Chapter 120: Peach and Plum
Naturally, there were many relatives and friends from Chang'an coming to greet them outside the city. Li Jiancheng, with a pale face and a sad expression, stared blankly at the towering Chang'an City. Some of those with a soft personality had already started crying.

They stepped forward to comfort her, saying, "The old lady lived a long life, and His Majesty also issued an order to allow her to be buried with the ceremony of a royal lady, with the utmost honor."

That’s not enough. In the future, a mausoleum must be built with the ceremony for a queen to be the ultimate.

Li Jiancheng knelt on the ground and cried inconsolably. In the end, he was supported into the city. The people who came out to watch the excitement along the way also sighed that Li Langjun was still the same Li Langjun.

Everyone in the Li Mansion was in mourning, but their expressions had long since become numb. His three younger brothers, younger sisters, and brother-in-law were also there.

After meeting his family, Li Jiancheng rushed to kowtow to his grandmother. Dugu's last wish was to wait for Li Jiancheng's return before burying her. Li Jiancheng kowtowed heavily and said, "My grandson is back."

Seeing this, members of the Li family began to weep and the monks and Taoists in the mansion began to chant. As the eldest grandson of the family, Li Jiancheng could not just mourn on his own.

He stood up, straightened his coarse linen clothes, and began to entertain the friends who had come with him to pay their respects. He was busy until night, and when the guests left, he still had to stay awake to keep vigil.

Li Shimin, who was already 14 years old and kneeling beside Li Jiancheng, handed his brother a piece of cake, while Li Yuan, who was at the front, said: "If you really can't hold on any longer, go to the side and close your eyes and take a rest. Your grandmother won't blame you."

Li Jiancheng said, "My son is young and strong, so it's fine. My father has lost a lot of weight. Please accept my condolences and don't let my grandmother's spirit in heaven worry about you."

Li Yuan shook his head and didn't want to talk anymore. He lost his father at a young age and had a very deep relationship with his mother. Although he was not as sad as he was at the beginning, he also hoped to show as much care as possible.

Li Xuanba advised: "The ancients said that you should eat every three days, bathe every three months, and exercise every three months. You can't destroy your nature by destroying it, and you can't hurt your life by dying. Brother, you should go and take a rest, and come back to replace father in the second half of the night."

Li Shimin also advised: "We all took turns to guard the body. Brother has traveled day and night to come here, and he still has to entertain guests during the day. Go and rest first."

Li Jiancheng comforted his brothers and rested for two hours until the late night.

As the sky brightened, the Li family began to get busy again. They invited a fortuneteller to predict the location of the house and the burial date. The burial site would naturally be the tomb of the late Duke Tang, where a place had been reserved for the old lady, waiting for her to be buried with her husband a hundred years later.

Now we just need to see if the Feng Shui has changed. If not, we need to choose an auspicious day. Since it has been delayed for a long time, the fortune teller was very tactful and chose the nearest auspicious day.

During this period, the old lady's burial objects were sorted out again, and Li Jiancheng, as the eldest grandson, added a few of his own belongings from his childhood.

Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng also offered sacrifices to their ancestors in the ancestral temple, informing them that someone in the family had passed away and would be buried in the ancestral tomb, and asked the ancestors to look after and bless them.

Li Jiancheng made a special trip to temples and Taoist temples and invited eminent monks to hold a grand ceremony for 49 days to increase blessings and eliminate karma for his grandmother.

After waiting for an auspicious day and going through many rituals, Dugu was finally buried peacefully.

Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng, father and son, also formally submitted a petition to the court, resigning from their official positions to observe mourning. The emperor granted their approval, and Li Yuan retained the title of Duke of Tang, while Li Jiancheng became a commoner overnight.

A few days later, Shan Xiongxin and Qin Shubao were about to return to the throne. Li Jiancheng came to see them off and took out the transfer order from the Minister of War from his arms: "Goguryeo is not a good place to go. Zhang Xutuo, the magistrate of Qi County, has a chance to make meritorious deeds. I will help you get the imperial transfer order and go directly to the post."

The two took a look at it and found that not only were they directly transferred to Zhang Xutuo's command, but their ranks were even upgraded. Shan Xiongxin was already relatively familiar with Li Jiancheng's character and abilities, so he was not too surprised. However, Qin Shubao was shocked. He saw how busy Li Jiancheng was these days, but he didn't expect that he would still arrange a future for them in his busy schedule.

Seeing the two people about to perform the ceremony, Li Jiancheng waved his hand and said, "There is no need for us to do this. It's just that I am not very familiar with Zhang Juncheng, and I don't know if I can give him face. You can try to take this letter.

If you feel that you are being excluded and have no chance to make contributions, don't worry, just write me a letter and I will arrange it for you."

The two looked at each other, and then, despite Li Jiancheng's attempts to stop them, they bowed solemnly: "I will not let you down, my dear."

…………

In the ninth year of Daye, the emperor took time out to return to Chang'an and summoned Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng, father and son, and first had a warm conversation with them.

But suddenly he said: "Have you ever heard of the children's rhyme in the folk recently, which goes, "Peach and plum sons, get the world, swans fly around Yangshan Mountain, winding in the flower forest, don't talk nonsense, who said it's allowed!"

Who do these peaches and plums refer to?"

The father and son knelt hurriedly, feeling their scalps tingling and itching under the emperor's gaze. Li Jiancheng said, "Such nursery rhymes and prophecies are common every year. When the King of Han started his army, someone under his command compiled a piece of paper or two to prepare nursery rhymes and prophecies for the emperor.

However, your majesty's divine power has put down the rebellion in one fell swoop, which shows that these so-called statements are not credible!"

Yang Guang folded his hands and leaned on the dragon chair, muttering to himself, "It's Li again. A few years ago, there was also a prophecy that the true monarch is Mu Zi Gong Kou, the king rules the world, and the world is happy."

Li Yuan replied, "I remember that it was during the Wei and Jin dynasties. Muzi was Li and Gongkou was Hong. It was said that the Supreme Lord Lao would come to the world to establish a country and protect the people. However, over the years, various dynasties ruled the country until the last emperor unified the world, but there was still no Li Hong. It can be seen that they were all rumors."

Yang Guang was silent for a moment and then laughed: "I naturally believe in you and your son, but I am not sure about the other Li family members. In your opinion, who is the most rebellious?"

Li Yuan explained: "My father and I have been in mourning and have not left the palace for several months except for the summons from Your Majesty today. We really don't know the affairs of the court and the people's hearts."

Li Yuan was grateful for his mother's protection. Otherwise, according to the emperor's suspicion, they father and son would have been in great danger today and would not have been able to get through it easily.

After the father and son left, they looked at each other in silence and hurried back to the mansion, instructing the doorman not to open the door for anyone except the emperor's order.

At this time, no action could be taken. The emperor in the palace thought about this matter until late at night. He even dreamed that floods submerged Chang'an and Luoyang, and the water flooded his bedroom. Yang Guang was awakened by the shock.

The concubines who were sleeping beside him hurried to comfort him and ordered people to light candles, while the emperor frowned and thought for a long time: "Peaches and plums, get the world, swans fly around Yangshan, swans, floods?"

He suddenly asked, "Should Li Min's nickname be changed to Hong'er?"

...............

(End of this chapter)