hsntnovel Chapter 2632 Heading to the Dragon Palace
Chapter 2632 Heading to the Dragon Palace
"Father, what are you saying? How could I do such a despicable thing?"
Li Shen immediately blinked his big eyes and looked sincerely at his old father.
However, his elderly father clearly didn't trust him, and gave a cold laugh twice:
"Hehe, I hope so. If I find out that you've used this to your advantage again, then all the money you've gained will belong to me."
Li Shimin mainly disliked the feeling of being used by Li Shen. He had been a wise and capable man all his life, but in his old age, he was always being manipulated by his own son.
How could an emperor who had spent half his life fighting accept this?
“Well… alright, Father, don’t worry, I will never let you pay for it yourself.”
Li Shen said with some disappointment. It was obvious that he really wanted to do that.
Li Shen's conversation with the Emperor and the Crown Prince shocked Zhou Daowu. He never imagined that the Emperor and the Crown Prince, who were so high and mighty, would have another side to them in private.
Judging from the expressions of the King of Wei and the King of Jin, they seemed to have become accustomed to it.
The fact that Prince Ji enjoys such imperial favor that his business has reached the point of cooperating with His Majesty and the imperial court is something Zhou Daowu could hardly imagine.
Only Li Mengjiang looked completely at ease, as her younger brother had always been so capable.
It's not unusual for someone to do business with their father or their older brother.
"Alright, let them all come up. It's cold outside, so we can't let them stay out here for too long."
After the matter was settled, Li Shimin was in a good mood.
Wang De agreed and went out himself. Before long, a large group of people came in.
Li Shen recognized the two people walking in front: his elder sister, Princess Xiangcheng, and Xiao Rui, the son of his husband, Xiao Yu.
Then there were Princess Changle and her husband Changsun Chong, Princess Nanping and her husband Wang Jingzhi, Princess Suian and Wang Dali, and so on.
Li Shen knew almost all of these people, after all, they had eaten together several times.
Everyone stood outside the glass room, extremely respectful.
Li Shimin opened the glass and went out, and Li Chengqian and the others could only follow him out.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. May you enjoy good health and longevity." The daughters and sons-in-law bowed to their father-in-law, Li Shimin.
Looking at this group of people, Li Shimin was very happy. He had both a son and a daughter and could enjoy his old age in peace.
"No need for formalities," Li Shimin said, raising his hand.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Everyone stood up and bowed to Li Chengqian, Li Shen, and the others again.
Li Shen and the others then began to return the greetings one by one.
They were different from Li Chengqian, who was the crown prince, second only to the emperor in status.
The remaining three brothers, even the eldest sons, had to pay their respects to their sisters. They were all children of the emperor, and there was an order of seniority; this was a matter of etiquette.
Li Shenke was at a disadvantage because he was younger and almost everyone else was an older sister.
After a long and tedious process, Li Shen's back was practically broken.
Suddenly he realized that he wasn't so great after all.
When the princesses and their consorts saw Li Mengjiang and Zhou Daowu in the crowd, their faces all showed envy.
Just as they were freezing in the cold wind, Li Mengjiang and Zhou Daowu were summoned to a private audience. At that time, Cheng Chuliang said that this must have been done to facilitate Prince Ji's actions.
Fang Yi'ai nodded in agreement with a hint of envy, as did Tang Shanshi.
After the three men's analysis, all the princes-in-law envied Zhou Daowu for having Prince Ji as his brother-in-law.
He had already reached the rank of general before the age of thirty, and he went around seeking further education. Last year, he became the deputy protector-general of the Qinghai Circuit.
Later, he was sent to guard the border of Tibet. Before a year had passed, he was transferred by Prince Ji to Xizhou, where he was said to be leading troops to kill enemies and annihilate many rebels.
These are all real achievements, and which of these prince consorts wouldn't want such an opportunity?
But they were young and inexperienced, and new to officialdom, so even if their families were powerful and wealthy, they couldn't compete with them.
But Zhou Daowu only needed King Ji. When King Ji went to Xizhou, he took Zhou Daowu with him.
"Alright, let's not freeze here anymore. Let's go to the Dragon Palace."
Li Shimin glanced at the number of people and realized that the glass room couldn't hold that many, so he spoke up.
Li Shimin then strode away, followed by a group of his children, making quite a spectacle.
"Yiai, how are things between you and Gao Yang lately?"
Li Shen slowed his pace and walked to Fang Yi'ai's side to ask.
Princess Gaoyang glanced at Li Shen after hearing this but did not speak. She now felt a deep-seated fear of Li Shen.
In her eyes, her younger brother, who was a year younger than her, was a demon.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. The princess and I have always been on good terms and treated each other with respect. The princess is also beautiful and intelligent."
Fang Yi'ai bowed and replied.
Li Shen nodded after hearing this.
"That's good. After the New Year, you can come with me."
"Hmm? What are your orders, Your Highness?"
Fang Yi'ai was taken aback.
"It's nothing. After the New Year, I will help Prince Wei lose weight. This is my mother's order. I also see that you are a bit bloated. You can join me."
Fang Yi'ai possessed superhuman strength. His father was a civil official, but he was very interested in martial arts, so Li Shen wanted to take this opportunity to help him lose weight.
Because this guy is also fat and strong.
"This... Your Highness Prince Ji, I don't think it's necessary?"
Fang Yi'ai was somewhat reluctant, knowing that Prince Ji had countless ways of torturing people.
"Hmm?" Li Shen's expression changed, and he frowned.
“Tenth Brother tells you to go, so go. Why are you unwilling? It’s your honor to lose weight with Fourth Brother. You can keep Fourth Brother company.”
Before Fang Yi'ai could speak, Princess Gaoyang, who was listening nearby, immediately raised her eyebrows and widened her almond-shaped eyes.
Fang Yi'ai was already afraid of Princess Gaoyang, so he quickly nodded to Li Shen:
"Yes, I will follow His Highness Prince Ji's arrangements."
Li Shen glanced at Fang Yi'ai, then at Gao Yang, and thought to himself, "Fang Yi'ai is indeed useless. I've already helped him establish his authority, but he's still the same pathetic guy."
He's utterly hopeless.
Li Shen's move was actually quite meaningful. He remembered that in a TV series, Princess Gaoyang led Fang Yi'ai in a rebellion.
Because of this incident, Changsun Wuji took advantage of it, implicating many people.
Li Shen didn't want this to happen; he didn't know if it would implicate him.
Li Ke was wrongfully killed by Changsun Wuji because of this incident, and Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, didn't even bother to investigate properly.
They are brothers, after all.
Li Shen was afraid that if the charge of treason fell on him, coupled with his vast family fortune, would Li Chengqian be tempted?
"I will send someone to inform you after the Yuanzheng ceremony, so be prepared."
After Li Shen finished speaking, he glanced at Princess Gaoyang and then walked towards Cheng Chuliang, who was standing to the side.
That one glance sent a shiver down Princess Gaoyang's spine; she saw ruthless indifference and a warning in Li Shen's eyes.
This puzzled her, as she hadn't done anything out of line recently.
(How can this laziness be cured? Does anyone have a good remedy?)