On the fourth day of the ninth lunar month, it was drizzling with gusts of cold wind. A chill swept over, so Li Jingyun put on an extra piece of clothing.
She got up excitedly today and rushed to the princess mansion in Yongyangfang. She was going to make milk tea!
This name was given by the immortal. The immortal also said that if she made the milk tea, she could get fifteen merit points. Once she had a hundred merit points, she could exchange for a pill to save Sister Lizhi.
If she got another fifty merit points, she could save Sister Lizhi's child.
Just think about it. When milk and tea leaves were boiled together, the drink would have both the mellow flavor of milk and the sweet taste of tea. It must be a very special beverage.
By then, with the wind blowing and the rain falling outside, she could hide in the room, sipping milk tea and munching on snacks. How enjoyable that would be!
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. Curious, Li Jingyun lifted the curtain and looked out. It turned out to be an execution ground. The executioner was standing by with a big knife. The official overseeing the execution looked familiar, but Li Jingyun didn't recognize him. Two jailers escorted a disheveled and ragged prisoner to the execution ground.
People surrounded the place in layers. The noise was deafening, and some even threw rotten vegetables at the prisoner. A young woman in the crowd was desperately pushing her way through. Presumably, she was the prisoner's family member.
"Princess, let's go. It's too inauspicious to watch this," a eunuch outside the carriage advised.
"I'm a princess of the Tang Dynasty. How can I be afraid of such things? I seem to see Father and my brothers. What are they doing here?"
Li Jingyun's mind was filled with one question after another. She ordered the carriage to stop by the roadside and got off to look for them.
First of all, who was this official overseeing the execution? And who was the prisoner?
Secondly, why were Father and her brothers all here? The eldest brother, the third brother, the fifth brother, and the sixth brother? Why were they all so neatly gathered?
According to the concept of "executing criminals in public to show that they were abandoned by the public", the execution site was on Zhuque Street, the busiest street in Chang'an City where people jostled shoulder to shoulder.
In a restaurant across the street, Li Jingyun rushed in in a hurry. The shopkeeper quickly came over to receive her. "Madam, your father is on the third floor. Shall I take you up?"
"Okay!"
Li Jingyun replied crisply.
A group of dandies drinking on the first floor sized up Li Jingyun. After the shopkeeper came down, they immediately asked, "Shopkeeper, you're being unfair. We've pleaded with you for ages, but you still won't let us go up to the third floor. How old is that young lady? She didn't even say a word, and you let her go up!"
"Shut up! You're all descendants of meritorious officials. How can you not even recognize who she is? It's not even ten days since the Library Pavilion was built, and you've already forgotten about her? His Majesty and several princes are up there. You'd better watch your words and actions, or you'll drag my small shop down with you."
The shopkeeper ranted on, speaking very fast and in a low voice. Before the others could react, he had already finished.
After a while, one of them said, "Could that be Princess Chengyang?"
"At this age and with such a demeanor, it's very likely to be her!"
"Silence! Silence! Wu Weiliang, are you tired of living?"
On the third floor, Li Jingyun directly pushed open the door and went in. She saw Father and her brothers sitting opposite each other with solemn expressions. Only after she entered did she find that not only the four brothers she had seen from outside were there, but even the ninth brother had come.
"Father? Brothers?" Li Jingyun was completely confused. What were they up to?
The atmosphere in the room was originally very oppressive. Li Jingyun's sudden entrance made the princes heave a sigh of relief. Li Yin reacted the most. He quickly pulled Li Jingyun over and said, "It's still raining. Why did you run out?"
"I wanted to go to my mansion. I passed by Zhuque Street on the way." After Li Jingyun sat down, she happened to have a bird's-eye view of the scene below.
The man about to be beheaded was unexpectedly Cui Xian!
One could tell how much torture he had suffered in prison. When they first met, he was a wealthy young man dressed in fine clothes. Now he was emaciated. The prison uniform looked a size too big on him. He was as thin as a stick, and his face was sallow.
