Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 319 Prince Bin Demands Debt

Prince Bin, Li Shouli, was the son of Crown Prince Zhanghuai, Li Xian, and the eldest grandson of Emperor Gaozong who was still alive. He was also the cousin of the current emperor's brothers, and thus became the only member of the imperial family in the Tang Dynasty, apart from the descendants of Emperor Ruizong, to be granted the title of prince.

Although the Prince of Bin held a prestigious official rank, his treatment was significantly different from that of the Emperor's brothers. The most obvious difference was that the Princes of Xue and others resided near the palace, while the Prince of Bin's residence was located in Luxinfang, southeast of Luoyang. This area was far from the imperial city, and he had to cross most of the city to attend court, which took one or two hours.

However, the Prince of Bin did not find this inconvenient; he simply lived a leisurely life in his residence. If there was any trouble, it was that his family was too large, and his once spacious royal residence was gradually becoming crowded.

Crown Prince Zhanghuai was first deposed by Emperor Gaozong and later killed by Empress Wu. The Prince of Bin and his brothers were imprisoned from a young age, and in the end, only he survived.

However, this does not mean that Crown Prince Zhanghuai had only this one descendant. Although Prince Bin was also mistreated in the early period of Wu Zhou, as the situation of Wu Zhou gradually stabilized, his living conditions improved. Although Prince Bin was in the palace, he was also provided with palace servants to serve him.

During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian, who had been imprisoned in Fangzhou, was recalled to Luoyang and made crown prince. Empress Wu Zetian officially decided to pass the throne to Li instead of Wu. Emperor Gaozong's children and grandchildren, who had been imprisoned in the palace, were also released from the palace.

At this time, the Prince of Bin was nearly thirty years old, and he had as many as twenty or thirty children remaining in the Forbidden City. However, most of these children were born to palace slaves and had not received a complete early education; they were mostly of low talent and ability.

After leaving the palace, Prince Bin officially married and had children. He then continued to have children tirelessly, fathering dozens more. Through his own efforts, he made the lineage of Crown Prince Li Xian the most prosperous among Emperor Gaozong's sons.

The combined number of children of the current sage and his brothers cannot compare to the number of children of the Prince of Bin alone.

Li Chengning was the twenty-fifth among his brothers. He was born to Lady Feng of Changle after the Prince of Bin left the palace. Among the Prince of Bin's sons, he was outstanding in character, temperament, appearance and demeanor. He was also appreciated and loved by the current emperor, which is why he was able to associate with more prominent members of the royal family, such as the Prince of Ruyang.

As for most of the other children of the Prince of Bin, they only held the title of royal family but were not valued much. In particular, many of the sons born to palace slaves had been adults for many years but had not yet been granted official titles or ranks.

When Li Chengning returned to his own residence in Luxinfang from the Xue family in Shangshanfang, he heard a noisy commotion before he even entered the house. Upon entering, he saw that his elder brothers had set up a cockfighting arena in the front courtyard and were having cockfighting fun with idle people from the neighborhood.

Having just witnessed the grandeur of Prince Xue's magnificent mansion, Li Chengning's mood inevitably became even more irritable upon seeing his own home in such a dilapidated state.

He ignored the brothers waving at him and went straight into the main hall of his house. There, he heard singing. When Li Chengning went up to the hall, he saw that in addition to his father, Li Shouli, who was sitting at the head of the table, there were several other guests sitting at the table.

However, these guests all looked angry, and they were clearly not kind guests.

"Father, your son is back."

Li Chengning ignored the other guests and bowed to his father upon entering the hall.

The Prince of Bin was very satisfied with his son, who was handsome and well-mannered. He nodded with a smile and said, "Have you eaten out? If you are still hungry, I will eat with you."

"Today, I accompanied Prince Ruyang to pay respects to Prince Xue and had a meal at Prince Xue's residence. I will now take my leave so as not to disturb Father's hospitality."

After Li Chengning answered, he excused himself and left the hall. He then heard his father boast behind him, "You lot shouldn't treat me like this because of a mere few million coins in debt! The Emperor's brother doesn't need food or clothing! In a few months, I will be returning to the capital with my gifts. I'm not letting you leave empty-handed today; I've prepared a feast fit for royalty—no other family could afford such an honor! If you have any conscience, you should lend me another thousand strings of cash to help you..."

"Ugh!"

Despite having witnessed the chaos of family affairs since childhood, Li Chengning couldn't help but sigh, feeling a deep sense of oppression.

Compared to ordinary residences, the Prince of Bin's residence was much larger, but it also housed many people. As a prince, Li Chengning only had two main rooms in the house as his living quarters, which was a special privilege enjoyed only by an outstanding eldest son.

The other brothers born out of wedlock even had to share a single bed, and their clothes were all gifts from the imperial court during festivals, with very little made at home. As for merchants from the two markets blocking their doors to collect debts, this became a daily occurrence during the lean season in spring and summer.

After returning to his room, Li Chengning instructed his maids to close the doors and windows tightly to block out the noise from outside, while he took out sheet music to practice playing the transverse flute. Music was not only a haven for him to escape reality, but also an important means for him to curry favor.

The royal children were free from the burdens of officialdom, indulging only in sensual pleasures. In other words, they didn't need to aspire to official positions; to gain the emperor's favor, they could only hone their skills in eating, drinking, and merrymaking. Prince Ruyang, Li Jin, was the most outstanding among these younger generations, and someone Li Chengning deeply admired.

