218 Chapter 218
◎After hunting.◎
In the end, everyone followed the prince and completed the entire hunting activity, but when they were counting the prey at the end, there was a hint of confusion in their eyes.
Did the prince hunt so many?
——This is a secret that cannot be explored.
In short, with the help of Tian Khan, Li Chengqian's hunting debut was a complete success and won a lot of praise. Afterwards, Tian Khan presented the deer he hunted to the emperor.
Since Li Yuan entered Chang'an, he had become accustomed to a life of luxury and rarely set foot on the hunting grounds. This time, seeing the prey sent by Li Shimin, it aroused his thoughts and he pulled Li Chengqian aside to talk about many things in his youth.
After the banquet crowd dispersed, Li Yuan was talking to Li Chengqian about the time when Li Shimin went hunting with his father and brother when he was young. At that time, Tian Khan was still a spirited young boy.
Li Chengqian was listening with such gusto that he didn't even notice the Khan himself coming over.
Li Shimin stood by and listened for a while. Until Li Yuan could no longer hold on and held the hand of a close minister to rest, he was still standing there in a daze.
Li Chengqian saw him and went over to whisper, "Grandfather just told me about the story of the chosen one. Father, have you heard about it?"
Li Shimin suddenly came to his senses and whispered, "Your grandfather never mentioned it, but I heard others mention it."
Li Chengqian was silent for a while. He really didn't know how to persuade him in this situation. In view of the disputes between him and his father and brothers, Li Chengqian himself had not yet gotten over it.
"Cheng Qian..." Li Shimin suddenly spoke.
Li Chengqian looked over, but Tian Khan stopped talking. He lowered his eyes and patted Li Chengqian's shoulder heavily.
Li Chengqian couldn't see his eyes, he could only see that his expression was very serious, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
Li Shimin held his eldest son's arm and said, "Go back."
After sending Tian Khan back to Lizheng Palace, Li Chengqian originally planned to greet his mother and return to the Eastern Palace, but he did not expect to encounter a young slave who was sleeping soundly. Changsun and several wet nurses were taking turns holding him and comforting him.
Li Shimin had drunk some wine and Li Chengqian reeked of alcohol, so when the two of them stood there, Zhinu cried even harder.
"This kid's nose is really useful." Seeing his youngest son, Li Shimin's mood improved a lot. He stood away and smiled, "Forget it, I'll go take a shower first."
Li Chengqian covered his nose and said, "I'm going back too. Don't blame Zhinu for crying. I can't stand the smell myself."
"You despise yourself..." Li Shimin shook his head and smiled, then warned, "It's getting late, don't walk back."
Li Chengqian bent down and pinched his legs, saying, "I can't walk anymore today, and I need to take a break starting tomorrow. I've been doing high-intensity exercise these past few days, and I've reached my limit."
Li Shimin smiled and nodded: "I'll let you rest until November. How about that?"
Li Chengqian rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "It's already November, so close to the Chinese New Year. Why not postpone the vacation until after the New Year?"
Li Shimin waved his hand and said with a smile, "No more bargaining! If you continue, I will choose a new teacher for you tomorrow."
Li Chengqian immediately shut up. The situation was stronger than him and he had to give in.
But even if he surrendered now, it would only delay things for a while. The prince could not always be without a teacher. Li Chengqian was still young and still needed a few good teachers to help him look good.
Li Shimin was very cautious in choosing a teacher for the crown prince. In addition to academic reputation, he also had to consider the crown prince's opinion. After all, with the example of Kong Yingda, the crown prince would not listen to the teacher if he did not like him.
After a month of discussion, Li Chengqian came up with a new idea. He said, "How about this? You assign them official positions, but don't give them any tasks. Just treat them as the prince having a teacher, isn't that fine?"
Li Shimin said helplessly, "What do you mean by 'act as'? Is there no one in the world who can be a teacher you like?"
Li Chengqian said, "Thanks to Kong Yingda, I have PTSD towards most of my teachers."
Li Shimin was confused and asked, "What do you mean by raising the price? Cheng Qian, what does this mean?"
"It's just that I don't want a teacher. I would rather study with you twelve hours a day. Teacher, forget it." Li Chengqian scratched his hair and said irritably.
Li Shimin thought about it and agreed: "Alright, you can follow me to listen to government affairs. Not only am I your teacher, but all the officials are your teachers."
"No... I just said it casually, can you take it seriously?" Li Chengqian was stunned.
Li Shimin smiled and said, "Otherwise you must have at least one teacher. There are some things that even Aye can't help. Cheng Qian, choose one of the two. Which one do you choose?"
Li Chengqian: "..."
…
After the court opened in the first month of the fifth year of Zhenguan, the court officials discovered that the prince had been following the sage for longer periods of time. Except during grand court meetings, the prince was always there as long as the sage was present.
The ministers of the Zhenguan Dynasty obviously did not know what practical lessons were. They only thought that after the previous defeat of the Turks, the sage had allowed the prince to get in touch with more state affairs.
