"Your Highness, follow me."
Watching the people behind leave, Wang De led Li Xiang to another palace. Li Xiang originally thought that he was in the Qinzheng Palace, but he didn't expect that it was just a show. Li Shimin has become more and more comfortable over the years.
"Grandfather is not in the Qinzheng Palace?"
Li Xiang was about to reach the harem. According to the court rules, all adult princes and grandchildren had to leave the palace before sunset, so he was a little worried. If it wasn't Wang De who led him there, Li Xiang would really turn around and leave.
"Some new palaces have been built in the imperial palace recently. Your Highness, don't worry, we can't reach the harem."
Wang De knew what Li Xiang was worried about. This kind of thing had happened in every dynasty. Many eunuchs' families were controlled by political enemies, and then the princes and grandchildren were sent to the harem, saying that they were summoned by the emperor or the empress dowager.
Generally speaking, these are eunuchs around the emperor or the empress dowager, and they basically would not do such a thing. However, when their family members are controlled, these people can only take risks and lead the princes and grandchildren to the harem. This means chaos in the palace. If it is discovered, even if the princes and grandchildren are innocent, they may be disliked by the emperor in the future and have no chance of ascending the throne.
This method is extremely cruel, so the eunuch who did this must die after completing it. If he doesn't die, then your family members will not be able to survive. If you die, there will be no way to continue the investigation, and the emperor's son or grandson will be ruined.
The emperor hated this matter the most, so he would usually issue a strict decree, which meant that eunuchs would not be allowed to do this. Now that he heard that he would not go to the harem, Li Xiang understood what was going on. Li Shimin was still very careful in this regard and would not give those who were scheming and plotting any chance.
Of course, Wang De would not do such a thing. This guy had already secretly sided with Li Xiang earlier, and his family members were also under the surveillance of Li Xiang's men. Of course, Wang De's family members were the safest in some ways. On the one hand, they were watched by Li Shimin's men in black, and on the other hand, they were watched by Li Xiang's men. As for whether there were other people, it was hard to say.
Anyway, the position of chief eunuch seems to be quite glorious, but what is going on behind the scenes is probably only known by them themselves. If they don't handle it well, not only will they lose their heads, but the heads of dozens of people in their family will also have a hard time living.
When he arrived in front of the new palace, Li Xiang didn't know what to say. The court was really rich now. Thinking about the first few years after his rebirth, it would have been impossible to build a palace like this, even a slight repair of the Qinzheng Hall would have been impossible.
Nowadays, such a huge construction site has been erected on the flat ground. Li Xiang had never been here before, but there should have been a palace here before. That means the old palace was demolished and a new one was built. I don’t know how much money it cost.
Of course, Li Xiang couldn't say much about this matter. What was the point of being an emperor? If he was exhausted every day and couldn't even find a comfortable place to stay, then being an emperor like this would be too frustrating. Even if Li Xiang sat on the throne, he probably wouldn't be willing to continue.
Compared with other emperors, Li Shimin was already pretty good. With so much silver in the national treasury, he only built a new palace. He did not build temporary palaces in various places in Chang'an City, nor did he build temporary palaces across the country. Compared with Emperor Yang of Sui, he saved a lot of money. If Li Shimin had gone out for inspections frequently, he would probably have spent even more money.
When Li Xiang walked into the palace, he saw that in addition to Li Shimin, there were two young concubines. Li Xiang certainly had not seen these two people when he left the palace last time. No matter whose daughters these two were, Li Shimin's harem was now filled with more concubines.
Seeing Li Xiang coming in from outside, Li Shimin also asked the two young concubines to go to the harem. After all, Li Shimin was old now. If his eldest grandson and the concubines in the harem were to spread any news, it would be extremely detrimental to the entire Tang Dynasty.
Never underestimate a woman. If she has evil intentions in her heart, it will not be good for anyone, and Li Shimin might also fall into trouble because of this.
Take Li Chengqian and Li Jiancheng for example. At that time, the two of them had an unclear relationship with one of Li Yuan's concubines. If Li Shimin had not obtained this evidence, how could these two people have fought against Li Shimin?
Therefore, everyone living in the royal family understands that relationships between men and women must be pure. Any slight misunderstanding may lead to fatal disaster. Don’t think this is a joke. If you don’t pay attention to these things, you will most likely be killed by them in the end.
"Greetings, Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty."
This was the first time Li Xiang met Li Shimin, so he had to perform the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows. To be more precise, this was the first time he met the emperor since returning from the south. There would be no need to perform such a ceremony when they met again.
"Get up. The south side gets a little more sunlight. Your face is already a little dark. You probably haven't eaten yet. Everything is ready here. Let's have a drink and talk about some recent events."
Li Shimin pointed to the seat next to him, and a eunuch brought some food and drinks. As he got older, Li Shimin's speech became more and more similar to that of ordinary people, and he was not as majestic when talking to Li Xiang. In fact, this was to cultivate his own successor.
Although there was Li Chengqian between the two of them, they both knew very well that Li Chengqian could not be the one to ascend the throne and hold power. Even if Li Chengqian became the emperor, he would be the emperor emeritus in advance.
The situation now is very clear. From the day the Tiance General's Mansion was established, Li Shimin has been unable to control many aspects. Many princes have been sent out. No matter military power or civil affairs, these princes have no way to grasp them. From that time on, Li Shimin admitted defeat. It is not shameful to lose to his grandson.
