The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 115: The Crown Prince wants to make plans, Prince Zhong meets Jiang Caiping for the first time

Li Ying roughly understood what Li Yao meant.

Since ancient times, the relationship between the emperor and the prince has been very delicate. They are both the closest people and the people who are most wary of each other.

If the threat posed by the crown prince is big enough to affect the imperial power, then all it takes is a small trigger and the emperor will take the opportunity to eliminate the threat.

Thinking of this, Li Ying sighed and said quietly: "The imperial family is the most ruthless. I really hope that our family can be ordinary people."

Li Yao listened to Li Ying's sigh and said with a smile: "Everyone has their own circumstances in this world. Ordinary people may not be free from worries. The most urgent thing is that Second Brother should make up his mind early."

Li Ying understood what Li Yao meant and said, "How many paths can I choose?"

"Two." Li Yao stood up and analyzed carefully, saying, "One is to give up the position of Crown Prince and hand over his life to others. This other person is not only my father, but also the person who will succeed the Crown Prince. The other is that man proposes, God disposes, so I will give it my all and try my best."

Li Ying asked: "If I choose the first path, can I survive?"

"Not necessarily." Li Yao shook his head. "Even if you can really give up this opportunity to rule the world, those who rely on us may not be willing to give up their years of hard work. Even if you appease those who want to follow you in your footsteps in a special way, father may not think that you want to retreat in order to advance. Even if father believes it, the new successor may not believe it and will not worry about your comeback."

After listening to Li Yao's analysis, Li Ying sighed, "Yes, once you start on the road to the pinnacle of power, there is no turning back. If you don't walk, someone will push you forward. And..."

Li Ying paused, his expression gradually becoming firm, and he said slowly: "Don't forget your lofty ambitions as a young man, you once promised to be the best in the world! As the son of the Li family, how can you give up so easily? A man should die if he wants to. If he cannot leave a good reputation for eternity, he should be infamous for eternity. The glorious annals of history should have a strong and colorful record of me, Li Ying."

"Okay!" Li Yao was excited to see Li Ying's ambition, and said, "In that case, I will stand together with my second brother, and live and die together."

"Thank you, Eighth Brother." Li Ying took Li Yao's hand and said solemnly, "If we are lucky enough to succeed, I will definitely share the kingdom with you, Eighth Brother."

Li Yao shook his head and said, "I am not very interested in the country. My lifelong wish is to do something earth-shattering, to let the world know that I, Li Yao, have the talent to rule the world and am not just an ordinary person."

Li Ying was moved and said, "God has given me this eighth brother!"

Li Yao's heart boiled with blood after hearing what Li Ying said, "I am willing to sacrifice my life to repay you, brother."

Li Ying and Li Yao expressed their ambitions to each other, and then began to plan their great cause.

……

……

……

Li Heng's residence.

"Your Highness, I have found another woman. Would Your Highness like to see her?"

Outside the door, Li Heng's personal guards reported.

"Please come in." Li Heng, who was reading a book, replied.

"Yes."

The guard responded, and soon a girl came in.

The girl seemed to be in her twenties, with good looks and a charming look between her eyes and eyebrows.

Li Heng was quite satisfied with the girl's appearance. After the girl bowed to him, he asked, "Can you sing?"

"Your Highness, I can sing." The girl replied respectfully.

Li Heng said, "Sing a few lines for me."

"Yes." The girl responded and sang a few lines.

The singing is beautiful and melodious.

But Li Heng shook his head and said, "It's indeed good, but it's still a little short." "It's still a little short?" The guards thought it sounded very good.

Li Heng nodded and said, "Not much yet."

If Li Heng had not heard Yang Yuhuan singing in the boat awning in Qujiang that day, he would have been satisfied with the sound, but he heard it that day.

That day, Yang Yuhuan sang just two lines casually, but everyone in Qujiang River looked at her in awe.

Li Heng felt that it was the most beautiful song he had ever heard. He believed that only such song could move the heart of Li Longji, an old hand who was adept at music and dance.

Seeing that Li Heng was still not satisfied, Li Heng's personal guards had no choice but to give the girl some gifts and take her away.

In recent months, Li Heng's people have been looking everywhere for women who meet the standards, but after finding many, none of them met Li Heng's requirements.

After all, she must be stunningly beautiful, proficient in music and dancing, and have a certain family background. There are very few women who can meet these three requirements at the same time.

But the three requirements that Li Heng asked for did not come out of thin air.

This was the result of Li Heng's careful study of Li Longji.

Li Heng knew that compared to Li Ying, he did not have the status of the eldest son, nor did he have the complicated power. Compared to Li Heng, he did not have a favored mother, nor did he have the achievements that Li Heng had today.

Therefore, he had no choice but to please Li Longji.

If there is no one in the palace, then send one yourself. If the power is not enough, then rely on yourself to develop and train.

Li Heng sighed and continued to read. After a while, another guard reported to Li Heng, saying, "Your Highness, I have found a woman who definitely meets your requirements."

Every guard said so, so Li Heng didn't believe it.

Li Heng said: "I will go to visit He Jian later. You take her away first. I will visit her tomorrow..."

Li Heng didn't finish his words because he saw the girl outside the door.

Under the parasol tree, the girl leaned forward slightly, looking at the last plum blossoms in early spring, with a smile on her face, chanting: "A branch of sparse white shadows, alone against the severe frost; morning and evening it emits a faint fragrance, the fragrance spreads ten miles away."

Li Heng looked at the girl outside the door, and only one thought came to his mind: "What a beautiful woman!"

Li Heng was stunned and the book in his hand fell down.

After being stunned for a long time, Li Heng slowly walked out, came behind the girl, and asked politely: "May I ask your name, young lady?"

When the girl heard Li Heng's voice, she turned around and looked at him. She looked him over with her big round eyes and said with a sweet smile, "My surname is Jiang, my name is Caiping, and I am from Fuzhou."

Her voice is clear and pleasant, and her smile is gentle and virtuous, more comfortable than the warm spring breeze.

This was the first time Li Heng heard this name, but if Li Ying was there, he would know who she was because this name was also very famous in history.

Jiang Caiping, born in 723 AD, was a woman of stunning beauty, good at singing and dancing, and proficient in all the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and was very talented.

She could recite famous poems from the Book of Songs at the age of nine, and compose poetry and prose at the age of fourteen. She was known as one of the eight most talented ladies among ancient emperors and concubines.

After Wu Huifei died, Jiang Caiping was sent into the palace, and Li Longji liked her very much.

Because of her special love for plum blossoms, Li Longji named her Mei Fei.

In history, she was the only one who could compete with Yang Yuhuan for Li Longji's favor.

According to history, she should have been found by the "Flower and Bird Envoy" sent by Gao Lishi to find beauties for Li Longji, but because Wu Huifei was not dead, Gao Lishi and the "Flower and Bird Envoy" did not work so hard, and thus missed the opportunity to find Jiang Caiping.

(End of this chapter)