Chapter 58 I Want to Leave the Palace

Li Shen’s sole preoccupation at present was figuring out a way to leave the imperial palace. He had already instructed Wang Hongfu to purchase fifty mu of land in Qinjin Ward, adjacent to the Eastern Market, to build his princely manor. He had zero intention of living in the designated Residence of the Ten Princes.

It was not that Li Shen could not afford a larger plot, but rather that his household upon leaving the palace would consist of only a handful of people. A massive estate would be pointless and merely waste manpower on security.

On the other hand, making it too small would demean his status; after all, he was a prince of the realm. Even Chancellor Changsun Wuji’s ducal estate spanned over twenty mu of land—how could a prince possess less than a duke? He could always purchase more land later as his household expanded.

Historically, Li Zhi’s princely manor occupied an entire ward, amounting to six or seven hundred mu. During the Later Tang dynasty, Guo Ziyi’s manor took up a quarter of a ward, housing over three thousand family members.

Li Shen imagined that with a household of that size, he might not even recognize half the people he met, much less keep track of Guo Ziyi’s flocks of concubines. For the time being, Li Shen lacked a principal wife—a match that Li Shimin would have to decree—though he already had Wu Meiniang as a secondary consort, while Chunxiang and Dongmei would undoubtedly be concubines. With these four women, fifty mu of land would temporarily suffice.

Wang Hongfu had already commenced the demolition work, hiring several hundred laborers and countless horse-drawn carts to haul away the wreckage. In Li Shen’s words: since he was so wealthy, how could he possibly make use of secondhand remnants?

In any case, Li Shen was in no rush to move in. It remained uncertain when he would actually be permitted to leave the palace, and as long as construction was completed within a year or two, it would suffice. Furthermore, many installations required Li Shen’s custom specifications.

These included a boiler room, a traditional northeastern heated brick bed known as a *kang*, and an underground drainage system. Li Shen intended to pay professionals to connect his estate’s drainage network through the Yanxing Gate straight to the city moat. However, obtaining approval for the most critical security measures still required Li Shimin’s consent.

Although Li Shen did not participate in state affairs, this did not mean he remained indifferent to them. As someone with the mindset of a merchant, a keen political sense was indispensable. Therefore, he kept a constant eye on reports from the imperial court to see if any major events were unfolding—such as Gao Shilian completing the compilation of the *Genealogical Records*, the Tibetan incursions into Songzhou in Tang territory, or the enthronement of the Lesser Khagan of Xueyantuo. Though these matters bore little direct relation to Li Shen, he still paid attention.

In particular, he followed the Tibetan attack on Songzhou, where General of the Left Martial Guards Niu Jinda slaughtered over a thousand of their men and frightened the rest away, after which the brazen invaders sent envoys to apologize and sue for a marital alliance.

Of all historical figures, the one Li Shen despised the most was Songtsän Gampo. When he studied history in middle school, he had learned about Princess Wencheng and Songtsän Gampo marrying for the sake of peace, and back then, Li Shen had even thought Songtsän Gampo was a virtuous man.

It was only when he grew older and gained access to internet media that he learned Songtsän Gampo had already married princesses from several other countries prior to taking the Tang princess as his bride, doing so purely to acquire dowries and technology to strengthen Tibet.

Over the span of more than two hundred years, Tibet had repeatedly invaded the Great Tang. From the perspective of later generations’ unification ideology, marrying into Tibet was viewed as a glorious endeavor. But now that Li Shen lived within the Tang dynasty, it was by no means a badge of honor.

Over the next two centuries, how many casualties among the Tang soldiers and civilians would Tibet cause? Their ambitions were boundless; because the resources of the Tibetan plateau were scarce, they cast their covetous eyes on the prosperity of the Great Tang, hoping to usurp it. Li Shen resolved that when the time came, he would do everything in his power to sabotage the peace marriage of Princess Wencheng.

Right now, Li Shen’s primary concern was how to secure his exit from the palace. Construction of his princely manor had already broken ground over the past half-year. To accelerate the process, Li Shen had even requested the Ministry of Works to assist with the construction.

The master architect Yan Libun had designed the manor, and the outer walls and landscaping were already underway. It was estimated that they would be finished by the end of the year, while Li Shen planned to begin firing bricks and producing cement next year to construct the actual buildings.

Sturdy and warm, his architectural concepts relied entirely on bricks and cement to come to fruition. The expenditure of wealth and grain required to build a princely manor was astronomical. Only someone of Li Shen’s financial caliber could pull it off at present; if it were any other imperial prince—even the Crown Prince or the Prince of Wei—it would be a severe struggle.

Normally, according to the trajectory of history, Li Shen should have been dispatched to his fief at the age of eight. Yet because of Li Shen’s alterations—even though he had not yet performed any substantial political deeds—Li Shimin consistently wanted to observe this particular son.

Moreover, Li Shimin had always intended to keep Li Shen around to serve as an asset for the Crown Prince. Therefore, seeing that Li Shen showed no desire to meddle in court politics, Li Shimin was in no hurry. After all, he himself was still in the prime of his youth, and Li Shen was still just a child.

When he grew older, he could assist the Crown Prince just the same. Furthermore, Li Shen was capable of generating vast fortunes, and keeping him in the capital gave Li Shimin peace of mind. Although Li Shen had repeatedly expressed a lack of ambition for the throne, Li Shimin remained wary, fearing that if Li Shen were sent off to a distant fief where the mountains were high and the emperor far away, his immense wealth might prompt him to take untoward actions.

