Although Li Shimin was full of energy, he was too tired today.
Not to mention that he really recited by himself most of the time, even just repeating Li Xuanba's words took several hours to read. If it weren't for his strong will, he would have found it difficult to hold on.
Li Shimin moved to the other side of Dou and rested his head on his mother's legs.
The two children looked exactly the same, with their heads touching each other, each resting their heads on one of their mother's legs and closing their eyes while sleeping.
Dou looked down at the children who finally looked like twins after falling asleep, and the sadness and anger that had been suppressed for a long time finally showed through her eyes.
At this moment, she missed her parents, her brother, and her uncle and aunt very much.
If they were still there, why would I have to suppress my anger and advise the children to be patient?
Dou closed her eyes and the carriage swayed.
The voices and faces of her parents, brothers, uncles and aunts appeared and disappeared before her eyes.
She opened her eyes, and calm returned to them.
As Saburo said, the result of this matter was good, so her husband would not be angry but happy. But she could still ask for more benefits for the two children.
When the carriage drove into the house, Li Yuan was already waiting at the door.
Li Shimin rubbed his eyes and jumped off the carriage.
Li Xuanba also wanted to get up by himself, but he felt heavy and his head was dizzy, and his body kept shaking after he stood up.
Li Shimin pulled the corner of Li Yuan's clothes and said, "Yeah, hurry up and bring Xuan down."
Li Yuan laughed and scolded: "You still order your Ye Ye to do things? You are an unfilial son."
Even so, Li Yuan still took Li Xuanba from Dou's arms and patted him on the back awkwardly: "Thank you for your hard work."
Li Xuanba lay on his father's shoulder, nodded weakly, then closed his eyes and continued to sleep.
Li Yuan carried Li Xuanba to the room and asked the servants to help Li Xuanba and Li Shimin change their clothes and wash their faces and bodies with warm water.
Li Shimin regained his spirit, but Li Xuanba became even more sleepy.
"Xuan, hold on a little longer. I'll go to the kitchen to see if there's anything delicious. Eat something before going to sleep." Li Shimin patted his brother's face.
Li Xuanba closed his eyes: "Yeah."
Li Shimin jumped off the bed and ran to the kitchen.
Li Shimin's statement that Li Yuan would roast the lamb himself was an improvised excuse, but because Li Shimin had been clamoring for a lamb a few days earlier, it just so happened that Li Yuan had someone roast a lamb today to wait for Dou and the two children to return triumphantly.
Of course, I didn't bake it myself.
Li Yuan tested the learning progress of the two children in advance. Although Li Xuanba restrained Li Shimin and hid their shortcomings, Li Yuan was very satisfied. He thought that even among the Zheng family of Xingyang, there were not many children of the same age as his own Erlang and Sanlang, so he prepared to "celebrate" them early.
After Li Shimin and Li Xuanba left, Dou changed her clothes while telling Li Yuan what had happened today.
When Li Yuan heard that the two children were besieged by a dozen Zheng children, and that the Zheng family son who had already reached adulthood was looking for trouble, he wondered: "The Zheng family is not so bad. Is it because Erlang and Sanlang are too arrogant that they had an argument with them?"
Dou lowered her eyes and said, "My dear, even if Erlang and Sanlang were at fault first, can they do this?"
Li Yuan hurriedly said: "Of course not, but, alas... fortunately the ending is good."
Dou said, "To us, the Five Surnames and Seven Families are not superior. I see that even though Erlang and Sanlang humiliated them so much, they still have the intention to marry into the family. Perhaps we should not be too polite. If we are too polite, it will not be that the Zheng family of Xingyang is being used by Dalang, but that we are being used by the Zheng family of Xingyang."
Li Yuan waved his hand: "I know, you don't need to say it. You don't understand what happens in the court."
A trace of pain flashed through Dou's heart.
She gave her husband advice many times, but he always told her to just take care of the household affairs.
