Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 69: Li Tai's Parable
"Brother Ming, why did you make the prince angry again? Haha~ You still don't behave yourself even after being beaten several times."

Li Tai was like an older brother who had been complained about by the teacher. He shook his head helplessly and smiled, while moving his fat body and clumsily walking down the stairs step by step to greet him.

This harmless and innocent appearance is like an oversized Li Zhi.

“I dare not, I dare not!” Jiangxia County King Li Daozon took a quick step forward, put down little Li Ming, and bowed to Li Tai.

"Greetings to His Royal Highness the King of Wei."

Prince of Wei Li Tai was Li Shimin's second legitimate son. He was only one year younger than Crown Prince Li Chengqian. Both were born before the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Li Ming is not familiar with this legitimate second brother, because their trajectories of action are just a pair of complementary sets -

Li Tai's activities were limited to the outer, inner and outer courts of the Taiji Palace, while Li Ming's activities covered the entire Chang'an City, including the harem.

Until recently, Li Ming was forced to travel between Lizheng Hall and the primary school, and he happened to meet Li Tai, who came to pay his respects to his father, and they became acquainted.

Li Ming pouted unhappily and muttered to Li Dao Zong:
"You are hypocritical and you are so mean. You are obviously an official of the Prince of Lu's Palace. Why are you so disrespectful to me but so polite to the Prince of Wei?"

Li Daozong's forehead was bulging with veins, and he secretly kicked Li Ming's little butt:
"You haven't officially been crowned king yet? You call yourself the widower."

As expected of the Minister of Rites, he always uses "you" when insulting people.

Li Tai returned the greeting to Li Dao Zong with a smile, and happily touched Li Ming's little head:
"I came to pay my respects to my father today, but he was not at home, so I happened to run into you two when I came out.

"Brother Ming, are you used to living in Lizheng Palace these days? Are you serving father respectfully?"

Just like an ordinary big brother, he was nagging and caring about his youngest brother.

Because of his obese body, Li Tai was allowed by Li Shimin to ride in a sedan chair in the palace.

So he could personally come down the stairs to greet her, which was still very good for her.

If Li Ming hadn't known that all the male descendants of Li Shimin were movie stars, he would have been on guard in advance.

Although he had little connection with Li Tai himself, the name was well-known.

And every time this name is mentioned, it must be preceded by the hashtags #CrownPrince and #StruggleForTheCrown.

It is said that because both were legitimate sons born before he became emperor, Li Shimin had a special preference for Li Tai because they could share weal and woe.

Not only was the Wei land he was granted the most fertile land, but a high-end and classy Wei Palace was also built for him in the eastern capital Luoyang.

Moreover, Li Tai had already reached adulthood but had not yet gone to his fiefdom. He was still able to stay in the palace, even living in the Wude Hall and even riding in a sedan chair in the palace.

This has gone beyond etiquette and is of no small importance.

Look at Concubine Wei's son, Prince Ji Li Shen. He was kicked away to his fiefdom at such a young age, and he couldn't even get the chance to flatter the emperor.

"Although His Highness Li Ming is still immature, his loyalty and filial piety are obvious to all. With careful instruction, he will surely become a filial, loyal and righteous prince."

Li Daozon took advantage of Li Ming's lack of time to speak out and answered on his behalf quite appropriately.

Although he was rude to Li Ming, he still tried to save face for the young master in front of outsiders.

The old arrogant one.

"A loyal and righteous prince... Yes, time flies, and my brother Ming will soon be crowned king." Li Zhi sighed.

The Prince of Lu's tutor is already in place, and it is only a matter of time before Li Ming is officially enthroned as the Prince of Lu.

You saved the emperor's life but you still don't make him a king. If you keep refusing, the emperor will lose face.

Moreover, Li Ming is no longer opposed to being crowned king.

There is even a little more anticipation.

Now that he has a basic base, he will feel comfortable if he has a base.

Things are constantly changing and developing. If we continue to use past strategies to deal with future problems, we will be trying to solve problems that are not what we want.

However, Fengwang is not an electronics factory recruiting workers. The interview is in the morning and the work starts in the afternoon.

It would take a few more days until the emperor returned from his summer retreat at Jiucheng Palace before an auspicious day could be chosen to formally confer the title.

"This time the emperor is moving to Jiucheng Palace to escape the summer heat and recuperate. The crown prince, I and Jin Wang Li Zhi will accompany him." Li Tai looked worried.
"Father and the Crown Prince both fell ill on the same day. This is really worrying."

"The Emperor and the Crown Prince fell ill on the same day?!"

Li Ming discovered the bright spot and looked at Li Dao Zong.

Li Daozon also looked confused and had no idea about this.

Li Tai nodded and whispered:

“Yes, the prince suddenly fainted after learning that his father was ill, and vomited continuously after waking up.

"He led the troops while he was ill and surrounded you, brother Ming."

Although he was respectful in words, Li Tai did not forget to secretly incite hatred against his brother the Crown Prince.

Li Dao Zong's eyes suddenly became sharp:

"Vomiting? Just like what happened to Li Xiaogong back then..."

