LFHYB -Chapter 17 Lady Dou Nagging

After Lady Dou arrived, Yang Guang said little, letting her lead the children to pack; they would move into the Western Garden tomorrow.

Yang Guang wasn’t ignorant—he knew six-year-olds were delicate, and Lady Dou would surely remind them of everything.

He also specifically allowed Lady Dou to let each child keep two familiar servants; if anything was needed, they could ask.

As Lady Dou led the two children away, the three of them remained silent on the road.

Li Shimin felt the low pressure from his mother and kept moving closer to Li Xuanba, almost pressing him against the carriage wall.

Once they arrived at their temporary residence, Lady Dou opened the windows and doors and had the servants stay a little farther away before speaking: “Tell me everything that happened today.”

Li Shimin looked at Li Xuanba.

Lady Dou said: “Sanlang, if you’re tired, you can nap first. When the meal is ready, I’ll call you.”

Li Xuanba: “I can go with my brother…”

Lady Dou interrupted: “Go sleep now. You’re accompanying the carriage tomorrow; don’t get sick.”

Li Xuanba had no choice but to go sleep in the next room.

Li Shimin pouted: “Mother, that’s unfair.”

Lady Dou scolded: “You are the elder brother!”

Li Shimin hung his head.

Li Xuanba: **[Brother, besides the thing about Emperor Yang, you can tell Mother everything else honestly. I encouraged you to please the Emperor.]**

Li Shimin nodded and patted his chest.

Although Li Xuanba worried about his brother answering his mother alone, he was indeed tired and fell asleep instantly.

When he woke and returned to the next room, his elder brother looked like he was about to cry—he must have just been scolded, not beaten.

Li Xuanba stretched and sneaked a glance at their mother.

Lady Dou noticed and sighed, speaking irritably: “Sanlang, although Erlang takes all responsibility on himself, he isn’t the type to please others intentionally. Are you hiding something?”

All responsibility on himself? Li Xuanba paused, then helplessly said: “Brother, what did you say on the way back? Just tell Mother the truth.”

Li Shimin sniffled: “I’m your brother.”

“This stubbornness now…” Li Xuanba sighed and confessed to their mother: “I made him please His Majesty. The Emperor likes flattery, and since he’s our and my brother’s uncle, whether as a minister or junior, it’s not wrong to please him.”

Lady Dou sighed. “That’s true. But what’s this about archery? You both look so skilled—do you play this often at home?”

Li Xuanba nodded. “It’s fun.”

Lady Dou slammed her hand on the table. “How could the teacher who taught you archery let you do such a dangerous thing!”

She was both angry and anxious.

The children’s education had been arranged by her husband. Li Shimin and Li Xuanba were both precocious and sensible; she was busy attending to her mother-in-law, managing the daily life of the entire Duke Tang household, and socializing with other noblewomen, so she couldn’t oversee the boys every day.

She assumed that the two children were strong-willed and wouldn’t want to be asked about things constantly. She only carved out some time each day to chat with them, ask if anyone had bullied them, if they needed anything, and to read with them a little.

Who would have thought that the two boys would play such a dangerous game at home?!

Although the arrows had no tips and the bows were merely children’s toy bows—so hitting someone wasn’t actually dangerous—what if they got hurt?!

Li Xuanba and Li Shimin exchanged a glance.

Clearly, they had both assumed their mother would be angry at them for shamelessly trying to flatter the Emperor. They never expected that her anger was solely about their archery game.

Li Xuanba thought: **[You’ve been apologizing to Mother all this time, and you didn’t even realize what she was actually angry about?!]**

Li Shimin said nothing.

He scratched his head and asked, “Mother, so you weren’t angry that we were trying to please our uncle?”

Lady Dou said, “He is the Emperor. If you have the skill to win his favor, that’s a good thing.” Although she was cautious of the Emperor, her caution meant doing things to put him at ease—similar in some ways to what the children were doing to gain his favor.

Li Shimin asked, “Then why were you repeatedly questioning me? I thought you were angry.”

Once he realized that his mother wasn’t angry about that, Li Shimin straightened his little chest, no longer feeling wronged.

Of course! Trying to please the Emperor and their uncle is perfectly normal! Look at all the rewards Xuanba and I got! Mother should praise us!

