The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 153 Memorial
Li Ying used a lot of force in this push, and Li Yao was pushed down.

But Li Yao was not angry, nor did he stand up. He just lay on the ground and said with a smile: "Second brother, do you also think this is vulgar? Although you have the courage to rebel, deep down in your heart, you still think that what the father said and did was right, so you rebelled against the father, but you are just imitating him. How can you defeat him if you imitate him?"

"I didn't!" Li Ying ran over, grabbed Li Yao's clothes, and yelled, "I didn't!"

"I have." Li Yao smiled. "Even if I was plotting rebellion, I was still living in the shadow of my father, so I couldn't help you succeed. Now I suddenly understand that if I want to succeed, I can't follow the path my father took, but there is no chance anymore."

Hearing this, Li Ying's entire body softened like a deflated ball. He let go of Li Yao and asked, "How long will it take for us to die?"

Li Yao said: "I originally thought we wouldn't survive until now."

Li Ju, who was standing by, heard that they were doomed to die and cried, "Second brother, fifth brother, why do we have to die? I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"

Li Yao smiled and said, "I said, if Father kills my people, I will kill Father's heart. We have already failed, and there is no point in living, so we might as well use our lives to plant a disaster for Father."

Li Ying understood what Li Yao meant and said, "Yes, if a man can kill his own son, how many people will trust him?"

Li Ju didn't know that Li Yao and Li Ying had done other suicidal things along the way, and wondered, "Why would the emperor kill us? He is especially tolerant of my uncles."

Li Ying glanced at Li Ju who was implicated by them, sighed, sat on the ground next to Li Yao, and said, "Who do you think will use the disaster we planted?"

Li Yao said, "Li Heng or Li Ying."

"If I have to choose," Li Ying looked into the distance, "I hope it will be Li Heng."

Li Yao smiled and said, "But I think it's more likely to be Li Heng."

"Well." Li Ying sighed again, and then hummed "Tayao Niang", and Li Yao echoed him.

After they sang for a while, Li Lu came to them with his soldiers and food.

The two of them stopped talking, and Li Lu placed the food on the table next to them.

The dishes include concentric dried meat, sheepskin shreds, fish stuffed with milk, and other ginseng soups and pastries.

When Li Ju saw the food, he started eating without hesitation.

Li Ying looked at the heart-shaped dried meat and the piece of meat tied with the heart-shaped knot. He was silent for a while, then stretched out his hand and asked, "Where is the imperial decree from my father?"

Li Lu was startled, took out the imperial edict and handed it to Li Ying with both hands.

Li Ying took it and opened it, and Li Yao came over to look at it together.

It read: "I have spared the lives of the three of you, but I did not expect that you three would not only be ungrateful, but also bully others, stir up trouble, and even want to form a clique to rebel again! How can you bear to betray my kindness like this? Now I grant you three the right to commit suicide. If you three harbor even the slightest resentment after you die, you will be condemned to hell forever, and your sins will never be forgiven."

After reading it, Li Ying laughed out loud and the imperial edict in his hand fell to the ground.

Li Ju picked it up, took a look at it, and immediately burst into tears.

Because I cried so hard, I vomited out everything I had just eaten.

Li Yao was unusually calm, and said to Li Lu: "Thirteenth brother, please go back and tell father that he gave us our flesh and blood, and now that we have returned them to him, we no longer owe him anything. If there is an afterlife, I hope he and I can still be father and son, but by then, I will definitely be able to defeat him."

After Li Yao finished speaking, he took a sip of wine, smashed the wine glass with one palm, then took out the white silk, hung it on the beam of the post station, and hanged himself to death.

Li Ying just smiled to himself, not even looking at Li Yao's death. After a while of laughing, he sang: "You let this beast stain me all over, and now you blame me for my mistakes..."

He sang while being hung with white silk and was hanged to death along with Li Yao.

Li Ju didn't have the courage of his two brothers, so he immediately knelt down in front of Li Lu and said, "Thirteenth brother, can you please ask our father to spare my life? Please!"

Li Ju turned around and closed his eyes. The soldiers behind him walked over and strangled Li Ju to death on the spot.

Li Lu paused for a while before turning around to look at his three brothers. He couldn't help but shed tears, and in an instant all the strength in his body seemed to be drained.

He knelt down and supported himself on his hands.

Ever since he secretly reported to Li Ying and the other two that they were demanding armor, he became one of the executioners. But if he wasn't an executioner, how could he be the sword bearer?
Li Yu cried and managed to utter: "Second brother, fifth brother, eighth brother, I'm sorry..."

……

……

Li Ying and the other two finally died.

This news spread like a flood and soon swept to every corner of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Heng was staring at the direction of Chengdong Posthouse in his mansion, lost in thought.

"Your Highness." Zhang called Li Heng, but Li Heng did not respond. Zhang called him twice more and said, "Your Highness, Your Highness."

Li Heng finally reacted and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhang said, "Your Highness, it will be the anniversary of Wang A'niang's death in a few days. Your Highness should ask the Saint for permission to go to Wuxiang Temple to pay tribute to Wang A'niang."

The Wang A Niang that Zhang mentioned was Queen Wang.

Queen Wang had no children, so Li Heng was given to Queen Wang for adoption shortly after he was born.

After Queen Wang was deposed, she died as a commoner. Li Longji buried her in Wuxiang Temple with the first-class rites. Only then did Li Heng return to his biological mother.

Queen Wang was Li Heng's adoptive mother, but Li Heng was concerned about the fact that Queen Wang had been deposed, and had not dared to hold a high-profile memorial service for her over the years.

Li Heng hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is it really okay for me to ask my father for permission to offer sacrifices to Queen Mother?"

"Of course, no matter what, Wang A Niang is your highness's adoptive mother. The death of Wang A Niang has no impact on the court, but it can make the emperor understand your highness's filial piety." Zhang expressed her understanding.

Li Heng could have thought of this, but Li Longji's killing of Li Ying and the other two had left him with too much psychological trauma, so he couldn't react for a while. So after hearing Zhang's explanation, he nodded and said, "I'll go right away."

"Your Highness, take Yu'er with you." Zhang said again.

"Okay." Li Heng understood what Zhang meant and called Li Yu to go to the palace to find Li Longji.

……

In Xingqing Palace.

Li Heng and Li Yu were waiting outside the door, Gao Lishi was standing at the door, and the voices of Li Longji and the concubines could be heard in the room, among which Jiang Caiping's voice was particularly attractive.

Li Heng lowered his head and said nothing.

Li Yu stood with his hands hanging down, his body straight, as if what was happening around him had nothing to do with him.

The two father and son waited for a long time. Li Longji finally walked out, glanced at Li Heng and Li Yu, and asked, "What's the matter?"

Li Heng said: "Father, it will be the anniversary of the death of Queen Mother in a few days. I would like to go with Yu'er to pay tribute to Queen Mother. Please allow me to do so."

"Oh?" Li Longji was slightly surprised. He did not answer Li Heng, but asked Li Yu: "Yu'er, have you met your grandmother Wang?"

"No." Li Yu answered truthfully, "Grandma Wang died two years before her grandson was born."

Li Longji asked: "Then why do you still want to go to commemorate her?"

Li Yu said: "Grandpa always teaches his grandson the way of loyalty and filial piety. Mencius also said, respect the elderly as well as the elderly of others. Grandson should be filial, not only to respect grandpa and mother, but also to respect grandpa and grandma."

"Well said." Li Longji walked up to Li Yu, patted Li Yu on the head, and said, "Good boy, I allow you to go."

Li Heng and Li Yu thanked him at the same time.

(End of this chapter)