Li Yuanying happily returned to Chang’an, and Emperor Li had already chosen a mansion for him as Prince Tang’s residence. Li Yuanying was already married, so he couldn’t stay in the palace. Emperor Li pondered for a while and decided to give Li Yuanying the mansion next to Li Tai’s Wei Wang Fu.
Li Yuanying had never thought about these things. When he returned to the capital, he was informed that he was a neighbor of Li Tai. Thinking back to the days when he would frequently visit his fourth nephew, Li Yuanying felt a little nostalgic and decided to visit Li Tai soon to reminisce.
After settling in, Li Yuanying took Wei Jiu to the palace for a visit.
Although there was no empress, there were still many concubines and noble ladies. As the wife of a prince, Wei Jiu naturally had to go and see them after returning to Chang’an. Wei Jiu had been familiar with Li Yuanying and the others since she was young, and she had entered and exited the palace many times. She was quite comfortable with these affairs and chatted with the concubines about interesting things from Tengzhou.
Li Yuanying sent Wei Jiu away and then eagerly went to see Emperor Li.
However, Emperor Li was meeting with officials and didn’t have time to see him. Li Yuanying sat in the side room and waited, but he couldn’t sit still after finishing a bowl of tea. He pulled over an old eunuch he recognized and asked who Emperor Li was meeting with.
It was a taboo for ordinary people to inquire about the forbidden palace, but Li Yuanying was used to doing as he pleased and didn’t pay much attention to such restrictions. He dared to ask, but others didn’t dare to tell him. They smiled and said that they couldn’t disclose anything from the emperor’s presence.
Seeing the eunuch’s troubled expression, Li Yuanying didn’t press further. He waved his hand, leaned back against the railing, and dozed off.
Li Chengqian finished his work and went to listen to Emperor Li’s discussions with the officials. He heard that Li Yuanying had returned and was waiting in the side room. He immediately changed direction and went to find Li Yuanying.
Seeing Li Yuanying dozing off, Li Chengqian sat down and called out to wake him up. Li Yuanying had been traveling for a long time and was indeed tired. He slept soundly and only woke up groggily when he heard Li Chengqian calling him.
Seeing Li Chengqian, Li Yuanying mumbled, “They say that people leave and the tea gets cold. I didn’t believe it before, but now it seems true. Look, I’ve only been away from Chang’an for a few years, and my brother doesn’t even have time to see me anymore.”
If someone else heard this, they would definitely impeach Li Yuanying for harboring resentment. However, Li Chengqian bluntly revealed the reality: “Father doesn’t even see Uncle Yao’er when he has important matters to attend to.” Emperor Li was someone who clearly distinguished between public and private affairs. Even if he favored a certain son or daughter, he wouldn’t delay his official duties for them. He only saw them and gave them guidance when he had free time.
Li Yuanying thought back and realized that was indeed the case. He nodded seriously in agreement: “Chengqian, you’re right. I was wrong to blame the emperor.” Knowing that the eunuch wouldn’t dare to tell him, Li Yuanying asked Li Chengqian what Emperor Li was meeting with.
Li Chengqian replied, “Wang Xuance, who was sent to Tianzhu, has just returned today. Father must be meeting with him.” Emperor Li had always had a desire to manage the Western Regions. Wang Xuance went to Tianzhu with the intention of engaging in cultural exchange. However, he got caught up in the turmoil of Tianzhu and only managed to escape with the help of Nepal and Tubo’s forces. Now that he has finally returned, Emperor Li must want to learn about the current situation in the Western Regions.
Li Yuanying said, “Oh, that’s how it is.” He wanted to chat with Li Chengqian, but then he heard someone from Emperor Li’s entourage inviting them to listen in on the meeting in the council hall.
Li Yuanying obediently followed Li Chengqian inside. Seeing two empty seats next to Emperor Li, he naturally went over and sat down on the left and right of Li Chengqian. After settling in, he looked up and wanted to compliment his brother on his increasingly majestic appearance. However, upon closer inspection, he noticed that Emperor Li had more gray hair.
Li Yuanying held Emperor Li’s hand and said, “Brother, your hair seems to be turning white. Even though you are busy with state affairs, you shouldn’t work too hard. Let Chengqian and Qingque share the burden more. If your hair turns completely white, you won’t look as handsome. Last time I worked day and night for several days, and I suddenly found a white hair on my head. It scared me to death. I thought I was going to be prematurely gray!”
