The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 171 Learning and Living

Li Shimin listened quietly.

Dongyang smiled and said, "The grape harvest in Guanzhong is good, not only because Father has endless grapes to eat and endless grape wine to drink, but also because Father has a greater say in trade. Therefore, as the document in Father's hand says, the doubling of soap prices is also based on this."

"This is a battle for gold and silver in the Western Regions..."

Li Lizhi nudged her sister slightly with her elbow.

Dongyang understood and said, "My daughter doesn't know much either. If there is anything you don't know, you can ask my brother."

Li Shimin stood aside, stroking his beard. His daughter and son spoke fluently, but as a father, he felt that they spoke too fast and for a moment he could not keep up with their thoughts.

Then he sat aside and digested what he had just heard. One should not know only one side of the story but not the other.

Is there more to a grape harvest than meets the eye?

"Alas, how come the fish in Taiye Lake became smarter overnight?"

Hearing his son's sigh, Li Shimin was suddenly startled. Looking at his son's back, he felt that this sigh had another deeper meaning.

Li Chengqian simply put away his fishing rod and asked the eunuch beside him: "Did you catch fish secretly?"

The eunuch hurriedly said, "Your Highness, I will order someone to raise more fish."

Li Chengqian handed the fishhook to the eunuch, put his hands in his pockets and complained in a low voice: "You know I like fishing."

The eunuch explained with a bitter face: "It was last autumn when the water of Taiye Lake overflowed..."

Li Chengqian said in annoyance: "Okay, you don't need to explain."

The eunuch quickly said, "Yes! It is my fault for not explaining. I will order people to raise more fish in Taiye Lake."

The water quality of Taiye Lake has always been good. There are many lotus leaves covering the lake in the distance. It would be a pity not to use such a good pond to raise fish.

The weather was no longer as hot as it was at noon. Li Chengqian and his two sisters were reviewing the memorials in front of them.

Li Zhi ran over quickly, then grabbed his father's sleeve and whispered, "My sister and Dongyang's sister are very scary."

Li Shimin asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"

Li Zhi said: "My brother is scary enough. The two sisters are the junior and senior monitors of our East Palace class. They are becoming more and more scary."

Li Shimin touched Li Zhi's head and smiled, "Is it because you can't learn well?"

Li Zhi had a bitter face and tried to find some sense of security from his father. He also wanted to go and play with Di Renjie.

I sent someone to Chongwenguan to ask, and found out that Di Renjie was not there for the past two days.

Helpless, Li Zhi and Li Shen could only return to the villa to work on their questions.

When night fell, the family was having dinner.

Little Sizi was wearing a Taoist robe and holding a compass in her small hands. She raised her tender face and looked at the starry sky.

The palace maid beside her was holding a bowl of rice and staying beside the little princess, feeding her food from a wooden spoon from time to time.

Little Sizi stood under the starry sky, the night wind blew, and her well-fitting Taoist robe rustled.

Even though she couldn't understand the relationship between the stars in the night sky, this little Taoist princess already had some immortal-like appearance.

Under the starry night sky, she just stood there facing the Taiye Lake.

But when I saw her chewing food with some rice grains around her lips, this image of a sage was completely shattered.

After dinner, Li Chengqian packed up the memorials and returned to the East Palace.

Li Lizhi and her four sisters, Dongyang, Linchuan and Runan, planned to return to the Eastern Palace to rest and come to Taiye Lake tomorrow morning.

Empress Changsun felt that her daughters had grown up and needed their own space and their own boudoir.

Ning'er had asked several palace maids to prepare lanterns.

Little Sizi came running over with a compass, grabbed his brother's trouser leg and asked, "Is your brother leaving?"

"Well, my brother is going back to the East Palace."

Little Sizi pointed at the starry sky and said, "I don't understand."

Listening to the little sister's baby voice, Li Chengqian picked her up, wiped the rice grains from her mouth, and said to his sister beside him: "You two go back first."

Li Lizhi nodded and returned to the East Palace with her sisters.

Li Chengqian held Little Sizi and came to the Taiye Lake again, whispering, "Do you understand the compass that Taoist Li Chunfeng gave you?"

Little Sizi stroked the compass with his short fingers and shook his head, saying, "This compass was given to me by Taoist Yuan, not by Taoist Li."

She sat in her brother's arms, her still short arms around his neck, and pouted as she said, "I don't understand this compass."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "If you don't understand, put the compass away first. My royal brother will tell you the story of the stars."

