Chapter 15 The next generation is terrible
After the court was dismissed, they escorted the emperor and empress back to the harem. They stayed in front of the Yongxiang city gate. Yang Jishan changed into armor and said, "I will have a banquet at home in a few days. You all should come."

Everyone talked to Yang Jishan for a long time, and at lunch they secretly drank some wine and ate roasted lamb legs in the classroom.

In the afternoon, when Li Jiancheng was picking his teeth in the classroom, the female official of Yong'an Palace came to summon him again. Li Jiancheng followed her. When he entered the hall, he found that Duke of Qi Gao Zuo was also there. He first saluted the queen and then met Duke of Qi.

Gao Zuo frowned as he looked at Li Jiancheng. He didn't know why the queen wanted to call a young child.

Dugu Jialuo asked Li Jiancheng: "What kind of person do you think the Duke of Qi is?"

Li Jiancheng thought for a moment and replied, "The Duke of Qi is a rare talent throughout the ages. He is a man of great talent in both civil and military affairs. He is knowledgeable about worldly affairs. When on horseback, he can defeat enemies and destroy nations. When on foot, he can govern the country and keep the people safe. He has promoted the imperial examination system, abolished conscription and corvée labor, and cleared the household registration system. He has made outstanding contributions to the civil and military affairs, and has assisted the country for more than ten years. He is the only one who is admired by the government and the people."

Dugu Jialuo asked again: "Then what do you think the Duke of Qi lacks now?"

Li Jiancheng's eyes fell on Gao Qiu, who looked like a wooden sculpture, and he said softly: "The Duke of Qi now only owes death!"

Gao Qiu's expression changed slightly, and he looked at Li Jiancheng seriously. The two looked at each other, neither of them moving his eyes away. After a moment, Gao Qiu turned his head and sighed, "Young people are to be feared, but I am old."

Dugu Jialuo smiled and said, "Jiancheng, go to Prince Jin's mansion for me and give these books to him."

"promise."

Li Jiancheng led several female officials to withdraw. After a moment of silence in the hall, Gao Zuo said, "Your Majesty, this child is ambitious and born into a noble family. Keeping him alive may be a disaster rather than a blessing in the future. Even if you don't kill him, you should suppress him. It would be best to let him be raised like his father, with a high rank and a low position."

Dugu Jialuo snorted and laughed: "Are you scared? So you, Gao Qiu, also get scared sometimes?"

"My lady, I am not jealous of someone of your talent. This child is really extraordinary and he is not someone who can stay under someone else for long."

"Amo can use it by himself. People who have no ambition at all are mediocre. How can they assist the king? Ha, who among you is not ambitious?"

After hearing this, Gao Zuo no longer had time to think about Li Jiancheng. He grasped the point and asked, "Do you really want to depose the crown prince and establish the Prince of Jin?"

"My lady, although the Crown Prince has many concubines and likes extravagance, he is kind-hearted and open-minded, and has the ability to tolerate and use people. He is worthy of the position of the Crown Prince. You should think twice."

"He is the eldest son of your majesty and me. Didn't we have high hopes for him? He is a bit like your majesty and me, hedonistic and lustful. Especially, he dared to favor his concubine and kill his wife, and neglected the noble lady of the Yuan family who I personally asked for him to marry!"

"Even complaining to others that my mother didn't treat me like a good woman is hateful!"

Dugu Jialuo slammed the desk in anger, "That's the Yuan clan, the oldest Xianbei family, the royal family of the Northern Wei and Western Wei, the arm of our founding of the Great Sui, and will be his support in the future. Have I ever done him any wrong?"

"Your Majesty..." Gao Qiu wanted to say a few more words of advice, but Dugu Jialuo had already walked away, so he could only bow and retreat.

…………

The Prince of Jin's Mansion was naturally not far from the imperial palace, it was located in Kaihuafang. Li Jiancheng and several palace maids rode in two horse-drawn carriages and soon arrived at the destination.

