My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

Chapter 25: Our Love Endures

Ashina She'er was practicing wrestling with a servant in the courtyard.

The servant was like a child in front of Ashina She'er, no match for him at all.

Ashina She'er found it utterly boring.

At this moment, he saw Princess Hengyang leading a young man who was quite tall and had a handsome appearance.

So he beckoned to him, "Can you wrestle? Come on, let's wrestle."

When Li Chengqian saw Ashina She'er challenging him, he thought to himself that with his mediocre skills, he was no match for her.

However, a true man has things he will not do and things he must do. We would rather be knocked down by him than be so intimidated that we dare not fight back.

Since things have come to this point, we have to hold on for now.

Princess Hengyang was about to say that he was the Crown Prince and wouldn't fall, but Li Chengqian had already taken off his upper garment and handed it to her: "You hold this for me!"

Although Li Chengqian was not as muscular as Ashina She'er, the muscle definition on his arms, chest, and abdomen was still quite obvious.

The original owner's predecessor was also a fitness enthusiast.

He approached Ashina She'er, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Please guide me!"

When the servant saw that it was the Crown Prince, he panicked and was about to kowtow when Li Chengqian waved his hand, and the servant wisely withdrew.

"No need to be polite, it's just that the guy was too fragile and didn't make much of a difference."

Li Chengqian stood with his legs apart, arms outstretched, and eyes fixed intently on Ashina She'er.

Ashina She'er also noticed Li Chengqian's leg ailment: "So you have difficulty walking. I don't want to take advantage of you, so you can abstain."

Li Taiqian smiled and said, "It's alright!"

Ashina She'er nodded slightly: "Not bad, he does have a bit of a heroic spirit!"

The two walked around the courtyard three times, then leaned forward. Ashina She'er quickly put his arms on Li Chengqian's shoulders and pressed down hard.

Li Chengqian suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure coming down on him.

He struggled to carry it, and it was very difficult; his face quickly turned red.

"You're really something, you managed to withstand that!" Ashina She'er praised.

Li Chengqian also took the opportunity to put his hands on Ashina She'er's shoulders. The two of them bent over, face down, with their heads touching each other's shoulders, and tried to throw each other down.

Ashina She'er was as strong as an ox, no wonder he was the bravest in the army at the age of eleven. To say that he was strong enough to lift a tripod might be a bit of an exaggeration, but in terms of strength, Li Chengqian was still far inferior to him.

Princess Hengyang stood under the eaves, watching nervously.

A moment later, Ashina She'er stretched his left leg forward, then forcefully swung Li Chengqian to the right, and then pushed upward with his left hip bone. With a "whoosh," Li Chengqian was thrown more than ten feet away!

Princess Hengyang, seeing this, was startled and quickly cried out, "Chengqian, be careful!"

Ashina She'er thought to himself that he was going to throw Li Chengqian to the ground, but to Ashina She'er's surprise, Li Chengqian, with his body in the air, exerted a force in his waist, and landed head up and feet down, quite steadily.

Huh?

Ashnasar thought to himself, "This young man is quite something! He's got some skills."

What did Princess Hengyang call him just now? Who is he, Li Chengqian?

Isn't that the current crown prince?

"What a mess!" Ashina She'er began to complain, thinking to himself that Princess Hengyang was really something, not even giving any prior introduction before arriving here.

Actually, Princess Hengyang can't be blamed for this, because just as she was about to introduce him, Ashina She'er was about to wrestle with Li Chengqian, not giving him a chance at all.

"Are you Crown Prince Li Chengqian?" Ashina She'er asked nervously.

"Exactly."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you could wrestle!"

"How could I possibly know how to wrestle? I just watched them practice and tried to imitate them a few times."

Actually, during this time, Li Chengqian often practiced wrestling with those ten Turkic warriors; otherwise, he would have been thrown face-first to the ground just now!

Princess Hengyang hurried over and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

"fine."

"You scared Auntie just now. It's cold, quickly put on some clothes."

"Okay, Auntie."

After Li Chengqian put on his clothes, he winked at Princess Hengyang, meaning that he was going to propose marriage for her and that she should avoid the situation for the time being.

Princess Hengyang understood and left the courtyard under the pretext of preparing wine and food for them.

