Solar eclipses have always been considered a bad omen, and they are also regarded as a failure of the court. No matter which one it is, it is not a small matter.
Since Li Shimin ascended the throne, there has been a solar eclipse or a comet almost every two or three years. The frequency is too frequent.
In March this year, a comet appeared again near the Pleiades, and it was regarded as a disaster.
But which year didn't the Tang Dynasty go to war? In addition, the comet appeared at night and not many people saw it, so it didn't cause much commotion.
A solar eclipse doesn't work, it's too conspicuous and has too much influence.
Many groups whose interests were harmed during the reform, such as the gentry, began to take action.
The officials prepared memorials one after another to persuade the emperor to work diligently and love the people, but it was all the same old thing.
Now that the Tang Dynasty was prospering, few people dared to accuse the emperor of being unethical.
Of course, the main reason why we dare not accuse the emperor is that the emperor is too strong and has all the power and authority. No one dares to offend him easily.
Another reason is that some time ago, everyone encouraged him to pursue the Ancient Holy Emperor. Now if they say that he is immoral, it would be a slap in the face.
The best way is to be gentle and say a few words about being diligent and caring for the people.
It seems like an accusation, but upon closer inspection, the intensity is not as serious as tickling.
The generals of the guards were more pragmatic and did not need the emperor's orders at all. They had already rushed back to the military camp to take charge.
The important ministers also put down their work and waited for the emperor's possible summons.
Soon the prime ministers headed by Fang Xuanling gathered in the palace. Everyone's expressions were very solemn, but no one was willing to speak.
A solar eclipse is a big event. Before there is an official interpretation from Taishi Ling, it is best to speak cautiously. If you say the wrong thing, your life may be over.
So everyone sat quietly in the hall waiting for Li Chunfeng's arrival.
Li Chunfeng didn't arrive for a long time, but everyone was not in a hurry.
For such a big matter, the Taishi Bureau will definitely make calculations, and calculations take time, and no one is in a hurry.
However, they did not wait foolishly. Instead, they each considered in their minds the angle from which they would explain this incident and smooth things over for the emperor.
Fang Xuanling had already made plans to apologize.
The failure of the court to be immoral can be the fault of the emperor, or it can be the inaction of the prime minister. As the head of a hundred officials, he is qualified to take the blame for the emperor.
But you can't just shoulder the blame. It also depends on what the Taishi Bureau says and what the emperor himself means.
A full two-quarters of an hour passed before Li Chunfeng arrived belatedly. Everyone immediately cheered up and finally got to the point.
Ren Feng had already led the waiters outside the door very wisely. Even though he was the eunuch beside the emperor, he was not qualified to participate in many meetings.
After everyone had left, Li Shimin asked: "Li Qing, do you have any explanation for this solar eclipse?"
Li Chunfeng looked serious and replied: "Sage, after calculation by the Taishi Bureau, this time it should be..."
"Crash." The sound of the door being pushed open sounded, interrupting his subsequent words. Ren Feng, who had just gone out, rolled in and crawled in.
Li Shimin's face turned cold instantly, and he was about to reprimand, but Ren Feng shouted in panic:
"The saint is in bad condition. News came from the East Palace that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was attacked and seriously injured."
After hearing the news, everyone subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. The solar eclipse was explained.
Then everyone's eyes widened with shock.
The prince was attacked? He was seriously injured? This is a disaster more serious than any disaster.
Everyone seems to have seen the scene of countless heads falling to the ground.
The problem is, dead people are nothing. If the crown prince has some shortcomings, the consequences...are unimaginable.
In particular, Li Chengqian's status is even more special. If something happens to him, no one can afford it.
They would rather Li Chengqian be well, and then find something else to take the blame for, even if they themselves take the blame.
At least taking the blame for the emperor is an invisible political achievement, and it won't take long for him to come back. Even if he can't come back, the emperor will give him enough compensation.
But everything in the prince's hands became uncontrollable.
Li Shimin squeezed his hands and made a squeaking sound. His expression was terrifying, as if he wanted to eat someone. He asked word by word: "What did you say?"
Ren Fengzhan said tremblingly: "Your Highness went to Lonely Garden in the south of the city and encountered some gangsters who robbed the orphan girl in the garden... His foot was accidentally injured and he has now been sent back to the East Palace."
When they heard that it was just a foot injury, Li Shimin, Fang Xuanling and others breathed a sigh of relief, as long as it was not a fatal injury.
