“
Are you kidding me? It would be a privilege to be your wife!” Xi Shi explained dishonorably.
Two days later, Li heard about his son’s treacherous behavior. He was so angry; he almost fainted because
of his rage.
“
How dare you! Every day you flirt with the maids in the palace which is so inappropriate for an emperor;
and now you are engaged to a MAID? Have you ever considered the consequences of your actions? What will
the people think about you? A fatuous emperor who only knows how to flirt with the maids, but never plans to
manage the country? I am really ashamed of you, and I determined to have you seriously punished!” Li looked
really furious.
“
Do you know what kind of punishment Taizhong received?”
“
Nope. It’s hard to guess,”
First of all, Li had several servants and soldiers construct a wall along the border of China. He ordered
them to finish the construction within ten years, which was very harsh work—as we know, the territory of China
is vast. Guess what the wall was used for?
“
Is it used to defend the territory so as to prevent aggression from outsiders?”
“
No, not at all”
As mentioned before, it was told that if the maids continued to chitchat with Taizhong, they would be
punished. Still, Xi Shi did not follow the instruction, which infuriated Li. Li was determined to banish her to the
frontier so she could never see her family again. The wall was used to separate Taizhong and Xi Shi.
Not only was Xi Shi punished, but Taizhong also suffered a lot. He was not allowed to meet with her
anymore. If his is father discovered that he was meeting secretly with Xi Shi, he threatened to have him replaced
as emperor. Taizhong was devastated that he could not meet her anymore…
“
Mum, Li Yuan was inhumane! The punishment was too harsh.”
From then on, Taizhong became a sensible and respectable emperor; he concentrated on his political work
wholeheartedly. Even if he had any spare time, he would go hiking with his servant, rather than flirt with the
maids. Travelling in the mountains, he could always recognize the wall along the border of China even when it
was far from him. The wall had taught him a very valuable lesson, every time when he saw it; he would
remember that unforgettable experience. Even though he had tried his best to forget that incident, he could not
do so. The wall, which was so powerful and memorable for Taizhong, was then called “The Great Wall”.
Nowadays Chinese citizens and even foreigners like to visit “The Great Wall” as it is so illustrious and
splendid—it was built along the border of the whole of China! It stretches approximately 8,852 kilometers and
has a long history spanning several centuries.
“
What have you learnt from the story, my dear?”
No one answered. Nicole has already fallen asleep.
“…
so, we should always follow others’ instructions, and not try to break the rules, or we will get into
trouble—remember not to follow in Xi Shi’s footsteps. Moreover, we should concentrate on our study, and not
allow other leisure activities to distract us from our studies—just like Taizhong…,” I muttered aimlessly.