After Ashina She'er finished dressing, he apologized to Li Chengqian again.

Li Chengqian waved his hand and laughed heartily: "Ignorance is no excuse. This is nothing, exchanging skills is normal."

However, your wrestling skills are truly exceptional.

"Your Highness flatters me!" Ashina She'er said with great humility.

"I have long heard of your illustrious reputation, and it is a great honor to meet you here today!"

"I've heard in the Western Regions that the Tang Dynasty has a promising young crown prince. It is my great honor to see your esteemed presence today!"

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Chengqian asked, "How did you come to Chang'an?"

Ashina She'er sighed and then recounted what had happened.

Li Chengqian comforted him, saying, "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war; you don't need to take it to heart."

With your prestige, you will have another chance to make a comeback in the future.

"To be honest, the reason I came to Chang'an this time was to borrow troops from your father so that I could go back and take revenge."

However, your father seems to have a prejudice against us Turks. He can't even tolerate ordinary Turks, let alone me.

I had intended to meet with your father, but after hearing about the decree to expel the Turks, I abandoned that idea.

"Borrowing troops?"

"Yes."

Li Chengqian felt helpless: "Although I am currently the Crown Prince, I am still young."

On the other hand, military power is in the hands of the Emperor; without his permission, no one can move a single soldier.

"I see. Your father's control over the army is indeed very strict."

"Yes, there's a saying, 'Since you're here, make the best of it.' Now that you've come to Chang'an, live here well and heal your injuries first."

Ashina She'er frowned deeply: "I know there are many imperial guards outside the princess's residence, keeping watch all the time, but it's not a long-term solution for me to keep hiding here."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengqian thought to himself that this man was quite sensible and understood his own situation.

Ashina She'er raised his right arm slightly. Although the wound still ached a bit, he didn't care about it at all: "It's just a superficial injury, nothing serious!"

As the saying goes, heroes love Han, and Li Chengqian had a very good impression of Ashina She'er as soon as he met him. At the same time, he also admired the heroic spirit in him.

Li Chengqian looked him over again and thought he wasn't so bad-looking after all.

"I have a personal question I'd like to ask you."

"Please speak, Your Highness."

Are you married?

Ashina She'er was taken aback, not expecting Li Chengqian to ask such a question. However, he still answered truthfully: "No."

"Really? That's great."

"I have another question for you: what is your impression of Princess Hengyang?"

"Princess Hengyang is not only fair-skinned and beautiful, but she also saved my life. I am very grateful to her."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly and asked further, "So, do you like her?"

"I love it!" Ashina She'er blurted out.

At this moment, Princess Hengyang was hiding inside the door and heard everything clearly, which made her secretly delighted.

Li Chengqian was also very pleased, thinking that Ashina She'er was indeed a straightforward person. He liked what he liked and disliked what he disliked, unlike some people from the Central Plains who were hesitant and indecisive, even if they liked something in their hearts, they dared not admit it.

"In that case, I'd like to act as matchmaker and bring you together. What do you say?"

Ashina She'er was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Is this really true?"

"That's natural."

Ashina She'er quickly lifted his clothes and knelt down: "Please accept my bow!"

Li Chengqian laughed heartily and helped him up with both hands: "A beauty paired with a hero, isn't that a wonderful story?"

Ashina She'er, looking ashamed, said, "Since ancient times, heroes have been judged by their success or failure. Now that I have suffered a defeat, how can I be called a hero?"

Li Chengqian waved his hand dismissively: "I think it's wrong to judge heroes by success or failure. Back then, Xiang Yu was defeated and committed suicide at Wujiang. Does that mean he wasn't a hero?"

To avenge Guan Yu, Liu Bei launched an attack on Eastern Wu. In the Battle of Yiling, 700,000 Shu troops were almost wiped out by Lu Xun's fire attack.

Later, Liu Bei died in Baidi City. Does that mean Liu Bei wasn't a hero?

Besides, your situation is different from theirs. You're still young, and you still have a chance to turn things around.

"Even so, I am a Turk, and your father has deep prejudices against Turks. Would you agree to this marriage?"

"That's not necessarily true."

During the Sui Dynasty, after the Western Turkic Khan Nijuchuluo surrendered to the Sui Dynasty, didn't he marry a Sui princess?

