Chapter 529 - 351: To Be Determined
Su Fu had secluded himself in the mountains to hide his identity as an assassin, but in Li Tai’s mouth, he was transformed into a reclusive expert with origins from the Medicine King family of Suzhou, thus making his explanation seem quite credible.
"Since he does not care for fame or gain, why would he take up a post at the Imperial Medical Bureau?" Li Chengqian asked with a semblance of genuine curiosity.
Li Tai smiled and said, "I haven’t asked him about that, but... since he has the habit of wandering to study Medical Skills, and the Imperial Medical Bureau is the center of Great Tang’s medical practice, it’s not strange for him to join."
The passion of the doctors from the Sui and Tang dynasties for prescriptions is unimaginable to later generations, so Li Shimin did not suspect otherwise and turned to Zhong Rui, saying, "Summon Imperial Physician Su Ziqi."
Li Chengqian clenched his teeth secretly, his hand beside his leg unconsciously clenched. What could it matter that he had arrived first if he could not compete with Li Tai’s acting! At the same time, Li Chengqian also felt resentful towards Liu Pinrang, who had been the Inspector of Suzhou and surely knew everything about Suzhou. How could he not know that the Medicine King family had a Su Ziqi!
Li Shimin was in high spirits today and asked about what Li Chengqian and Li Tai had both done. Li Chengqian had always been indulgent in pleasures, and there wasn’t much worth mentioning to Li Shimin. Fortunately, before coming, Liu Pinrang had thought of a few responses to avoid being questioned about this matter, which turned out to be quite appropriate and fitting of a Crown Prince.
Li Chengqian also knew that this was what the Emperor expected of him and understood that his earlier responses had greatly pleased him, but watching the father and son chat enthusiastically about history and paintings, he still felt quite bitter, although thanks to his early brilliance and knowledge of history and literature, he managed to interject from time to time so he was not completely left out.
Li Shimin greatly admired Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy, and becoming excited, he wanted to write a few characters for Li Tai and Li Chengqian to appraise.
Both were immediately overwhelmed, for even though they were father and son, Li Shimin was still the monarch of a nation, and appraising the Emperor’s talent was a tricky task, especially for a shrewd Emperor like Li Shimin. They could neither simply praise nor pick out faults, something even Grand Secretary Fang Xuanling and others loathed to do, as they were much tenderer in this regard.
However, Li Shimin really liked being appraised.