Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 5 Qingque, you are rude!
Outside Chengtian Gate, the bright yellow sedan chair landed directly at Chengtian Gate amid countless incredulous gazes.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe with nine pythons and nine chapters, a nine-beam crown on his head, with his upper body straight and a handsome face, appeared before the eyes of countless famous officials of the Tang Dynasty.

He exerted force with both hands instantly, and his right leg landed first. Li Chengqian silently dragged down his left leg and stood upright in front of the palace gate quickly and neatly.

For a moment, the ministers could not see any injuries.

Zhangsun Wuji was the first to react, bowing and saying, "Your Highness, we greet the Crown Prince."

Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Wei Zheng, Li Jing and others in the back also reacted and bowed at the same time, saying, "Your Highness, we greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian nodded gently and said, "Gentlemen, please stand up. I have injured my legs and feet, so I am a little late. I hope you can forgive me."

"I dare not." Changsun Wuji looked at Li Chengqian's left leg in surprise. It was standing straight and steadily.

Changsun Wuji couldn't help but bow in astonishment and said, "I haven't seen Your Highness for a long time. I miss him very much. Today, I am very happy to see that Your Highness is in good health... As for today, the palace gates are not open yet, so Your Highness is not too late."

"Thank you, Sikong." Li Chengqian bowed slightly and nodded slightly to Yu Zhining, Zhang Xuansu, Kong Yingda and other officials of the Eastern Palace standing behind him. Then he turned silently with his right foot as a root, looked at Wei Wang Li Tai on his left, and nodded, "Qingque."

Li Tai reacted immediately and quickly bowed, saying, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"Stand up." Li Chengqian calmly glanced at Li Tai, who was about to speak again, then turned calmly again and said to Chengtian Gate, "If there is anything, we can talk about it later. The palace gate is about to open."

Li Tai was slightly stunned, and at this moment, the Chengtian Gate in front of him suddenly opened.

A middle-aged eunuch, holding a whisk, calmly walked out and stood at the foot of Chengtian Gate. He said loudly, "The emperor is attending the morning court. All the ministers are here to see you!"

Then countless loud noises rang out throughout the palace and spread throughout Chang'an.

……

Chengtian Gate, Jiade Gate, and Taiji Gate.

Three majestic city gates stand one after another on the wide palace corridor.

On both sides are towering palace walls, on which are countless imperial guards armed with swords and spears, standing guard.

One after another, cold gazes fell from the city wall.

Everyone who enters it will feel a slight tremor and a sense of awe.

Li Chengqian stood at the front of the ministers on the left, and behind him was Sikong Changsun Wuji.

Li Tai stood at the front of the ministers on the right, behind him were Teng Wang Li Yuanying and the left general Zhang Shigui.

The civil and military classes walked forward with solemn expressions.

Li Tai, who was standing on the right side of Li Chengqian, looked at Li Chengqian anxiously and puzzledly as he walked.

Li Tai was really at a loss as to what to do with the prince's sudden appearance today.

During the period when the prince was "ill", Li Tai had always been involved in state affairs as the eldest prince.

Of course, when we say participating in the government, we are just attending the grand court meetings on the first, fifteenth, first and fifteenth days of each month.

All officials above the ninth rank in Chang'an will participate.

The Grand Court only announced policies and rarely discussed them, let alone participated in government affairs.

But for Li Tai, it was enough.

This is equivalent to telling all the ministers that when the prince is away, he is the eldest son of the royal family.

Then if the crown prince is deposed in the future, he will be the most qualified person.

But now, Li Chengqian not only appeared, but was also right beside him, walking steadily towards Tai Chi Gate.

Li Tai's brows were unconsciously furrowed. Could it be that the news that had come out of the East Palace before was all wrong?
Prince, his leg is fine?

Li Tai's eyes were already fixed on Li Chengqian's left leg.

It can be clearly seen that every time Li Chengqian's left foot moves forward, there is a clear pause.

But it was only a slight pause, and after a brief pause, Li Chengqian continued to move forward.

Now, in the palace road, there are guards everywhere, and no one is moving very fast, so there is no impact at all.

No, that's not right.

Li Tai's eyes suddenly turned cold.

No, when the prince broke his leg that day, not only the officials and guards of the Eastern Palace, but also the imperial doctors in the palace, countless people saw it clearly.

