Tang Seng is a cook

After all, Li Shimin is an iron-blooded emperor, You Zi was calm, and only said when he heard the words: "My brother's words don't sound like it to me."

Zhuang Fan sighed in his heart, felt troubled, put away his smile, stood up, stretched out his hand, and just stretched out his palm, a blooming lotus appeared in his hand out of thin air, Zhuang Fan threw the lotus on the ground, Said: "This lotus, does Your Majesty look like it?"

Li Shimin choked. He watched the lotus flower the size of a human head appear out of thin air and fell to the ground. The petals were fresh and delicate, and the dewdrops on it were crystal clear and rolling down, which seemed to wet the carpet in the hall.And with the appearance of the lotus, a mist of water instantly dispersed in the hall, like a fairyland, Li Shimin's heart was shocked, and he lost his words.

Zhuang Fan sighed, stepped forward, and said: "The poor monk went to Lingshan, shed his mortal body, cut off all blood connections with this world, and cut off his feelings and desires. He should have left the scriptures and left, there is no need to do this Stay, but, although my birth mother passed away with injustice, and my birth father is unknown, but in the end this Chang'an is my homeland, Your Majesty is so kind, I dare not forget it."

Zhuang Fan turned his face, looked at Li Shimin, and said calmly, "When the poor monk left Chang'an, he was given a glass of wine by His Majesty. His Majesty picked up the soil of his hometown and told the poor monk that he would rather love a piece of soil from his hometown than a thousand taels from another country. Jin. The poor monk kept these two sentences in his heart day and night, and never dared to forget them. The poor monk went through untold hardships and went to Lingshan. The Buddha said that there were 140 volumes of scriptures with him It records the astronomy, geography, people, birds and beasts, flowers and trees, utensils, and personnel of the four major continents of the world."

Zhuang Fan turned around and pointed to the horse carrying the scriptures, and continued to Li Shimin: "The poor monk is thinking, Your Majesty has great ambitions. Although my Tang Dynasty is one of the most powerful dynasties in the world, people must not lose their vigilance. He was born in sorrow and died in peace, so the poor monk gave up the purple gold bowl that His Majesty gave to him, and presented it to the two venerables Na Anuo and Kaye, especially for His Majesty to obtain the scriptures that record the astronomy, geography, characters and affairs of the four continents. , I only hope that this scripture can contribute to His Majesty to some extent. The poor monk has put in a lot of hard work, and his Majesty only needs to send someone to read the scriptures, and then he will know that what the poor monk said is true."

Speaking of this, Zhuang Fan said again: "Because this scripture is no more than other scriptures exhorting people to be good, there are many detailed records, and only officials in my dynasty should not read it, so the poor monk stayed here, just want to wait and see I will not leave until His Majesty has not neglected this scripture."

Hearing this, Li Shimin couldn't sit still for a long time, he got up suddenly, and came to Zhuang Fan, his eyes were piercing, and he said eagerly: "What Yudi said is true? I blamed Yudi wrongly!"

Zhuang Fan took a step back, he didn't want to hold hands with a fragrant old man to talk about brotherhood, so he said: "Your Majesty, it's not true, there are many good ministers in the court, and there are many great talents, just have a look, and you will know ?”

After hearing this, Li Shimin suddenly realized, and hurriedly called out: "Where is Fang Xiang? Has Fang Xiang come?"

Fang Xuanling is a good prime minister, it is not an exaggeration to say that he is Li Shimin's right-hand man, today Ben was discussing with Emperor Taizong in the palace, when suddenly some holy monk came, Fang Xuanling didn't take it seriously, just sat aside, thinking about business , just waiting to discuss the business with Taizong after the work here is over, just listening, the holy monk made a statement, and brought back the scriptures recording the world's astronomy and geography?

Fang Xuanling was full of anticipation and hesitation, when he saw Li Shimin calling him, he hurried out of the class and said: "Your Majesty, I am here!"

Li Shimin said: "Aiqing, I will trouble you on this matter, go and check those scriptures!"

As soon as the words were finished, before Fang Xuanling could receive the order, Wei Zheng, Changsun Wuji and others also came out to play and said: "Your Majesty, there are so many scriptures, and I fear that Fang Xiang will not be able to check them all alone, so I recommend myself and want to have a look!"