Emperor Li glanced at Li Yuanying. Li Yuanying was eighteen years old, although much younger than the crown prince, he was no longer a child. Yet, he still spoke so incessantly, saying both good and bad things without restraint. He reprimanded with a straight face: “I asked you to listen in, not to chatter endlessly.”
Li Yuanying was also interested in the situation in the Western Regions, so he quickly shut his mouth and turned to look at Wang Xuance, who was seated below.
Although Wang Xuance was a civilian official, he was tall and handsome. He had just gotten a bit darker from his journey to Tianzhu, which slightly softened his scholarly aura. He had been to the Western Regions twice, once as deputy envoy and once as chief envoy. Unexpectedly, during his second mission, he encountered turmoil in Tianzhu. The new king of Middle Tianzhu was unwilling to establish relations with Tang Dynasty and even sent people to plunder the Tang envoys.
Wang Xuance was furious. He didn’t want to return with his tail between his legs, so he went to Nepal and Tubo to borrow troops to fight back against Middle Tianzhu.
Just now, Wang Xuance was meticulously reporting these matters to Emperor Li, also mentioning the situation in the Western Regions. He had been speaking for a while when someone informed Emperor Li that the crown prince had taken a detour to find Li Yuanying. He had the crown prince and Li Yuanying brought in to listen.
Then, as soon as Li Yuanying entered, he sat down unceremoniously in front of Emperor Li, and the first thing he said was a bunch of chatter about “how are you, how am I, what have you been doing, what have I been doing.” This made Wang Xuance forget where he had left off!
Although he had heard that Emperor Li favored his youngest brother, witnessing Li Yuanying hold Emperor Li’s hand and talk so casually and disrespectfully, Wang Xuance still found it quite shocking.
When he realized that Li Yuanying was eagerly waiting for him to talk about the Western Regions, Wang Xuance tried hard to recall where he had left off and continued speaking. Years ago, there was a unified Gupta dynasty in the Western Regions. Later, the Hepthalites, who were nomadic people, invaded Tianzhu. The Gupta dynasty disintegrated, splitting Tianzhu into five parts: East, West, South, North, and Middle Tianzhu. Each country in Tianzhu had its own ambitions and conflicts, leading to continuous unrest. Many small neighboring countries also struggled for survival in the cracks.
Wang Xuance also learned about places further west. He heard that the Abbasid Caliphate had rapidly risen in the west. The Abbasids were ambitious and had a powerful army. They had been constantly waging war on neighboring countries, creating a great commotion and not to be underestimated.
Li Yuanying had never heard of these things, so he sat quietly and listened attentively. He thought Tianzhu was already very far away. People said that Master Xuanzang traveled to Tianzhu to obtain Buddhist scriptures and stayed for twenty-one years, indicating how long and arduous the journey was. But he didn’t expect that there were even more countries beyond Tianzhu, and they seemed to be quite powerful.
Listening to Wang Xuance’s vivid account, Li Yuanying couldn’t suppress his curiosity. He eagerly asked, “How far away is the Abbasid Caliphate from our Tang Dynasty?”
Wang Xuance was not sure, so he could only make a rough estimate, saying that the Abbasid Caliphate was about four or five Tubo’s distances away from Chang’an.
Li Yuanying mentally calculated the distance. He felt that the world was truly vast! He couldn’t help but感慨 to Emperor Li, “Maybe there are really ten thousand countries in the world.”
Emperor Li didn’t reprimand him for interrupting again. He nodded and said, “Perhaps, if you include those that no longer exist.”
Li Yuanying listened with great interest. After Wang Xuance left, he remembered that he had just returned and should strengthen his relationship with Emperor Li. He shamelessly stayed in the palace for dinner, praising Emperor Li to high heaven. He was still not satisfied after dinner and followed Emperor Li for a walk in the Imperial Garden to digest.
Seeing Li Yuanying being so attentive, Emperor Li couldn’t help but recite two letters to Li Yuanying, asking him to recall what kind of person he was in the letters.
Li Yuanying heard this and realized the situation was dire. He quickly said, “I suddenly remembered that I have something to do. I’ll go first, Brother. You take your time to digest and rest early!” Without waiting for Emperor Li to respond, he took off running.
Emperor Li didn’t bother to argue with him.
The people who had served Emperor Li for many years saw Li Yuanying running away energetically, couldn’t help but comment: “Prince Tang hasn’t changed a bit.”
Emperor Li laughed and scolded: “He’s still as unruly as before.” This kid Li Yuanying was annoying, but he couldn’t deny that the palace felt lively again now that he was back.
