Chapter 29: The Emotional Kindness of Li Shimin

  Li Yunfei fell into deep thought after hearing Cheng Yaojin's words. What Cheng Yaojin said was right, he must stick to himself and not change because of external factors. Seeing Li Yunfei like this, Cheng Yaojin felt relieved that the young man was indeed clever and would surely achieve great things in the future. He didn't disturb Li Yunfei and sat down on one side to appreciate the scenery outside. For a while, the two men sat there silently, listening to the sound of car wheels rolling on the road.

  "Your Majesty, King of Qin! Old Man Cheng wishes you a thousand years of longevity! The Vermilion Bird Gate has arrived, please take a look!" The groom outside said respectfully to the inside, then the curtain was lifted and Li Yunfei stepped out first, looking at the high city gate in front. Li Yunfei felt deeply moved, this time entering the palace was completely different from the last time he left! Last time it was because of his love for his own life, wanting to leave early, but this time it was because he missed that lofty father emperor and also because of an important arrangement for his future!

  Li Yunfei and Cheng Yaojin went straight to the Taiji Palace, where Li Shimin usually stayed. When they arrived, an imperial attendant had already gone ahead to report their arrival. Thanks to Li Yunfei's golden token, they were able to pass through without any obstacles all the way to the front of the Taiji Palace. Just as they entered the Zhuque Gate, several informants went separately to Li Chengqian's palace and the Zhao State Duke's mansion of Longsun Wuji. They were all speculating about what business Li Yunfei had with the Emperor at this time.

  "Hush! The King of Qin, Duke Lu Guo is here to pay his respects!" A sharp voice rang out, causing Li Yunfei's body to involuntarily shiver, with goosebumps rising all over him. This voice was really unbearable!

  But Li Yunfei didn't dare to be presumptuous at this time, and together with Cheng Yaojin, he respectfully walked towards the gate of Taiji Palace. After all, they were going to pay their respects, so they didn't dare to make any improper moves!

  "The son (subject) pays homage to the Emperor (Your Majesty), wishing the Emperor a long life of tens of thousands of years!" Li Yunfei and Cheng Yaojin saw Li Shimin sitting upright at his desk, and simultaneously paid their respects. For this emperor, it was an unspoken, heartfelt reverence! At the same time, Li Yunfei had even more filial piety towards his father, and he willingly paid homage to Li Shimin.

  "Get up, young master! And you, Old Cheng, when did you become so well-versed in etiquette? It's truly astonishing!" Li Shimin put down the memorials he had finished reviewing and smiled as he looked at Li Yunfei and Cheng Yaojin. He was well aware of Li Yunfei's behavior over the past few days, but he hadn't expected him to have such deep longing for his mother. "May our love last long, a thousand miles shared under the same moon. What beautiful poetry! And it's written by my own son! Jing'er, our child is truly a genius!"

  "Haha! Isn't this the one who came with King Qin? As a senior, shouldn't I set an example for the younger generation? Haha! Haha! Haha! ...". Cheng Yaojin patted his own big belly and burst out laughing. Only those who had fought alongside Li Shimin to conquer the world could joke around with him like this. Of course, only an emperor like Li Shimin would allow them to do so, which is also the fundamental reason why he became a legendary emperor for all eternity.

  "Ha! Ha! Ha!..." Li Shimin saw Cheng Yaojin like this, and suddenly he also burst out laughing. Then he said to Li Yunfei: "Imperial son, what's going on? I heard that last night you composed another excellent piece! I didn't expect my imperial son to have such surprising talent, ha ha! My heart is very pleased, my heart is very pleased!" At this moment, Li Shimin was not the high and mighty emperor, but just a father of his son, a father who was delighted and proud to see his son achieve such great success.

  "Your Majesty is overpraising me, this is all due to Your Majesty's benevolence, I am not worthy of such praise!" Li Yunfei rarely saw Li Shimin so happy, he wasn't a fool, and naturally felt Li Shimin's love for him, so his emotions were also extremely agitated.

  "Good! Not arrogant, this is rare, at your age to achieve such achievements, enough to make you proud of yourself, but you didn't, Crown Prince, do you know? The Emperor is really happy!" Li Shimin was indeed very happy, the corners of his eyes involuntarily moistened, probably thinking of the happy days in the past. "Hey! Crown Prince, what's that thing behind you? Why has the Emperor never seen it before?"

