except for the two or three people who were treated specially by him, he always treated everyone else equally.
Li Tai no longer cared about how the prince treated him. He devoted all his energy to studying in anticipation of the future.
It was already the end of August. Li Yuanheng and Li Xiao, who would have died early in their previous lives, were both safe and sound. Li Yuan still lived in Da'an Palace, and Li Yuanheng naturally did not come to Jiucheng Palace. Li Xiao, however, came to Jiucheng Palace with his mother, Concubine Xian. Li Chengqian had met him several times, and the child was very lively.
Li Tai's marriage was in September. Li Shimin only gave gifts and did not visit the Prince of Yue's Mansion in person. Li Chengqian did not want to express his hypocritical brotherly love, but just sent someone to deliver the congratulatory gifts as usual.
As for what Li Tai thought about this, Li Chengqian didn't care.
After getting married, Li Tai could no longer live in the palace, which also meant that when Li Shimin returned to Taiji Palace from Jiucheng Palace, Li Tai could only take his wife and children back to his Prince of Yue's Mansion.
Li Shimin was reluctant to let his children go. Fortunately, the sword of strife hanging over his head prevented the Khan from being too sentimental. In the face of Li Tai's coquettishness, he only said that the Prince of Yue's Mansion was not far from the palace, and asked Qingque to go to the palace often to greet his father and mother and talk to them.
After being unable to meet Aye's every request, Li Tai had no choice but to work harder to enrich himself. He is now very motivated.
Li Chengqian didn't care much about Li Tai, because whether he could succeed did not depend on his ability, but on the attitude of Tian Khan.
Li Tai was not the second King of Qin. In such a peaceful and prosperous era, no matter how capable he was, he could not become the second King of Qin. If Li Tai wanted to go further, he could only rely on the will of the Khan.
In this regard, Li Chengqian and Li Tai are the same, they only rely on the Heavenly Khan.
No matter how much Li Chengqian can do, as long as the Khan wants to favor Li Tai in the future, Li Chengqian will only fail.
…
After returning to Taiji Palace, Li Shimin began to prepare for the crowning of the crowned prince the following year. Li Chengqian made preparations in advance. After the divination in February, the Heavenly Khan would definitely postpone it to October, and he would accept it calmly.
However, surprisingly, the calculated date was in October.
Li Chengqian didn't quite understand, so he went to ask Tian Khan why it was October.
Li Shimin explained: "There are farm activities in spring and autumn, and summer is too hot, so I asked them to set it in October. It starts to get cold then, and when people wear thick clothes during the crowning ceremony, it is not cold."
Li Chengqian didn't speak for a long time.
Li Shimin asked in confusion: "Cheng Qian, do you think this is a bad day?"
Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Nothing, I'm fine."
It turns out that as long as Tian Khan wanted, there would be no postponement of the date. He could set a date that satisfied him from the beginning.
This is actually just a trivial matter and does not mean anything. However, for Li Chengqian, there is a comparison between two lives, so he can't help but think about it more.
It turns out that sometimes, the Khan of Heaven doesn't want to bother, or is it that Li Chengqian in his previous life was not worthy of the Khan of Heaven's concern?
Li Shimin obviously noticed that something was wrong with his eldest son. Cheng Qian hadn't shown such a hollow expression for a long time. He hurriedly said, "Cheng Qian, if you don't like this day, just change it..."
Although such a major event as the crowning of the crown prince cannot be changed at will, Cheng Qian should still be given priority, Li Shimin thought, and raised his hand to rub his eldest son's head, but as expected, he was avoided.
"It's really nothing." Li Chengqian emphasized, "I can get better on my own."
"This day." Without waiting for Li Shimin to speak, Li Chengqian said again.
Li Shimin's eyes were filled with hesitation, but seeing his eldest son's insistence, he could only nod. After a moment, he said softly, "Chengqian, if there's anything, just tell Aye..." He paused, then slightly changed his tone, "You can tell Aye anything. Just like what you said before, now, as long as you have anything on your mind, you can tell Aye."
That was in the ninth year of Wude, when Cheng Qian's temperament began to change drastically. He dared to say anything. Li Shimin was tortured a lot at that time, but now, he actually thinks that time was not bad. At least Cheng Qian was willing to show his true emotions.
Li Chengqian recalled the events of the past few years and found that he had made no progress at all. However, this was not surprising. After being a ghost for more than a thousand years, Li Chengqian had not changed. How could he be expected to change after just a few years as a human? The saying "it is easy to change the country, but it is difficult to change one's nature" really means this.
Li Chengqian smiled and said, "So you like people making you angry. No wonder you like Wei Zheng."
Li Shimin also laughed and said, "Wei Zheng can be really irritating sometimes. I even think I was crazy to promote him."
"That's a lie." Li Chengqian laughed. "The fact that you can employ Wei Zheng is clearly a testament to your wisdom."
"When I was so angry at Wei Zheng, it's understandable that I thought this way," Li Shimin said confidently. "Besides, no matter how angry I was, I didn't do anything to Wei Zheng... so I can still be considered wise, right?"
It was obvious that Tian Khan was still not used to boasting in front of his son. His hesitation seemed to make him feel guilty.
Li Chengqian touched his chin and said, "Later, some people said that you pushed down Wei Zheng's tombstone."
When Li Shimin heard this, he was immediately shocked: "Why did he say that? Why should I do this?"
Given Wei Zheng's character, what kind of heinous act could he have committed, and why would I still be so petty about it even after his death?
When a person dies, it is like a light going out. The past should be written off. Li Shimin did not think that he was such a petty person.
"How should I know?" Li Chengqian spread his hands. "You'd have to ask that person three hundred years later. Oh, right, this person's surname is Ouyang. He seems to be a descendant of Ouyang Xun."
"Three hundred years later? Ouyang..." Li Shimin pondered for a moment and sighed, "The Ouyang family will be in decline in the future."
They are relying on compiling such imaginary things to attract people's attention. Li Shimin shook his head. He still had confidence in himself. He believed that he would not do such a thing as knocking down someone's tombstone.
Li Chengqian laughed out loud when he heard this. It was such a pity that Ouyang Xiu had no chance to know what Emperor Taizong of Tang thought of him.
After this round of banter, Li Shimin and Li Chengqian both felt much happier.
It was already November, the old year was about to pass and the new year was about to come. Because there were sacrifices and palace banquets during the New Year, Li Chengqian was not very interested in them and just hoped that they would be over quickly.
But unexpectedly, just after the New Year and before the end of the first month of the year, Li Yuan fell seriously ill.
As a son, Li Shimin naturally had to show his filial piety. He took the empress and the crown prince to Da'an Palace to attend to the illness. Together with Li Yuan's concubines and children, Da'an Palace was quite crowded for a while.
Others may still have something to say, but Li Yuan, who was recuperating from illness, only felt a headache. With so many people surrounding him, he felt that his illness would never be cured.
Therefore, he first asked his concubines and children not to disturb him, and only left Li Yuanying by his side to keep him company. Then he asked Li Shimin to take the queen and the prince back to Lizheng Hall, as he did not need them here.
Although the retired emperor said this, Li Shimin could not really just leave. According to custom, he asked the retired emperor to allow him to continue to take care of him.
Li Shimin thought it was just a formality, but the emperor thought for a moment and said, "Let Cheng Qian stay and fulfill your filial duty."
Li Shimin: “…”
Your Majesty, why don’t you follow the procedure?
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