Chapter 178
Fang Xuanling was stunned when he received the urgent report personally written by Wang Yifang. He quickly showed it to Zhangsun Wuji, asking if he was seeing things.
Zhangsun Wuji was also shocked to learn that Li Yuanying had fled by ship. This brat had caused much trouble in Chang’an and now he dared act so recklessly in his fiefdom. Had he forgotten that a Prince shouldn’t leave his territory without permission?
Zhangsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling exchanged a glance, then rose in unison to report the matter to the Emperor immediately. After all, it’s not their brother; let the Emperor deal with his headache himself! Who ask him to always spoil Li Yuanying? Look what he’d become!
Li Er has been in a relatively good mood lately. His only concern is that ever since he scolded Li Yuanying, he has stopped writing to him, although he has written to Chengqian a few times. That kid must be doing it on purpose!
The Emperor now finds his eldest son displeasing and criticizes him. Chengqian as usual stood before the Emperor. Hearing that Fang Xuanling and Zhangsun Wuji have arrived together, he feels a headache coming . This means another thorny political matter awaits the Emperor’s decision.
Lately, the Emperor has been asking for his opinion a lot!
Chengqian sat up straight, preparing for another round of testing from the Emperor.
After Zhangsun Wuji finishes talking, Chengqian is stunned.
His youngest uncle has gone to sea?!
Chengqian hurriedly looked at the Emperor.
The Emperor’s face was so dark that it looked like it could drip water. The new ship had just been built, and Yuanying dared to go on a trial voyage—he is simply too reckless! Even if he could swim, it would be useless in a storm, surrounded by the vast ocean, how far could he swim?
Chengqian quickly took the report and read. “Father, Chief Secretary Wang has already sent men to pursue him; perhaps Uncle has already been brought back.”
The Emperor coldly said: “That’s for the best!”
If Yuanying really dared sail with the fleet, then none of Li Dejian and his men should remain in Tengzhou. It’s impossible that they didn’t notice such a large, living person on board; they knew Li Yuanying was on the ship and still didn’t return—that was deliberate wrongdoing!
Li Er summoned a group of men and ordered them to immediately travel to Tengzhou and arrest Li Yuanying. He was to tied up if he resist!
With the boy not in sight, the Emperor filled with rage but unable to vent his anger, berated every court official who came to report.
Soon, the entire court knew about the drama. Thinking of the undeserved calamity they had suffered, everyone unanimously began writing memorials denouncing Yuanying. Some accused him of reckless behavior, some of heinous crimes, and some even urged the Emperor to execute him.
Li Er was even more angry after reading these memorials.
Yuanying’s recklessness is bad enough, now these guys are adding fuel to the fire. It seemed his brother had no power in court so everyone wanted to take this opportunity to crush him! Li Er slept poorly for several days, angered by this and that. Finally, he fell asleep and had a dream in which his son, Li Yuanying, sailed to Wo Country. He saw the beautiful mountains and rivers, and the delicious food, and wrote a letter to him saying, “This place is wonderful; I’m never coming back.”
Li Er awoke alarmed.
His attendants approached tremblingly. “Your Majesty, you’ve only rested for an hour.”
The Emperor waved them away and sat down on the edge of the couch, gazing at the candlelight that filled the room.
Of all his brothers and sons, Li Yuanying resembled him most, most like his younger self. Therefore, he was happy to indulge him. He wanted to prove that he was different from their father, that he could let Li Yuanying do anything without restraint or control.
However, this alone was not enough.
Tengzhou was far enough; he wouldn’t allow Yuanying to go any further.
The men quickly arrived in Tengzhou. Learning that Li Yuanying hadn’t returned, they said nothing to the group but silently waited at the harbor for the fleet’s return.
Even without saying a word, Wei Shu and the others sensed the Emperor’s fury.
Now they no longer had the energy to berate Li Yuanying; they only hoped he could safely weather this storm.
Two days later, the fleet finally returned from the east, all ships intact and unharmed. Yuanying happily jumped off the ship, wanting to tell Wei Shu waiting at the dock for him about his adventure and haul. But he was immediately seized by men sent by the Emperor.
Li Dejian had already explained the seriousness of the situation to Li Yuanying but the Emperor’s swift reaction still caught him off guard. These men wanted to take him back to the capital without a word, and he could only obediently comply.
Seeing Weishu anxiously chasing after him, Yuanying quickly comforted her: “It’s alright, I’ll go and explain to my brother, he’ll forgive me.”
“His Majesty’s forgiveness is no excuse for you to go out to sea without a word.”
Yuanying felt a pang of guilt. He knew that if he had discussed it with them, they wouldn’t have allowed him to go, but the ship was already built, and the sea was so vast; he longed to see it. He took Wei Shu’s hand and promised: “Just this once, I won’t do it again. Please don’t be angry with me.”
Hearing him soften like this, Wei Shu couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsh. She grasped Yuanying’s hand in return: “You’ll likely suffer some hardship returning to the capital. I’ll go back with you.”
Yuanying’s heart softened instantly. He pulled Wei Shu into his arms, holding her tightly.
The men felt they weren’t there to arrest him, but to break up the couple!
