"It's so noisy." Li Shimin covered his ears.
"It's so noisy!" Li Xuanba scratched his brother's arm madly.
The two wet nurses who came with Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were sewing the pads with a distressed look on their faces: "Just be patient, it will be done soon."
After Li Xuanba finished tickling his brother, he said weakly, "Don't worry, be careful not to prick your hands."
The nurse smiled and said, "It won't prick your hands, don't worry."
Li Xuanba nodded and continued to scratch his brother's arm.
It's crazy.
Li Xuanba thought he had made full preparations, but he never expected that the people on the dragon boat were so energetic.
During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, seven kinds of singing and dancing were set up according to regional characteristics, namely Guoji, Qingshangji, Gaoliji, Tianzhuji, Anguoji, Qiuciji, and Wenkangji. When Yang Guang succeeded to the throne, Kangguoji and Shuleji were added, increasing the number to "Nine Ji".
On several large ships, including the one that Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were on, the "Nine Actors" took turns performing, singing and dancing all night long.
Li Shimin: "Stop singing, help!"
Li Xuanba: "How about some soothing hypnotic music? Thank you!"
Tired of the singing and dancing? No problem, in between each round of the "Nine-part Acts", there are performers leading rare and exotic animals to perform various acrobatics, called "Man Yan Yu Long".
The most interesting part of the "Man Yan Fish Dragon" is the juggling with various flames. This kind of juggling would start at nightfall and last until the early morning. Eunuchs and guards would be on duty all night to prevent the fire juggling from accidentally setting the boat on fire.
Li Shimin: "Can you please stop jumping on the deck in the middle of the night! Are you playing drums with your feet?"
Li Xuanba: "Sleepy... Stop torturing my eardrums."
At night, a bonfire is lit on the deck.
The bonfire is set up in a copper vessel, and the wood burning inside is the finest agarwood. When the flames are lit, the fragrance is everywhere, as if you are in a fairyland.
Li Shimin: "A-choo."
Li Xuanba: "A-choo."
In the first few days, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba would go to watch the fun hand in hand. Soon, not only Li Xuanba was mad, but Li Shimin also became depressed.
These adults, don't they sleep?
The two children never go out unless it is necessary.
They had been lying in the room, even if they couldn't sleep they would squint and try to close their eyes and rest as much as possible.
Li Xuanba thought quickly and asked the wet nurse to seal several layers of silk in the fine linen cloth to make thick soundproof earmuffs.
He and Li Shimin first blocked their ears with paper, then put on thick soundproof earmuffs, and finally had a good sleep.
It's just that the paper note in my ear hurts a bit after being stuck in my ear for a long time.
The two children hid in the room and refused to come out. Empress Xiao was very worried and ordered the imperial physician to check Li Shimin and Li Xuanba's health every day and adjust the prescription from time to time.
Amid the two children's aggrieved looks, the imperial physician prescribed some tranquilizers for them, and then tactfully told the queen that the two children were young and weak and could not withstand too much crowd noise, and suggested that the children be moved to a quieter boat to recuperate.
Empress Xiao sighed, "Madam Dou said that the two children were born with deficiencies and were very difficult to raise. I used to laugh at her for worrying too much. After raising them for a while, I realized how hard Madam Dou worked."
It was impossible to get the two children on other ships. Empress Xiao was worried about others taking care of Li Shimin and Li Xuanba.
She asked Li Shimin and Li Xuanba to move from the main hall on the first floor to a room in the middle of the second floor. The room was much smaller, but it was far from the deck, making it much quieter for the two children.
Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were finally able to take off the note and sleep with only the noise-canceling earmuffs on.
After a few days of good sleep, Li Shimin finally regained his spirit.
He was not even seven years old, but he actually felt like he had survived a catastrophe: "I declare that I will never watch 'Nine Parts of Music' and 'Man Yan Yu Long' again!"
Li Xuanba rolled his eyes at his second brother: [Impossible.]
