Li Yuanying was also happy to take Li Chengqian to see it, but that was for later. For now, he declined, inviting Li Chengqian and the soldiers to share the shark. Shark meat wasn’t very tasty, but when you picked the right parts and roasted them, sprinkled with suitable seasoning, it was quite good.
In the evening, they lit a bonfire on the beach, roasting fish and shrimp with the Crown Prince. They enthusiastically displayed their martial arts and talents for him.
They guarded Li Chengqian, making merry until the moon rose over the sea. Li Yuanying accompanied Li Chengqian onto the ship and showed him around. After touring the ship, the uncle and nephew sat on the deck, gazing at the large, round moon in the sky.
Li Chengqian couldn’t help but confide in Li Yuanying, “After coming to your place, I really don’t want to be Crown Prince anymore.”
Li Yuanying immediately disagreed. “No, you must be Crown Prince, and you have to be a good one.” He looked serious. “You’ll have to be a good Emperor in the future too, making the Tang Dynasty ever more prosperous and powerful. Wherever the Tang flag is raised, we’ll receive a warm welcome. That way, I can be a lawless Tang prince for life! I know it’s hard work. If I had to be Emperor, I wouldn’t want to. But you’re already in this position, and it’s not easy to change. If you change, not only will you lose your fun, but I will too! You should just keep being Crown Prince. When Li Xiang grows up, you can just hand the throne to him.”
Li Chengqian found this reasonable. His son was smart, and quite close to Emperor Li. He could have him learn more from Emperor Li, maybe even have Emperor Li directly pass the throne to him. Li Chengqian nodded, “That makes sense.”
Li Yuanying wanted to take Li Chengqian out to sea, but he couldn’t go himself. He only felt the sea wind with Li Chengqian before disembarking and heading to a villa near the harbor.
The next morning, Li Yuanying took Li Chengqian to see the marine life specimens made by the academy students. The creatures were bizarre, some directly dried, others made into models based on the real thing. No matter which, Li Chengqian was amazed. He found the sea both mysterious and dangerous, yet vast and beautiful. He asked Li Yuanying, “Can I take all of these back with me?”
Li Yuanying said, “It might be a bit troublesome to transport so many, but we could recruit more people if necessary.” He shared his idea with Li Chengqian, “I plan to build an exhibition hall here, so everyone preparing to sail can first understand the risks and conditions at sea. They will know how to respond in case of danger, preventing them from acting recklessly and losing their lives. The exhibition will not only showcase the ocean. I plan to send people to Silla, Japan, and Champa to serve as envoys. They will bring their special products, minerals, and anything else they consider valuable for exhibition, so everyone can know whether these places are worth visiting. After all, since they’re coming anyway, might as well bring a sample, or two, right? We could hold one in Tengzhou and one in Chang’an, a ‘Universal Expo’ in both places!”
Li Chengqian was excited. “That’s great!”
Li Yuanying rubbed his hands. “Then you have to give me some seals, so when I invite people with your documents, it’s more official. I’ll take care of the invitations from this side of the sea. When you return to Chang’an, immediately invite people from the Western Regions and Tubo, as many as possible. Make it a grand celebration!”
Li Chengqian and Li Yuanying discussed the details for a long time, then called Wu Mei and the others to join in the discussion. They finalized the entire exhibition plan. With this large project, Li Chengqian couldn’t wait to stay in Tengzhou any longer. He had people pack the large and small bags and carts that Li Yuanying prepared for him, and got ready to return to the capital.
Before leaving, Li Chengqian generously stamped a bunch of blank documents with the Crown Prince Seal for Li Yuanying. Li Yuanying could fill them out himself. Apparently, Li Chengqian trusted him completely. After all, Li Chengqian thought that if he could live as happily as Li Yuanying, he wouldn’t be interested in the Crown Prince position!
Li Yuanying saw Li Chengqian off reluctantly, holding his hand and urging him to invite every kingdom, large or small. He mustn’t let down the name of the “Universal Expo.” It wouldn’t be enough to invite ten thousand countries, but at least a hundred!
It had been years since he had a chance to scheme with Li Yuanying. Li Chengqian was determined to make this happen.
He had already sent people back to prepare the exhibition hall, to display the live and dead specimens, and bring them to show Li Xiang and the others. They also brought back the bones of the captured basking shark they had eaten. It was a long journey back to Chang’an, and the meat would definitely rot if transported, so they could only see the bones, better than nothing!
Li Chengqian and Li Yuanying assured each other that they would immediately send people to get things ready after they returned to the capital. They would make it grand and lively.
Compared to his anxiety when he arrived, Li Chengqian was much more relaxed on his way back. He looked back at Li Yuanying, who was standing there holding his horse and seeing them off. Though he was reluctant to leave, he was even more eager to return. For the sake of his future happiness, he had to be a good Crown Prince!
As for the future, that was up to his son.
Poor Li Xiang didn’t know that Li Yuanying was a fickle person. He had told Li Xiang that he would take him everywhere, but then he urged Li Chengqian to hand over the throne to his son early. He was excitedly implementing the plans Li Yuanying had suggested, bringing his friends to the Eastern Palace to study and play together.
The princes had different thoughts. Some thought it was fine, while others thought it was the Crown Prince trying to control them with his children. They discussed it, but none dared to keep their children back. After all, Emperor Li had spoken. Whether they wanted to or not, they couldn’t disobey him.
Li Xiang had the air of a legitimate grandson. He coaxed and threatened a group of rambunctious kids into submission. The scholars of the Hongwen Hall were very pleased with Li Xiang’s performance. Even if the Crown Prince wasn’t always up to par, having such a legitimate grandson gave them hope for the future.
