The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 173 Sister's Dissatisfaction

Wen Yanbo drank a mouthful of soy milk and ate a mouthful of cold noodles, and said, "Mm, it tastes refreshing."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "My mother always said that I tend to get angry and suffer from insomnia, so she specifically told the people in the East Palace to prepare lighter meals."

Inside the palace, the three were enjoying their meals when two figures ran in. Li Lizhi asked, "Brother, the Queen Mother said that the waterside pavilions of Taiye Lake need to be expanded. She asked brother to prepare some craftsmen. The palace can arrange the money themselves."

In the palace, the Queen Mother actually had plenty of money, and it was rumored that it was quite a bit.

It was just that the money in the Queen Mother's hands was usually used to spend on the concubines in the harem. Sometimes, simple garden trips were also paid for by the Queen Mother herself.

From what I have observed over the years, my father has no control over the money in my mother's hands.

Otherwise, the IOU from Wude Hall last year should also be repaid.

Li Chengqian chewed the cold noodles in his mouth, swallowed a mouthful of soy milk and said, "I'll ask the Ministry of Industry to arrange it."

"Yeah." Li Lizhi nodded with a smile.

The two sisters bowed to Mr. Wen Yanbo together.

Looking at the two princesses who were well-mannered and not too reserved, Wen Yanbo stroked his beard and smiled, "I have heard that the children of His Majesty are all very talented."

Li Lizhi asked, "How can there be talent? You are joking, old man."

Li Chengqian explained: "Old sir, this is Lizhi, and this is Dongyang."

Wen Yanbo stroked his beard and smiled, and felt that the conversation and temperament of these two princesses seemed to be similar to that of the prince.

"I've long heard that Princess Changle's numerology skills are the best in Chang'an, and Princess Dongyang was even accepted as a disciple by Divine Doctor Sun."

Li Chengqian really wanted to say that there was a little sister who was accepted as a disciple by Taoist Priest Li Chunfeng and Taoist Priest Yuan Tiangang.

However, Li Zhi and Dongyang are indeed the most talented among their younger brothers and sisters. In comparison, Li Zhi and Li Shen seem average.

It may also be due to the difference in starting levels. Dongyang and Lizhi started at a very high level.

Wen Yanbo asked, "May I ask who your teacher is, princesses?"

Li Lizhi replied naturally: "My Royal Brother."

Seeing the old man looking at him, Li Chengqian coughed awkwardly and said, "As the elder brother of my younger brothers and sisters, I have taught them more."

Li Lizhi asked again: "Brother, I have assigned homework to my father."

After that, she handed over a roll of paper.

There was an essay question written on the paper.

Li Chengqian asked: "Do you think Father can answer it?"

"Sister, don't think so much. Since father wants to learn, you have to do the homework of the East Palace."

Li Chengqian was a little distressed because his sister was very vindictive.

She wanted to torture my father, and I let her do it.

Seeing that Mr. Wen was about to leave, Li Chengqian quickly stood up to see him off.

Yan Qinli helped the old gentleman walk out of Chengtian Gate and into the deserted imperial city. The sun appeared, and the morning light gave the imperial city a golden hue.

"What the old gentleman said to the Crown Prince in the East Palace today was actually a little wrong."

Wen Yanbo walked with a cane and asked, "Really?"

Yan Qinli said: "I heard it from Xu Shaoyin. In fact, the prince participated in the imperial examination system."

Wen Yanbo stopped, frowned and said nothing.

Yan Qinli went on to say: "The system of covering names was insisted on by the crown prince. Even the paint used to cover names was mixed by the crown prince himself. The paper used for the imperial examination was also provided by the crown prince."

"The reason why the old gentleman doesn't know this is because most people have only heard that the imperial examination is presided over by the prime minister, and the prince rarely shows up. And the current prime minister is the prince's teacher."

Wen Yanbo stood there for a long time without moving.

"I didn't know that the old gentleman was going to talk to the prince about this today, and I didn't tell him in advance."

Wen Yanbo smiled again and continued walking towards the outside of the imperial city.

Yan Qinli quickly followed the old man's footsteps.

The two walked out of the Suzaku Gate and saw the busy Suzaku Street in front of them. Officials from the Jingzhao Prefecture appeared on the street, giving lectures to the villagers.

What these people-friendly officials talked about were not profound things, but things that were easy to understand and could be understood by ordinary children.

For example, some people now say that the areas outside the Great Wall should be extremely prosperous, and that more people should be encouraged to participate in production and labor, to earn the gold of the people in the Western Regions, to earn the silver of everyone, to enrich their lives, to support their families, and to make money together.