Li Shimin rolled around on the bed, hugging the soft pillow: "I won't look at it, I won't look at it."
Li Xuanba didn't like hard pillows, so he had people make many pillows and cushions using materials such as down, animal hair, rice husks, and herbs.
Li Sanlang's was Li Erlang's. Li Shimin learned Li Xuanba's bad habits and brought his own pillow and bolster wherever he went.
Li Xuanba ignored his second brother who had regained his vitality.
He lay quietly, his eyes empty, his mind relaxed, and continued to rest.
"We've been eating indoors these days, let's go out to eat today!" Li Shimin pulled his lazy brother up, "I heard that the shore pays tribute to local delicacies every day, Xuan must want to eat them."
Li Xuanba: [No, I don't want to.]
Li Shimin dragged Li Xuanba off the bed and forced his brother, whose bones were loose from lying, to go to the deck for exercise.
The imperial physician said that after getting enough sleep, you should move more. Children need to move more to stay healthy.
Seeing that Li Shimin and Li Xuanba had "recovered from their illnesses", Empress Xiao breathed a sigh of relief.
She let the two children sit on her left and right, treated them as if they were her own children, and personally selected food for them.
In front of Empress Xiao was a large table that was two meters long and one meter wide. The palace maids and eunuchs took turns bringing food, including fruits, snacks, roasted dishes, soups, and steamed dishes.
As soon as the food was served, Yang Guang arrived.
Before he arrived, a voice came: "Erlang, Sanlang, I heard you were sick? Are you feeling well now?"
Li Shimin and Li Xuanba stood up and said, "It's fine now."
Yang Guang rubbed the two children's heads and said, "Don't be shy. I just came to see you. Let's have lunch here today."
When the emperor arrived, the table full of dishes was moved away along with the table before it was even eaten.
The eunuch brought in a longer dining table with carvings of dragons and paintings of phoenixes and started serving the dishes again.
Yang Guang would pay tribute to the coast with rare ingredients every day.
These foods did not necessarily have to be presented to Yang Guang, but he would send people to count them. If the tribute ingredients were precious and abundant, the official might be promoted; if Yang Guang was not satisfied, the official's job would be lost.
During meals, the imperial kitchen would use the daily tribute ingredients to prepare a hundred "creative dishes" and present them to Yang Guang one by one.
If Yang Guang liked something, he would take one chopstick of it; if he didn't like it, he would put it away; even if he particularly liked it, he would only take two chopsticks of it at most.
One hundred dishes were served in front of Yang Guang like a stream.
Yang Guang ate first, followed by Empress Xiao, and Li Shimin and Li Xuanba followed with great honor.
Li Xuanba was full after eating only half of the meal, but Li Shimin persisted to the end.
Seeing that Li Shimin had such a big appetite, Yang Guang praised him, saying, "With your appetite, you will definitely be able to become a champion marquis for me in the future!"
Li Shimin rubbed his belly and said, "Thank you for the compliment, uncle."
Yang Guang said to Li Xuanba: "Li Sanlang, you should eat more."
Li Xuanba smiled bitterly: "My nephew, try your best."
Yang Guang was also full, so he took Li Shimin and Li Xuanba for a walk on the deck to enjoy the beautiful scenery on both sides of the river.
On the shore, the laborers were still pulling the tow rope with great effort.
Li Xuanba looked at the boatmen on the river bank.
He did not grow up by the river. Although he had read about the profession of "trackers" in books and heard that in the most turbulent places of the Sanmenxia Gorge of the Yellow River and the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, if a boat wants to cross the gorge and go upstream, trackers are needed on both sides of the shore to pull the boat. But there is no picture of it in his mind.
It was not until he took a dragon boat ride with Emperor Yang of Sui that Li Xuanba saw real boat trackers for the first time.
