Chapter 314: Summer Vacation at Cuiwei Palace

The saying that practice makes perfect also applies to best men.

Getting beaten is a habit, at least Cheng Chubi has become accustomed to it.

The big stick hit his body with a dull thud, and even Lao Cheng, who had his own children, felt a little distressed.

But this is also part of the Tang Dynasty wedding. Don’t play if you don’t like it.

After serving as best man for Wei Daijia, Cheng Chubi set out on his journey south again.

This time, it was he, not Pei Xingjian, who led the fleet.

After all, Cheng Chubi had been out to sea for several years, so he knew everything.

In the 19th year of Zhenguan, the imperial court rebuilt the Daming Palace at the suggestion of Li Xiang.

After all, Old Li had been fighting outside for many years and had a number of hidden diseases. The Taiji Palace was low-lying and humid, so Li Shimin often felt uncomfortable when he lived in the Taiji Palace.

The construction started in August of the 19th year of Zhenguan and lasted until February of the 23rd year of Zhenguan, a total of three years and five months. On February 3rd, Yan Lide officially reported to Li Shimin that the Daming Palace had been completed.

After seeing the Daming Palace, Li Shimin was very satisfied with it. He ordered the opening of Danfengmen Street to the south of Danfengmen of the Daming Palace.

After the completion of the Daming Palace, Li Shimin ordered that Yongchangfang and Yishanfang be divided into two, and Guangzhaifang and Laitingfang be added. A street was opened in between, with a width of 130 steps, extending from the north to the south of the two blocks and reaching the east of the north gate of Yongxingfang in the south.

However, Li Shimin built the Daming Palace but had no intention of moving there.

Originally, he planned to use Hanyuan Hall as the venue for the grand court assembly, but perhaps because Old Li was a nostalgic person, he remained in Taiji Palace and did not move.

On the third day after the completion of the Daming Palace, Li Xiang went to the Lizheng Hall to find Li Shimin, wanting to ask him why he did not move the built palace.

Old Li was lying on a recliner, covered with a bearskin cloak, basking in the sun leisurely in the yard.

After hearing Li Xiang's question, Li Shimin smiled and said to him, "Ah, you are old now, so you won't go to Daming Palace to join in the fun. After all, the Tang Dynasty belongs to you young people, so it's better to leave it to you."

"That won't delay Grandpa's move in." Li Xiang said helplessly, "Besides, you have a hidden illness, so living in a place like Daming Palace with a relatively high terrain is good for your health. It's better than staying in Taiji Palace, which is damp and cold."

"When your grandma was still alive, she lived with me in Lizheng Palace. Now that your grandma has passed away, the only place where I can miss her is here in Lizheng Palace." Li Shimin suddenly said with emotion: "When people get old, they like to reminisce about the past. Only when I live in this Lizheng Palace can I feel that your grandma has never left me..."

Li Xiang felt a little sad after listening to it.

He wiped his eyes and squatted beside Li Shimin.

"Then your grandson will stay with you in Taiji Palace. We won't move." Li Xiang said with a smile.

Li Shimin reached out and stroked Li Xiang's head without saying anything, just looking at the swing in the distance with nostalgia.

His gaze seemed to travel through time and space, fixed on the graceful figure swinging on the swing with her child in her arms.

As a pure love warrior, Li Xiang can also understand Lao Li's attachment to Empress Changsun.

Put yourself in his shoes. If Pei Xueqing had left him early, then maybe Li Xiang would have performed worse than Li Shimin.

Since Lao Li didn't plan to move, Li Xiang also felt that there was no point in moving there.

The Daming Palace is just a place with a good reputation. In reality, it doesn't feel as good as the Taiji Palace. Li Xiang thought so while pinching his nose. However, the dry and refreshing environment of the Daming Palace... is indeed quite tempting.

Walking all the way from Lizheng Hall back to Wude Hall, Li Xiang picked up Li Wushuang from Sanqing Temple in Daji Hall.

"Where did you come from?" Li Mingda looked at Li Xiang, seeing his red eyes, and asked suspiciously, "What's wrong with his eyes?"

"It's nothing. The wind blew some sand in just now." Li Xiang lied.

There was no way to do anything. This aunt was the most sensitive. She would tell the truth and cry out of sadness. Li Xiang would be very busy.

Coaxing a woman is the most tiring job in the world.

Li Mingda was skeptical, but did not continue to ask questions. Instead, he handed Li Wushuang over to Li Xiang.

"Doudou just had snacks here, let her have dinner on time." Li Mingda instructed.

"Okay, won't you come and have dinner with us?" Li Xiang asked again.

"I won't go. I just played a few little tunes for Doudou today. She seemed to like them very much. I want to record them first." Li Mingda responded with a smile and reached out to pinch Li Wushuang's little face.

