My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 146 Fortune and Misfortune

"Renren! Come here!"

Yang Guang waved to Yuwen Shiji in the distance. Yuwen Shiji quickly walked up to him. Here, Yuwen Shiji was one of the few people who could approach Yang Guang with a weapon. As his son-in-law, Yang Guang had no suspicion of him.

Yang Guang whispered a few words in his ear, and Yuwen Shiji was clearly surprised, but he still turned and left.

Li Yuan and Li Xuanba sat to the side, Li Yuan feeling both excited and apprehensive.

The sage is a rather unreliable person. Not to mention his fluctuating emotions, even the rewards he gives when he is happy are hard to say whether they are good or bad.

This situation is very strange.

Normally, when the emperor bestows rewards, it is mostly a good thing for his ministers. But the emperor's rewards are different. He may give some inexplicable rewards. Therefore, Li Yuan was both expectant and worried.

Yang Guang looked at Li Yuan beside him with a gentle gaze and said kindly, "Shude, I am very pleased to have a brother like you by my side who can share my worries and solve my problems."

Once the horse was delivered and the matter was settled, the title of the sage changed.

Previously, he would address Li Yuan by his full name or as "Qing" (卿), but this time he addressed him by his courtesy name and even called Li Yuan "brother".

Indeed, Li Yuan was his brother, a proper cousin. When Yang Jian and Empress Dugu were still alive, Li Yuan received better treatment than many members of the Yang clan. While his peers were still playing around in the city, he was already serving as a cavalry officer.

However, this is the truth. Even Li Yuan dared not call the emperor his brother. When the emperor turned against him, he would not recognize even his own brothers, let alone his cousins.

Li Yuan quickly bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation."

Yang Guang shook his head slightly and said, "From this day forward, I allow you to enjoy the etiquette of a prince. Your travels, clothing, expenses, and residence can all be in accordance with the standards of a prince's residence."

Li Yuan's expression changed drastically.

Pit!

What you fear will come true!
This seems like an enormous reward; Li Yuan was only a duke, yet Yang Guang granted him the privileges of a prince, a seemingly great favor. But upon closer inspection, it's actually a huge trap!

If Li Yuan had continued to use the duke's title instead of the prince's title, Yang Guang might have charged him with disrespect and disobeying the imperial edict.

But if Li Yuan used it, and Yang Guang was in a bad mood one day and started to be wary of his relatives again, then it would be easy for him to be accused of usurpation.
He won't bother with any questions about whether he agreed to it or not.

Despite his dissatisfaction, Li Yuan still appeared flattered and almost shed tears of joy.

"Your Majesty's kindness will be repaid with my life!"

Li Yuan performed the grand ceremony again, and Li Xuanba could only follow his father in doing so.

Yang Guang smiled and told him to get up. A moment later, Yuwen Shiji returned to the spot.

Yang Guang took something from his hand; it turned out to be a precious bow.

It was a large bow, entirely red, with white dragon patterns painted on it. Yang Guang picked up the bow, looked it over, and a hint of sadness appeared in his eyes.

He then looked at Li Xuanba.

"Here, this imperial bow is for you."

Li Yuan started cursing again.

This is no ordinary bow; it is a bow specially used by the emperor for large-scale hunting activities, and no one but the emperor can use it.

This thing is an even greater scourge!
Taking it in your hands is fucking an overstepping of your bounds!!

What legitimate emperor would bestow this upon someone?

Li Yuan could no longer agree at this moment. Before his son could speak, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, how can this imperial item be given as a reward? My son is dull-witted and has not performed any great service. He really dares not accept such a reward!"

Yang Guang said softly, "This is not the imperial bow I use."

Li Yuan was a little confused. What did that mean? If it wasn't yours, how could it be called an imperial bow?

Yang Guang said nostalgically, "When Zhao'er was still alive, he loved archery and could draw a strong bow. Once, he made a bet with me that if he could shoot a runaway deer, I would reward him with a good bow. He hit it, so I had this bow made, similar to an imperial bow but not quite, and then I gave it to him as a reward."

When Yang Zhao was mentioned, Yang Guang's expression turned sorrowful, which seemed genuine.

Yang Zhao was Yang Guang's eldest son and the former crown prince, but he had already passed away from illness.

This prince has a good reputation; he is kind and generous, and also skilled in martial arts, able to draw a strong bow and is an excellent archer.

