The Great Tang's King of Provisions

Chapter 4: The Disheveled Little Beggar

“Rustle, rustle!” While Li Xuanba was resting his eyes, he heard the faint sound of footsteps nearby. Hearing the footsteps, Li Xuanba’s ears twitched slightly, but he remained lying there, completely unconcerned. Judging by those weak, feeble footsteps, he didn’t believe this person could pose a threat to him. Besides, given his current reaction speed and physical strength, there weren’t many people who could actually hurt him. “Gulp!” “Big brother, aren’t you going to eat this roasted rabbit?” Accompanied by a loud gulp, a clear, childlike voice rang in Li Xuanba’s ear. Huh? Hearing the clear voice, Li Xuanba opened his eyes, rolled over, and sat up, looking at the child in front of him. The child was 1. 5 meters tall, his gaunt body wrapped in tattered hemp clothes that hung so loosely they nearly dragged on the ground. His sallow little face was caked with grayish dirt, and his hair lay in disheveled strands pressed flat against his scalp. Judging by his disheveled and filthy appearance, he was clearly a beggar from the Tang Dynasty—or rather, a “beggar-child,” since the term “beggar” didn’t come into use until the Song Dynasty. Though the beggar was disheveled and filthy, his eyes were jet-black and shone with a sharp intelligence, instantly endearing him to Li Xuanba upon their first meeting! Seeing the little beggar staring longingly at the roasted rabbit, which was still warm, Li Xuanba waved his hand nonchalantly and said gently, “Go ahead and eat it. Big brother has already eaten; I’m not hungry right now.” “Thank you, big brother!” Upon hearing Li Xuanba’s words, the little beggar didn’t immediately pounce on the wild rabbit meat. Instead, he first bowed his hands toward Li Xuanba, then picked up a roasted rabbit and respectfully bowed to him once more. “Xingxuan thanks Big Brother.” “You’re welcome!” Seeing that the little beggar remained polite and well-mannered even in the midst of hunger, Li Xuanba raised his thick, dark eyebrows, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes, before watching the little beggar stagger out the door. Noticing that the little beggar hadn’t eaten the wild rabbit meat—still warm in his hands—nor taken both pieces, Li Xuanba narrowed his eyes, lost in thought. Judging by the way the little beggar swallowed hard and his empty stomach, he likely hadn’t eaten in quite some time. Yet even in such a state, he managed to resist his hunger and insisted on taking only one roasted rabbit—and was even walking away with it. Li Xuanba wondered what could possibly have driven him to act this way. With that thought, Li Xuanba sprang to his feet, stowed the remaining roasted rabbit in his spatial storage, and only when the young beggar was nothing more than a faint silhouette did he lightly touch the ground with his feet, dart forward, and quietly follow after him. Just as Li Xuanba was following the little beggar, hoping to get to the bottom of things… Inside the golden halls of the imperial palace in Chang’an, Li Shimin—who had been Crown Prince for just three days—was reviewing memorials, attended by a eunuch. At that moment, Li Shimin was just twenty-seven years old. With a handsome, square face and clear, bright eyes fixed on the memorials, his arched eyebrows stood out above his eyes, and a three-cun-long, slightly curled black beard framed his jawline—he was strikingly handsome, both valiant and refined! Having just been named Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin’s vitality and spirit were at their absolute peak, as if about to burst forth from his very being. The regal aura surrounding him had already begun to take shape; behind him, it seemed as though a five-clawed golden dragon was coiling endlessly and roaring toward the heavens! “Clang! Just as Li Shimin was carefully pondering the contents of the memorial, the sound of clashing armor rang out from outside the hall. Then, a coarse yet good-natured voice boomed, shaking the window frames of the hall so violently that they trembled as if they were about to fall. “Your Highness the Crown Prince, it’s Old Cheng here! I have urgent news to report!” Hearing the earth-shaking, boisterous voice of Cheng Yaojin—that troublemaker—Li Shimin pulled his attention away from the memorial. