Tang Chen: Starting from the Xuanwu Gate Incident

Chapter 64 The Commander Reports Back

As the caravan entered Chang'an, Shen Ce rode his steed along the bluestone pavement of Tianjie Street. The horseshoes clattered rhythmically, and the people along the street, seeing the arrogant expressions on the faces of the delegation, knew without asking that they had completed their mission.

The common people turned away and went about their business, because they felt it was only right. The Tang Dynasty delegation should be so arrogant; if they hung their heads, they would be met with silent curses.

As they approached the capital, Shen Ce felt increasingly uneasy. This wasn't the direction to the palace; why had his horse turned around and headed towards the East Palace?

Li Er ascended the throne in August, and it is now October. According to the official report he received from the court, Li Chengqian has become the crown prince. Full of doubts, he rode up to the official from the Ministry of Rites who had come to greet them and asked in a low voice:

Looking in the direction the convoy was heading, Shen Ce asked curiously, "Doctor Xu, why are we going to the Eastern Palace instead of the Imperial Palace?"

Xu Jingzong glanced around and lowered his voice, saying, "The Emperor Emeritus is filled with anxiety and fear. He feels uneasy living anywhere but in the Taiji Palace. Therefore, Your Majesty, out of benevolence and filial piety, has allowed the Emperor Emeritus to continue residing in the Imperial Palace. We will continue to hold court in the Xiande Hall of the Eastern Palace..."

Shen Ce showed a look of agreement and quickly said, "His Majesty is indeed benevolent and filial. This is the proper thing to do. We just returned from Shandong and were unaware of this situation. Please forgive us, Physician Xu."

It turns out that Li Yuan was angry. Although he finally allowed Li Er to ascend the throne after three refusals, he still stubbornly refused to move out of spite. This put Li Er in a dilemma. If he forced the old man to move out, what might happen if he got even angrier? That would be hard to record in history...

The group dismounted at the gate of the East Palace and walked in. Since they had just finished their morning court session, Shen Ce and the others were led by Xu Jingzong to the rear pavilion of Xiande Hall, which was where small meetings were held.

After waiting for about half an hour at the entrance of Xiande Hall, Shen Ce knew he had lost the bet. Li Er must have gone to see Consort Cui first, otherwise changing clothes wouldn't have taken so long. In his mind, Shen Ce had already labeled Li Er a lecherous scoundrel.

Xu Jingzong seemed to have heard the noise and quickly walked up to Shen Ce and Wei Zheng, saying with a serious expression, "Now that His Majesty is the Emperor, he must not use the same etiquette as when he was the Crown Prince. I have already dealt with a few brainless fellows, and I hope that you two will not be impeached and thrown into prison before you even receive any rewards."

Shen Ce nodded repeatedly, wondering why this ancient and mysterious man, Xu Jingzong, was so kind today, offering him advice. Confused, he felt it was better to stay away from him, as his political acumen was no match for such a figure.

Shen Ce and Wei Zheng followed the attendant through the main hall of Xiande Hall and into the side hall on the west side.

The group stopped at the entrance of the side hall. Shen Ce straightened his robes. His official position was the only one in the delegation whose appointment was still uncertain. After the formal audience, he was determined to have a duel with Li Er. He was now wondering if the "poisoning" he had given Li Er earlier had been too strong.

Wei Zheng, as the chief envoy to pacify Shandong, spoke first: "Your Majesty, I, Wei Zheng, the Grand Counselor, have been ordered to pacify Shandong and am returning to the capital to report!"

There was no response from inside the hall, and Wei Zheng knew that this meant approval.

The two then entered the side hall. Shen Ce lifted his robe, first kneeling on his left knee to bow respectfully. He remained in this posture after four bows, not daring to move, until Li Er told them to rise and offered them seats.

The "seat" they were offering was actually just a small cushion, similar to a futon.

Li Er first praised the mission's achievements, then emphasized Wei Zheng's contributions to the mission, and expressed satisfaction with the performance of the major Shandong families.

He then said some things about successfully completing the task.

Honestly, Shen Ce had heard enough of this kind of persuasive talk in his previous life: "To commend so-and-so for their excellent performance over the past year, a certificate of honor is hereby awarded as encouragement..."

Wei Zheng and Wen Wuyin were granted titles and promotions as they deserved, while he himself had worked tirelessly but hadn't received anything in return. He couldn't help but feel anxious. He was no longer someone who could be satisfied with just a few words of praise; he needed some tangible benefits.

After listening for a while to what was being said about national affairs and court intrigues, Shen Ce lost interest.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Er smiled and said, "Wei Zheng, you should go back and rest. Shen Ce, please stay."

"Oh no, this is coming for me!" Shen Ce suddenly realized.

As soon as Wei Zheng left, Li Er abandoned his aloof attitude, leisurely stood up, and his face was no longer solemn, but relaxed.

Shen Ce was born into Li Er's former residence, and in terms of trust alone, he was certainly not as trustworthy as Wei Zheng. At this critical time when the throne was changing hands, a loyal person was definitely more reliable than a person with both talent and wisdom.

After all, even if someone has talent and learning, if it's not useful to you, it's better to let it be destroyed.

Li Er ordered the eunuch to remove the screen behind him. Shen Ce glanced down and saw that the painting that Yan Liben had painted was now hanging on the wall.

"Don't look down, lift your head and take a look. You dare to let someone draw you, but you don't dare to look directly at it?" Li Er's words were light and airy, carrying a hint of coldness.

Shen Ce stood up obediently and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I have been ordered to go and comfort Shandong. I will report the scene along the way truthfully and will not dare to conceal anything."

So the title of this painting also means this? Li Er's voice rose.

Shen Ce remained silent, presenting the blood-stained clothes from before and the painting this time, precisely because he was afraid that Li Er would become arrogant after ascending the throne—he couldn't just look at the prosperity of Chang'an; there were still so many counties and prefectures around. At this time, there were no videos or photos, so what was wrong with having someone paint a picture for him to see? If you want to hear nice things, then you have to do a good job.

Of course, it's impossible to say such a thing.

After taking a couple of deep breaths, Li Er quickly composed himself and said loudly, "I gave rewards to Wei Zheng and Wen Wuyin, but not to you. Do you have any complaints?"

Shen Ce shook his head repeatedly and smiled, "I asked Lord Wei, and it is His Majesty's favor that he wishes to discuss this with me in person after returning to the capital. It is not that he refuses to grant me this favor."

Li Er looked at Shen Ce with great interest, sized him up, and immediately said, "Then tell me."

Shen Ce began to analyze Li Er's current situation in his mind. Li Er had just ascended the throne, the powerful clans in Shandong had been appeased for the time being, and Jieli Khan had been scared away by Li Er's solo journey. At present, only Pei Ji and other old ministers of the retired emperor remained in the court, their positions firmly held and unwilling to move.

Li Er definitely wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible so that Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and others could enter key positions in the court.

These bigwigs definitely have nothing to do with him. The court must respond to his special remonstrances, otherwise he will leave an impression on Emperor Taizong that he is just trying to curry favor.

To get to the desired position, one must not speak directly, but rather indirectly. Therefore, after careful consideration, Shen Ce said loudly, "Your humble servant wishes to govern the people."