The surface of the artificial canal is very calm and the water flow is not fast. Whether going downstream or upstream, the boats can be moved by paddling and sailing. Only when there is a strong headwind, do trackers need to pull the boats on both sides.
But the dragon boat is too big and too heavy. To make such a large boat move, trackers are needed to pull the tow ropes throughout the whole process.
"Ah Xuan, this dragon boat doesn't look like a dragon boat, but more like a big horse-drawn carriage. The only difference is that it's pulled by people instead of oxen and horses." Li Shimin whispered to Li Xuan.
Li Xuanba was thinking about his second brother's overly appropriate metaphor when his second brother's exclamation interrupted his thoughts.
"Uncle! What are they doing? Why are they burying a whole roasted cow?" Li Shimin pointed to the shore in surprise, "Are they offering sacrifices to the gods?"
Yang Guang's gaze, gazing at the magnificent mountains and rivers, followed Li Shimin's finger and fell on the nearby banks.
He frowned and looked at the eunuch beside him.
The eunuch bowed his head and explained to the emperor: "Officials and people admire your majesty, and they pay tribute to you every day. There is too much food, and it becomes stale overnight, so they bury it nearby."
Yang Guang rebuked: "Nonsense!"
Li Shimin nodded vigorously.
Yes, yes, it's really ridiculous. How can you bury good food? The daily meals of Duke Tang's mansion are not eaten up, so they are all distributed to the servants. If there is a banquet in the mansion, there is too much food and the servants can't finish it. Mother will pick out some good ones and send them to the Buddhist temple to help the poor, and feed the rest to the livestock.
Madam Dou often taught Li Shimin and Li Xuanba that even though the Duke of Tang's Mansion was extremely wealthy, they should not be too extravagant, otherwise they would surely damage their family's fortune.
The eunuch immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. It was my laziness that caused me to pollute your Majesty's eyes."
Yang Guang kicked the eunuch angrily.
The eunuch very skillfully rolled backwards when Yang Guang kicked him, both to relieve the force and to pretend to be in pain. After rolling on the ground for a few times, he continued to kowtow and beg for mercy.
Yang Guang called Pei Yun, the Shaoqing of Taichang, and pointed at the food burial ground on the shore with a gloomy face and said nothing.
Pei Yun immediately said, "I will immediately order them to bury the bodies ten miles away from the shore to avoid tarnishing the beautiful scenery on both sides. Those who are lazy will be severely punished!"
Yang Guang snorted coldly: "Don't ask me to order you about such a small matter."
Pei Yun hurriedly confessed his crime.
Yang Guang scolded Pei Yun a few more times before letting Pei Yun deal with things on the shore.
After seeing such a dirty thing, Yang Guang's good mood was overshadowed.
Li Shimin looked at the angry emperor in confusion, his little head not quite understanding what was happening.
He was about to ask, but Li Xuanba reminded him in his mind, "Shut up and wait, play dumb," so he didn't open his mouth.
After Yang Guang vented his anger, he looked at the two children's frightened expressions. As an elder, he used his reason to suppress his anger and said, "Some people who have neglected their duties have disturbed our fun. Don't be afraid, Erlang and Sanlang. I have already dealt with them."
Li Shimin was even more confused. What his uncle, the emperor, did was completely different from what he had imagined.
Li Xuanba said nothing, but continued to pretend to be frightened by the emperor's anger and nodded timidly.
His mood was disturbed and Yang Guang lost interest in taking his children to enjoy the scenery.
He ordered people to bring Li Shimin and Li Xuanba to Empress Xiao, and he returned to the leading dragon boat and continued to be furious about the matter.
Li Shimin and Li Xuanba used the excuse of being sleepy to return to their own small rooms.
Li Shimin hugged the soft pillow and finally expressed the doubts in his heart: "My cousin is angry in a strange way."
Li Xuanba lay on the window in the room and continued to look out.
Li Shimin pushed Li Xuanba aside and also lay down to look at the shore.