Zhuang Fan also said: "Your Majesty, if you take a few copies, Your Majesty will also have a look. The poor monk has traveled all the way, and the languages ​​and characters of various countries are not very different from our dynasty. It is also strange. This scripture is also written in my dynasty. Record it, and save the responsibility of interpreting!"

Li Shimin said with a smile: "This is my Buddha's blessing!"

Seeing His Majesty's consent, all the important ministers rushed forward immediately, and all went down to the horse to fetch books. There were servants who wanted to come up to help, but they were chased away by those ministers. It's just that the bookcase is a little heavy, and the books are weak. Some of them couldn't be moved, Wukong and the others saw it, so they had to help, and the courtiers praised it.

In a short while, all the scripture boxes were lifted above the main hall. All the ministers guarded a box, carefully took out the scriptures, opened them, and were soon fascinated.

As for Chen Guangrui, who was lying on the ground and trembling, he had been dragged out of the hall by the warriors in front of the hall long ago. Zhuang Fan never cared about what Li Shimin would do with him afterwards. They refused, and since then, they have never even offered a look.

Just turning around, Zhuang Fan saw the prince Li Chengqian sitting in the same place gloomyly, but he felt pity for him. He was also a poor child. read!"

Unexpectedly, Li Shimin's mind was still on Li Tai. Hearing this, he laughed and said: "If you talk about writing books and essays, my son Qingque is better, even the prince, he can't compare to him, holy monk, the child is shapeless, look For the sake of his youth, let Qing Que be spared!"

Zhuang Fan smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, if what the poor monk said is true, not everyone can read this scripture. The crown prince is the prince of the country, and the rest are important ministers of your majesty. Naturally, they are qualified to read this book. Others ..."

Zhuang Fan shook his head, and said: "I'm afraid that people will not be enough. If you see too much and think too much, it will cause disaster."

When Li Shimin heard this, there was something he didn't understand, and he couldn't help but tremble in his heart. It's just that he prefers Li Tai after all, and he has been an emperor for many years. Plus, it won't be like this."

Zhuang Fan smiled and didn't answer the words, he just said: "Speaking of which, the poor monk bears the title of imperial younger brother, but he hasn't met the crown prince's nephew yet!"

Li Shimin smiled and said: "I recognized Yudi, and Yudi went west. It is true that I have never seen children like me!"

Seeing that Zhuang Fan was only staring at Cheng Qian, he called helplessly: "Prince, come here, come and see the holy monk!"

Li Chengqian didn't want to get up, but his father called him, so he had to get up, waved away the servants around him, dragged his feet, limped forward, saluted Zhuang Fan deeply, and said listlessly: "I have seen the holy monk! "

Zhuang Fan hurriedly helped him up, and said: "Your Highness is the heir apparent of a country, how can you make such a great gift to this little monk? The ceremony is over!"

Li Chengqian bowed his head and smiled wryly, thinking that if he didn't respect the person his father liked, he would be scolded again later. He is a crippled prince, and he is just a showman. Anyone is better than him, the prince of the country. More precious, the ministers in the court, whoever wants to scold him, can write a letter to scold him bloody, how can he refute, how dare he refute?

Now let's not say that the person in front of him is the imperial brother Shengseng, even his younger brother Li Tai, wouldn't he not be able to offend him?

Although Zhuang Fan didn't know Li Chengqian's thoughts, but he knew a thing or two about his situation. Seeing that Li Chengqian was walking just now, he was indeed limping, so he said, "The crown prince has a foot problem. How long has it been?"

The hall was already quiet, only the sound of flipping books and talking in a low voice could be heard. As soon as Zhuang Fan said this, it was as quiet as if everyone in the hall had died collectively. There was no sound at all, Zhuang Fan I knew I had been struck by thunder.

But he was not afraid, he changed the topic very calmly, and said to Li Shimin: "Your Majesty, you can take the prince to see the scriptures and scriptures, and you will know that what the poor monk said is true or false!"

Seeing that Zhuang Fan didn't mention Li Tai at all, Li Shimin didn't want to ask any more, so he could only take the crown prince to walk slowly beside the officials. He took out a book from the middle, opened it, and found that it was about Goryeo, and he couldn't help being shocked!