Lady Dou tapped her son lightly on the head. “I was just trying to scare you a little. Even though His Majesty has rewarded you, remember: being with the Emperor is like being near a tiger. One can never predict his heart. Don’t think your clever tricks will work every time. Now that you will be accompanying him, you must be careful and cautious.”

Li Shimin lowered his head. “Yes, Mother.”

Li Xuanba said, “Mother, I’m hungry. Can we stop the questioning and eat?”

Seizing the opportunity while Mother was distracted by the second brother, he quickly shifted the topic away from the archery game.

Lady Dou glanced at Li Xuanba, smoothed the third son’s messy hair, and asked, “You haven’t explained yet—why did you two play such a dangerous game? Didn’t the teacher stop you? Do you know how dangerous this was?”

Li Shimin and Li Xuanba exchanged another glance.

Sigh. They hadn’t managed to change the topic after all.

Just as Li Shimin was about to take the blame himself, Li Xuanba spoke first: “It was our fault. We thought arrows without tips weren’t dangerous, so we often played the sharpshooter game.”

He looked down at his toes. “I started first. Second Brother is very skilled with archery—almost every shot hits. So I held the target and ran around, letting him shoot at a moving target. It’s just… it’s fun.”

Li Xuanba truly played the game because it was fun.

He knew how famous Li Shimin was in history as a master archer. Seeing his second brother now hitting every shot even with a beginner’s toy bow, he couldn’t resist goofing around.

During their play, Li Xuanba would wave the target up, down, left, and right, and Li Shimin would chase it with his bow—this was their most common game.

Li Shimin was confident in his own archery, and Li Xuanba even more so, yet since the bows had no tips, neither had thought about the danger.

“I also often shot at Second Brother with my bow,” Li Xuanba admitted shyly. “But half my arrows missed the target. When Second Brother held the target, he would dodge my misses and push the target toward my arrows at the same time.”

Li Shimin added, “It’s really fun! Ouch.”

Lady Dou tapped Li Shimin’s head again, half exasperated, half amused. “You just took your usual games and used them to win the Emperor’s favor?”

Li Xuanba nodded.

Hearing that Emperor Yang of Sui would take him and his second brother to Jiangdu, Li Xuanba summoned all his energy to get his brother to show off their trump card, so they could have more freedom on the dragon boat.

Emperor Yang was famously fond of hunting. If the second brother demonstrated his archery skills, it would surely win the Emperor’s favor.

Li Xuanba could also muster the energy to play the target, so he wouldn’t fall asleep.

After the game, they could even use the excuse of being exhausted from archery and target-holding to ask the Emperor, who had kept them entertained without rest, to let them take a break.

Lady Dou truly didn’t know what to do with these two children.

She had been furious at the time, but after calming down, she approved of the boys’ “performance” to amuse the Emperor.

Though Lady Dou had a strong sense of pride, she was rational. She knew that showing pride toward the Emperor would likely earn his dislike.

The two boys didn’t need to worry about face, and besides, the Emperor was their uncle. Pleasing an elder is filial; it would be seen as a good deed if spread around.

But the archery game was still too dangerous.

“I’ll make you helmets and leather armor. From now on, if you want to play, wear protection first.” After lightly striking their palms five times as a punishment, she said, “Those skilled at swimming are most likely to drown. Even if you’re confident, you must prepare for injury. Understand?”

Li Shimin and Li Xuanba had originally planned to stop playing archery games in the future, so they were surprised that their mother allowed them to continue.

Li Shimin clung to Lady Dou and whined, “Mother, can Xuanba and I continue to play?”

Lady Dou sighed. “Both of you are ambitious and proud. You will want to make your own way in the world. Erlang, you will certainly go to the battlefield. Sanlang, even if you don’t, you need to have some means of self-protection. It’s far better for you two to learn archery and dodge arrows from a young age than to wait until the battlefield.”

She patted the heads of the two children and said, “I suppose your master allowed you to play this game for the same reason.”

Perhaps her husband had long known about it too, but regarding martial training, he simply didn’t see the need to tell her.

Li Shimin nuzzled his mother’s cheek. “Mother, don’t worry. I am extremely, extremely capable. In the future, I’ll surely gain another title and bring both you and A-Xuan along to my residence to enjoy a comfortable life.”

