Li Xuanba fell asleep while thinking.
After practicing archery, Li Shimin came back to take a hot bath with Li Xuanba.
The winter in Jiangdu is warmer than that in Daye, but the cool breeze mixed with moisture still makes people's hands and feet cold. Li Shimin doesn't care, but Li Xuanba may not sleep well at night.
Seeing that his younger brother had fallen asleep with a frown on his face, Li Shimin reached out to smooth his brows, but was afraid of waking him up.
After hesitating for a moment, he retracted his hand and said to himself, "It would be great if I could grow up faster."
How could he not see that his brother was hiding something? It was just that his brother was stubborn, and if he didn't want to talk about something, he couldn't get it out no matter how hard he tried.
Li Shimin looked down at his palms which were already covered with calluses.
Now the bow he pulls is called a "toy bow" by his younger brother.
If he could pull the strong bow that Ye Ye often used, his brother would tell him all his troubles, right?
Li Shimin asked someone to bring a soup pot wrapped in fur and put it at Li Xuanba's feet before taking a bath, changing clothes and going to bed.
On the second day, Li Shimin felt that there was a heat source beside him that was hotter than himself. His heart trembled, and his sleepiness disappeared instantly. He immediately opened his eyes and stood up.
"Ah Xuan? Ah Xuan?" Li Shimin shook his younger brother beside him.
Li Xuanba, who was half asleep, opened his eyes with difficulty: "Brother... cough cough."
He covered his mouth, unable to suppress a series of coughs.
Li Shimin's tears suddenly came out, but when the tears came out, he immediately rubbed his eyes hard to wipe them away, and replaced them with a mature expression that was very inappropriate for a child's face.
"Don't be afraid, Xuan. Brother is here." Li Shimin quickly put on his clothes while shouting, "Call the imperial physician! Tell the queen that I want to see her! Don't be afraid, Xuan. Brother will get the best imperial physician here right away."
"Cough cough cough." Li Xuanba covered his mouth, his small body arched, his face flushed, like a cooked shrimp.
He smiled bitterly in his heart. Yesterday he was still worrying about how to avoid Yang Guang's teacher, and today he was sick.
What he meant by avoiding does not mean getting sick.
With the level of medical technology in ancient times, a child could die from a minor illness, let alone his weak body.
He hadn't been seriously ill for nearly a year, just a little cough during the change of seasons. When his second brother was sick because of the Zheng family, he had endured it. He didn't have a fever even though he couldn't sleep well on the dragon boat. How could he have a high fever again just because of worrying?
Li Xuanba soon became confused due to the fever and couldn't think about anything else.
The imperial physician had Li Xuanba undressed, wiped his body with warm water to cool him down, and used silver needles to draw blood from his earlobes and fingers.
After struggling for nearly an hour, Li Xuanba's fever subsided a little and he regained consciousness.
"Ah Xuan, it's okay now. Just drink the medicine and you'll be fine." Li Shimin helped Li Xuanba up and let Li Xuanba sit up leaning against him.
Li Xuanba wanted to take the medicine bowl, but his hands were too weak to hold it and he almost spilled it all over himself.
Li Shimin promptly held the medicine bowl in place: "Drink slowly. I asked my uncle for a lot of your favorite candied peaches. Eat as much as you want after you finish the medicine."
The nurse said, "Second Master, let me feed him."
Li Shimin shook his head: "I'll do it."
The imperial physician was about to say that the medicine was very bitter and that Li Xuanba might take a long time to drink it, and Li Shimin couldn't hold it. Li Xuanba lowered his head, and Li Shimin lifted the bottom of the bowl, and Li Xuanba gulped down the full bowl of medicine in one breath. The two brothers cooperated tacitly, as if they had repeated this countless times.
Li Shimin handed the medicine bowl to the wet nurse and took out a dried peach from the cloth bag on his sleeve.
Li Xuanba couldn't help retching after taking two bites of the dried peach.
