Chapter 225 Li Shimin admits his mistake (asking for monthly ticket)

"Open up the sea route?" Li Xiang put down his bowl and chopsticks and looked at Cheng Chubi with a serious expression: "Chou Niu, do you know how dangerous the sea is?"

"Even if it's dangerous, I will give it a try." Cheng Chubi said firmly: "Pei Shouyue, as my brother's uncle, still ignored the difficulties and obstacles; as my brother's younger brother, I must not embarrass him!"

"Brother Jingren braved the wind and frost and went north to open up trade routes for the country. Shoudao was young, but he also went to Jiangnan to plant sugarcane for his brother. Why can't I do something?"

"Good, good..." Li Xiang said two good words in a row. Cheng Chubi's words made him feel very comfortable.

"Uncle Cheng, what do you mean by this?" Li Xiang turned and looked at Cheng Yaojin again.

Of course, Cheng Yaojin never expected that his spoiled youngest son would have such great ambitions. He was stunned for a moment.

After realizing what was happening, Old Cheng nodded with satisfaction: "Since Chouniu has such ambition, how can I, as his father, stop him? If you want to go, just follow Pei Shouyue and venture out together."

Old Cheng had six sons in total. Cheng Chumo, Cheng Chuliang and Cheng Chubi were legitimate sons, all born to his first wife, Ms. Sun, while Cheng Chucun, Cheng Chuli and Cheng Jun were illegitimate sons.

"In that case, I will introduce you to Shouyue tomorrow." Li Xiang said.

After Li Xiang left, Old Cheng stared at his eldest son without saying a word for a long time.

Cheng Chubi felt a little nervous when being stared at, and he didn't know whether to sit or stand.

"Yeah, yeah, why are you looking at me like that?" He really couldn't help it.

Cheng Yaojin did not answer him, but turned around and called out: "Come here, bring some wine!"

Soon, the servants brought up a few jars of wine.

Old Cheng didn't say anything, but carried a jar of wine to Cheng Chubi.

"Today's Chou Niu has impressed Ye Ye." Old Cheng said meaningfully, "Ye Ye originally thought that Chou Niu was honest and straightforward, and that he was lucky to have a loyal brother in this life, so it was not a problem for him to keep himself out of trouble. But I didn't expect that you would have such great ambitions. It seems that the future wealth of my Cheng family really depends on Chou Niu!"

"Ah?" Cheng Chubi was stunned and had no idea what his father was talking about.

He didn't think too much about it. He just wanted to save face for his good brother and not let his uncle take all the limelight.

"Drink, drink!" Cheng Yaojin didn't say much, but just pulled Cheng Chubi to drink.

In the evening, news about Duke Lu's mansion spread like wildfire.

It is said that a cow in his family committed suicide for love.

Of course, the cows in Duke Lu's mansion are anthropomorphic in terms of emotions, which is something that everyone in Chang'an City knows.

This matter also spread to Sifang Pavilion. After hearing about this, a small country in the south of the Harsha Dynasty wanted to ask for help to go to Duke Lu’s mansion to see such a human-like cow.

Why are the sacred cows in our country not as spiritual as the cows in the Tang Dynasty?
As the days passed, the wedding day was getting closer.

It is impossible to say that he is not nervous or excited. In fact, the little elephant is really looking forward to it.

It was not anything else. The day before yesterday, Li Jingren and his gang took him to eat lamb intestines early in the morning. He was so uncomfortable.

If you say you don't want to eat this stuff, I really don't want to; after eating it, I dreamed of Pei Xueqing's sweet and soft body in the middle of the night.

Li Xiaoxiang had to take a cold shower in the middle of the night to calm down his anger.

Li Jingren and his friends are also bad people. They ask Li Xiang to eat lamb intestines every day. Now Li Xiang has learned his lesson. Alas, I won't go.

When the wedding is completed, then we can go.

Of course, Lu Zhaolin lived up to expectations and wrote him a poem urging him to get dressed and a poem fanning him.

The level was indeed good enough, but Li Xiang always felt it sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

On February 7, four days before the wedding, Duke Zhang Liang of Yun also returned to the capital.

Li Xiang heard about this matter on the first day Zhang Liang returned to Beijing.

After all, Li Shimin had specially approved that Zhang Shenji and Li would be executed after Zhang Liang returned.

Of course, Li Xiang didn't care about this matter. It was just a case of beheading an adulterous couple. You, Zhang Liang, wanted to be a cuckold, but I didn't want to disregard the law.

However, what Li Xiang did not expect was that after Zhang Liang came out of the palace that afternoon, he came to Jingzhao Prefecture.

The first time Zhang Liang saw Li Xiang, he immediately bowed.

In the Tang Dynasty, bowing was already a very formal etiquette.

