A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 962 The Queen’s Secret

"Snowing."

The children's happy voices came from outside the thatched cottage. This was the first snow in Chang'an in the ninth year of Zhenguan. It came later than in previous years.
The snow is falling,
The children happily reached out to pick it up.

Li Shimin walked out of the thatched cottage, accompanied by Wu Huaiyu,

"Innocent, pure and innocent." Li Shimin sighed,

Wu Huaiyu looked at the children in the courtyard. Except for Chengsi, Chengzong, the three Chengying brothers, and his eldest daughter Yingluo, the other children in the courtyard were the daughters of Yang Jieyu, the nineteenth daughter of the emperor Lanling Princess Li Lizhen and Concubine Wei’s three children,

They are the head of Dingxiang County who is engaged to Duke Xue Guo Ashina Zhong. This is the daughter of Concubine Wei Guifei and her ex-husband. She was brought to the palace as the emperor's stepdaughter.

Princess Li Mengjiang of Linchuan, the emperor's twelfth daughter, and Li Shen, the tenth son of Concubine Wei and the emperor.

Princess Linchuan is now married to Zhou Daowu, the son of the former Minister of War.

"They actually had a lot of fun, and they didn't show any dignity at all." Li Shimin laughed.

"I pay my respects to the queen."

Having said this, Li Shimin was very happy, stroking his beard and said, "Yes, in a blink of an eye, I have several grandsons."

Although she has been raising her for the past few years, the Queen also gave birth to her seventh child, Princess Xincheng, last year. The queen's health was not very good to begin with. She gave birth to seven children before and after this, which still hurt her health a little.

"When the children reach the age of twelve, I will ask them to return to Chang'an to study. When they reach the age of seventeen or eighteen, they will be sent to the three guards to be selected. If they are lucky enough to serve His Majesty, it will be their good fortune."

"You are an amazing girl," Li Shimin said to Huaiyu with a smile when he saw his daughter-in-law here, "I have a horse called Lion Cong, which is the son of the horse I got in Luoyang."

In front of the array of thousands of armies,

And the emperor raised the young palace ministers directly in the palace, which was definitely a step further than serving as three guardsmen.
"They are not too young. The three brothers also have a companion in the palace. To be honest, I am a little reluctant to let these children stay in the savage land of Lingnan. It is better to stay in Chang'an. I will raise them in the palace. Their brothers The three of them also have company,"

courtyard,

A group of children had a lot of fun,
Chengsi and Princess Lanling even held hands. Over there, Prince Ji Li Shen and Wu Yingluo were also running around,

Yuchi was overjoyed to see the emperor and immediately wanted to seize the horse for the emperor. So he galloped his horse into the enemy formation and charged into the tens of thousands of enemy troops. His two younger brothers, Liang Jianfang and Gao Zhengsheng, followed closely behind.

Zhou Daowu was also the emperor's future son-in-law, and he had been raised in the palace for many years. Now Wu Chengsi was also the emperor's future son-in-law, and he was also the son of a meritorious official. There was no problem in letting Wu Chengsi study in the palace, or even raise him in the palace.

"I have to trouble Qingyangzi again," the queen said with a smile, but she still couldn't hide her haggardness.

Wu Liangdi also stepped forward to salute Huaiyu, "My sister has met my brother."

I haven’t seen this girl for a long time, and I almost don’t recognize her anymore. She is like a flower that is about to bloom, but it seems that it has not yet bloomed.

Wu Huaiyu did not dare to say whether the emperor had the idea of ​​taking the Wu brothers as hostages, but it may not be possible.
A general raising fake sons, and an emperor raising meritorious sons in his palace are almost the same thing. They can be said to increase the relationship between the king and his ministers, and they can personally teach and train the sons of these meritorious officials, or they can be said to be protons.

"I'm also worried that you will take these children to Lingnan and lead them into the wild in the barbarian land of South China."

"You will consult the Queen later and make a new prescription."

With a bit of helplessness,

But when the emperor opened his mouth, Wu Huaiyu could not refuse.

