Chapter 23: The Second Generation of Dukes
This made Li Jiancheng almost think that Liu Jun had sided with Li Shimin.
Li Jiancheng smiled heartily and said without any hesitation: "I thought you had received some benefits from Shimin."
Liu Jun said humbly: "Except for the rewards from you and Your Highness, I dare not accept other gifts."
Li Jiancheng nodded with satisfaction, "You are indeed a smart man."
After saying this, Li Jiancheng's memorial had already been written. After the ink had dried, he handed it to Liu Jun together with Li Yuanji's memorial.
After Liu Jun received the memorial, he was unwilling to stay any longer and left Chongren Hall as if escaping.
After Liu Jun left, the smile on Li Jiancheng's face disappeared instantly. He picked up the pen again and started writing on the paper. Not long after, the contents of Li Yuanji's memorial appeared on the paper word for word.
Li Jiancheng handed it to Zheng Guanyin without waiting for the ink to dry.
Zheng Guanyin took the paper and examined it carefully. After a long moment, she looked shocked and asked, "How dare he?"
Li Jiancheng sneered and said, "My fourth brother is very courageous."
Zheng Guanyin said hurriedly: "It can't be true. Silang can't help Erlang."
Zheng Guanyin knew what Li Jiancheng was most worried about and afraid of.
Li Jiancheng said coldly: "I know it's not true. My father wouldn't take it seriously, and neither would Shimin. If he really wanted to help Shimin, he wouldn't say it so openly."
Li Jiancheng stood up suddenly, punched the long table, and gritted his teeth and said, "But he is disgusting and irritating."
Zheng Guanyin was relieved to see that Li Jiancheng did not believe what Li Yuanji said in the memorial, but she became worried again when she saw Li Jiancheng's angry attitude.
"So what are you going to do?"
"What else can I do? Of course I have to swallow my anger and write to my father, saying that I, as the eldest brother, have not done well enough, which is why my younger brother has become estranged from me."
Li Jiancheng gritted his teeth.
Li Yuanji had disgusted him, but he could not retaliate, so he had to write a letter to Li Yuan against his conscience, saying that it was his fault.
If he took the opportunity to take revenge on Li Yuanji, Li Yuan would be very disappointed.
Li Yuan showed Li Yuanji's memorial to him and Li Shimin, not only to see Li Shimin's attitude, but also to see his attitude.
If he is narrow-minded, he will take the opportunity to attack his brother.
There is a high possibility that Li Yuan will reconsider the position of crown prince.
Li Yuan would never allow a narrow-minded son to come to power and threaten the lives of his other sons.
If Li Yuan had no choice, he wouldn't have to be so cautious about Li Yuan's thoughts.
But Li Yuan has a choice, and the next one seems to be better?
Zheng Guanyin understood Li Jiancheng's feelings. After a brief thought, she asked in a low voice, "Should we send someone to deliver something to Wude Hall?"
When Li Jiancheng heard this, he felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten a fly, but he had to admit that Zheng Guanyin's proposal was far better than his simple previous memorial.
"Then select some of this winter's tribute and send it to the Wude Hall!"
Li Jiancheng said this almost while suppressing the discomfort in his heart.
Zheng Guanyin nodded and went downstairs to prepare gifts.
…
Wude Hall.
After Li Yuanji sent the memorial, he felt relieved.
When Xie Shufang hurried into the main hall and told Li Yuanji that Li Yuan had ordered the closure of the Wude Hall, Li Yuanji felt more relieved.
Li Yuan ordered the closure of the Wude Hall. What does this mean?
This shows that Li Yuan was angry.
If Li Yuan was angry, the lives of Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin and Pei Ji would definitely not be easy.
The three "enemies" Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin and Pei Ji were having a hard time, so Li Yuanji must have felt more comfortable.
Although the price paid was a bit high, it was a bit like killing one thousand enemies but losing eight hundred of your own.
But as long as he can take revenge on the "enemy" and vent his anger, Li Yuanji is still willing to pay a certain price.
After all, his "enemies" were not ordinary people. One could be called the greatest prince of all time, one was an emperor who made his mark in history, and one was a prime minister who left a mark in history.
It is normal to pay a small price when dealing with an 'enemy' of this level.
Li Yuanji felt relieved and had no intention of staying in the main hall of Wude Hall.
He left the main hall of Wude Hall and strolled around inside. Unknowingly, he arrived at the main gate of Wude Hall, Wude Gate, and saw the guards who had sealed his Wude Hall.
Li Yuanji recognized the two leaders, as they were the two Qianniu guards who had taken the lead in capturing him in front of Ganlu Palace.
At that time, he felt that the person looked familiar, but he couldn't recognize him.
Now that he had seen it, he had some impression.
One was Qu Tutong’s eldest son, Qu Tushou; the other was Yin Qiao’s stepson, Yin Yuan.
Two second generations.
Two heirs to the title of Duke.
There is no need to fight on the battlefield for wealth and glory, nor is there any need to engage in intrigue for official positions.
It is enough for them to just hang around, and when their fathers are gone, they will be the new dukes.
One was standing at the end as soon as he was born, and the other was standing at the end in a daze not long after he was born .
