hsntnovel Chapter 2636 Li Shen, Haunted by Resentment
Chapter 2636 Li Shen, Haunted by Resentment
A greedy father, a treacherous mother, a brother who betrays his family, and a broken home.
Li Shen now feels sorry for his background and wonders if he should ask someone to help him get a credit card or something.
Who would have thought that my mother would say something like that at this moment? When did I ever say that I would send a belated congratulatory gift?
His father's birthday was indeed in December, but he was on his way back at the time and had long forgotten about it.
For more than ten years, Li Shen had almost never prepared a birthday gift for his father.
At this moment, everyone's eyes were on Li Shen, wanting to know what congratulatory gift Li Shen prepared for His Majesty.
Li Shen stared wide-eyed at his mother, his face full of bitterness.
Consort Wei gave Li Shen a look. Her idea was simple: since the Emperor had lost face, she wanted Li Shen to try to smooth things over with the Emperor.
For Li Shen, anything he could take out could serve as a congratulatory gift, and he wasn't short of such things.
Consort Wei's rigid feudal mindset led her to believe that her son would only benefit from having a good relationship with the emperor.
But she didn't understand the twisted father-son relationship between Li Shen and Li Shimin.
Li Shimin, whose expression had been rather unpleasant, now smiled and raised an eyebrow at Li Shen in a provocative manner.
You little brat, I can't control you, but someone else can. Your mother is mine.
"My son, tell me quickly, what gift have you prepared for your father?"
If it weren't for the fear of damaging his image, Li Shimin would have almost burst out laughing.
"This... Father, don't worry, the gift is being prepared and will take some time. I'll give you a surprise once it's ready."
Li Shen gritted his teeth and lowered his proud head under his mother's warning gaze.
He could understand his mother's meaning. He and his emperor father were both ruler and subject, and father and son. Logically, they should have been happy together.
This will bring him great benefits.
But Li Shen didn't want a harmonious atmosphere, nor did he want such a large benefit. Sometimes, too much benefit isn't necessarily a good thing.
Although my mother comes from a distinguished family, there are some things that he doesn't understand as well as my mother does.
However, Li Shen had no way to explain this to his mother in this situation, and besides, he was unwilling to go against her wishes.
Consort Wei is already over fifty years old, and in a few more years she will be over sixty. Li Shen is unwilling to do something like wanting to care for his parents but finding them gone.
"Haha, is that so? Then I'll be waiting for your congratulatory gift. Don't keep me waiting too long."
Seeing Li Shen lower his head, Li Shimin was overjoyed and proud.
After fighting with Li Shen for so many years, he realized that he was no match for his son when it came to being cunning. If he had to resort to coercion or bribery, it would be difficult to trick him with just a few schemes.
This rebellious son is practically clueless about politics. In court, he's a complete idiot, reckless and without any political acumen.
But when it comes to playing tricks or being a scoundrel, they're quite adept at it.
The only way to deal with him is to use Consort Wei; it really is a case of one thing subduing another.
"Father, rest assured, it will definitely be sent to the palace within a month or so." Li Shen said no more.
Li Shimin, however, smiled smugly.
"Tenth Brother..." Li Chengqian secretly gave Li Shen a thumbs up, since Li Shen always gave the emperor the best things.
You, on the other hand, don't take our old man seriously at all. It's obvious you're doing this on purpose.
"Hmph." Li Shen glanced at Li Chengqian and snorted. At this moment, he was covered in resentment, enough to feed ten female ghosts.
For the rest of the time, everyone chatted idly. Li Shen sat slumped in his chair with empty eyes, not caring about his image at all.
My mind kept wandering, trying to think of a gift to give my dad that would please him, but without spending too much money.
"Tenth brother, tenth brother."
After an unknown amount of time, Li Shen felt someone calling him. He looked around and found that it was Li Chengqian calling him in a low voice.
Li Shen frowned and asked:
"Gaha!"
He had no interest in chatting with Li Chengqian.
"Tenth Brother, have you done what I asked you to do?" Li Chengqian asked softly.
"What is it?" Li Shen was taken aback.
"It's about sending people to keep an eye on the foreign envoys. It's getting late now, and it should be getting lively outside. I believe the foreign envoys should also be out strolling around the city."
Li Chengqian asked helplessly, "I only told you this a few days ago, and you've already forgotten?"
Li Shen nodded after hearing this:
"Don't worry, I've already sent Wang Hongfu to handle it. There won't be any problems, especially with Tibet. I've arranged for over twenty people to follow him and make sure Songtsen Gampo doesn't escape."
Regardless, important matters still need to be addressed, and Li Shen certainly wouldn't forget that.
"Well, that's good. This time, allowing envoys from various countries to move freely and experience the customs and culture of our Great Tang is also to let them know that our Great Tang is rich, prosperous and peaceful."
Li Chengqian's satisfactory explanation.
“I know, you’ve already told me. But it’s best to do this kind of thing less often in the future. Even if you need to go out, you must be accompanied by an official from Honglu Temple.”
What if something goes wrong? Li Shen didn't quite agree with this.
"Are you worried about the delegation getting hurt? It shouldn't be, there are so many guards."
Li Chengqian felt that Li Shen was being overly worried, as the delegation also had guards.
Li Shen shook his head:
"What do we care about their lives or deaths? I'm worried about them bullying the people of my Great Tang Dynasty."
"Do they dare?" Li Chengqian immediately smiled contemptuously upon hearing this. The Tang Dynasty was their suzerain state, their celestial empire.
They still dare to act wildly in this place? Don't they have a death wish?
"What if?" Li Shen didn't think so.
"Brother, my Tang Dynasty is indeed powerful, and militarily we can completely crush them."
But the envoys who came were all members of the royal family and nobility of their own countries, and they were used to running rampant in their own countries.
Don't be fooled by their subservient attitude towards our Tang Dynasty officials; they may not treat the common people the same way.
And what about our officials? They are self-righteous and think they are above everyone else, never taking the people seriously.
I fear that by then, court officials will use the excuse of being a nation of propriety to downplay the seriousness of the matter and completely disregard the lives of the people of our Great Tang.
Li Shen's words deeply shocked Li Chengqian; he had never imagined such a thing would happen.
Because the Tang Dynasty is now too powerful, even if all the surrounding small countries launch a war against it together, the Tang Dynasty will not be afraid.
He was even more confident that he would win easily.
Therefore, he naturally felt that these envoys would not dare to act recklessly or presumptuously within the territory of the Tang Dynasty.
But after listening to Li Shen's explanation, he suddenly felt that what Li Shen said was very likely.
Many officials in the court received gifts from the envoys, especially those in the Honglu Temple. Although the sums weren't huge, people felt obligated to help when they received favors.
Just as Li Shen said, the officials in the court simply do not care about the people.
(It is true that in the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty, there were instances of non-Han people bullying the common people, and the imperial court backing down. This can be verified.)