Empress Changsun has been unwell recently. It is said that she was tired and sad because of the funeral arrangements for her great ancestor. Her old ailments have recurred.

Wu Huaiyu was reluctant in his heart.
What's so good about being in a deep palace, especially for Wu Chengsi, who is only nine years old. Outside, he is a top-notch descendant, but in the palace, it is different, and to be honest, Wu Huaiyu is not I like the environment in the palace too much and feel that it is not conducive to the growth of young Chengsi.

As expected, the queen had lost a lot of weight and her face was relatively pale. She was accompanied by several little princesses, and the Crown Prince Liang Di and Wu Erniang were also with her.

There was a marriage between the royal family and the Wu family. Wu Chengsi, the eldest son of Wu Huaiyu, was already engaged to Princess Li Lizhen, the nineteenth daughter of the emperor. Wu Huaiyu's eldest daughter was also betrothed to the tenth prince, Prince Ji, Li Shen.

Wu Huaiyu waited for Queen Changsun to come.

Fan Xuanfu was in such good health, yet he only gave birth to three sons and one daughter.

But the emperor even wanted to stay with Takeshibaro.

"You don't have to worry about your absence in Beijing. Let their brothers be raised in the palace and by my side. I can also teach them personally when I have time." Li Shimin said with a smile, pointing while talking. Two people in the distance,
One of those two people was the emperor's step-son-in-law Xue Guogong Shi Zhong, and the other was his daughter's fiancé Zhou Daowu, the head of Linchuan County.

"I remember that when I first came to Chang'an and met the prince for the first time, the prince was only eight years old. He was just as old as them. In the blink of an eye, the prince was already a father."

"The Taoist priest has been raised in the palace as a son of meritorious officials since he was a child. His father died of illness three years ago and he only left the palace."

Of course, on the surface, this is still an incredible honor, and most people are not qualified to enjoy it.

Wu Huaiyu also knew that Luoyang's horse was the mount of Wang Shichong's nephew Wang Wan. Li Shimin was very coveted when he saw Wang Wan's lion in front of the battle. He loved horses the most.

Just like the imperial court's three guardsmen, there are also a large number of them. They are all the sons and daughters of high-ranking officials. This is an excellent qualification for becoming an official. After serving as a three-guard officer for a few years, Once you have accumulated enough seniority, you can go to the Ministry of War to select and release officers.

In the fourth year of Zhenguan, he married the emperor's stepdaughter, the head of Dingxiang County. Now his eldest son, Shi Jian, was several years old, and he and Wu Shibalang, who was about the same age, agreed to play together.

The eldest sister of Dingxiang County took these children with her. As early as the fourth year of Zhenguan, she married Ashina Zhong. Na Zhong came to Beijing at the order of his father. The emperor gave him the surname Shi and the title of Duke of Xue. He stayed in the court as an official.

Most people don't have the opportunity to do such a good thing.

"These children in your family are really good," Li Shimin looked at the three sons and one daughter of the Wu family. The more he looked at them, the more he liked them. These children have Wu Huaiyu's temperament, they are generous and smart, and they are polite and full of kindness. confidence,
Even when playing with the wealthy princes and princesses, he still behaves confidently.

Li Shimin looked at the Wu brothers and said, "Why don't we let them stay in Chang'an now? Your eldest son is eight years old, so he can go to the Hongwen Hall in Xia Province or the Chongxian Hall in the East Palace to study, and follow my sons and disciples. read,"

"Then let Da Lang stay. Qi Lang is still young and it would be too troublesome to have someone take care of him."

His temperament is a little different from before. It seems that he has learned etiquette in the palace and has become more restrained.

The three generals really rushed into the enemy army, captured Wang Wan alive, and brought back the lion Congbi.

Wu Huaiyu could only smile and agree,
"Why don't you just leave your eldest daughter behind and play with the princesses of Gaoyang, Jinyang, Changshan, and Xincheng? Your sister Wu Liangdi is still being taught by the queen, and Wu Liangdi can help take care of your family. The eldest lady is also a daughter of a noble family, how can she stay in Lingnan for a long time."

