Emperor Li’s birthday had passed, and the New Year was upon them. Li Yuanying made the rounds to the homes of his acquaintances, shamelessly asking for red envelopes (lucky money given to children during the New Year). He didn’t mention that he was Emperor Li’s nephew, instead claiming he was young and unmarried, deserving of a good fortune.
Having come so far, Li Yuanying also gathered a collection of calligraphy and paintings, claiming he was going to hold an exhibition and print some copies for the students at his academy. If someone was good at painting, even better, he would ask them for a few paintings to help the disadvantaged children in the impoverished Tengzhou.
Li Yuanying gathered all the benefits he could, and also recruited a few talents he’d missed last time, before finally returning to the palace.
Emperor Li knew Li Yuanying had been out “greeting the New Year”, so he summoned him and asked what he had shamelessly demanded from people.
Li Yuanying responded with displeasure, “How can you call it shameless? I’m young, it’s only right for me to greet everyone during the New Year. I brought them gifts, it’s only natural they would return a small token.” He adamantly refused to mention how he used his connection as Emperor Li’s brother to address others with nicknames like “Old Li” and “Little Yan”. At such a critical moment, he naturally had to pretend to be a child.
Emperor Li asked again, and Li Yuanying finally produced a long list of return gifts, laying it out for Emperor Li to see. He said with a sly smile, “Huangli kept track of all this, I’m too lazy for that. It’s just a matter of giving and receiving.”
Emperor Li looked at it and decided to stick to his original opinion: this kid has some nerve.
He asked for calligraphy from masters, paintings from talented artists, and even borrowed people with promising talent from others’ families. He seemed determined to take everything good from every household!
Li Yuanying wasn’t embarrassed at all, and let Emperor Li look at him with the expression of “How did I end up with such a troublesome brother?”. When Emperor Li handed the list back, Li Yuanying immediately ran away, afraid Emperor Li would snatch his hard-earned treasures.
On the Shangyuan Festival (Lantern Festival), Emperor Li had the Ministry of Rites prepare everything and issued a decree, granting marriage to Gaoyang and Lu Zhaolin. He kept Gaoyang in Chang’an to wait for her wedding. Gaoyang had already heard from Li Yuanying that Emperor Li had agreed to their marriage, and during the New Year she had been both excited and nervous. When the marriage decree finally came down, she jumped for joy, inviting Sizhi and the others to gather at the base of the Observation Tower. Under Li Yuanying’s supervision, the younger girls enjoyed a few cups of wine, their faces flushed red, their eyes sparkling like stars.
Li Yuanying was happy for Gaoyang, but also a little depressed.
Chengyang, who was about his age, had already married, and Gaoyang, his age as well, was about to be married. He and Wei Jiu, his beloved, couldn’t marry yet.
It was all his fault for saying those words before leaving the capital about not getting married. Now, any hint of suggestion from him elicited an expression from Emperor Li saying, “Didn’t you say you wanted your Jiu-jie to pursue her talents?” This left Li Yuanying speechless. Jiu-jie was happy every day, which made him happy too, but Gaoyang and the others were all getting married, while he couldn’t even sleep with Jiu-jie. It was infuriating!
Li Yuanying sighed internally for a while, then quickly joined Gaoyang and the others to watch the lanterns on the Observation Tower.
The Observation Tower had an excellent view, commanding a panorama of Chang’an’s night. Li Yuanying accompanied a group of his nieces to watch the lanterns from the railing. When Sizhi and the others weren’t looking, he secretly reached out to take Wei Jiu’s hand.
Since Sizhi and the others were nearby, Wei Jiu turned her head and looked at Li Yuanying silently, signaling him not to be so reckless. However, seeing his bright eyes, Wei Jiu yielded. She blushed slightly and took Li Yuanying’s warm hand.
After the Shangyuan Festival, Li Yuanying was to return to Tengzhou. This time, his departure wasn’t as grand as his initial departure to his fiefdom, but it was still quite impressive, with wagons loaded with treasures and carriages carrying a large retinue. The commoners, of course, didn’t know about Li Yuanying’s secret voyages, they only thought Emperor Li and Li Yuanying had a good relationship, and he had been summoned back for the New Year. Seeing his convoy, the commoners naturally marveled again, thinking Emperor Li was truly kind to Li Yuanying, showering him with so many gifts upon his return.
Changsun Wuji and the others felt like vomiting blood upon hearing this. All those things had been taken by Li Yuanying from their families, not gifts from Emperor Li.