"Nijuchuluo is the Khan of the Western Turks. How dare I compare myself to him?"

Besides, Princess Hengyang is of such noble status, how could I possibly be worthy of her?

"You don't need to feel inferior. I think you two are a good match."

At this moment, Princess Hengyang had already prepared the wine and dishes and invited the two of them to take their seats.

The three of them toasted each other and drank to their hearts' content.

Li Chengqian put down his wine cup: "Since you two are so fond of each other, there's no need to be bound by formalities. In my opinion, you two should exchange tokens of your love, and that will settle things."

Princess Hengyang blushed, her beautiful eyes looking at Ashina She'er with tenderness in them.

Ashina She'er chuckled a few times, then rummaged around on his body for a while and pulled out a large seal of Dubu Khan.

Li Chengqian thought to himself that the Grand Impression symbolized power and status, and he couldn't accept it.

"This won't do. Look again and see if there's anything else."

Ashina She'er then found another mask, which was used for disguise.

The mask was exquisitely crafted. Li Chengqian took it and examined it, then sincerely exclaimed, "I've long heard of the art of disguise in the Western Regions, but I never imagined you would possess such a skill. When you have time, please teach me."

"That's easy to say," Ashina She'er smiled. "Actually, I've only learned the basics and haven't mastered the essence yet. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to be seen through by that Imperial Guard soldier."

Li Chengqian understood that the Imperial Guard soldier he was referring to was Su Gui.

Princess Hengyang accepted the mask, and then took out an exquisite box from her boudoir. When she opened the box, she found a beautiful jade inside.

It is said that this jade was a tribute from the Western Regions and was priceless.

She then gave the beautiful jade to Ashina She'er.

Ashina She'er cherished it like a priceless treasure.

Li Chengqian was in a good mood and drank until evening before returning to the Eastern Palace.

morning.

Zhongnan Mountain.

The weather was sunny and breezy that day.

Li Shimin was in a good mood and, under the protection of Chang He and hundreds of imperial guards, went hunting in the mountains.

The bow used by Li Shimin was a two-meter-long giant bow, and the arrows he used were the Heavenly Strategy General's Great Arrows.

It is said that he once used this bow and arrow to kill the greatest warrior of the Turks.

Therefore, the Turks were terrified of Li Shimin.

Li Chengqian also accompanied them on horseback.

He wondered if his father had already discovered the ten Turkic warriors in the Zhongnan Mountains. If his father had found out, he was afraid he would be in grave danger.

He was very uneasy about this.

However, judging from Li Shimin's expression, he did not seem to notice anything amiss and was simply riding his horse to chase after the prey.

But, as luck would have it, while they were hunting in the mountains, they gradually got closer and closer to the cave.

Li Chengqian felt a surge of tension.

At that moment, Chengxin and the ten Turkic warriors were in the cave.

They could vaguely hear noises outside.

Chengxin was very vigilant.

He turned sideways, poked half his head out, and looked around, spotting Li Shimin and his entourage.

Chengxin felt strange.

He recounted the information he had gathered to his ten Turkic warriors.

The ten Turkic warriors were terrified when they heard that Li Shimin had come in person.

Li Shimin hunted a deer and two rabbits today, while Li Chengqian shot a pheasant.

Li Shimin rode his horse slowly, saying, "It's a bit of a pity that we didn't hunt any big prey today."

Chang He said, "Your Majesty is a skilled archer; hunting a deer is quite an achievement."

Li Shimin shook his head: "This is nothing. Hunting a wild boar or a black bear would be truly exciting!"

Li Shimin was getting closer and closer to the cave entrance.

Li Chengqian saw this but could only worry helplessly, unable to send a message inside.

His heart was in his throat.

Just then, Su Gui pointed to the cave entrance and shouted, "Look, there's a wild boar over there!"

Everyone on horseback craned their necks to watch, and indeed they did.

Sure enough, a wild boar escaped from the cave and quickly headed down the mountain.

"Chase it! Don't let that wild boar get away!"

Li Shimin spurred his horse and chased after it, nocking an arrow and shooting at the wild boar as he went.

Li Chengqian was stunned when he saw this. He thought to himself, "Weren't there ten Turks in that cave? How could there be wild boars?"

How strange!