Although Li Yuanji himself was already standing at the end of the road, his end point could not be compared with that of Qu Tushou and Yin Yuan. Theirs was safer.
When the two men saw Li Yuanji, they took the initiative to step forward.
"Your Highness..."
The two of them bowed together.
Qu Tushou was a middle-aged man in his forties, tall and strong. He looked awkward when he bent down.
Yin Yuan was about twenty years old, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor short, an ordinary person's build, nothing special about him.
Li Yuanji's predecessor had been on the battlefield with Qu Tutong and Yin Qiao, and had also met Qu Tushou and Yin Yuan, so he was quite familiar with them.
"You two embarrassed me a lot in Ganlu Palace before."
Li Yuanji deliberately frowned.
Yin Yuan was a little at a loss, but Qu Tushou raised his head and smiled brightly.
"Your Highness is very generous and will not argue with us."
Qu Tushou's father Qu Tutong was a Xi person, a branch of the Donghu. Qu Tushou also had a hooked nose, deep eye sockets, and black hair.
Therefore, my predecessor liked to be close to Qu Tutong.
But Qu Tutong was lukewarm towards his predecessor, while Qu Tushou was willing to talk to his predecessor.
That's why Qu Tushou dared to speak so freely in front of Li Yuanji.
"Am I an adult?!"
Li Yuanji asked with a smile.
Qu Tushou's face froze in an instant.
In the Tang Dynasty, "Sir" was not used to address officials, but to address father.
Li Yuanji's words were equivalent to asking "Am I your father?"
It would be strange if Qu Tushou's face didn't freeze.
Yin Yuan said stiffly: "Your Highness, we offended you on the orders of the Saint..."
Li Yuanji glanced at Yin Yuan and said speechlessly: "I was just joking, why did you take it seriously?"
After saying this, Li Yuanji looked at Qu Tushou and asked, "Why would you be a colleague with such a boring person?"
Qu Tushou smiled bitterly, not knowing how to answer.
Should I tell Li Yuanji that he was born a Hu people and therefore was not liked by others, and that he could only be friends with Yin Yuan, who was also not liked by others?
Although Yin Yuan was Yin Qiao's son, he was also the only heir to Yin Qiao's title.
But he is a stepson, and his status as the only heir is limited to the present.
Once Yin Qiao gave birth to a son, his status as heir would immediately become invalid.
The other colleagues had similar backgrounds to them and knew Yin Yuan’s situation, so they didn’t like Yin Yuan very much.
These two unpopular people can only huddle together for warmth.
But you can't say this to Li Yuanji.
Because Li Yuanji's predecessor hated the fact that he had Hu blood, he would turn against anyone who mentioned it.
Not to mention the two younger ones, even if the two older ones in the family came, Li Yuanji would not be able to handle it if he got upset.
Seeing Qu Tushou smiling bitterly and not saying anything, Li Yuanji was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood what Qu Tushou was afraid of.
He did not ask any more questions, but just stared at Qu Tushou and said, "What did my father tell you? Did he completely seal off my Wude Hall, or allow the people in my Wude Hall to go out? Or did he let me go out every now and then to get some fresh air?"
When Qu Tushou heard this, he heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly said with a smile: "The Saint only issued an order to seal your Wude Hall, and didn't say anything else."
Li Yuanji nodded with satisfaction.
Since Li Yuan only issued an edict to seal his Wude Hall, he didn't say anything else.
That means there is still some room for maneuver.
For example, he could climb over the wall or find an excuse to send someone over the wall.
The guards at the door would probably turn a blind eye.
Even if Li Yuan knew about this, he would probably pretend to know nothing.
As long as Li Yuan doesn't catch him in the act, it'll be fine.
"Very good, you guys stay here and guard it, and don't let even a mouse out."
Li Yuanji said this in a generous manner, then left the entrance of Wude Gate with his hands behind his back.
As soon as Li Yuanji left, Yin Yuan heaved a sigh of relief and said to Qu Tushou with lingering fear: "Our prince doesn't seem to be as fierce as the legend says..."
Qu Tushou glanced at Yin Yuan and said, "That depends on the person..."
Yin Yuan looked at Qu Tushou in confusion.
Qu Tushou pointed to his eye sockets and his nose.
Yin Yuan suddenly realized.
After Yin Yuan understood why Li Yuanji became so easy to talk to, he asked, "If he wants to force his way out, should we stop him?"
Qu Tushou was stunned, staring and shouting: "Can you stop him? Is the wound on your shoulder healed?"
Yin Yuan touched his shoulder, a look of lingering fear on his face.
He was the man who was thrown out by Li Yuanji in front of Ganlu Palace.
When he tried to stop Li Yuanji, Li Yuanji first hit him on the shoulder, then grabbed his arm and threw him out.
He still remembers the force vividly.
The punch was very powerful, but it didn't cause much damage. In his father's words, the opponent should have held back, otherwise he would have been crippled.
If Li Yuanji really used all his strength and martial arts to force his way out of the Wude Hall, he and Qu Tushou would not be able to stop him.
Seeing that Yin Yuan looked unhappy, Qu Tushou patted Yin Yuan on the head and shouted, "Alright, forget it. He won't go out."