"Yeah." Xiao Sizi nodded vigorously.

Li Chengqian pointed to a direction in the night sky and said, "Look at those brighter stars. Do those seven stars look like a spoon?"

Little Sizi grinned and said, "Like."

Li Chengqian explained: "Those are the Big Dipper. They are like spoons. Throughout history, the Big Dipper has always been used to guide people whether they are marching to war or traveling far away."

Empress Changsun was holding some peaches and looking at her son. She saw Li Chengqian holding little Sizi, looking at the stars and telling stories about the stars with a smile on his face.

Li Shimin took a peach, took a bite and said, "Cheng Qian can also analyze the stars?"

Empress Changsun arranged the peaches on the table and whispered, "I heard that Li Chunfeng and Cheng Qian were close before. It was probably because of him."

"I remember that Li Chunfeng was never willing to accept him as a disciple."

Empress Changsun glanced at her husband and said slowly, "Your Majesty, this father understands his son less and less."

Li Shimin, still chewing a peach, looked at him suspiciously.

Li Chengqian said to Xiao Sizi: "We will learn little by little, and find the Big Dipper in the starry sky in the future."

She opened her mouth and became interested. This was a fun game for her. She said with a smile, "Mingda knows."

Li Chengqian added: "The positions of the Big Dipper will be different according to the different solar terms. Every time you find the Big Dipper, draw it, and then go ask Taoist Li to teach you all his skills."

"Mingda has to learn all the skills. During the day, Mingda has to learn breathing techniques from Taoist Li."

"I heard that Taoist Priest Li Chunfeng is a rare and extraordinary person in the Taoist sect. We Mingda are really lucky."

"Master Li said the same thing as my brother. Master Li said that we can know where we are by looking at the starry sky."

From what she said, it seemed that what she was talking about was the way the ancients calculated the distance between the starry sky and the ground. When mathematics and astronomy were combined, people had already mastered a way to understand the stars.

Li Chengqian looked at the vast and magnificent starry sky again and said, "My royal brother is going back to the East Palace." "Well, Mingda needs to rest."

Li Chengqian walked to the gate of the villa, handed Mingda to his mother, and said, "Father, your Majesty, I will go back first."

Empress Chang Sun said slowly, "Take these peaches to the East Palace as well."

"Thank you, mother."

Li Shimin watched his son leave with a basket of peaches, feeling mixed emotions and put down the peach pit in his hand without interest.

The next day, in the busy city of Chang'an, Sun Simiao came to visit Ashina She'er. This man was not difficult to find in Chang'an. He had been sitting in the corner next to the Suzaku Gate these days.

Because standing in front of the Suzaku Gate would lead to being driven away by the soldiers, one could only sit in the corner nearby.

He came to Guanzhong from the grassland and escaped an ambush by people from Mobei. Now he wants to meet the Khan and the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty to thank them for saving his life.

Willing to follow the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace.

Although the She'er people are not smart, they have an admirable naivety when it comes to loyalty and gratitude.

The reason why he was loyal to Tian Khan was because of the last words of his uncle Jie Li Khan.

He wanted to serve the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace because his life was saved by the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, and he wanted to repay the debt. He did not understand the conspiracies and tricks of the Central Plains people. She'er was a more dull person than his uncle Jie Li.

But now, Ashina She'er wanted to repay his gratitude, and waited in front of the Suzaku Gate for several days, but did not get the permission of the Khan to make suggestions.

The Khan went to escape the summer heat, and the court also took a break.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did not meet him either. I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been very busy lately.

Princess Dongyang was wearing men's clothes, still her brother's clothes, but she changed them a little more than two days ago.

Seeing that it was Dr. Sun who came, Ashina She'er stood up from the wall. He was in a rather miserable state as he had neither his warhorse nor his men.

Originally, they had some, but after a fight with the people from Mobei on the banks of the Wei River, they have nothing left now. They can barely eat at the Sifang Pavilion and have food and shelter.

"Doctor Sun." She'er said in Guanzhong dialect with a strange accent.

Sun Simiao nodded and said, "Take off your shirt and let me see your wound."

Ashina She'er took off his shirt. He used to be a strong man, but now he looked very thin, with long worm-like black lines on his abdomen, chest and even arms.

Those were all wounds that had been bandaged with needle and thread.

This scene also attracted a lot of people to watch, and some people exclaimed when they saw the black lines.

Sun Simiao observed the wound, and Dongyang also walked closer to observe, recording the changes in the wound in a booklet with a pen in his hand.