History was littered with countless examples of imperial princes cultivating their own military strength in their fiefs. Keeping him in Chang'an made it much easier to keep a watchful eye on him.

Today was a rest day, and Li Shimin was boating on the North Sea accompanied by a flock of graceful concubines and consorts, including several newly arrived beauties, one of whom was Consort Xu, also known as Xu Hui.

According to history, following Empress Changsun’s death, Consort Xu would win Li Shimin’s deep affection, and he would even construct a vacation villa for her. But presently, Empress Changsun was still alive, and Li Shimin’s heart remained firmly anchored to her.

Though Li Shimin had occasionally spent the night in Consort Xu’s quarters, it had not reached the level of profound infatuation.

Li Shen arrived at the Longevity Pavilion by the North Sea. He had come to discuss the matter of leaving the palace with Li Shimin. This marked the dozens of times he had brought it up over the past year—at least once every single month.

It had reached the point where the mere sight of Li Shen made Li Shimin wish to avoid him entirely. This time, however, Li Shen intended to spend money to avert disaster, relying on the ancient truth that money could open even divine doors.

"Greetings, Father; greetings, Mother," Li Shen saluted Li Shimin and Empress Changsun.

"Guanyinbi, do you believe it? This little rascal has come to badger me about leaving the palace again," Li Shimin said, ignoring Li Shen entirely and turning instead to Empress Changsun.

"Heh. The entire inner palace already knows that Shen'er is dying to move out," Empress Changsun replied with a smile.

"Father, your son wishes to leave the palace simply to earn some money so that when you grow old, I can properly provide for your retirement."

"As if I need you to provide for my retirement. For all I know, you’d end up selling me off to the highest bidder," Li Shimin retorted dismissively.

"Father, I heard that the Taiji Palace has fallen into disrepair and is dark and damp. As an imperial prince, your son cannot bear to watch you live in such conditions. Therefore, I am willing to contribute fifty thousand strings of cash to renovate the Taiji Palace. What do you think of this proposal, Father?" Li Shen mused, effectively saving the state through detours.

"Well, considering your display of filial piety, it is certainly a good gesture. You might as well renovate the courtyard you live in while you're at it," Li Shimin replied.

"Then, regarding your son's departure from the palace..." Li Shen probed.

"Didn't I just tell you to renovate the Daji Hall as well?" Renovating the Taiji Palace was acceptable, but leaving the palace was out of the question.

"Father, I've already offered money, and still it won't do? Then how about I raise it to one hundred thousand strings of cash—surely that is acceptable?" Li Shen refused to give up.

"Why are you so obsessed with leaving the palace? Does this inner court really treat you so poorly?" Li Shimin asked in bafflement, unable to comprehend Li Shen’s fixation.

"Father, I am no longer a child. Living in the inner quarters is inconvenient. All the other princes have already moved out to their own residences. Aren't I just trying to avoid becoming the subject of gossip?" Li Shen explained.

"Your Majesty, what Shen'er says makes sense. In no time at all, Shen'er will be eleven years old. Continuing to reside within the palace indeed brings inconveniences. There are newly arrived talents, beauties, and maidens in the palace whom Shen'er does not even know; it would be troublesome if someone were to inadvertently cause a breach of etiquette," Noble Consort Wei chimed in.

"Indeed. In just a few more years, Shen'er will be of age to select a principal wife. It is indeed time for him to leave the palace. It would be bad if he unwittingly violated taboos down the line," the Empress added, throwing her support behind them.

Aside from the princesses, every single woman in the palace belonged exclusively to the Emperor. Children matured early in this era, and if some scandalous affair were to brew, where would the imperial family's dignity go?

"Hmph. What the Empress and the Noble Consort say does carry some reason. However... once you leave the palace, you won't be able to see the Noble Consort as frequently. Have you thought this through?" Li Shimin asked Li Shen.

Li Shen hesitated slightly. Once he left the palace, he wouldn't be able to see Noble Consort Wei constantly. Unlike other princes, his concept of family was still rooted in the modern era. Noble Consort Wei was deeply moved by Li Shen's hesitant expression. In the imperial family, familial affection was scarce, and many princes were not particularly close to their birth mothers. Li Shen, however, was different.

"Shen'er, even if you wished to stay by my side, you wouldn't have many years left; at the latest, you must leave the palace before turning fourteen. You are merely departing a few years early now. Whenever you have time, you can always enter the palace to visit me," Noble Consort Wei said, though deep down, she was equally reluctant to part with him. Everyone hoped to have their children and grandchildren by their side, but for the sake of Li Shen’s promising future, she had no choice to endure it.

"Father, I have made up my mind. I want to leave the palace. In the future, I will frequently return to check on Mother, and I also hope Father will grant gracious permission for Mother to occasionally stay at my princely manor for a few days to ease our mutual yearning as mother and son.

"Furthermore, I am willing to contribute another fifty thousand strings of cash into the inner treasury to serve as expenses for Mother's future needs. I sincerely hope Father will treat my mother kindly in the future. Your son will be endlessly grateful and will do his utmost to serve the imperial court and share Father’s burdens." Li Shen spoke with stirring emotion.

"Very well. When your manor is completed next year, I will permit you to leave the palace and establish your household. But I expect that after you turn fourteen, you will participate in court politics and share the load for your elder brother in the future." Li Shimin finally relented.