My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 261 Li Jing can do it, but I can’t?
Liaozhou, Shenwu Palace, in the main hall.

After several days of travel and hard work, the Crown Prince's eunuch Wen Zhong and the Roman Princess Theodosius finally arrived safely.

Upon hearing the news, Li Chengqian immediately summoned Wen Zhong and Theodosius to the back hall. The moment he stepped into the hall, Wen Zhong saw Li Chengqian standing in front of the map, deep in thought. His eyes instantly turned red, and then he knelt down with a "thump", his voice trembling with excitement: "Your Highness!"

In Li Chengqian's mind, he had only been with Wen Zhong for two short years. However, in Wen Zhong's mind, he had served the crown prince for more than ten years, and the meaning of his life and his personal honor and disgrace were all tied to the crown prince. This feeling was sincere and deep.

The prince's expedition to Liaodong last year has lasted for ten months, from the first day of July last year to the third day of May today. When in Chang'an, although Wen Zhong still enjoyed wealth and honor as the prince's eunuch, he always felt empty in his heart. Now that he saw the prince again, his heart finally settled down, just like a sailing ship drifting in the ocean, finally found a harbor to anchor.

Li Chengqian turned around upon hearing the voice, and seeing that it was Wen Zhong, a sincere smile blossomed on his face, and he said softly, "Okay, there's no need to be so polite between you and me."

Then he asked with concern: "You must be exhausted from traveling all the way."

Wen Zhong raised his head upon hearing this, his face already covered with tears. He stood up and wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, grinning, "Your Highness, even if I am exhausted, I am still very happy."

"I set out from Chang'an, traveling day and night, hoping to be with His Highness as soon as possible!"

As he spoke, he carefully looked at Li Chengqian. Seeing that the prince was still tall and healthy, he finally let go of his worries and smiled more. After getting up, Wen Zhong seemed to have returned to the time in the East Palace and naturally walked to the prince's side again.

Today, the Crown Prince's eunuch finally returned to his position.

Li Chengqian then turned his gaze to Theodosius and asked, "Why did you come with me?"

Theodosius stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Highness, it was my sister's idea. She was worried that Your Highness would have trouble living here, so she asked me to come and serve Your Highness."

After saying that, Theodosius looked around the prince curiously, but did not see Jin Shengman that the princess mentioned. However, he thought that now was not the time to mention Jin Shengman, and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.

"Your Highness, this is a letter from the Crown Princess."

The eunuch Wen Zhong carefully took out the letter from his arms and handed it to the prince respectfully.

He has always kept this letter close to him. In his heart, as long as the letter is there, the person is there; if the letter is gone, the person is gone. This letter is more important than his own life.

Li Chengqian took the letter and read it carefully.

As the saying goes, when war rages for three months, a letter from home is worth a thousand pieces of gold.

Although the content of the letter was not long, only a few hundred words, all about some situations in Chang'an, but Li Chengqian deeply felt Su Yuer's longing from the lines.

Li Chengqian naturally has deep feelings for Su Yu'er, but now he leaves her alone in an empty room. Judging from the current situation, she may not be able to return to Chang'an in the next few years, and Su Yu'er cannot leave Chang'an under this circumstance.

Li Chengqian put away the letter and put it in his arms. After a moment of silence, he asked casually, "Did you have a smooth journey?"

Wen Zhong replied in a low voice: "It was relatively smooth, but after leaving Yingzhou, we were ambushed by a group of Turkic assassins. Those Turkic people were all equipped with armor, but fortunately, the newly made Mingguang armor of Your Highness was quickly put on, so the assassins failed."

Wen Zhong paused for a moment and continued, "When the assassins were trying to kill us, a caravan of guards came to help."

Li Chengqian frowned slightly and snorted coldly, "Turkic assassins? They will clear themselves of suspicion."

Li Chengqian already knew the origin of this assassin. Without giving it too much thought, it must be the Five Surnames and Seven Families behind this.

Then he asked, "What is the origin of that caravan?"

Wen Zhong bowed his head respectfully and reported truthfully: "They claimed that they came here to seek a living because of your highness's plan to open up wasteland in Liaodong. They claimed to be Chen Ming, a personal guard of Shan Xiongxin, and his posthumous daughter Shan Yao."

"However, I have heard that Shan Xiongxin's son has been adopted by Li Ji, so Shan Yao's identity may be a little suspicious."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly and asked, "Where are they?"

Wen Zhong replied: "Waiting outside the palace."

Li Chengqian said: "Call them in."

The guard took the order and went to pass on the message. Not long after, Chen Ming strode into the hall with his head held high, his eyes revealing a resolute look, while Shan Yao moved lightly with lotus steps, her figure graceful but with a bit of innate stubbornness, and the two of them knelt down to salute together.