"Da Lang is a good boy who loves his younger brother. He is young and energetic, and probably does not understand the benefits of Zheng family of Xingyang. Moreover, if the clan wife relies on the reputation of Zheng family of Xingyang to disrespect the Duke of Tang's Mansion, it will not be a good thing." Dou changed the perspective of the inner house.
This time Li Yuan listened.
He frowned: "That's right."
Dou said: "Zheng Sheren has hinted that he will compensate Erlang Sanlang and let Erlang Sanlang use Zheng's name to become famous."
Li Yuan was overjoyed: "Is there such a good news? Good, good, I will meet with Zheng Sheren tomorrow and ask him how I can cooperate!"
After he was overjoyed, he couldn't help but sigh: "Alas, I didn't expect Erlang Sanlang to be so powerful. If I had known earlier, I should have brought him to the palace to meet His Majesty."
Dou wanted to stop it, but she had been unhappy with Li Yuan many times because of the emperor's affairs. Knowing that her husband would not listen to her, she kept silent at the right time.
Furthermore, if the emperor was interested, his two children would not be able to escape.
Seeing that Li Yuan had listened to her, Dou continued to discuss with him tactfully how to get some benefits for the children from Zheng.
Li Shimin crouched down and sneaked away from under the window, with tears in his eyes that were about to fall.
He had come to invite his parents to eat the lamb together and happened to overhear the conversation.
When the family was safe, Li Shimin often left his servants behind and ran around. It was dark, and a child was running around in the courtyard, and the servants didn't notice that Li Shimin was eavesdropping.
Li Shimin found a bush and squatted down, tears finally falling.
He pursed his lips and wiped away his tears.
He likes Ye Ye very much, but Ah Xuan always refuses to get close to Ye Ye with him.
Although Ah Xuan had never said anything bad about Ye Ye, how could Li Shimin not notice that Ah Xuan not only disliked Ye Ye, but was even a little wary of him.
This time too. Ah Xuan concluded that Ye Ye would not stand up for the two of them.
"It's just Zheng from Xingyang, relying on the dry bones in the tomb." The little Li Shimin did not resent his father and held all the hatred on Zheng from Xingyang.
After being bitten by mosquitoes and getting several red spots on his arms, Li Shimin could no longer bear the itch and crawled out from the bushes.
He wiped his eyes vigorously, then ran back to the bedroom with a smile and woke up Li Xuanba, who had already fallen asleep. "Ah Xuan, wake up, wake up, there really is a lamb today."
Li Xuanba opened his eyes and his gaze first fell on his second brother's red and swollen eyes, and then on the red bumps on his second brother's arms.
"So many mosquitoes?" Li Xuanba frowned, "Wait a minute."
Li Xuanba struggled to get up, slapped his face hard, stretched himself, yawned several times, and barely woke up.
He opened the wooden suitcase he brought with him and found a small lacquer box.
"Stretch out your arms." Li Xuanba took out the mosquito repellent ointment and applied it to Li Shimin.
Li Shimin smiled and said, "It feels cool and the itching stops immediately."
Li Xuanba rebuked: "Brother, I have told you many times to wear mosquito repellent when playing in the courtyard, and don't hide in the bushes just to take a shortcut..."
Li Shimin interrupted, "Oh, come on, come on, Xuan, aren't you tired of talking now? You're so long-winded."
"Hmph." Li Xuanba wiped the ointment in his hand with a cloth and opened a can of milky white ointment. "Close your eyes. Your eyes are swollen."
Li Shimin pursed his lips and closed his eyes obediently.
Li Xuanba: [Did you eavesdrop on the conversation between father and mother? ]
Li Shimin was silent for a while, and after the medicine was applied, he said "hmm" softly.
Li Xuanba: [The adults have their own considerations, not as simple as we think. Don't be sad. ]
Li Shimin's mouth corners slightly curved up: "Yeah."
When Dou came to have dinner with the two children, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba had returned to their former selves.
Li Shimin threw himself into Dou's arms, complained about the annoying mosquitoes, and showed her the red bumps on his arms.
