Chapter 7 Encounter at the Lighting Place
"Your Majesty, the Queen is still waiting for you to go enjoy the lanterns together..."
The Zhengdian Hall and the Imperial Study Room were established.
Zhang Anan, the chief eunuch, has come to urge him for the third time. Li Shimin is 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 didn't want to hear it again.
There was a letter, but there was only an envelope, and there was nothing inside.
You might say that the envelope is poisonous, but after three changes in a row, not even the slightest trace of suspiciousness was detected.
"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 by himself, but when he saw Li Shimin's expressionless face, he was so frightened that he swallowed back his words.
"Ananda, you and I have been together for more than ten years, right? What you can think of, can't I think of it?"
"It's just those traitors anyway. Hey, it's only been so long since the Xuanwu Sect incident. Didn't you expect that retribution would befall 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 proved that he had no selfish motives.
"Xuanwu Gate" was a taboo in the entire Zhenguan Dynasty. Li Shimin could say it, but Zhang Ananda did not dare to take up the challenge.
"But who did the Pheasant Slave hinder them? Can they be so cruel to a seven-year-old child?"
Li Shimin also experienced the struggle to win over his direct descendants. He used all possible means to fight for the dragon and die if he failed. How could he have narrowly escaped death back then?
"Your Majesty, I still feel that no matter who this matter is... I'm afraid it's all the people under my 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 Your 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 dark 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 his eldest grandson Wugao.
He doesn't have any bad habits on weekdays, but he always likes to run to the Qin Mansion, but every time he comes back, he almost always brings some weird gadgets.
Most of them are given to the two younger sisters, or to the eldest grandson Wugou. 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 was 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 a word, 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 feel that he is now able to practice. However, I find that he is still the 'Heavenly Leaking 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 it is 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 cultivation, let's not get involved. We had Taoist Sun's advice before and Qin Shubao's support later. I believe in my son."
After half a year of tossing about it, no one could get to the bottom of it, and Li Shimin was a little tired of this matter.
As for Li Zhi, his son, he doesn't want to put more pressure on him. Whether it's studying essays or practicing martial arts, just let him go. Isn't it good to be an idle and free prince for the rest of 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 saw something strange. After looking at several places, he was no longer willing to squeeze 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 Yan, the head of the family, has a rare opportunity to go out at night, so he 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. The moon was at its peak. Following the flow of people, this group of people had already reached Nancheng. They were seeing Qujiang Pool ahead.
"Haha, I said 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. A strong man standing next to him, who looked almost exactly like Brother Chu Mo, replied with a smile.
"Brother Chu Liang, are you just going to risk your brother in front of him? 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, you are the eldest brother, so 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.
That's right, 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, and there should be some differences. However, 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 dozens of lanterns. Li Zhi's favorite was the two lanterns with little and big roosters, which were so lifelike.
The eleventh year of Zhenguan was the year of Dingyou. Li Zhi planned to take these two lanterns back and give them to the two little sisters of 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 just about admiring lanterns and guessing riddles. At this time, there are also many people selling various snacks and drinks.
Many people who stayed out all night also gathered their friends and occupied the pavilions and pavilions in Furong Garden early. If they couldn't find a place, they simply sat on the ground.
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.
"Um... brothers, why don't we change the direction? There are many beautiful lanterns there."
Cheng Chumo said, turned around and wanted to walk to the right.
"Brother Chu Mo, what's wrong with you? I think it's really 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 said that the two of them should 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, with some seats placed in the pavilion and a stone table in the middle. Two slightly older scribes sat in the center.
Although he is said to be older, he is actually only forty or fifty years old. He looks like someone who has been invited to judge and rule.
There is an open space in front of the pavilion, and there are two 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, the ultimate happiness in the world, is it nothing more than this?
"Everyone, there are still unwritten poems to submit. If not, a certain family will announce that Changsun Gongzi's 'Ode to the Moon' will be the winning poem tonight -"
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 recognizing 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 with a loud voice was Chai Lingwu, the son of Chai Shao, the Duke of Qiao and the general of You Xiaowei. So the son Changsun he was talking about was naturally Changsun Chong, the son of Changsun Wuji, the current Zhongshu Ling and Duke of Zhao. .
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.
"Humph, who's afraid of them? I just know how to write a few acid poems. If you have the ability, I can compete with me, Old Cheng, on a horse—"
By the way, the reason why Cheng Chumo has so much resentment is that he once suffered a blow 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 and closer, 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 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 turned out that the master and servant who had escaped had actually wandered into "Furong Garden"?
Changsun Chong, who was on the side, heard this and was already happy, 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 Chong was a humble young man, as gentle as jade. His humble words naturally won more praises from the people around him, but it made the third lady present blush.
She lived in the mountains all year round and had contact with only a handful of adult men, either her cold second brother or his strange-looking subordinates.
And those people in the world who see it from a distance are either pious people, or people who are greedy for profit and have pursuits.
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...
