The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 736 Li Shimin's Little Move

Li Yan's privilege as a prince is to wander the streets without being restrained during the city's curfew. However, this power is also enjoyed by some princes and senior officials, so it is not considered special.

And now this token made Li Yan feel that he was second only to the emperor and above everyone else, and he vaguely felt the tyranny of imperial power.

God knows that as the crown prince, he is the one with high hopes from the people of the world. He has to be extremely cautious and tread carefully every day. Countless people are watching his every word and action. He has to set an example for the world in everything he does and he has to be polite to everyone he meets. Sometimes he is not as free as ordinary princes like the King of Shu and the King of Wei.

Although Lao Li is the emperor and appears to be a role model for the people of the world, he actually possesses absolute power. He can refuse supervision and act high above everyone else. He can do whatever he wants, sleep wherever he wants, and sleep with whomever he wants.

They are simply not comparable to themselves. The supervision of the emperor by the monarch, his ministers and the remonstrators is also symbolic. Sometimes they have to coax him, for fear that the emperor will be shameless and turn his back on them. It mainly depends on the emperor's self-awareness.

But their supervision over the prince was very real and they would not allow any slackness. They would always take the world as their responsibility and the welfare of the people as their priority, and force themselves to restrain themselves from doing this and touching that.

If I don't listen, I will report it to the emperor immediately.

What awaits him is a scolding and punishment, and even the threat and pressure of replacing the crown prince.

Now, Li Yan was extremely excited, and felt that he had finally gotten what he wanted after all the hard work. Although Li Shimin had given it to him in the form of military intelligence, Li Yan also knew that if it weren't for his status as the crown prince, this token would not have been issued.

At most, they would occasionally send someone out to do errands, for example, let Ma Xuanliang temporarily carry out a task and then return the order afterwards.

Now, Li Shimin's meaning was obviously that this token was given to him. From now on, he could go out of the city to play in the middle of the night, and go home to sleep when he came back late, without being locked up in the military camp outside the city.

However, he could not do shameful things such as killing people to silence them or destroying corpses, otherwise Li Shimin would know about it the next day. If he did not have a solid reason, Li Shimin would get angry and the token would be reclaimed or invalidated.

Li Yan felt a little relieved in his heart. He had his own private space, so there was no need to go through the trouble of destroying the body!

"Yes, Father, I will remember your instructions and use it with caution!"

Li Shimin nodded slightly: "Okay, go and do your thing, I have to go to court too."

"Yes, father. I'll take my leave now." Li Yan bowed, then left Chengqing Hall and headed towards Changsun Wugou's Qiyun Palace.

With the help of Wang De, Li Shimin changed into a dragon robe and headed towards the Taiji Hall.

After seeing Ma Xuanliang guarding in front, Li Shimin's heart moved, and he thought of what Li Yan had just said about winning over Tuli. Although the prince had a somewhat eccentric personality, he was always steady and smooth in doing things. Every time he made himself confused, he always managed to make his own excuses.

Just like this time, he knew he was angry and used the military intelligence of the grassland to resist.

Li Shimin could see it, but what happened to the prince yesterday was not a big deal, it was just a little late. What's more, the prince drank first, Li Ke was assassinated later, and there was a conflict before. Maybe he went to drink stewed wine and didn't have time to go to Li Ke's house, so it was not even a fault.

The situation on the grassland may not have been received this morning, but such an important situation must be implemented. It is normal for the prince to put pressure on it and confirm it.

Since he said that what happened yesterday was very important, it definitely wouldn't be made up, especially since it was related to Tuli.

If it happened on the grassland, it would be fine. But Li Shimin had to ask about the matters related to Rajatuli in Chang'an City. If there was such an effect, then he, the emperor, would definitely be more powerful. The prince was young and inexperienced. What if he made a big mistake?
As the second Khan, Tuli had considerable influence among the Turks. Even after defeating Jie Li, Tuli's attitude was very important for the Tang Dynasty to conquer the Turks and stabilize the situation on the grassland. Therefore, matters concerning Tuli must be handled with caution.

"Ma Xuanliang?"

Ma Xuanliang, who was looking serious, heard Li Shimin's move and turned around quickly: "Your Majesty, I am here!"

"What did the prince do yesterday afternoon?"

Well.
Ma Xuanliang was stunned. The emperor asked about this yesterday, but didn’t he report it last night?
The prince was drinking at Taihe Tower in Anxingfang. It is said that he drank too much and passed out. He then rested in the guest room at the back. Could it be that the emperor had forgotten about him?

But Ma Xuanliang immediately realized that there must be something he didn't understand, and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I will check it out right away."

"Well, go now. Remember, don't alarm others." Li Shimin had made his meaning clear, and he didn't make things difficult for Ma Xuanliang, but just gave him some instructions.