Some people thought that the prince should study first and understand the teachings of the sages before participating in government affairs at his age. The sage showed them the daily summary written by the prince.
——This is the homework assigned by Li Shimin to Li Chengqian. He has to write one every day.
——It is troublesome and tiring, but it is very useful, so Li Chengqian wrote it very willingly.
After reading it, everyone no longer had any objections. The prince had many insightful views, and they certainly didn't seem like the views of a young man. However, there was one thing...
The saint had a beautiful handwriting. Even though the officials in the court were not masters of calligraphy, their handwriting was impeccable. But the prince's handwriting... was really terrible!
When Li Shimin heard the court officials' tactful advice that the prince should practice calligraphy, he immediately put on a mask of pain and could not express his pain.
At first, Li Shimin also thought that his eldest son's handwriting was indeed not good, and he also wanted to teach him to practice calligraphy. After all, Li Chengqian's status required good handwriting. However...
Among Li Chengqian's many manuscripts in Lizheng Hall, Li Shimin once accidentally discovered a piece of very beautiful calligraphy. With years of research on calligraphy, and through the brushstrokes, strength and habits of holding the pen, Li Shimin could be sure that this piece of paper was definitely written by Li Chengqian.
Therefore, Li Shimin finally understood why his eldest son sometimes burned the paper on which he had written. He was deliberately covering up his real handwriting!
However, Li Shimin still didn't understand why Li Chengqian did this.
But it is obviously unnecessary to let the prince practice calligraphy, because no matter how good he is in private, his calligraphy in public will always hurt people's eyes.
Seeing the sage's embarrassed expression, the court officials thought that he had some unspeakable secrets, so they gave up trying to persuade him. In short... it was fine as long as the prince could write. As long as he didn't give his calligraphy to others in the future, and didn't let his calligraphy be passed down to future generations, it wouldn't be a big problem if his handwriting was ugly!
Thinking about last autumn's grain production, the gradually popularizing cotton, the newly optimized steel pouring method, and so on, the court officials became very tolerant and generous when looking at the prince.
However, all this had little to do with Li Chengqian. Although he was with Tian Khan every day, he had no communication with the court officials.
Li Ying suspected that he wanted to emulate the Wanli and Jiajing emperors of the Ming Dynasty and become an emperor who would not attend court for more than ten years or even decades in the future.
Li Chengqian rolled his eyes and said, "That would require me to become the emperor first. Don't mention such nonsense."
"Then let's bring up something tangible and quite important. I heard the ministers petitioned your father to perform the Fengshan ceremony?" Li Ying asked curiously, "Did your father agree?"
"Obviously not. It's not the right time yet." Li Chengqian spoke in a relaxed tone, seeming quite unconcerned.
Li Ying touched his chin and said, "But when the 15th year of the Zhenguan reign came and preparations were made for the 16th year of the Fengshan ceremony, it couldn't be carried out, and then... there was nothing after that."
Li Chengqian said, "Apart from these two years, are there no other dates? Let's go when the time is right."
Li Ying asked in confusion, "Why aren't you anxious at all? Don't you also think that the Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai is an important milestone?"
"But this matter really cannot be rushed." Li Chengqian spread his hands.
Li Ying stopped talking. He looked Li Chengqian up and down and asked suspiciously, "Your Highness, are you three...something secret?"
Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "Has it reached the stage of internal strife now?"
"It looks like you feel guilty." Li Ying said affirmatively.
Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I'm sure they're hiding a secret from us two, and it's absolutely crucial. As for the three of us, they don't seem to have any intention of telling me."
Li Ying thought for a moment and exclaimed, "Your Highness, the three of you are having a private chat!"
Li Chengqian paused and said, "Your tone doesn't sound like we're having a private conversation, it sounds like we're having an affair."
Li Ying: “…”
Li Ying scratched the air and said speechlessly, "If you don't want to say it, then don't say it. Can you please not say such terrible things?"
Li Chengqian shrugged. "In short, if your mission is certain to be completed, regardless of how you do it, then you have nothing to worry about."
Li Ying didn't understand what he said at first and was stunned for a long time. It was not until Li Chengqian said that he was going to Lizheng Hall that Li Ying suddenly realized.
"Oh! You mean there's actually someone interfering... with you guys?"
Li Chengqian straightened his clothes in the mirror and said, "Since we were forced into this, hasn't someone been interfering?"
"Why don't you... go ask your leader?" Li Chengqian turned around and said with a smile.
Li Ying slumped her shoulders and said, "You think I haven't asked? I applied several times, but no one paid any attention to me."
Li Chengqian nodded and said, "That's enough to explain the problem."
Li Ying pondered for a moment, and just as Li Chengqian was about to push the door open and leave, he suddenly thought of something and said hurriedly, "Hey, I've got it. Your Highness, we can't hold the Fengshan ceremony in the sixteenth year of the Zhenguan reign. How about the seventeenth year?"
Li Chengqian stopped and gritted his teeth, saying, "In the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, Mars will be in the heart. This won't work!"
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