Dongyang, who had seen people die of illness before her eyes, seemed very calm when facing this scene. She was a very calm person.

Sun Simiao stroked his beard and nodded, a little surprised, and said: "It heals very quickly, faster than expected."

The book in Dongyang's hand recorded every time he came to check on the wound. She whispered, "Half a month to heal?"

Sun Simiao replied: "His wound is different from ordinary wounds. If it were someone else, he would have died long ago. It was the prince's suturing technique that allowed him to survive."

Dongyang wrote the three words "suture" on the booklet and added the word "alcohol" at the end.

Sun Simiao's rough fingers grabbed a thread on She'er's wound, and then pulled it hard, breaking the thread. Two small holes were left on the wound, and some blood flowed out.

The old man wiped off the blood, observed the hole left by the stitches, applied medicine to him, and wrapped him with white gauze, whispering, "The stitches cannot be removed yet. Wait a little longer."

"Okay, I understand it roughly." Sun Simiao nodded, and took Dongyang away to visit another patient.

Ashina She'er's body smelled bad, and because he had wounds on his body he couldn't wash freely, he had to wipe along the wounds.

Sometimes he didn't take a shower for three or two days, but She'er found that the way Doctor Sun looked at him was not good. It seemed that he was not looking at a person, but at a very new object.

After She'er hurriedly put on his clothes, he sat down at the foot of the wall beside the imperial city.

When the court was on holiday, there were not many officials entering and leaving the imperial city, only one or two occasionally.

Soon, another official came up to him.

She'er looked up. He knew this official because he was the one who received all the envoys from the Tang Dynasty in the past.

The visitor was none other than Li Baiyao, the Minister of Rites. He took out an imperial edict and said, "Your Majesty has issued an imperial edict to reprimand the Khan of Mobei and order him to come to Chang'an to confess his crime."

Sheer said loudly: "Okay!"

Li Baiyao continued, "Your Highness, if you want to stay in Chang'an, you can go to Jingzhao Prefecture to guard the gate. If you are not afraid of the people from Mobei coming to assassinate you again, you can return to the grassland now and wait for the instructions from Your Highness. It's your choice."

Ashina She'er replied, "I'm going to Jingzhao Prefecture to look after the gate."

Li Baiyao nodded and said, "Then go ahead. Don't squat here anymore. The Crown Prince said you are annoying."

"I……."

"Go ahead." Li Baiyao said this and left.

Ashina She'er had no choice but to go to Jingzhao Prefecture. A Turk, and a well-known She'er among the Turkic tribes, actually came here to guard the gate.

Everyone in Jingzhao Prefecture was suspicious but did not dare to ask too many questions. They heard that this matter was arranged by the prince.

Xu Jingzong, Di Zhixun, Yan Qinli and Shangguan Yi sat in the Jingzhao Prefecture, checking each file. After writing them, they sent them to the imperial city.

Li Chengqian was sitting in the Secretariat.

There are two eunuchs beside the prince, who are working hard to fan him. This is the order of His Majesty.

Li Chengqian ate an iced peach while casually looking at the files. He instructed the clerk who delivered the files, "Ask Yu Zhining to go to Jingzhao Prefecture to help as well."

The clerk nodded and said, "I'll arrange it right away."

After the approval document was sent yesterday, Jingzhao Prefecture began to summarize the situation in each county.

As the crown prince, he no longer has to do these things. When the Jingzhao Prefecture has enough staff and the rules of conduct are mature, he, the crown prince, will have a lot more free time. He only needs to review them once.

He pointed to a thick stack of account books beside him and ordered, "Send these to Father, so that he can improve his current farming philosophy in Guanzhong. I'm afraid that Father will not be able to keep up with the level of governance in the future. Learning is a lifelong process."

Ning'er came over with a food box. She walked to the prince's table and placed the dishes aside. There were four dishes neatly arranged in bowls of the same size, and two cakes. She placed the chopsticks on the rim of the bowl, in the center.

Then, she stayed quietly beside the prince.

The emperor was enjoying a relaxing summer vacation at Taiye Lake until the two eunuchs he had sent to serve his son returned.

Li Shimin pointed at the thick pile of files in astonishment and asked, "What does he mean? I am on a summer vacation and the court is on a break. He wants me to read all this?"

The eunuch replied: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked Your Majesty to improve the concept of farming in Guanzhong so as to avoid being unable to keep up with the governance in the future."

Another eunuch also smiled and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also said that His Majesty should learn until he is old."

(End of this chapter)