There were still conflicts. During their free time, Li Xiang played with his cousins in the training ground. Children would inevitably get hurt during roughhousing. The son of Prince Wu, Li Ke, accidentally broke his arm. Luckily, there were imperial physicians on standby. They quickly treated his injury.
Children couldn’t stand any injustice. He was embarrassed to cry in front of his brothers, so he went home and wailed to his mother, the Princess Wu, complaining about the pain in his arm. The Princess Wu, heartbroken, hugged him, checking his wound and comforting him. When Li Ke came back from work, she inevitably complained to him about Li Xiang.
Li Ke was exhausted recently. Some officials secretly approached him, but the Crown Prince was doing well. It seemed like he had nothing to do. Some even mentioned the previous dynasty, which made Li Ke think they were trying to kill him. The Tang Dynasty had been established for thirty years, what was the previous dynasty even doing?
Even if the previous dynasty had something going on, it wasn’t his business. His mother was only a princess who wasn’t favored by the previous dynasty. Even if someone wanted to restore the previous dynasty, what would a princess’s son have to do with it?
Of course, it did have some bearing. This background meant that no matter how he performed, Emperor Li would never choose him as his heir.
After listening to his wife’s complaints, Li Ke shook his head. “Children will be children. They’re bound to get hurt when they play. Even our children, didn’t they get hurt while playing?”
People should have self-awareness. Li Ke thought that no matter why Emperor Li called them back, he was just a runner-up. If so, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to be the first to act, becoming a tool for those with ulterior motives!
When the Princess Wu heard him say this, she didn’t say anything more.
Children are genuinely wronged when they’re hurt, but they cry it out and move on. The next morning, they got up early, clamoring to go to Hongwen Hall, complaining that no one had woken them up and that they were going to be late.
When they got to Hongwen Hall, they happily gathered together to play again.
Li Xiang kept playing with his friends until Li Chengqian was about to return to Chang’an. He had already heard that Li Chengqian would build a marine exhibition hall after he returned, and he had been looking forward to his return. Finally, his wish came true. He asked his teachers to excuse him from school so he could go out to greet Li Chengqian.
The grandson was so filial, the teachers were naturally generous and let Li Xiang leave the palace early.
Li Xiang excitedly went to the city to pick up Li Chengqian. When he saw him, he acted very serious. He didn’t yell about what Li Yuanying had prepared for them, but climbed into Li Chengqian’s carriage and spoke with him. He first asked if he had a tiring journey, then told him what he had been up to lately.
They rode back to the city together. The larger items had already been sent to the temporary exhibition hall, while the rest were suitable for displaying in the Eastern Palace for the royal kindergarten.
Li Xiang heard that Li Chengqian had seen a basking shark as big as a dinosaur and was very envious. He looked forward to seeing the baby basking sharks back at the palace.
The accompanying personnel included marine biologists, who promptly changed the seawater and fed the baby basking sharks, keeping them healthy and active.
When Li Xiang returned to the Eastern Palace, he stood by the railing and stared without blinking. It was hard to imagine that such a ferocious and cute baby basking shark could grow as large as a dinosaur. If it wasn’t for its sharp teeth and ferocious image of swallowing a fat fish in one gulp, Li Xiang would have really wanted to catch it and study it!
The sea was so vast. You couldn’t see dinosaurs on land anymore, but there were so many creatures hidden in the sea!
Li Xiang realized that he had missed out on going to Tengzhou. Why didn’t he beg Li Yuanying to take him to the seaside? If he had known that the harbor was so much fun, he would have definitely asked Li Yuanying to take him there! Unfortunately, Li Yuanying had gotten married recently. He was busy with his own wedding and had no time to take them to watch the basking shark capture.
Thinking about what Li Yuanying had said a couple of years ago, about taking him to travel all over the Tang Dynasty, Li Xiang was excited again. Ah, let his father have fun first. When he grew up, he would travel with Li Yuanying and his grandfather. The burden of the empire would fall on his father’s shoulders!
When Li Xiang realized this, he excitedly went back to tell his friends about the basking shark and its babies. Even though he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, children were good at making up stories. Li Xiang just opened his mouth and described the scene of the basking shark capture vividly, saying that the basking shark was as big as a dinosaur.
For those poor kids who had rarely been to Chang’an and didn’t know what dinosaurs were, Li Xiang took them to see his dinosaur models. He had classic and collector’s models in his collection, all in multiples. One was for viewing, one was for playing, and the rest were for gifting. This time, he generously gave a model to each of his friends who didn’t have one, letting them experience dinosaur culture firsthand.
The little kids were amazed to understand how big dinosaurs were and ran to the railing to look at the baby basking sharks in the big tank, trying to imagine the majestic image of an oversized basking shark from them.
By this time, Li Chengqian had rested and changed clothes, going to see Emperor Li.
**Author’s Note:**
The nephew: “I’ll give the empire to my son and travel with Yu Shu.”
The great-nephew: “I’ll give the empire to my father and travel with Yu Shu.”
Emperor Li: “?”
Update!
First update!
There’s another update later, but it’s going to be late. You can read it tomorrow morning!
I lost my full-time writing bonus and this week I have no rankings. It’s hot out, and there are fewer comments from everyone. Both readers and authors are wilting! Please give me some energy drinks! Encourage the second update to survive the exposure ranking for a little longer! Give the second update some motivation! QAQ
I’m only missing 900, and the comments will break 100,000! I’ll randomly send out 100 small red envelopes for this chapter! (Counting secretly.)
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