Li Shimin patted Li Xuanba on the back, and waited until Li Xuanba had finished eating the dried peaches while trying to hold back his vomiting before feeding him the warm water brought by the wet nurse.
After eating a piece of dried peach and drinking some tasteless warm water, Li Xuanba finally suppressed the urge to vomit.
The imperial physician was somewhat emotional. He was good at treating children. Children were physically and mentally fragile, and good medicine tasted bitter. It was always difficult to feed children medicine. Children like the third son of the Li family were rare.
After drinking the medicine, Li Xuanba fell into a deep sleep again.
The imperial physician specifically instructed not to cover Li Xuanba's sweat.
He asked him to cover Li Xuanba with a thin blanket to dissipate heat, and to wipe Li Xuanba's body with warm water every half an hour. If Li Xuanba felt cold, he should not use a thicker blanket, but soak his feet in hot water until his body was warm.
The imperial physician's instructions were also mentioned by Doctor Sun, who was invited by Madam Dou to Taibai Mountain outside Daye City, when he was treating Li Xuanba. Although Li Shimin had memorized them, he took them seriously again and wrote them down.
Doctor Sun once said that every illness may have different circumstances. One should not blindly believe in the words of a "miracle doctor" but should trust the doctor who personally diagnoses the patient.
Li Shimin specifically marked the points where the imperial physician's instructions differed from those of Doctor Sun to prevent himself from making mistakes.
The imperial physician said, "Second Master Li, you should also take a rest. I will write down the things that need attention later."
Li Shimin said, "I'm not tired. When I'm tired, I'll go to sleep. Don't worry, doctor. I still have to take care of my brother, so I won't get sick myself."
The imperial physician said, "I'll prescribe you some herbal tea to keep you warm as a precaution."
Li Shimin put down the paper and pen, bowed and said, "Thank you, doctor."
After the imperial physician left, Li Shimin instructed the wet nurse to keep hot water ready at all times.
He watched from the side with a book in his hand, and whenever Li Xuanba woke up, he would give him hot water.
Empress Xiao came to visit three times, and Yang Guang also came once.
Li Shimin apologized to the emperor and empress on behalf of his brother.
Empress Xiao smiled bitterly: "What is there to apologize for? How can it be your fault that I'm sick?"
Princess Nanyang also came to visit Li Xuanba and brought greetings from her husband Yuwen Shiji.
Yuwen Shiji was extremely worried when he heard that his friend's son was ill. However, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were raised by the queen, and they were surrounded by the emperor's concubines. Even if he was the son-in-law, it would be difficult for him to come.
Li Xuanba happened to be awake at this time, and had just wiped his nose, and his voice was muffled.
Princess Nanyang took out a box of mutton-fat cream and taught Li Shimin to help Li Xuanba apply the mutton-fat cream on the red skin that was rubbed from wiping his nose.
"How could he be so seriously ill?" Princess Nanyang frowned when she saw the imperial physician coming to prick Li Xuanba's blood to reduce his fever.
When Li Xuanba woke up, he told his second brother to "bribe" the imperial physician, saying that he fell ill because of the unfamiliar climate and because he missed his parents secretly.
Upon hearing this, the imperial physician guessed that the second and third sons of the Li family might want to use this illness to return to their parents.
Although many people envy them for being raised in the palace, the two children may want to return to their mother more than being envied by others or having a bright future.
Princess Nanyang felt touched after hearing the imperial physician's words.
She touched Li Xuanba's forehead, which was still feverish, and said distressedly, "Do you miss mother?"
Li Xuanba forced a smile and said, "My cousin and aunt are very kind to me, but I am still a little worried about whether my mother misses me and my brother."
Princess Nanyang laughed: "Okay, it's not that you miss mother, but I'm worried that mother misses you. Luoyang reported that Tokyo will be completed next month, and father should leave for Luoyang soon. Then you will be able to see mother."
Li Xuanba lay on the bed and bowed: "Thank you, Princess."
"What's there to thank me for?" Princess Nanyang said with a smile, "Get well soon. If your body is not fit to take the boat, be careful not to be left behind in Jiangdu."