Emperor Li, that rascal, had encouraged Li Yuanying to visit everyone’s home for the “New Year greetings”, and then he would tell them, “Since you’ve given Nascent Soul so many good things, I don’t need to give him any gifts.”
The two brothers must be doing this on purpose!
They had given their possessions, and now the commoners were saying it was Emperor Li and Li Yuanying’s deep brotherhood, with wagons full of treasures given to Li Yuanying!
Who would have the nerve to clarify this?
Changsun Wuji and the others now only hoped Li Yuanying would cause less trouble, and Emperor Li would stop thinking about bringing Li Yuanying back to the capital. Otherwise, they would keep bleeding money.
Li Yuanying, having fleeced the rich, was quite smug as he brought Wei Jiu back to Tengzhou. He didn’t feel any remorse about being summoned back to the capital and reprimanded.
On the road, Wei Jiu took over the gift list from Huangying and Huangli. Seeing the long list of treasures, she felt sorry for Changsun Wuji and Yan Liben. When they stopped for the evening to rest, she had people open the chests and organize them, adding more thick paper to prevent damage during the journey. These were treasures that couldn’t be replaced!
Compared to Li Yuanying’s carefree life, Li Tai wasn’t having such a pleasant time.
Since his trip to Goguryeo, his attitude had changed a bit. He no longer spent his days drowning in wine, but occasionally went out to inspect his fiefdom, behaving more like a prince should. However, Quan Wanji didn’t calm down. He continued to diligently pick on Li Tai, making him incredibly annoyed. Fortunately, his wife and son often comforted him, or Li Tai really might have risked Quan Wanji reporting him to the capital and punched him!
When he heard that Li Yuanying was returning to Tengzhou with a long convoy, Li Tai felt a surge of envy. He grumbled to his wife Yan, “Father is so partial. Nascent Soul was called back for punishment, and yet he’s been given so many good things.”
He had entertained the idea of competing with the Crown Prince for the throne, but he hadn’t won. During Emperor Li’s birthday at the end of the year, he could only present a birthday gift to the Emperor, he couldn’t go back himself.
Yan rubbed his temples, gently comforting him, “I heard that Yao Shu built a seaport in the east. Maybe Father values that.”
Li Tai snorted, “He’s carrying so many good things, I hope he doesn’t get robbed on the way.” Li Tai didn’t say this without reason. Although Emperor Li had implemented a policy of releasing prisoners condemned to death, with only 20 or 30 executions carried out annually, this didn’t mean everything was peaceful. The saying goes, “Money talks,” and some bandits who lived in the mountains, hearing that Li Yuanying was passing by with so many treasures, might be tempted to make a fortune for the rest of their lives.
Perhaps Heaven was jealous of Li Yuanying’s smooth sailing or felt it had treated Li Tai unfairly, because Li Tai’s prediction came true. Li Yuanying, while passing through a mountain pass, was ambushed by bandits!
Li Yuanying’s previous journey to his fiefdom had been smooth sailing, so he had never considered that he might encounter such a thing. This time, when he realized he was being surrounded on both sides, he was stunned. Wasn’t it said that the country was peaceful? How could there still be bandits, living a life of risking their lives for money?
Li Yuanying ordered his men to prepare their bows and arrows and be ready for battle. Turning to comfort Wei Jiu, he saw her standing beside him, silent and without fear or retreat.
Li Yuanying swallowed his words of comfort, looking at the gloomy sky. He and Wei Jiu each grabbed a bow and arrow. “These people came here for a reason,” he said, “I don’t think it’s for money.”
If not for money, then it must be for him. Though Li Yuanying wasn’t the type to be kind to others, he didn’t seem to have made any real enemies. Wei Jiu wished these people were simply after the valuables! If they were targeting Li Yuanying himself, then it would be terrible. Losing money and possessions wouldn’t be a big deal, but if they were determined to kill them, their trapped situation put them at a disadvantage.
Wei Jiu held her bow tightly.
If anyone dared to harm Li Yuanying, she would kill them first!
Although they had only used bows and arrows in archery classes, and hadn’t even shot any real prey, if anyone dared to harm Li Yuanying, she would kill them!
The scout reported bad news to Li Yuanying: “Your Highness, there are catapults on the mountain.”
This meant that these people were prepared and were determined to kill Li Yuanying!
