My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 4 White Jade Ointment

Looking at Qingque's clear eyes, the doubts in Li Shimin's heart just disappeared.

Qingque is a well-behaved and gentle child, how could he do such a thing?

Come to think of it, the prince has been keeping a male lover in the Eastern Palace for more than a year.

If Qingque wanted to tell the secret, he would have done it long ago. Why wait until now?

"It would be nice if the prince was as sensible as you."

Li Shimin sighed.

When Li Tai heard this, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

If he had known that his father would have this idea, he should have informed him earlier.

It was he who found a way to leak the fact that the Crown Prince had a male favorite.

In fact, he knew it a long time ago, but he didn't say it at first, just kept it in his hand.

However, he was assassinated some time ago, although the origin of the assassin has not yet been identified.

But who else would kill him except his good elder brother?

This time of informing was his counterattack.

In order to watch the show, he came to the palace early under the pretext of looking up books and waited until now.

"Father, I am just confused for a moment. After a while, I will understand your good intentions."

"Qingque, it seems that the reason why Big Brother behaved this way is related to his leg disease."

"Qingque has already issued a call for talents in the Literature Museum to find a miracle doctor who can treat my brother."

"If you can cure your leg disease, you will definitely recover."

Li Tai said sincerely.

In February of this year, the manuscript of "Guo Di Zhi" edited by Li Tai was completed. Emperor Taizong of Tang was very happy and regarded it as a treasure. He not only collected the work in the royal library, but also rewarded Li Tai lavishly one after another.

First, he gave "ten thousand pieces of goods", and then he rewarded a large amount of money and property every month. The amount was so large that it even exceeded the standard for the crown prince, which forced Chu Suiliang to write a memorial to persuade him.

As a result, Li Shimin happily expressed his agreement with his point of view, but did not cut Li Tai's spending. Instead, he cancelled the spending limit for the crown prince, which was equivalent to maintaining Li Tai's excessive spending in disguise.

After that, Li Tai was granted permission to open a literary institute and to recruit scholars.

Li Shimin relied on the Academy of Literature to recruit talents, which gave him the strength to launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

"You have a heart."

"But the prince's leg disease is not that simple."

"Brother Zhen, the divine doctor, and Sun Simiao have both gone to see him, but they are helpless."

"Your elder brother has suffered a bone-cutting injury. Medicine is useless. All the doctors can only try their best to relieve the prince's pain, but they cannot cure it completely."

"It's a pity that we haven't found Hua Tuo's descendants. Unless someone has Hua Tuo's ability to treat bones, the prince's leg disease will probably be difficult to cure."

Li Chengqian fell down immediately, and his knee hit a sharp rock when he landed, causing his calf to lose feeling downwards.

At the beginning, Li Shimin sought out famous doctors from all over the world for him, but no one could cure him.

Sun Simiao once proposed a plan to dig out the kneecap, clear out the debris inside, and reconnect the broken bones, so that the prince's leg disease could be cured.

This was Hua Tuo's skill in the past, but now no one has inherited it.

Li Tai said at this time: "Father, ever since Qingque opened the Literature Museum, we have been working hard to find famous doctors and elixirs that can cure bones for my elder brother."

"Hard work pays off. A few days ago, I learned from a Hu merchant that there really is a magical medicine in this world that can heal bone diseases."

"There was a person whose bones were broken for more than ten years. After applying this magical medicine, he was able to walk on the ground within a few months. It was truly miraculous."

Li Shimin was overjoyed and asked hurriedly, "What is the name of this magical medicine and where can I find it?"

"Okay, okay, your brother's leg can finally be saved."

Li Tai's eyes flashed with a cunning, and he said, "The elixir is called White Jade Paste, which is extremely precious. It is said to grow in the dangerous land of Tianzhu, between the high mountains and cliffs. It is very difficult to pick and there are very few stocks left."

"Even in India, few people know about it."

"Hu Shang also heard about it by chance."

Li Shimin said: "Where is the Hu merchant now? Call him here. I want to ask him in person."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Li Tai's face.