Li Xiang didn't know what Zhang Liang was singing: "Duke Yun, please stand up quickly."

"I want to thank Your Highness for helping me get rid of the..."

Having said this, Zhang Liang couldn't continue.

He is also a man, and this kind of thing...is simply impossible to talk about.

To be honest, he had no choice but to abandon his wife and marry Li.

Firstly, when he was young, the Zhaojun Li family had done him a favor, and secondly, the other family was powerful and influential.

He certainly couldn't afford to offend her, and he was both indulgent and afraid of this Li.

The most important thing is that Li has some leverage over him. If he reports him, he will be in big trouble.

Who in society these days hasn’t made some mistakes?

Li Xiang didn't have much opinion about Zhang Liang.

When he was the Chief Secretary of the Grand Marshal's Office in Xiangzhou, Zhang Liang often secretly sent his men to investigate the good and evil deeds of the people under his jurisdiction, suppress the powerful, and provide relief to the poor and weak, for which he was praised. If you must say, he was actually a good person.

Zhang Liang was good in literature, but not in martial arts. Not to mention that Zhang Liang abandoned the city and fled when Liu Heita rebelled, even in the historical expedition against Goguryeo, if Zhang Jinshu had not fought back, the Tang army he led might have been attacked by Goguryeo.

In Li Xiang's opinion, Zhang Liang could be allowed to handle government affairs, but not military affairs.

"Duke Yun, there is no need to do this. I am also enforcing the law impartially." Li Xiang just said in a flat tone.

"Your Highness saved my life when I was in Goguryeo last time; now you are helping me get rid of the cancer in my family. You are really a great help to me!" Zhang Liang said sincerely.

As he spoke, he took out a gift list from his arms.

"I heard that Your Highness will be getting married soon. This is my gift list." Zhang Liang said sincerely, "Your Majesty has reviewed my gift. I hope Your Highness will accept it."

Li Xiang did not refuse his request, but asked Li Jingren to step forward and take the gift list.

"Thank you, Duke Yun." He nodded with a smile.

Zhang Liang did not stay in Jingzhao Prefecture for long. It seemed that he really came to give gifts. He left in a hurry after saying a few words.

After Zhang Liang left, Li Jingren said with some worry, "Brother, is there any trickery involved?"

"What kind of deception could it be?" Li Xiang said with a smile, "Don't think badly of your own people." "Him?" Li Jingren said disdainfully, "Is he worthy of being one of ours? Pah! He's a complete cuckold!"

It's no wonder that Li Jingren looked down on him. In fact, the nobles in Chang'an City didn't care much about Zhang Liang.

This is also the reason why Du He and Zhao Jie don’t like this person very much. It’s because he is too stupid.

"Well, maybe he has his own difficulties." Li Xiang smiled and shook his hand. "As the saying goes, every family has its own troubles. Don't experience the suffering of others and don't judge them casually."

"But Zhang Liang is King Wei's man after all..." Li Jingren looked hesitant. He didn't believe that Zhang Liang's gift had no special meaning.

"You make sense." Li Xiang nodded, and then said to Li Jingren: "I will report this matter to the Saint, and I will enter the palace now."

Although he really didn't think Zhang Liang could do anything weird, he still had to report to Li Shimin.

Old Li is not a suspicious person. If it were another dynasty, it would be a taboo for the crown prince and court officials to have private interactions.

What's more, Zhang Liang is more than just a court official, he is also a general who leads an army and holds military power!
If it were an emperor like Li Longji, he would not only kill you three times a day, but at least the crown prince would die of a sudden illness.

When he entered the palace, the palace was preparing for Li Xiang's wedding.

After all, he is the first grandson of Old Li to get married, and he is also the crown prince, so the ceremony must be grand.

Li Xiang's bedroom is the Wude Hall, next to which are the Lizheng Hall and the Eastern Palace. After getting married, he not only has to pay his respects to Li Chengqian and Su Yi, but also to Old Li and Concubine Wei who is in charge of the harem.

As for other concubines, there is no need for that.

To Li Xiang's surprise, Li Shimin was not in the Lizheng Hall, but in the Wude Hall with Li Mingda, directing the eunuchs to decorate the palace for Li Xiang.

"Hey, move a little to the left, it's crooked!" Lao Li put one hand on his waist and pointed at the eunuch with the word "happiness" pasted on it: "Yes, yes, yes, that's it, okay——"

Li Xiang skipped to Li Shimin's side and patted him on the shoulder.

"Aweng!"

Li Shimin knew it was Li Xiang without turning around. Apart from this kid, no one else was so casual and close to him.

"It's Xiang'er." Li Shimin finally let go of the eunuchs with a sense of reluctance, turned around and said to Li Xiang with a smile: "Why are you back so early?"

