Chapter 55: Taming Li Tai

  "What is the six gifts?" Zhangsun Chong was furious, how could this old man Li ask for bribes to his face.

  Mr. Li's face turned black, he had said it so clearly, just wanting to put the master-apprentice relationship between the two into practice, and was so angry that he puffed out his chest and glared, saying: "Go home and ask your dad!" Such a superficial custom, he didn't even know, nor did he know if his decision today was correct.

  Li Lao Fuzi had thought the kid was quite good just now, but he didn't even know the six rites? Doesn't he want to make me his master? Li Gang was so angry that he flung his sleeve and left. Today's lesson with Li Lao Fuzi is over, next it's Kong Yingda's turn to teach, lecturing on "The Analects".

  Li Chengqian and Li Ke, the two of them saw that not only was their elder brother able to respond fluently, but he could also compose poems on the spot that moved Li Lao Fuzi's heart. Suddenly they felt envious and jealous, with all sorts of emotions surging up.

  "Great elder brother, you're really impressive!" Li Chengqian turned around and praised Zhangsun Chong.

  "Yes, big brother, I and my brother have never seen Old Master Li smile before, today is really an eye-opener." Li Ke had stayed at the Changsun family's estate for three months and was very familiar with and fond of this big brother.

  "Where, where! Study hard and you will be eloquent like me when you grow up," said Zhangsun Chongxun modestly.

  "Hmph, what's so great about that!" A sharp, childish voice came over, and without guessing, it was obvious that the voice belonged to none other than the eccentric kid Li Tai.

  Logically speaking, Li Tai should look like a member of the Zhangsun family and should be close to Zhangsun Chong. However, from the moment Zhangsun Chong entered, Li Tai had been gloomily staring at him. I mean, a child who is only six years old and hasn't even started elementary school yet, how can he have such an expression? He's so mature for his age, could it be that he's also a time-traveler?

  "Fourth brother, how can you say that about big elder brother? Hurry up and apologize to big elder brother." Li Ke frowned and said in a soft voice.

  Li Taiyi was furious, and scolded: "What are you? How dare you lecture me? You're just my elder brother's lackey! Who is your cousin? Your cousin is surnamed Yang, and he's still herding sheep in the Turks' place!"

  Li Tai's sentence "Your elder brother is surnamed Yang", when heard by Li Ke, was a heart-piercing remark! His mother was the former Princess of Sui, so his elder brother was naturally the son of Emperor Yang Guang of Sui. Li Ke wanted to retort, but what Li Tai said were all facts, and he could only flush red with anger, not knowing what to say.

  Li Chengqian walked up to Li Tai and said, "Qingque, quickly apologize to Ke'er. No matter what kind of older cousin he is, he is after all our brother, my third younger brother, your third older brother!"

  "I won't!" Li Tai's stout body turned around, completely ignoring Li Chengqian.

  Li Chengqian raised his hand to hit Li Tai, but was stopped by Li Ke, who shook his head and said: "Big brother, Qing Que is still young, so don't hit him."

  "He's small, but how can he say such hurtful words?" Li Chengqian was furious, his whole body trembling with rage. He pushed Li Ke away and slapped Li Tai on the buttocks, "Apologize!"

  "Not fair!" Li Tai rubbed his butt in discontent.

  Li Chengqian hit Li Tai again and said: "Apologize!"

  "I refuse!"

  Li Chengqian slapped Li Tai's buttocks again and said more severely: "Apologize!"

  Li Tai couldn't help but burst into tears and said: "I'm going to tell Mother, you hit me, you and He Gong bullied me!"

  Li Chengqian was about to hit again, Li Ke hastily pulled him back and said: "Big brother, don't hit anymore, Empress Dowager will be very angry if she knows we brothers are fighting."

  "But he still doesn't know to repent!" Li Chengqian saw Li Tai crying so sorrowfully and also felt heartache, but earlier Li Tai's words were really extremely excessive. At such a young age, he can already say such piercing words, when he grows up, who knows how much more vicious he'll become!

  Chang Sun-chong worried that things would get out of hand, so he picked up Li Tai and used his sleeve to wipe away Li Tai's tears. He said, "Cheng-qian, Ke-er, you two continue with your lessons. I'll take Qing-ju back to the Li Zheng Hall. Qing-ju is only a five-year-old child, how could he possibly say such vicious words? Someone must be whispering in his ear. These people are trying to drive a wedge between you brothers."

