My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 200 Departure
The emperor's edict was so urgent that Li Yuan didn't even have a chance to properly say goodbye to the officials in the prefecture.

These officials are really annoying. Li Yuan has only been here for a short time, and the two sides haven't even met many times yet, and Li Yuan is already leaving again.

They dared not delay Li Yuan's time, and immediately went to pay their respects to Li Jiancheng with many gifts to congratulate Li Yuan on his promotion.

Li Yuan was already preparing to depart almost on the very first day he received the imperial edict, and he was to set off early the next morning.

At night, Li Yuan did not rush to rest. He sat with Madam Dou in their bedroom, lit candles, and chatted quietly about family matters.

“We have always followed you wherever you have gone before. If you go to the capital this time and we do not go with you, His Majesty will certainly not be at ease. Moreover, you are going to handle such an important matter as supervising the delivery of grain. If your family is not in the capital, how can His Majesty be at ease?”

"The sage may seem magnanimous and indifferent to these things, but this is just an act. He is selfish, petty, and extremely concerned about these things, but he is unwilling to show it. We must get through this."

"Husband, you don't need to worry about us. After we arrive in Luoyang, go ahead and attend to your own affairs. I will take good care of everything at home. Dalang is becoming more and more reliable in his work. This is a good opportunity for him to hone his skills."

Lady Dou spoke earnestly, and Li Yuan nodded repeatedly as he listened.

Lady Dou was a very capable and virtuous wife, but her abilities were easily overshadowed by her husband and son. Before making a decision, Li Yuan would always listen to his wife's advice.

During this period, Li Yuan was not an individual; he was a combination of Lady Dou and Li Yuan. Therefore, during the time before he rose up in rebellion, Li Yuan performed exceptionally well, and his political acumen and abilities far surpassed those of people like Yang Xuangan.

However, after Lady Dou passed away, Li Yuan's performance became unstable, with extremely high upper and lower limits. Especially when he started the uprising, he was indecisive and contradictory in many decisions.

His handling of the succession issue was even more baffling, and it could even be said that he single-handedly stirred up extremely serious internal conflicts, playing a crucial role in the creation of the 'Xuanwu Gate Succession Law'.

But at least for now, Li Yuan is still in his 'complete form'.

"Supervising the delivery of provisions is no easy task. My husband, you must not be afraid of offending others. If you do it well, you will gain the friendship of Yang Xiong, Yuwen Shu, and others. Especially Yuwen Shu, the Emperor has been increasingly fond of him these days, and often asks for his opinion on many matters. This man has a history with my family. Everyone says that Yuwen Shu is greedy and insatiable, but I think he is much more capable than Yang Xuangan!"

“He is no ordinary warrior; my husband must not underestimate him.”

After listening to Madam Dou finish speaking, Li Yuan suddenly said, "Today I let Erlang participate in important matters, and Dalang seemed unhappy. After I leave, Madam should teach Dalang more and prevent any scandal of discord among the brothers from occurring in the family!"

Madam Dou was immediately displeased. "How can you speak so decisively! My sons, do you think I don't know their personalities? How could Dalang be the kind of person who would be jealous of his own younger brother? Just don't interfere!"

Li Yuan looked up at her, a hint of grievance in his eyes, "I did it all for them."

"Then stop talking nonsense. Even if nothing's wrong, your words will cause trouble. You say that Da Lang is jealous of Er Lang? I think it's more like you're the one who's jealous of Er Lang."

"Me?! What are you saying?!"

"In short, I will take care of things at home, so you can go out and do things with peace of mind. Since ancient times, men have been in charge of external affairs and women have been in charge of internal affairs, so you don't need to worry about these things."

Lady Dou decisively ended the conversation, and Li Yuan pursed his lips, somewhat displeased.

Seeing this, Madam Dou added, "Besides, most of the children are like you; they are all kind-hearted, polite, and virtuous. Nothing will happen to them."

Li Yuan's mood improved considerably, and he looked at Dou Shi with a smile.