Li Xuanba immediately said: "I will get better soon!"
Princess Nanyang nodded, and told Li Xuanba some interesting stories about the emperor's visit to Jiangdu and the grand scene of Jiangdu welcoming the emperor's arrival.
Li Xuanba showed a longing expression.
When Li Xuanba covered his mouth and yawned, Princess Nanyang gave some instructions to the people serving Li Shimin and Li Xuanba before leaving.
Li Shimin looked at his brother who was pretending to be sleepy and asked: "Can we really go home soon?"
Li Xuanba: [The emperor is a person who demands perfection in everything and hopes that there will be no stains on his image. So seeing that I get sick so easily, his enthusiasm for raising a "Champion Marquis" will cool down. If I die of illness beside him, it will be unlucky.]
Li Shimin leaned over to Li Xuanba and asked in a low voice: "You really didn't mean it?"
Li Xuanba was helpless: [Brother, you know how much I fear death. ]
Li Shimin snorted twice, lowered his head and bumped his brother's head with it: "Don't get sick, don't scare your second brother anymore."
Li Xuanba: [Is it up to me to decide whether or not to get sick...]
Li Shimin snorted unhappily.
Li Xuanba surrendered: [Okay, I'll try my best.] If he doesn't agree, his brother Li Erfeng will continue to hum and become Li Erzhu.
…
After Li Xuanba's health improved a little, Yang Guang allowed foreign officials to visit him in order to let them see that his cousin, who was raised by his side, had recovered.
Yuwen Shiji arrived first.
He actually held Li Xuanba's hand and cried, saying that if anything happened to Li Xuanba, he didn't know how to explain to Li Yuan.
Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were both confused after hearing this.
Li Xuanba: [We are being taken care of by the emperor. What does this have to do with him? What does he want to explain? It's really strange.]
Li Shimin nodded silently.
What Li Xuanba did not expect was that Gao Jiong, Yuwen Bi and Yu Shinan also came to visit him.
After Gao Jiong and Yu Shinan visited Li Xuanba, they only regretted the shallow teacher-student relationship. Yuwen Bi actually brought a box of medicinal materials and a prescription for treating cough.
"My grandson has been weak since childhood and often coughs. He will feel better after drinking this medicinal tea." Yuwen Bi said with a straight face, "When a child is sick, it hurts the elders. You should take care of yourself, otherwise it would be unfilial."
If it were any other child, they would have probably been frightened by Yuwen Bi's cold expression and tone.
Even Li Shimin was a little angry. My brother is sick and it's hard enough, what do you mean by unfilial?
Li Xuanba: [Brother, don't be angry. He said it to me, but he was thinking about his grandson. He was worried about his grandson's health.]
"Yes, I will take care of myself and not make my elders sad." Li Xuanba thanked him.
Yuwen Bi's expression relaxed slightly.
He also gave some instructions on how to drink the medicinal tea and told Li Xuanba's wet nurse the medicinal ingredients used in the tea one by one.
Yuwen Bi brought the prescription, but he still gave detailed instructions again.
According to Yuwen Bi, many medicinal herbs need to be collected at specific seasons and times, and even the water for making tea should be the morning dew.
Although Li Xuanba, as a time traveler, felt that the metaphysical meaning of these herbs was a bit heavy and unnecessary, Yuwen Bi believed in them, and that was how he collected his herbs, which showed how rare these herbs were.
Yuwen Bi did not bring his grandson with him, so these herbs should be in his home in Luoyang. Did he send someone to deliver the medicine from Luoyang in a hurry?
Li Xuanba suddenly felt that the gift was a bit too heavy.
After giving the instructions, Yuwen Bi asked Li Xuanba to continue resting, took Li Shimin to the outer room, and took out a book to give Li Shimin a lecture.
Li Shimin: "???"
Although Li Shimin was very confused, he still listened carefully to Yuwenbi's lectures and took notes.
Yuwen Bi gave him a half-hour lecture, left him homework and then left, saying that he would come back to check Li Shimin's homework the next day.
