The rebellious grandson of Emperor Zhenguan of the Tang Dynasty: Please, Your Majesty, be called Cro

The scale of this gathering was truly unprecedented; Li Tai had practically booked the entire Qujiang area.

The people of the Prince of Wei's mansion erected a long, imposing green gauze tent along the banks of the Qujiang River, around the famous Qujiang Pavilion, a sight that could accommodate tens of thousands of people.

Officials, clerks, literati, and poets from all walks of life in Chang'an City, regardless of rank, were welcome to attend the gathering and enjoy the spring scenery.

At this moment, the riverbank was already bustling with people, many of whom were in groups of three or five, either performing purification rituals by the water, washing their hands and wearing orchids, or sitting around drinking and composing poems.

The sounds of string and wind instruments, chanting, and laughter mingled together, creating a lively and joyful atmosphere.

The true heart of this gathering, however, was the Hibiscus Garden on the south bank. This top-tier garden, bestowed upon Li Tai by Emperor Taizong (Li Er), was originally a former detached palace and garden from the Sui Dynasty.

The garden is situated by water and surrounded by mountains, with winding paths leading to secluded spots. Grand buildings and corridors are scattered among the gardens, and exotic flowers and rare plants grow everywhere. It can be considered a first-class elegant and secluded paradise during the Zhenguan era.

Only truly prominent officials, nobles, and scions of prominent families were qualified to enter the gates of Furong Garden.

Those distinguished guests personally invited by Li Tai gathered here for this top-level gathering.

Seeing Li Xiang about to step towards Furong Garden, the soldier from the Right Army Commander's Mansion beside him was so worried he was almost out of his mind. He quickly called out to Li Xiang, his voice trembling slightly:

"Your Highness...Young Master! If you've listened to those aunties and want to argue with Lords Kong and Yu, you can just say so here in the gauze tent of Qujiang Pavilion."

"How dare you still venture into the Hibiscus Garden?"

"That garden is full of high-ranking officials, all of whom are His Highness Prince Wei's distinguished guests. If someone recognizes your identity..."

"Hmm? So what if I recognized you?"

Li Xiang turned around, raised an eyebrow with a puzzled look, and spoke indifferently.

"What can they do to me?"

Submitting a memorial to Li Er? That would excite me even more.

"this……"

Seeing that Li Xiang was even more eager to try, the sergeant was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to persuade him.

This grandson of the emperor was a madman who feared nothing and no one, so naturally he didn't think there was anything wrong with trespassing into the Hibiscus Garden.

But he is different. The Prince of Wei is deeply favored by His Majesty, and the one in front of him is a grandson of the emperor who should be under the care of the Right Army Commander and is in seclusion.

Previously, he accidentally made a mistake, and his military merits accumulated over many years were almost wiped out overnight.

If something goes wrong again in Furong Garden, he might not even be able to save his life!

"...Even if you're not afraid of being recognized, we don't have an invitation!"

"Although you are of noble status, according to the rules, you should be confined in Longqingfang. They will never recognize your identity, much less let you in."

He paused, racking his brains for words of comfort: "Moreover, the Prince of Wei, you, and the deposed Crown Prince..."

Even if they recognized you, how could they possibly let you step into the Hibiscus Garden?

"...That makes some sense."

Li Xiang touched his chin, and the eagerness on his face subsided slightly.

He hadn't quite grasped this point—his status as a grandson of the emperor was still quite useful in the palace; all he had to do was hold a knife to his own neck, and the eunuchs and guards would naturally hesitate to act rashly.

But with Li Tai, it might not be so. Back in the Liangyi Hall, he had slapped Li Tai's face hard.

That treacherous fatso holds grudges; he must be hoping I'm still alive.

What if that fatso, before anyone recognizes me, pretends not to know and secretly orders his servants to beat me to death...?

I don't even have a place to cry out for justice!

"That makes sense. Before things get out of hand and people recognize us."

"We should probably put on a disguise first..."

Li Xiang muttered to himself.