The emperor's panic further confirmed this point.

Even so, after that, Li Tai still found the imperial physician who treated Li Chengqian, the guards of the Eastern Palace, and even some low-level officials, and told him from all sides that the prince's left leg was broken and there was absolutely no chance of recovery.

Even higher-level officials in the Eastern Palace began to waver.

Since ancient times, there has never been a prince with a broken leg or a lame limb.

I don’t know how many people were sympathetic to Li Tai during this period.

If Li Chengqian was alright, he would never have let this happen. So, there was still something wrong with his left leg, but it was hard to say how serious the problem was. It was probably not as severe as the lameness he had expected.

Of course, it is also possible that he is just holding on.

Li Tai's eyes narrowed slightly.

……

Tai Chi Gate was just ahead, and as Li Chengqian walked, his eyes also fell on Li Tai.

Li Tai is only one year younger than him. Now at the age of twenty, he has gained some weight.

But fortunately, I am still young and don’t walk slowly.

However, judging from the expression on Li Tai's face, he obviously did not believe that Li Chengqian's leg had healed.

Not only Li Tai, but also prime ministers such as Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Wei Zheng, as well as Liu Li, Cen Wenben, Li Xiaogong, and Tang Jian behind Li Chengqian were also staring at Li Chengqian's left leg.

They can be said to be the people in the whole world who know the most details about Li Chengqian's broken leg.

The imperial physician said very clearly that the prince's left leg was broken, and even if it healed in the future, he would definitely be lame.

There is absolutely no possibility of recovery.

Even the King of Medicine Sun Simiao, after seeing the patient, could only say that perhaps there was another way to cure the disease. He then prescribed some medicine and left.

Yu Zhining, Zhang Xuansu and other officials of the Eastern Palace were all aware of these things.

But today, the prince miraculously appeared in front of them, and even walked towards Tai Chi Gate step by step normally.

Many people were puzzled but also surprised.

Especially Wei Zheng, he was the person in the entire court who least wanted the crown prince to change.

After all, he had personally experienced bloodshed once, and if the Xuanwu Gate Incident happened again, Wei Zheng didn't know if he could accept it.

So it's best that the Crown Prince is safe and sound...

This is the truest thought in the hearts of the vast majority of court officials.

If the prince is fine, then everything will be fine.

Originally, many people began to turn their hearts to Li Tai after Li Chengqian broke his leg. Then, in the short time that Li Chengqian was walking, the hearts of these people quietly turned back to Li Chengqian.

Of course, more people are confused.

This was true for Sun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Liu Li, Yu Zhining, and Zhang Xuansu, all of whom knew the inside story.

Especially five days ago, the imperial physician had personally said that there was absolutely no possibility of recovery for the prince's leg.

His leg was destined to be lame.

Although not many people knew about this matter, those who knew believed it without a doubt. Otherwise, why would the prince hide in the Eastern Palace for more than half a year without coming out?

But what happened today?

How come he suddenly got better?

……

Walking out of Chengtian Gate, the broad Taiji Hall Square was in front of Li Chengqian.

The majestic and magnificent Taiji Hall with its red walls, blue tiles, towering pavilions appeared before Li Chengqian and his ministers.

The middle-aged eunuch paused for a moment and his eyes fell on Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian didn't look at him, but just walked forward steadily step by step.

Although his pace was not slow, it was definitely not fast. However, when he reached this point, the sluggishness of Li Chengqian's left leg became more clearly visible to everyone.

The prince still had a leg injury, and it was not light, but he was definitely not as lame as the rumors said.

Just as the ministers were confused, Li Tai suddenly quickened his pace and walked towards Taiji Hall, even surpassing Li Chengqian.

The ministers who saw this scene suddenly began to breathe heavily.

They were all smart people, and they saw through Li Tai's purpose at a glance.

The King of Wei is testing the Crown Prince's condition. What is going on?

Just when many people were expecting Li Chengqian to speed up and compete with Li Tai in pace, Li Chengqian suddenly frowned and said scoldingly: "Qingque, you are rude!"

"Ah!" Li Tai was slightly stunned and his pace slowed down inexplicably.

……

Fang Xuanling, who was standing behind, stopped breathing and subconsciously turned to look at Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng's eyes narrowed.

(End of this chapter)