hsntnovel Chapter 2814 Li Shimin's Worries.
Chapter 2814 Li Shimin's Worries.
The atmosphere inside the glass sunroom of the Royal Palace Residence was somewhat somber, with only three people present.
Li Shimin sat at the tea table, Wang De stood respectfully to one side, and the last one was Li An, the commander of the Hundred Cavalry, who stood guard at the door.
"Have you found out where the news originated?"
After a long silence, Li Shimin asked a question with a gloomy face.
"Your Majesty, this old servant sent people to investigate, but they found no clues. The people spreading the rumors are all refugees, and the source has not been found."
Wang De replied softly.
"Hmph, no need to investigate, I know who it is. It's nothing more than a few families, the five surnames, and the Shandong gentry."
Li Shimin snorted lightly, a disdainful look on his face.
Only a few families who have a grudge against Li Shen would be able to use such methods.
"Your Majesty is wise. This old servant actually thought the same thing, but this time they did it very secretly and left no trace."
It is currently unknown which family or who was involved.
This old servant has already sent men to Luoyang to investigate; results should be forthcoming soon.
Wang De nodded in agreement; he also thought that made sense.
Heading towards Luoyang leads to the Two Capitals Corridor, which is the area between Chang'an and Luoyang and is home to many aristocratic families.
They were not in Chang'an, but they did not want to be far from the center of power.
"Has the court sent anyone to investigate?" Li Shimin suddenly asked.
"Your Majesty means..." Wang De hesitated.
"Changsun Wuji, and... Zhinu." Li Shimin finally uttered the name that seemed least like him and that he least wanted to believe.
However, Li Zhi had a motive. His grudge against Li Shen ran too deep. If it weren't for Li Shen's intervention, the two would have already fought to the death.
The most likely outcome is that Li Zhi died, because Li Shen's military strength was too great. In the Tang Dynasty, only the Imperial Guards and the Xuanjia Army under his command could rival him in small-scale battles.
The Crown Prince's Six Guards were no match for the Three Thousand Imperial Guards.
This was also a long-standing worry for Li Shimin, who feared that Li Shen might harbor rebellious intentions and take action against the Crown Prince, who would be completely unable to resist.
But if he were to provide the Crown Prince with a 6,000-strong guard battalion, Li Shimin would lose sleep, worried that Li Chengqian would be too impatient and cause another Xuanwu Gate Incident.
"Your Majesty, judging from various clues, this matter seems to have nothing to do with the Duke of Zhao and His Highness the Prince of Jin."
In recent months, His Highness Prince Jin has had almost no contact with aristocratic families. The only exception was when they discussed spices recently, when Li Yifu, the chief secretary of Prince Jin's residence, went there.
The Duke of Zhao never contacted these people even once.
After thinking for a moment, Wang De shook his head and cleared the two people of suspicion.
He knew that although the Prince of Jin had done many wrong things, he was still young and had been loved by His Majesty since childhood, and was also the son of the Empress.
If it weren't for the sudden emergence of Prince Ji, Prince Jin would still be under His Majesty's protection.
"Well, it's good that it's not Zhinu. That was my biggest worry." Li Shimin breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Wang De's words.
“Your Majesty, Prince Jin has been very quiet lately. It seems he has realized the difference between himself and Prince Ji, and he should no longer provoke Prince Ji.”
Seeing that Li Shimin was troubled, Wang De quickly comforted him.
"Sigh..." Li Shimin sighed. He had never shown such melancholy in front of outsiders.
He only revealed his true thoughts when he was alone with Wang De. This was the nature of a strong-willed emperor who did not want others to see his other side.
"Wang De, if I pass away, you must protect this Tang Dynasty for me," Li Shimin said silently.
"Your Majesty, this old servant has already said that I am willing to go with Your Majesty and serve Your Majesty at that time."
Wang De bowed deeply, his face resolute. He had no children and had followed Li Shimin for half his life, rising from a close bodyguard to his current position. No one could match his loyalty to Li Shimin.
He had long ago decided to be buried with His Majesty.
"No, live a few more years and watch over my children for me." Li Shimin patted Wang De's wrist.
"Your Majesty means that His Highness Prince Jin... No, with His Highness the Crown Prince around, His Highness Prince Ji will not do such a thing out of consideration for the Crown Prince."
Wang De immediately understood Li Shimin's meaning: looking at his children, which of his children still needed care?
The only hatred was between Prince Li Zhi of Jin and Prince Li Shen of Ji.
No matter how much the Crown Prince hated Li Zhi, they were brothers, and the Crown Prince Li Chengqian would not kill him. After all, Crown Prince Li Chengqian was known for his benevolence and righteousness.
But the evil little prince of the Li family is different; he is ruthless and always seeks revenge.
Wang De was already fully aware of the dirty deeds Li Shen had committed, so His Majesty's concerns were not unfounded.
"A favor?" Li Shimin smiled, grabbed Wang De's wrist and pulled him up with a forceful motion. Wang De quickly raised his arm and helped Li Shimin up.
“Wang De, the Tenth Prince has no sense of affection whatsoever.” Li Shimin walked to the glass room and looked at the South China Sea Pond, speaking slowly.
"Your Majesty, this old servant believes that Prince Ji is a man of great loyalty and righteousness, and his benevolence and filial piety are known throughout the land."
His relationship with the Crown Prince is like that of brothers, which is evident to all.
Wang De softly defended Li Shen.
“Wang De, you still don’t understand Li Shen. I’m not saying he’s unfilial or heartless, nor am I saying he’s devoid of kinship.”
What I want to say is that the Tenth Prince has an extremely carefree personality. He can remain indifferent to people and things that have nothing to do with him.
Or you could say you've accomplished nothing.
The tenth prince does value family ties, but he is also extremely pragmatic. The only people he can truly be devoted to are the Imperial Concubine and Meng Jiang.
Even I was only half sincere, showing both filial piety and a desire to exploit.
Zhi Nu was not a brother to him, and he would not hesitate to kill Zhi Nu. Even if Gao Ming succeeded to the throne in the future, he probably would not be able to suppress his determination to kill Zhi Nu.
"If I were to die, he would surely kill Zhinu."
Li Shimin spoke very seriously, his tone tinged with heartache, for what he least wanted to see was his sons killing each other.
He set a bad precedent, but he had no choice; if he didn't act, he would be the one to die.
But now things are different; he never expected that his son would have made a deadly enemy.
It would be fine if it were other people, but separating them and sending them to their own fiefdoms, so that they would never see each other again until they died.
Princes are not allowed to return to the capital or leave their fiefdoms without an imperial edict.
But these two are unacceptable. Li Shen absolutely cannot be allowed to return to his fiefdom. For this reason, he even took back Li Shen's fiefdom, just in case someone in the court brought up this matter.
It's not that they can't, but that they dare not. Li Shen is too unpredictable, and they must keep him under their noses. This guy is of great use to the court.
As for Li Zhi, at first he was worried that Empress Zhangsun would be sad, but recently that has changed. Li Shimin has begun to worry that if Li Zhi is sent back to his fiefdom, Li Shen will take the opportunity to make a move.
Therefore, they could only protect them under their own noses. One was a person who was of great help to the Tang Dynasty, and the other was the youngest son whom the Empress deeply loved.
This put Li Shimin in a dilemma.
Life is precious.