Through their small windows, they could also see where the food was buried.
The palace servants buried half of the food, and after being scolded by the officials who came, they hurriedly filled the dug pit with soil, loaded the remaining food onto a cart, and transported it to a farther place.
The laborers on the shore took turns pulling the boat and resting. The laborers who were resting quietly dug up the soil, trying to dig out the food inside.
Another official came down from the boat, and he brought a team of guards with him.
The guards pinned the laborers who had dug the ground to the ground, tied them up, and then took them to an unknown place.
The hole in the ground was filled again.
Li Shimin and Li Xuanba watched the whole show quietly.
Li Xuanba: [In every prefecture and county within 500 miles, he ordered all the people to offer food; the concubines in the harem were fed up with the food, and when they were about to be released, they would abandon and bury most of it.]
Li Shimin: "What?"
Li Xuanba; [Emperor Yang of Sui visited Jiangdu. ]
Li Shimin pursed his lips and this time did not remind his brother not to talk nonsense.
He continued to look out the window blankly.
After a while, Li Shimin said, "Why can't the leftover food be distributed to the people on the shore? They even dug out the food from the soil. They must be very hungry."
Li Xuanba didn't speak in his heart this time.
He sneered and said, "Yes, why."
Li Shimin looked at Li Xuanba: "Xuan doesn't know either?"
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "I don't know, I don't know."
Li Shimin puffed up his cheeks and said, "Xuan, you must know, why didn't you tell your brother?"
Li Xuan said domineeringly: "What's the point of telling me? Brother, look at it yourself and think for yourself."
Li Shimin threw Li Xuanba to the ground and tickled him fiercely. After Li Xuanba begged for mercy, he turned over and lay down beside Li Xuanba: "It's so annoying. Forget it, I'm still young, I don't understand it. When I grow up, I will understand it naturally."
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Li Xuanba wiped the tears from his laughter from being tickled, and said unhappily, "This is what mother and sister often say to us. You have learned it."
"Hehe." Li Shimin grinned.
After he finished laughing, he placed his hands on his chest.
The emperor would rather bury the intact food than give it to the people on the shore. The emperor was angry not because of the waste of food, but because he saw the food buried.
All this left the young Li Shimin confused and puzzled.
At this moment, he remembered the "Emperor Yang of Sui" that his brother had let slip, and remembered the meaning of "Yang" that he had secretly found in the book.
Li Shimin hugged his head and rolled around on the bed: "Ah, don't think about it. I'm still young, why should I think so much!"
Li Xuanba nodded: "Yes. Think about it slowly when you grow up."
Li Shimin rolled for a long time holding his head before he stopped rolling.
He lay on the couch with his arms and legs resting on Li Xuanba's body.
Li Xuanba pushed his second brother aside with disgust.
Li Shimin: "Ah Xuan, will I be able to figure it out when I grow up?"
Li Xuanba: "Who knows? Go over there!"
Li Shimin: "Ah Xuan, my chest feels tight, please let me lean on you."
Li Xuanba: "No! Go away, it's so hot!"
Li Shimin tried to get close to Li Xuanba, but Li Xuanba used his hands and feet to push his second brother away.
The two brothers lay on the bed and started fighting.
After Yang Guang returned to the dragon boat and had a tantrum, he recalled the expressions of Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, and always felt that the expressions of the two children at that time seemed a little disrespectful.
He immediately sent people to check what Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were doing.
The maid sent out reported back: "Second Master Li and Third Master Li are fighting on the couch."
Yang Guang raised his eyebrows: "Oh? Fighting? Aren't the two brothers very close? Why would they fight?"
The maid said, "I asked the maidservant at the gate. She said it seemed that the second young master Li wanted to use the third young master Li as a pillow, and the third young master Li thought the second young master Li was too heavy, so the two started fighting."
Yang Guang: "…"
He held his forehead and laughed: "This reason... is really a reason only children would have."
