My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 256 Father and Son
Yuwen Huaji forced a smile and escorted Li Jiancheng to the gate of the mansion.

The eldest sons of these dukes generally had connections. Although they were all children of great noble families, their positions were different. Those who did not have a clear right of inheritance were mostly sent to the Imperial Academy, where they spent a few years before going to various places to take up official positions.

Those with clear inheritance rights generally gravitate towards the emperor or crown prince, starting their careers with positions like Qianniu.

When they interacted, they generally adhered to this agreement: the young master would only play with other young masters, while those without inheritance rights would mingle with the others.

Logically speaking, Li Jiancheng should have befriended Yuwen Huaji, who had the right to inherit the throne.

However, the age difference between the two is quite significant.

Yuwen Huaji was more than twenty years older than Li Jiancheng. Li Jiancheng was about the same age as Yuwen Huaji's son. Yuwen Huaji was of the same generation as Li Yuan.

Unfortunately, Yuwen Shu was still alive, so no matter how old Yuwen Huaji got, he was still a prince, not a duke.

Yuwen Huaji looked at the young man in front of him, feeling quite bitter.

This new generation of noble sons have already risen to prominence, gained fame, and performed diligently, but he himself holds no official position, his right to inherit the title is somewhat unstable, and his reputation is not good.

He wasn't afraid of his third brother; they had a pretty good relationship. He was just dissatisfied with the current situation, feeling that the sage had gone too far in treating his old friend.

Li Jiancheng sized up the infamous 'treacherous minister' before him. The Yuwen Huaji he saw now proved once again that what he knew was not necessarily true. He did not have a son named Yuwen Chengdu, nor was he an old and cunning prime minister or minister. He was just an ordinary citizen who had been pardoned not long ago. Moreover, judging from the emperor's current attitude towards him, he would probably never promote or give him an important position.

However, this person is indeed a bad person.

Greedy, cruel, and unruly, it is said that before he was imprisoned, he dared to ride his horse through the capital and run people over, acting recklessly and colluding with his younger brother to beat and kill innocent people. No one dared to interfere with him. After being imprisoned by the emperor for several years, his personality changed drastically, and he became much more cautious and gentle.

However, among the Guanzhong aristocracy of the time, Yuwen Huaji's behavior was not unusual. Many noble sons behaved similarly; the evils of the Northern and Southern Dynasties had not been completely eradicated, and these aristocratic sons were all cruel, greedy, belligerent, and ruthless.
Li Jiancheng smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, "Brother, I have never had the chance to visit you before. Now that we are able to meet, I will come often in the future. Please do not find it inconvenient."

Yuwen Huaji felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Ever since he was demoted to a slave, his former cronies had all avoided him. Apart from his own third brother and some scheming barbarians, no one had ever come to visit him.

He bowed and said, "I welcome your arrival, young master, and I would never dare to look down on you."

“Brother, I’ve heard that the Emperor intends to head south, where there may be war. There are some matters that the Duke himself cannot handle. I have a few friends in court who I can introduce to you another day. If there is an opportunity to go on the expedition, you won’t need to waste your talents.”

Yuwen Huaji was taken aback for a moment, but he still managed to keep his composure. "Then thank you very much, young master. I am not in a hurry to make a name for myself. I made a mistake before, but was fortunate enough to be pardoned. Now I just want to stay at home and serve my father."

Li Jiancheng spoke with him for a few words, then turned and got into the carriage.

Yuwen Huaji stood at the door and saw him off.

Li Shimin was sitting in the carriage when he saw his elder brother enter. He quickly asked, "Brother, how did it go? Did Yuwen Shu agree?"

“He agreed, and said he would contact Angatha.”

"Okay!"

Li Shimin was overjoyed. He smiled and said, "I knew this matter would be resolved, brother. Once this is settled, can we start preparing for the big event?"

"Aren't we already in the process of preparing? How else do you want to prepare?"

"Brother, I want to join the Eagle Banner Manor!"

Li Jiancheng shook his head. "You're too young, it won't work."

"There are quite a few noble families whose members became generals in their teens or so, so what's wrong with that?"