Li Shimin told Li Xuanba about this with a frown on his face.
Li Xuanba: "…"
Li Xuanba held his forehead with his hand and said, "I've heard that Yuwen Shangshu is a very pedantic... ahem, very stubborn person. He probably thinks that since we have kowtowed, we are already his disciples."
Gao Jiong and Yu Shinan both knew that this was just Yang Guang's momentary impulse, and now they missed it because of illness.
Why are you so pedantic, Yuwen Shangshu? We just kowtowed!
Li Shimin's chubby face relaxed and he smiled, "Isn't that great? Yuwen Shangshu... Mr. Yuwen was a great talent at the time! Mother and Yeye will definitely be very happy!"
Li Xuanba sighed: "Yeah."
Li Shimin asked in confusion: "Why are you unhappy?"
Li Xuanba hesitated for a while and said in his heart: [I have observed that the emperor hates Yuwen Shangshu very much. If Yuwen Shangshu continues to make remonstrances, he may be killed.]
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Li Shimin laughed and lowered his voice and said, "Ah Xuan, although His Majesty doesn't like to be advised, he won't kill people for giving advice, right? Wouldn't that discourage other ministers? Even if His Majesty doesn't like Mr. Yuwen, at most he would just demote him and send him away."
Li Xuanba: [What if? ]
Li Shimin thought of Li Xuanba's "ability" and frowned, "If it is true, it shouldn't affect us. But will Your Majesty really do this? This is not..."
He suddenly remembered the posthumous title of the current emperor revealed by Li Xuanba and shut his mouth.
Li Shimin smiled bitterly: "You didn't fall ill because of this, did you?"
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "No. Didn't the imperial physician say that? I accumulated fatigue during the journey, and now that my body is relaxed, it burst out in one breath. Don't think too much, I'm just guessing, I can't see anything so specific."
Li Shimin nodded: "Okay."
Li Xuanba said: "I'm really just guessing, don't think too much."
Li Shimin said stupidly: "I know."
Li Xuanba looked at his second brother's silly expression, half believing and half doubting.
He couldn't let it slip later.
Li Shimin seemed to really believe it and never mentioned the matter again.
Seeing that Li Xuanba was still energetic, he picked up the book and told Li Xuanba what he had learned today. While explaining to Li Xuanba, Li Shimin also gained a deeper understanding of the book knowledge.
After listening to his second brother's lecture, Li Xuanba felt a little itchy.
At that time, not only were there very few books of various types, but words were also very precious. Although Li Xuanba had the reading ability of an adult in later generations and could read many books without punctuation, the reading experience of being explained by a great sage was completely different from the reading experience of reading by himself.
A book annotated by a wise man is worth a fortune. Why are the children of aristocratic families more knowledgeable than the children of poor families when they read the same Four Books and Five Classics? This is why they have more "annotated books". Especially the annotated books of the wise men in the family, which are family heirlooms and are difficult for outsiders to see.
Because Yuwen Bi was killed, his works were not passed down to later generations. However, the "Book of Sui" records that Yuwen Bi's poems and essays alone amounted to more than 200,000 words, and his "Commentary on the Book of Documents" and "Commentary on the Book of Filial Piety" were the most praised and popular versions at the time.
In modern times, Yuwen Bi would be the editor-in-chief of textbooks for top universities and a leading figure in the profession.
Li Xuanba's only obsession in his previous life was studying, and now he is really itching to do so.
Li Shimin knew his brother's hobbies and invited him, "If Xuan has the energy to do it, come and take the class with me! It doesn't matter whether Mr. Yuwen teaches one or two."
Li Xuanba thought about it and nodded.
Yuwen Bi had already come to give lectures, and whether he listened or not, he had already established a relationship with Yuwen Bi.
Although Yang Guang was very wary and disgusted with Yuwen Bi, Yuwen Bi was not as powerful and influential as Gao Jiong after all. After Yang Guang killed Yuwen Bi's entire family, it should not affect other people.