Li Xiang was in awe. Could it be that his aunt was going to become the children's song queen of the Tang Dynasty?

That’s not impossible…

The little girl Li Wushuang is very naughty. She is not like her mother Pei Xueqing at all. Instead, she looks very much like Li Xiang.

They say daughters take after their fathers, and this may be the reason.

Li Wushuang's biggest hobby now is to squat in the yard and count ants. He even catches ants and puts them in his hands and takes them home to present them to Li Mingda.

Every time, Li Mingda would scream in fear - she was most afraid of insects.

So under Li Mingda's repeated orders, Li Wushuang was forbidden to play with insects in the Daji Hall.

Li Wushuang felt aggrieved about this and didn't go to Daji Hall to play with his aunt for several days.

Fortunately, children's emotions come and go quickly, and more importantly, because Pei Xueqing spanked him for this incident, Li Wushuang transferred his emotions from Li Mingda to Pei Xueqing.

"Why did you hit the child?" Li Xiang said helplessly as he looked at his daughter who was struggling on Pei Xueqing's legs and begging for help.

"Yeah, save me--" Li Wushuang stretched out his hand cooperatively.

Pei Xueqing raised his head and glanced at Li Xiang with a very dangerous look.

Li Xiang shuddered and said quickly, "Yes, this kid needs to be beaten. If he's not beaten for three days, he'll tear the roof off the house. Sister, you're doing the right thing!"

"Hmph." Pei Xueqing snorted, put Li Wushuang down, and pointed to the corner of the wall.

Li Wushuang quickly ran to the corner with his carrot legs and stood facing the wall obediently.

Bloodline suppression, it really doesn't lie to me...

Li Xiang was also sighing, there is really always someone who can defeat you.

"Xiang'er, don't spoil the child too much." Pei Xueqing's voice was gentle, and she whispered softly beside Li Xiang in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "The child doesn't understand anything yet. If you don't take advantage of this period of time to shape her ideas, I'm afraid it will be difficult to change them in the future."

"I know, I know." Li Xiang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Pei Xueqing sighed again, "But we can't keep suppressing her. I'll be the bad guy, and you can just be your loving father... Calculate the time, I'll go out in a quarter of an hour to make some peach blossom pastries for you, and you can quietly take her to Daji Hall." "This, is this okay?" Li Xiang grabbed Pei Xueqing's slender hand and looked at her distressedly: "You are the most gentle and kind sister in my heart, how can you be a bad guy? Otherwise, let me do it..."

"You." Pei Xueqing didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She stretched out her white finger and poked Li Xiang on the forehead: "I am already a strict mother. It is not appropriate to change it. Just do as I say."

"Okay." Li Xiang nodded and reluctantly agreed to the request to be a good person.

Isn't it easy to be a good person? Li Xiang is the best at this.

"While" Pei Xueqing was making peach blossom pastry, Li Xiang quietly approached Li Wushuang, who was still facing the wall obediently, and reached out to touch her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah." Li Wushuang turned around and saw that it was Li Xiang, and smiled sweetly.

Li Xiang reached out and rubbed her little head: "While your mother is not here, Yeye will take you out to play and find Zuzu, okay?"

The ancestor he was referring to was Li Shimin.

"Great!" Li Wushuang smiled instantly and jumped up and down in response to Li Xiang's words.

Although the child is young, she is very smart and knows best who spoils her.

Li Shimin held her in his hands for fear of dropping her, and held her in his mouth for fear of her melting. Being able to stay by Old Li's side was truly a blessing.

……

The summer of the twenty-third year of Zhenguan seemed to be exceptionally hot. According to the custom of previous years, the royal family of the Tang Dynasty always had to go out to escape the heat.

For example, in the 21st year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin took his family and close ministers to Youzhou to escape the summer heat.

This is a new place developed by Li Xiang, and he chose a place more than 300 miles south of Wuqing.

Li Shimin was very satisfied with this scenic place, so he named this palace Lianggong.

Judging from the address, that place should be today's Beidaihe.

In the summer of the 22nd year of Zhenguan, Lao Li decided to go to Dengzhou to escape the summer heat.

Places near the sea are never as hot as inland areas. Dengzhou, which has the ocean to regulate the temperature, is simply incomparable to the inland areas.

Dengzhou has now developed into a metropolis, and its prosperity is no less than Chang'an.

Although there is no canal, Dengzhou is close to the sea and connected to Wuqing. Goods can be sorted through the port and transported to Wuqing to enter the canal, or transported to cities in the south, or transported to Luoyang and other places through inland transportation.