Just as Li Chengning was immersed in the beautiful flute music, the door was rudely pushed open from the outside, and his father, Prince Bin, Li Shouli, walked into the room with a smile on his face. After sitting down, he asked with a smile, "What did you talk about at Prince Xue's house today? Did Prince Xue praise my son? Did you find his food delicious? Do you think he would be willing to help my family out?"

Although he kept filial piety in mind, Li Chengning couldn't help but feel irritated when he saw his father's smiling face. He suppressed his dissatisfaction and said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid it's not easy for Father Xue to scheme against. The Xue family's expenses are also huge. When I went to pay my respects today, I saw that they were employing craftsmen who had encroached on several acres of the Qi Prince's backyard to house their servants."

"Alas, Prince Qi is unfortunate! Such great wealth and honor, yet so few offspring. He is gone, leaving only his fortune. How can he not be bullied? Today it is only his mansion and garden, but next year I fear..."

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Bin chuckled and sighed.

Li Chengning was somewhat alarmed upon hearing this and hurriedly whispered a reminder: "Father, be careful what you say!"

"Foolish child, feigning caution! If you weren't as meticulous as you are, how could you have incurred this whole house of evil debts?"

When the Prince of Bin saw his son's cautious appearance, he couldn't help but laugh. Having come from the most brutal era of Wu Zhou, he naturally had a deep understanding of the dangers of the world.

Although the princes held noble positions, they were by no means taboo subjects to be easily provoked. Any reluctance to discuss such matters was merely self-deception. His son, while of good character, was cautious to the point of being somewhat dull-witted.

Li Chengning didn't want to waste any more time arguing with his father, so he simply gave a quick account of what he had seen and heard at Prince Xue's house that day: "When I visited him today, Prince Xue was in a predicament, and Prince Ruyang devised a plan to help him out..."

"Wait a minute, isn't that Zhang Dai, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, the grandson of Zhang Yan, and the relative of Consort Hui whom we met at last year's palace banquet?"

Li Shouli was not particularly interested in such trivial matters. He was about to leave when he heard that it would be difficult to borrow money from the Xue Wang family. However, after listening for a while, he became interested and hurriedly spoke up after his son finished speaking.

Upon hearing this, Li Chengning nodded and then said, "Zhang Dai is also young and impetuous. With his talent and reputation, he is a rising star. However, he is arrogant and willful, which has made enemies of famous princes. I'm afraid he will have a hard time getting ahead from now on."

"Ha, with Xue Wang's limited abilities, it will be difficult. Ruyang Wang's plan is nothing more than a clever trick. The best strategy is to make people unable to avoid it. No matter how cleverly he weaves the cage, what use is it if people go astray? The scheme of entrapment is exhausted for now, and those who follow are all mediocre!"

The Prince of Bin couldn't help but sigh again, and then said to his son, "The uncle and nephew think they're being clever. You can listen in, but don't get involved. I've heard about Zhang Dai's deeds; he's not like the Prince of Ruyang, all talk and no action."

Wang Yuanbao, a wealthy merchant from Chang'an, was a henchman of Wang Maozhong, who came to the capital to manage his business. Yet, Zhang Dai managed to seize it all. The wealthy people of the capital all praised his cunning; this truly demonstrates skill and shrewdness!

"I've only heard that Zhang Dai eloped with Wang Maozhong's daughter, a lecherous and audacious scoundrel, but I've never heard of this. Besides, even if it were true, it's just a trivial business matter, how could it be considered a coincidence?"

Upon hearing his father's high praise for Zhang Dai, Li Chengnin couldn't help but speak up.

"Forget it, I can't reason with you!"

The Prince of Bin was too lazy to waste any more time arguing with his son. He knew that his son was self-righteous but inexperienced in the ways of the world, and that his views were all superficial and unrealistic. It would be difficult to reason with him about real principles. Besides, he was not the kind father who was used to giving earnest advice. Since they couldn't see eye to eye, he simply got up and left.

Once back in the inner hall and settled down, stewards and servants from various departments came to complain about the family's financial difficulties, making the Prince of Bin feel uneasy and his brow furrowed with worry.

His family had no other source of income except for the land and property he owned. However, last year's great disaster caused the amount of his property to decrease sharply, while his family's expenses continued to increase. Suddenly, he was unable to make ends meet and had to borrow money to survive.

After pondering for a moment, the matter his son had just mentioned suddenly came to mind. After thinking for a while, the Prince of Bin immediately picked up his brush, quickly wrote a letter, sealed it, and then summoned a servant, saying, "Quickly send this letter to Zhang Yan's house in Kangsufang and hand it over to his grandson Zhang Dai. Tell him that I will be at home all day tomorrow and wait for him to come to my door to settle things!"

As evening fell, Zhang Dai returned home after a day's work. He was about to check on his younger brother Zhang Yi's recovery when a servant came in and said, "There is a guest in the front courtyard who claims to be a servant of the Prince of Bin and has come specifically to visit the Sixth Prince."

"A slave of the Prince of Bin?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai was naturally surprised. He had only met the Prince of Bin a few times, and he only remembered that the Prince of Bin was like a school principal leading a study tour. They hadn't exchanged more than a few words, so he really couldn't guess why the other party had sent his servant to visit him.

So he quickly went to the front hall, took the letter handed to him by the servant of the Prince of Bin, and raised an eyebrow: "When did I owe the Prince of Bin 1,652 strings and 360 coins?"

(End of this chapter)