A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 677 Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West of the River
June 7th

Good luck.

Before dawn, Li Yi had already gotten up, and Shuying had already ironed his court robes for him.

After Li Yi got up, he took a bath and changed his clothes.

After changing into court attire and putting on the Diaochan crown,

"Ah Lang looks so majestic in this court robe, even more dignified than his usual turban and round-necked robe." Du Shuying's eyes were full of admiration.

Li Yi took the jade-hilted sword, put it on, and looked at himself in the bronze mirror. Compared to the round-necked official robe he usually wore, Li Yi felt that this very retro court dress was a bit cumbersome.

However, today is a big day, the grand ceremony for Li Shimin's investiture of the crown prince, and he, as the Minister of Works and Attendant-in-Ordinary, is also the host of the ceremony.

From today onwards,

Li Shimin was thus rightfully appointed as regent.

Taiji Palace
In the Ganlu Palace, Li Yuan drank wine under the moon, playing music and singing to himself.

"Supreme,"

Consort Yuwen arrived, saying, "Drinking too much wine is bad for your health."

Li Yuan didn't care, "How can one talk about being supreme when trapped in this Taiji Palace?"

"I can't even protect the person next to my pillow anymore,"

Yuwen Zhaoyi silently straightened Li Yuan's clothes.

Do you know where Yin and Zhang are now?

Consort Yuwen simply shook her head.

Yesterday, Zhang Anan suddenly took Consort Yin and Consort Zhang away from Taiji Palace, and their whereabouts are unknown.

In fact, their fate was already sealed.

But when that day actually came, Li Yuan still couldn't accept it.

Does Erlang even consider me his father anymore?

"He sent Zhang Anan to take Lady Yin and Lady Zhang away because I refused to hold the Crown Prince investiture ceremony for him at the Taiji Palace,"

Consort Yuwen gently advised, "If Your Majesty is willing, you can still go to the East Palace tomorrow and bestow titles upon Erlang in the Xiande Hall!"

Li Yuan shook off her hand with a dark expression. "Your brother has been appointed prime minister by Erlang, so you're taking Erlang's side?"

Consort Yuwen stood silently to the side.

Li Yuan, in a fit of rage, played the zither haphazardly, causing the strings to break.

The music stopped abruptly.

The emperor grabbed his zither and smashed it to the ground, shattering the precious pipa into pieces.

The emperor roared, "I won't go! I won't go! I will never go to the Eastern Palace's Xiande Hall to bestow titles upon him!"

"I will absolutely not go!"

The old emperor's voice echoed throughout the hall, his anger tinged with a helpless venting.

East Palace.

A group of palace maids are helping the crown prince change his clothes.

Princess Consort Changsun held up a bronze mirror.
Li Shimin looked at himself in the bronze mirror, glancing left and right, and felt somewhat dissatisfied with his beard.

"It needs some further polishing."

"Your Highness appears exceptionally handsome and dashing today."

The 24-year-old crown prince was indeed in his prime, displaying remarkable talent and vigor.

Li Shimin instructed the palace servants to groom his beard as he pleased. He then looked at himself in the bronze mirror, and finally nodded in satisfaction.
"I heard that you proposed marriage to the Princess Consort of Dai, wanting to betroth Wuji's eldest daughter to Wuyi's eldest son?" Li Shimin said casually.

"Yes, when the Princess Consort and the others came to visit last time, we happened to talk about this matter. My elder brother's eldest daughter and the Prince's eldest son are about the same age, so I'll help to make a match."

Li Shimin hummed in agreement and didn't mention it again.

Princess Consort Zhangsun, holding a mirror, smiled and said, "Our Lizhi and my brother's Chong'er are quite a good match in age."

Lizhi was the daughter of the eldest grandson and also Li Shimin's eldest legitimate daughter.

He was born in the fourth year of the Wude era, and was not yet three years old.

Li Shimin had just betrothed his eldest daughter to Xiao Rui, the eldest son of Xiao Yu, the Left Minister of Works.

Now, Consort Changsun intends to marry her eldest daughter to Changsun Chong, the eldest son of her elder brother Changsun Wuji.

Kiss upon kiss.