Li Chengqian said loudly: "Stand up, Chen Ming, Shan Yao, you have done a great job in protecting the emperor, I will definitely not treat you unfairly, tell me, what reward do you want?"

Chen Ming hurriedly thanked him, with a flattering smile on his face, and said, "Your Highness's reward, how dare I ask for it? Being able to serve Your Highness like a dog and a horse is a blessing that I have cultivated for several lifetimes."

But he was secretly calculating in his heart that as long as he could successfully get in touch with the prince, future glory and wealth would be just around the corner.

Shan Yao looked at the prince with complicated eyes. The last time she saw the prince was at the Qujiang Pool Banquet during the Lantern Festival last year. At that time, she came to assassinate the prince, but now, she wanted to join the prince.

Li Chengqian smiled, his eyes revealing a hint of amusement, and said, "Well, let me ask you again, is Shan Yao the daughter of Shan Xiongxin? Tell me the truth. If you tell even a single lie, don't blame me for turning my face against you."

Chen Ming suddenly felt his scalp tingling, and his back was instantly soaked with sweat. He stammered, "Your Highness, Shan Yao is indeed... the posthumous daughter of Lord Shan Xiongxin. Lord Shan was wronged back then, and my personal guards fought to the death to protect him..." As he spoke, his eyes were wandering and he didn't dare to look directly at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and raised his voice suddenly: "Oh? I heard that Shan Xiongxin's son had already been adopted by Li Ji, so how could there be a posthumous child?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ming's face turned pale instantly. He had no idea that General Shan's son was still alive. The news he had received at the beginning was that General Shan's entire family had been executed, but he did not expect that General Shan's son was still alive.

Shan Yao's expression also changed drastically. She had always thought that she was her father's only child, but she didn't expect that she had a brother, and that the brother had been living in Chang'an. For a moment, Shan Yao couldn't help but feel happy. Finally, she was no longer a lonely person.

At this moment, she was eager to go to Chang'an to see her brother. Since her brother was still alive, what about her mother? Was her mother still alive? Shan Yao obviously had not noticed anything unusual in Chen Ming's words.

"The young lady... was born to General Shan's concubine. The situation was critical at the time, and our personal guards could only escort the lady away. We had no idea what happened later." Chen Ming's mind was a little confused, but fortunately, this statement was the definition of Shan Yao's identity that they had discussed internally, and that concubine did exist, but later died in the war.

Li Chengqian raised his lips slightly and said, "Oh? That's how it is."

Then he continued, "Tell me what this concubine's name is. I have something to tell you. Your Majesty's decree back then only executed Shan Xiongxin, but his family members are all living well in Chang'an."

"When I send a letter to Chang'an, the truth will be revealed. If you still don't tell me the truth, I will treat you as a Turkic spy, pretending to surrender, and all of you will be executed. Think about it carefully, and then tell me when you have made up your mind."

Chen Ming's knees went weak and he fell to his knees again with a thump. He was panic-stricken and his mind was filled with thoughts that this was the end.

This situation was indeed something he had not expected. All of Shan Xiongxin's family members were alive. No matter how many lies he made up, he could not hide it. Once confronted, everything would be revealed. After weighing the pros and cons, Chen Ming gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, please forgive me! Shan Yao... She is actually an orphan I picked up on the street. I saw that she was lonely and helpless, and I wanted to leave a memory for my brothers, so I lied that she was General Shan's daughter."

After saying this, Chen Ming lowered his head, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Shan Yao stood aside, as if struck by a bolt from the blue. Her face instantly turned pale as paper, and she said with trembling lips: "Uncle Chen, what did you say? For so many years, I actually..."

Her body was shaking, tears welled up in her eyes, and Shan Yao covered her chest helplessly with both hands, as if someone had stabbed her chest hard.

If she was not Shan Xiongxin's daughter, then what was the point of the revenge she had been insisting on all these years?

Since she was a child, Uncle Chen and others taught her martial arts and told her that she was the daughter of Shan Xiongxin. The meaning of their lives was to avenge General Shan. Shan Yao has always regarded revenge as her life goal.

But now, all of this was false. It turned out that she had been living in lies.

Li Chengqian stared at Chen Ming with a sharp gaze. He saw fear on Chen Ming's face. Why was he afraid? It must not be because of Shan Yao's identity. There must be other hidden reasons.

He immediately said in a cold voice: "You still dare to hide it, do you really want me to execute all of you?"

As he spoke, Li Chengqian's eyes fell on Shan Yao.

Seeing this, Chen Ming knew that the matter could not be concealed. Even if he didn't say anything, Shan Yao would probably tell everything out of dismay.

He then told the whole story about how his brothers had been defeated and had no way to survive, and how they happened to come across an abandoned baby on the roadside.