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a faint smile, and he called out in a clear voice, “It’s you, you oaf. Come in!” As he told Cheng Yaojin to come in, Li Shimin waved his right hand, dismissing the eunuch who was attending to him. After all, given Cheng Yaojin’s temperament, even when entering the innermost chambers of the imperial palace, he would charge in recklessly, with no regard for formal courtesies. No sooner had the eunuch left than a burly man with a full beard strode in. This man was none other than the Grand General of the Tang Dynasty, the “Devil of the World”—Cheng Yaojin. “Your Majesty, Old Cheng is here.” With no eunuch present, Cheng Yaojin saw no need to mince words and addressed Li Shimin directly as “Your Majesty.” Li Shimin, too, paid no heed to this form of address. He looked at Cheng Yaojin with a faint smile and asked curiously, “You old devil, why aren’t you at the barracks training your soldiers? What brings you here?” Upon hearing Li Shimin’s question, Cheng Yaojin’s eyes—as large as bronze bells—suddenly narrowed. He then quietly leaned in close to Li Shimin and whispered, “Your Majesty, the ‘Chasing Wind Ten Thousand Li Cloud’ and the two ‘Thunder Drum Golden Hammers’ have truly vanished. It seems Old Yuan’s words are about to come true!” “What? Smack!” Hearing Cheng Yaojin’s words, Li Shimin’s eyes widened in shock. He slammed his large hand down on the table—paying no heed to the memorials that had been knocked to the floor—and grabbed Cheng Yaojin by the collar. With a look of both surprise and delight, he whispered, “Is that true? Have the ‘Chasing Wind Ten Thousand Li Cloud’ and the two ‘Thunder Drum Golden Hammer’ really disappeared?” Cheng Yaojin paid no heed to Li Shimin’s hand gripping his collar; he nodded vigorously, his tiger-like eyes glowing crimson. “That’s right! Your Majesty, today is the tenth day of the sixth month—exactly twelve years have passed since that day.” “Hahaha! Excellent, excellent, excellent! Old Yuan was right after all—my third younger brother has truly come back to life. Excellent! Hearing Cheng Yaojin’s affirmative reply, Li Shimin released his grip on Cheng Yaojin’s collar and burst into loud laughter, throwing his head back toward the sky. But as he laughed, tears of emotion welled up in his eyes—tears that held both regret and a wild, ecstatic joy. After his laughter subsided, Li Shimin’s breathing gradually calmed. Paying no heed to Cheng Yaojin standing before him, he reached up with his large hand and wiped away all the tears from his face, then barked at Cheng Yaojin in a low voice, “Cheng Yaojin!” “Your servant is here!” “I command you to immediately lead the Right Guard of the Eastern Palace… No! Zhijie, do not leave Chang’an. Have your wife, Huai Mo, take a portrait of my third younger brother and lead a small squad of elite troops to quietly leave the city. Do not alert those in hiding. If anyone dares to harm my third younger brother—hmph!” Li Shimin had actually wanted Cheng Yaojin to lead the troops directly to bring his third younger brother back, but upon thinking of those observers lurking in the shadows, he immediately retracted his words and issued a different order. In fact, as he uttered his final words, a sharp, icy glint flashed in his eyes, and he made a slicing motion across his throat with his hand. “Yes, sir! I’ll send that good-for-nothing of mine out immediately. He certainly won’t let the… matter leak out,” Cheng Yaojin replied. However, he deliberately avoided mentioning the name “Li Xuanba.” After bowing to Li Shimin, he turned and strode out at a brisk pace! “Hehe, who would’ve thought that I, Li Shimin, would truly go from being a lone figure to once again becoming an elder brother with a younger brother? Da De, your second older brother has been waiting for you for twelve years! You’re finally back!” As soon as Cheng Yaojin left, Li Shimin’s bloodshot, tiger-like eyes fixed on the sun in the sky, about to set in the west. He muttered to himself, a look of nostalgia flashing across his eyes. In that gaze lay both affection and nostalgia.