"Your Majesty, the Queen is still waiting for you to go enjoy the lanterns together..."
The Zhengdian Hall and the Imperial Study Room.
Zhang Anan, the chief eunuch, had come to urge him for the third time. Li Shimin was still writing something at his desk, raising his head from time to time to relieve his sore neck.
"Ananda, is there still no result in that matter?"
Li Shimin asked abruptly, finally putting down the imperial pen in his hand and looking up at the sky. The moon had already risen.
"Your Majesty, I am incompetent. By the time I arrived at the scene, the man named 'Mouse' had already been out of breath for a long time. The only suspicious thing at the scene was the letter, but..."
"alright--"
Li Shimin interrupted Zhang Ananda's words. What happened more than a month ago, Zhang Ananda's retelling at that time was still the same today. Li Shimin did not want to hear it again.
There is a letter, but there is only an envelope, and there is nothing inside.
You'd say the envelope was poisonous, but after three consecutive changes, there wasn't even the slightest trace of anything suspicious.
"Your Majesty, if you want to get to the bottom of it, just ask the 'Hundred Cavalry' to arrest them. I believe I can always pry their mouths open. After all..."
Zhang Anan was informed, at least he could narrow down the scope of suspects to a few people, but when he saw Li Shimin's expressionless face, he was so frightened that he swallowed back his words.
"Ananda, you have been with me for more than ten years, right? You can think of it, but I can't think of it?"
"After all, they are just those traitors. Hey, it has only been a long time since the Xuanwu Sect happened. Didn't you expect that retribution would come to my sons so soon?"
Li Shimin was not angry, let alone angry. He knew very well that the Zhang Ananda in front of him was 100% loyal to him.
Zhang Ananda's boldness to say those words just proves that he has no selfish motives.
"Xuanwumen" was a taboo in the entire Zhenguan Dynasty. Li Shimin could say it, but Zhang Ananda did not dare to take up the issue.
"But who did the Pheasant Slave hinder? How could they be so cruel to a seven-year-old child?"
Li Shimin also experienced the struggle to win the rightful son. On the way to the dragon, he would die if he failed, and he would use all possible means. Didn't he escape a narrow escape back then?
"Your Majesty, I still feel that no matter who this matter is... I'm afraid it's the people under his command who have made the decision without permission. They may not want to get rid of His Highness King Jin, but they may be framed, or they may just want to make His Majesty and the Queen feel distressed...
"
Seeing Li Shimin looking a little lonely, Zhang Ananda organized his words and spoke softly.
The imperial study fell into silence again, but the moon in the sky disappeared into a black cloud, and the light in the room suddenly became much darker.
"Speaking of Pheasant Nu, he has changed quite a lot in the past six months, so much that I don't even dare to recognize him."
Thinking of his son Li Zhi, a smile appeared on Li Shimin's face for no reason.
The child's behavior has been getting better and better recently. As long as he stays in the palace, he will come to the "Lizheng Hall" every day to pay his respects to Li Shimin and the eldest grandson Wugao.
I don’t have any bad habits on weekdays, except that I always like to go to the Qin Mansion, but every time I come back, I almost always bring some weird gadgets.
Most of them are given to the two younger sisters, or to the eldest grandson Wugu. Of course, sometimes I also think about Li Shimin, his father.
Li Shimin was the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He was rich all over the world. He had never seen any good things, but he would be moved by the gadgets brought back by Li Zhi from time to time.
In addition to his own birthday, when will the other sons think of giving gifts to their emperor father?
In short, only with Li Zhi, he felt that he was a father, but with other sons, he was just an emperor.
"Your Majesty, when it comes to His Highness Prince Jin, I think he seems to be able to practice now. However, I find that he is still the 'Heavenly Leakage Body'. This is puzzling."
Zhang Anan also knew that Li Shimin took Li Zhi to the Qin Mansion to become a disciple, but was declined by Qin Qiong.
Although Zhang Anan's martial arts level is lower than Qin Qiong's, it does not mean that his vision is inferior.
Even if Zhang Anan has not practiced pure physical training, he can be sure that he is definitely not in Li Zhi's current state.
"Okay, let's end the Pheasant Slave matter here. I don't want to pursue it any further. No matter who among those boys did it, I hope they stop it."
"As for the Pheasant Slave's physical condition and spiritual practice, let's not get involved. We had Taoist Sun's advice in the past and Qin Shubao's support in the past. I believe in my son."
After struggling for half a year, no one could come to the bottom of the matter. Li Shimin was also a little tired of this matter.