After Li Jiancheng got off the carriage, he discovered that Prince of Jin Yang Guang and his princess Xiao were standing in front of the gate of Prince of Jin's Mansion in the distance.

Yang Guang had just turned thirty, and was known for his beauty and intelligence. He was extremely handsome, and his wife, Xiao, was even more beautiful. The handsome man and beautiful woman stood together with a smile, which was pleasing to the eyes. Li Jiancheng took a few quick steps forward and bowed: "Greetings, Your Highness, and Princess. I am here on the orders of the Queen."

Yang Guang stepped forward, pulled Li Jiancheng up, and put his arm around him. He laughed and said, "Since I came back to the capital and knew what you did, I wanted to be close to you. But my mother told me not to disobey, so I could only endure it temporarily. Now I am fine."

"Jiancheng, you and I are blood relatives. Your father is my cousin. From now on, you can address me by my family title. Don't call me Your Highness."

Xiao smiled gently and said, "You are such a heroic young man now. I held you in my arms when you were little, and you have grown up to this size in the blink of an eye."

Li Jiancheng was moved to tears and said, "I'm afraid this is against the rules of etiquette."

"You are my nephew. This is the truth. There is nothing inappropriate about it."

Li Jiancheng bowed again with a little shyness and said, "Then I greet my uncle and my aunt."

"Hahaha, great! Come, let's go inside and talk. Your aunt happened to make fish soup and candied crabs today. They are extremely delicious. You are in for a treat."

Yang Guang hugged Li Jiancheng and walked into the mansion, while Xiao walked up to the female officials, took their hands cordially and walked inside. She also asked about her mother-in-law's health. The female officials felt very happy to be treated with courtesy by noble people.

The inner hall of Prince Jin's mansion was very plain, with few servants and maids. The floor was paved with blue bricks, and the wooden couches, tables and chairs were simple. The screens and hangings were plain without any gold or silver inlays, and the musical instruments behind the screens were all broken and covered in dust. Apart from its size, one could not tell that this was the residence of the current prince.

Li Jiancheng sighed and stopped in front of the main hall and said, "Although I have heard of it before, I still can't help but be surprised when I see it today. Uncle is too frugal. Why is it like this?"

He marveled in his heart, Yang Guang was indeed extraordinary, no wonder he was able to hide this from the emperor, empress and the entire court. If he didn't have great ambitions, who could treat himself so harshly for so many years under the conditions?

After Xiao led the ladies to place the books given by the empress, she led them to the bedroom. Inside, several maids in silk clothes were mending clothes. Xiao sat among them and said with a smile, "I only have this one dress left to mend. It will be finished soon. Then, shall we have dinner together?"

How could those female officials dare to watch Princess Jin work while they themselves were watching? They hurried forward to help, but when they started working, they found that Princess Jin was extremely skilled, while they seemed clumsy.

They couldn't help but feel ashamed, for the princess was the legitimate daughter of Emperor Ming of Liang and the descendant of Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan.

Yang Guang and Li Jiancheng sat down to eat. The fish soup was made by scraping the scales, removing the bones, cutting the fish into pieces and cooking them into a thick soup. A lot of vinegar should have been added to it. As the name suggests, the sugar crab was crab marinated with molasses to make it sweet.

The meal tasted sour and sweet. I really don’t know what kind of weird eating habits this couple has.

After the meal, they made tea and started talking. Yang Guang was very talkative. He was also a good writer. He was well-informed and had a good memory. He could recite allusions from articles at will, and could even compose poems when he was inspired.

About half an hour later, Yang Guang went out to change his clothes, and when he came back his attitude became more friendly. It was probably because Li Jiancheng's words that Gao Zuo only deserved death had spread.

Gao Zuo has always been a member of the Prince's party. His daughter is the Consort of the Prince's Eastern Palace, but now the position of Crown Princess is vacant.

…………

(End of this chapter)