Time Travel: I am the idle king Li Shen and Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty

When Li Shen took a bath and changed his clothes and came to the study, the butler Wei Fugui had been waiting for a long time.

Seeing Li Shen coming in, he quickly stepped forward and saluted:

"I've met the prince."

"Well, no courtesy."

Li Shen nodded and got on the bed. Li Shen's wives and concubines all followed him, and they also wanted to hear about their mother-in-law.

On the bed, Li Shen lay on Lu Dingniang's legs, with his feet on Wu Meiniang's legs, enjoying the massage from the women.

"Fugui, you have followed my mother for many years, so you must know about her past, right?"

Li Shen asked directly.

"My Lord, I do know some things, but not all. This is because I was separated from the Imperial Concubine for a while.

Later, I found the imperial concubine." Wei Fugui bowed and replied.

"Getting separated?" Li Shen was stunned. How could they get separated?

Seeing Prince Ji's doubts, Wei Fugui explained:

"My Lord, when Li Zixiong, the former Minister of Revenue of the Sui Dynasty, joined Yang Xuangan in an uprising against the Sui Dynasty, he was defeated. Both Li's father and son were executed, and their property was confiscated.

The imperial concubine suffered greatly from this and was thrown into prison, and the old servant was also driven out of the Li Mansion.

After a long time, and after many twists and turns, I learned that the imperial concubine had arrived in Luoyang, and I went to look for her. "

"I see, Fugui, since you know so much about my mother, why don't you tell me about her past?"

Li Shen took the iced juice handed to him by Chunxiang and took a big sip.

"Alas~" Hearing that Prince Ji wanted to know about Concubine Wei's past, Wei Fugui thought about it and couldn't help but sigh.

"Your Highness, this story started more than 30 years ago, when the eldest lady was still a young lady in her twenties..."

Wei Fugui was lost in his own memories and told the story slowly and leisurely.

Li Shen and the other girls present also followed Wei Fugui's memory and began to understand what happened back then.

Concubine Wei was born into the Jingzhao Wei family, a wealthy family in Guanzhong. The family had existed for hundreds of years and had produced countless generals, ministers and officials.

Concubine Wei was born in the Yungong branch of the Wei family. Her great-grandfather was the Grand Marshal of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Duke of Yun, and the Shangzhuguo. Her grandfather was the General of the Cavalry. Her father was the Governor of Chen and Shen prefectures, and inherited the title of Duke of Yun.

Unfortunately, Concubine Wei's father, Wei Yuancheng, died young, and Concubine Wei was raised by her uncle, Wei Kuangbo, since she was a child.

However, Wei Kuangbo's family has three girls who eat, live and play together, so he is not too lonely.

In the seventh year of Daye, Concubine Wei had grown up and became graceful and elegant. The Wei family was a wealthy and powerful family, and there was an endless stream of people coming to propose marriage to her.

There were many princes and nobles among them. Finally, after repeated consideration by his uncle Wei Kuangbo, Li Youmin, the son of Li Zixiong, the Minister of Civil Affairs at the time, was chosen.

Li Zixiong had an old relationship with Wei Xiaokuan in his early years. The two families had always had dealings with each other, and they were both powerful and well-matched.

His son Li Youmin is a young hero with a bright future.

Logically, this should have been a happy marriage, but things did not go as planned.

At this point, a trace of sadness appeared on Wei Fugui's face.

"Shitou, bring a chair to the old housekeeper, and Chunxiang serve tea."

Li Shen saw this and gave an order. He had always been very good to Wei Fugui because Wei Fugui was loyal enough.

He could live outside Chang'an for more than ten years for his mother, swallowing his anger and never complaining to others.

I'm afraid of causing trouble for my mother, which is not something most people can do.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Wei Fugui bowed and thanked him, then sat down, took a sip of tea and continued:

"I still can't forget that day, the late autumn of the ninth year of Daye, when the eldest lady had just given birth to the young lady.

One day

A team of soldiers in full armor rushed into Li's mansion. Some servants stepped forward to stop them but were hacked to death by the soldiers.

At that time, the servants were so scared that they ran away in all directions.

They rushed into the back house like robbers and read the imperial edict in front of Li Youmin.

It was said that Li Zixiong and Yang Xuangan had rebelled and had been suppressed, their properties had been confiscated, and their family members had been imprisoned.

Then they put the lady and the others into the prison van, and we servants were also dispersed.

The Li Mansion was sealed off, and it was at this time that I lost contact with the Madam."

Wei Fugui paused here and took a sip of tea, waiting for Prince Ji's question.

Li Shen really didn't know about these things, as they happened more than 30 years ago.

His mother never told him and there is no historical record, so how could he know?

However, he could also imagine that when his mother had just given birth to a daughter and was preparing to live a good life, her life changed drastically.

This was simply a huge wave that drowned his mother's fate.

Li Shen knew about Yang Xuangan's rebellion. He had read about it in history books. There was nothing special about it. It was simply an attempt to seize the throne.

But he didn't know that this changed his mother's fate. Li Shen suddenly wondered whether he should thank Yang Xuangan.

If he had not led Li Zixiong to rebel, his mother would not have married Li Shimin, and he would not be alive now.

Is this what is called cause and effect?

"How much do you know about what happened after that?" Li Shen woke up from his thoughts and continued to ask.

"Your Majesty, when I learned that the Madam was imprisoned, I did not leave immediately.

He wanted to seek help from the Wei family, but at that time, the eldest lady's uncle, Wei Kuangbo, followed Emperor Yang of Sui to fight, and the Duke of Yun was no longer in charge.

I have been away for several months without any idea what to do, and coupled with the chaos of war, I don’t know when the lady will let me out.

At that time, Yang Xuangan's rebellion involved too many people, and the prison was already overcrowded.

I heard that someone in the Wei family is deeply involved in this."

Then Wei Fugui began to talk about what happened outside. He wanted to use the Wei family to rescue Concubine Wei.

But some people from the Wei family also participated in the rebellion, and many family members of the Wei family were also arrested. All the family members of Wei Fusi, who lived in the Wei family's Xiaoyao public housing, were arrested.

The reason was that he was captured during the campaign against Yang Xuangan and was forced to write a manifesto. Later, he escaped and Yang Guang found out about it, so he executed him by being torn apart by a chariot.

At that time, Wei Fugui bribed the jailer in the name of Wei Kuangbo and entered the prison to visit Concubine Wei once.

The prison was dark and the environment was terrible. Concubine Wei struggled to survive with her newborn child.

The only way to tell whether a day has passed is by the light coming from the small window above.

Especially when she heard the news that her uncle was torn to pieces by a chariot, she was hit hard physically and mentally. She knew that she, an orphan and a widow, might die there.

This rebellion made Yang Guang furious, and he imposed severe punishments on the rebels.

All the participants and their families were massacred.

Li Shen couldn't imagine how desperate his mother was with her child at that time. The only support in her heart was probably the daughter in her arms.

Fortunately, Concubine Wei survived by chance, thanks to the protection of her uncle Wei Kuangbo.

Moreover, Concubine Wei's aunt was Yang Guang's daughter-in-law, Princess Yuande. Considering the relationship with the Wei family, Yang Guang showed special mercy and allowed Concubine Wei to escape a bloody massacre.

In the following years, Concubine Wei was a young widow and the family member of a criminal. Her life was very difficult.

The death of Yang Guang made Concubine Wei's life even worse. Wars broke out everywhere, bandits were rampant, the people were in trouble, and life for orphans and widows became even more difficult.

(There are still 36 days until the Chinese New Year. Happy New Year to everyone. Wish you good fortune and prosperity.)