As for his son Li Zhi, he didn't want to put more pressure on him. Whether it was studying essays or practicing martial arts, just let him go. Wouldn't it be nice to be an idle and free prince all his life?
…
"Jin... Ninth Young Master, look, there are so many people over there, there must be some beautiful lanterns, let's go there too?"
It’s almost the third watch, but the crowds of people watching the lanterns in Chang’an City are still unabated.
Li Zhi followed and looked at something strange. After looking at several places, he was no longer willing to crowd into crowded places.
In addition to Li Zhi and the two brothers from the Qin family, the group of six people also followed three sturdy men. They were three brothers from the same family. Like the Qin family, they also lived in Huaidefang.
Their father is now stationed at the border, and the head of the family, Yan, has a rare opportunity to go out at night, so she went to the Qin Mansion to find the two Qin brothers and went out together.
"Brother Chu Mo, why don't we go back? Although there is no curfew, we can't delay tomorrow's morning exercise."
Qin Huaiyu looked at the sky, and saw that the moon was in the middle of the sky. Following the flow of people, the group had completely reached Nancheng, and they were looking at Qujiang Pool ahead.
"Haha, Huaiyu, what are you worried about? You are only eleven years old. If something happens, of course your elder brother will be there to take care of it."
The man called "Brother Chu Mo" hadn't spoken yet, but a strong man standing next to him, who looked almost exactly like Brother Chu Mo, replied with a smile.
"Brother Chu Liang, are you going to risk your life to my brother's face like this? It's not like you don't know your Uncle Qin's temper. If he gets angry, neither of us will be able to escape."
Qin Huaidao said.
After all, as the eldest brother, you can't just watch your younger brother being bullied by these three gangsters, right?
Li Zhi said nothing, but looked at the three living treasures with a smile.
Yes, these three big, muscular men are none other than the three sons of Lu Guogong Cheng Yaojin, namely Cheng Chumo, Cheng Chuliang and Cheng Chubi.
Cheng Chumo and Cheng Chuliang were born to Cheng Yaojin's ex-wife Sun. One is seventeen years old, one year older than Qin Huaidao, and the other is fifteen years old, but one year younger than Qin Huaidao.
The third child, Cheng Chubi, was born to Cheng Yaojin’s current wife, Cui, and is just thirteen years old this year.
Logically speaking, these three boys were not born from the same mother, there should be some differences, but their appearance and temperament all followed Cheng Yaojin's. I have to admire the strong genes of the old Cheng family.
"Well, we're about to reach the Furong Garden. Since this garden was given to Fourth Brother, it's hard to go in even once. Let's just visit the Furong Garden and then go back."
Among the six people in this group, Li Zhi was the youngest and the shortest. By midnight, he had become the backbone of the six people.
The key is, even though the other five are all older than Li Zhi, when it comes to guessing lantern riddles, the five of them together are no match for Li Zhi.
Along the way, Li Zhi guessed many lantern riddles and won more than a dozen lanterns. Li Zhi’s favorite was the two lanterns with little and big roosters, which were beautifully made.
The eleventh year of Zhenguan was the year of Dingyou. Li Zhi planned to take these two lanterns back and give them to his two little sisters, Jinyang and Xincheng respectively.
Now that Li Zhi had spoken, everyone stopped arguing, but the Cheng brothers were secretly happy.
"Furong Garden" is such a big place, and it's not as simple as viewing lanterns or guessing riddles. At this time, there are also many people selling various snacks and drinks.
Many people who stayed out all night would gather their friends and occupy the pavilions and pavilions in Furong Garden early. If they couldn't find a place, they would simply sit on the ground.
The literati would recite poems and write poems there, drinking wine in the wind, and a bunch of rough guys could brag and make comments there.
When a group of six people were walking inside, suddenly, Cheng Chumo, who was walking at the front, stopped silently.
"Well... brothers, why don't we change the direction? There are many beautiful lanterns there."
Cheng Chu said silently, turned around and wanted to walk to the right.
"Brother Chu Mo, what's wrong with you? I think it's lively here. You can hear cheers from no matter how far away you are. There must be something fun."
Qin Huaiyu was a young man at heart. In previous years, he and his elder brother had gone out to go shopping for lanterns, but every time their father strictly ordered them to go back before midnight.
This time, he really got Li Zhi's favor. Qin Qiong only asked the two of them to follow the arrangements of His Highness King Jin, and he could go back whenever he wanted.
Everyone looked left and right, making judgments. It was indeed the direction Qin Huaiyu said, which was directly in front of where they were walking. There was a group of people surrounding them about a dozen steps away.