"Wait a few more years. I bought you a large house outside the city. You can practice your martial arts there. I got some military strategy books from my friends and sent them over. You can practice and study them at the same time to prepare yourself."

Li Shimin then stopped pressing the matter and thanked his elder brother with a smile.

Li Jiancheng looked at him seriously and said, “Shimin, I know you are extremely intelligent and have extraordinary talent, but even with the best talent, it is all in vain if you don’t have perseverance. I don’t object to you spending a lot of time making friends, but I also hope that you can cherish your talent and work hard to improve yourself.”

"Only when you are strong enough will you have the opportunity to do great things. I think that just making friends is putting the cart before the horse."

“Look at your third brother. Since Xingyang, he has been training day and night without stopping for a single day. As a result, he has made significant progress and become increasingly powerful. At the gate of the Imperial Academy, four soldiers could not stop him. You should learn more from him in this regard.”

"Here!"

The two brothers returned to their residence. Li Jiancheng went to report to Li Yuan, while Li Shimin went directly to his own courtyard.

When Li Jiancheng informed Yuwen Shu of his willingness to cooperate and join forces, Li Yuan's expression finally softened considerably. "If Yuwen Shu is willing to help, then things will indeed be much easier. Yuwen Shu is now the Emperor's favorite general. Wherever the Emperor goes, he never forgets to recount Yuwen Shu's achievements and speaks highly of him."

Li Jiancheng stood silently to the side, listening to his father's words.

Ever since Li Yuan reprimanded Li Jiancheng, a rift seemed to have formed between the father and son, and the atmosphere became somewhat strange.

Li Yuan glanced at his son and then laughed.

"What, I scolded you a few times, and you still haven't forgotten?"

"Don't dare."

Li Yuan nudged him with his elbow, "Then why are you still wearing that long face? Do you think I'm still young and can hold back until I get old and then get your revenge?"

Li Jiancheng was taken aback, "Grandpa, you..."

"Hahaha, why are you still keeping such a long face!"

Li Yuan laughed and scolded, "You brat, I've raised you for so many years, what's wrong with scolding you a few times? Even if I beat you, you should take it!"

“I’m not angry with you for no reason. Before, I was just angry that you acted on your own. You’re still young and don’t know how dangerous the world is. If you cause any trouble and I don’t know about it, how can I protect you?”

"I'm worried about you rascals. From now on, you'll be in charge of this family, and your younger brothers will need your care. I've always been very strict with you because I hope you can inherit my mantle and achieve great things. Please don't blame me for that."

"Grandpa."

Li Jiancheng hesitated for a moment, then asked seriously, "Father, do you still remember what happened at that bandit stronghold?"

"remember."

“Those bandit strongholds are ones I supported; they exist in Xingyang, Hedong, and various other places.”

"you!!"

Li Yuan's eyes widened, and he was about to say something when Madam Dou walked over from behind, carrying a bowl and followed by several maids. She interrupted the conversation between the father and son, saying, "Why put it so harshly? What bandit stronghold? It's just a place to shelter the dead and guide them to cultivate wasteland. Isn't that what every family does?"

She placed the bowl in front of Li Yuan; it contained steaming hot meat soup.

She smiled and said, "I've heard about this too. It's a good thing they did; they've taken in quite a few deceased people. My husband did something similar when he was young. You could say this son is just like his father."

Li Yuan then waved his hand, "What's done is done. Just be more careful in the future."

"However, those are all minor matters, no need to worry about them too much."

"Here."

The family of three began their meal, with Mrs. Dou sitting affectionately between her husband and son, urging them to eat more.

Then, she told a very interesting story.

"The physician brought back a highly skilled person today, saying that he was going to see Xuan Ba, and he is currently staying at Xuan Ba's residence."

"Xuanba is extremely famous among these physicians; they all vie to see him, saying they've never seen him in such a condition before."

Li Yuan asked in confusion, "Why are you looking at him?"

"It probably depends on his condition, I'm not really sure."

Li Jiancheng then asked, "Who is this master?"

"He seemed to be a Taoist priest, something like Sun Simiao."

Li Jiancheng suddenly raised his head.

"Sun Simiao?!"

"Great!"

(End of this chapter)