When Li Jue and Li Tai entered Taiji Palace, the palace was already filled with officials of all ranks along the central axis, waiting to pay their respects to His Majesty.
The two found their places in the crowd and stood in their positions. However, the etiquette officer next to them was too annoying, telling them to pay attention to their appearance one moment and not to whisper to each other the next.
Li Jue couldn't hold back any longer and grabbed a eunuch to ask.
How much longer are we going to stand here like idiots?
"Your Highness, it is said that one can only enter the palace to offer congratulations at Chen Shi (7-9 AM)..."
"Chen Shi (7-9 AM)?"
"What time is it now?"
"Just past Mao Shi (5-7 AM)?"
"Does that mean we have to wait another hour?!"
The young eunuch, overhearing this, dared not utter a word and quickly slipped away.
Li Jue couldn't stand still, and Li Tai couldn't stand still either. Before long, they secretly ran over to chat with Li Jue.
"Nephew, our spinning machine is almost ready, isn't it? It's already woven half a foot today..."
Li Jue curled his lip upon hearing this.
"Not nearly as good..."
"What's still missing?"
Li Jue sighed.
"Don't be fooled by the fact that we're almost there yet; the difficulty will only increase as we go on."
"Because it involves the precision of all the parts, all the parts, as well as the lathes and milling machines used to process them, need to be rebuilt."
"ah?"
"This is even more troublesome than making a complete set!"
Li Jue helplessly spread his hands upon hearing this.
"yes!"
That's why I said it's far from perfect!
Just as the two uncles and nephews were discussing heatedly, a discordant voice rang out from among the vassal kings. This voice belonged to none other than Li Yuanying, who was imprisoned by Li Jue in the Jingzhao Prefecture jail.
"Officiants, are those two holes in your noses for breathing?"
"What are your orders, Your Highness Prince Teng?"
"Didn't you see Li Jue and Li Tai whispering to each other?"
Upon hearing this, the master of ceremonies had no choice but to bite the bullet and bow to the two men.
"We ask for the cooperation of the two princes at His Majesty's birthday celebration!"
Seeing the official's attitude, Li Yuanying immediately objected.
"You old bastard, you're bullying us! You weren't like this when you were talking to us!"
"Brothers, what did this old man just say about us?"
"Twenty-second brother, this old man said that if we dare to break the rules, he will order the Imperial Guards to throw us out!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"That old man is a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong; he treats people differently depending on who they are!"
The official in charge of ceremonies blushed with embarrassment and could only reprimand him with a stern face.
"Your Highness Prince Wei, Your Highness Prince Qin, if you two dare to whisper to each other again, I will have no choice but to order the Imperial Guards to throw you both out!"
Upon hearing this, Li Tai immediately flew into a rage, thinking, "How dare you, a mere minor official, interfere with me?"
Before he could even react, Li Jue pushed and shoved him back to his original position.
"Fourth Uncle, don't put the officials in a difficult position. They have it tough too!"
"Hmph!"
"I've had it pretty tough!"
Although Li Tai was furious, he could only grunt in protest when Li Jue said so.
Li Jue returned to his position, whereupon the official nodded gratefully to him, thanking him for his help.
Li Jue smiled at the official in charge of rites, then stood there pretending to doze off, keeping his eyes down.
Since we have to wait an hour, we might as well take this opportunity to catch up on some sleep.
In fact, standing in the wrong posture is also not acceptable, but the official in charge of etiquette had just received a favor from Li Jue, so he was not only embarrassed to interfere, but also had to use his own body to cover him so that others would not see that this grandson was sleeping.
Although Li Jue wanted to take a short nap, Li Yuanying's mouth wouldn't stop, disturbing him so much that he couldn't sleep at all.
"Sixth Brother, what birthday gift did you send?"
"Me..."
Li Yuanjing hesitated slightly before speaking in a low voice.
"Sixth Brother is poor; he only managed to have a pair of longevity peaches made!"
"White flour steamed buns!"
Upon hearing this, Li Yuanjing immediately felt embarrassed and annoyed.
"What white flour steamed bun? That's called a longevity peach!"
"Twenty-second brother, what did you bring?"
"Me? I gave away several things, including a glass tiger and a talking parrot, hehehe!"
Li Yuanjing nodded secretly upon hearing this. He knew that his second brother liked to keep birds, so giving him this parrot was the right thing to do.
"May I ask, Twenty-Second Brother, what can your parrot say?"
"They can say a lot, like 'Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! May the Emperor live ten thousand years!'"
"oh?"
"You must have put a lot of thought into it, right?"
"certainly!"
"I lectured them the whole way here!"
Just as Li Yuanying was feeling smug, he suddenly noticed that someone was missing from the crowd...
Where is Li Jue?
"Official in charge of rites, I really have to say something to you. How could you let Li Jue leave the group!"
The official in charge of ceremonies replied irritably.
"The eldest grandson has a stomachache and has gone to relieve himself!"
"He was relieving himself?"
"I want to go too!"
The official in charge of ceremonies waved his hand impatiently upon hearing this.
"Go, go, go now!"
"Anyone else who wants to go, come along!"
The crowd had been standing there impatiently, and upon hearing this, they quickly ran away.
However, when Li Yuanying arrived at the outhouse, he searched inside and out but couldn't find Li Jue anywhere.
Where is Li Jue?
In fact, Li Jue didn't go to the outhouse at all. Instead, he slipped away through the right Yanming Gate on the west side of the Taiji Hall and went straight to the Drum Tower.
Because he had just inquired and learned that the gifts presented by the officials and princes would be stored in the Drum Tower first, and would only be carried to the main hall after the audience with His Majesty.
As soon as Li Jue entered the Drum Tower, he saw stones scattered all over the ground, as well as various glass ornaments.
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