Li Shimin did not respond immediately.
Changsun Wuji was his brother-in-law and had been a trusted confidant for years. Now that he had risen to power, Changsun Wuji naturally wanted to give him an important position. However, he also had some concerns. Although Changsun was a trusted confidant, he had not yet made any significant contributions.
And relatively young,
If they are given too much responsibility, it will inevitably attract criticism from both the government and the public.

If Wuji had the same achievements as Wuyi, then he could be appointed prime minister without hesitation.

Furthermore, he has now appointed his wife's uncle, Gao Shilian, as the Grand Secretary, which makes it difficult for his nephew and uncle to both serve as prime ministers in the government.

As for marriage alliances

It's not that it's impossible, but Lizhi is the eldest daughter of the legitimate wife, and she's still young.

“I remember Wuji’s eldest daughter was three years older than Wuyi’s eldest son, right?” Li Shimin asked.

"There's a saying among the common people: 'A woman three years older than you brings good fortune,'" Consort Changsun said with a smile. "I think it's quite fitting. Wuyi and Wuji are both His Highness's confidants and meritorious officials of the country."
Both children are eldest sons born out of wedlock, making them a perfect match in terms of social standing.

"This matter also depends on the attitudes of Wu Yi and Wu Ji," Li Shimin said.

“My sister-in-law and aunt were both very supportive, and Princess Du, the Princess Consort, didn’t object that day either,”

"Well, I'll talk to Wuyi and Wuji later." Li Shimin told Consort Changsun to put away the bronze mirror.

Tianming,

The palace gates opened.
All the civil and military officials of the capital gathered at the Eastern Palace.
In Xiande Hall,

The emperor's seat was vacant.

Although the location was set, the emperor never came.

But today,

Whether the emperor comes or not will not affect the proceedings of this grand ceremony.
Li Yi, the Chamberlain, wearing a sable crown,
He is the host of today's ceremony.

The grand ceremony proceeded smoothly and systematically, one event after another.

Finally, Fang Xuanling, the Grand Secretary, presented the imperial edict of investiture to Li Shimin.
Another Grand Secretary, Gao Shilian, bestowed the Crown Prince's seal upon the new Crown Prince.

The ceremony is complete.

Li Shimin led the prime minister and civil and military officials to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to offer sacrifices to the illustrious ancestors of the Li family.

in the afternoon,

After offering sacrifices at the Imperial Ancestral Temple and to the Supreme Deity, they returned to Chang'an.
Li Yi was invited into his carriage by Crown Prince Li Shimin.
Changsun Wuji was also invited to ride along.

in the car,

Li Shimin smiled broadly; today's ceremony for the investiture of the Crown Prince was a complete success.

"I heard from Changsun that she even acted as a matchmaker for your two families, hoping to bring about a marriage between the Prince of Dai's Mansion and the Duke of Qi's Mansion. I wonder what you two think about this?"

The chubby Changsun Wuji said frankly, "As long as the Prince of Dai doesn't mind that my aunt is born out of wedlock, that's fine."

Li Yi got up very early today and worked hard all day. Presiding over the ceremony was no easy task; there was no room for error.
This will be tiring and hungry.
He had originally planned to take a nap in the carriage on the way back to the city, but Li Shimin ended up pulling him into his carriage instead.

Li Yi was actually not very willing to marry into the Changsun family.

Changsun Wuji was the emperor's brother-in-law and a confidant of the crown prince, and would enjoy a period of great power and influence for twenty or thirty years. However, Li Yi knew Changsun Wuji's historical fate.

Although history may take a different turn, it is unlikely that Changsun Wuji's character will change.

This fat guy isn't a good person.

Greed for power

They are petty, narrow-minded, and vindictive.

Li Yi was not very willing to arrange a marriage between his children and Du Shiniang's children. After Du Shiniang told him about it, he only said he would think about it. He originally wanted to delay and let it go.

Who would have thought,
Now that Li Shimin has personally spoken up, and in front of Changsun Wuji, and Changsun Wuji has already expressed his agreement,
If he were to object now, he would offend Li Shimin and all three of his siblings, Changsun Wuji and his sister.

Changsun Wuji was so petty and narrow-minded.
If I were to refuse, I would probably offend him.

"It is my son's good fortune to be favored by His Highness and Lord Changsun. This marriage is a great honor for my family."

