Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 44 Agreement

Li Xian put the mighty general aside and said with a smile, "Let's go!"

Liu Jianjun breathed a sigh of relief: "Judging from your expression, the Crown Prince shouldn't be considered our enemy anymore."

Then, he moved closer to the majestic general, lifted the red cloth covering the cage, and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow? Such a big rooster!"

Li Xian, curious, asked, "The enemy?"

"if not?"

Liu Jianjun shifted his gaze from the mighty general and said, "Do you think the emperor's seat can seat two people? You sit down in that chair, move a little to the side, pat the empty seat next to you, and shout, 'Xianzi, come here, this seat can seat two people!'"

Do you think he'll do it?
"Even if he does it, ask the entire court and the people of the land if they would agree to it?"

Li Xian was already used to Liu Jianjun's nonsense. There was no one else in Ziyun Tower, so Li Xian just glared at him irritably and asked, "But he is the Crown Prince now. If our target is really... then wouldn't we still end up facing him?"

At this point, Li Xian felt a little uncomfortable and said, "I...don't want to hurt him."

"Tsk tsk, now I believe you and Li Xian are on good terms. If he doesn't treat you well after how you've treated him, he'd be inhuman!" Liu Jianjun clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "But it's alright. Since Xianzi's side doesn't want to go against you, then we'll definitely not go against him!"

Li Xian was curious about Liu Jianjun's statement. He himself had said that only one person could sit in the position of the Crown Prince. Since he wanted to go up, how could he not go against Li Xian, who was the Crown Prince?

Could he really convince Li Xian to "pat the dragon throne"?
Li Xian dismissed this absurd idea from his mind.

He believed Liu Jianjun's words.

Moreover, the fact that they can avoid clashing with Li Xian is good news in itself.

At this moment, Liu Jianjun asked again, "What did you two just talk about? Let me give you my opinion."

Li Xian then nodded and repeated what he and Li Xian had said.

He had thought Liu Jianjun would resist introducing him to Li Xian and Princess Taiping, but to his surprise, Liu Jianjun's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "Princess Taiping! I've wanted to meet her for so long!"

Li Xian's expression turned somewhat strange.

Because Liu Jianjun had the same expression when he first heard about Shangguan Wan'er.

So, although he felt that saying it was a bit too much, Li Xian still carefully chose his words and said, "Well... Taiping has already found a husband..."

The Tang Dynasty was an open society, and there weren't many girls like Shangguan Wan'er who were still unmarried at the age of nineteen. So, although Taiping was only about a year older than Liu Jianjun, she was already a married woman.

Liu Jianjun has no chance.

But Liu Jianjun seemed not to have reacted yet. He paused for a moment, then asked, "So what if you got married?"

Li Xian was also taken aback.

Then I got really angry.

Yes!
In the Tang Dynasty, there were many people, both among the common people and in the government, who considered widows, especially those who had given birth, to be beautiful. But weren't they still widows?

It's normal for a woman to remarry after her husband dies.

But that brat Xue Shao isn't dead yet, is he?!

Could it be that Liu Jianjun is planning to commit adultery?

no! Absolutely not!
Li Xian absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen to his sister, so his tone became serious as he said, "Liu Jianjun, I know you're a womanizer, but Taiping... is not allowed!"

"At least... if all else fails, you've asked me to persuade Taiping to divorce Xue Shao..."

"No? Xianzi, are you crazy?" Liu Jianjun stared wide-eyed at Li Xian.

He seemed to realize what was happening at that moment, his face filled with disbelief: "You're supposed to be an older brother, how could you think of your sister like that! What kind of person do you take her for?!"

Li Xian wanted to say, "What kind of person do I take you for?" But looking at Liu Jianjun's serious expression, he felt that Liu Jianjun wasn't lying.

So, he asked suspiciously, "You... what about Taiping?"

"No! I was just curious!" Liu Jianjun said confidently, but then hesitated for a moment: "However..."

"No, but no!" Li Xian refused firmly. "At worst, I'll find you two more pretty girls!"

"Deal!" Liu Jianjun nodded without hesitation.

Li Xian suddenly felt like he'd been tricked. But after thinking about it, he couldn't find anything wrong with it.