What simple words, yet many people are willing to listen to them.

Even in front of the lecture shop, there was a calligraphy hanging with four words written on it: Get rid of poverty and become rich.

Wen Yanbo stood here and listened carefully for a while, then walked back to Chongwen Hall. He asked, "Guanzhong collected a lot of taxes this year, right?"

Yan Qinli replied: "The land tax for the summer harvest is almost the same as in previous years."

“How can there be little difference when using the fields to grow so many grapes?”

"Yes, Jingzhao Prefecture has a code of conduct. No matter what crops are planted, the local farmland cannot be moved and the original grain output cannot be changed."

Wen Yanbo walked into Chongwen Hall and sat down tiredly. "Then the tax on grapes is additional?"

Yan Qinli said, "That's right. Logically, these grapes should be taxed, but Jingzhao Prefecture does not collect market taxes from ordinary farmers. Only merchants who buy large quantities of grapes pay market taxes when they trade with farmers."

"You don't know, old sir, if the grapes are dried into raisins or made into wine, if you want to sell them, you have to collect market taxes first. That's why many Jingzhao officials are stationed in the East and West Markets now."

Wen Yanbo asked, "Jingzhao Prefecture is unique and no one in the court is talking about it?"

Yan Qinli said: "In fact, the taxes have not changed, but the steps for collecting taxes have been brought forward."

In the morning, the weather was not too hot.

Every three days, Dongyang would follow Doctor Sun to learn medicine or see patients.

On weekdays, she still has plenty of time.

When Li Shimin received his daughter's homework, he felt upset and wanted to speak, but when he noticed Empress Changsun's look, he had to swallow his words back.

In the words of Empress Chang Sun, since Cheng Qian was quite effective in governing Guanzhong, it was only right for him, as a father and the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, to learn these things.

Does it mean that when Cheng Qian does something in the future, he will not understand anything when his father asks him?

This father is unreasonable, and this emperor is even more unreasonable.

Yi Chengqian often emphasized that it is crucial to be down-to-earth in doing things.

Take one step at a time and never aim too high.

Therefore, the control scope of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace is still very limited.

And the files in front of us are only those from Jingyang, Weinan, Lantian and Weibei.

Li Shimin put his daughters' homework aside. Lizhi and Dongyang often helped Cheng Qian review memorials. The two daughters also had a clear understanding of the governance situation in Guanzhong.

Let's look at the topic given by my daughter. It discusses the changes in the three counties of Jingyang, Weibei and Weinan, the impact of Guanzhong's production on trade with Jiangnan and the Western Regions, and the generation of taxes in the process of the circulation of domestic and foreign goods.

Li Shimin snorted coldly, thinking, could I really be stumped by my daughter's questions?
Afterwards, he sat in the waterside pavilion, waved his sleeves, and ordered: "Call Xuanling and Fuji to see me."

The eunuch said in a loud voice, "Yes." The emperor had helpers. When Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji arrived at Taiye Lake, they walked into the waterside pavilion. Three middle-aged men sat together, flipping through volumes of files.

A piece of paper was still placed aside, and the homework that Princess Changle assigned to His Majesty had not been touched so far.

It’s not too hot now. After the rain last night, the weather is much cooler today.

Now Li Chengqian is taking his younger brothers and sisters to the Taiye Lake for physical fitness tests.

The physical fitness test is conducted once a month and the intensity is always at the highest level.

It is also the exam they fear the most.

For example, for Li Zhi and Li Shen, it was normal for these two younger brothers to run until they vomited.

Inside the waterside pavilion, Li Shimin asked, "Xuanling, have you not paid attention to what Chengqian has done this year?"

Fang Xuanling said: "I failed to observe this."

Li Shimin nodded slightly.

Changsun Wuji read three volumes, rubbed his eyes, and took up a pen to take notes.

"Assistant, if you feel tired, you can take a rest for a while."

"I am not tired." Changsun Wuji perked up, took a sip of strong tea, and continued to look at the files. He whispered, "Your Majesty, it is not that Xuanling failed to notice. It is because these things are all from the three-year plan of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and they were all arranged in advance."

Fang Xuanling stroked his beard and said, "Don't say that. It was my fault."

Li Shimin put down the book in his hand, stood up tiredly, looked at the scenery of Taiye Lake, and relaxed his back and eyes.

Looking towards Taiye Lake, I saw a group of children gathered together.

Li Zhi and Li Shen were lying on a wooden board, surrounded by a group of children shouting "Come on!"

Li Chengqian tapped the drum lightly, and Li Zhi and Li Shen began a sit-up competition.