Li Shimin once sent his official doctor Chen Dade to go to Korea. Just in time for August this year, Chen Dade came back from Korea. He knew everything about Korea in detail. Li Shimin turned a few pages of the book and saw what was said in the book It is generally consistent with Chen Dade's narration, only the subtleties are slightly different, so he called out: "Where is Chen Dade?"

Chen Dade's official position is not high, it's not his turn to read the scriptures, at this moment he was sitting in the middle of his colleagues with his hands folded and his head bowed. He suddenly heard the emperor call him, and hurriedly said: "The minister is here!"

Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Chen Qing's family came over to have a look. Is the information in this book detailed and reliable?"

Chen Dade was at a loss in his heart, his face didn't show, he walked over quickly with small steps, took the book, opened it and looked at it, after reading it carefully, he couldn't help taking a breath, and said in surprise: "Your Majesty! This book The records are much more detailed than what the courtiers have inquired about! The ministers went back and forth in a hurry, and there were restrictions. Maybe there was a mistake in the investigation, but the data in this book are detailed and well-recorded. In all likelihood, it is a real book!"

At this moment, Fang Xuanling suddenly exclaimed, picked up the book, and called out: "Your Majesty, look here?" He raised his head, found where Li Shimin was, walked up quickly, and handed over the scriptures, Li Shimin took it After reading the scriptures, I couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Zhuang Fan glanced at it, and saw the three big characters "Xue Yantuo" on the cover. He didn't know much about the history at that time. These scriptures came and went in a hurry. But seeing Fang Xuanling's seriousness and Li Shimin's expression very serious, he knew that they still took this book seriously after all.

Zhuang Fan sighed, as long as he did not fetch books that are useless to the country and the people, then these two years of hard work are not in vain.

Seeing that Li Shimin was fascinated by watching, he chatted with Fang Xuanling and the other courtiers who rushed over from time to time, Zhuang Fan looked at the sky again, it was already evening, he didn't want to delay any longer, and coughed , Said: "Your Majesty, it's getting late, and it's time for the poor monk to leave!"

After Li Shimin heard this, how could he let Zhuang Fan leave? He hurriedly said, "What's the hurry, brother? I'm going to hold a banquet in the palace later to entertain you, master and apprentice. Besides, you must be tired after traveling all day. You must be tired today. Rest in the palace, I can have a long talk with you, and when it is night, we will fall asleep again!"

Zhuang Fan took a step back, bowed eleven times, and said: "Your Majesty, the poor monk just said that I have cast off my mortal body, and I am no longer a person in this world. Besides, the Buddha is still in Lingshan, waiting for the poor monk to return. Since the scriptures returned can be favored by His Majesty, the poor monk is already satisfied! Your Majesty forgives me, I will leave soon!"

It's just that Zhuang Fan looked at Li Chengqian who had been standing by the side with some distress, and said: "I see the prince's face is good, maybe he has a fate with the poor monk, your majesty, can you ask the prince to send me for a while?"

Li Shimin turned his head to look at Li Chengqian, and pondered: "This..."

After all, the crown prince is his son, Li Shimin doesn't care about it, but since Cheng Qian got foot disease, his temper has become more and more unpleasant, especially with his younger brothers, this crown prince is getting more and more unfavorable to Li Shimin , but he is his eldest son after all, and Li Shimin also has something in his heart that he can't bear. Seeing that Zhuang Fan must Chengqian send him off, he is also worried that Chengqian will be inconvenient to walk and lose his dignity.

Zhuang Fan smiled slightly, and said to His Highness's disciples: "Disciples, let's go!" After speaking, clouds and mist appeared under his feet, rose into the air, bowed to Li Shimin from a distance, and said, "Your Majesty, the poor monk is going now." !"

Then he stretched out his hand to Li Chengqian, who was staring at him with wide eyes, and said, "Prince, let's go with the poor monk!"

For some reason, Li Chengqian's heart felt hot, he took a step forward, and stepped on the clouds. In an instant, he followed Zhuang Fan and his disciples up into the air, flew far away, and disappeared.

Everyone in the hall exclaimed, Changsun Wuji took a step forward and said anxiously: "Your Majesty, how can you tell the prince to go like this! If the holy monk doesn't return the prince, what should we do?"