Li Yuanying didn’t hesitate: “Throw away the valuables! Anyone not skilled in archery get inside the carriages. Those skilled in archery, take your bows and ride. We’ll protect the women and charge out first!” No matter what the situation was outside, breaking out of the siege was better than being passively trapped in the valley. He didn’t believe that these bandits could muster thousands of men in Tang territory! Although only two hundred guards were escorting them back to Tengzhou, these two hundred guards were veterans who had seen blood, not ordinary soldiers or bandits. Breaking out of the valley wouldn’t be a problem.
At Li Yuanying’s command, everyone quickly abandoned the heavy wagons, cut the thick ropes connecting them, and rushed towards the valley entrance, surrounding the carriages carrying the womenfolk. Li Yuanying didn’t hide in the carriages, but led the charge towards the valley entrance.
Seeing Li Yuanying leading the charge, the guards were touched and ashamed of their own weakness. They rushed forward without hesitation, aiming their sharp arrows for the bandits’ throats.
The bandits who had blocked the valley entrance were also fierce and ruthless, having tasted blood. Seeing Li Yuanying, in his silk robes, riding towards them, they were momentarily caught off guard. Wasn’t it said that Li Yuanying was a pampered prince who only knew how to eat, drink, and play? If he really was a pampered playboy, why would he dare to be in the front line?
Before the bandits could be startled for too long, sharp arrows had already pierced their most vulnerable throats, killing them before they could even close their eyes.
Li Yuanying led his men to charge out of the valley entrance at top speed.
The people who had been lurking on the mountain immediately threw the boulders they had prepared down the valley. However, it was too late. All that remained in the valley were the abandoned wagons, not a single person was left.
Since the bandits’ origins were unknown, Li Yuanying ordered his men to eliminate all the bandits blocking the entrance, but took a few prisoners alive. They didn’t disperse their forces to search the mountain, but instead stayed in a spacious area to rest and send people to the nearest camp for reinforcements. As the chaos subsided, Li Yuanying checked on everyone, asking if they had been frightened or injured, and finally returned to Wei Jiu’s side.
When the breakout began, Li Yuanying had Huangying and Huangli pull Wei Jiu back into the carriage to protect her. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Wei Jiu’s ability to adapt, but she was only thirteen or fourteen, and Li Yuanying didn’t want her to go through this. As a man, he had to protect his wife at all costs. He held Wei Jiu’s hand and said, “These people were just a rabble, not worth mentioning. None of us were injured.”
Wei Jiu, thinking back to the terrifying scene, still felt a chill in her palms. If Li Yuanying hadn’t led them to attack the bandits by surprise and had not hesitated for even a moment, they would have been ambushed and killed in the valley. Now that they had broken out, it was only their luggage that suffered! Wei Jiu didn’t even care about the treasures anymore, she held Li Yuanying’s hand tightly, “It was too risky, you were too risky.”
Their hearts had been in their throats when Li Yuanying had charged out.
But if Li Yuanying hadn’t acted decisively and charged, the boulders would have hit the carriage they were in.
Li Yuanying said, “I brought them here, so I’m going to bring them to Tengzhou safely.” He embraced Wei Jiu. “Your grandfather entrusted you to me, and I will never let a hair on your head be harmed. Otherwise, your grandfather will scold me for the rest of my life.”
They embraced for a moment, then Li Yuanying released Wei Jiu and went to personally interrogate the captured bandits.
**Author’s Note:**
Little Prince: Who did this!
Update!
It’s already ten o’clock!
I’m obsessed with writing! I forgot to go out! I’m so dedicated, isn’t it worth some nutrient solution?
A girl asked what good food there is in Xi’an! Actually, I don’t know! I just walk around cultural landmarks, learn a bit of history, collect some material, and eat whatever when I’m hungry!
As for the places in Xi’an you won’t regret going to, these are the main ones:
1. Terracotta Army, needless to say.√
2. Watch the “Eternal Love” show at Huqing Palace at night. It’s fantastic. If you don’t have a car, you can book tickets online and they will provide a return trip. √
3. Hanyangling Museum, few people, you can wander around the tomb. It’s exciting. However, it’s a bit remote, transportation is inconvenient. Pay attention to bus schedules. The City Library Station has a route 4 bus at 10:20 am, it’s two yuan and goes straight to Hanyangling. Cheap and convenient. Taxis are quite expensive, supposedly around one hundred yuan. √
4. Shaanxi History Museum, rich collection, worth a wander. Book tickets online a day in advance. Even without free tickets, you can still see the treasures of Hejiacun, which are quite beautiful. I didn’t see the murals, I saw a whole set of murals in the Luoyang Ancient Tomb Museum. √
These are all historical and cultural landmarks, you can book tickets online in advance. I didn’t do much else.
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