Originally they were just taking care of the baby out of kindness, but later they contacted a mysterious man. By some coincidence, in order to make the mysterious man believe them, they lied that the abandoned baby was the daughter of Shan Xiongxin, and that they were taking care of the baby under the orders of General Shan, and also for revenge, which is why the mysterious man continued to fund them.

"What about my name? Who gave it to me?" Shan Yao asked in a trembling voice.

Chen Ming replied bitterly: "I spent some money to find a teacher to give you this name."

Li Chengqian asked: "You are not personal guards, are you?"

If he was really a personal guard, it is impossible that he didn't know the situation of Shan Xiongxin's family.

Chen Ming kowtowed vigorously, his forehead hitting the ground with a thumping sound, and said, "Your Highness, I originally followed the Wagang Army and served under General Shan, but later Wang Shichong surrendered and many of my brothers left. We acted like this because we were forced to do so by life."

"Although I have swindled a lot of money over the years, I have never done anything that would harm the world or affect the interests of the Tang Dynasty. This time, because Brother Shi's son Shi Hong is a county magistrate in Liaodong, I wanted to come and seek refuge with Your Highness."

"I came to Liaodong this time, firstly to get rid of control, and secondly to bring a message to Your Highness that Baekje Crown Prince Buyeo Long has gone to Chang'an and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty."

Li Chengqian's eyes instantly became as sharp as an eagle's, and he asked, "Is the crown prince of Baekje going to Chang'an to surrender to the Tang Dynasty?"

With just this one sentence, Li Chengqian instantly understood the situation.

Chen Ming immediately said, "That's what the mysterious man said. They also asked us to kill Eunuch Wen, so we took the opportunity to rescue him and thus were able to meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian pondered for a moment. He didn't care about Shan Yao's identity.

This news was indeed of great use to him.

"You have made meritorious contributions and will be rewarded. Since you want to serve me and I happen to be short of people, I will appoint you as a lieutenant and let you serve in the army."

Chen Ming was immediately overjoyed, kowtowed and said, "Thank you very much, Your Highness, for taking me in. I will definitely serve you wholeheartedly and will not refuse even if my life is numbered!"

Shan Yao was immersed in great pain at this time. She murmured to herself with a blank look in her eyes: "For so many years, I have practiced martial arts hard, thinking of avenging my father and the Shan family, but it turned out to be all in vain..."

She clenched her fists, her knuckles turned white, and her body trembled slightly, like a fallen leaf struggling in the wind.

Theodosius looked at Shan Yao with sympathy in his eyes. He reached out his hand to comfort Shan Yao and said softly in not-so-fluent Chinese: "Miss Shan, don't be too sad. Although fate has played a trick on you, there is still a new way forward."

Shan Yao raised her eyes and looked at Theodosius with empty eyes. She said in a tearful voice, "You won't understand. My life has lost all meaning."

Wen Zhong couldn't help but advise, "Ms. Shan, don't dwell on this. Although Chen Ming and the others deceived you, they are still your lifesavers."

This is indeed true. If it weren't for Chen Ming, Shan Yao would probably have starved to death on the roadside.

Hearing this, Shan Yao's expression suddenly became complicated. She turned to look at Uncle Chen, but Chen Ming didn't dare to look at her.

Li Chengqian sighed slightly, stood up and walked to Shan Yao, looked down at her, and said: "Shan Yao, although your background is fake, I have seen your tenacity over the years. If you are willing, you can stay in this Shenwu Palace. I will give you a place to stay. If you want to leave, I will not force you to stay."

Shan Yao burst into tears and knelt down with a thud. The dull sound of her knees hitting the ground echoed in the hall. She choked and said, "Your Highness, I have nowhere else to go. I am willing to obey the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Chen Ming looked sad, he knew that Shan Yao wanted to break off relations with them and no longer wanted to live with them.

That's why he chose to join the prince's army.

Well, following the prince is better than following them.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Get up, Wen Zhong, and take care of Shan Yao."

The reason why Shan Yao was kept had little to do with Shan Yao's good looks.

It just so happened that Theodosius was short of a maid, so I took her along.

Wen Zhong accepted the order and said, "Yes, Your Highness."

After everyone left one by one, Li Chengqian returned to the map, with his hands behind his back, his eyes cold and determined.

So what if Baekje surrendered to the imperial court? It could not be considered a surrender until the imperial edict arrived.

Just like when Li Jing attacked the Eastern Turks, Jie Li Khan agreed to surrender to the Tang Dynasty after being deserted by his friends and relatives. Li Shimin had already sent Tang Jian to surrender, but Li Jing used the excuse that the Turks were cunning and repeatedly rebelled and directly launched an attack and destroyed the Eastern Turks.

If Li Jing can do it, then as the crown prince, what can't I do?
(End of this chapter)