But no matter what, the attack on the prince is a huge matter and cannot be tolerated.
"Take those two gangsters to the Dali Temple Prison and have a good interrogation to find out who is behind them."
"Here."
"All the guards responsible for protecting the prince today have also been arrested."
"Here."
After the arrangements were made, Li Shimin turned his attention to Li Chunfeng and asked: "What did you want to say just now? How does the Taishi Bureau explain the solar eclipse?"
Li Chunfeng said solemnly: "This solar eclipse does not occur in isolation. It should be connected with the star in March, which is a bad omen."
"I looked at the sky last night and found that there was an evil spirit heading straight towards the Prince's star... This omen is exactly what happened to the Prince."
Then he said guiltily: "It's a pity that I only realized this when I saw the solar eclipse, and it was too late to warn the prince."
"I was not good at learning and art, which led to the death of the prince. I ask the sage to punish me."
Naturally, Li Shimin would not blame him. Instead, he comforted him and said, "This is God's will and cannot be done by human beings. I can't blame you."
Li Chunfeng said gratefully: "Thank you saint for not committing sin."
Li Shimin nodded slightly and said: "Let this be announced to the world, as soon as possible, so as not to worry the people."
Li Chunfeng said quickly: "Here."
To be honest, he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. Celestial phenomena are not so easy to explain, especially a solar eclipse. If something goes wrong, his head will be lost.
As soon as the solar eclipse occurred, he summoned people from the Taishi Bureau to discuss it, and finally came up with a solution with the least impact.
I almost said it just now, but fortunately I was interrupted by Ren Feng, otherwise there would be no way to end it.
The celestial phenomenon warns the prince of an attack.
This interpretation had the least impact on the court. On the other hand, there was no negative impact at all, it was all positive.
Because the celestial warning further proves that the prince is destined by destiny. For a country, is there any better news than this?
So, is there any more perfect explanation than this?
If so, then let this explanation disappear.
After solving the celestial problem, Li Shimin took his ministers to the East Palace to check on the prince's condition.
After getting over the initial shock, they felt quite relaxed at this time, and they were even a little happy deep in their hearts. Some of them would even laugh out loud if it weren't for the inappropriate timing.
Why?
The solar eclipse, which represented a bad omen, was solved so easily.
A solar eclipse occurs when the prince is attacked. What does this mean? The prince is the master of destiny, and his position will become unshakable.
Even if Li Shimin wanted to depose the prince, it would be difficult.
The position of the prince is as stable as Mount Tai, which means that the imperial power can be transferred smoothly, and they, the ministers, can make bold investments with confidence.
There is no need to worry like before about whether the prince will be deposed, or whether it will be self-defeating if he takes sides early. In this way, the glory of their family can last longer.
The bad omen turned into a good omen, how could they not be happy?
As for the prince's injury... wasn't it just that he was kicked in the foot? At most it was a fracture, and he could just lie down for a while.
However, when they arrived at the East Palace, they found that the East Palace was enveloped in a solemn atmosphere, and everyone looked solemn.
The eldest grandson Wugao who arrived first had a heavy face, Crown Princess Su's eyes were red, and Chen Jingke, Chengyang, and Gao Yang also had sullen faces.
Li Shimin's heart skipped a beat, wouldn't another accident happen?
Li Shimin's heart couldn't help but sink, and he asked eagerly: "How is Cheng Qian's injury?"
Changsun Wugao said worriedly: "The imperial doctor cannot confirm the diagnosis. I have sent people to Zixiao Temple to ask for Master Sun."
Li Shimin said angrily: "It's just a foot injury that can't be diagnosed. These imperial doctors are a bunch of quacks."
But everyone understood that the imperial doctor was not a quack. They did not dare to say that there was only one reason: the prince's condition was very bad.
Changsun Wugou comforted him and said, "Sage, please calm down. Chengqian injured his foot bone, so the imperial doctor did not dare to make a diagnosis easily. Sun Daozhang, the medical sage, asked him to come over to ensure everything is safe."
Li Shimin's face became even more gloomy and he said: "Where are the imperial doctors? Ask them to come over."
Someone immediately went to notify the imperial doctor.
After a while, three imperial doctors hurried over: "See the saint."
Li Shimin asked: "What happened to the prince?"
"This..." The three imperial doctors looked at me and then at you, but they hesitated and did not dare to speak.