Cheng Chumo had no choice but to follow the crowd this way, but he no longer took the lead, but followed them dejectedly.
It turned out that there was a larger pavilion there. There were some seats in the pavilion and a stone table in the middle. Two elderly scribes were sitting in the middle.
Although he is said to be older, he is actually only forty or fifty years old. He seems to be a person who has been invited to judge and rule.
There is an open space in front of the pavilion, and there are two rows of long desks on the left and right. On the desks are several sets of the four treasures of the study that are of relatively good quality.
There are already written poems and essays on display next to it, and there are also some literati who are thinking hard.
There were many people around, both men and women, sitting in twos and threes, and many of them were commenting or simply watching the fun.
Looking to both sides, there are all kinds of lanterns on display, as well as fragrant food and wine.
It is said that anyone who can guess a lantern riddle will have enough food and wine in the venue, which will attract a large number of people who are eager to try.
Good times and beautiful scenery, talented people and beautiful women, delicious food and wine, and the ultimate happiness in the world, is it nothing more than this?
"Everyone, there are still some unwritten poems to submit. If not, a certain family will announce that Master Changsun's poem 'Ode to the Moon' will be tonight's winner -"
A loud voice shouted loudly, waving a piece of paper full of words in his hand.
"Brother Chu Mo, it turns out that you turned around after you recognized them? There are just a few of them, so you won't be so scared, right?"
As he got closer, Qin Huaidao also recognized the people in front of the pavilion. They were all the sons of princes in Chang'an City.
The one who was shouting loudly was none other than Chai Lingwu, the son of Chai Shao, the general of You Xiaowei, Duke Qiao. So the son Changsun he was talking about was naturally Changsun Chong, the son of Changsun Wuji, the current Zhongshu Ling.
.
Qin Huaidao also knew the people next to him, including Shangshu Zuopushe, Liang Guogong's son Fang Xuanling's son Fang Yiai, the late Shangshu Youpushe, Lai Guogong Du Ruhui's son Duhe, etc.
"Huh, who's afraid of them? I just know how to write a few acid poems. If you have the ability to compete with me, Old Cheng, on a horse -"
By the way, the reason why Cheng Chumo has so much resentment is that he once felt embarrassed in front of Changsun Chong. Every time he saw him, he had a headache and wanted to turn around and leave.
It can be said that the few people in the field are ignorant and incompetent, and they are somewhat useless, but they are still somewhat incompetent in martial arts. The only exception is Changsun Chong.
Changsun Chong is the eldest son of Changsun Wuji. He has received a good education since he was a child and was trained by Changsun Wuji as his successor. He is considered a leader among the younger generation in terms of both literary and martial arts.
She is seventeen years old this year, a high-spirited age, and as we all know, Li Shimin's favorite Princess Li Lizhi of Changle has already tacitly agreed to be Changsun Chong's wife.
In this era of the Tang Dynasty, the emphasis was on getting closer to each other, and no one would object to this marriage between cousins.
However, in the past two years, Li Lizhi's qi disease suddenly broke out. Empress Changsun wanted to keep her for two more years to recuperate her health, so the two have not consummated their marriage.
Today's Changsun Chong is still studying in Taixue. He is also one of the best talents in the entire Taixue. He is highly praised by many Taixue doctors. Even Kong Yingda, the most famous Wenzong of the current generation, once praised him in person.
Young and wealthy, well-groomed, well-equipped in both civil and military affairs, and from a prominent family background...
All these advantages are concentrated in one person. No matter where he goes, Changsun Chong is the center of attention.
"Third Miss, this eldest grandson is so talented——"
Inside the pavilion, a woman was invited to sit, and a handsome maid stood beside her.
It turns out that the master and servant who escaped secretly also wandered into "Furong Garden"?
Changsun Chong, who was on the side, heard this and was already happy in his heart, but on the surface he still had to pretend to be humble.
"Miss Yun'er, thank you very much. If I hadn't been lucky enough to meet the third lady here tonight, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to produce such a masterpiece."
Changsun Chongqianqian, the young master, was as gentle as jade. His modest words naturally won more praises from the people around him, but made the third lady sitting here blush.
She lives in the mountains all year round and has contact with only a handful of adult men, either her cold second brother or his strange-looking subordinates.
And those people in the world whom we see from a distance are either pious people or people who are driven by greed and seek for something.
Seeing Chang Sun Chong's unconcealed fiery gaze, how could the third young lady resist it?
A fair lady and a gentleman have nothing to do with immortality...