Chapter 4 Visiting the Sick
"Can it be finished today?" Li Chengqian asked.
"No problem!" said the craftsman.
"Okay, go ahead! If it's done, I'll reward you handsomely." Li Chengqian said.
"Thank you, Your Highness!" The two bowed and retreated.
Li Chengqian limped out, and Wang Quan immediately asked someone to prepare a walking stick. Li Chengqian had a leg disease and it was not convenient for him to walk long distances, so he used this as a means of walking.
"My dear, where are we going?" Wang Quan asked.
Li Chengqian looked at the East Palace in front of him and didn't know where to go for a moment.
Taiji Palace was the imperial palace built during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty. Taiji Palace was called Daxing Palace in the Sui Dynasty and the early Tang Dynasty. It was not until the first year of Jingyun of Emperor Ruizong of Tang Dynasty that it was renamed Taiji Palace.
The East Palace is located on the east side of the Taiji Palace. It is 832.3 meters wide and the same length as the wall of the Taiji Palace.
The East Palace is also called the Spring Palace and the Storage Palace. It was where the crown princes of the Sui and Tang dynasties lived.
The most important palace in the East Palace is the Xiande Hall, which was called the Jiade Hall in the Sui Dynasty and renamed the Xiande Hall in the early Tang Dynasty
. Later, when Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian
was the crown prince, he changed the name to Mingde Hall to avoid the name. Xiande Hall is the first main hall of the East Palace. It is where the crown prince receives ministers and holds major political activities.
Behind it are Chongjiao Hall, Lizheng Hall, Guangtian Hall, and Cheng'en Hall.
Like the Daegu, the East Palace is also divided into two parts according to the layout of the front court and the rear bedroom. Behind Guangtian Hall is where the crown prince and his family live.
Li Chengqian came outside the palace and sat on the prepared steps, thinking about where to go.
On both sides of Cheng'en Palace are Yichun Palace and Yiqiu Palace. Behind Yichun Palace is Yichun Beiyuan, a scenic garden for the prince to play and hunt.
In layman's terms, it is not suitable to go to the back garden for fun under the current circumstances, and he does not like hunting.
Where to go? Li Chengqian thought about the entire East Palace building, and Chongxian Pavilion emerged in his mind.
In the East Palace, Chongxian Pavilion is also a very important place.
It was built by Li Er in the 13th year of Zhenguan for the prince Li Chengqian to study. It is similar to Hongwen Pavilion under the Menxia Province. Later, it became a noble school in the Tang Dynasty and a large library in the Tang Dynasty.
Later, Gaozong's son Li Xian became the crown prince. In order to avoid criticism, the name of the academy was changed to Chongwenguan.
Now he has no mood to study.
Maybe he will meet Yu Zhining, Kong Yingda and Zhang Xuansu. These three people are not good people.
They stare at him, the crown prince, all day long. As long as there is a slight mistake, they will criticize Li Chengqian's mistakes with sharp words.
And one is more ruthless than the other. In fact, they are just using Li Chengqian, the crown prince, to brush their presence.
So that Li Er will know how hard they are assisting the crown prince.
For this reason, the crown prince's wet nurse, Lady Suian, once advised Kong Yingda that the crown prince was old and he should not always blame him in person, and should save some face.
Old Kong replied directly: "I have received great favors from the country, and I will not regret it even if I die!"
It is a happy thing to train the prince. If you train the prince well, you can also brush up your reputation. From then on, you will be famous and respected for all eternity.
If you can't train the prince well, it's because the prince is naughty and doesn't listen to teachings. What does it have to do with them ?
What's more, since Li Chengqian got a leg disease, his temperament has changed drastically, and the whole person has begun to learn bad things.
"Didn't you say that father is ill? Go visit him." Li Chengqian said.
Li Chengqian thought about it, and finally decided to visit Li Er, and show his filial piety by the way, so as to try to have a good impression in Li Er's heart.