"Isn't the whole palace looking for you? Lian Qiao said that you and your aunt were helping me decorate my new house in the Wude Hall." Li Xiang said with his hands spread out.

"Yes, Xiang'er's marriage is a top priority." Li Mingda said with a smile: "I am also looking forward to it. When Xueqing enters the palace, I can come to Wude Hall more often and have a companion on weekdays."

"There are also Sister Baoer and Sister Xiao." Li Xiang said with a smile.

When mentioning these three people, Li Xiang suddenly realized that these three wives were older than him.

Of course, this is not a big deal. In ancient times, men were not limited to marrying only one woman.

"Humph, you little elephant, you are such a pervert." Li Mingda shook his fist: "You want to marry three women at once, you have such a big appetite!"

"It's not bad. Grandpa once said that a real man would marry nine wives. I still need six." Li Xiang said with his hands on his hips.

"Oh, look at this." Li Mingda looked at Li Shimin unwillingly: "You haven't even gotten married yet, but you're already thinking about marrying nine women!"

Who would have thought that this time, Li Shimin, for the first time, did not respond to Li Mingda.

"For a man, marrying more wives is not a big deal." Li Shimin coughed twice. "After all, the Tang Dynasty will be handed over to Xiang'er in the future. If he marries fewer women and has fewer sons, this will be a big problem."

There is one more thing that Li Shimin didn't say.

Thank God, it was thanks to Xiang'er that he thought of marrying more women.

If he is as obsessed with little boy girls as his father is, then we'll have to think about changing the crown prince!
In fact, Li Mingda was not against it, he just felt a little uncomfortable.

"Oh, by the way, old man." Li Xiang said quickly, "Just now, the Duke of Yun went to Jingzhao Prefecture. I came to report to you."

"Oh, I went to give you a gift." Li Shimin nodded with a smile and said, "I wrote to him about this matter, otherwise he would not have remembered to give you a gift with his careless personality."

"Ah?" Now it was Li Xiang's turn to be surprised: "You asked him to give me a gift?"

No, Aong, what's going on?

I've heard that the emperor prevented foreign ministers from making friends with the crown prince, but I've never heard that the emperor forced foreign ministers to make friends with the crown prince...

"Zhang Liang was in Liaodong, but he offended you badly."

Li Shimin motioned Li Xiang to follow him. Li Xiang turned around and waved to Li Mingda, and the two of them followed behind Li Shimin.

"What's more, Zhang Liang's relationship with the Crown Prince is not very good. This is a good opportunity to ease the relationship between him and the East Palace... This is not only my idea, but also the Crown Prince's idea."

"My father?" Li Xiang was stunned. My father had a heart as small as a needle, how could he be so broad-minded?

"Lü Meng once said that when a scholar is away for three days, he will be looked at with new eyes. Can't you, father, be more open-minded?" Li Shimin said pretending to be displeased.

"That's right, that's the truth." Li Xiang nodded and agreed with Li Shimin's point of view.

"Zhang Liang has been very close to your second uncle since he was driven out of the Eastern Palace by Du He and Zhao Jie." Li Shimin said again: "This is not a good sign. Now that your father has thought this through, I am also very pleased."

"So you also know about the fight between my father and second uncle, right?" Li Xiang suddenly asked.

"Do you think I'm old...that what?" Li Shimin said this and suddenly forgot the word.

Li Xiang and Li Mingda looked at each other and said in unison: "Alzheimer's disease."

"Yes, do you think that I, your grandfather, have Alzheimer's disease? Can't you even notice this little sign?" Li Shimin snorted.

"Since you knew that, why did you allow Zhang Liang to make friends with his second uncle?" Li Xiang asked himself again.

Li Shimin felt a tightness in his chest.

Enter...enter your father-in-law!
"It's all in the past." Li Shimin waved his hands and sighed, "I know the consequences of a quarrel between brothers. It's just that we are all brothers. Just like you said to your father before, I just feel a sense of indebtedness towards your second uncle."

"I was wrong about this."

Old Li put his hand on Li Xiang's head. The little elephant was almost as tall as him now. The scene of the tiny man rushing over to beat Zhang Xuansu seemed to have happened just yesterday.

"It doesn't matter if you make a mistake. As long as you correct it, you're a good grandpa." Li Xiang didn't intend to delve into this issue, and said, "Grandpa knows his mistakes and can correct them. He really has the spirit of a grandson..."

After hearing what Li Xiang said, Lao Li felt hot on his forehead.

Damn it, you little bastard, you are rebelling against Tiangang, right?

Li Xiang also knew that he had said the wrong thing and was about to leave, but unexpectedly Li Mingda grabbed his sleeve.

"Aye, I helped you catch the baby elephant!" Li Mingda said with a smile.

(End of this chapter)