I inherited my grandfather's Tang Dynasty assets.

Chapter 23 First Meeting with Li Chengqian

"That's natural. I had heard of Shennong's name long ago, but I was young then, and by the time I grew up, he had already disappeared."

Du He nodded slightly, then took a deep breath and shouted loudly at the temple.

"Du He from Chang'an has accompanied His Highness the Crown Prince to visit the Shennong Envoy, hoping that the Shennong Envoy will grant him an audience."

Chen Yue, who was playing mahjong with Zhao Qimei inside the house, suddenly stood up and looked at Zhao Qimei with a strange expression.

"Seventh Sister, did I hear that right? Did you hear me?"

Zhao Qimei was startled and quickly stood up, her body trembling slightly.

"My lord, my lord, I think I heard the Crown Prince."

Although Zhao Qimei was illiterate, she wasn't so stupid as to not know who the Crown Prince was—the Emperor's son, the future Emperor.

For someone like her, they are like celestial beings, unattainable no matter what.

Chen Yue finally realized he hadn't misheard; it was indeed the Crown Prince and Du He.

"Du He from Chang'an accompanies His Highness the Crown Prince to visit the Shennong Envoy, hoping that the Shennong Envoy will grant him an audience."

Du He's voice rang out again outside the temple, and this time Chen Yue heard it clearly.

Seeing Zhao Qimei about to run away, he quickly called her back.

"Where are you going?"

"Young master, the Crown Prince is outside the temple. Disrespecting him will result in execution."

"Zhao Qimei said anxiously."

"Don't rush, let me think about it."

Chen Yue rubbed a two of bamboo in his hand, forcibly composing himself. He never expected that Crown Prince Li Chengqian would come over so suddenly, catching him completely off guard.

Now is not the time to meet with Li Chengqian. He is well aware that this Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty would rebel with Hou Junji and his gang two years later, in the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, and that Prince Wei, Li Tai, would not become emperor.

On the contrary, Li Zhi got a great deal.

He also knew that Li Chengqian's personality had changed drastically since he became lame, and according to historical records, he was completely mentally ill.

What if he makes some unreasonable demands that I can't meet and goes berserk, ordering me to be killed? I currently have no way to protect myself.

Li Chengqian outside the temple remained expressionless, but his hands, hanging down, slowly clenched, indicating that he was not at peace inside.

The dignified Crown Prince has condescended to visit, but the other party has avoided answering his call twice. So what if he is Shennong's envoy?

"Does he not wish to see me?"

Du He also frowned. He had specifically requested to come along, partly to see who this Shennong Envoy really was.

Secondly, it's an opportunity to build a good relationship with the other party; without meeting in person, everything is just empty talk.

"Your Highness, please calm down. Perhaps the Shennong Envoy didn't hear you, or perhaps he has other matters to attend to. Please allow me to call out again."

Inside the hall, Zhao Qimei was almost in tears. She had called out three times already. She knew that the Shennong Envoy held a high position, but the title "Crown Prince" was even more intimidating.

"Go, bring them in."

After careful consideration, Chen Yue made a decision. What is meant to be will be; if Li Chengqian came to visit in person, it would be a bad thing for him to be turned away.

Furthermore, the fact that the other party did not directly bring people in but instead followed his rules by announcing their presence outside the temple is enough to show that they had no malicious intent.

Choose the lesser of two options: let them in first, and then proceed step by step.

Zhao Qimei hurriedly ran out and saw the two young men outside the temple. She was so nervous that she couldn't speak. Although she didn't know which of the two was the crown prince, both of them exuded an air of nobility.

"Are you the maidservant who serves Shennong?"

Du He looked at Zhao Qimei. Before they came, they had carefully inquired about the situation and knew who Zhao Qimei was.

Li Chengqian glanced at her and asked.

"Is Shennong's messenger in the temple?"

Zhao Qimei was like someone who had fallen into the water suddenly surfacing. She caught her breath, nodded repeatedly, and immediately knelt down in worship.

"The young master is in the temple. Instruct this servant to invite His Highness the Crown Prince in."

Du He glanced at Li Chengqian out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was displeased because he was expressionless. He was too arrogant to send a maid to fetch him instead of coming in person.

The crown prince had never been treated so coldly before. Just as he was about to say something, the other person went in first.

Li Chengqian's left leg was not normal, and he walked with a limp.

Meanwhile, Chen Yue sat on the stool, his mind racing, trying to recall everything about Li Chengqian.

Their visit today is definitely not just a simple visit.

Li Chengqian was lame, as recorded in both the Old and New Books of Tang and the Zizhi Tongjian, where he was referred to as having a "foot ailment."

As to how he became lame, there are many different opinions in later generations, but the two most mainstream ones are:

One theory is that he fell from a horse when he was young, which should have happened in the early years of the Zhenguan era. Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, sought medical help from various sources and even asked a high-ranking Buddhist monk to pray for him, which shows how serious the injury was.

Secondly, it may be due to congenital heredity. Some scholars speculate that Li Shimin's family had a history of what appears to be "wind disease".

Chen Yue's biggest fear was that Li Chengqian would ask him to help heal his leg, but he had no such ability. In the event of Li Chengqian's rage, no one knew what he might do.

"Is this Li Chengqian?"

Chen Yue curiously sized up the other person, who was dressed in a reddish-yellow round-necked casual suit with a black sable fur coat over it, giving off a somewhat gloomy feeling.

Du He, standing to the side, was dressed in a dark blue robe with a leather belt around his waist and a sword hanging from his side, looking very heroic.

Otherwise, how could he have become a prince consort? His marriage to Princess Chengyang, the sixteenth daughter of Li Shimin, was scheduled for after the spring.

Li Chengqian and Du He were also sizing up Chen Yue, and their first impression of him was that he was different from everyone else.

They didn't sense any "respect" from Chen Yue's face. He sat at the table, sipping tea with a relaxed expression, as if he didn't take them seriously at all.

This immediately piqued Li Chengqian's interest. He had seen those so-called immortal cultivators before, but they all bowed and kowtowed to him, their words full of flattery and fawning.

"Are you the new Shennong envoy?"

Li Chengqian and Du He stepped into the room and looked around. Zhao Qimei quickly stood next to Chen Yue, looking extremely nervous.

"Seventh Sister, go and clean up the temple."

Seeing her like this, Chen Yue gave her an order to prevent the girl from causing trouble later.

Let alone Li Chengqian, even if Li Shimin were standing here, Chen Yue would still act the same way, partly to maintain his public image.

Most importantly, Chen Yue didn't know them. He grew up in modern society and was an outsider in the Tang Dynasty. Whether it was Li Chengqian or Li Shimin, Chen Yue only felt that they were figures in history books. Now that they were standing in front of him, he was just curious and interested.

"Your Highness, Prince Consort Du, please sit down and have a cup of tea."

Chen Yue did not get up, but simply smiled and pointed to the stool next to him.

Li Chengqian smiled and sat down with Du He in a very natural manner. There were still mahjong tiles on the table that had not been cleared away. Neither of them had seen them before, so Li Chengqian asked curiously.

"Shennong, what is this?"

Mahjong.

"Mahjong? What's it for?"

Li Chengqian picked one up and played with it for a moment, looking puzzled; he had never heard of it before.

"In Penglai, mahjong is a very popular game, or it can be called a gambling tool. I will stay in the Tang Dynasty for ten days.

"After Shennong City opens, we'll have to go back, which is rather boring. So I asked a carpenter down the mountain to make a set for my seventh sister to enjoy."