Lady Dou chuckled. “Just bring the Sanlang along; that’s enough.”

“No, no! I want Mother, and A-Xuan wants Mother too!” Li Shimin protested, refusing to relent. “A-Xuan, say something!”

Li Xuanba nodded. “Brother is right.”

He still hadn’t fully processed that their mother could think so far ahead for them. And that she could even predict that this brief “prosperous era” would eventually end?

At this time, nobody believed that another unified dynasty, lasting over a hundred years like the Han, would appear again.

“All right, weren’t you hungry? Are you going to eat or not?” Lady Dou smiled. “After we finish eating, I’ll talk to you about how to get along with the Empress.”

Alas, how could she explain to two six-year-old children that the Empress wished to marry into their family?

After a hearty meal, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba lay on Lady Dou’s lap, listening as she gently instructed them on what to pay attention to while accompanying the Emperor.

Lady Dou mainly listed who around the Emperor was upright and who had a good relationship with their father and could protect the two boys.

Li Xuanba closed his eyes and matched the names his mother mentioned with his own memory.

During the Yang Guang’s visit to Jiangdu, most of the attendants were from the imperial clan. He marked the names of Prince Teng Yang Lun and Prince Wei Yang Ji with special emphasis.

After Yang Guang ascended the throne, perhaps due to rumors of patricide, he distrusted the imperial clan and almost wished to annihilate them entirely. Prince Teng Yang Lun and Prince Wei Yang Ji were the first to suffer; the incident would likely occur during the Jiangdu visit.

He and his second brother had to avoid these two branches of the clan.

As she spoke, Li Xuanba fell asleep again.

Li Shimin whispered, “Brother is even snoring.”

Lady Dou said, “Sanlang must be very tired. Erlang, on the dragon boat, you need to control yourself a bit and take good care of your brother.”

Li Shimin replied, “Don’t worry, Mother.”

Lady Dou continued, “The Emperor has the best physicians and the finest medicines. Since he already favors you, don’t hesitate. Do your best to find the best doctors and medicines, and have your brother’s health checked every day.”

Li Shimin said, “I remember. Hehe, if we miss this chance, even in our Duke Tang Mansion it won’t be easy to have imperial doctors examine A-Xuan every day.”

A faint smile appeared on Lady Dou’s face. Perhaps this was the only thing about their accompanying the Emperor that could truly reassure her heart.

“I’ve told the Empress you are weak, so you must play along,” Lady Dou said. “If the Empress insists on asking about marriage, just say you’re too young to understand, and everything is decided by your parents.”

Li Shimin said, “That’s exactly how it should be.”

Lady Dou continued, “If the Empress speaks ill of the Zheng family of Xingyang in front of you, under no circumstances should you agree with her.”

Li Shimin nodded. “All remembered.”

Lady Dou, still worried, repeated everything once more.

Although Li Shimin was sleepy, he insisted on listening to the end, repeatedly assuring his mother that he had absorbed it all.

Only when he could no longer stay awake, yawning repeatedly, did Lady Dou reluctantly carry the children to bed.

Lady Dou rose to prepare their luggage and select loyal servants to protect them.

The next day, Yang Guang didn’t send anyone to hurry them. After breakfast, Lady Dou escorted Li Shimin and Li Xuanba into the traveling palace.

When they saw Yang Guang, they both called out, “Uncle!”—making Lady Dou twitch at the corner of her eye.

Especially Li Xuanba, whose spoiled expression was almost identical to Li Shimin’s, caused Lady Dou to curl her toes in surprise.

She hadn’t expected her Sanlang to have such a trick. Perhaps now she could be a little more at ease.

After escorting the two children into the traveling palace, Lady Dou immediately returned by boat to Xingyang to inform Li Yuan.

She was wary of the Emperor and didn’t dare send word to Li Yuan in advance, fearing the Emperor might misunderstand her approval of the children accompanying him.

Lady Dou said, “Erlang and Sanlang said that His Majesty complains you are stingy, and whenever you obtain fine horses, you don’t give him any.”

Li Yuan chuckled. “The young lord holds the world in his hands, yet he’s still thinking about my horses?”