"A scholar from my literary institute once went to the Western Regions and heard about this. He didn't take it too seriously at the time. Now if he wants to find the Hu merchant, it's probably like looking for a needle in a haystack." "But Qingque has already ordered people to go to the Western Regions to look for the Hu merchant."

Li Tai did not lie. Two days ago, he really sent a team of more than a dozen people to the Western Regions in the name of looking for Hu merchants.

Of course, the so-called white jade ointment is naturally fictitious.

This was a suggestion from a famous scholar under his command, used to retaliate against the prince.

When he was assassinated, the crossbow arrow passed through Li Tai's ear and was only a millimeter away from piercing his head. Li Tai was so scared that he still feels scared when he thinks about it now.

Originally, he planned to appeal to his father and punish the prince for murdering his brother, but he was unable to catch the assassin and had no evidence.

Reporting the matter of the male favorite is to eliminate the evil in one's heart.

The purpose of using the name of White Jade Ointment is to let the prince see hope, but also to let him despair as he cannot find it. Over time, this will make him more crazy and do more absurd things. This is a strategy to win over the prince's mind.

"Your elder brother is truly blessed to have you."

"Your elder brother has many misunderstandings about you in many things, but not only do you not care about it, you even work hard and take care of his leg disease."

"Once we find the White Jade Ointment, I believe all misunderstandings between you and your elder brother will be resolved, and the brotherhood we once had will be restored."

Li Shimin was quite emotional.

In the early years, the prince had a very good relationship with his younger brothers, including Li Tai, and they could be described as brothers who were friendly and respectful to each other.

It was not until recent years that a rift arose and the brothers became enemies.

Li Shimin did not think it was his own problem. Although he doted on Li Tai a lot and people kept advising him that he was doting too much and that the prince became suspicious, Li Shimin did not think so.

The reason he was able to launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident as the King of Qin was because the world was in chaos. This half of the country was conquered by him.

In terms of civil and military achievements, not to mention the former Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, even his father Emperor Li Yuan could not compare to him.

Everyone in the government and the country is his people.

If he doesn't rebel, will he just sit there and wait for his father, the Crown Prince, to destroy his power and then kill him?

Even if he agreed, how could his subordinates agree?

Rebellion is for the purpose of self-salvation.

He was forced.

Now the world is at peace, the prince's power is not comparable to that of the King of Wei, and he has his own control, so no one can cause any trouble.

It's just a little more reward, what does it matter?

"This is what Qingque should do." Li Tai's voice was as sincere as ever.

Li Shimin patted him on the shoulder and said, "Good boy, to receive this news is enough to show your hard work. It's getting late, go back and rest early."

"Yes, Father."

Seeing Li Tai leave, the doting look in Li Shimin's eyes slowly faded.

He did dote on Li Tai, which had a lot to do with Li Tai's appearance.

Li Tai's appearance is most similar to Guanyinbi. Since Guanyinbi passed away, Li Shimin gradually transferred his feelings for Guanyinbi to Li Tai.

But he forgot that among the seven children, Guanyinbi loved the prince the most.

"Your Majesty, are you going to have dinner? I will notify the Guanglu Temple right away."

The eunuch saw His Majesty stand up and asked respectfully.

Ordinary people had two meals a day, while nobles had three meals a day.

It is now evening meal time.

"Do not."

Li Shimin shook his head and said, "Pass on my imperial edict to summon the Indian envoys to the Hanyuan Palace."

"I have something to ask them."

Li Shimin believed what Li Tai said about the White Jade Ointment.

There is no need to go to the Western Regions to find someone. It is better to ask the Indian envoy directly.

King Harshavardhana of India had previously heard Xuanzang mention the various conditions of the Tang Dynasty and admired the customs and culture of the Tang Dynasty very much. Last year, in the 15th year of Zhenguan, he sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin was planning to develop the Western Regions, and attached great importance to the arrival of King Harsha's envoy. From then on, he began to maintain friendly relations with King Harsha. This was the first time in history that China and India established formal friendly relations.

(End of this chapter)