Li Shimin held the scroll in his hand, the veins on the back of his hand were exposed, his eyes were red, and he said in a low voice: "If the prince comes back safely, it must be a chance, if he doesn't come back, it's a good fortune for him, it's better than living happily in this palace! "

Changsun Wuji yelled, slapped his thigh, and said bitterly: "Even if it is a holy monk who came back from Lingshan, he can't just kidnap me and go to the prince, my lord!"

Just at this moment, I suddenly heard a snort from behind, and a scream: "Ouch!"

Li Shimin and the others turned their heads and saw that it was Li Tai, His Royal Highness the King of Wei. At this time, he got rid of the immobilization method, and fell to the ground in a state of embarrassment.

But Li Chengqian, somehow, stretched out his hand in a dizzy manner, was carried by the holy monk, and floated into the sky.

Li Chengqian was startled when he saw the flying birds slowly gliding past in the mid-air. He lowered his head and turned around to look. Although the Tai Chi Palace under the setting sun was magnificent, it gradually became smaller and smaller. Got it.

Li Chengqian sighed, and many thoughts flashed through his mind, but Zhuang Fan next to him said with a smile: "His Royal Highness, from this point of view, do you feel that everyone is like an ant?"

Li Chengqian withdrew his gaze, smiled wryly, and said, "Holy Monk, from the eyes of people like you who have transcended the mundane world and have already ascended to immortality, does it mean that we mortals are nothing more than ants and mayflies, fleeting?"

Zhuang Fan saw that he was far away from the Tai Chi Palace, so he stopped the cloud, shook his head, and said, "Your Highness, in this world, there is no creature more worthy of admiration than human beings!"

He pointed down at the huge city wall of Chang'an City and the neat farmland outside the city, and said: "Your Highness, look, this city, this field, the river canal in the distance, you know who these are, and there is nothing here. slowly rising up in the wilderness?"

Looking at the huge city covered by the golden sunset under the clouds, Li Chengqian couldn't help being dazzled. He murmured: "It's ordinary people...it's those common people..."

Zhuang Fan said: "That's right, it's them! It's not a high-ranking god, but a mortal who we look down at and can't be smaller."

Zhuang Fan folded his arms and said: "Your Highness, don't feel that life is short or bitter, but you must remember to ask yourself at all times, from the moment you come to this world to the moment you leave this beautiful world, what will you do in this life? What can you leave behind?"

Li Chengqian smiled wryly, and said: "Holy Monk, you don't need to enlighten me. I think, as a cripple, I can only leave the name of a cripple prince in this world. There is nothing else other than that."

He sighed and said: "If my father doesn't abandon me, I'm afraid I can stay in the crown prince until I die. After all, I'm weak and lame, depressed, and I'm afraid I won't live for a few years."

Zhuang Fan laughed and said, "Could it be that the prince's only concern is foot disease?"

Li Chengqian smiled gloomily, and said: "It's not just this one, but most of the worries are caused by this. After all, the position of the crown prince is now occupied by me, a cripple. Since ancient times, the position of the crown prince has always been difficult to sit. There are very few who are on the throne, how many talented and ambitious princes have died, let alone me who is crippled?"

He sighed, and said: "My brothers are all very intelligent, and they are all dragon sons, how can they be convinced in their hearts."

Li Chengqian said this, looked at Zhuang Fan, and said, "Holy Monk, you brought me out today, but you pity my situation and want to take me to become a monk to practice? I am willing, let's go now!"

Zhuang Fan couldn't laugh or cry when he heard this, and said: "The poor monk would not dare to kidnap a future enlightened king to practice something. Your Highness, you know that the poor monk went west to learn scriptures, and the Buddha specially set up many hardships on the way. All the way to kill demons and eliminate demons, after going through untold hardships and many hardships, he obtained the scriptures and returned to the east. Your Highness, since ancient times, those who have achieved great things have all gone through hardships. In the future, you will not be the lord of the following city, you What you want to inherit is the tens of thousands of miles of mountains and rivers composed of thousands of thousands of cities. The people under your rule are not limited to those under your feet at this time. The ordeals that His Highness has suffered at this time are nothing but the experience accumulated for future summits. , if you are afraid now, in the future, how will you govern the mountains and rivers of thousands of miles, how will you lead your people and my Great Tang to the prosperous Great Tang praised by all ages?"

Li Chengqian still wanted to speak, Zhuang Fan stretched out his hand to stop him, and said: "Your Highness, do you want to follow the poor monk and take a look at these thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, and take a look at all the people in the world?"