Li Yuanying escaped from Emperor Li, but he didn’t forget to go pick up Wei Jiu. Wei Jiu had dined with the concubines, and when she heard that Li Yuanying was finally here, she bid farewell to the concubines and left the palace to meet with Li Yuanying.
On the way back, Li Yuanying naturally mentioned to Wei Jiu again that Emperor Li’s hair had turned white.
Whether born into the imperial family or a commoner’s family, life, old age, sickness, and death are unavoidable. Thinking about it, he felt a little sad. Of course, Li Yuanying wouldn’t have such serious thoughts. He expressed his feelings to Wei Jiu: “We should travel more while we are young!”
Li Yuanying was full of energy. Even after leaving the palace, he couldn’t stay idle. He asked Wei Jiu to send invitations to Si Zi and the others to come to Prince Tang’s residence tomorrow, and he also ordered people to prepare some small gifts. He planned to visit his nephew and nieces. Now that they lived right next door, he had to maintain friendly relations!
Wei Jiu told Li Yuanying that Emperor Li had chosen husbands for Si Zi and Hengshan. Si Zi and Hengshan were about the same age as her, and they should have gotten married by now, but Si Zi was not in good health, so Emperor Li planned to let her stay a few more years. Hengshan also stayed with her.
Emperor Li loved Si Zi the most, and he chose Yu Zhi, the grandson of Yu Shi’nan, as her husband. Yu Zhi was not the eldest son of his family, but he was intelligent, capable, and from a noble background, making him a suitable match. Hengshan was betrothed to Changsun Quan, the cousin of Empress Changsun. This marriage was not only a union of relatives but also a demonstration of Emperor Li’s affection for the Changsun family.
In the blink of an eye, several of his nephews and nieces were getting married. Li Yuanying felt a little melancholy, so he took some good wine to find Li Tai for a drink and a chat.
Li Tai had been feeling that Li Yuanying wouldn’t be able to stay quiet after he heard that Li Yuanying’s residence was next door to Wei Wang Fu. When he heard that Li Yuanying had come, he wasn’t surprised at all. With a dark expression, he ordered people to invite Li Yuanying in.
Li Yuanying entered the room and saw Li Tai’s expression. He felt even more nostalgic. He pulled Li Tai and talked to him, saying how much he missed their good times together as uncle and nephew.
Li Tai was disgusted by Li Yuanying’s sentimentality. He thought there was no one more corny than Li Yuanying. He ordered people to bring his children over and let Li Yuanying play with them.
As soon as Li Yuanying saw his three nieces and nephews, his eyes lit up. He no longer clung to Li Tai, instead, he asked Li Xiao Yuanqiu to introduce him to his younger siblings. With Li Xiao Yuanqiu as a guide, the two younger ones were also very lively. The little princess, in particular, wasn’t shy at all. Seeing that Li Yuanying was handsome, she immediately followed Li Xiao Yuanqiu and called out, “Yao Yao Yao Yao.” She even pulled Li Yuanying to play war games. She and Li Yuanying were generals, and her older brothers were soldiers.
Li Xiao Yuanqiu felt that his sister was biased: “Why can Yao Yao be a general as soon as he arrives?”
The little princess said matter-of-factly: “Yao Yao is handsome!”
The second brother was more stable and didn’t express his opinion.
Li Xiao Yuanqiu played with his sister for a while and then had someone take his younger siblings to rest. He pulled Li Yuanying aside, looking worried, and said in a hushed voice, “I think my sister will never get married. She likes to fight and she loves handsome men. No young master can handle her!”
Li Yuanying saw that Li Xiao Yuanqiu, a little kid, was worried about his sister’s marriage. He couldn’t help but flick his forehead and said, “What are you worried about? Our girls are afraid of not getting married? Besides, some like gentle and virtuous women, while others naturally like your sister. Why are you so worried? I think it’s fine. If she really wants to lead troops and be a general when she grows up, you can let her come to Tengzhou. I won’t let her be a general anywhere else, but she can be one in Tengzhou.”
Li Xiao Yuanqiu was happy to hear this. After sending Li Yuanying away, he ran to Li Tai and told him about it.
Li Tai was furious: You good-for-nothing Li Yuanying! You’re not only ruining my son, but you also want to ruin my daughter?
If he really taught his daughter to be a female general who trains in the military camp, who would his daughter marry?
**Author’s Note:**
Little Prince: I’m really a good, kind brother!
Fourth Nephew: Get out. Get as far away from me as possible!
Update!
The weather is hot and I’ve lost my energy.jpg
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