"Madam is right! I will be leaving tomorrow, and all the household affairs will be in your care. You have worked so hard; let me make it up to you today."

After he finished speaking, he couldn't wait to blow out the candle.

The next day, Li Yuan got up very early, and the people traveling with him were already prepared.

Li Xuanba arrived with Zhang Du and others. The number of people Li Xuanba brought was even greater than the number of people Li Yuan had. Li Yuan was amazed when he saw them, thinking that his third son had been appointed to an important position in the court!
Although there were still many people he hadn't met and many things he hadn't explained, Li Yuan had to get there as soon as possible; the time limit given by the emperor was too short.

The group then escorted them all the way to the door.

Madam Dou held Li Xuanba's hand, reminding him to be careful on the journey. She told him that if he felt unwell, he could stay on the way and not worry about delaying him. Li Xiuning handed her younger brother a strangely sewn piece of cloth that didn't quite look like a garment. It was a piece of clothing she had made herself, hoping that wearing it would remind him of her.

Li Jiancheng gave his younger brother a book containing his recent debate with their teacher, Liu Zhuo. He told his brother to read it carefully so he could learn some principles of nature, which would help him in his studies of other subjects.

Li Shimin then handed his younger brother an extremely exquisite dagger. This dagger was something Li Shimin had won a bet with someone in Yingyang Mansion. It was said to be a treasure from the Turks, and he told Li Xuanba to carry it with him.

Li Yuanji simply held his brother's hand, wiping away his tears, expressing his reluctance to part. With the third brother gone, Li Yuanji would have no one to play with here anymore, feeling utterly alone.

Liu Xuan repeatedly instructed Li Xuanba not to mention himself when they arrived there, and not to tell the doctors that he was his disciple, otherwise it would cause a lot of trouble.

Only Li Yuan, with a dark expression, rode his horse silently watching as these people reluctantly bid farewell to their third brother.

What about me?
Finally, the second son looked at Li Yuan first.

Li Yuan felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Sure enough, it was his second son, Li Shimin, who walked up to him and said, "Father, don't rush on the road. Sanlang has only just recovered."

"Oh"

After bidding farewell to everyone, Li Yuan took Li Xuanba with him, and the group left in a hurry.

Li Jiancheng hurriedly told the rest of the group to get ready. As before, they would follow behind their father and proceed slowly. By the time they arrived in Luoyang, the third son would probably have already been at the Imperial Academy for some time.

Li Shimin stood there, watching his father and third son walk away, feeling inexplicably lost.

"Second brother, it's alright. We'll be able to reunite with them in a few days."

Li Yuanji suddenly spoke.

Li Shimin glanced at him, "What are you planning to do now?"

"Second brother, third brother has also left. I'm all alone in the manor with nothing to do. It's been many days since we set off. Could you take me with you when you go out to play?"

"Didn't you say back then that I should also train more, learn from Third Brother, and become the vanguard of the army in the future?"

"You."

Li Shimin just shook his head, "Let's focus on learning all the characters first. The teacher your elder brother arranged for you is almost driven crazy by you. You get eight out of ten characters wrong. You've been studying for so long. When I was your age, I could already write poetry and prose. When the third son was your age, he could already understand the classics. You..."

Seeing his somewhat disappointed younger brother, Li Shimin didn't want to continue scolding him. He simply patted the boy's head and said, "How about this, I'll teach you myself, and then we'll have a test. If you pass, I'll take you out to play. If you don't pass this time, then prepare well and wait for the next time."

Li Yuanji nodded blankly.

Just as the two were talking, a fast horse hurriedly arrived. Chai Shao jumped off the horse in a hurry and looked at them, "Where is the Duke? Has the Duke not left yet?"

"Brother, you're late. They've already set off."

Chai Shao sighed helplessly, "We missed out."

"It's alright, my elder brother hasn't left yet. Brother, you can come in and see him."

"it is good!"

Chai Shao hurriedly agreed, chuckling as he handed the horse to a servant standing nearby, and then led the two children into the courtyard.

Clearly, he didn't come to see Li Yuan off.

(End of this chapter)