Li Shimin said angrily: "Say, if you dare to hide anything, your whole family will go to Lingnan and never come back."
With a 'pop' sound, the three of them knelt down and hurriedly said: "Saint, Your Highness... Your Highness's arch bone is broken. Even if it is cured, I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."
"Afraid of what?"
"I'm afraid I'm going to be lame."
Li Shimin froze immediately after hearing the application, and the eldest grandson Wugou also turned pale and his delicate body was trembling.
Crown Princess Su almost fainted. To her, this result was not much different from the collapse of the sky.
The hearts of other courtiers also sank.
One moment they were happy that the prince was attacked and a strange phenomenon appeared in the sky. They just thought that the prince was the master of destiny. Who knew that the next moment it would be a bolt from the blue.
Who can influence the succession of the throne more, the celestial phenomenon or the lameness? No one can say for sure.
Although it cannot be said that being lame will prevent him from being a prince and a monarch, after all, it is a physical disability that will cast a shadow on the prince's life and make many things uncertain.
At this time, Chen Jingke finally couldn't help but stood up and asked: "There are many types of broken arches, and the severity is also different. How is His Highness's injury?"
An imperial doctor carefully replied: "It should not be completely broken, but the small bones next to it are broken. Even if it recovers, it will be unable to walk."
Chen Jingke breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Is that it?"
The imperial doctor originally wanted to complain about something like this, can you cure him? But when he thought about who Chen Jingke's master was, he quickly suppressed this sentence.
He didn't dare to have any doubts about the Medical Saint, otherwise he wouldn't be able to stay in the circle if word spread.
Li Shimin said in surprise: "You mean Sun Zhenren can cure it?"
Changsun Wugou and others also looked over expectantly.
Chen Jingke nodded and said: "As long as it is not completely broken, there is a high probability that it can be cured. The specific situation will not be known until Master comes over."
Li Shimin immediately said: "Send someone to invite Master Sun again."
Chen Jingke on the side was actually very complicated in his heart. He was fighting for the welfare of the princes of the Tang Dynasty when he suddenly received news from the East Palace.
The prince is injured, or his foot.
At that time, my heart skipped a beat.
Historically, Li Chengqian had a foot disease that caused him to be lame, which led to his lack of confidence and even low self-esteem. Coupled with various other factors, he eventually went astray.
Over the years, Chen Jingke has been paying attention to this matter, hoping to nip it in the bud.
In the past two or three years, after receiving treatment from Sun Simiao, Li Chengqian was still troubled by high blood pressure, but it no longer affected his health.
Everything was on track, and Chen Jingke slowly felt relieved.
But who knew that the accident would come so suddenly, Li Chengqian was suddenly attacked by gangsters, and accidentally injured his foot, which may even cause lameness.
The things we tried our best to avoid still happened. Is this fate or the inertia of history?
Chen Jingke was also very panicked.
However, he has never been a person who believed in fate. Both labor and capital traveled through time just to change his fate against the will of heaven. This little countercurrent didn't matter.
With his assurance, everyone felt a little relieved.
Li Shimin, Changsun Wugou and Chen Jingke went to the ward together and saw Li Chengqian with a face full of pain.
Changsun Wugou comforted him: "Don't worry, Jingke just said that although your foot is serious, it is still within the scope of Sun Zhenren's ability."
Chen Jingke said quickly: "As you know, surgery is already a routine treatment for Zixiaoguan. Your minor injury is not a big problem."
"There may be some sequelae, that is, your foot may become more fragile in the future and you will not be able to do too strenuous exercise... But you can walk, sit and lie down like normal people without any problem."
Li Chengqian said expectantly: "Really?"
Chen Jingke said easily: "How dare I lie to others about such a big thing? Don't worry."
Li Shimin finally said: "I believe in Master Sun's medical skills. Get well soon. I'm still waiting for you to help me share the government affairs."
Li Chengqian's anxious heart finally calmed down a little, and he said: "Thank you, Aye, I will take good care of you."
After comforting him for a few more words, Li Shimin exited the ward. He was still not used to this kind of affection between children.
When they saw him coming out, several people from Gaoyang, Chengyang, and Jinyang came in to see him, and naturally they couldn't help but comfort him over and over again.
Seeing so many relatives, Li Chengqian's mood improved a lot again.
Soon Sun Simiao rushed over and checked Li Chengqian before he could take a breath.
Under everyone's expectant gaze, the old god calmly examined Li Chengqian, and then said like a savior: