In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Li Shimin was drinking wine on his own. "Wang De, I'm not old yet. Hong Xuan is only five. Why doesn't she come back to live in the palace? Has she forgotten her old father?"
Wang De glanced at Li Jingyun from the corner of his eye. Princess, come quickly. This is a tough question to answer.
"Aye!"
Li Jingyun lifted her skirt and skipped over. "Is Aye angry? How about Hong Xuan staying in the Hall of Supreme Harmony with Aye for a while?"
"For a while? Alright, alright." Li Shimin put down his wine cup. "Did you gain any insights when you went to the Eastern Chan Ding Temple to meet the two eminent monks yesterday?"
"Huai Shui is so cute. It's cold when you hold it in your arms. The friends in the Charity Square are very enthusiastic. And the vegetarian noodles in the Eastern Chan Ding Temple are really delicious."
Li Jingyun nodded firmly each time she said the word "very".
Li Shimin was completely confused. "Huai Shui? Hold it in your arms? Is it a stone?"
"It's a spiritual snake with beautiful patterns. It was enlightened by the Great Master Guanghui! Don't you know, Aye?"
Li Jingyun gestured a circle with her two small hands, half as big as her face. "This thick," and then pointed at Li Shimin's desk and Wang De. "This long."
That distance was at least ten feet, as tall as two adults combined.
"Aye, Aye. I had a strange dream last night." Li Jingyun tugged at her father's arm and acted coquettishly, telling him every detail of her dream, especially emphasizing that Huai Shui turned into petals and drifted in the air.
Li Shimin was in a dilemma. There was really no one in the palace who was good at interpreting dreams. So he ordered Wang De to take out a copy of *Interpretation of Dreams by Duke Zhou*. Wang De flipped through a few pages and said, "Princess, dreaming of a snake is a great auspicious sign."
"A great auspicious sign? But Huai Shui disappeared in the end." Li Jingyun propped her chin with one hand, looking a bit depressed.
To comfort his daughter, Li Shimin wracked his brains and thought of the magic in the Tang Dynasty.
This was a trick invented by those Taoist priests. They could summon wind and rain, ride on clouds and mists, make a dragon appear on a lamp, turn an empty pole into a fish, and retrieve objects with their minds. There was a man named Gong Wenlin in the imperial city who was a master of all these tricks. He had profound skills and could perform any magic effortlessly.
Since Hong Xuan dreamed that the spiritual snake turned into petals and disappeared, Li Shimin could simply invite the Taoist priest Gong in and let Hong Xuan see the spiritual snake reappear.
Li Shimin told his plan, but Li Jingyun began to ponder. She whispered something in Li Shimin's ear, and then the father and daughter looked at each other and smiled.
"Okay, let's do it as you said! Wang De, go and inform the Turkic and Tubo envoys that they are invited to the banquet tonight. Then call Wang Gui and the others. Hong Xuan, come with me to the Hall of Establishing Government. Let's talk to your mother about this."
"Okay!"
Li Jingyun readily agreed and skipped after Li Shimin, obviously very happy.
Now it was Wang De's turn to be confused. He had no idea what the little princess had said to make everyone so happy.
At the beginning of the Xu hour in the evening, the banquet began.
A group of graceful dancers were dancing to the impassioned music. Their long sleeves fluttered in the air, looking even more charming under the lamp. The Tubo and Turkic envoys were so fascinated that they couldn't take their eyes off.
Li Jingyun and Li Mingda were sitting together. The two little sisters were either enjoying the delicious food or chatting in a low voice. Opposite them were the court ministers. Chang Sun Wuji was sitting opposite Li Jingyun, occasionally saying a few words to the emperor, the crown prince and others.
Everything seemed harmonious on the surface.
In fact, there was an undercurrent surging secretly.
Lu Dongzan was thinking about how to ask Li Shimin for these dancers later. They were so beautiful and slender. They were truly the best!
