Opening a Tavern in the Tang Dynasty

Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun smiled at each other, as if they had already seen the cool and comfortable imperial palace.

Li Shimin put down the watermelon rind and said: "Come here, give the ministers a basket of ice watermelon to eat."

Fuquan came over and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I will do it right away. This ice watermelon is a great way to cool down in such hot weather. The ministers will surely be grateful for your gift."

At the Zhang Mansion, Lord Zhang scratched his head: "What? The Emperor asked us to go to the court. What's the matter? There hasn't been any major events recently."

Cheng Yaojin: "Who knows? Let's go and take a look."

In the court, the ministers were surprised to see a basket of watermelons.

Lord Liu picked up a watermelon and said, "Oh, this is... watermelon? It's icy, too. Not bad. Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?"

Li Shimin picked up a piece of watermelon and said, "Haha, my dear ministers have been busy with state affairs recently. I have specially ordered someone to prepare this ice watermelon to help you cool down and quench your thirst."

The ministers were moved and said, "Your Majesty is wise and wise. Thank you very much, Your Majesty!"

Cheng Yaojin ate the watermelon and said, "Haha, His Majesty is very pleased today and specially ordered someone to bring us this basket of icy watermelon as a reward."

Fang Xuanling nodded and said, "This ice watermelon is a rare and refreshing delicacy in this scorching summer. Your Majesty is so caring and considerate of us. It is truly a blessing for us."

Master Zhang touched the watermelon and said, "But what is this watermelon? It looks round and green. I've never seen one before."

Cheng Yaojin also came closer to examine it. "Yes, it is indeed rare. But since it is a gift from His Majesty, it must be a rare and valuable item."

The ministers were all eating watermelons, and the sweet aroma filled the court.

As Lord Wei ate, he bowed to Li Shimin and asked, "Your Majesty, we are grateful for your gift. I wonder if the court has any problems recently? We are willing to help your majesty."

The other ministers also echoed: "Yes, Your Majesty, if there are any difficult matters, please let us know."

Li Shimin smiled and put down the watermelon in his hand. "My dear ministers, thank you for your kindness. There are occasional small groups of foreign enemies harassing the border, but it is not serious. I have ordered the soldiers to increase their vigilance."

After hearing this, the ministers looked solemn and offered suggestions one after another: "Your Majesty, we can increase patrols on the border to prevent enemy raids."

Li Shimin nodded slightly: "It's okay, the border has been very stable recently."

Li Shimin nodded slightly and said loudly, "It's all right. The border has been quite peaceful recently. I have already sent capable soldiers to garrison there. Moreover, our Tang Dynasty is now strong and powerful, and our military is formidable. Those scoundrels will not dare to invade lightly."

The ministers nodded in agreement. Lord Liu smiled and said, "That's true. Our Tang Dynasty is no slouch. The Western Regions certainly wouldn't dare invade. With your Majesty's wise plan, there's no need to worry about unrest on the border."

"Yes, yes, let's eat watermelon. It's rare that His Majesty rewards us with such a good thing to relieve the summer heat. Let's enjoy this moment of coolness first." Lord Zhang responded with a smile.

At this time, Cheng Yaojin mentioned the Yuyu family who ran the tavern: "The Yuyu family is really the lucky star of the Tang Dynasty. Since they came to Chang'an, it seems that many good things have happened to them."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin smiled broadly, "I think so too. Although the Yuyu family is of ordinary status, they seem to carry an auspicious aura, bringing a lot of good fortune to our Tang Dynasty."

The young eunuch hurried into the court, knelt down and shouted: "Report——"

Li Shimin frowned slightly, put down the watermelon in his hand and asked, "What's the matter? Why are you so flustered?"

The young eunuch hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, the envoys from the Western Regions have arrived outside the palace gates and request an audience with Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin's expression froze, but he quickly regained his composure and nodded slightly, saying, "Oh? Please come in."

When the ministers heard that the envoys from the Western Regions had arrived, they all stopped eating watermelons.

The envoy from the Western Regions walked into the court, looked around, and said with disdain: "Huh, this is the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Shimin's face darkened, and he said coldly, "How dare you! You didn't even show respect to me when you saw me. This is the court of the Tang Dynasty. How can you act so wildly?"

The envoy was still arrogant: "How can the Tang Dynasty be so unreasonable? Eating watermelon in the imperial court is outrageous!"

Li Shimin shouted angrily, "I rewarded my ministers with watermelons to relieve the heat and quench their thirst. What has this to do with you? Tell me, what exactly brought you here?"

The envoy flicked his sleeves and said arrogantly, "I am here on behalf of the Western Regions to declare war on the Tang Dynasty!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the court and all the ministers looked angry.

Li Shimin was furious and laughed: "Declaring war for no reason? I think you are crazy!"

"My Great Tang Dynasty boasts a mighty army and powerful cavalry. How could we fear you, the rogues of the Western Regions? Go back and tell your Western Region leader that if you dare attack us, you will never return!"

The ministers also echoed: "Your Majesty, please do not be angry. There is no need to pay attention to such a lunatic. When he returns, he will know the power of the Tang Dynasty!"

The envoy from the Western Regions was a little frightened when he saw this situation, but he still pretended to be calm, snorted coldly, turned around and was about to leave.

Cheng Yaojin was always straightforward and hot-tempered. When he heard that the envoy from the Western Regions was arrogantly declaring war, he immediately became furious: "How could this envoy from the Western Regions be so arrogant?"

He finished his watermelon in a few bites, and with a flick of his arm, he flung the rind onto the ground in front of the envoy. "You're so arrogant! Have you ever asked me, Cheng Yaojin?"

The watermelon peel slid a long way on the ground and almost hit the messenger's feet.

The messenger was stunned at first, then his face flushed red. He pointed at Cheng Yaojin and shouted, "What do you want? You won't kill the messenger. What do you want?"

"Humph, I'm an envoy from the Western Regions, representing them. Is this how you, the Tang Dynasty, treat guests?"

Cheng Yaojin glared and shouted back, "Bah! You lunatic, you come to the Tang Dynasty to wreak havoc and declare war, and you still dare to talk about hospitality? I, Old Cheng, didn't just hit you on the head with this watermelon rind, so I'm giving you face!"

When everyone in the court saw this, some laughed secretly, while others looked serious, waiting to see how Li Shimin would deal with this arrogant envoy.

Emperor Li Shimin frowned, waved his hand and said, "Forget it, Mr. Cheng, please don't argue with him. Don't lose the dignity of our Tang Dynasty."

The envoy from the Western Regions, however, became even more aggressive and raised his head and snorted coldly: "Hmph, did you hear that? You Tang Dynasty people are no better than this."

"Hurry up and apologize to me, or else when my army from the Western Regions arrives, I will make you regret your actions today!"

After saying this, the envoy from the Western Regions glanced at everyone in the court with a provocative look on his face.

When the ministers heard this, they all looked angry, but due to the emperor's order, they could only suppress their anger.

The envoy from the Western Regions threatened with arrogance, "Alright, I'm going back now. You guys in the Tang Dynasty can just wait. Sooner or later, your watermelons will belong to us in the Western Regions!"

After saying that, he flicked his sleeves, turned around and walked away arrogantly, heading out of the palace gate without looking back.

Cheng Yaojin stared at the departing figure of the messenger with a sharp gaze: "Just wait."