Now the people of Dengzhou have money in their pockets and they especially like to send their children to Chang'an, so for a time there was a fever for academies.

Li Xiang also ordered people to build branches of the Tang Royal Academy of Literature in Dengzhou and Youzhou respectively, teaching the same textbooks and adopting the same academic system.

After all, the academy in Chang'an can't accommodate so many people, so we have to think of a way to distribute the profits.

Li Shimin was very satisfied with the development of Dengzhou.

He still remembers the first time he came to Dengzhou. The slightly desolate scene with everything in need of reconstruction is still vivid in his mind. Now, after a few years, this place has transformed into such a prosperous place.

One cannot help but sigh at the wonder of fate.

Feng Qing was still the chief secretary of the Dengzhou Grand Military Governor's Office, and Li Shimin did not promote him. This was left for Li Xiang to promote him when he ascended the throne in the future.

Besides, Feng Qing was promoted from the seventh rank to the third rank out of turn, so not promoting him now would not be considered unfair to him.

Youzhou also merged into a Youzhou Grand Marshal's Office, with Li Xiang also serving as the Grand Marshal and the Governor of Youzhou. Xu Jingzong has now been promoted to the third rank and is now the Chief Clerk of the Youzhou Grand Marshal's Office.

Lao Xu now works just as hard as Feng Qing, and is truly a role model of the times.

This is also the reason why Dengzhou and Youzhou can develop rapidly. Having a leader who is willing to work hard and is down-to-earth and diligent is the guarantee of development.

After two tours in the 21st and 22nd years of Zhenguan, Li Shimin once again thought of his former summer resort.

Don’t ask, the answer is Cuiwei Palace on Mount Zhongnan.

Datang cannot be without Cuiwei Palace, just like the 3D zone cannot be without Tifa.

So, at Li Shimin's order, the top leaders of the Tang Dynasty set out in mid-March and embarked on the road to Cuiwei Palace.

Li Xiang always felt uneasy in his heart. He certainly remembered that his grandfather had passed away due to illness in Hanfeng Hall of Cuiwei Palace in May this year.

Although Aong is in much better health now than in his previous life, and there are not so many bad things, such as the prince rebelling and dying young, the fat son coveting the position of prince, and the youngest son being too cowardly, Old Li can only overclock his body to pave the way for Li Zhi, and his health deteriorates rapidly...

But it is always better to be prepared, so Li Xiang decided to take Sun Simiao with him for a walk.

If anything happens, it would be good to have Doctor Sun in charge.

Sun Simiao naturally would not refuse Li Xiang's request. The old man was living a very comfortable life now, and was like a detached master in Chang'an City.

He also had many apprentices around him, which helped him fulfill his dream.

Even Lu Zhaolin was influenced by Sun Simiao, and he did not forget to send a letter to Sun Simiao to ask for medical advice while he was in the Andong Protectorate.

Out of respect for Li Xiang and Lu Zhaolin's piety, Sun Simiao would write back to him when he had time.

With Lao Sun traveling with him, Li Xiang felt much more at ease.

But it’s no problem. Anyway, Aong doesn’t take golden elixirs now, so there will be no problem.

So, in early April, the group arrived at Cuiwei Palace in a grand manner.

Cuiwei Palace was built under the influence of Li Xiang in the 17th year of Zhenguan. It was led by the chief architect Yan Lide and completed in May. It was named Cuiwei Palace.

The palace is surrounded by mountains and is very majestic. In the imperial edict for the construction of Yuhua Palace, Lao Li said: "Recently, due to the aspirations of the generals, we have built Cuiwei Palace in the south. It is a masterpiece of painting and calligraphy, and it has the advantage of forests and springs. The peaks are narrow like dragon's eyelashes, and the mountain paths are dangerous like Jiaoyuan", which described the construction of Cuiwei Palace.

The main gate of Cuiwei Palace opens to the north and is called Yunxia Gate. The court hall is called Cuiwei Hall, the sleeping hall is called Hanfeng Hall, and there is the Prince's Palace next to it.

Its main gate faces west and is named Jinhua Gate.

The inner hall is named Xian Hall, and it stretches for more than 500 meters with Cuiwei Palace.

After the palace was built, Jinshi Zhang Changling wrote "Ode to Cuiwei Palace" for it, which was deeply appreciated by Lao Li.

Due to the reform of the Jinshi examination, Zhang Changling also suffered a great loss. However, since Zhang Changling submitted his paper to Cheng Yaojin's house, Cheng felt that the paper was incomprehensible. So, based on the idea that if it is incomprehensible, it means it is a good article, he told Lao Li about it.

Zhang Changling's writing style was also what Li Shimin liked, so Li was a little willful and made an exception and admitted him as the Minister of Examination.

(End of this chapter)