Li Chengqian always glanced at Li Jingyun inadvertently, filled with emotions. His little sister had grown up so fast. He couldn't believe that this idea was hers. This banquet was really a Hongmen Banquet!
Let these envoys enjoy themselves for a while. They won't be able to laugh later.
Xinxing and Gaoyang, the two sisters, were waiting anxiously behind the screen, their palms sweating.
When everyone had drunk enough, Tang Jian said, "I've heard that there is a fierce beast in *The Classic of Mountains and Seas* called Zheng. It looks like a red leopard with five tails and one horn. Its roar sounds like hitting a stone. It can distinguish between loyal and treacherous people. If it meets a loyal official, it will treat him politely and be very gentle. But if it meets a treacherous person, it will swallow him up and never let him come back to life."
His tone was dull and slow, like telling a story, which was very immersive.
Zhenzhu Tongjisi laughed loudly. "Tang Jian, you're a prime minister after all. How can you believe such nonsense?"
"Yes, as a prime minister, you're too timid. Have you done something bad and are you afraid that the Zheng will eat you?" Lu Dongzan's sarcasm followed immediately.
Tang Jian's face didn't change at all when he was so sarcastically mocked. Li Shimin said with a smile, "The envoys have come from afar. Of course, they are all loyal and good officials. There's no need to talk about such false words anymore."
"Your Majesty, what I said is not false. The Zheng really exists."
Tang Jian stood up and bowed.
"If you're not lying, then call the Zheng out!" Zhenzhu Tongjisi pointed at Tang Jian and laughed. "Your words can only deceive children!"
Lu Dongzan was even more so. "Even if there really is a Zheng, we're not afraid! We'll surely capture it and let everyone have a look!"
"Yes, Princess Chengyang, do you believe what Tang Jian said? Didn't you say that we Turks are all useless and can't protect your sister? If the Zheng appears today, I'll lead these envoys to capture it alive as a gift for marrying the princess. How about it?"
Zhenzhu Tongjisi suddenly stood up, speaking with great confidence, as if the Zheng was already in their pocket.
His face was flushed, and his steps were unsteady. He had grown half - gray hair during his days in Chang'an and looked much older. He was staggering with a wine cup in his hand, and the clear Jiannanchun in the cup was almost spilled.
He originally wanted to drink osmanthus drink, but the smell of Jiannanchun was so fragrant that he had to continue his healthy diet tomorrow.
"Tang Jian, are you really scared? What's so scary about the Zheng?" Zhenzhu Tongjisi was talking when he accidentally saw Tang Jian's face turn pale. Tang Jian was looking at something behind him in horror, as if he had seen a monster.
He turned around, and a huge beast that was twice as tall as him jumped out. It let out a roar at him, opening its blood - red mouth wide. Its basin - sized eyes were shining with a hungry light, scaring him back several steps and making him fall to the ground.
It looked like a red leopard with five tails and one horn, and its roar sounded like hitting a stone. It was the Zheng!
Was he having a hallucination because he was drunk? Could this legendary creature really exist? And was it tamed by the royal family of the Tang Dynasty? Otherwise, there was no way to explain why it appeared at such a coincidental time.
Xinxing Princess in a red dress suddenly appeared in front of him, being chased and dodging everywhere by the Zheng.
Many people were panicking and trying to escape, such as the envoys from the Tubo and Turkic tribes, the palace servants, and a few young ministers. But Li Shimin, Empress Chang Sun, Tang Jian, Chang Sun Wuji and others were sitting firmly in their seats.
He was so drunk that his mind was muddled. He felt something was wrong, but he didn't know what it was.
Li Jingyun swallowed the snack in her mouth and shouted, "Didn't you say you wanted to protect my sister? Why are you too scared to go up?"
"I, I'm too old to run." Zhenzhu Tongjisi wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. Although he said he couldn't run, he actually ran away quickly.