Although the Ministry of Rites did not participate in the investigation and trial of this case.

But as two pillars of the royal family, and with Li Xiaogong's generous and magnanimous character, the two had a good relationship.

Therefore, the death of Li Xiaogong dealt a double blow to Li Daozon, both politically and emotionally.

He has also been supervising the case in the name of the representative of the royal family.

"Could it be poison..." Li Dao Zong murmured.

poison? !

Li Ming couldn't help but feel horrified. Could it be that Li Shimin's sudden cardiac death was also caused by toxins?
But on second thought, he felt that this possibility was not great.

Although the palace is huge and has so many people, it seems that there are loopholes everywhere.

However, anything that entered the emperor's mouth had to be screened through layers of screening and was absolutely strictly guarded.

For example, Li Ming can sneak out and eat as much as he wants.

But when they returned to the palace, they were not allowed to bring in even a drop of oil or water from the outside world, and could only eat the special rice mixed with millet.

Although it doesn’t taste good, it’s absolutely safe.

Throughout history, there have been extreme cases where the palace was completely controlled by powerful ministers.

There were very few emperors with real power who were actually poisoned and assassinated.

Even if it was really done by an assassin, wouldn't he have taken the opportunity to add more insult to injury?
How could both of them be saved with just a bowl of rice mixed with arsenic?
"Hush! This matter is very serious, don't talk nonsense!" Li Tai lowered his voice.

Li Dao Zong suddenly realized and said in a muffled voice:
"I was mistaken."

Li Tai changed the topic to a lighter one with high emotional intelligence:
"Oh, by the way, uncle, if we have time, why don't we go to the forbidden garden Xia Miao someday?"

The Forbidden Garden is located to the north of the Taiji Palace and outside the Xuanwu Gate. It is a place for the royal family to hunt and entertain.

Summer seedlings means hunting wild animals in summer to protect the seedlings. It is an elegant excuse for the nobles to have fun.

Li Ming looked at Li Tai's big belly that made it difficult for him to walk, and felt like he didn't know how to complain.

Li Dao Zong kicked the rude little Li Ming again and said with a smile:

"Your Highness the Prince of Wei is an excellent archer. He can shoot arrows while hunting in his carriage, and never misses a target."

Li Tai waved his hand modestly:

"I am not a good archer, I rely on the snow-treading leopard to bite the prey, and then I can shoot an arrow.

"Brother Ming, have you seen the Snow-Taking Hound? It's a long-nosed hound of mine with black fur and white claws."

You ancients were really elegant in naming things... Li Ming was about to complain in his heart.

Then Li Tai added:
“But although this beast is capable, it is arrogant and unruly, and it almost bit my hand many times.

"I had to put a muzzle on him and trim his claws. If he wasn't able to chase and bite, and was still useful for hunting, I wouldn't want to keep him."

He was talking to Li Daozon, but his eyes were looking at Li Ming.

For a brief moment, Li Ming felt a flash of cold light in the other person's eyes.

But it seemed to be just an illusion, Li Tai's smile was still warm.

The King of Wei said goodbye to the two men in a friendly manner and got into the sedan chair awkwardly.

Several eunuchs lifted the sedan chair with great effort, and carried it towards the Wude Hall.

Li Dao Zong bowed to Li Ming:
"Your Highness, please have a good rest. I will pick you up early tomorrow morning."

Only when they were parting every day did the prince's tutor act like an aide.

Li Ming waved his hand:

"Actually, it's okay if you come later tomorrow."

Li Dao Zong looked serious, and was obviously struggling. He said in a low voice:
"What His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei said just now made me feel uneasy.

“Although there may not be a real bad guy who poisoned us, it’s always better to be careful.

"I always feel that...something big will happen in the near future."

Li Ming had a question mark on his face:
"You also do fortune-telling part-time?"

Li Dao Zong shook his head:
“The instincts of fighting in the West.

"It is never a good sign when the emperor and the crown prince meet with misfortune on the same day."

He sighed, and the chewing muscles on his square face bulged.

"In short, I will keep a close watch on you until His Majesty returns. Please bear with me for a few more days.

"Once you are officially crowned as king and have your status, I will no longer be able to interfere with you."

Li Ming was unhappy at that time.

Don’t you know that the few days before the holiday are the most torturous?
"Why don't you get under my bed and watch me?
"And if something big really happened as you said, shouldn't we just... run away...?"

He looked at Li Daozon's slowly clenched fists, and quickly hid behind the palace maid who came to greet him.

"I know I was wrong. I will be obedient next time and don't hit me in the face. Goodbye!"

Li Daozon looked at the naughty child helplessly, bowed, and turned away.

Li Ming looked at his tall figure gradually disappearing, his face gradually becoming gloomy.

Li Daozon was right about one thing.

There was indeed a dramatic change brewing in the palace.

Ever since the prince and his party unscrupulously led their troops to surround Lide Hall and show off their military power, the gears of change began to turn at an accelerated speed.

It was no longer possible for Li Ming to pretend that others couldn't see him.

Various forces came on stage and began to form alliances.

In Chang'an City, a storm is about to come.

(End of this chapter)