"Haha, we are all His Highness's trusted followers, so we should get closer in the future. It would be perfect if our two families could be related by marriage."

Don't worry, I'll prepare plenty of dowry for my aunt.

Changsun Wuji laughed loudly, Li Shimin smiled, and Li Yi gave a wry smile.

And so the marriage was arranged.

They returned to Chang'an chatting and laughing.

Li Yi just wanted to get off work and go home as soon as possible.
It was incredibly hot in June, even though I was wearing court robes.

"Master Sikong, please wait!"

At the Eastern Palace, Li Yi was called to a stop.

A young man jogged over.

All in toad green.

When they were still more than ten steps apart, several guards from the Prince of Dai's residence blocked the young man's way.

"Minister of Works, I am Wei Siqi, Chief of the Imperial Wardrobe of the Palace Secretariat."

Upon hearing the name, Li Yi knew who the person was and beckoned for the guards to bring him over.

"Wei Erlang, what is it?"

Wei Siqi bowed to Li Yi and said, "Greetings, Minister. I was ignorant in the past and offended you in many ways. Today I wish to talk to you about my younger sister."

“Lord Cucumber, please speak frankly.”

Wei Siqi was the second son of the Wei family who wanted to arrange a marriage between him and Du Shiniang.
His father was Wei Kuangbo, Duke of Shu of the Sui Dynasty, and his great-grandfather was the famous Wei Xiaokuan.

This young man comes from a prestigious family, though his reputation wasn't great when he was young. Nevertheless, he inherited the title of Marquis of Huanggua County and even held a sixth-rank official position in the Luoyang court.

At that time, Li Yi was about the same age as him, but he was just a young Taoist priest who had recently left the monastic life.
I set up a small tofu skin workshop in the countryside to do some business.
But Du Shiniang ended up getting together with this guy and rejected him.

Both Wei Siqi and the Wei family found it difficult to accept.

He sent his steward to plot against Li Yi, but in the end, he not only failed to steal a chicken but also lost money.

There's an old saying: "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river,"

This really suits Li Yi and Wei Siqi.
It won't even take thirty years,

In just six years,

Wei Siqi went from being a sixth-rank official in the Luoyang court to a seventh-rank official in the Tang Dynasty, his official rank getting lower and lower.

Even the title of Marquis of Cucumber could not be inherited in the Tang Dynasty.

And what about Li Yi?

They are already someone that Wei Siqi needs to look up to.

He held the highest official rank and was granted the title of Prince of the County.

The prime minister who was in charge of governing affairs in the Hall of State Affairs.

Today, at this grand ceremony, Wei Siqi is the minor official in charge of the Crown Prince's attire, while Li Yi is the Chamberlain presiding over the ceremony.

"Minister Li, you are a magnanimous man, and a prime minister's belly can hold a boat. I hope you can forgive the things of the past."

Li Yi sized up the guy. "Just say what you have to say."

“Alright, that’s how it is. Your Highness has betrothed my younger sister, Third Sister, to the Prince of Dai as a concubine. Although my sister was previously engaged to a member of the Yang family of Hongnong, Your Highness has made the decision, and our Wei family will comply.”

However, my younger sister is, after all, the legitimate daughter of the Wei family of Jingzhao, the daughter of a Duke. Even if she were to become a concubine of the Prince of Dai,
There still needs to be a welcoming ceremony and other formalities...

After speaking for a while, Wei Siqi's meaning was clear: the Wei family wanted to bring Xiao Diaochan, Wei Tante, back to the Wei family first.

Then have a lively and grand wedding.

They are the Wei clan of Jingguang, the head of the six prominent clans in Guanzhong.
How could a legitimate daughter of the family just go home with Li Yi so carelessly, without any manners?

To the uninitiated, it might seem as if Wei Sanniang eloped with Li Yi.
Where is the Wei family's dignity?
"Please rest assured, Master Si, our Wei family will provide my younger sister with a substantial dowry: a 300-mu estate, six estates, a million in cash, 3,000 bolts of silk, and 20 households of slaves..."

Li Yi interrupted him, "Third Sister has already been in my house for three days, why bother going through all that trouble to take her back and then send her back again?"
I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving now.

Li Yi left Wei Siqi, who was still standing there in a daze.

The Wei family of Jingzhao is nothing special.

(End of this chapter)