Among these princes, Li Cong, who is ten years old this year, is the eldest son; Li Ying, who is six years old, is the second son; Li Heng, who is two and a half years old, is the third son; Li Yan, who is two and a half years old and is only half a month younger than Li Heng, is the fourth son; Li Yao, Li Wan, and Li Ju were all born within two and a half years. Li Ju is Xuanzong's youngest son, born to Liu Cairen half a year ago.
It has been two years since Concubine Wu Hui entered the palace and she is not yet pregnant. Xuanzong suddenly felt that he had recently neglected several concubines except Concubine Wu Hui. They had given birth to princes for him, and they were all in their youth and beautiful in appearance. Although Xuanzong was deeply attracted to Concubine Wu Hui from the moment he saw her, he still had to spend the night with other concubines on a few days every month.
Xuanzong wanted to take some time out from doting on Concubine Wu Hui to accompany other concubines with outstanding looks.
Xuanzong thought of Concubine Liu Hua. She had given birth to her eldest son Li Cong and her sixth son Li Wan. Xuanzong was also very fond of her back then. She was a graceful and naturally beautiful beauty. Although not as charming as Concubine Wu Hui, she still made Xuanzong occasionally Thinking of the concubine.
Xuanzong first walked to the other hall of the East Palace. He had not seen Yang Guibi for a long time. When he wanted to see Li Heng, he thought of Yang Guibi. Yang Guibin is painting a picture in her room. She wants to draw a picture of mandarin ducks playing in the water. She has just painted a lake, the pavilions beside the lake, and the mountains in the distance.
When the little eunuch Xiao Wuzi at the door shouted, "The Emperor has arrived," Yang Guibin quickly put the brush on the white porcelain pen holder, straightened her sleeves, and walked towards the door.
Yang Guifei knelt down and saluted in front of Xuanzong and said, "I respectfully welcome the Emperor's Majesty."
Xuanzong walked up to Yang Guifei and held her hand: "Concubine Yang, I'm here to see you."
"I thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
Xuanzong saw the painting on the desk in the middle of the room. He said: "Was Concubine Yang painting just now?"
"I just wanted to paint a picture, but I finished half of it and it was not good."
Tang Xuanzong took Yang Guibin's hand and walked to the desk. He looked at the unfinished painting and said: "This ink painting is good. The mountains and pavilions are pretty good. They are better than mine."
"How dare I, my concubine, do anything in front of His Majesty? Your Majesty is too humble. You should be better at painting than me."
"I am really not as good as my concubine when it comes to painting. Does your concubine want to draw a small boat on the water?"
"I want to draw a pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water."
"Well, very good. Would you like me to find a maid who can paint for you to serve you?"
"My concubine just paints for fun. My two maids here are also good at painting. I let them wash clothes in the laundry room."
"Well, have you gone to see Heng'er today? Heng'er is over two and a half years old."
"I haven't gone today yet."
"Let's go to Henry's wet nurse to see Henry together."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for caring about Heng'er, and thank you for being able to accompany my concubine to visit Heng'er."
Xuanzong let go of Yang Guibi's left hand, and the two of them, one after the other, left the Zhibie Hall and walked north, toward the inner direction of the East Palace. Xuanzong's two guards today, Li Shoude and Chen Xiaoli, were guarding outside Zhibie Hall just now, and now they are following Xuanzong and Yang Guibin towards the interior of the East Palace. The two young eunuchs also followed them.
Xuanzong and Yang Guibin had just arrived outside the wet nurse's room when Xiao Anzi, who was standing at the door, shouted: "The emperor has arrived——"
Gao Lishi came over from the east corridor: "I respectfully welcome His Majesty."
Xuanzong said: "Concubine Yang and I come here to see Heng'er."
At this time, Xiao Anzi opened the wet nurse's room, and a woman of about thirty years old walked out of it, dressed in clean gray cloth. She performed a deep squatting salute and said, "My servants respectfully welcome the emperor's carriage."
At this time, a two or three-year-old boy wearing a brown-red robe came over and bowed his hands in salute: "My son, I pay my respects to my father."
A bright smile immediately appeared on Xuanzong's face: "Little Heng'er is smart. He is only two and a half years old and he is already very good at saying polite words to say hello."
Yang Guibin smiled and said, "Heng'er's nanny and I both told him that we should greet our father respectfully when we see him."
"Ah, very good."
Xuanzong bent down and reached out to touch Li Heng's face. Li Heng looked childish and handsome with his hair tied in a bun.
Gao Lishi said from behind: "Your Majesty, Li Heng is talented and extraordinary in appearance. Among the many princes at present, he can be said to be outstanding."
Xuanzong said: "Gao Lishi, Heng'er can study poetry and poetry with his eldest brother Li Cong and his second brother Li Ying. You can make arrangements for Li Heng to study with his two brothers starting tomorrow."
"This old slave will definitely arrange this matter. Does His Highness Li Heng still want the wet nurse to take care of him?"
Xuanzong said: "Although Hen'er has begun to learn cultural knowledge, he is still less than three years old, so he still needs to be taken care of by a wet nurse, but he should not drink milk anymore. From now on, when the prince reaches two and a half years old, if he can eat food, he should not drink milk anymore. It’s milk. The prince after two and a half years old should just eat more nutritious food."
Gao Lishi said: "Wei Chen will remember this and will write down what your majesty said as a standard for the future."
Xuanzong said: "Heng'er, would you like to study with your brother?"
"My son is willing."
"Well, reading can make you wiser and wiser."
"After my son goes to school, can he still learn singing from the palace maids?"
"Haha, of course that's okay. But when you reach the age of twelve or thirteen, don't be with the palace maids anymore."
"Well, I would like to thank my father for your teaching."
Xuanzong picked up Li Heng and kissed his little face: "You talk like a little adult. My father likes smart princes."
Li Heng said in Xuanzong's arms: "Father, I will study hard and become smarter."
"Okay, okay, it's settled."
Xuanzong put Li Heng down and said to Yang Guibin: "My beloved concubine, I want to see the other princes, so I'm leaving first."
Yang Guibin felt a sense of loss in her heart, but she still smiled and said: "The princes are lucky to have His Majesty caring about them. Your Majesty, please come back when you have time, and I will also discuss painting techniques with you." "
After hearing this, Xuanzong understood Yang Guibi's intention and said, "Well, okay, I will come to your place when I have time."
Xuanzong, surrounded by Gao Lishi, two guards and two young eunuchs, walked towards Yeting Palace. He wanted to see Li Cong and his mother, Concubine Liu Hua.
Xuanzong came to Yeting Palace. There were many palaces here, where concubines such as Zhao Lifei, Huangfu Deyi, Liu Hua, Liu Cairen and Qian lived respectively.
Xuanzong arrived in front of the palace where Concubine Liu Hua lived in the Yeting Palace. The young eunuch at the door bowed and saluted: "This slave welcomes the emperor."