When Yuwen Bi came again, Li Shimin asked Yuwen Bi to give lectures to his younger brother as well.
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "I can sit still and listen to the class."
"You should take good care of yourself and study hard. Don't be impatient." Yuwen Bi refused. He scolded, "You said before that you would take care of your health and would not be unfilial. Why have you forgotten it now?"
Li Xuanba was frightened by Yuwen Bi's anger.
Then, he noticed a complex emotion on Yuwen Bi's face, a mixture of heartache, depression and admiration.
He immediately realized that Yuwen Bi's sickly grandson was probably also a book lover.
Li Shimin pleaded, "Even if the teacher doesn't give Ah Xuan lessons, Ah Xuan can't sit still and has to read books by himself, which is even more energy-consuming. Why don't the teacher set a limit on how many books Ah Xuan should read every day? He will not disobey the teacher's orders and will be restrained every day."
Yuwen Bi sighed and muttered, "Sure enough, he looks a lot like An'er. Well, just lie down and I'll give you a lesson by the bed."
Yuwen Bi did not allow Li Xuanba to get up. He sat on the edge of the bed, holding a book and giving Li Xuanba a lecture.
After Yuwen Bi assigned some homework and left, Li Shimin was surprised and said to Li Xuanba: "Ah Xuan, you guessed it right again this time! Mr. Yuwen is really not angry with you, but feels sorry for you!"
Li Xuanba said: "The An'er he mentioned is probably his frail grandson."
Li Shimin smiled and said, "He is so kind to you that he traveled all the way from Luoyang to get you medicine. He probably saw the shadow of his grandson in you. He is such a good man!"
Li Xuanba whispered, "Yeah."
He also didn't expect that Yuwen Bi would be so good to him, which made him feel a little guilty.
But what could he do? He could do nothing.
Yuwen Bi continued to give lectures every other day until Yang Guang announced his return to Luoyang.
At that time, the new city of Luoyang was still called "Dongjing". Dongjing City was completed in the first month of the year. Yang Guang was very happy and was anxious to return to Luoyang immediately to live in Dongjing City.
Yang Guang announced that he would return to Luoyang before March when the birds are singing and the grass is growing, so that he could see the most beautiful spring scenery in Tokyo.
It took them nearly three months to get here. Although the dragon boat stopped and started along the way, constantly accepting the worship and food offerings from officials and people along the coast, wasting a lot of time, but it was too rushed for such a huge dragon boat to return to Luoyang within two months.
In order to allow the emperor's dragon boat to return to Tokyo in time to enjoy the spring scenery, Yang Guang recruited many laborers in Jiangdu in addition to the original laborers, so that they could pull the tow ropes day and night to speed up the dragon boat.
According to historical records, Emperor Yang of Sui left Jiangdu on August 15 and returned to Luoyang in February of the following year.
Although Li Xuanba was not fully recovered, he just had a cough and no fever, so he could follow the dragon boat back to Luoyang.
Although the dragon boats no longer stay on the shore for a long time, the singing and dancing on the first two ships will not stop.
Empress Xiao was afraid of disturbing Li Xuanba, and thinking that Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were receiving instruction from Yuwen Bi, at Princess Nanyang's request, she persuaded Yang Guang to let Li Shimin and Li Xuanba live with Princess Nanyang.
Yuwen Shiji was very happy and wanted to bring Li Shimin and Li Xuanba to visit every day.
Upon seeing this, Yuwen Bi scolded Yuwen Shiji harshly.
Both of them have the surname Yuwen, but Yuwen Shiji and Yuwen Bi are not from the same clan.
The ancestor of Yuwen Shiji was named Poyetou. He was originally a servant of Yuwen Shidougui, the leader of the Yuwen tribe, and was given the surname Yuwen. The ancestor of Yuwen Bi was a non-leader branch of the Yuwen clan.
However, Yuwen Bi was upright and all officials were afraid of him. Although Yuwen Shiji and his family were the most favored ministers in front of Yang Guang, he could only listen when Yuwen Bi scolded him. He turned around and complained to Princess Nanyang with a smile, "Yuwen Shangshu is really terrible", which made Princess Nanyang laugh and joked that he "deserved to be scolded."