The two children put their hands behind their heads and bent their upper bodies with their waists and abdomens again and again. They seemed to be trying very hard and their faces turned red.

The two sisters on the side were counting the number they made.

Li Chengqian said: "Don't think you are tired now. When you grow up and look back on it, these will all be beautiful memories."

Watching a stick of incense burning slowly.

Li Zhi and Li Shen's speed was also getting slower and slower.

Li Zhi wanted to do another one, and tried hard to lift his upper body. Just when he was halfway, he lay down again exhausted, with his hands behind his head. He first looked at Li Shen, and seeing that he was also unable to do it, he asked, "Sister, how many brothers do you have?"

"Shen'er is twenty-six, you are twenty-four."

Hearing this, Li Zhi took a few deep breaths, gritted his teeth, his face flushed, veins faintly popping out on his forehead, and did another one.

Li Lizhi said again: "Chinu, grit your teeth and try again."

Li Chengqian looked at the burning incense and said, "Time is running out."

Li Zhi shouted loudly and finally made another one.

Li Shen, who was standing by, had a little rest and added one more at the last moment.

Finally, Li Chengqian struck the drum and the game ended.

Li Zhi lost by one point.

The two brothers didn't have the energy to argue now. Li Zhi just said weakly, "Despicable."

Li Shen smiled foolishly.

After the royal brother and sister left, they lay on the ground motionless like two dead people.

But the two of them had no objection, because the amount of exercise the emperor did in his daily morning exercises was comparable to their physical fitness test this time.

Li Chengqian took a pen and recorded the results of this physical fitness test.

Empress Changsun said: "From the perspective of outsiders, they would think that you are torturing your brothers and sisters."

Hearing this, Li Chengqian looked at Li Zhi and Li Shen standing beside him. The two were supporting each other with lifeless eyes.

"Is my brother torturing you?"

The two brothers kept shaking their heads like rattles.

Li Chengqian smiled with satisfaction, "Mother, even they themselves don't think that I am torturing them. Besides, they have always been pampered in the palace. It is more important to keep exercising. Only when the body is healthy can we avoid getting sick. It would be even better if Qingque could also exercise like this."

Empress Changsun chuckled, feeling reassured about her son. If the children acted naughty, there was still this royal brother to take care of them.

Parents can also feel more at ease.

Li Lizhi looked unconvinced. She sat down aside, facing the water pavilion in the distance, staring straight at her father.

She was very angry because her father had asked Prime Minister Fang and her uncle to help.

"Brother, please ascend the throne soon." She whispered.

When Empress Changsun heard this, she covered her mouth and chuckled.

Even Li Yuan, who was not far away, started coughing violently.

Li Chengqian explained: "Mother, Li Zhi is in her rebellious period at this age."

Li Lizhi bit off a piece of peach fiercely, still looking at her father with unconvinced eyes, and said: "It was my daughter's mistake. I forgot that you have so many helpers. I will set rules next time."

Empress Changsun patiently sorted out the needle and thread, and made a new Taoist robe for little Sizi, making the robe shorter so that the child could wear it more comfortably as it was summer. She could hear her children's words in her ears.

Li Zhi and Li Shen sat in a corner, each holding a peach in their hands, and could hear the words of their sister and brother.

They did not dare to look at their father, their brother, or their mother. They both looked toward the lake at the same time, not daring to say a word, trying to minimize their presence as much as possible.

Now the two brothers are sitting on a small stool, being as well-behaved as they can be.

Li Yuan slowly waved the fan in his hand with a smile on his face. He said something about letting Cheng Qian ascend the throne, but he thought it was just a family joke.

He also knew in his heart that Erlang had been winning for half his life and had never lost, and Erlang always had pride in his heart.

Soon, Ning'er came over and checked the children's teeth to make sure everyone's teeth were normal. This was a way to confirm their health.

In daily life, you should pay some attention to your diet, sleep, and dental condition.

After Prime Minister Fang and his uncle left, the emperor continued to stroll leisurely by the Taiye Lake.

The eunuch handed over a piece of paper and said, "Your Highness, this is written by His Majesty."

Li Lizhi didn't even look at it. She put the paper heavily on the table and said stubbornly, "Next time, I will give you homework."

After sitting by the Taiye Lake until noon, Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji walked in the shade beside the city wall, side by side to avoid the scorching sun.

"I read the files of various counties today and benefited a lot."

Fang Xuanling asked: "Assistant, what do you think of the current tax policy of Jingzhao Prefecture?"

"Clean, simple, fast, and effective." Changsun Wuji commented, then said, "But it's limited to Chang'an and Guanzhong."

(End of this chapter)