He shook his head in his heart. Perhaps he was too angry today, he even doubted the expressions of the two six-year-old children.
If Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were hiding their disrespect, as children are simple-minded, it must have been Li Yuan who taught them.
To put it bluntly, Yang Guang's suspicion of Lian's two children is essentially due to his distrust of Li Yuan.
"They were frightened today. Give them some gold beads to play with." Yang Guang said, "Also, pass on my order that brothers should be friendly and respectful. It is not right to fight over such a small matter. If they fight again, I will punish them by making them copy books."
The palace maid took the order and left, and the officials sitting with her all laughed.
…
Li Shimin and Li Xuanba "had a fight" and actually received rewards from the emperor.
When Empress Xiao learned about this, she smiled so hard that tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.
She said to her eldest daughter, Princess Nanyang, who came to pay her respects, "Come and stay with me for a few days, and touch these two treasures in the Duke of Tang's mansion. Your belly is still not moving, and I am really worried. You should quickly give birth to a treasure like the second and third sons of the Li family for me to take care of."
Princess Nanyang is the eldest daughter of Empress Xiao and the Emperor. She married Yuwen Shiji, the son of Duke Xu, at the age of 14 and is now just 20. Both husband and wife are deeply loved by the Emperor and Empress, and both accompany the Emperor on his southern tour.
Yuwen Shiji was a good friend of Li Yuan, and Princess Nanyang also got along well with Madam Dou.
She smiled and said, "They are indeed living treasures. Mrs. Dou always grits her teeth when she mentions them, saying that they are very naughty at home."
Empress Xiao smiled and said, "Is there such a thing? Madam Dou told me that they have been weak since childhood, and she felt very sorry for them."
Weak since childhood? Princess Nanyang pondered for a moment and understood why Madam Dou said so.
Perhaps the Queen Mother learned that the Li twins had brought shame to Zheng family of Xingyang, and she was very happy to arrange for the engagement of her daughter in her mother's family with the Li twins.
The eldest son of the Duke of Tang married Zheng from Xingyang, so the wives of the other sons must be inferior. Princess Nanyang was helpless, because her mother valued her natal family too much, and this idea was a little inappropriate.
She smiled and said, "Yes, Li's Erlang and Sanlang are both naughty and weak. Madam Dou would feel bad if she disciplined them, but she would also worry that they would learn bad things if she didn't discipline them. It's really a headache."
Empress Xiao laughed even harder: "That's right. Don't change the subject. Mother even prayed to Guanyin for you to have a child..."
Princess Nanyang saw that the topic had not been changed, so she covered her red face and said, "Mother, mother, queen! Give your daughter some more time, there will be a grandson, there will be a grandson!"
Empress Xiao said, "You always say that. Well, well, you are shy, so I won't give you the Goddess of Childbearing for now. You can go and rub the heads of Li Erlang and Li Sanlang, is that okay?"
Princess Nanyang covered her face and said helplessly, "Okay, my daughter, hold Li Erlang and Li Sanlang in your arms and rub their heads hard!"
Empress Xiao smiled and said, "Come here, bring Li Erlang and Li Sanlang here!"
So Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were called in with confused looks on their faces, and then Princess Nanyang held them in her arms and rubbed their heads hard.
Li Shimin felt dizzy.
What's going on? Why are you rubbing my head?
Li Xuanba frowned.
I'm a toy, I'm a toy, I'm not embarrassed, I have no emotions.
Princess Nanyang felt warm at the sight of the two children being so adorable, and she really wanted to have a child as cute as Li Erlang and Li Sanlang.
She smiled and said, "I pinched your faces as compensation. Is there anything you want?"
Empress Xiao smiled and said, "You are really generous. Erlang, Sanlang, just ask for whatever you want. She has a lot of good things in her hands."
Both mother and daughter were curious about what kind of "compensation" these two children, who were known as "child prodigies", would ask for.