When he met Li Yuan, Li Shimin showed Li Yuan the red bumps on his arms.
Li Yuan smiled and said, "This Ye Ye can't help you vent your anger. Ye Ye was also bitten by a mosquito."
He rolled up his arms, revealing the red pimples on them.
The father and son looked at each other and laughed. Dou couldn't help laughing too.
Only Li Xuanba was still dozing off.
Are you guys going to eat this meal or not?
…
Children's throats are very fragile. Li Shimin had overused his throat the day before and feasted on spiced lamb the night before. When he got up the next day, his throat was so swollen that he couldn't speak.
Li Xuanba was very upset.
If his parents didn't understand, didn't he understand either? Was he too sleepy yesterday and his brain was sleepy? He actually forgot about it.
After Li Shimin's throat became swollen, his tonsils became inflamed, which in turn caused a low fever.
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The lively Li Shimin became as listless as Li Xuanba, making Dou and Li Yuan anxious like ants on a hot pan.
Li Yuan was not a good-tempered person.
Not only does he have a bad temper, he's also petty.
Last night he thought that the conflict between his two sons and Zheng was just a trivial matter between children. Now that Li Shimin fell ill because of what happened yesterday, he could not bear it anymore.
Li Yuan scolded Zheng Renji who came to visit him, and wrote a letter to Zheng Jibo, scolding Zheng Jibo, questioning Zheng Jibo's family style, and threatening that if anything happened to Erlang, he would not let it go even if the Zheng family was his in-laws.
Hearing that there were two statues of kings in Dahai Temple, it was said that praying to them would have a good effect on curing diseases. Li Yuan also donated a stone Maitreya statue to pray for Li Shimin.
The Zheng family did not expect such serious consequences and finally became panicked.
The other noble families were all laughing at the Zheng family.
Although everyone is from the same family and is of the same blood most of the time, there are still differences in strength among them.
If you are weaker, I will be stronger, but we still have to watch the joke.
After the Zheng family members discussed it, they realized that they could not hide the truth any more and they were in the wrong, so they finally agreed to Zheng Renji's proposal and helped the Tang Guogong Mansion to find a child prodigy.
There are many examples of aristocratic families using ordinary children to support other scholars.
Although they usually don't do this, if the other party has already crushed them, they can take the initiative to promote their reputation, which can also leave a good reputation for their family as magnanimous and even discerning. Their mediocre children can also take this opportunity to become famous by sticking to that talented person.
"In other words, it means sucking blood." Li Xuanba peeled the peach, cut it into small pieces and fed it to Li Shimin.
Illness comes like a mountain falling and goes away like a thread being pulled, let alone children.
Li Shimin's illness recurred repeatedly, and Dou even fell ill once due to exhaustion from taking care of him.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, the sickly Li Xuanba did not fall ill and was able to help his mother take care of his second brother.
Li Shimin still felt uncomfortable speaking, but he couldn't help but speak: "I finally understand why Ah Xuan doesn't like to talk. From now on, if Ah Xuan doesn't talk, I won't bother you anymore. If you want to be dumb, I'll let you do it."
"Shut up, I don't want to be mute." Li Xuanba stuffed the peach into his second brother's mouth viciously.
You have a peach to eat, but you don't shut up. You'll choke to death!
Li Xuanba suspected that his second brother's throat was healing so slowly because he did not listen to the doctor's advice and insisted on talking as soon as he was able to speak again.
Another month passed and Li Shimin finally recovered.
The remaining petals of the crabapple blossoms have all fallen, and the fragrance of osmanthus flowers is quietly filling the air.
The Zheng family and the Tang Guogong family finally exchanged engagement letters and finalized the marriage.
Not only that, in order to show their sincerity, the Zheng family also sent a widowed girl from a side branch who had just turned 20 to Li Jiancheng as a concubine, and hinted that if the eldest son was born from this girl's belly, he could stay.