  "Reporting to the Emperor! This is a new little thing I made, called a folding fan. It's used for decoration or cooling down!" Li Yunfei took out the folding fan from behind him and demonstrated how to use it to Emperor Taizong of Tang, then presented it to him for inspection.

  "This... this is! Jing'er!" Li Shimin was thoroughly shocked by the beautiful woman's fan painting. Who else could it be but his own Jing'er, whom he had been thinking about day and night? It's only after losing something that one realizes its value, and Li Shimin was just like that. His longing for the former empress had reached an unimaginable level, even in his dreams, he would call out her name. This made Empress Longsun very annoyed. She hadn't expected that she couldn't even compete with a dead person! Jing'er's death had taken the emperor's heart away with her!

  "Your Majesty, this is your son's true feelings, missing my mother so much that I painted her portrait on it... " Li Yunfei knew that Emperor Taizong of Tang also deeply missed his own mother, Empress Dugu, and that was why he lost his composure upon seeing the portrait.

  "Ah!..." The sudden exclamation calmed the excitement in his heart, and Li Shimin suddenly looked at Li Yunfei with piercing eyes. "Imperial son, you said this was your painting? Can you paint one for your father emperor? Your father emperor truly misses your mother empress!" As he spoke, Li Shimin's eyes had already welled up with tears. It seemed that his mother empress, whom he had never met, was indeed a remarkable person. Seeing Li Shimin like this, Li Yunfei didn't dare to decline.

  "Your Majesty, please put down your humble son. Your son will immediately draw for you, and this will also fulfill your long-cherished wish!" Li Shimin was also skilled in martial arts; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to conquer such a great empire. In his excitement, he grabbed Li Yunfei, who was also in pain!

  "Oh! The Emperor is out of sorts, quick, son, paint a picture for the Emperor to alleviate some of his worries!" Li Shimin's words made Li Yunfei smile wryly, he didn't think that this Emperor was still a rare romantic, but this point was quite similar to himself!

  "Yes! I'll go right away!" Li Yunfei tidied up the four treasures of the study, but before he could even start grinding the ink, Li Shimin snatched it away and personally started grinding the ink for Li Yunfei. Meanwhile, Cheng Yaojin couldn't help but feel like he was so redundant.

  "Is this Fei'er's handwriting? I really didn't expect it, Fei'er wrote a great poem, and the characters are so beautiful! The poem is good, but if it were written by my child, it wouldn't be good, there's no intention of going out into the world, instead, there's a strong desire to retreat from society! But being in the imperial family, Fei'er's wish cannot be fulfilled!"

  Li Shimin was finally able to take a closer look at the folding fan. When he saw the back side, he was immediately drawn in by the beautiful poem and the elegant calligraphy. Compared to the uniform font of today, Li Yunfei's handwriting gave people a fresh feeling, especially with the added flair of muscle and bone, making it very impressive!

  "Your Majesty, I've already drawn the portrait of Her Majesty!" Just as Emperor Taizong was captivated by this new font, Li Yunfei had finished painting the portrait. What an honor to have the great emperor himself grind ink for him! He was so excited that his brushstrokes seemed divine, and soon he completed the portrait. A stunning beauty leapt off the paper.

  "Imperial son, can you again write a poem on this painting for your father emperor to express my longing thoughts of your mother? Your handwriting is excellent, so I believe in you!" Li Shimin was deeply attracted by the person in the painting, which was more vivid than the one on the paper fan. In fact, it was also because Li Yunfei broke through his original painting skills due to emotional reasons and could add a hint of spirituality to his works!

  "Ah! I, your son, will definitely satisfy Your Majesty's requirements. The love you have for the Empress Dowager is something that I deeply respect!" Li Yunfei took a glance at Li Shimin, whose face was filled with expectation, and suddenly felt a surge of emotions. He then wrote on the side of the portrait: "Ten years of life and death, two vast expanses, not thinking about it, yet unable to forget."

  A thousand miles of desolate graves, nowhere to speak of the bleakness.

  Even if we meet, we should not recognize each other, dust fills our faces, and our hair is like frost.

  Last night I had a dream and suddenly returned home, in front of the small window, she was dressing up.

  Speechless, with only tears flowing in streams.

  "The year's sorrow is at its peak, on a clear moonlit night, by the short pines hill."

  Li Shimin saw this poem and was speechless for a long time, only the crystal at the corner of his eyes let Li Yunfei and Cheng Yaojin know that he was not as calm as he seemed on the surface!