Yuwen Shiji was really doing this for the good of Li Shimin and Li Xuanba. Although Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were both annoyed by the idea of visiting, Yuwen Shiji was their elder, so they couldn't refuse.
With Yuwen Bi's protection, they were finally able to stay in their rooms to read and write, and occasionally go to the deck to enjoy the scenery.
Yuwen Bi still came to teach them every other day.
Gao Jiong had no interest in teaching young children, so when Li Xuanba fell ill, he declined the offer.
Seeing that Yuwen Bi was so actively teaching the two children, he figured out what was going on.
It must be that both children are very smart, which makes Yuwen Bi very happy to see their talents!
Damn it, Yuwen Shangshu didn't tell me! He wanted to keep two outstanding disciples for himself!
Gao Jiong was also a famous scholar in the world. As a great scholar, he liked to teach outstanding disciples.
Gao Jiong was a proud man. He did not like the title of "child prodigy" of Li Shimin and Li Xuanba.
In the Sui Dynasty, officials were still recommended mainly. Only officials of the fifth rank or above could participate in the imperial examinations, which was considered an alternative system of recommendation. Therefore, many scholars were known as "child prodigies" at a very young age. Gao Jiong had seen this many times, so it was not surprising.
But Yuwen Bi was more picky about his disciples than Gao Jiong. He was patient enough to continue teaching these two children. So the reputation of these two children as "child prodigies" was probably not false.
Gao Jiong went to Yu Shinan and complained: "He only said that seeing Li Sanlang reminded him of his own grandson, so he visited him more often. He was lying to us!"
With a wry smile, Yu Shinan was dragged by Gao Jiong to find Yuwen Bi to "reason".
Of course, Yuwen Bi would not admit that he had taken all the disciples for himself.
What does it mean to keep it all for yourself? Didn't you refuse His Majesty yourself?
The two old men started arguing, and Yu Shinan, who was the youngest and the lowest in status, hid aside and dared not speak.
This matter reached Yang Guang's ears.
Yang Guang smiled and went to find Li Shimin and Li Xuanba: "You two are really talented. Even the arrogant Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi are fighting for you."
Li Shimin smiled proudly and said, "Of course!"
Li Xuanba thought for a moment and said, "My cousin recognized my and my second brother's talents a long time ago and wanted Lord Gao and Lord Yuwen to teach us. Originally, Lord Gao and Lord Yuwen had seen many 'child prodigies' and did not believe my second brother and me. Now Lord Gao and Lord Yuwen have finally admitted us. My cousin has a better eye."
Li Shimin was slightly stunned, then immediately agreed, "That's right! My cousin is really amazing! He has a keen eye for talent! Xuan and I are the talents, hehe!"
Yang Guang's smile became more genuine. He rubbed the two children's heads and said proudly, "I am the Son of Heaven, so I am naturally more discerning than them in judging people."
Yang Guang examined Li Shimin and Li Xuanba's academic performance and was even more pleased. He gave the two children many rewards.
Then Yang Guang summoned Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi to show off his ability to judge people.
This time, Gao Jiong and Yuwen Bi flattered Yang Guang very much to his liking.
As for Yu Shinan, he was just a teacher who taught calligraphy and continued to pretend to be an invisible person.
But when Gao Jiong followed Yuwen Bi to teach Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, he also brought Yu Shinan with him.
The important ministers who followed Yang Guang on his southern tour were all on the same ship. Gao Jiong took the initiative to ask the emperor to teach the second and third sons of the Duke of Tang's Mansion, and the news soon spread to the ears of all the ministers.
What's more, there is Yuwen Shiji, who is so proud that he acts as if Li Shimin and Li Xuanba are his sons. He brags about it to everyone he meets, and it's impossible not to listen.
So Li Shimin and Li Xuanba became famous again.
Li Xuanba could only smile bitterly.
He was seriously ill, but he still couldn't escape.