Seeing the emperor's sorrowful appearance, Li Yuan felt a little contemptuous. He had no problem with the crown prince, but the emperor had also contributed to the crown prince's early death.

The crown prince was overweight and already had many ailments, but the emperor ignored them and allowed him to travel frequently to various places. As a result, the crown prince's health deteriorated. After his last journey from Daxing to Luoyang, the crown prince could not bear it any longer and asked Emperor Yang Guang to let him stay in Luoyang a little longer to recover before continuing his journey.

Yang Zhao pleaded with Yang Guang many times, but Yang Guang refused to listen and told him to return as soon as possible so as not to delay matters! Overworked, Yang Zhao fell seriously ill and died in the same year.

Yang Guang reminisced for a long time, then looked at Li Xuanba.

He began, "Seeing the children of my family reminds me of Zhao'er."

"Here, take it!"

Yang Guang threw it out suddenly, and Li Xuanba caught it.

This precious bow is quite heavy!
It's ridiculously big.

Li Yuan then saw clearly that the sage was indeed not lying. Such a heavy bow could not have been drawn by the sage; it must have belonged to the crown prince. However, why was he carrying something left behind by the crown prince when he went out?

Li Yuan gestured for Li Xuanba to bow in gratitude.

Li Xuanba bowed again in thanks.

Yang Guang's mood improved considerably, and he said with a smile, "I am very satisfied with the situation in Loufan."

"I'm entrusting things here to you."

"You must do a good job; there might be war next year."

Yang Guang narrowed his eyes, his expression unusual.

fighting??
Li Yuan frowned. At that moment, the Sui army was fighting against the Tuyuhun, but the Tuyuhun were in the northwest, and almost half of their territory was in the Western Regions. They were not even near the Loufan.
Where did this war come from?

Just as Li Yuan was completely bewildered, Yang Guang gave him a meaningful smile.

Yang Guang left, and the grand procession continued its journey forward.

His purpose seems to be more than just inspecting the mines; his route is somewhat puzzling.

In any case, the emperor has finally left, and the people of Loufan can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The initial panic subsided.

Li Yuan ignored everything, returned to his residence, and began to sleep soundly.

During the period when Yang Guang was on his inspection tour, he did not get a good night's sleep for a single day.

As for Li Xuanba, he was sitting in the courtyard, surrounded by his brothers, who were curiously asking him about the matter of meeting the emperor.

Li Jiancheng sat to one side, fiddling with the imperial bow bestowed upon him by the emperor.

Li Shimin couldn't help but speak up, "Brother, let me see! Let me see!"

Li Jiancheng casually handed the bow and arrow to his second brother, who stroked the bow and arrow, then stood up, assumed a standard posture, and began to slowly draw the bow. He only drew it a little before he dared not continue, and slowly let the bowstring return to its original position. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and exclaim, "What a fine bow! It's a pity it's too heavy! I've never seen anyone use such a heavy bow!"

Taking the opportunity, Li Yuanji mocked, "Don't you always say you're good at archery? How come you can't even draw a bow?"

Li Shimin glanced at him and said, "The key to archery is accuracy, not distance. This bow is too heavy and can only be used to build strength, not for actual combat. No matter how far you shoot, it's all for nothing if you miss."

"Third brother, take this. It'll be perfect for building up your strength and practicing archery. But don't fire it without a bow, or you'll damage it. Also, be careful with your posture when shooting; this bow is too heavy and will hurt you."

Li Shimin gave him many instructions, and Li Xuanba nodded in agreement.

Li Yuanji interrupted his brother again, asking, "Didn't the Sage mention any of us?"

“It has been mentioned that the Sage is very concerned about our studies and may come to test us in the future. If our studies are not good enough, we may be punished.”

Li Xuanba said.

Li Yuanji immediately frowned, looking helpless.

Why is he bringing up studies too?

Why is studying so difficult?

Hearing the younger brother's complaints, the eldest, second, and third brothers exchanged a knowing smile.

The second brother spoke up, "Xuanba, now that the Sage is gone, I can go back to training. In the past few days, I've made friends with many soldiers, all of them brave and valiant men. Why don't you come with me? Even if you don't train, it'll be good to get to know them!"

"I'll pass for now; I have some things to do."

(End of this chapter)