Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 488 The Little Prince Who Loves to Tattle

The Imperial Palace, Wangmei Pavilion.

Princess Gao'an, draped in a snow-white mink cloak, sat on a felt cushion, quietly gazing at the plum blossoms blooming in the forest.

As she grows older, she becomes increasingly beautiful, with delicate features and a height exceeding that of her elder sister, Princess Yiyang. Sitting alone in the pavilion, she exudes a graceful charm.

Today is the day of the grand court assembly, and also the day for the regular meetings of the imperial harem.

Starting last year, Princess Gao'an and Princess Yiyang began attending the daily meetings.

This is Empress Wu's imperial decree.

The reason was that Princess Taiping insisted on participating. It was unreasonable that such a young princess was participating while the two older princesses were not, so Wu Meiniang issued this decree.

Princess Gao'an had been looking forward to today's meeting for several days, because she had heard that there were more foreign envoys coming to Chang'an this year than in previous years.

More envoys meant more tribute.

According to Princess Taiping's inside information, Emperor Li Zhi has issued an edict to send a large number of tributes to the imperial treasury, many of which are rare and extraordinary items from foreign lands.

These past few days, Princess Gao'an had been looking forward to today's routine meeting. Logically, she should have been dressing up in the princess's courtyard to prepare for the meeting.

But last night, an accidental discovery made her change her mind, and she came here early this morning to wait.

Just then, a figure moved, and a person emerged from a grove of plum blossoms along a forest path. It was none other than King Wu, Li Ji.

Princess Gao'an rose to greet him and asked, "Brother, have you found out the truth?"

Li Ji said, "It has been investigated. The poem was written by a man named Xiao Yu."

Princess Gao'an's expression changed slightly, and she asked urgently, "Are you a member of the Xiao family of Lanling?"

Li Ji said, "Yes."

Princess Gao'an sighed and whispered, "As expected, my elder sister kept it from me."

Li Ji seemed very anxious and, without bothering to inquire about what had happened, said, "Anmei, I made up an excuse to sneak into the palace. I have to attend the grand court assembly, so I'll be going now."

Princess Gao'an said softly, "Brother, go ahead."

After Li Ji left in a hurry, Princess Gao'an left the plum garden with a heavy heart and returned to her residence.

Back at the princess's residence, Princess Yiyang was almost finished with her makeup, only lacking the forehead decoration, unsure which one to choose.

When she saw Princess Gao'an enter, she took out two floral ornaments and asked her, "Sister, which floral ornament do you think is more suitable for me?"

Princess Gao'an stared at her without saying a word.

Princess Yiyang asked in surprise, "What's wrong with you now?"

Princess Gao'an was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It's nothing."

Princess Yiyang was startled by her expression and vaguely guessed what was going on. She stopped asking her questions and applied the plum blossom-shaped hair ornament to her forehead.

Princess Gao'an also began to do her hair and makeup.

Princess Yiyang sat silently in the chair, playing with a jade bracelet. The room was unusually quiet.

Just then, a young boy walked in from outside; it was the Eighth Prince, Li Ren.

"Eldest sister, second sister, Mother sent me to call you..." Li Ren hadn't finished speaking when he noticed his two older sisters' expressions were off, and he stopped talking.

Princess Yiyang asked, "Did Consort Zheng call us over?"

Li Ren nodded his head: "Yes."

After observing the two of them for a moment, she asked, "Eldest sister, second sister, did you two have a fight?"

Princess Yiyang tilted her head slightly, seemingly a little embarrassed, and said, "No, that's not true. Sister, I'll go now." With that, she got up and left the room.

Li Ren walked to Princess Gao'an's side, glanced at her, and asked, "Second sister, what happened between you and eldest sister?"

Princess Gao'an muttered, "You're so young, you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Li Ren said, "But last time Father gave us a test, I answered three questions correctly, while my second sister only answered two."

Princess Gao'an blushed: "That's because you've been to school, what's so great about that?"

