I inherited my grandfather's Tang Dynasty assets.

Chapter 15: Let the Crown Prince test the waters first.

Li Shimin smiled, his eyes revealing an barely suppressed joy.

As the strongest carbon-based life form in the 7th century, Li Shimin had spent his life on the battlefield and had seen everything. He originally did not believe in ghosts and gods.

He learned that he had met the old Shennong Zhongnanshan, who actually took him to a magical place through a dream. There were many tall buildings he had never seen before, and even flying metal birds in the sky and strange metal cars traveling at a thousand miles a day on the ground.

Everything was something he had never seen before, and the old Shennong even left him several prophecies in his dream, all of which came true.

If one were not a deity, how could one possess such abilities?

As he grew older, he felt increasingly that his body was not as strong as before, so the idea of ​​cultivating Taoism for longevity grew wildly in his heart.

Li Shimin firmly believed that if he could receive guidance from Shennong, he would surely succeed, and he was willing to pay any price for it.

However, this Shennong was incredibly mysterious. Even for an emperor like himself, meeting him was as difficult as ascending to heaven. During the ten years he was missing, Li Shimin longed for him day and night.

What he longed for was not those magical objects, but the hope of immortality.

Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji exchanged a glance. As Li Shimin's most trusted ministers, they were among the twenty-four meritorious officials of Lingyan Pavilion and major participants in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

He understood Li Shimin very well and knew what he was thinking.

"Your Majesty, I have also heard about this matter. It happened just yesterday. I heard that this divine messenger is a young man whose status is far above that of the person from before."

His grandfather was the old Shennong, a highly accomplished master from Penglai, while the old man from before was merely a servant of the old Shennong. To be honest, this old minister has lived most of his life, and if he had the chance to go to Penglai, he could rest in peace with a smile in his grave.

Changsun Wuji's words struck a chord with Li Shimin.

Although it had only been a day, what happened at the Shennong Temple was no secret, and the nobles of Chang'an already knew everything they needed to know.

Penglai is one of the three legendary immortal mountains. Who wouldn't want to ascend to the immortal palace and find the fruit of immortality?

"Minister Fang, Zheng wishes to personally visit the Shennong Temple with substantial gifts. What do you think?"

Although Chen Yue said that the people of Penglai Island could not live forever, Li Shimin did not believe it at all.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

Fang Xuanling quickly stopped him and continued speaking.

"Although this Shennong envoy's character is different from that of Elder Chen, his rules remain the same. Without his permission, I'm afraid one cannot enter the Shennong Temple."

"Your Majesty, as the Son of Heaven, if you were to make a grand visit to the Shennong Temple only to be turned away, it would likely damage the Emperor's authority."

"What Fang Xiang said is absolutely right. This matter should not be rushed. In my opinion, it is best to first understand his character. This person is not only the grandson of Shennong, but also so young."

His style of doing things will certainly be different from that of Old Chen back then; we should proceed cautiously and gradually.

Li Shimin's smile vanished, replaced by displeasure.

"How long will this take? What if he suddenly disappears again? Am I supposed to wait another ten or twenty years?"

Li Shimin had this idea ten years ago, but he was dissuaded from it at the time.

Now that he is over forty, even as an emperor, he fears that he might suddenly die one day.

Fang Xuanling pondered for a moment.

"Your Majesty, this matter is of utmost importance. In my humble opinion, we should wait and see. If Your Majesty truly wishes to know the situation, why not send someone else to probe the matter?"

Changsun Wuji narrowed his eyes and glanced at Fang Xuanling. The two had served in the same court for many years and were leaders of the civil officials, so they knew each other very well.

He immediately guessed the other party's intention.

"Others? Are you referring to Fang Aiqing?"

Li Shimin had not yet reacted and looked puzzled.

Fang Xuanling rose, cupped his hands in greeting, and bowed solemnly.

"Your Majesty, this old minister believes that it would be wise to let the Crown Prince visit the Shennong Temple first. As the head of the Eastern Palace, if the Shennong envoy receives Your Highness, it would mean that he can also see Your Majesty."

If he refuses to see the Crown Prince, he certainly won't see Your Majesty either. We can try another method. What does Your Majesty think?

It was now the end of the fourteenth year of the Zhenguan era, more than two years before Li Chengqian's rebellion, but the struggle between Li Chengqian and Li Tai had almost reached a fever pitch.

Since the Crown Prince became lame, he has become increasingly inhuman in his behavior, seriously depraved, which greatly displeases him.

But in any case, Li Chengqian was his eldest son, the rightful Crown Prince, and could replace him in some way.

Although Fang Xuanling never expressed his opinion or clearly took sides between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Wei, as a defender of the system, he adhered to Confucian orthodoxy and always believed that the primogeniture system was the foundation of the country.

Of course, Li Shimin was an exception.

At this point, Changsun Wuji was already subtly leaning towards the King of Wei, but he certainly couldn't recommend Li Tai, as their relationship wasn't close enough.

But he said it seemingly unintentionally.

"Your Majesty, Lord Fang's words are reasonable, but His Highness the Crown Prince's behavior is quite eccentric. Asking him to lower himself to the Shennong Temple to see the Shennong Envoy is risky. If His Highness behaves rudely, I'm afraid..."

Although the rest was not explicitly stated, how could Li Shimin and Fang Xuanling not understand his meaning?

Fang Xuanling immediately retorted.

"Your Highness is usually somewhat reckless in his actions, but as far as this old minister knows, Your Highness also respects the Shennong Envoy, and moreover, this time it was His Majesty who sent him to pay his respects."

With a few careful instructions, His Highness the Crown Prince will certainly not act recklessly.

Li Shimin raised his hand and pressed down, making the final decision.

"As Minister Fang suggests, let the Crown Prince go there first..."

Meanwhile, Chen Yue, who was at the Shennong Temple a hundred miles away, was unaware that he had become a celebrity in Chang'an.

It was afternoon, the sun was shining brightly, and Chen Yue was getting restless. Although he couldn't go to Chang'an, he could still stroll around the Shennong Temple area.

He soon found it uninteresting, so he kept his promise and began teaching his seventh sister to read and write.

"Lord Shennong, the village head Wang Xian has brought you your meal. May I see you?"

Wang Xian stood outside the temple with a food box in his hand and asked loudly.

Chen Yue had a good impression of him; these past two days, this man had been taking care of all aspects of his life.

"Oh dear, it's already past dusk, sir. I'm so sorry."

Before we knew it, it was already evening. Logically speaking, Seventh Sister should have already brought the food by now, but she was too engrossed in her studies to do so.

Seeing her nervous and self-reproachful expression, Chen Yue waved his hand.

"It's nothing, I forgot about it myself. Luckily, Wang, the village head, brought it over himself. Let him in."

When he saw Zhao Qimei coming to greet him, he greeted her politely.

"Thank you for your trouble, Seventh Miss."

In Wang Xian's mind, Zhao Qimei already belonged to Chen Yue, so he couldn't afford to offend her.

"Lord of the village, the young master was teaching me to read and write and made me miss the time. I'm so sorry to have troubled you to come all this way."

Wang Xian raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Oh? The Divine Farmer is actually teaching Seventh Sister to read and write? What a blessing! The matter of delivering food is no problem. I also have some things I would like to ask you about."

Having Shennong personally teach you to read and write—there's probably no one else in the entire Tang Dynasty who would do that. And you say you have no connection? Who would believe that?