Chapter 53: The Little Rascals

Li Kong was the last to arrive.

He stepped into the Zixia Hall almost exactly on time. As he entered, all the children in the room turned to look at him at once. Their faces were tender and innocent—the oldest among them no more than ten, some as young as five or six.

Li Kong gazed up at the heavens in silent exasperation. The future of the great Tang would soon rest in the hands of these little rascals.

“Brother Kong, you’re here! Come sit over here!” Li Chengqian had been waiting for some time, so before Li Kong could finish his silent lament, he was at Li Kong’s side, personally leading him to the seat at the upper left, seating him above all the other children.

Li Chengqian’s gesture filled the other children with envy. At this age, there still wasn’t much jealousy among them, except for two or three of the older ones.

Li Kong paid these two or three only a passing glance before ignoring them. After all, he had no intention of stooping to the level of fools destined to die in failed rebellions.

Indeed, the ones who looked at him with jealousy were none other than Du Ruhui’s son Du He and Hou Junji’s son—what was his name again? Hou something? Damn, he’d forgotten.

Fang Yiai’s gaze, on the other hand, was adorably clueless. It seemed he still didn’t understand what Li Chengqian’s gesture meant. Seeing his expression, Li Kong suddenly felt nostalgic. Damn, this was the look an eight-year-old should have! What was with everyone else?

“Now that everyone’s here, pass the word for the food to be served!” Li Chengqian, a little proud of himself, turned to the attendant beside him.

The attendant answered and left the Zixia Hall.

But Li Kong, watching the attendant’s departing figure, caught sight of Li Chengqian’s expression and felt a wave of helplessness. After all, he was still just a child. No matter how much you tried to cultivate him, that little bit of vanity was hard to erase. Still, with Li Shimin set to remain emperor for more than twenty years—and perhaps, if he intervened, even thirty—there was time enough.

After all, Li Shimin had a soldier’s bearing, his martial skills rivaling those of the generals, and his physical strength was beyond question. Yet he died in his fifties, still in his prime. The main reason, apart from some old wounds from his youth, was the devastating blow of Empress Zhangsun’s death. After she died, Li Shimin’s life was shrouded in gloom. History from his previous life had shown that after the tenth year of the Zhenguan era, Li Shimin waged war almost every year—not out of a love for battle, but to drown his grief for Empress Zhangsun in blood.

Worse yet, after her death, his sons, including Li Chengqian, seemed to erupt in a series of rebellious plots. After thirteen years of such strain, his fragile heart finally gave out, and he died.

But now, Li Kong was quietly handling these matters. At the very least, he would solve most of them, so Li Shimin ought to live another ten years or more. That would give him plenty of time to train Li Chengqian.

Of course, that raised another issue: Would Li Chengqian be willing to remain Crown Prince for so long? Over thirty years as heir apparent... Li Kong thought of the Kangxi Emperor’s crown prince in the Qing dynasty and shivered. He looked once more at the proud Li Chengqian and secretly wished: May you never walk that road.

In truth, he knew these worries were groundless. Li Chengqian’s temperament was much like Li Jiancheng’s—filial, valuing family. One could see it in how he treated his siblings and his parents. That was why Li Shimin considered him a ruler who could defend the city.

The imperial dishes were brought in, one after another. Besides the usual beef and lamb, there were pheasants and wild birds. What stunned Li Kong was the presence of no less than twenty bear paws.

When he saw the bear paws, Li Kong lost all interest in the other dishes. In his previous life, he’d killed bears before, but bear paw was a delicacy reserved for high-ranking officials; he’d only ever watched, drooling.

Even when he had to kill a bear on a mission, there was never the leisure to eat such a luxury—just staying alive was hard enough.

Li Kong, who prided himself on his worldly experience, swallowed hard and gave himself a mental slap. How pathetic—absolutely pathetic. He resolved to eat his fill later.

But just as the dishes were finished being served and Li Kong was about to pick up his chopsticks, two little brats came over holding wine cups. The older one was eight or nine, the younger five or six. Seeing their faces, Li Kong suddenly remembered someone.

“Brother Kong, do you still remember me? You used to play marbles with me!”

“And me, I... Brother Kong never played with me...”

“Huaimo, Huailiang, how could I not remember? What’s this—are you two little rascals trying to get me drunk?” Li Kong squinted at the brothers before him. At this age, Cheng Yaojin’s youngest son Cheng Huaibi couldn’t even walk yet—otherwise, there’d be three of them today.

Cheng Huaimo and Cheng Huailiang scratched their heads in embarrassment, then raised their cups to Li Kong. After downing their wine, they retreated, faces flushed.

But these two little brats set a very bad example. After they left, the rest of the children started coming up one after another to toast Li Kong, completely ignoring Li Chengqian at the head of the table. Li Kong couldn’t tell if they were doing it on purpose. If not, they really needed some discipline. If they were, seeing all those innocent faces, Li Kong felt like cursing their whole families. Damn it, could they not see that Li Chengqian’s face was growing sour?

Li Chengqian’s expression was indeed awkward, though not quite angry. He understood that ever since his uncle was killed by his father, many familiar faces had vanished from the Eastern Palace banquets, and Li Kong had never attended any of them, not even during Li Jiancheng’s time.

Moreover, this year Li Kong’s reputation had soared. Every one of his exploits earned the admiration of these children. Of course, they couldn’t even imagine—let alone admire—his solo exploits against the Turks. What impressed them most was that he had managed to escape completely unscathed from under Kong Yingda’s nose. That, to them, was a feat beyond belief.

So Li Chengqian understood that their actions were innocent enough. After all, they didn’t truly grasp what it meant for him to be crown prince.

In a few more years, they wouldn’t dare do this even if they had ten times the courage.

In fact, even Li Chengqian himself didn’t quite understand what attitude was due to the crown prince. In this regard, Gaozong Li Zhi was an absolute genius.

It was said that Li Zhi could flirt with girls at five and, by seven, acted like an adult demanding a wife. At that age, he was already hanging around with Wu Zhao, who had just become a noble consort. This bit of information had left Li Kong marveling for years.