Lady Dou, realizing she couldn’t make Li Yuan wary of the Emperor, shifted her approach. “His Majesty allowed the children to call him Uncle; it seems he treats our family as relatives. And relatives should exchange gifts properly; wealth shouldn’t reduce etiquette.”

Li Yuan pondered for a moment, still shaking his head. “His Majesty is His Majesty. How can I treat him like an ordinary relative? If I offer him treasures, people might say I’m currying favor or bribing him, which would harm my reputation.”

Lady Dou sighed inwardly.

It’s good that her husband valued his reputation, but placing too much importance on vanity is a burden.

In this regard, the Eldest Son had learned from his father.

She thought of Erlang and Sanlang working so hard to please the Emperor. Compared to them, her husband and eldest son weren’t as perceptive.

“But now Erlang and Sanlang are with His Majesty; perhaps you should still send some gifts. If you do nothing, His Majesty might think you don’t care for them,” Lady Dou added, taking a step back.

This time, Li Yuan was persuaded. “That’s true. I should send some gifts and ask His Majesty to look after Erlang and Sanlang. Alas, they’re only six years old. How could you let His Majesty keep them close, even heading south with them? What if they can’t adjust to the climate and water?”

Lady Dou lowered her head. “It’s my fault for raising Erlang and Sanlang to be too lovable.”

Li Yuan: “……”

He laughed out loud. “Well, indeed. It is the fault of Erlang and Sanlang being too lovable.”

Li Yuan also knew that his wife couldn’t stop the Emperor’s decision. He just couldn’t complain about the Emperor, so he could only complain about his wife instead.

After Lady Dou pushed back her suggestion, he didn’t get angry and simply went along with her words.

Moreover, Li Yuan was very proud—his second and third sons were naturally charming; there was nothing he could do about it.

“After this experience accompanying the emperor, I’m sure many aristocratic families and sons of the nobility will want to get to know Erlang and Sanlang. Perhaps we should prepare little notes about them in advance,” Li Yuan said enthusiastically. “Madam, do you have any ideas?”

Lady Dou replied, “My husband, let’s put that aside for now. There is another matter that’s very important and must be dealt with immediately. The Empress, having heard of Erlang and Sanlang’ talents, wishes for them to marry the daughters of the Lanling Xiao family.”

Li Yuan was momentarily taken aback, then frowned. “Does she still find the Lanling Xiao family insufficiently prominent? When descendants of noble families intermarry with powerful clans, isn’t that practically inviting the emperor’s caution?”

Though Li Yuan trusted the emperor, he was not foolish—he understood political sensitivities.

He also knew about the friction between regional aristocratic families and more recently risen clans.

The Empress, upon hearing that Erlang and Sanlang had surpassed the Zheng family of Xingyang, immediately sought to ally with them through marriage. Clearly, she intended to pull the two boys into the struggle between regional and newly prominent families.

“She’s overconfident,” Li Yuan sighed. “I hope this doesn’t trouble the Crown Prince. He is such a fine heir.”

Lady Dou nodded and sighed in agreement. The Crown Prince Yang Zhao was indeed wise and benevolent—almost unlike a member of the Yang family.

Li Yuan said, “As for Erlang’s marriage, it must be from the captured clans. Ask your family if there is a suitable girl, and I’ll inquire with my colleagues as well.”

Lady Dou asked, “And Sanlang?”

Li Yuan fell silent.

After a while, he sighed, “Let Sanlang grow a bit older. Next year, if he doesn’t suffer another serious illness, I will find him a virtuous and capable daughter from an official family. Her background doesn’t need to be high; she must be able to take care of Sanlang.”

Hearing the love for his sons in Li Yuan’s words, Lady Dou’s expression softened. “Given Sanlang’s personality, an overly virtuous wife might not suit him. He is weak; his bride must be lively, able to stand firm, and protect him.”

Li Yuan couldn’t help but laugh and groan: “Since when does a wife protect her husband?”

Lady Dou playfully retorted, “Why not?”

Li Yuan said, “Yes, yes, yes,” not wishing to quarrel with a woman.

…

Since the emperor had mentioned his fine horses, Li Yuan sent two stallions and a hunting hawk to the emperor.

When Yang Guang received Li Yuan’s gifts, he smiled at Li Shimin and Li Xuanba: “Your father has finally loosened his purse strings once. Not easy at all.”