Although the three of them were almost overwhelmed by thousands of troops, they still managed to put on a show.

That's a mare,
Li Shimin has been raising them and has given birth to many horses over the years.

Two years ago, another lion was born, which grew more and more like the mare, but was fat and willful, and no one could tame it.

Last time, Wu Erniang was waiting on the side and saw that the horse tamer in the palace was helpless with the horse, so she said that she could tame it, but she needed three things.

Li Shimin was surprised and asked her what three things she wanted. She said the first was an iron whip, the second was an iron rod, and the third was a dagger. First use an iron whip to tame it. If it doesn't obey, hit it on the head with an iron rod. If it doesn't obey, just stab its flesh with a dagger to bleed.

These words came from the mouth of a twelve-year-old girl, which really shocked Li Shimin.

However, after the emperor praised the children's ambition in person, he was actually a little unhappy and felt that Wu Liangdi was a bit cruel. The emperor did not want the concubines in the East Palace to be too cruel, especially when the Crown Princess Su seemed a bit too weak.

Today, when he mentioned this matter with a smile in front of Wu Huaiyu, he did not mention it casually. The emperor wanted to remind Wu Huaiyu that you are a young and cautious girl but you are already very cruel.

If you don't teach them well, I'm afraid it won't be a good thing in the future.

There were many women in the harem who were fierce, powerful, and even vicious in history. Such women would always bring trouble to the palace, and they might even bring trouble to the imperial court.

"Your Majesty, I am too young. I have not had much contact with horses before. I don't know how to train horses. I only speak in layman's terms.

Iron whips, iron rods, and daggers can tame fierce horses. There will be no need for horse trainers in the world.
She also had to trouble the Queen to teach her more about etiquette and rules, as well as how to behave. "

Wu Huaiyu criticized his cousin mercilessly in person.
This made Wu Erniang lower her head and curl her lips, a little unconvinced. She felt that her method of taming the horse was correct. To deal with the kind of fierce horse that no one could tame, she would have to resort to extraordinary measures. If she still If you can't tame the horse, no matter how valuable it is, it has no value. You can just cut its throat with a knife, bleed it, kill it, skin it and eat its flesh.

A horse that cannot be used, no matter how expensive or good it is, has no value.

Wu Huaiyu was also sighing in his heart. He was worthy of being the Great Emperor Wu Zhao of Zetian who could tell the horse training method. He was already extremely domineering at such a young age.

He was even worried, was she really going to become that person in history?
But he is already trying his best to change,

Wu Huaiyu didn't think that if she really became Empress Wu or Empress, it would be of any benefit to the Wu family. In his opinion, it was more like a disaster.

It was a calamity for the Wu family and a calamity for the Tang Dynasty.

But he tried to change again and again,
But she finally entered the palace, but this time she entered the palace not as Li Shimin, but as Prince Liangdi.

Judging from the current situation, Prince Chengqian is very likely to inherit the throne in the future, and Wu Erniang, Liangdi, who is only under the crown prince, is very likely to become a noble concubine in one step.

Crown Princess Su has never been liked by the prince, and she has not yet conceived a child.

The more I think about it, the more worrying it becomes.
Huaiyu was worried, and after seeing the queen, he prescribed a new prescription, but it was only for recuperation, not treating the symptoms, and there was no way to cure the disease.

"The Queen needs to rest more and must not work any more."

Empress Changsun took the prescription, but she was not too worried about her illness. She had been ill for a long time and had a good understanding of her situation. Not only could the disease not be cured, but her health was getting worse and worse day by day.

"I have a few words that I want to talk to Qingyangzi alone."

The queen even invited Li Shimin out.
There were only two people in the thatched cottage.

Fortunately, the door of the thatched cottage was open, but the emperor and the others had gone outside, otherwise Wu Huaiyu would have been in a bit of a dilemma.

"The saint's qi disease recurred last year and has not healed for years."

There were only two people left. Queen Changsun spoke, but she was not talking about her illness, nor about the prince, King Wei, King Jin and several princesses.