And the woman pushing forward in the crowd was Cui Tian. She was dressed much more simply than usual. Her earrings and hairpins had all been replaced with silver ones.
She was also supporting a beautiful woman in her thirties or forties. The woman was crying with tears all over her face and staggering. If it weren't for Cui Tian's support, she would probably have fallen.
"Hongxuan, come to Father. If you don't want to watch, we won't watch. Okay?" Li Shimin's tone was so gentle that it was almost unrecognizable. He reached out his hand and smiled.
"No, Father. You said that Hongxuan is a princess of the Tang Dynasty and shouldn't be afraid of such things."
There was still a tremor in Li Jingyun's voice when she spoke, but it didn't stop her from puffing out her cheeks and looking determined.
"Look at your sister, and then look at yourselves," Li Shimin was even more satisfied with his daughter. Originally, a daughter who could invent cement, make bamboo paper, and create movable-type printing would be great even if she had some minor flaws in her character or other aspects. Who would have thought that his daughter was so courageous?
That's right. It was also Hongxuan who had proposed to build the Library Pavilion to store all the books in the world in one grand hall. What a lofty ambition!
Looking at these stupid sons again, how could there be such a big difference between people?
Li You couldn't stand it anymore. "Father, if you want to praise Hongxuan, just do it. Why do you have to belittle us brothers at the same time?"
This guy had nominally studied in Hongwen Hall for several years, but in fact, he had hardly attended any classes. He was good at nothing but eating. Outsiders would say that he and Li Yin were two useless princes who were a pair of "outstanding" figures.
Li Yin at least had a bit of intelligence. He just didn't like reading, but he was more than capable of handling various matters.
Li You was different. He only had pleasure on his mind. He was originally planning to go and see the beautiful women his cousin had given him today, but he was called by Li Shimin to watch an execution. He was very unhappy.
Coupled with Li Shimin's praise of Li Jingyun, he immediately flew into a rage.
"Fifth brother, eat more. Look, the dishes today are so delicious," Li Chengqian said as he clumsily picked up some food for Li You. Li Ke was even more direct. He stuffed a meatball into Li You's mouth.
Please, stop talking! Can't you see that Father is in a bad mood today?
It was already good enough that Hongxuan could come out to save the day! They didn't want to be punished along with him!
Li You chewed the meatball innocently and looked at his two brothers, wondering why they were reacting so strongly.
You know what? The sauce for this meatball was well-prepared, and it was very flavorful.
Li Shimin had no mood to watch his sons act silly. "It's not too late to eat after watching."
"Yes."
Li Jingyun was the one who was really confused. After thinking for a long time, she still couldn't figure it out, so she looked at the execution ground. Cui Xian was scolding his mother and sister like a madman.
"Cui Tian, do you know? It was because you made Cuizong kneel for so long that she died without being cured! The child in her belly died too! That was my first child! My only child! Do you even know how Cuizong died? I deliberately kept it from you and didn't let them tell you!"
"Yes, I admit that I'm a coward! I was beaten and scolded by you so much that I was scared! I was afraid of you! But I'm a good father! I gave Cuizong's parents a lot of money and asked them to bury her properly! And Cui Gan and Cui Renshi, they just had to hold that dinner party! It made me miss the last chance to see her and the child! Every time I close my eyes, I see Cuizong and the child! They're scolding me, asking me why I couldn't protect them!"
"Mother, you finally came out? Didn't it feel good to chant Buddhist scriptures in the Buddhist hall all the time? If you weren't so weak, why would I have been controlled by Cui Tian for so long just because of her sister's status! And where's my father? Is he still studying his poems? Even if he locks himself in the study for a lifetime, he won't be able to write any masterpiece!"
Cui Xian's hysteria scared Cui Tian and the beautiful woman, and it also scared Li Jingyun. She instinctively burrowed into Li Shimin's arms, leaving only an ear outside to listen.