Li Xuanba rubbed his red face and said, "How about we just pick two pieces of jewelry to give to Grandmother and Mother?"
Li Shimin hesitated for a moment and said to Princess Nanyang, "Can I speak to you in private?"
Princess Nanyang lowered her head and leaned forward to listen: "Go ahead."
Li Shimin held his mouth with both hands and whispered in Princess Nanyang's ear: "I heard that Princess Nanyang is the most beloved by your majesty. Princess, can you advise your majesty not to bury the unfinished food and give it to the boatmen on the shore? I see they seem very hungry. If they are too hungry, they can't pull the boat, and your majesty won't be happy."
Princess Nanyang opened her almond-shaped eyes slightly.
She raised her head and looked carefully at the child in her arms.
Li Shimin looked at Princess Nanyang with a pleading look on his face.
Li Xuanba looked at his second brother, then at Princess Nanyang, his small brows furrowed.
What did the second brother plead for?
Li Xuanba: [Second brother, what did you say? ]
Li Shimin looked towards the shore, then looked away.
Li Xuanba thought for a moment and said, "You don't want Princess Nanyang to persuade the Sui... Sui emperor to be frugal?"
Li Shimin blinked.
Li Xuanba thought about it again and said, [There must be someone in the court who advised the emperor to be frugal, but it was useless.]
Empress Xiao asked curiously, "What did Li Erlang say to you?"
Princess Nanyang came back to her senses and said with a smile, "He wanted to ask for jewelry for Madam Dou. Alas, there is nothing to say in secret."
Li Shimin was stunned.
Li Xuanba held Li Shimin's hand and said, "The princess' words prove that the emperor would be very unhappy if he knew what you said. She is protecting you."
Li Shimin pursed his lips and held his brother's hand tightly.
Princess Nanyang rubbed Li Shimin's head and said, "Mother, I want to bring Li Erlang and Li Sanlang to show you, so that you can also get some of their intelligence."
Empress Xiao smiled and said, "Go ahead, and remember to send it back in the evening."
Princess Nanyang nodded: "Okay."
She asked her maid to carry Li Xuanba, and she held Li Shimin in her arms, and returned to the boat where she lived to find her husband Yuwen Shiji.
On the way, Princess Nanyang whispered, "Father hates advice the most. Shimin, you have a good heart, but don't let father hear it."
She called Li Shimin's name very solemnly.
Li Shimin lowered his head, feeling a little depressed.
Princess Nanyang sighed in her heart.
After hearing what Li Shimin said, she also felt a little pity for the people on the shore.
But since she was the most favored princess, she naturally knew her father's likes and dislikes.
This is something that cannot be said. Given my father's character, even if the tribute is burned, it is impossible for him to give it to the lowly common people.
How could the emperor eat the same food as the common people?
In fact, the ministers had already advised against this.
Whether it was asking the coastal states and counties to pay tribute or burying the uneaten food, Yuwenbi, the Duke of Pingchang, advised several times. His father often insulted Yuwenbi in private.
Seeing this, Princess Nanyang naturally did not dare to offend her father.
Li Xuanba kept looking at his second brother.
After they got off the boat and got on again, Li Xuanba spoke in his heart.
Li Xuanba: [Brother, stop thinking. We are both still children, and you think too much. Can you think of something that children of our age should think about? For example, what to eat and what to play.]
Li Shimin raised his head, turned to Li Xuanba and tried to grin: [Good! ]
The two brothers followed Princess Nanyang to pay a visit to the husband of the emperor, Yuwen Shiji, and then followed Yuwen Shiji to visit the rooms of the important officials on the ship. In the evening, Princess Nanyang personally sent them back to Empress Xiao's ship.
The two were so tired that they fell asleep as soon as they touched the pillow.
The next day, the fleet continued sailing.
Li Shimin never mentioned to Li Xuanba any topics that children should not consider again.
In mid-December, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba finally arrived in Jiangdu.