But it was said that the emperor's Qi disease relapsed in the eighth year of Zhenguan, and until the end of the ninth year of Zhenguan this year, he still could not recover from his qi disease.

"Your Majesty has also used various prescriptions and medicines, but the symptoms have been intermittent and recurring. Sometimes they are very serious. The medicines you prescribed before do not work."

The queen was very worried,
Although she was not in good health, she still served him. When the emperor was seriously ill, she stayed by his side day and night.

When the emperor's illness became serious, the queen even thought that the emperor was going to be prosperous. However, the news was kept tightly sealed, and even the prince did not know about it.

The queen once often wore poison on her belt.

"If there is no secret, justice will not be the only one." When the queen said this, Wu Huaiyu was dumbfounded. When he came back this time, it was true that he had not seen the emperor for a long time, but he felt fine, except that the emperor had lost some weight.

"Is it that serious?"

"It doesn't matter,"

Wu Huaiyu was puzzled. Although the emperor's qi disease was quite serious, he used many prescriptions to greatly alleviate the emperor's illness. In recent years, the emperor gradually put down some government affairs and spent nearly half of each year recuperating in Jiucheng Palace.

"There is something that only a few people know about,"

"Last year, the saint's qi disease recurred and his condition was severe. He took the elixir donated by the monks from Tianzhu. It was indeed able to greatly alleviate the saint's illness and reduce a lot of pain at first.

But later,"

The queen couldn't help crying when she said this,
Li Shimin took the elixir donated by the monks from Tianzhu, and it was quite effective at first, alleviating the symptoms and not bothering him so much. However, he soon discovered the side effects. In the past, even if the disease relapsed seriously, it would only last for a period of time. Wu Huaiyu and the imperial doctors prescribed it. The prescription will gradually relieve the symptoms and recover.
But that time, the emperor's condition kept getting worse and worse, and later a serious side effect appeared.

"It's true,"

"Princess Chengyang, who I gave birth to last year, is the last child of the saint in the past few years,"

"It has been more than a year since Princess Chengyang was born in the eighth year of Zhenguan. Not only have no concubines in the palace given birth to another heir, but none of them have become pregnant again."

It’s been more than a year,
This year, the emperor stopped taking Tianzhu monk's elixir and returned to the old prescription. His condition gradually improved, but the emperor seemed to have lost his fertility.

And the current emperor is only thirty-eight years old.
The emperor's first child was born when he was twenty-three years old, and by the time he was thirty-seven, he had more than twenty children.

Its fertility is still good, not much worse than that of the great ancestor Li Yuan.

But now in his prime, the emperor was dying.

Queen Changsun was very worried about this.
"What kind of elixir did the Tianzhu monk give His Majesty? Is there any more?"

"I have to ask Your Majesty about this."

"His Majesty realized something was wrong before and was so angry that he secretly executed Monk Zhu that day. I don't know if there are any elixirs or medicines left."

Wu Huaiyu could only sigh at this,
Historically, Li Shimin was poisoned by taking the Tianzhu monk elixir, and a generation of prodigious saints died at the age of fifty-two.

Emperor Taizong seemed to like taking elixirs very much. Although he was only fifty-two years old, he took elixirs for a long time.

"Your Majesty is in his prime, Qingyangzi, you must heal your Majesty."

"I will try my best."

Wu Huaiyu was not sure at all, because he remembered that in history, it seemed that Li Shimin did not have any more children in the last ten years.

Li Yuan could still give birth to a litter even when he was sixty or seventy years old, but Li Shimin stopped giving birth when he was less than forty. This must mean that he is unable to give birth, but that he does not want to give birth.

Although he has famous prescriptions such as Wuzi Yanzong Pills, Liuwei Dihuang Pills, Jingui Shenqi Pills, and Wuzi Shouxian Fang, he is really not sure.

Many of the so-called elixirs and elixirs these days are extremely poisonous. This food is not refined by Tianzhu monks. How can it be as simple as clean and hygienic? Just add some Ganges water and it will be amazing.

(End of this chapter)