Li Ren asked blankly, "What does 'spirited' mean?"

Princess Gao'an snorted, "She thinks she's something special, but she's just a stupid little chicken."

Li Ren asked, "What does 'little silly chicken' mean?"

Princess Gao'an glared at him and said, "Why are you asking so many questions again? It's so tiring to talk to you."

Li Rendao: "Because I'm still young."

Princess Gao'an snorted, "It's good that you know. You're so young, don't ask so many questions. Go back now."

"But second sister..."

"What is it now!"

"The questions my father gave me last time were all math problems, and I haven't read any math books."

"Oh my god, how old are you? Why are you nagging like a teacher?" Princess Gao'an said, holding her head.

Li Ren turned and left, his legs suddenly moving as if he were running, and he walked very fast.

"Where are you going!" Princess Gao'an hurriedly called out to him.

Upon hearing this, Li Ren stopped, turned around, and said, "I'm going to file a complaint."

Princess Gao'an asked in astonishment, "What complaint are you making?"

Li Ren said, "The teacher is a wise man of great learning. Father said that respecting teachers is what makes a good child. But my sister just said that the teacher is long-winded, which is disrespectful to him. I will tell Mother and then Father tonight!"

Princess Gao'an felt like her head was about to explode. She took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"Okay, it was my fault, Balang. Be good, can you not go and tell on me?"

Li Ren's lips curved into a barely perceptible smile as he said earnestly, "Then elder sister must tell me, what happened between you and eldest sister?" Princess Gao'an pursed her lips and said, "Do you even understand matters between men and women?"

Li Rendao said, "The Book of Rites says: 'Food and sex are the greatest desires of humankind.' This is a matter of course, so what is there to not understand?"

Princess Gao'an was taken aback by his words and, wanting to make things difficult for this younger brother, asked, "Then do you know why desire arises between men and women?"

Li Rendao said: "Men are yang and women are yin. Yin and yang attract each other, hence desire arises."

Princess Gao'an was surprised to find that he was quite eloquent despite his small mouth. She had initially thought he was too young and immature, but now she couldn't help but look at this little brother with new respect.

She thought for a moment and sighed, "Hachiro, things in this world are not as simple as they are written in books. For example, your eldest sister's matter is not only a matter between men and women, but also involves family affection."

Li Ren asked, "Is it related to the Xiao family?"

Princess Gao'an was startled and stared at Li Ren in disbelief: "How did you know?"

Li Rendao said, "My second sister said it herself. It's related to the family. My second sister and eldest sister's maternal family is the Xiao family."

Princess Gao'an no longer dared to treat her younger brother like a child. She waved her hand, dismissed the servants, and gazed at Li Ren.

"Hachiro, what is your opinion of the Xiao family?"

Li Ren thought for a moment and said, "Although the Xiao family is the maternal clan of my second sister, eldest sister and fourth brother, it has declined."

Princess Gao'an sighed, "Yes, it is precisely because of their decline that Mother wanted to match my elder sister with the sons of the Xiao family, hoping to save the Xiao family."

In fact, in the past six months, every time Princess Gao'an and Princess Yiyang visited Consort Xiao, Consort Xiao had subtly revealed her hope that one of the two would marry a member of the Xiao family.

Consort Xiao originally didn't dare to hope for it, because the princess's marriage was usually decided by the emperor and empress.

However, last December, the Second Prince Li Xiao actually married Xu Ling, the adopted daughter of Liu Chong'ai.

Although Xu Ling's identity was disguised and could deceive ordinary people, it could not fool well-informed aristocratic families.

The aristocratic families of Chang'an all knew that Xu Ling was originally just a lowly woman from an opera troupe, yet she had married a prince.

Another piece of news is that when the eldest prince, Li Zhong, returned to the capital this year, he brought back a woman who came from a poor family in Laizhou. Her father was just a minor county magistrate of the eighth rank.

It is said that the emperor has also agreed to the marriage, and preparations are underway.

