The bedroom was quiet. The reddish sunlight shone through the west window lattice and passed through the hollow carvings onto the bed curtains. Yang Jian smelled the fragrance from the incense burner and slowly woke up.
"Your Majesty..."
The attendant came forward with a towel and gently wiped the emperor's face. The old man's eyes were a little cloudy. He heard the creaking sound of the door opening, and a figure strode in with the sunlight shining in from the other side through the hollow carved lattices.
"Amo?"
"Your Majesty, this is your subject, Li Yuan."
"Shude?" Yang Jian narrowed his eyes and saw the person coming. He smiled and said, "I almost mistook you and A-Mo for the same person. Where is he now?"
Li Yuan came in, closed the door gently, walked to the side of the dragon couch, looked at his weak uncle lying on the couch, and felt a little blocked in his heart. He lost his father at a young age and spent most of his time in Yang Jian's house. It was not an exaggeration to regard the old man as his father.
Li Yuan took a deep breath, squatted down with the sound of armor rubbing against each other, and whispered to the old man:
"Your Majesty, the prince is almost here."
This morning, the news of deposing Crown Prince Yang Yong had already spread in the palace. Even if no decree was issued to appoint Yang Guang as Crown Prince at this time, the emperor's oral order during the morning court session had determined the future position of the Prince of Jin.
Therefore, it was not surprising for Li Yuan to say that Yang Guang was the crown prince at this time.
"Ahem~~~"
The bedroom was quiet for a while. The silent old man on the dragon bed suddenly started coughing. The eunuch hurriedly brought a spittoon. Li Yuan also stood to the side and reached out to pat his uncle on the back.
"Ouch..."
The eunuch who was kneeling on the ground holding the spittoon saw a circle of blood floating on the clear water at the bottom of the bowl. He screamed in fright, realized something was wrong, and quickly raised his hand to cover his mouth. Li Yuan glared at him and was about to draw the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"Uncle De, forget it."
Yang Jian was powerless to speak, and shook his hand at the eunuch again: "Go."
After the old man took a breath, he looked at Li Yuan standing there and smiled: "Why are you angry with a eunuch? It's normal to exclaim in surprise."
"Your Majesty... you are right."
Over there, Li Yuan put the hilt of the tiger-head sword back into the sheath, reached out to help the old man sit up against the head of the bed, and the latter continued to smile.
"Don't call me Your Majesty, there are only palace maids and eunuchs around, no ministers, today you can call me uncle."
"Aunt...father."
Li Yuan had not used this title for a long time since Yang Jian ascended the throne. His voice trembled as he uttered the familiar words softly.
"His Majesty!"
At this time, the eunuch's voice sounded outside the palace gate: "The prince is here."
"Let him in."
Yang Jian patted the hand of his nephew beside him and said, "You grew up with A-Mo. In the future, help him more. If he refuses to listen to my advice, find a place where no one is around and beat him up. It will be considered as a beating for me."
As he was speaking, the palace door opened again. Yang Guang, dressed in casual clothes with tears on his face, came in and rushed to the bed, kneeling on the ground.
"Father, your son is here."
"Come on... Why are you kneeling?" Yang Jian asked him to stand up and pointed at Li Yuan who was standing beside him. "I just mentioned you to Shude. From now on, you cousins should help each other."
Li Yuan and Yang Guang were somewhat older than each other, but they grew up in the same courtyard. Li Yuan often acted as an older brother and would often buy street snacks for Yang Guang.
The two cousins standing in front of the bed looked at each other, more or less recalled some scenes from their childhood, and both cupped their hands towards the old man on the couch.
"I, your son, will definitely work hand in hand with my cousin!"
Yang Jian looked at the two of them, smiled and nodded, and heaved a sigh of relief. The three chatted for a while. After Li Yuan went out to do something, only the father and son were left in the bedroom. The old man was silent for a while, then said, "This morning, your father abolished your brother's position as the crown prince. Do you feel guilty towards your brother?"
Yang Guang, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, lowered his head slightly. He was also very surprised when he first heard about this. In terms of intelligence, his brother, as the crown prince, was also very diligent in his position. At least he had not done anything stupid or disappointing. The only thing he loved was drinking and gathering with literati to recite poems and paint...
"In fact, they are all my sons. I don't hate anyone or like anyone."
As if he could see what Yang Guang was thinking, Yang Jian did not say it directly. He reached out and patted his son's hand, then looked towards the tightly closed palace door.