Ma Xuanliang knew that this "someone else" must be the crown prince. Normally, without the emperor's order, Ma Xuanliang would only observe the movements of these princes from the outside. Only with the emperor's permission would he conduct an in-depth investigation.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ma Xuanliang responded and withdrew from the team.

Li Shimin, under the protection of the remaining guards, walked towards the front hall.
Li Yan held the jade ruyi in his hand, playing with it while walking towards the harem. Halfway through, he met Zhangsun Wugou with a large group of palace maids and eunuchs. "Your son pays respect to the Queen Mother. May the Queen Mother live long and happy."

Li Yan stepped forward and bowed, then asked curiously, "Where are you going so early in the morning, mother?"

"Where else can we go? We should go to Chengqing Palace."

Empress Changsun stepped forward and looked at Li Yan lovingly. She reached out and touched Li Yan's forehead, her eyebrows and eyes full of love: "Mother heard that Qian'er went to Chengqing Palace early in the morning. She was afraid that your father would scold you, so she wanted to help you escort him."

"Scold me, how could that be possible?"

Li Yan took the jade ruyi in his hand and showed it off to Empress Changsun, and smiled proudly: "Father not only praised me, but also gave me his favorite thing. Look, mother!"

"You have been honest and simple since childhood, not good at speaking, and have caused your mother a lot of worry. But after returning from Zhongshan County, you suddenly seemed to have awakened, smart and intelligent, and wise but foolish."

Empress Changsun finally put her worries at ease. She smiled gently and pretended to blame him, "You have become too clever, like a loach, and you are so slick that you have fooled your mother and even your father."

"Every time I get into trouble, I can get through it safely, which saves my mother a lot of worry."

"Your father was really angry yesterday. What did you say this time that made your father not blame you and even gave you this treasure? I asked him several times to come over to help Zhinu, but he was reluctant to do so?"

"No way, what kind of nonsense is this?"

Li Yan turned around and naturally reached out his hand to hold Empress Changsun's arm. "Mother, I solved a big problem for my father and it was a great service to the country, so my father gave me this reward. You are talking as if I am a greedy minister and my father is a tyrant?"

"Oh, right, my father just mentioned that my third brother was injured. Mother, my father excused me from the morning court session. Let's go and see my third brother together. I have heard that these barbarians are so abominable. They actually assassinated my third brother?"

When this was mentioned, a trace of worry appeared on Changsun Wugou's face. "A war between our Tang Dynasty and the Turks is inevitable. Both sides are preparing for war intensively. It is reasonable for them to send a large number of spies and assassins before the war to spy on the military intelligence and assassinate important generals and officials of the other side."

"It seems that the Turks have set their sights on the prince. You are still the crown prince, so you are in even greater danger. Your father has already sent more guards to protect your safety. You have to be careful too. Don't go anywhere important during this period. Just stay in the East Palace!"

Li Yan felt warm in his heart and said with a smile: "I understand. I will not go out during this period of time to avoid worrying my mother."

"Well, let's go to the Prince of Shu's Mansion now," Changsun Wugou nodded.

After returning to the East Palace from Li Ke's residence, as soon as Li Yan entered the palace gate, Wang Xuance stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Your Highness, you are back?"

"Ok!"

Li Yan was in a very good mood and nodded subconsciously. He took two steps and suddenly realized something. He stopped and turned back suddenly: "Why are you here? Aren't you..."

"Your Highness."

Seeing that Li Yan had remembered, Wang Xuance was about to speak when Li Yan waved his hand and said, "Let's talk inside."

Arriving at the inner study of Cheng'en Palace, he sent the servants away. Before he even sat down, he asked in confusion, "You're not at the hotel?"

"Uh, no, you weren't at the inn guarding Ashina Yun, so why did you go back to the East Palace?"

Wang Xuance said with a bitter face: "Your Highness, as soon as you left, Princess Ashina Yun started crying in her room, and I couldn't stop her no matter how hard I tried to persuade her."

"After much persuasion, I sent someone to bring in hot water and clothes. After the princess washed herself, she wanted to leave. I wanted to stop her, but she put a dagger on her neck to threaten her. Seeing that the princess was very emotional and determined, I was afraid that she would hurt herself, so I let her go."

Li Yan's face darkened: "She went back to the Shu Palace?"

"No, she asked for a horse and left the city directly. My people followed her outside the city, but when they saw the princess heading north, they stopped following her. I guess the princess went back to the grassland."

At this point, Wang Xuance said with a worried look on his face: "Your Highness, Ashina Yun is Tuli's only daughter. What happened last night, do you think she will complain to Tuli? If she knows the details, will Tuli attack us or ask the emperor for punishment?"

"Hmph, it's all your fault. If it weren't for you, how could things have turned out like this!" Li Yan took advantage of the situation and refused to admit it after putting on his trousers. He shamelessly scolded Wang Xuance, acting like an innocent victim.

(End of this chapter)