These two examples show that modern sages give great respect to their children's marriages and allow them to make their own decisions.

That's why Consort Xiao had this idea that she could use her daughter to give the Xiao family another husband.

When Consort Xiao brought it up, neither Princess Gao'an nor Princess Yiyang said a word. Later, when Consort Xiao stopped mentioning it, Princess Gao'an thought her mother had given up.

She only discovered yesterday that her elder sister had secretly kept a love poem, so she asked Li Ji to inquire about it, and sure enough, it was a love poem by a member of the Xiao family.

This indicates that Princess Yiyang was already secretly associating with members of the Xiao family.

Princess Gao'an knew that her elder sister had agreed to her mother's request out of filial piety. Although she felt sorry for Princess Yiyang, she did not want to stop her from doing so and disappoint her mother.

After hearing Princess Gao'an's words, Li Ren remained silent.

Princess Gao'an asked, "Ba Lang, do you think this will be useful?"

Li Ren thought for a moment and said, "If you tie a rope to a falling stone, it will only break the rope."

Princess Gao'an was slightly startled: "You mean, not only can my elder sister not save the Xiao family, but she will also be implicated?"

Li Ren said in a low voice, "Second sister, Mother said that the Xiao family's affairs are very complicated and should not be discussed casually."

Princess Gao'an took a deep breath; Li Ren's words were, in fact, her answer.

Li Ji had secretly told her that Xiao's matter not only involved the Empress, but also some extremely important secrets, reminding her to be careful.

Li Ren's attitude now shows that Xiao Shi did indeed make a serious mistake.

Princess Yiyang's current actions will not only fail to save the Xiao family, but may also endanger her own life.

"Balang, what should I do?" Princess Gao'an couldn't help but ask her younger brother for help.

Li Ren looked at her and smiled, "Second sister, you should tell Mother about this. Mother will definitely help you."

Princess Gao'an remained silent for a long time before nodding and saying, "Alright. Thank you, Balang."

Li Ren smiled shyly, took her hand, and said, "Second sister, let's hurry to Xunfeng Palace. Mother and eldest sister must be getting impatient."

This year's regular meeting was indeed unusual, as even Princess Changshan and Princess Xincheng, who never attended the meetings, came to the palace.

This time, the tribute included not only a large number of foreign items, but also more domestic items than usual.

This was because the territory of the Tang Dynasty was expanding, and there were more places to offer tribute.

For example, the Goguryeo region offered a large amount of Changbai Mountain ginseng this year.

These ginsengs are all ancient ginseng that are over a thousand years old. They can nourish the spleen and lungs, replenish blood and promote the production of body fluids. They are all good tonics for the concubines who are not active all year round, so they are very popular.

Only Wu Zetian, who was well-versed in medical principles, knew that ginseng also had side effects. Excessive supplementation could be harmful, and it was only effective for those who were weak and deficient. Therefore, she was not enthusiastic about it.

As for the tributes sent from foreign countries, they were indeed rare, but not as good as one might imagine. In some cases, the gifts sent by foreign countries were even strangely shaped stones.

This is normal, as the countries west of the Abbasid Caliphate were far from the Tang Dynasty.

They only hoped to use the Tang Dynasty to deal with the Abbasid Caliphate, and were not genuinely offering tribute, so they would never present any real treasures.

After the meeting, Princess Gao'an went to Xunfeng Palace and stayed until evening, when she secretly told Consort Zheng about Princess Yiyang's matter.

After hearing this, Consort Zheng's face showed a hint of anger.

“Oh, you mother, you are willing to sacrifice your own daughter for the sake of the family. You are unworthy of being a mother. Don’t worry, leave this matter to your aunt.”

Princess Gao'an gazed longingly at Consort Zheng, a hint of worry in her eyes.

Consort Zheng smiled and said, "Don't worry, your aunt won't bully your mother. I will send someone to wake her up and make her come to her senses."

Princess Gao'an said happily, "Thank you, Aunt."

(End of this chapter)