"It's just that I don't like his hobbies. They're not what an emperor should have. Ah Mo, you have to remember that as an emperor, you can't be too partial to anything. Women, chess, calligraphy, punishment, political tactics... If you like them too much, you will become addicted to them, and you will breed villains who use these things to please you, which will ruin your morality, dirty your heart, and blind your eyes. Don't think that your father has exaggerated things. Once it happens, you will regret it."
The old man spoke each word slowly but powerfully, patiently teaching his future successor.
"Amo... you must remember that you can no longer lose your temper when you become an emperor. However, I am also relieved that with the help of the national teacher, he should be able to restrain himself. However, you must remember that you cannot trust him too much. And the Duke of Yue... he cannot be trusted even more. He has made great contributions and is power-hungry. When the father is around, I can suppress him and he will listen to me. But once he is gone, his ambition will grow. Whether you can suppress him depends on your ability."
Born in an imperial family, Yang Guang knew these things to some extent, but when he heard what his father said with his own ears, his face was somewhat shocked. "The Imperial Master has a gentle temperament, so it shouldn't be that serious. But the Duke of Yue... He followed my father through life and death, so he can't be trusted?"
"hehe."
Yang Jian smiled and waved his hand. He raised his hand with difficulty and pointed to the dragon robe hanging on the rack in the corner: "Because he is the emperor."
His hand dropped to the side of the silk quilt, and the old man breathed a sigh of relief.
"… I still have a lot of things to do. The Grand Canal I have planned in my mind has only just been completed. These things that will benefit the country and the people and establish a foundation for generations to come will soon be handed over to you… You must do them well, but… don't rush them and waste the people's energy. It will be fine if you can complete them within your lifetime…"
"Yes, I've made note of it."
Yang Guang bowed and responded. The old man leaning against the bedside shook his hand and said, "I have more to say. I can't finish it in a day and a night. I am a little sleepy. You should go out and take good care of your mother. She has lived a harder and more tiring life than ordinary women. I still owe her a lot."
The words with spitting sound gradually stopped, and the old man fell asleep leaning on the wooden pillow. Yang Guang covered him with a quilt, bowed and quietly walked out of the palace. Outside, in the red glow of the sunset, all the civil and military officials were dressed neatly and had been waiting here for a long time.
The sun sets.
Birds flew over the city walls. Outside the east gate of Chang'an, the soldiers checking the people entering and leaving the city gate looked at the sky. They blocked the civilians and merchants who still wanted to go in and out. The moment the city gate was closed, a cloud of dust came quickly along the official road in the distance, scaring the soldiers on the city walls so much that they rang the bells and drums.
Son ah hum ah ~ ~
A donkey let out a long bray, and the thick smoke and dust were swept away to one side, revealing a scholar in a green shirt and white robe. He turned over and got down. There was a Taoist priest behind him, who covered his mouth and stumbled off the donkey's back. The small door of the bookshelf compartment next to it was pushed open, and a large toad jumped out. It squatted on the roadside with the Taoist priest and vomited.
"National...National Master..."
The sharp-eyed soldier recognized the scholar riding the donkey and quickly ran to the other side of the wall, shouting down: "Open the city gate, the imperial teacher wants to enter the city!!"
Boom~~~
More than a dozen soldiers pulled, and the capstan turned, slowly opening the city gate with a heavy groan. Lu Liangsheng called the Taoist and his master who came over to wipe their mouths, and under the curious gaze of the soldiers on both sides, he stepped into the city and headed towards the imperial city without stopping for a moment.
…
The sky was completely dark, and the palace was brightly lit.
The sleeping old man woke up again and saw the woman with red and wet eyes sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached out and scratched the corner of her eye.
"Queen, what time is it now?"
"It's just the hour of Xu."
"I slept for three hours without realizing it, but I still feel like I haven't gotten enough sleep."
Yang Jian still had a smile on his face. He wiped the tears from his wife's cheeks, chatted with her, and looked towards the palace door. It was quiet outside, without any sound.
"Empress, Imperial Master... are you back?"
"I'm back, on my way."
Dugu Jialuo actually didn't know whether Yang Su had found Lu Liangsheng. At the moment, she could only comfort her husband in this way. Just as she finished speaking, a voice was heard outside.
"Your Majesty, your servant Lu Liangsheng is back."
Those words were like a gust of spring wind blowing in through the tightly closed doors and windows, suddenly perking up the old man's spirits. His face flushed and he was able to sit up by himself without the queen's support.
"National Master, come in quickly!"
The old man called out in a high-pitched voice.
The woman next to her looked puzzled, looked around, and her heart skipped a beat because she didn't hear any sound at all.
Your Majesty, are you hallucinating