The Zheng family in Xingyang has a large population, and those in remote branches have almost no support from the family except for the surname. This widowed woman came from a poor family, and after her husband died and returned home, her family had already looked for a high-ranking official.
Those who hold high positions are not young, and their children are probably about the same age as her. She was also a concubine, and she was the first concubine with a legitimate status in his life, and was allowed to give birth to a concubine's eldest son. Naturally, she was happy.
The future consort of the Duke of Tang's mansion, who had been known for her virtue at the age of four or five, was said to agree with this matter.
It is said that she was the one who proposed this matter.
She was young, and her fiancé had waited for her for ten years, delaying the birth of his family, which was really unvirtuous. So she specially asked her family to bring her sisters to marry together, which was also a good story.
Li Shimin and Li Xuanba gained fame, Li Jiancheng got a beautiful wife and concubines, and the Tang Guogong Mansion and the Zheng family of Xingyang reached a marriage alliance.
It was a win-win situation for Duke Tang's Mansion.
When Li Xuanba learned of the result, he was standing on tiptoe to pick a branch of osmanthus, wanting to add a hint of fragrance to the small study that Li Yuan had just bought for them.
Hearing this, Li Xuanba protected the osmanthus branch in his hand, sneered, and was about to say something when suddenly the branch above his head trembled and golden osmanthus seeds fell all over his head.
He looked up and saw that his second brother had climbed up the golden osmanthus tree at some point and picked a handful of osmanthus flowers and scattered them on his head.
"Ah Xuan, come to the tree!" Li Shimin smiled and stretched out his hand to Li Xuanba.
Li Xuanba thought about it, and then he uttered a rare and loud voice: "Mother! Brother is climbing the osmanthus tree! It's so high and dangerous!"
Li Shimin's smile was stiff.
"Li Shimin! Get down here!"
Dou rushed out of the house holding up her skirt, and Li Xuanba immediately handed her the osmanthus branch in his hand.
He patted the osmanthus flowers on his head and whistled.
In the golden autumn of August, the osmanthus is fragrant and the years are peaceful.
It's better to watch mother beat brother.
…
After Li Yuan came to Zhengzhou to serve as the governor, he had been seeking a daughter of the Zheng family for his eldest son Li Jiancheng. He had been begging for almost two years and finally got what he wished for.
Li Jiancheng was originally looking for a wife when he was thirteen years old, and he fell in love with Zheng's daughter when he was fourteen. It was not until he was sixteen that the marriage was finally arranged, and he also got a beautiful concubine.
He was met with envy from his friends, and finally felt closer to his younger brother who had earned this benefit for him.
As for the reputation of Li Shimin and Li Xuanba as child prodigies, Li Jiancheng was not jealous.
As the future Duke of Tang, he was taught early on that all his younger brother's achievements were due to his help. For example, now that Li Shimin and Li Xuanba have "fought hard" against dozens of Zheng's sons, hasn't that earned him a beautiful wife and concubines and the help of Zheng from Xingyang?
Originally, Li Jiancheng was somewhat dissatisfied with the fact that Li Shimin and Li Xuanba had obtained the dowry shop of his grandmother and mother.
He didn't care about this little bit of property. All the property of the Duke of Tang's Mansion would be his. He didn't care about his grandmother and mother's dowry. He just hated Li Xuanba who vomited on him.
Although Li Jiancheng still disliked Li Xuanba, he no longer objected to his grandmother and mother's private subsidies to his two younger brothers. When he played with his friends, he would often praise Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, saying how smart they were when he taught them to read.
The news that the Duke of Tang's Mansion had produced two child prodigies who were admired by even Zheng of Xingyang also reached the ears of Yang Guang who was at the palace in Luoyang.
The new city of Luoyang has not yet been completed, but Luoyang was once the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The old city was originally very prosperous and had a palace from the Sui Dynasty.
When Yang Guang first ascended the throne, he liked "auspicious signs" the most.
He immediately ordered Li Yuan to let Dou bring Li Shimin and Li Xuanba to Luoyang to meet the emperor.