Chapter 75 Prince
Li Jiancheng was lying on the bed eating roast chicken, while Dou Dan was sitting beside him saying, "Millions of people have been conscripted for labor service. What can we do about this? I heard that people in Henan and Huaibei have started to flee to the mountains and rivers after hearing that the court is going to levy labor service."

"Jiancheng, I remember that you had dealings with a few sorcerers in the past. Are they so-called Maitreya followers? Yesterday I saw someone in the capital calling on the people to believe in them."

Li Jiancheng had no reaction at first, but when he heard about Maitreya, he raised his head, frowned for a long time, and then lowered his head: "They are not yet a force to be reckoned with, but it may not be in the future."

Last year, he met a man from Gaoyang named Song Zixian, who claimed to be the incarnation of Maitreya who would come to liberate the world. He was very good at magic. Every night, the roof of the tavern where he stayed would emit light, and he could transform himself into the appearance of a Buddha with flames in his hands in the blink of an eye.

At that time, many nobles were intimidated, but Li Jiancheng and several of his friends did not believe it. However, as long as people had no fear and dared to draw the bow and aim at his head, it would not be difficult to find out the truth.

The man was quite sensible. Seeing that he could not scare a few fools, he could only kneel down and beg for mercy. He took the initiative to leave behind the valuables he had obtained and left Beijing with a dozen stubborn believers.

"I heard that Your Majesty wants to visit Jiangdu. People in the court and the public are talking about it. Your Majesty wants to dig a canal for the convenience of travel."

Li Jiancheng spat out the bone and said, "That's not the case. Your Majesty built the Eastern Capital to stabilize the east and the west, and now the river is being dug to connect the north and the south."

"Can…"

Li Jiancheng waved his hands helplessly and said, "Don't talk about this anymore. My butt hurts enough. If you have the time, why don't you go to the West Market and find a puppy? My second sister likes dogs the most."

Previously, Dou asked Li Jiancheng to help Youzhou Governor and Duke of Chen Dou Kang. Although Dou Kang lost his official position and title, he managed to save his life and family.

Therefore, he visited the Li family many times to express his gratitude and intended to marry into the Li family. However, since he had lost his official position and title, he was too embarrassed to marry the only legitimate daughter of the Li family, so he asked for the second daughter of the Li family for his third son Dou Dan.

Dou Dan was a few years older than Li Jiancheng and eleven years younger than Li's second daughter. Dou Dan had been engaged originally, but the girl from the Jingzhao Wei family suddenly died of illness before he could marry into the family, thus delaying the marriage for several years.

Originally, Li Yuan was somewhat reluctant, but Li Jiancheng felt that Dou Dan's appearance and character were impeccable, he was gentle and kind, and he might not be a good official, but he would be a very good husband.

Therefore, after consulting his sister's opinion, he decided to further deepen his relationship with the Dou family.

Dou Dan immediately stood up and said, "Okay, I'll go pick one myself. I wonder if the girl likes a bigger one or..."

After finally getting rid of Dou Dan, the steward came in with a pretty maid. After politely bowing, she said, "My daughter asked me to bring you the scar-removing jade skin cream. It is a secret recipe passed down in the palace and has excellent effects."

Li Jiancheng looked up and said, "Then thank Miss Xiao for me."

She motioned the steward to take it for him, but the steward lowered his head and looked at his feet. The maid blushed and said, "The lady ordered that I must personally apply the medicine to you, otherwise I cannot return home."

"The girl also said that husband and wife are one, and she cherishes her body very much. She also hopes that the husband will take good care of himself and not hurt his body."

The maid was about the same age as him, so he was embarrassed to take off his pants to let her apply the medicine, so he politely refused, "That's not necessary. So, when you go back home, tell her that you have applied the medicine, and I will tell the girl the same thing."

"No... no, I will be punished if I am found out when I get married. My dear, please don't make things difficult for me."

Li Jiancheng was speechless. While he was still thinking about what to say, he saw the steward, who looked like he was ready to sacrifice himself, coming over and holding his shoulder to persuade him, "Madam has told you to follow the girl's instructions. I am also following her orders. Please don't blame me, please don't blame me."

Li Jiancheng struggled for a few times and then felt cold. He gave up and buried his head in the quilt. After a long time, he heard the maid whisper, "My dear, don't forget to apply medicine every two days. I will go back and report now."

…………After resting for a while, Li Jiancheng began to attend court again, but he was mainly in the company of the crown prince. It happened to be the anniversary of Empress Wenxian's death, and after asking the emperor for permission, the crown prince went to the imperial mausoleum in person to offer sacrifices to his grandparents.

Li Jiancheng had no feelings for Yang Jian, but he was still grateful to Dugu, so he accompanied her.

On the way, he discovered that the prince was becoming increasingly fat, his strength was declining, and he even had difficulty riding a horse.

Li Jiancheng asked in a low voice: "Your Highness is so weak in yang, have you summoned the imperial physician to see him?"

Yang Zhao smiled and said, "The imperial physician just told me to eat less. Well, I also think I am a little too fat, but I am just too hungry every day."

Since the imperial physician has examined him, there should be nothing wrong. However, Li Jiancheng still felt that something was wrong. The prince had only suddenly become like this in the past two years. Two years ago, he was still a strong general with extraordinary martial arts skills who could pull a strong bow.

But when he thought about it more carefully, Li Jiancheng couldn't help but change his expression, and quickly turned his face away so that Yang Zhao didn't notice it.

The crown prince is the foundation of the country. Who can let the imperial physician not treat the future emperor properly? The court officials cannot interfere in the palace and can only seek out some information at most.

Empress Xiao was too kind to harm her eldest son. Prince of Qi Yang Ling was only one year younger than the crown prince and might have had this idea, but he would never dare to be so unscrupulous.

I'm afraid only the current emperor has this ability.

The emperor is thirty-six this year, and the prince is twenty-one, and the age difference between them is not much.

Li Jiancheng calmed himself down and thought that the emperor would not poison his own son so early. At most, he would just order the imperial physician to sit back and do nothing.

Soon they arrived at the imperial mausoleum. Everyone first paid homage with great ceremony, and then officials from the Taichang Temple and the Ministry of Rites began to arrange the sacrificial items. After Yang Zhao dismounted and calmed down for a while, he led Li Jiancheng in to clean the room.

As he was sweeping, Yang Zhao began to cry: "I never thought that at my age, with children, I would still be unable to sleep at night because of missing my grandparents."

Li Jiancheng couldn't help but sigh: "Your Highness is truly filial."

If he were under the rule of such a monarch, he would probably be willing to be a duke and enjoy wealth and glory. It's a pity that he will not live that long. Even if he does, the Sui Dynasty will not last until then.

"I grew up with my grandparents. I vaguely remember that when I was four or five years old, I played beside the stone lions in front of Xuanwu Gate, and my grandparents came to accompany me after leaving court.

Yang Zhao, leaning on a broom, recalled: "After dismissing the slaves, my grandparents watched me play side by side. When I had enough fun, I turned around and found that my grandfather was supporting his waist with one hand and resting the other on my grandmother's shoulder, complaining about today's court meeting."

"Now that I think about it, it's really... really..."

Yang Zhao sat on the ground crying, which made people sigh that the nine sons of the dragon are indeed different.

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

(End of this chapter)