  Changsun Chong had already decided to use all the power of the Changsun household to support Li Chengqian, but he also did not wish for Li Tai, who was about his own age, to end up in a tragic situation. Seeing that Li Tai was still young, he thought of ways to straighten him out.

  "Big brother, big uncle, it's all because I talked too much." Li Ke was worried that he would be punished when he got to the empress dowager's place, and his heart was uneasy.

  "Li Ke, don't worry, today was indeed Qing Que's fault, the Empress Dowager won't blame you." Li Cheng Qian comforted Li Ke and sat back down in his seat, waiting for Kong Ying Da's arrival.

  Changsun Chong held Li Tai and did not go directly to the Zhengzheng Hall of Empress Changsun, but came to the Taiye Pond, where Li Tai was thrown into it, sobbing.

  Chang Sun stretched out his hand, broke off a branch from an unknown tree beside him, and handed it to Li Tai, saying: "Green Sparrow, can you break this branch?"

  Li Tai, although being held in the arms of his elder brother, still hadn't forgotten that he had been beaten. The ultimate reason was that he couldn't stand how talented his elder brother was, and with a bad temper, pouting, said: "Father Emperor praises me as the brave warrior of Great Tang, naturally I can break this small wooden stick."

  Li Tai's two hands exerted force, "crack" sounded, and broke off. He looked at Zhangsun Long with a pleased expression, his face saying "Praise me, hurry up and praise me".

  "Great, the green bird is very powerful." Zhang Sun Chong praised, then picked two more from the tree, "Can you break them like this?"

  "Of course!" Li Tai received Chang Sun-chung's praise and had already forgotten the contradiction earlier, using both hands to forcefully break off a branch.

  Chang Sun-chung put together the already broken branches, now there are six of them, thicker than Li Tai's arm, and said: "Can you break these?"

  Li Tai looked at Zhangsun Chong with a silly expression and said: "Of course!"

  Li Tai took it, both hands exerting force, but the branch in his hand was fine, not moving at all, and couldn't be broken. He twisted his body, came out of Zhangsun Chong's arms, stood on the ground, slightly bent his waist, and used force again, but still couldn't break it.

  Li Tai's face turned red, feeling he had just boasted.

  Chang Sun Chong pretended not to see Li Tai's embarrassed expression, took the six branches from Li Tai's hand and continued: "This thicker one represents your eldest brother, this one represents your second brother Li Kuan, this one represents your third brother Li Ke, this one is you, this one is Li Yu, and this one is Zhi Nu. A single branch can be easily broken, but when put together, it cannot be broken. Do you understand the reasoning behind it?"

  Li Tai looked at Zhangsun Chong with a thoughtful expression, then said in a soft voice: "Big brother is saying that we brothers, alone and single, are easily defeated, but united together, will not be so easily defeated!"

  Chang Sun was astonished, he had already prepared to explain the profound meaning to Li Tai, but unexpectedly this young Li Tai had already understood it himself. What a prodigy! At such a young age, he is so intelligent, no wonder Emperor Taizong of Tang doted on him even more than his elder brother Li Chengqian.

  It was precisely because of this that Li Tai's personal desires, under the indulgence of Li Er, went further and further, to the point where he contended with his elder brother for the throne, ending in a situation where he lost both his body and his reputation.

  "Now that you know the truth, tell me, were the words you spoke to your third brother Li Ke today wrong?" Changsun felt a surge of emotions, after all, Li Tai was still young and malleable, as long as he was guided properly, Li Tai wouldn't have ended up in such a tragic situation.

  Li Tai nodded, his face showing an unnatural expression, and said in a low voice: "I was wrong, I shouldn't have said those words, making Third Brother feel uncomfortable."

  "You are close brothers, both of your father's bloodline. From now on, you absolutely cannot say such things. Besides these, what else is there?" Chang Sun asked.

  "It shouldn't be that I'm jealous of Big Brother being smarter than me!" Li Tai lowered his head and didn't dare to look up.

  "Well, okay. To know that there are people outside of people, and heavens beyond heaven, when you encounter someone who is more formidable and smarter than you, you can admire them, you can envy them, but you cannot be arrogant and self-conceited, only attacking the other person without knowing how to improve your own strength." Zhang Sun explained, since Li Tai was able to understand his words, he would say a bit more today.