Li Xuanba looked at the gifts and sighed inwardly.

Why only so little? It seems father still hasn’t understood.

He truly won’t learn unless he hits a wall. Must he wait over a decade and only try to please Emperor Yang at the very end of the Daye era?

It seems it will still require effort from him and Second Brother.

Because Li Shimin and Li Xuanba kept complaining about their “stingy father,” Yang Guang replaced the impression that “Li Yuan is disloyal to me” with “Li Yuan is just stingy.”

Although Li Yuan’s gifts were “stingy,” at least he gave them. Yang Guang’s suspicion toward Li Yuan lessened somewhat, preparing to give him a chance to redeem himself later.

That would come later.

On the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, Yang Guang traveled south to Jiangdu for the first time.

Jiangdu would later become the city of Yangzhou.

In the ninth year of the Kaihuang reign, Emperor Wen of Sui renamed Wuzhou as Yangzhou and established its administration in Jiangdu. Yang Guang had served as governor of Yangzhou for over a decade. It was his stronghold.

This visit back to Jiangdu, besides political motives to stabilize the south, was also a chance for him to “return in glory” to his old home.

After ascending the throne, Yang Guang immediately upgraded Jiangdu to the status of “Jingyin” and completed the Tongji Canal connecting Luoyang and Jiangdu.

Now, as emperor, returning to his “old ground,” his pride and excitement were almost overflowing.

The dragon boat Yang Guang boarded was two hundred zhang long, forty-five zhang high, with four levels. The top deck housed the emperor’s residence and council hall; the two middle decks contained 110 lavishly decorated rooms for ministers and concubines summoned onto the dragon boat; the bottom deck was for waiting palace maids and eunuchs.

Empress Xiao’s boat, the Xiangchi, was similarly structured but scaled down relative to the dragon boat. Li Shimin and Li Xuanba followed Empress Xiao, staying in the top deck’s main hall.

As the dragon boat fleet slowly set off, the two boys leaned over the railing, marveling at the scenery along both banks.

Empress Xiao sat beside them, smiling, warning them to be careful.

The empress’ own sons were already of age, and her grandsons were still too young to leave their mothers. Though attended by some princesses, she still felt a void at her knees.

Li Shimin and Li Xuanba, delicate and intelligent, perfectly filled the gap in her heart.

Li Xuanba was indeed weak. Li Shimin, though usually lively and healthy, would also suddenly feel fatigued after prolonged activity.

As Lady Dou had said, the twins had some congenital shortcomings.

Empress Xiao abandoned the idea of marrying them into her family but grew even more fond of the two boys.

Li Shimin and Li Xuanba gradually tested Empress Xiao’s “boundaries.” On the Xiangchi, their status was almost that of princes.

Li Shimin whispered to Li Xuanba, “I thought the boat was paddled. How come it’s being pulled by people?”

Li Xuanba: **[The entire dragon boat fleet requires over eighty thousand laborers to pull. The emperor’s large dragon boat alone needs a thousand men to move it.]**

Li Shimin blinked.

Looking at the dense line of laborers along the shore, his excitement faded.

He poked Li Xuanba and whispered, “A-Xuan, they look so pitiful.”

Li Xuanba glanced at his elder brother and then around the Xiangchi.

It wasn’t just them noticing the laborers along the shore.

Everyone seeing the spectacular view showed pride and satisfaction—even the palace maids and eunuchs.

“Yes,” Li Xuanba said. “Second Brother, the wind is strong. Let’s go into the cabin.”

Li Shimin nodded. “Okay.”

He informed Empress Xiao and, holding his brother’s hand, left the deck.

Before leaving, Li Shimin looked back once more.

The laborers were already pulling the ropes, shouting in unison as they strained to move the boat.

Officials wielding whips struck them sharply on the back, urging them to increase their pace.

On the boat they were riding, music and dance performances had already begun.

Ahead, the emperor’s dragon boat carried the sound of war drums, as if performing rousing battle music.

From the boats behind them came laughter. Monks and Daoist priests sang Buddhist and Daoist chants, praising the strength of the Sui dynasty.

Li Shimin turned his gaze forward and led his younger brother into the room in the Xiangchi Palace designated for the two brothers.

All this commotion wasn’t worth watching—it was better to take a nap with his brother.