Wei Shu had already decided to return with him, so she didn’t delay. She quickly led her team to catch up with Yuanying’s group. She brought him food when he was hungry and clothes when he was cold, ensuring he didn’t suffer any hardship. On the contrary, the men who came to arrest him had endured much hardship on their hurried journey.
Given the forced march, Yuanying having just disembarked from the ship and then quickly rushed back to Chang’an had lost a considerable weight and looked quite pitiful.
Upon reaching the palace gates, Wei Shu was stopped and sent back to the Wei family.
Wei Zheng isn;t home, so Wei Shu had no idea how the Emperor intended to deal with Yuanying. She could only anxiously wait for Wei Zheng’s return in her study.
Yuanying was taken to the entrance of the council hall but was not allowed to enter. The Emperor ordered him to be flogged thirty times before being carried inside.
Yuanying had been trying hard to figure out tricks to get through this ordeal was shocked by the Emperor’s order and was led helplessly to the central courtyard.
In the past, caning is the type of punishment that is chaotic, all-over beating, often resulting in death or crippling a person. In recent years, Li Er believed the purpose of caning was punishment, not to cripple so he specifically targeted the buttocks. The buttocks don’t have many vital meridians, so the punishment was effective to inflict pain and to teach a lesson without causing serious injury, allowing for proper recovery.
Yuanying had never been caned before; in the past his most mischievous act was merely met with being confined to his room for reflection. Hearing that the Emperor wanted him caned, Yuanying was bewildered as he was forced to lie face down. The moment the cane struck, tears welled up and streamed down his face.
Yuanying felt that this was the longest and most unbearable moment of his life. Even though the cane only struck his buttocks, his whole body ached. As the pain intensified, he began to feel heartbroken. His elder brother truly no longer loved him.
His elder brother wasn’t just his brother; he was also the ruler of a nation. Brother had doted on fourth nephew but dealt with him just as cruely. As for Prince Qi who had title and land, he was executed just like that.
Now, elder brother wanted to have him beaten to death.
Recalling all that had happened, Yuanying grew increasingly sorrowful, weeping bitterly. After the thirty strokes of the cane were finished, he felt his buttocks were covered in welts, but when he was dragged into the council hall, he had stopped crying and was no longer the heartbroken man he had been. He lay there quietly, without uttering a sound.
The Emperor ignored him, continuing his discussions of state affairs with Wei Zheng and the others. Only after they were done did Zhangsun Wuji say, “Your Majesty, you should have someone apply medicine to Prince Teng first, lest it harm his health and cause lasting illness.”
Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng also echoed this advice.
Yuanying was even more heartbroken upon hearing this, realizing he had fallen to the point where Zhangsun Wuji had to speak on his behalf. He turned his head sharply away, closed his eyes, and resolutely refused to speak to Li Er again.
The Emperor dismissed everyone.
The ministers exchanged glances but didn’t linger.
Once everyone had left, Li Er walked towards to Li Yuanying to look at him.
Feeling Li Er in front of him, Yuanying immediately turned his head to the other side.
Li Er sat down in front of him and snapped: “Turn your head back!”
Yuanying dared not act rashly and turned towards the Emperor.
Li Er sneered: “Are you still feeling wronged? Do you know how many petitions I’ve received lately demanding your death sentence?”
Yuanying felt distressed and lacked his usual quick wit so he replied in a muffled voice, “Then just kill me.”
Li Er was furious at Yuanying’s words and ordered him to be carried back for treatment. The place where Yuanying had lived was still there so the Emperor had him kept under surveillance, confined to his quarters to reflect on his mistakes. He is not allowed to leave the palace until he had properly reflected on his errors.
It was already autumn and Yuanying wasn’t dressed lightly. The executioners had clearly shown leniency, so his injuries weren’t serious, just painful.
Several people from the Imperial Medical Department, all personally appointed by the Emperor were sent to look after him. Many couldn’t help but secretly grumble: “You’re so reluctant, yet you still had him beaten?”
Yuanying endured the pain without crying in front of Li Er but when the imperial physicians came to treat his buttocks, he couldn’t help but wail.
The old imperial physician earnestly advised, “Your Highness, if you apologize to His Majesty, this matter will be over.” If he had cried like this to Emperor Taizong earlier, nothing would have happened.
Upon hearing this, Yuanying stopped crying and mumbled: “My brother had me beaten; he doesn’t like me anymore.” He could only act spoiled and arrogant because his brother liked him; now that his brother disliked him, he wouldn’t do such a thing.
“Ever since His Majesty learned that you were at sea, he hasn’t had a single good night sleep.” He shouldn’t have revealed the Emperor’s health to others, but Li Yuanying was clearly the reason for his sleeplessness.
“Your Highness has lost a lot of weight; His Majesty must be heartbroken to see this. Please don’t say anything that might hurt His Majesty’s feelings.”
Li Yuanying turned his head away, ignoring the old physician’s advice.
It was all a lie; his elder brother wanted to beat him to death. Otherwise, why would he have someone beat him without meeting him first?
Yuanying refused to cooperate, and the old physician had no choice but to have someone properly administer medicine for him.
Unexpectedly that night, Li Yuanying developed a fever.
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Young Prince: My elder brother doesn’t like me anymore, I’m so sad QAQ