Li Chengqian and his party turned to the palace.
"Your Highness!" The imperial guards outside the palace saw Li Chengqian appear and hurriedly saluted.
Li Chengqian, supported by Wang Quan, stepped down from the imperial guards and said to the imperial guards, "Is my father in the palace?"
"His Majesty is reviewing memorials in the palace." Qianniuwei said.
"I heard that my father was ill! I came to visit him specially." Li Chengqian said.
"Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will go and report it now!" Qianniuwei said, and turned to go inside to report to Li Er about the arrival of the prince.
A moment later, Qianniuwei came out from inside, and with him came Wang Yuan, Li Er's personal eunuch.
"Your Highness!" Wang Yuan saluted.
"Is my father willing to see me?" Li Chengqian asked.
"Everyone, please let your Highness in, your Highness, please!" Yuanbao stepped aside and extended his hand to invite Li Chengqian in.
Li Chengqian climbed the steps and walked inside.
"Is the emperor feeling better?" Li Chengqian asked.
"Everyone has taken the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician, and their complexion has improved a lot." Wang Yuan said.
"General Manager Wang! The medicine has been boiled. Should it be presented to His Majesty?" A young eunuch came to Wang Yuan to ask.
"Have you tried the temperature of the medicine? Is it hot?" Before Wang Yuan could even speak, Li Chengqian asked first.
If the Chinese medicine is too hot, it will burn your mouth. If it is too cold, it may lose some of its efficacy.
"This..." The young eunuch didn't know how to answer for a moment. After all, this is medicine, not something else. How can you just try it randomly?
Usually, after the medicine is boiled, it is directly handed to Wang Yuan, and then it is cooled down for a while before being sent to Li Er. The temperature is really hard to control.
"Bring the medicine over!" Li Chengqian said.
The young eunuch looked at Wang Yuan, not knowing what to do!
"Your Highness! What are you doing?" Wang Yuan asked.
"Of course I'm trying the soup, so that I can deliver the soup at the right temperature to my father in time." Li Chengqian said.
Tasting the soup yourself is a story in the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, which tells the story of Emperor Han Wen tasting the soup himself when his mother was sick.
Li Chengqian just took the opportunity to imitate, in order to show his filial piety to Li Er and change his image in Li Er's mind, which would be beneficial to his consolidation of the position of the crown prince.
Wang Yuan waved his hand and asked the young eunuch to bring the soup over.
Li Chengqian took a sip without hesitation, and frowned because it was bitter. Li Chengqian put the soup back on the tray.
He admired Emperor Han Wen. Such a bitter medicine could last for three years. This was something that ordinary people could not compare to.
"The temperature of this medicine is OK. Father can drink it, but it's a little bitter! Let someone prepare some preserved honey. After Father drinks the medicine, he can eat some preserved honey to get rid of the bitterness." Li Chengqian said.
"Your Highness! Let's go to the palace quickly! Don't let everyone wait anxiously." Wang Yuan said, and ordered people to prepare preserved honey.
Li Chengqian had a leg disease and was inconvenient to move. In order to take care of Li Chengqian, Wang Yuan walked into the hall slowly with him.
Wang Yuan first sent someone into the hall to deliver the medicine to Li Er, and told Li Er what had just happened.
They had to take off their shoes before entering the palace. After all, they were still sitting on the floor.
Li Chengqian and the other man came to the hall. Li Er had already finished drinking the medicine and had some preserved honey in his mouth, so that his mouth would not be so bitter.
"Your son has seen the emperor!" Li Chengqian bowed to Li Er.
"No need to bow!" Li Er said, "Give the prince a seat!"
Immediately, an eunuch brought a seat to Li Chengqian and placed it in front of him.
Li Chengqian sat cross-legged on the seat, and the considerate eunuch brought a voucher for the prince to use.
This is not the court, there are no such strict rules, no need to be so restrained, everyone is very casual.