章 11: You truly need a punishment
Emperor Xiangwei greeted his mother, who took the seat to the right of him. Empress Dowager looked for her grandsons, who just entered the palace ground. All four princes came to the raised platform to greet the Emperor, Empress, and Grand Empress Dowager.
"All the princes have grown a lot. I feel soon we need to search for suitable matches for them," Grand Empress Dowager said and smiled looking at her grandsons. Emperor Tang Xiangwei agreed with his mother and asked his brothers if he started looking for good proposals.
"I thought before us the Crown Princess would get married," Wangjie said and looked at Jia Li.
"Why is Brother Wangjie concerned about my marriage?" Jia Li asked.
"Well, not only I am. But everyone in the Empire is concerned about my sister's marriage. I heard grandmother has sent a proposal to Sister Jia Li," Wangjie stated.
"What kind of proposal did Mother send this time?" Emperor Xiangwei asked with enthusiasm. As a father he also wanted his daughter to get married soon.
"I think the State Minister's son, Cao Jun, is a good choice for the Crown Princess, Your Majesty," Grand Empress Dowager replied.
"Cao Jun is indeed a great young man. I met him a few days ago. The intellectual he carries is remarkable," Emperor Xiangwei said and gazed at his daughter, "if the Crown Princess meets him, she will definitely like him."
Grand Empress Dowager smiled to hear that. "I am glad that His Majesty is also happy with this marriage proposal. I hope the Crown Princess does not disappoint me this time," she asserted.
"Don't worry, Mother. Jia Li will say yes this time," Emperor Xiangwei said and gazed at his daughter. He hoped Jia Li would not refuse to marry this time, but he did not want to force his daughter into this. In the end, his daughter's happiness mattered to him the most.
Jia Li gazed at her father momentarily. She felt that her father also desired her to be married. She wished choosing the groom for her was easy. Moreover, she could not get entangled with a man when she was unaware of the enemies around her.
"Chief General Lee Shimin and his family are here, Your Majesty," the Enunch pronounced.
Lee Shimin presented the silk tapestry to the Emperor. Xiangwei smiled brightly to see the art and asked Lee Shimin if the art represented their first mighty battle in the Northern Hills.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I remember His Majesty was twenty-two that year and he looked magnificent after that victory. That is why I decided to present His Majesty this tapestry artwork since this victory holds a special place in his heart," Lee Shimin explained to him.
"It is wonderful!" Emperor Xiangwei liked the silk tapestry and asked Eunuch Yang to place it in his study chamber. Eunuch Yang bowed and instructed two palace servants to take the tapestry to the Emperor's chamber.
"Are these the Chief General's sons?" Grand Empress Dowager asked, gazing at Lee Yujin and Lee Zhongshu.
"Where is the eldest one? Did he not come?" Emperor Xiangwei asked as he did not find Lee Xianwu around.
Lee Shimin wondered where his eldest son suddenly left. He had told Xianwu to stay close to him, but again he ignored him.
Wangjie felt happy that Xianwu was not around since he did not like him a bit.
"This is Lee Yujin and this is Lee Zhongshu, Your Majesty," Lee Shimin said and gazed at his sons proudly. They both bowed to the Emperor and wished him a healthy and great life.
Jia Li squinted her eyes in suspicion and wondered why Lee Shimin's eldest son was not around. Perhaps he was the one who would provide poison to the servant around them. She ended up asking Lee Shimin if his son already left the palace without attending the ceremony. "Isn't it like the disrespect toward my father? He invited everyone from General Lee's family," Jia Li stated.
Lee Shimin felt humiliated because of the absence of Lee Xianwu.
"He must be with the other noblemen's sons, Your Royal Highness," Lee Shimin came with an excuse.
"It is alright. Lee Shimin should take a seat with his family. Eunuch Yang will show them their respective seats," Emperor Xiangwei said. Jia Li decided to search for Lee Shimin's eldest son, but she did not even know his face. Chen Xin saw the worried look on her face and came to her. He leaned down and asked her if she was alright.
"Who is Lee Shimin's eldest son? I need to find him," Jia Li stated.
"Even I do not know. It is tough to find him among so many people," Chen Xin answered in a low voice.
"I think he must be somewhere in the palace," Jia Li whispered and asked Chen Xin not to let the Emperor drink or eat anything without him checking it. He hummed in response and took a step back when Jia Li told her mother she would be back soon. Mingxia wondered where her daughter was heading and looked at Chen Xin in anxiousness.
Jia Li asked the palace attendants if they saw any noble entering the inner palace. However, hardly anyone of them saw any such person. The officials and nobles were only on the palace ground as per their observation.
Eunuch Jinlun saw Jia Li and went to her. "Is everything alright, Your Royal Highness?" he asked.
"Ah, yes. Did Eunuch Jinlun see any young nobleman roaming around?" Jia Li inquired him.
"All the nobles are supposed to be in the palace ground. I did not see anyone coming in this direction who does not belong to the palace, Your Royal Highness," Eunuch Jinlun answered humbly. "Is there any trouble?" he then asked.
"No," Jia Li refused. "I was looking for the Chief General's eldest son. Does Eunuch Jinlun know what he looks like?" Jia Li questioned.
"I think I did see him earlier. He was on the palace ground, Your Royal Highness," Eunuch Jinlun replied. Jia Li felt something was off. During the day, Wangjie met Lee Shimin's eldest son. She thanked Eunuch Jinlun and went ahead in the corridor to enter the main palace. Because everyone was gathered on the palace ground, hardly anyone could be seen in the main palace.
She reached the highest pavilion from where the majority of parts of the main palace were visible when her eyes fell on a man in the royal garden. "Why does he look different? His clothes are strange too," she muttered. Without wasting any second, Jia Li rushed to the royal garden to check.
Once she entered there, she saw the same man whom she had encountered in the morning. "What are you doing here?" Jia Li said in a loud voice.
Lee Xianwu turned to look at her with a green medicinal plant, Chinese goldthread, in his hand.
"You?!" Jia Li was dubious to see the same man again for the third time. "You truly need a punishment. How dare you come here?" Her stern tone felt intimidating. Jia Li looked around so that she could find a servant and ask him to drag the man to the prison.
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