At this moment, Liu Jianjun said again, "You just said that the two of them are coming to the Prince of Pei's residence the day after tomorrow, right?"

Li Xian's thoughts were pulled back, and he nodded in response: "Yes, Li Xian will be assisting Father Emperor in drafting an edict to announce the auspicious signs to the world tomorrow, and will also be preparing for the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven. He will only be free the day after tomorrow."

My father had told me before that the auspicious omens would be announced to the world in the middle of this month, and today is only the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month, so there are still four days left.

Liu Jianjun thought for a moment and said, "Alright, tomorrow you get up early and come with me out of the Prince's Mansion to prepare some things to receive them."

"You're not accepting guests anymore?"

“Princess Taiping is more important than them!” Liu Jianjun patted his buttocks, stood up, walked to the side, and picked up the mighty General.

Just as Li Xian was about to say that the title of Grand General was not for Liu Jianjun, Liu Jianjun suddenly turned around and said, "By the way, I won't kneel to Xianzi and Taiping either! You promised me before, and if I don't want to, no one can force me."

"Your relationship with Xianzi and Princess Taiping is good, so this shouldn't be too difficult for you!"

Li Xian chuckled and nodded, "Alright! I understand!"

Liu Jianjun then left satisfied.

Li Xian wanted to suggest keeping the mighty general, but seeing Liu Jianjun's retreating figure as he ran down from the pavilion, he sighed and shook his head.

Never mind, I'll ask for it again tomorrow.

I'll ask Liu Jianjun if he knows how to raise fighting cocks. If he does, I'll entrust the raising of the Mighty General to him, which will be a good opportunity for me to find Li Xian and avenge my previous humiliation.

Li Xian believed that Liu Jianjun definitely had the ability.

It was getting late, so Li Xian returned to his palace and lay down.

Silent all night.

The next morning, Li Xian was awakened by a fragrant aroma.

Get up and go outside.

They found Liu Jianjun sitting in the hall, guarding a stove.

There was a charcoal fire burning in the stove, and a ceramic pot was placed on top of it. Something was bubbling and simmering inside, and the aroma that Li Xian smelled was coming from inside.

Upon seeing Li Xian wake up, Liu Jianjun was very excited: "Xianzi! Hurry! I'm almost sick of the food your cook makes these past two days, try my cooking!"

Li Xian asked in surprise, "You can cook?"

"Isn't that obvious! I've lived alone for sixteen years, cooking is a piece of cake for me!" Liu Jianjun said, lifting the lid of the earthenware jar. "Let me tell you, the cooks in your household are no good. They either boil the food, slice it, or make a mess of everything. That's not fit for human consumption!"

Li Xian wanted to refute.

Although the cooks in the Prince's Mansion were not inferior to those in the Imperial Palace, they were still among the best in Chang'an.

But when he smelled the aroma from Liu Jianjun's ceramic jar, he began to waver on the idea.

Li Xian looked into the earthenware jar, where there were pieces of chicken cut into various sizes, along with many other ingredients that Li Xian didn't recognize—in fact, Li Xian didn't recognize many of the ingredients at all.

The aroma of the chicken, combined with the other ingredients, was simply mouthwatering.

Liu Jianjun is truly amazing.

Li Xian looked at Liu Jianjun, who handed him a bowl and chopsticks, looking at him encouragingly: "Try it?"

Li Xian thought for a moment, then picked up a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth.

Fragrant!
The tenderness of the chicken and the unknown aroma were simply bursting in his mouth. Li Xian had never tasted anything so delicious!
"My cooking skills are absolutely top-notch... Of course, the rooster you brought over yesterday was the best, not too fat, not too lean. I couldn't bear to see your cook waste such good ingredients, so I took the initiative to cook it myself..."

Li Xian didn't hear what Liu Jianjun said next.

He looked at Liu Jianjun blankly: "Food...ingredients?"

……

　I've made some changes to the part about the guests visiting the Prince of Pei's residence in the previous chapter; only Taiping is mentioned now (because I was in a daze while writing and didn't consider that Li Dan was currently under house arrest).
　　
　
(End of this chapter)