Li Xiang's gaze swept across the entrance to Furong Garden and he suddenly noticed something strange—many people did not show invitations, but simply whispered a few words to the gatekeeper, slipped him some gifts, and were then politely invited into the garden.

His eyes darted around, and he put his hands behind his back, pretending to be a spectator. He approached a man squatting by the wall near the entrance and spoke to him in a friendly tone, as if they were old acquaintances: "Hey, brother, can I ask you something? Who are those people? How come they got into the park without invitations?"

The idler, seeing that although his clothes were neat, his speech had a strong street slang, didn't guard up much. He curled his lip and lowered his voice, saying:

"Brother, you want to join in the fun too? I advise you to give up now! Those people are all scions of noble families without official positions or formal invitations from His Highness Prince Wei—to put it bluntly, they're just idle people who have connections to noble families."

He raised his chin, pointed to a young man in fine clothes who had just entered the garden, and added:

"Did you see that? That kid just now is from a collateral branch of the Cui family of Qinghe. He looks impressive, but he doesn't really have any real power."

"If you want to get into this Hibiscus Garden to broaden your horizons and build connections, you still need to pay your way in. I just saw him hand the gatekeeper a full five strings of cash to get a chance to go in!"

"Five strings of cash?" Li Xiang's eyes widened, feigning surprise.

"His Highness Prince Wei is of noble birth, how could he be short of money? Why does he need to solicit funds from these aristocratic scions?"

The idler chuckled dismissively, giving him an "you wouldn't understand" look, glancing around before moving even closer:

"My dear brother, you seem shrewd, but you're quite muddle-headed! It's not that His Highness Prince Wei is short of money!"

"I heard that His Highness is using this gathering as a pretext to raise funds for the construction of Ci'en Temple, hoping to curry favor with His Majesty!"

"Empress Zhangsun has been gone for several years, and His Majesty still misses her dearly. I heard that a few days ago, the deposed crown prince disturbed her peaceful sleep."

"His Highness Prince Wei is filial. A few days ago, he mentioned to His Majesty that he wanted to take the lead in raising funds to build Ci'en Temple. This would both demonstrate his benevolence and filial piety and please His Majesty."

"These scions of noble families also want to use the pretext of donating money to show their faces before His Highness Prince Wei, and perhaps even be remembered by His Majesty. Why not?"

"However, this money isn't something you can just donate casually. If it's less than three strings of cash, the gatekeeper won't even bother with you. For a collateral branch of a large family like the Cui family of Qinghe, donating five strings is considered respectable!"

Li Xiang nodded, inwardly scoffing. This Li Tai really knew how to please Li Er better than his cheap father.

By using the pretext of building Ci'en Temple, they both pleased Emperor Taizong (Li Er) by invoking Empress Zhangsun's name and subtly criticized their father's unfilial act of bringing a portrait into the Liangyi Hall.

Finally, they can legitimately hold an elegant gathering to win over people's hearts... it's a win-win-win situation.

However, I remember that the Ci'en Temple in Chang'an was supposed to have been built when Li Zhi was the crown prince.

...Never mind, Li Tai and Li Zhi are both acting masters. Li Tai tried even harder to please Li Er, it seems that his words in the Liangyi Hall made him feel threatened.

"Young master." The soldier was naturally listening from behind, and when he heard that he had to pay to enter the garden, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He whispered to Li Xiang, "Since we have no money, why don't we go to Qujiang Pavilion..."

"Who said it has to be money?" Li Xiang strode towards the garden gate.

The soldier panicked and hurriedly caught up. Just as he was about to persuade him again, he saw Li Xiang suddenly stop and ask him, "By the way, brother."

"I still don't know your name?"

"Uh... This humble servant is Liu Zhi." The sergeant—no, Liu Zhi—replied with a wry smile.

They'd been following this mad prince around for two days before he finally remembered to ask his name...

"Oh, the Liu family of Hedong, a prominent and powerful clan!" Li Xiang smiled.

He turned his head and shouted loudly towards the entrance of Furong Garden:

"Liu Zhi of Hedong has raised 10,000 strings of cash for Ci'en Temple!"