Wukong and the others stood behind Zhuang Fan. Hearing what the master said, the monkey said: "Master, let me somersault faster. Why don't you let me come and take a break?"

Zhuang Fan laughed and said, "What's your request? It's just to tell the prince to broaden his horizons and see his world."

He said again: "You go back to the Bodhisattva first, and after the master has done something good, I will go find you again!"

Wu You leaned on Zhuang Fan, stretched out his arms to wrap his arms around him, and said worriedly: "Daddy, don't sneak away!"

Zhuang Fan was both angry and happy, and said: "Little clever ghost, no way! Daddy will be back soon!"

Wukong handed the caramel cake to Wuwang and said, "Master, I'm still not at ease if you go by yourself, tell me to follow you and the prince!"

Zhuang Fan had no choice but to agree, Wu Wang took a few children, and walked away with a few steps, Zhuang Fan took Wukong and Prince Chengqian, and waited for the children to go away, then set up a cloud and left Chang'an , travel as far as you like.

Cheng Qian looked down casually, and said: "Holy Monk, your apprentice and you have such a good relationship..." After saying this, he sighed a long time, and there were many unfinished meanings in his words.

After hearing this, Zhuang Fan asked, "Your Highness has become a father now, right?"

Li Chengqian was startled when he heard this, and said: "Yes, my eldest son was born in March of the 13th year of Zhenguan, but I rarely saw him in the past, and he was still young. The father-son friendship between us is really not deep. .”

Zhuang Fan smiled and said: "Your Highness, you think the child is young, but when you were young, did you really not understand anything? Why should your child suffer again for the suffering you have suffered now?"

Li Chengqian was stunned, and murmured: "I, I never thought about this..."

Zhuang Fan stopped talking, and took Li Chengqian across the mountains and rivers, stopped in a small border town, and then temporarily stayed above the farmhouse.

But Zhuang Fan saw that Li Chengqian was still in a daze, so he stopped and said, "Your Highness, it's already night, I'll take you back to Chang'an!"

Li Chengqian lowered his head, looked at the pitch-black ground, and said, "I never imagined that in this wilderness, it would be so dark at night..."

Zhuang Fan sighed, and said: "The poor monk once went to another world, which is completely different from the Tang Dynasty. After nightfall, there are thousands of lights and it is very prosperous."

Cheng Qian said blankly: "So prosperous? Then, is the medical skill there also very advanced, and no one like me suffers from foot disease and is not good at walking?"

Zhuang Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said: "Your Highness, if the poor monk can heal your foot, can you promise the poor monk to cheer up and be a good prince?"

Cheng Qian smiled wryly, and said: "Holy Monk, why bother to make me happy for nothing, I am really tired of being the crown prince, so you can take me to practice."

Zhuang Fan sighed, feeling a heavy hammer coming, and said: "Your Highness, do you know that in another seven years, the reign title of Zhenguan will be replaced?"

He said: "You are only 22 years old at this time, and you are in the prime of your youth. In seven years, you will still stand still. You are a man, at the prime of your life, why bother to give up now?"

Chengqian was shocked by Zhuang Fan's words, and when he reacted, he was trembling all over, his hands and feet were cold, his lips were pale, and he said in a trembling voice: "How could it be, I, Aye, I am obviously in good health, how could it be..." He stopped talking while speaking. Can't help but shed tears.

Zhuang Fan sighed, and said: "Your Highness, if you strive hard, cheer yourself up, and become an excellent prince, maybe your father is in a good mood, and maybe you can live longer."

Li Chengqian suddenly grabbed Zhuang Fan's hand and said, "Holy Monk, do you have a way to ask me to prolong my life?"

Zhuang Fan said with a smile: "Your Highness, Your Majesty is a real dragon, and his lifespan is determined by God. There is nothing the poor monk can do, and the only one that the poor monk can save is you."

After finishing speaking, Zhuang Fan waved his hand, and said to the dozing monkey standing beside him, "Wukong, take the prince's pulse to see what caused his illness, and feed him an elixir."

The monkey yawned, leaned over, stretched out his hand as fast as lightning, grabbed Li Chengqian's wrist, and said with a grin: "Don't be surprised, Your Highness, and let my old grandson see what's wrong with you!"